August 25, 2019

Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.  Some of this information is original; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org.  It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.   

About the Organ Music:

My Hope is Built - Wilbur Held

Edward Mote (1797-1874) falls into the rare category of hymn writers who grew up without religious training and whose parents were pub owners. He was apprenticed at a young age by his parents to a cabinetmaker, but found faith when he heard the preaching of John Hyatt at the Tottenham Court Road Chapel in London at age 15. Living in Southwark near London, he established a successful cabinet-making enterprise and became a Baptist minister in 1852, at 55 years of age. He ministered for 21 years at Strict Baptist Church in Horsham, Sussex. 

As Edward Mote was walking to work one day in 1834, the thought popped into his head to write a hymn on the “Gracious Experience of a Christian.” As he walked up the road, he had the chorus, “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.” By the end of the day, he had the first four verses written out and safely tucked away in his pocket. Later that week, he visited his friend whose wife was very ill, and as they couldn’t find a hymnal to sing from, he dug up his newly written verses and sang those with the couple. The wife enjoyed them so much she asked for a copy, and Mote went home to finish the last two verses and sent it off to a publisher, saying, “As these verses so met the dying woman’s case, my attention to them was the more arrested, and I had a thousand printed for distribution” (Lutheran Hymnal Handbook). Almost two centuries later, we continue to sing these words of hope and assurance, our declaration that in the midst of all trials and storms, we will cling to the rock that is our Savior.

Singing hymns was of great interest to Mote. The master cabinetmaker became a prolific hymn writer, composing more than 100 hymns. The hymn "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" was published anonymously in several hymn collections before first being attributed to Edward Mote in a collection of approximately 100 of his hymns published in 1837 under the title Hymns of Praise, A New Selection of Gospel Hymns, Combining All the Excellencies of our Spiritual Poets, with Many Originals.  Hymnologists note that this is the first time the now common term “gospel hymn” appears. Mote's original title was "The Immutable Basis for a Sinner's Hope" in this collection.  The refrain of "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" refers to the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders and builds around the metaphor of Christ as a rock with a firm basis (1 Corinthians 10:4).

The Sunday school hymn writer William B. Bradbury composed SOLID ROCK in 1863 for Edward Mote's "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less." The tune name derives from that song's refrain: "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. . . .” Bradbury published SOLID ROCK in his 1864 children's collection The Golden Censor. 

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;

In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found;

In Him, my righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.

Wilbur C. Held (1914-2015) was born in Des Plaines, Illinois, and received his B.M. and M.M. degrees at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He then attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he earned his S.M.D. A member of the Episcopal Church, for many years Dr. Held was Professor of Organ and Church Music at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.  He remained in this position for over 30 years, and for most of that time was also organist-choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio.  Dr. Held started composing little pieces for the organ because he felt there was a lack of teaching material aimed at developing style and registration, especially for the romantic use of the instrument.  Having written several suites primarily for pedagogical use, he turned his attention to broadening the repertoire for church use, continuing to stress modest technical requirements and flexibility of registration. To date he has published 325 organ works. He has served on the national councils of both the AGO and the Hymn Society of America, and has appeared as recitalist at their national conventions.

March in F - Walter Spinney

We finish our march back to school with this 19th century processional by Walter Spinney. 

Rev. Walter Spinney (1853-1894) was the organist of Christ Church, Doncaster, and Leamington Parish Church. He composed church music for choir and for organ, as well as hymn tunes.

About the Piano Music:

The Place Where the Lost Things Go, from Mary Poppins Returns - Mark Shaiman

Marc Shaiman (b.1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the John Waters film Hairspray. He has won a Grammy, an Emmy and a Tony, and been nominated for seven Oscars. He wrote the music for Mary Poppins Returns, and co-wrote the lyrics with Scott Wittman.

Shaiman grew up in New Jersey, where he left school at 16, got his GED, and went to New York to work in theatre.  Shaiman started his career as a theatre/cabaret musical director. He started working at SNL as an arranger/writer and also became vocal arranger for Bette Midler, eventually becoming her musical director and co-producer of many of her recordings.  Shaiman has earned five Academy Award nominations, a Tony Award and a Grammy Award for his work on the musical Hairspray, and an Emmy Award for co-writing Billy Crystal's Academy Award performances. He has also been Grammy-nominated for his arrangements for Harry Connick Jr.'s recordings When Harry Met Sally... and We Are in Love as well as Hairspray and Smash and Emmy-nominated for his work on Saturday Night Live and Smash. In 2002, he was honored with the "Outstanding Achievement in Music-In-Film" award at The Hollywood Film Festival, and in 2007 he was honored with ASCAP's Henry Mancini Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions to the music of film and television. He is the first recipient of the Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Comedy Feature Film.

Do you ever lie awake at night?

Just between the dark and the morning light.

Searching for the things you used to know.

Looking for the place where the lost things go.

Do you ever dream or reminisce?

Wondering where to find what you truly miss.

Well, maybe all those things that you love so

Are waiting in the place where the lost things go

Memories you've shared, gone for good you feared,

They're all around you still though they've disappeared.

Nothing's really left or lost without a trace,

Nothing's gone forever only out of place.

So maybe now the dish and my best spoon

Are playing hide and seek just behind the moon,

Waiting there until it’s time to show.

Spring is like that now, far beneath the snow,

Hiding in the place where the lost things go.

Time to close your eyes so sleep can come around,

For when you dream you'll find all that's lost is found.

Maybe on the moon, or maybe somewhere new,

Maybe all you're missing lives inside of you.

So when you need her touch and loving gaze,

Gone but not forgotten is the perfect phrase.

Smiling from a star that she makes glow,

Trust she's always there, watching as you grow.

Find her in the place where the lost things go.

About the Choral Music:

Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit - William Dawson

It is not always possible to find the story behind a song.  Songs classified as African-American spirituals, like this one, were typically created by slaves living in the southern United States in the pre-Civil War era.  The tunes and words were passed down for generations before even being written.  Some people consider Galatians 4:6 as the verse of inspiration for the song.  Words of spirituals often had multiple meanings also.  Multi-layered meanings were readily understood by the target audience.  For example, the line in Every Time I Feel the Spirit that reads, “There ain’t but one train on this track; It runs to heaven…” is likely referring to the Underground Railroad and the escape to freedom, a message easily recognized and of comfort to those enduring slavery.  Likewise, references to rivers often advised them to cross or wade in water to escape the pursuing dogs.  At the same time, it is an uplifting song celebrating the movement of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives.

African American composer, performer, and music educator William Levi Dawson (1899-1990) used the rich vitality of his musical heritage as a basis for all types of music, including arrangements of folk songs and original compositions. Dawson was born in Anniston, AL. At the age of 13 he entered Tuskegee Institute and graduated in 1921 with first honors. A graduate of the Horner Institute of Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Music, William Dawson later studied at the Chicago Musical College with professor Felix Borowski, and then at the American Conservatory of Music where he received his master's degree. Early in his career he served as a trombonist both with the Redpath Chautauqua and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago (1927–1930). His teaching career began in the Kansas City public school system, followed by a tenure with the Tuskegee Institute from 1931–1956. During this period, he appointed a large number of faculty members who later became well known for their work in the field. Additionally, Dawson also developed the Tuskegee Institute Choir into an internationally renowned ensemble; they were invited to sing at New York City's Radio City Music Hall in 1932 for a week of six daily performances.

Dawson began composing at a young age, and early in his compositional career his Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano was performed by the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra. Besides chamber music, he is also known for his contributions to both orchestral and choral literature. His best known works are arrangements of and variations on spirituals. His Negro Folk Symphony of 1934 garnered a great deal of attention at its world premiere by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The symphony was revised in 1952 with added African rhythms inspired by the composer's trip to West Africa. Dawson said that the composition was an attempt to convey the missing elements that were lost when Africans came into bondage outside their homeland. His most popular spirituals include "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel", "Jesus Walked the Lonesome Valley", "Talk about a Child That Do Love Jesus" and "King Jesus Is a-Listening”.  Dawson's arrangements of traditional African-American spirituals are widely published in the United States and are regularly performed by school, college and community choral programs. According to Dominique-Rene de Lerma of Lawrence University, in notes to "The Spirituals of William L. Dawson" produced by The St Olaf Choir in 1997, "What is even more striking than the richness of Dawson's textures is the lushness of his sonorities, exhibiting his remarkable insight into vocal potentials.”

Ev’ry time I feel the spirit, moving in my heart, I will pray.

Upon the mountain my Lord spoke, Out of His mouth came fire and smoke;

Looked all around me, It looked so fine, till I asked my Lord if all was mine.

Jordan river is chilly an’ cold, It chills the body, but not the soul;

There ain’t but one train upon this track, It runs to heaven an’ right back.

About the Hymns:

For the Fruits of This Creation

Many fine hymns written during the past three centuries have kept Methodist song alive since the beginning of the movement. If there is anyone worthy to be called a successor to founding hymn writer Charles Wesley, it may be Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000).  An Englishman educated at Didsbury College in Manchester, Green was ordained into Methodist ministry in 1928, serving circuits throughout the country between 1927 and 1969.  During his ministry he wrote plays and published three collections of his poems. But it was not until his retirement that Green’s hymn writing blossomed. He went on to create more than 300 hymns, received numerous honors, and is generally considered to be the leader of the “hymnic explosion” that began in the 1960s.  More of Green’s hymns appear in English-language hymnals published in North America since 1975, than those of any other 20th-century hymn writer. Hope Publishing Company has published three collections of his hymns. The UM Hymnal (1989) contains 15 original hymns and two translations by Green.

“For the Fruits of This Creation” is one of the hymns most often chosen by hymnal committees in the United States. Published as “Harvest Hymn” in the British Methodist Recorder in August 1970, this hymn combines our gratitude to God for the bounties of the earth with our responsibility to care for our neighbor through “the harvests we are sharing”. Green’s concern for justice and spreading a social gospel is almost always evident in his hymns.  Each stanza alludes to our responsibility to care for all the earth and its people: Stanza one cites God’s “good gifts to every nation.” Stanza two mentions “our worldwide task of caring for the hungry and despairing.” Stanza three acknowledges “the good we all inherit.”

The tune we are using today, AR HYD Y NOS, is best known for the text “All Through the Night”.  It is a Welsh song tune that was first found in Edward Jones' Musical and Poetical Relics of the Welsh Bards (1784).  The song is highly popular with traditional Welsh male voice choirs, and is sung by them at festivals in Wales and around the world.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

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