September 8, 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:

I Would Be True - Harold DeCou

Howard Arnold Walter (1883-1918), a recent graduate of Princeton, sailed to Japan for a year to teach English at Waseda University. From Tokyo, he mailed his Connecticut mother a two-stanza poem written as a private exercise. "My Creed" listed eight idealistic "I woulds."  Impressed with the poem, Mrs. Walter submitted the verse to Harper's Bazaar, who published it in 1907.  Walter returned to the States, went to seminary, and then sailed to India as a YMCA staff member.  There, still a young man, he died of influenza in 1918.

I would be true, for there are those who trust me; 

I would be pure, for there are those who care; 

I would be strong, for there is much to suffer; 

I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all—the foe, the friendless; 

I would be giving, and forget the gift; 

I would be humble, for I know my weakness; 

I would look up, and laugh, and love and lift. 

I would be faithful through each passing moment; 

I would be constantly in touch with God; 

I would be strong to follow where He leads me; 

I would have faith to keep the path Christ trod.

In 1918, Walter’s friend Ralph Harlow had a dream in which Howard Walter gave him three more verses for this hymn.

Who is so low that I am not his brother?

Who is so high that I’ve no path to him?

Who is so poor, that I may not feel his hunger?

Who is so rich I may not pity him?

Who is so hurt I may not know his heartache?

Who sings for joy my heart may never share?

Who in God’s heaven has passed beyond my vision?

Who to Hell’s depths where I may never fare?

May none, then, call on me for understanding,

May none, then, turn to me for help in pain,

And drain alone his bitter cup of sorrow,

Or find he knocks upon my heart in vain.

Decou has chosen to set the alternate tune, INTERCESSOR, written by Charles H. H. Parry in 1904, which is tune found in Hymns Ancient and Modern.

Harold H. DeCou (1932-2008) attended Temple University in Philadelphia and was long associated with Billy Graham and the Singspiration staff.  His output as artist, composer, arranger and orchestrator ensures that he will be remembered as one of the giants of Christian gospel music. He served as church organist at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria from 1988 to 2001. He was also an Honorary Fellow of Shenandoah Society Award.

Entree - Theodore Dubois

François-Clément Théodore Dubois (1837-1924) was a French composer, organist, and music teacher.  Théodore Dubois studied at the Paris Conservatoire. He won the Prix de Rome in 1861. In 1868, he became choirmaster at the Church of the Madeleine, and in 1871 took over from César Franck as choirmaster at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde. In 1877, Dubois returned to the Church of the Madeleine, succeeding Camille Saint-Saëns as organist there. 

From 1871 he taught at the Paris Conservatoire.  Dubois was director of the Conservatoire from 1896-1905, continuing his predecessor's intransigently conservative regime. The music of Auber, Halévy and especially Meyerbeer was regarded as the correct model for students, and old French music such as that of Rameau and modern music, including that of Wagner were kept rigorously out of the curriculum.  Dubois was unremittingly hostile to Maurice Ravel who, when a Conservatoire student, did not conform to the faculty's anti-modernism, and in 1902 Dubois unavailingly forbade Conservatoire students to attend performances of Debussy's ground-breaking new opera, Pelléas et Mélisande. In June 1905 he was forced to bring his planned retirement forward after a public scandal caused by the faculty's blatant attempt to stop Ravel winning the Prix de Rome. Gabriel Fauré was appointed to succeed Dubois as director, with a brief from the French government to modernize the institution.

Although he wrote many religious works, Dubois also wrote opera, ballets, oratorios and three symphonies. His best known work is the oratorio Les sept paroles du Christ ("The Seven Last Words of Christ" [1867]), which continues to be given an occasional airing; his Toccata in G (1889), for the organ, is a recital staple, by no means solely in France. The rest of his large output has almost entirely disappeared from view. He has had a more lasting influence in teaching, with his theoretical works Traité de contrepoint et de fugue (on counterpoint and fugue) and Traité d'harmonie théorique et pratique (on harmony) still being sometimes used today.

About the Piano Music:

What a Friend We Have in Jesus - Mark Hayes

Irish born Joseph M. Scriven (1819-1896) was 25 years old, in love and to be married. The day before his wedding his fiance died in a tragic drowning accident. Heartbroken, Joseph sailed from his homeland to start a new life in Canada. While in Canada working as a teacher, Joseph received word from Ireland that his mother was ill. He could not go to be with her, so he wrote a letter of comfort and enclosed one of his poems entitled “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”.
Many years later a friend was sitting with Joseph, as he was very ill. During this visit, the friend was very impressed when he ran across his poems, including “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. As a result of this visit, almost 30 years after his letter of comfort to his mother, Joseph's poems were published in a book called Hymns and Other Verses. Soon thereafter, noted musician Charles C. Converse (1834-1918) put music to  “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. Well-known musician and revivalist Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908) was a great admirer of Joseph Scriven. In 1875, Sankey came upon the music and words for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and included it as the last entry in  Sankey's Gospel Hymns Number 1.

The hymn also has many versions with different lyrics in multiple languages, such as the Japanese version "Itsukushimi Fukaki" (lit. "Deep Affection"), or a version sung during World War I with the line "When this bloody war is over" in place of the original title.  The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal notes, "In spite of the fact that this hymn, with its tune, has been criticized as being too much on the order of the sentimental gospel type, its popularity remains strong, and the hymn retains a place in modern hymnals." 

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds.  Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013.  Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world”.

About the Choral Music:

For the Beauty of the Earth - Ruth Elaine Schram

Folliott Piermont (1835-1917) was born in Bath, England and was a lay member of the Anglican Church. Following his graduation from Queen's College, Cambridge, he taught the classics for a time at Somerset College, later becoming a freelance writer. During his 82 years of life, Pierpoint published seven volumes of poems and hymn texts, many of them showing his love for nature. He is most remembered for this beautiful hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth.

Piermont was about 29 years old when he wrote the text for this joyful hymn.  It was a lovely day in late spring.  While enjoying the surrounding area of his native city of Bath, in England, he was inspired by the beautiful countryside with its winding cool and peaceful river, Avon, in the distance. The tuneful songbirds, the wind whispering over a vibrantly colored hillside, all seemed to be praising the Creator with their unrestrained gladness and peace.  Overwhelmed with emotion, he expressed his feelings of gratitude in the penning of this sacred song.  The text was inspired by Hebrews 13:15:  "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."  It first appeared in 1864 in a book of Eucharistic hymns and poems entitled Lyra Eucharistica, Hymns and Verses on The Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern, with other Poems with the title "The Sacrifice of Praise".

Ruth Elaine Schram (b. 1952) wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and her first octavo was published twenty years later, in 1988. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 2,000 published works.  Over seventeen million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award each year since 1990.  In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video.  Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos.”  Schram began piano and theory lessons at the age of five. She studied music at Lancaster Bible College and Millersville State College and taught Elementary Music in Pennsylvania for several years. She now lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

For the beauty of the earth; for the glory of the skies;

for the love which from our birth over and around us lies:

Lord of all, to you we raise this our song of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night,

hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon, and starts of light:

Lord of all, to you we raise this our song of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above; for all gentle thoughts and mild:

Lord of all, to you we raise this our song of grateful praise.

About the Hymns:

Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and was born at Epworth Rectory. In 1726 Charles Wesley was elected to a Westminster studentship at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree and became a college tutor. In the early part of the same year his religious impressions were much deepened, and he became one of the first band of "Oxford Methodists.”  In 1735 he went with his brother John to Georgia, as secretary to General Oglethorpe, having before he set out received Deacon's and Priest's Orders on two successive Sundays. His stay in Georgia was very short; he returned to England in 1736, and in 1737 came under the influence of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians.  On Whitsunday, 1737, he "found rest to his soul," and he became curate to his friend, Mr. Stonehouse, Vicar of Islington, but the opposition of the churchwardens was so great that the Vicar consented that he "should preach in his church no more." Henceforth his work was identified with that of his brother John, and he became an indefatigable itinerant and field preacher. On April 8, 1749, he married Miss Sarah Gwynne, who would accompany him on his evangelistic journeys, which were as frequent as ever until the year 1756," when he ceased to itinerate, and mainly devoted himself to the care of the Societies in London and Bristol and the spiritual care of prisoners in Newgate. 

As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly marvellous how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumours of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift. Nor must we forget his hymns for little children, a branch of sacred poetry in which the mantle of Dr. Watts seems to have fallen upon him. It would be simply impossible within our space to enumerate even those of the hymns which have become really classical. The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.

The Wesleys used hymns to highlight specific occasions and theological concepts. Charles Wesley’s “Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine” has regularly been used for the annual Covenant Renewal Service, in both England and the United States, usually taking place on the first Sunday of the year. Though this is a natural use for this hymn, there is no direct evidence that this was its intended use by the Wesleys.  This hymn is from the collection, Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures (1762), originally published in three, eight-line stanzas. Later, it was included in the primary hymn source compiled by John Wesley, A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists (1780) under the section “For the Society Praying.” A signature hymn of the Wesleys, it has appeared in virtually all nineteenth- and twentieth-century Methodist hymnals. Except for very minor changes in a few phrases for the sake of improving prosody, the hymn comes to us virtually intact from its original publication.

The hymn was based on Jeremiah 50:5, “Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.” (KJV) Scripture so permeated the lives of the Wesleys that their hymns contain many allusions to, and sometimes direct quotations from, the Bible.  This covenant is one of individuals made within a Christian community. It is a solemn promise that we will “no more our God forsake” and “never will throw off the fear of God who hears our vow.” The final line of stanza two petitions God to “come down and meet us now” if God is pleased with our promise.  For those who keep this covenant, the final stanza states that Christ’s “blood appl[ies]” and “takes our sin away.” The phrase “blood apply” is a favorite of Charles Wesley. As Methodist scholar Paul Chilcote has noted, for Charles Wesley, to say “blood applied” is virtually synonymous with another favorite Wesleyan phrase, “grace applied.” As is often the case in Charles Wesley’s hymns, the ultimate reward is found in heaven where Christ “will register our names on high and keep us to that day!”

Thought by some scholars to date back to the Middle Ages, KINGSFOLD is a folk tune set to a variety of texts in England and Ireland. The tune was published in English Country Songs (1893), an anthology compiled by Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland. After having heard the tune in Kingsfold, Sussex, England (thus its name), Ralph Vaughan Williams introduced it as a hymn tune in The English Hymnal (1906) as a setting for Horatius Bonar's "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say".

Blest Be the Tie that Binds

John Fawcett (1740-1817) was born into a poor family in Yorkshire, England, and was orphaned at age 12.  To survive, he accepted a lengthy apprenticeship to a tailor.  While still in his teens, he heard the great George Whitfield preach and became a Christian.  Fawcett became active in a Baptist church and was often asked to speak.  At age 25 (and newly married), he was invited to serve as pastor of a small church at Wainsgate.  The poor people of that little village were able to pay very little, and much of Fawcett's pay came as potatoes and other produce.  Once his wife, Mary, began having children, they found it difficult to survive.

Fawcett learned that the pastor of a large Baptist church in London was retiring, and he let the church know that he would be interested in serving them.  They called him to be their pastor at a much larger salary, so John and Mary packed their household and prepared to move.  But, as the story is told, Mary told John that she didn't think she could leave these people whom they had both learned to love, and John admitted that he shared her sentiment; so, the two of them unpacked the wagon and told the London church know they wouldn't be coming.

Fawcett, who wrote a number of hymns during his lifetime, wrote the hymn, "Blest Be the Tie," to convey his sentiments and those of his wife to the poor people among whom they had chosen to live.  Fawcett served that little church for the rest of his life –– 54 years in all.

 Lowell Mason arranged DENNIS and first published it in The Psaltery (1845), a hymnal he compiled with George. Webb. Mason attributed the tune to Johann G. Nageli (1773-1836) but included no source reference. Nageli presumably published the original melody as the setting for "0 selig, selig, wervor dir" in his Christliches Gesangbuch (1828). Nageli was an influential music educator who lectured throughout Germany and France. Influenced by Johann Pestalozzi, he published his theories of music education in Gangbildungslehre (1810), a book that made a strong impact on Lowell Mason. Nageli composed choral works, including settings of Goethe's poetry. He received his early instruction from his father, then in Zurich, where he concentrated on the music of ]. S. Bach. In Zurich, he also established a lending library and a publishing house, which published first editions of Beethoven’s piano sonatas and music by Bach, Handel, and Frescobaldi.  The tune name DENNIS is thought to refer to a town in Massachusetts.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

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