January 5, 2020

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:

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern - Paul Manz

"Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How lovely shines the morning star) is a hymn by Philipp Nicolai written in 1597 and first published in 1599. The words in seven stanzas are based on Psalms 45, a mystical wedding song. Jesus is identified with the morning star, according to Revelation 22:16, and with the bridegroom of the psalm. Nicolai wrote the words in response to a pestilence in 1597.  He published the chorale first in 1599 in his book Frewdenspiegel deß ewigen Lebens ("Mirror of Joy of the Life Everlasting") in Frankfurt, together with "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme".  He introduced it: "Ein Geistlich Brautlied der Gläubigen Seelen / von Jesu Christo irem himlischen Bräutgam: Gestellt ober den 45. Psalm deß Propheten Dauids" (A spiritual bridal song of the believing soul / concerning Jesus Christ, her heavenly bridegroom, founded on the 45th Psalm of the prophet David). This hymn is often referred to as "The Queen of Chorales".  The chorale theme "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" was codified then, but research by C. S. Terry has shown the tune to predate Nicolai's publication by at least 61 years. 

The chorale appeared as a hymn in German hymnals and in several translations in English hymnals, starting with How bright appears the Morning Star! by John Christian Jacobi, in his Psalmodica Germanica, 1722.  Additional hymns were written on the same tune such as "O heilger Geist, kehr bei uns ein" of Michael Schirmer (1640). 

The first verse (in an anonymous English translation beginning "How splendid shines the morning star") appeared in the Southern Harmony, an 1835 shape-note tunebook compiled by William Walker, where it is set to a tune called Morning Star by composer J. C. Lowry. This arrangement is repeated in the current An American Christmas Harp, with the addition of two more stanzas in a translation by William Mercer (1811-1873). 

A fairly literal translation of the seven verses by Frances Browne:

How beautifully shines the morning star
full of grace and truth from the Lord, the sweet root of Jesse!
You son of David from the line of Jacob, my king and my bridegroom,
have taken posession of my heart, [you who are] lovely, friendly,
beautiful and glorious, great and honourable, rich in gifts,
lofty and exalted in splendour!

Ah my pearl, my precious crown, true son of God and Mary,
a king of most noble birth! My heart calls you a lily,
your sweet gospel is pure milk and honey.
Ah my dear flower, hosanna, heavenly manna,
that we eat, I cannot forget you!

Pour most deeply within my heart, you clear jasper and ruby,
the flames of your love, and make me rejoice, so that I may remain
in your chosen body a living rib!
Because of you, gracious rose of heaven,
my heart is sick and smouldering, wounded with love.

A joyful light from God comes to me  when with your dear eyes
you look on me as a friend.  Oh Lord Jesus, my beloved good,
your word, your spirit, your body and blood refresh me within.
Take me like a friend in your arms, so that I may become warm
with your grace.  To your word I come invited.

Lord, God, Father, my mighty hero, before the world you have
loved me in your son. Your son has betrothed me to himself,
he is my treasure, I am his bride, most greatly I rejoice in him.
Yes, yes. Heavenly life he will give me in the the world above!
My heart shall praise him forever.

Pluck the strings on the harp and let the sweet music
resound full of joy, so that with dear Jesus, my most beautiful bridegroom,
in constant love I may make my pilgrimage!
Sing, leap, rejoice, triumph, thank the Lord!
Great is the king of honour!

How full I am therefore of heartfelt joy
that my treasure is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end;
To his reward he will take me up to paradise, and so I clap my hands
Amen! Amen! Come, you sweet crown of joy,
do not long delay, I wait for you with longing.

Paul Manz (1919-2009), was an American composer for choir and organ. His most famous choral work is the Advent motet "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come", which has been performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge. His most famous organ works are his volumes of neo-Baroque chorale preludes and partitas. Paul Manz long served the church as recitalist, composer, teacher and leader in worship. He was the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and was Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Paul Manz concertized extensively in North America.  As a performer, Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals. Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a "festival" of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn an organ improvisation based on the hymn tune in question. The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment. Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world. 

The esteem and respect with which Paul Manz is regarded can be seen in the many honors he received. He was twice named one of the “Ten Most Influential Lutherans,” served as National Councilor of the American Guild of Organists and is listed as one of the “101 Most Notable Organists of the 20th Century.”  The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago presented him with the distinguished "Confessor of Christ Award"; The Chicago Bible Society presented him with the “Gutenberg Award; and the Lutheran Institute of Washington, DC honored him with the first “Wittenberg Arts Award.”

What Star is This? - Franklin Ritter

Charles Coffin (1676-1749 was principal of the college at Beauvais, 1712 and rector of the University of Paris, 1718. He published some of his Latin poems in 1727, and in 1736, 100 of his hymns appeared in the Paris Breviary of that year. In the same year he published them as Hymni Sacri Auctore Carolo Coffin.  This Latin hymn was translated by John Chandler.

In Matthew’s Nativity account, the Star was first observed by the Magi over a year before Herod’s slaughter of Bethlehem’s infants. Many months after this first appearance, the Star had a ‘rising’ in the eastern sky that deeply impacted the Magi, revealing to them that someone special had been born, a king, indeed the Jewish Messiah, and inspiring them to travel hundreds of miles to honor him and present him with extravagant gifts. The early church father Ignatius, writing a few decades after Matthew, probably citing a first-century hymn, describes the Star: ‘A star shone in heaven with a brightness beyond all the stars; its light was indescribable, and its newness caused astonishment. And all the rest of the stars, together with the Sun and the Moon, formed a chorus to the star, yet its light far exceeded them all. And there was perplexity regarding from where this new entity came, so unlike anything else [in the heavens] was it.’

PUER NOBIS is a melody from a fifteenth-century manuscript from Trier. However, the tune probably dates from an earlier time and may even have folk roots. PUER NOBIS was altered in Spangenberg's Christliches GesangbUchlein (1568), in Petri's famous Piae Cantiones (1582), and again in Praetorius's Musae Sioniae (Part VI, 1609), which is the basis for the triple-meter version used in the 1987 Psalter Hymnal.  “What Star is This?” uses the Praetorius version.

What star is this, with beams so bright, More lovely than the noonday light?

’Tis sent to announce a newborn King, Glad tidings of our God to bring.

’Tis now fulfilled what God decreed, “From Jacob shall a star proceed;”

And lo! the eastern sages stand To read in heav'n the Lord’s command.

The guiding star above is bright; Within them shines a clearer light,

And leads them on with pow'r benign To seek the Giver of the sign.

O Jesus, while the star of grace Impels us on to seek your face,

Let not our slothful hearts refuse The guidance of your light to use. 

To God almighty, heav'nly Light; To Christ, revealed in splendor bright;

To God the Spirit now we raise A never ending hymn of praise. 

Franklin Ritter is a pseudonym of Lani Smith (1934-2015), an organist best known for his church music compositions. His compositions include choral, organ and piano pieces, and he was a regular contributor to the Lorenz Corporation’s keyboard magazines The Church Pianist, The Organist, The Organ Portfolio, and The Sacred Organ Journal, as well as the choral magazines The SAB Choir and The Volunteer Choir for over 50 years.  The grandson of Edmund Lorenz, he served as an editor, composer, and arranger on the Lorenz Publishing editorial staff between 1967 and 1982. During this time, he received composing and arranging credits for over 1000 works.

About the Piano Music:

We Three Kings of Orient Are - Carol Klose

“We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns and Song in 1863. John Henry Hopkins, Jr., then an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, was instrumental in organizing an elaborate holiday pageant (which featured this hymn) for the students of the General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1857 while serving as the seminary's music director.   Although there is no scriptural basis for stating dogmatically that there were three wise men, the fact that three distinct gifts are mentioned has given rise to this traditional idea. Master artists throughout the centuries have depicted three wise men on camels as one of their favorite nativity themes.

We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. 

Born a King on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown him again,
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign. 

Frankincense to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping God on high. 

Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb. 

Glorious now behold him arise; King and God and sacrifice:
Alleluia, Alleluia, sounds through the earth and skies. 

O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light. 

Carol Klose (1946-2013), an accomplished performer, teacher, clinician, composer, and arranger, taught piano and composition privately in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Formerly on the faculty of the Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music, she conducted workshops and master classes in the U.S. and Australia, specializing in student composition. With over 30 years in the music publishing field, her original works include piano solos, duets, art songs, a musical version of Dickens Christmas Carol, a book for teachers called "Creative Composition," as well as pieces in the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library and the NGPT Allison Contemporary Piano Collection. Carol held degrees in piano performance from Dominican University and Villa Schifanoia Graduate School of Fine Arts, Italy.

About the Choral Music:

We Three Kings - Mark Clark and Steve Rue

Mark Clark lives and works in Nashville, TN, and is the resident composer at Mark of the Clark, Inc. Mark studied music at the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles, CA. At Grove, Mark acquired the knowledge & invaluable "tools" needed to write authentic music in many styles. Mark can also write a BIO like this one and make it sound like it's in the third person.  As a freelance musician, Mark has performed in countless club dates, live shows, and every major cruise line playing rock, country, and jazz. He has even been seen with some of those "Elvis" types, and has performed throughout the USA and abroad in venues originating from Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Nashville.  Mark has over 20 years experience in writing custom music made to order, and possesses a command over a huge array of styles. Mark insists on using only the best musicians on his sessions.

Steve Rue is a pianist, composer and writer who is the producer and co-author of the Off Broadway Musical Ram in the Thicket, which opened at the Judith Anderson Theatre in New York City.

Together, they have created an arrangement of “We Three Kings” that is, well…different.

Follow the star, the yonder star.

We three kings of Orient are; Bearing gifts we traverse afar:

Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following that yonder star.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, Gold I bring to crown him again.

King forever, ceasing never, over us he will reign.

Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to thy perfect light.

Follow the star, the yonder star.

We three Kings of Orient are.

Oo-ee star.

About the Hymns:

What Child is This

"What Child Is This?" is a Christmas carol whose lyrics were written by William Chatterton Dix, in 1865. At the time he was writing the lyrics to "What Child Is This?" in 1865, William Chatterton Dix was working as the manager of an insurance company. He was afflicted by an unexpected and severe illness that resulted in him being bedridden and suffering from severe depression. His near-death experience brought about a spiritual renewal in him while he was recovering. During this time, he read the Bible comprehensively and was inspired to author hymns like "Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!" and "As with Gladness Men of Old". The precise time in 1865 when he wrote the poem "The Manger Throne" is disputed. While the St. Petersburg Times details how Dix penned the work after reading the Gospel for Epiphany that year (Matthew 2:1-12) recounting the journey of the Biblical Magi; Singer's Library of Song: Medium Voice contends that it was actually authored during the Christmas of 1865.  Although written in 1865, "What Child Is This?" was only first published six years later in 1871, when it featured in Christmas Carols Old and New.  

The lyrics of the carol are taken from a poem written by Dix called "The Manger Throne". The part of the poem that was utilized as the song's lyrics consists of three stanzas in total. The first verse poses a rhetorical question in the first half, with the response coming in the second half. The second verse contains another question that is answered, while the final verse is a universal appeal to everyone urging them "to accept Christ". The carol's melody has been described as "soulful", "haunting and beautiful" in nature.  The context of the carol centres around the Adoration of the Shepherds, who visited Jesus during his Nativity. The questions posed in the lyrics reflect what the shepherds were possibly pondering to themselves when they encountered him, with the rest of the carol providing a response to their questions.

The originally melody, GREENSLEEVES, isn't religious in nature at all. In fact, it's all about a painful romantic conundrum and includes what some historians view as subtly salacious lyrics.  Popular legend attributes it to Henry VIII, who is said to have written it for Anne Boleyn, the woman he would ultimately marry and execute. But in "Angel Song: Medieval English Music in History," author Lisa Colton writes that this association is "erroneous," as the song most likely originated during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The lyrics deal with a spurned lover accusing Lady Greensleeves of casting him off "discourteously," despite the fact that he loved her, paid for her lodgings, and bought her a petticoat, a pearl-bedecked gown, and a jeweled necklace. The song's scandalous twist is hidden in its very title. Green wasn't an innocuous color in early modern English society. The phrase a "green gown" denoted promiscuous behavior (namely, getting grass stains on your dress while engaging in amorous activities outdoors).  The song Greensleeves implies that the singer has insulted his love in this manner and she has spurned him for it.

The song was very popular.  Shakespeare even has Falstaff name drop the tune in "The Merry Wives of Windsor": "Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of ‘Greensleeves’!"  The melody proved so enduring that people even began adding their own words to the song.  Sir John Stainer — the composer behind the modern arrangements of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Good King Wenceslas" — got a hold of a few of verses of “The Manger Throne.  He cobbled those together, slapped them onto the tune of "Greensleeves," and created a beautiful, classic Christmas carol with a rather unusual history.

The First Noel

Although no Christmas season would be complete without “The First Noel”, very little is known about its origin. It is believed to have had its rise in France during the fifteenth century. Noel is a French word originating from Latin meaning "birthday." The song is thought to have been brought across the channel to England before 1823 by the wandering troubadours. The carol under the English form, "Nowell," became a great favorite for Christmas Eve, especially in the west of England. This was when the entire village gathered for singing and celebrating the bringing in of the Yule log. At this time carols were thought of as popular religious songs meant to be sung outside the church rather than within.

"The First Noel" portrays in vivid narrative style the story of the birth of Christ. All stanzas are needed to complete the entire event when the hymn is sung. The sixth stanza, which has been omitted from our current hymnal, urges us to join together to sing praises to God for the marvels of His creation and for the salvation provided through Christ's shed blood and reminds us that Christ came to redeem the whole world.:

Then let us all with one accord Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made heaven and earth of naught, And with his blood mankind hath bought.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.

While the tune THE FIRST NOEL is also a folk song, it did not appear in print until William Sandys's Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern in 1833, with this text. According to Alan Luff, the melody may come from Cornwall, England, because Sandys transcribed it there, and because two other songs from that region are quite similar. The standard harmonization is from Stainer and Bramley's Christmas Carols New and Old, published in 1871.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

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