February 26, 2020 - Ash Wednesday

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:

Savior, When in Dust to Thee - Healey Willan

Sir Robert Grant (1779-1838) became Member of Parliament for Inverness in 1826; a Privy Councillor in 1831; and Governor of Bombay, 1834. He was well-known as a hymn writer. His hymns, "O worship the King"; "Saviour, when in dust to Thee"; and "When gathering clouds around I view," are widely used in all English-speaking countries. Some of his hymns were contributed to the Christian Observer, 1806-1815, under the signature of "E—y, D. R."; and to Elliott's Psalms & Hymns, Brighton, 1835. The year following his death his brother, Lord Glenelg, gathered 12 of his hymns and poems together, and published them as  Sacred Poems. By the late Eight Hon. Sir Robert Grant. London, Saunders & Otley, Conduit Street, 1839. 

"Aberystwyth" is a hymn tune composed by Joseph Parry, written in 1876 and first published in 1879 in Edward Stephen's Ail Lyfr Tonau ac Emynau (Welsh for "Second Book of Tunes and Hymns”).  Parry was at the time the first professor and head of the new department of music at the recently founded University College Wales, Aberystwyth, now called Aberystwyth University.

Savior, when in dust to Thee Low we bow the adoring knee;
When, repentant, to the skies Scarce we lift our weeping eyes;
O, by all Thy pains and woe Suffered once for man below,
Bending from Thy throne on high, Hear our penitential cry!

By Thy helpless infant years, By Thy life of want and tears,
By Thy days of deep distress In the savage wilderness,
By the dread, mysterious hour Of the insulting tempter's pow'r,
Turn, O turn, a fav'ring eye; Hear our penitential cry!

By thine hour of dire despair, By thine agony of prayer,
By the cross, the nail, the thorn, Piercing spear, and torturing scorn,
By the gloom that veiled the skies O'er the dreadful sacrifice,
Listen to our humble sigh; Hear our penitential cry!

By Thy deep expiring groan, By the sad sepulchral stone,
By the vault whose dark abode Held in vain the rising God,
O, from earth to heav'n restored, Mighty, re-ascended Lord,
Bending from Thy throne on high, Hear our penitential cry!

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was an Canadian organist and composer.  He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, but is best known for his religious music.  Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne.  He earned, by examination in organ playing, harmony, counterpoint, history and orchestration, the Royal College of Organists' Associateship in 1897 and Fellowship in 1899. The Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement led to an Anglican revival of plainsong, and in 1910, Willan joined the London Gregorian Association (which strove to preserve and revive "plain-chant").  In 1913, Willan emigrated to Canada.  In 1921, he become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto), where he remained until his death.  St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians.  In 1920, the Toronto Conservatory (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) appointed Willan Head of its Theory Department.  In 1934, he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until it disbanded in 1939.  From 1937 to 1950, Willan was University of Toronto Professor of Music and Organist. When the Order of Canada was established in 1967, it named Willan a Companion. In Britain, it was customary for the Archbishop of Canterbury to occasionally grant very distinguished English cathedral musicians the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur; in 1956, Willan, "the Dean of Canadian composers", became the first non-English church musician to be so honoured.  People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption.”

Blest Are They - Charles Lenz

Before the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), guidelines for Roman Catholic music had suggested that medieval plainsong and Renaissance motets were, for the most part, the most desirable musical models for the liturgy. After Vatican II, musical styles for worship increased exponentially, including indigenous music from around the world and an array of musical genres in the U.S. The 1960s was the era of protest folksongs. While lacking the sophistication of earlier musical styles and often considered inappropriate music for supporting the Paschal mystery of the Mass, the music was simple, accessible and singable. Catholic composers in the following decades sought to maintain the accessible and singable qualities of the folk idiom, yet wanted to compose in ways that integrated the song more successfully with the Catholic liturgical expectations. 

David Haas (b. 1958) is one of the most prominent Catholic composers since the mid-1980s. His songs are musically engaging, appropriate to the spirit of the Mass and accessible to congregations. Protestants as well as Catholics are beneficiaries of his creativity and devotion to liturgical music. 

Haas directs the Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry in Egan, Minnesota. He also serves as the campus minister and artist-in-residence for Benilde-St. Margaret’s High School in St. Louis Park, Minn., where he also teaches theology and music. Haas studied vocal music performance, piano and conducting at Central Michigan University, completing his studies in music performance, liturgy and theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He has served as director of music at parishes in Iowa and Minnesota. He gained an international reputation as a composer and clinician while an adjunct instructor and composer-in-residence at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity.  He is one of three liturgical composers who formed what was informally called the “Minnesota School” of liturgical composition, all graduating from the University of St. Thomas. According to the Web site for GIA Music, one of his publishers, Mr. Haas, Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen produced “some of the most popular and effective music for the Church’s worship that has appeared in the days following the Second Vatican Council.” 

Haas is an advocate for expanding the role of young people in the life and liturgy of the church. He is the founder and executive director of Music Ministry Alive!, a liturgical music formation curriculum that has influenced hundreds of high school and college young people. He is the author of more than 20 books ranging from liturgical music and liturgy to youth ministry and spirituality. One of his recordings, I Shall See God, was nominated in 1991 for a Grammy Award, and his book, The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer, received the Outstanding Professional Book Award in 2003 from the Catholic Press Association.

“Blest Are They” (1985) appears in recent Catholic and Protestant hymnals and is one of the composer’s best-known songs. A paraphrase of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-16, the hymn maintains the two-part structure of Scripture in each blessing in the stanzas—“Blest are they, the poor in spirit; theirs in the kingdom of God”—each of which is followed by an uplifting refrain, “Rejoice and be glad!” 

Blest are they, the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of God.
Blest are they, full of sorrow, they shall be consoled.

Blest are they, the lowly ones; they shall inherit the earth.
Blest are they, who hunger and thirst; they shall have their fill.

Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs.
Blest are they, the pure of heart; they shall see God!

Blest are they who seek peace; they are the children of God.
Blest are they who suffer in faith, the glory of God is theirs.

Blest are you who suffer hate all because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, yours is the kingdom, shine for all to see.

Rejoice and be glad! Blessed are you; holy are you!
Rejoice and be glad! Yours is the Kingdom of God!

No biographical information is available for Charles Lenz.

In dich hab’ ich gehoffet, Herr - J. S. Bach

Adam Reissner (1496-1575) was born at Mündelsheim  in Swabian Bavaria. He first studied at Wittenberg, and then, about 1521, he learned Hebrew and Greek under Johann Keuchlin. He then became private secretary to Georg von Freundsberg  and accompanied him during the campaign in Italy, 1530-27. After the capture of Rome in 1527 he went back to Germany, and spent some time at Strassburg, where he became a friend and adherent of Caspar Schwenkfeldt.   The only hymn by Reissner translated into English is: In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr, based on Psalm 31.  First published in the Form und ordnung Gaystlicher Gesang und Psalmen, Augsburg, 1533, in 7 stanzas of 6 lines. It was included in V. Babst's Gesang-Buch , 1545, and repeated in almost all the German hymnbooks up to the period of Rationalism. It is one of the best Psalm-versions of the Reformation period. The translation in common use is:  In Thee, Lord, have I put my trust. A good translation by Catherine Winkworth is found in her Chorale Book for England, 1863.

In Thee, Lord, have I put my trust; Leave me not helpless in the dust;
Let me not be confounded. Let in Thy Word  my faith, 0 Lord,
Be always firmly grounded.

Bend your gracious ear to me, hear my prayer, intervene,

Hurry soon to save me!  In anguish and pain I lie and stand,

Help me in my troubles!

My God and protector, stand by me, be a stronghold for me, 

So that I freely and nobly may strive against my enemies, 

Who in great numbers surround me on both sides.

You are my strength, my rock, my bulwark, my shield, my might,

(say your Word to me) my help, my salvation my life, my might God

In every trouble; who can oppose me?

The world has judged me deceitfully, with lies and false words,

With many snares and secret ropes, Lord, pluck me from these dangers,

Protect me from lying malice!

Lord, I entrust my spirit to you, my God, my God, do not abandon me,

Take me in your hands, you true God, in all troubles

Help me at my final end.

Glory, praise, honor and majesty be given to you

God the Father and the Son, to the Holy Spirit by name.

Divine strength makes us victorious through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period.  He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.  Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity.  His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.  Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century.  During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven,  Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.  Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony".  He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of all time.  A highly devout Christian, Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria”  (to God alone be the glory).   

This chorale prelude is one of 46 found in the Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book").  The collection was originally planned as a set of 164 chorale preludes spanning the whole liturgical year. The chorale preludes form the first of Bach's masterpieces for organ with a mature compositional style in marked contrast to his previous compositions for the instrument. Although each of them takes a known Lutheran chorale and adds a motivic accompaniment, Bach explored a wide diversity of forms.  The Orgelbüchlein is at the same time a collection of organ music for church services, a treatise on composition, a religious statement and a pedagogical manual.

About the Piano Music:

There is a Balm in Gilead - Lynette Maynard

This is a well-known traditional African-American spiritual. The “balm in Gilead” is a reference from the Old Testament, but the lyrics of this spiritual refer to the New Testament concept of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Balm of Gilead is interpreted as a spiritual medicine that is able to heal Israel (and sinners in general). In the Old Testament, the balm of Gilead is taken most directly from Jeremiah chapter 8 v. 22: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wounds of my [God's] people?" (Another allusion can also be found in Jeremiah chapter 46, v. 2 and 11: “This is the message (of the Lord) against the army of Pharaoh Neco … Go up to Gilead and get balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt, but you multiply remedies in vain; here is no healing for you” - see also Jeremiah chapter 22, v. 6.)

The first appearance of the spiritual in something close to its current form is uncertain. A version of the refrain can be found in Washington Glass's 1854 hymn "The Sinner's Cure”.  Glass attributed this hymn to himself, but like several of the hymns so attributed, it is substantially the work of another.   The 1925 7-shape Primitive Baptist songbook Harp of Ages has an unattributed song "Balm in Gilead" with a similar chorus, but verses drawn from a Charles Wesley hymn, "Father I Stretch My Hands to Thee." 

The second verse  ("If you can't...") is also found in some versions of another well-known spiritual "(Walk That) Lonesome Valley." "Wandering verses," as they are often called, are quite common in the camp meeting and revival context, and were already found  in the African-American community, as shown by Richard Allen's 1801 "A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs Selected from Various Authors."

There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole;

There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul.

Some times I feel discouraged, And think my work’s in vain,

But then the Holy Spirit Revives my soul again.

If you cannot sing like angels, If you can’t preach like Paul, 

You can tell the love of Jesus, And say He died for all.

Lynette Maynard is organist and pianist at Woodinville Community United Methodist Church, Woodinville, Washington.

About the Choral Music:

Dust I Am - Mark Miller

“Dust I Am” is a beautiful litany for Ash Wednesday.  Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin litania from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (litaneía), which in turn comes from λιτή (litê), meaning "supplication".  It is an ancient form of prayer which uses repetition to draw focus inward to contemplation.

Dust I am, to dust I shall return, have mercy, O Lord.

Renew my spirit, God, in your presence, keep me safe, according to your love;

teach me widom, God, deep within my heart, according to your love.

Wash me in your truth, speak to me of joy, according to your love;

pull me from the depths, restore me to your light, according to your love.

Dust I am, to dust I shall return, have mercy, O Lord.

Dust I am, to dust I shall return, have mercy, O Lord.

Dust I am, to dust I shall return, have mercy, O Lord.

Mark Miller believes that everyone is a Child of God and that music is intrumental in healing the world.  He also adheres to Cornel West’s belief that “Justice is what love looks like in public.”   Mark believes that music, social justice, and the beloved community are inextricably tied.

Miller is a Lecturer in Sacred Music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School.  He is also Associate Professor of Church Music, Director of Chapel, and Composer In Residence at Drew University in Madison NJ, and is the Minister of Music of Christ Church (UCC & Am Baptist) in Summit, New Jersey.   In 2017 he was appointed to serve on the Hymnal Revision Committee of the United Methodist Church.

Miller is a graduate of Julliard and Yale University and was Assistant Organist and Music Associate at The Riverside Church and Director of Contemporary Worship at Marble Collegiate Church, both in the city of New York.

About the Hymns:

Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days

Claudia Frances Ibotson Hernaman’s hymn, “Lord, who throughout these forty days,” signals the beginning of Lent and is often sung during Ash Wednesday services or throughout the season of Lent. Forty is a number with special biblical significance. It rained for forty days and nights when the earth was overtaken by floodwaters, and Noah waited another forty days before opening the window of the Ark. Israel wandered in the desert for forty years. Jesus was seen on earth following the resurrection for forty days. In this case, Christ’s forty days in the wilderness provides the primary paradigm for the forty days of Lent.

Claudia Hernaman (1838-1898) was born in Surrey, England, and died in Brussels, Belgium. She was the daughter of an Anglican minister, and she married a minister who also served as a school inspector. Like so many other women hymn writers of the nineteenth century, she was devoted to the religious education of children. Toward this end, she wrote 150 hymns in several collections, some original and some translated from Latin.

"Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days" appeared first in her Child’s Book of Praise; A Manual for Devotion in Simple Verse (1873). It was not included in hymnals, however, until the mid-twentieth century, when it appeared in the Irish Church Hymnal (1960) and Hymns for Church and School (1964). By the 1970s, “Lord, who throughout these forty days” was a standard hymn in most hymnals in the United States. It is based on the account of the temptation of Jesus found in three Gospels -- Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13.

LAND OF REST is an American folk tune with roots in the ballads of northern England and Scotland. It was known throughout the Appalachians; a shape-note version of the tune was published in The Sacred Harp (1844) and titled NEW PROSPECT as the setting for "O land of rest! for thee I sigh." The tune was published again with that same text in J. R. Graves's Little Seraph (Memphis, 1873). The name LAND OF REST derives from the tune's association with that text.

The tune was known to Annabel M. Buchanan (b. Groesbeck, TX, 1888; d. Paducah KY, 1983), whose grandmother sang it to her as a child. She harmonized the tune and published it in her Folk Hymns of America (1938).  Known as a musicologist of American folk music, Buchanan was educated at the Landon Conservatory, Dallas, Texas, and the Guilmant Organ School, New York City. She taught at several colleges, including Stonewall Jackson College, Abingdoll, Virginia. Buchanan published numerous articles on folk traditions of the Appalachian area of the United States. She also lectured widely on this topic and gave recitals of folk music. Her own compositions also show the influence of folk music.

It is Well with My Soul

For more than a century, the tragic story of one man has given hope to countless thousands who have lifted their voices to sing, It Is Well With My Soul.  Horatio Spafford (1828-1888) was a wealthy Chicago lawyer with a thriving legal practice, a beautiful home, a wife, four daughters and a son. He was also a devout Christian and faithful student of the Scriptures. His circle of friends included Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey and various other well-known Christians of the day.  At the very height of his financial and professional success, Horatio and his wife Anna suffered the tragic loss of their young son. Shortly thereafter on October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment that Spafford had.

In 1873, Spafford scheduled a boat trip to Europe in order to give his wife and daughters a much needed vacation and time to recover from the tragedy. He also went to join Moody and Sankey on an evangelistic campaign in England. Spafford sent his wife and daughters ahead of him while he remained in Chicago to take care of some unexpected last minute business. Several days later he received notice that his family's ship had encountered a collision. All four of his daughters drowned; only his wife had survived.

With a heavy heart, Spafford boarded a boat that would take him to his grieving Anna in England. It was on this trip that he penned those now famous words, When sorrow like sea billows roll; it is well, it is well with my soul..

Philip Bliss (1838-1876), composer of many songs including Hold the Fort, Let the Lower Lights be Burning, and Jesus Loves Even Me, was so impressed with Spafford's life and the words of his hymn that he composed a beautiful piece of music to accompany the lyrics. The song was published by Bliss and Sankey, in 1876.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

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