April 12, 2020 - Easter

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:

Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand - J. S. Bach

"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand" (English: Jesus Christ, our Savior, who conquered death) is a hymn for Easter by Martin Luther. The text originated in 1524. This chorale melody was also written by Martin Luther. Contrary to most of the other chorale melodies attributed to Luther (and usually Johann Walter), this is one of the few for which there are no earlier melodies, sacred or secular, upon which this might have been based. It appears for the first time in Wittenberg in 1529 in a collection by an editor Joseph Klug entitled Geistliche Lieder, a collection now considered irretrievably lost.

Lutheran chorales don’t give us the pastel-tinged images of Easter that 21st-century Americans might expect. There are no fluffy bunnies or quotations of “Easter Parade” here. Instead, we get a string of ancient, chant-based, grimly powerful melodies in minor keys. The tune of “Jesus Christus, unser Heiland” is attributed to Martin Luther; although it isn’t directly based on a Gregorian chant, it sounds very similar to one.  

Jesus Christ, our Savior true, He who Death overthrew,

Is up arisen, And sin hath put in prison.

Kyrie eleison.

Born Whom Mary sinless hath, Bore He for us God’s wrath,

Hath reconciled us— Favor God doth now yield us.

Kyrie eleison.

Death and sin, and life and grace, All in His hands He has.

He can deliver All who seek the life-giver.

Kyrie eleison.

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.

The texts of the Easter chorales in the Orgelbüchlein are as dramatic as the melodies. They portray Easter as a titanic, intensely physical struggle – according to “Victimae paschali laudes,” the Gregorian sequence for Easter, “mors et vita duello / conflixere mirando” (death and life fought / in a tremendous battle).  In the first verse this chorale, the key words are “überwand” (overthrew) and “Die Sünd hat er gefangen” (he has put Sin in prison).  

When you consider the zeal of the Protestant reformers, and the history of devastating religious war which followed the Reformation, it’s no wonder that composers like Bach would respond to these Easter chorales with music that is triumphant, but not conventionally pretty.  But for Luther, and for Bach as well, this hymn is less about jubilation than a sort of holy awe. In the presence of the divine power which overcame death, this prelude suggests, human beings might well feel a sense of trepidation.

The Strife is O’er - Don Hustad

"The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done" was originally a 17th-century Latin hymn, "Finita jam sun proelia”.    John Mason Neale (1818-1866), the famous British translator of Latin and Greek hymnody, included the Latin text with his translation in his Mediaeval Hymns and Sequences (1851).  Francis Pott (1831-1909) provided his own translation of the original Latin for his Hymns Fitted to the Order of Common Prayer (1861). Pott was on the hymnal committee for the first edition of the famous 19th-century landmark British hymnal, Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861); Pott’s translation, with alterations, was included in this hymnal. It has become a staple of Easter hymnody since that time.

The text of the hymn extols the triumphant Christ whose victory over death and Hell is described as a battle, as related in the Harrowing of Hell. The hymn also makes reference to Christ breaking the chains of hell and to Christ in Majesty. Each verse concludes with an Alleluya! refrain.

"The strife is o'er" is often sung to the tune VICTORY, adapted from a 1591 setting of the Gloria by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina from a Magnificat tertii toni. The additional Alleluya refrain was set to music by Edwin George Monk.

William Hart, in his book, Hymn Stories of the 20th Century, which was published in 1948 (not long after World War II had ended), adds the unusual note that a soldier’s chorus sang this hymn at the funeral of General George Patton on December 23, 1945 after his death in an automobile accident. 

The strife is o’er, the battle done; The victory of life is won;

The song of triumph has begun:  Alleluia!

The pow’rs of death have done their worst; But Christ their legions has dispersed;

Let shouts of holy joy outburst:  Alleluia!

The three sad days are quickly sped; He rises glorious from the dead;

All glory to our risen Head:  Alleluia!

He closed the yawning gates of hell; The bars from heav’n’s high portals fell;

Let hymns of praise His triumphs tell:  Alleluia!

Lord, by the stripes which wounded You,  In us You’ve won the vict’ry too,

That we may live, and sing to You:  Alleluia!

Don Hustad (1918-2013) was one of the giants of Christian music of the 20th century. Hustad had a distinguished ministry and a life-long profession as a recording artist, composer, arranger, teacher, conductor, hymnal editor, and author.  He began work as staff musician of Chicago's WMBI in the early 1940s, worked with soloist George Beverly Shea on a weekly broadcast called "Club Time," and served for some 20 years as organist for a popular radio broadcast "Songs in the Night." He taught at Olivet Nazarene College in Kankakee, Illinois from 1946 to 1950, at which time Hustad was appointed director of the Sacred Music Department at Moody Bible Institute—a position he held until 1961.  During his 11-year tenure at Moody he developed the Moody Chorale into a superior choral ensemble that achieved fame nationally and internationally.   In 1961 he became Crusade organist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and directed the Crusader Men Choir in the "Hour of Decision" broadcasts.  His publications include over 100 articles and five books.  Throughout his career, Hustad devoted considerable energy to music arranging and hymnal editing, serving as editorial consultant and musical advisor to Hope Publishing Company. Among his editorial contributions are fourteen hymnals and songbooks, as well as dozens of collections.  In 1989, Hustad was awarded Fellow of the Hymn Society for his outstanding contribution to American hymnody.  In 2008, he was honored by the American Choral Director's Association Southern Division Conference for his contributions to church music. He earned diplomas as an Associate of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), London, UK.

About the Piano Music:

Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks - Lynette Maynard

In the years following the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), Roman Catholic composers contributed many new songs for congregational use in a variety of musical styles. The folk song style of the 1960s and 1970s became very popular because of its fresh sound to parishioners of this era, the accessibility of the guitar and the singability of the tunes, especially for those unaccustomed to singing in the liturgy.  Among the songs of this genre that has stood the test of time is “Alleluia, Alleluia! Give Thanks” by Donald Emry Fishel (b. 1950).  

Fishel, a freelance flutist, flute instructor and composer, studied at the University of Michigan School of Music under Nelson Hauenstein and Michael Stoune, graduating in 1972. He has performed in a number of settings including serving as principal flutist with the Dexter Community Orchestra in Dexter, Mich.  Fishel joined the Word of God, a charismatic Catholic community based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and was the group’s music leader and orchestral conductor from 1969 to 1981. He also served as publications editor for the Word of God and Servant Music from 1973-1981, preparing musical manuscripts and producing recordings.  In 1983 Mr. Fishel studied computer science and became a systems programmer. In 2008 he moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he is again teaching flute after a hiatus of two decades.

“Alleluia No. 1” (1971) was his first song and, in the composer’s words, was written “rather quickly, in about an hour. At first, there were only four verses. I added [an additional verse] while I was preparing for baptism: ‘We have been crucified with Christ; now we shall live forever.’ It seems to me to be a central idea of baptism, and I wanted it to be the center of the song (the third verse of five).”

Jesus is Lord of all the earth. He is the King of creation. 

Spread the good news o’er all the earth.  Jesus has died and has risen.

We have been crucified with Christ.  Now we shall live forever. 

God has proclaimed the just reward: Life for all men, alleluia!

Come, let us praise the living God, Joyfully sing to our Savior. 

Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord,
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name.

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

About the Choral Music:

He Lives

Virtual Chancel Choir

Alfred H. Ackley (1887-1960) was the son of a Methodist preacher and musically gifted man, who gave Alfred his foundation in music at an early age. Ackley studied cello, harmony, and composition in New York and London. Ackley went on to graduate from Westminster Theological Seminary in Maryland, and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. He served as pastor in several states of the United States, and worked for a few years with evangelist Billy Sunday and the Rodeheaver Music Company. Ackley's musical endeavors were so appreciated that he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Sacred Music degree by John Brown University in Arkansas.

One particular morning, Easter Sunday in 1932, Rev. Ackley was preparing for his services of the day. As he was shaving, he tuned in to the radio in time to hear a special Easter broadcast.  “Good morning!” The well-known preacher began. “It’s Easter! You know folks, it really doesn’t make any difference to me if Christ be risen or not. As far as I am concerned His body could be as dust in some Palestinian tomb. The man thing is, His truth goes marching on!”  Rev. Ackley was furious. “It’s a lie!” he shouted at the radio set, forgetting that the speaker could not hear him. Mrs. Ackley did hear him, however, and questioned, “Why are you shouting so early in the morning?”  “Didn’t you hear what that good-for-nothing preacher said?” he replied. “He said it didn’t matter whether Christ be risen or not!”

Rev. Ackley, in telling the story later, said that he preached that Easter Sunday quite differently than he had ever preached before, but at the end of the day, still felt that he had not yet said everything he wanted to say.  His wife said, “Listen here, Alfred Ackley, it’s time you did that which you can do best. Why don’t you write a song about it and then maybe you’ll feel better. You’ll have something that will go on telling the story.”  That night, Rev. Alfred Ackley wrote the words and composed the melody.  The hymn first appeared in Triumphant Service Songs, a hymnal published by the Rodeheaver Company in 1933.

About the Hymns:

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

"Hymn for Easter Day" was written by Charles Wesley in 1739 for the inaugural service at the Foundry Meeting House, London's first Wesleyan chapel.  As with many of the most popular hymns, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" has survived the centuries thanks to a successful marriage of lyrics and music.  The tune first circulated in 1708 with the Lyra Davidica hymnal, but no composer has ever been acknowledged.  It was first published in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists, John Wesley's hymnbook first published in 1780. Charles Wesley's original text does not include the song's most distinctive characteristic—the "Alleluia!" that ends each line.  An unknown editor added the alleluias later.

“Alleluia”, meaning "Praise the Lord," prominently leads off Psalms 106, 111, 112, 113, 117, and 135 in the Hebrew hymnal.  In the years immediately following Christ's resurrection, “alleluia” particularly connoted praise for Jesus' victory over death.  Early Christians began greeting each other on Easter with the now-familiar call and response:  "Alleluia! He is risen!" "Alleluia! He is risen indeed!"  Alleluia is meant to convey emphatic joy, thanksgiving, and triumph.  

John captures the triumph in Revelation 19 with his vision of the great multitude in heaven roaring, "Alleluia!"   Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, conveyed the joy when he wrote that Christian houses of worship in the fourth and fifth centuries shook from the intense alleluias shouted by believers.  Roman Catholics and Anglicans refrain from speaking or singing alleluia during Lent, but they reintroduce the word into their liturgies to express their thanksgiving on Easter morning. Even in nonliturgical churches, alleluia retains a kind of liturgical significance. Bernard Lord Manning, a hymnologist, historian, and observer of Methodism during the early 20th century, explained how hymns like "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" functioned as a liturgy for John and Charles Wesley's spiritual descendants.

But in the evening at the chapel [the Dissenting church], though I was uncertain about the prayers, there was no gamble about the hymns.  I knew we should have Charles Wesley's Easter hymn, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," with its 24 "Alleluias": and we did have it.  Among any Dissenters worth the name that hymn is as certain to come on Easter Day as the Easter Collect in the Established Church.  And mark this further—those 24 "Alleluias" are not there for nothing: the special use of "Alleluia" at Easter comes down to us from the most venerable liturgies.  Our hymns are our liturgy, an excellent liturgy. Let us study it, respect it, use it, develop it, and boast of it.

This melodic liturgy conveys the triumphant joy that is ours on Easter morning.  Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Easter People, Raise Your Voices

Following in the tradition of many pastors who write hymns, William Marceus James (1913-2013) wrote "Easter People, Raise Your Voices" for his congregation at Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in New York City.  Born in Meadville, Mississippi, and educated at Mt. Beulah College, Butler University, and Drew University, the Rev. James received his license to preach in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1936 and was ordained an elder in 1940.  In 1944, he was appointed to the Trinity (Morrisania) Methodist Church in the Bronx, a church he founded with no members. In only eight years, it grew into a 900-member congregation. In an interview with the United Methodist Interpreter, James noted, "It was during that time I learned to minister to gangs and street people."  In 1952 he began serving Community Methodist Church in Harlem, which later became the Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in 1971. The Rev. James ministered to this congregation for 33 years until "retiring" in 1985, but he continued his ministry to young people and to the Harlem community.

The author of more than fifty hymns, James noted to this writer in 2005 that "I wrote hymns for my congregation whenever I needed one. 'Easter People' is not the greatest hymn I have, but it took better than the others. Most of my hymns have themes around the social gospel." Originally in five stanzas, the hymn first appeared in the United Methodist collection, Songs of Zion (1981), in its present form.  The triumph of the Resurrection over evil is the theme of "Easter People." In stanza two, the poet reminds us that the "fear of death" cannot stop us from doing all we can to overcome evil "here below." The final stanza insists: "Every day to [Christians] is Easter" because our God is one who "rights the wrong."

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus

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