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:
All Creatures of Our God and King - Don Hustad
The words of the hymn were initially written by St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was rector of a Church of England parish church at Adel near Leeds. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first composed the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. Draper composed the hymn for his church's children's Whitsun festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book. The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymn books. The words written by St Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee", written in 580 AD. The hymn is set to the tune of "Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr", a German Easter hymn written by Friedrich Spee, published in 1623 in his book Auserlesene, Catholische, Geistliche Kirchengesäng. It was first used in English hymn books in 1906.
St. Francis is famous for many things, including love of animals. Pictures of him usually have birds flying nearby and small animals at his feet. A popular story tells of him stopping to preach a sermon to a flock of birds. He reminded them that God had blessed them with beautiful clothing even though they had never learned to spin or weave–– and that God had blessed them with food even thought they had never learned to sow or reap. Then he called them to sing their songs as praises to God. St. Francis wrote this hymn near the end of his life. Sick and suffering bouts of blindness, he was going home to die when he stopped to visit friends at the St. Damien monastery. While there, he felt the inspiration to compose this joyful hymn. It calls all God's creatures ––sun and moon ––wind and water––fruits and flowers––and all who are of tender heart––to sing, "Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!" to honor our God.
LASST UNS ERFREUEN was originally published in the Jesuit hymnal, Ausserlesene Catlwlische Geistliche Kirchengesänge, in 1623 in Cologne, Germany. The tune is believed to have been composed by Friedrich Spee, a Jesuit priest and hymn writer who was most well known as an activist who opposed trials for witchcraft. Spee’s 1631 book, Cautio Criminalis, or a Book on Witch Trials, is one of the first written works to present strong arguments against the use of torture. Spee’s opening melodic phrase in “LASST” has its origins in a setting of Psalm 68 in the Genevan Psalter, a collection of psalm settings composed between 1539-62 in Geneva, Switzerland. While its original publication featured an Easter text, “Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr” (“let us rejoice most heartily”), its most well-known version appeared in the English Hymnal in 1906, edited by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Vaughan Williams reharmonized the tune and set it in a triple meter.
All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing
alleluia, alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heav'n along,
O praise him, alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice, ye lights of evening, find a voice,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou flowing water, pure and clear, make music for thy Lord to hear,
alleluia, alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright, that givest man both warmth and light,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
And all ye men of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye, alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on him cast your care,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, three in one,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, 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:
Let All Things Now Living - Pepper Choplin
Let All Things Now Living, first published in 1939 was written by composer and pianist: Katherine Davis. It is set to the traditional Welsh melody, Llwyn Onn which is best known as the setting for John Oxenford's The Ash Grove. In the Liturgy of the Hours, Let All Things Now Living is used during Ordinary Time for Evening Prayer.
Katherine Kennicott Davis (1892-1980) studied at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she was also a teaching assistant in music. From 1921 to 1929 she taught singing and piano in private schools in Concord, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After 1929 she devoted herself largely to music composition. Like many American composers during the twentieth century, she studied in Paris for an interval with the famous composition teacher and conductor Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). She wrote some eight hundred pieces, most of which were choral (often writing under several pseudonyms). One of her most popular songs is "The Little Drummer Boy," originally called "Carol of the Drum" (1941). Her other publications include the folk operetta Cinderella (1933) and Songs of Freedom (1948).
Davis (1892-1980) published this text as an anthem in 1939 under the pseudonym of John Cowley. The text can be read in different ways. The final line of the first stanza – “as forward we travel from light into light” – might reflect confidence in the ultimate progression of human endeavors for the better under God’s providence, an extension of eighteenth-century Enlightenment thought, and nineteenth-century philosophers John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) and Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). This certainly would have been consonant with early twentieth century New England liberal philosophical thought. Mission hymns of the era employ a similar idea reflected as a Christian extension of Manifest Destiny. Drawing upon the Exodus narrative, the first stanza alludes to the “pillar of fire shining forth in the night” (Exodus 13:21-22). Appearing between world wars, such optimism might have seemed premature. Another way to view this text would be from an eschatological perspective as seen in the phrase, “who guides us and leads to the end of our days.” The direction of the Christian life is ultimately consummated in heaven. The beauty of hymn texts is that they may be read in several ways.
Much of the popularity of this hymn comes with its paring with the buoyant Welsh folk tune, THE ASH GROVE. The roots of this melody may be found in the eighteenth century. Arrangements published in England in the early and mid-nineteenth century increased its popularity. The tune had been in limited use in evangelical hymnals in the United States with the text “The Master hath come” by Sarah Doudney (1841-1926). Davis’s use of the tune in her 1939 anthem brought the tune to broader denominational prominence in the United States.
Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving
to God our Creator triumphantly raise;
Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,
by guiding us unto the end of our days,
His banners are o'er us, his light goes before us,
a pillar of fire shining forth in the night:
Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banished,
as forward we travel from light into light.
His law he enforces, the stars in their courses,
the sun in its orbit obediently shine,
The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,
the depths of the ocean proclaim God divine.
We too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing
with glad adoration, a song let us raise:
Till all things now living unite in thanksgiving,
to God in the highest, hosanna and praise.
Pepper Choplin is a full-time composer, conductor and humorist. He has gained a reputation as one of the most creative writers in church music today. With a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he went on to earn a Master of Music degree in composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. With a diverse musical background, Choplin incorporates varied styles such as folk, Gospel, classical, and jazz. His published work includes over 280 anthems for church and school choir with 19 church cantatas and a book of piano arrangements. In 2013, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in a joint concert with Joseph Martin. Since then, he has twice premiered his cantatas at Lincoln Center with 200 voices and orchestra. He also visits many schools, churches and conferences to conduct and to entertain. Beyond his choral music, Choplin has produced two humorous CDs and an inspirational recording. Currently, he attends Greystone Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he served as music minister for twenty-two years.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
Give Thanks - Tom Fettke
"Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart" was written by Henry Smith in 1978. Following the introduction of the song during a worship service at the Williamsburg New Testament Church in Virginia, a military couple reintroduced it to a congregation in Germany. The song eventually caught the attention of executives at Integrity Music. When Integrity's Hosanna! Music copyrighted the song in 1986, the author was unknown. After the Give Thanks album was released, the song was brought to the attention of Smith, who contacted Integrity with authorship information. Integrity later included songwriting credits on all subsequent releases, along with a writer-publisher agreement. As of 2010, the song has been recorded by over 50 companies and published in songbooks around the world. "Give Thanks" is one of Don Moen's more recognizable songs, having been translated into various other languages, including Russian, Afrikaans, and Swedish.
While in college, a spiritual revolution in Henry Smith’s life brought him to Richmond to attend Union Theological Seminary. Then his eyes went bad. In 1978, Henry returned from seminary to his home church as a lay person. He had to take odd jobs to support himself as his career choices were limited by a degenerative eye disease. Nevertheless, he remembers “being extremely thankful” during that time in his life. He had discovered that in the darkest winter there was within him an invincible summer. A sermon on 2 Corinthians inspired him to write this song. “Give thanks. And when we admit we’re weak, only then will His strength become operative and be made perfect in us. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Henry eventually lost his sight, but not his gratitude for God’s unfailing love. He has written over 100 other songs to fit Scripture passages. Today he runs Outback, a recording studio in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give thanks
Tom Fettke has taught music in both public and Christian schools and has served as a church choir director and minister of music in churches large and small for over 30 years. He is a composer, arranger, clinician, and producer of Christian music recordings. Fettke was the creator and senior editor of the Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (1986).
About the Hymns:
We Gather Together
"We Gather Together" is a Christian hymn of Dutch origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius as "Wilt heden nu treden" to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout. At the time the hymn was written, the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain. “Wilt heden nu treden” resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. The hymn first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch patriotic songs, Nederlandtsch Gedencklanck. The hymn is customarily performed to a tune known as “Kremser”, from Eduard Kremser's 1877 score arrangement and lyric translation of “Wilt Heden Nu Treden” into Latin and German. The modern English text was written by Theodore Baker in 1894. “We Gather Together” first appeared in an American hymnal in 1903. It had retained popularity among the Dutch, and when the Dutch Reformed Church in North America decided in 1937 to abandon the policy that they had brought with them to the New World in the 17th century of singing only psalms and add hymns to the church service, "We Gather Together" was chosen as the first hymn in the first hymnal. The hymn steadily gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving on such occasions as town and college centennial celebrations. The "big break" came in 1935 when it was included in the national hymnal of the Methodist-Episcopal Church. This hymn is often sung at American churches the day before Thanksgiving.
We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.
Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!
We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be;
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Now Thank We All Our God
Martin Rinkart (1586-1649) was the Bishop of Eilenberg, Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Since Eilenberg was a walled city, it became a place of refuge for fugitives of the war, and also a place of famine and disease due to overcrowding. In 1637, at the height of their misery, Rinkart was the only clergyman left in the city who could perform the 40 or 50 daily burial services, one of which was for his wife. The city was sacked three times by invaders. During this time, Rinkart managed to write 7 dramas and 66 hymns. The hymn “Nun danket alle Gott” was originally titled “Tisch-Gebetlein” (a little prayer before the meal). This humble prayer of thanksgiving is laid out simply and beautifully in the first verse. This verse of thanks is followed by a verse asking for strength in time of trial and a doxology. The tune, “Nun Danket” is named for Rinkart's text, has been associated with it ever since they were published together by Johann Crüger (1598-1662) in his Praxis Pietatis Melica (1647).
Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom the world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us,
To keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills in this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
The Son and Spirit blest, who reign in highest heaven
The one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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