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:
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear - John Hernden Schaffner
"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" was written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts. It first appeared on December 29, 1849, in the Christian Register in Boston. Sears is said to have written these words at the request of his friend, William Parsons Lunt, pastor of United First Parish Church, Quincy, Massachusetts.
This may be the only commonly sung Christmas carol in our hymnals that does not mention the birth of Christ! The focus is rather on the song of the angels, “Peace on the earth, good will to men,” taken from Luke 2:14. The hymn’s central theme contrasts the scourge of war with the song of the angels’ “peace to God’s people on earth.” This is one of the earliest social gospel hymns written in the U.S. Sears’ context was the social strife that plagued the country as the Civil War approached. This hymn comes from a Boston publication, Christian Register, published on Dec. 29, 1849. The original stanza three, missing from our hymnals, sheds light on the poet’s concerns about the social situation in the U.S. in the mid-19th century.
It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, good will to men, from heaven's all-gracious King."
The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats o'er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains, they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o'er its Babel sounds the blessed angels sing.
But with the woes of sin and strife The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not The love-song, which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife, And hear the angels sing!”
And ye, beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing!
For lo! the days are hastening on, by prophet seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling,
and the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.
John Hebden Schaffner (1945–1995) was born in Louisville, Kentucky and educated at Kentucky Southern College and the University of Kentucky. A self-taught pianist and organist, he composed and published a number of keyboard works.
About the Piano Music:
What Child is This - Kevin Olson
"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.
What Child is this, who laid to rest On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping?
Why lies He in such mean estate, Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here The silent Word is pleading.
So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh; Come peasant, King to own Him;
The King of Kings salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone him.
This, this is Christ the King, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, Haste, to bring him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary.
Kevin Olson is an active pianist, composer, and member of the piano faculty at Utah State University, where he teaches piano literature, pedagogy, and accompanying courses. In addition to his collegiate teaching responsibilities, Kevin directs the Utah State Youth Conservatory, which provides weekly group and private piano instruction to more than 200 pre-college community students. The National Association of Schools of Music has recently recognized the Conservatory as a model for pre-college piano instruction programs. Before teaching at Utah State, he was on the faculty at Elmhurst College near Chicago and Humboldt State University in northern California.
A native of Utah, Kevin began composing at age five. When he was twelve, his composition, An American Trainride, received the Overall First Prize at the 1983 National PTA Convention at Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then he has been a Composer in Residence at the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy, and has written music commissioned and performed by groups such as the American Piano Quartet, Chicago a cappella, the Rich Matteson Jazz Festival, and several piano teacher associations around the country.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
Mary’s Little Boy Child - Jester Hairston
Jester Joseph Hairston (1901-2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on Negro spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include "Amen," a gospel-tinged theme from the film Lilies of the Field and a 1963 hit for The Impressions, and the Christmas song "Mary's Boy Child".
Hairston was born in Belews Creek, a rural community in North Carolina. His grandparents had been slaves. Hairston was still a small child when his father died in a job-related accident; he was raised by his grandmother while his mother went to work. While growing up, Hairston heard his grandmother and her friends talking and singing about life on the plantations of the southern US. He listened with immense interest and made a promise to himself that he would preserve this history through music.
Hairston initially majored in landscape architecture at Massachusetts Agricultural College in the 1920s. While studying landscape architecture, Hairston became involved in various church choirs and choral groups. The accompanist of one, Anna Laura Kidder, saw his potential in music and became his benefactor. Mrs. Kidder offered him financial assistance to study music at Tufts University. He was one of the first black students admitted to Tufts. Later he studied music at the Juilliard School. He worked as a choir conductor in the early stages of his career. His work with choirs on Broadway eventually led to his singing and acting in plays, films, radio programs, and television shows.
In 1961, the US State Department appointed Jester Hairston as Goodwill Ambassador. He traveled all over the world teaching and performing the folk music of the slaves. He held choral festivals with public high school choirs, introducing them to Negro Spiritual music, and sometimes leading several hundred students in community performances. His banter about the history of the songs along with his engaging personality and sense of humor endeared him to many students. In 1985 he took the Jester Hairston Chorale, a multi-racial group, to sing in the People's Republic of China.
Most of Hairston's film work was in the field of composing, arranging, and choral conducting. Hairston also acted in over 20 films, mostly in small roles, some of which were uncredited. Among the films he appeared in were bit parts in some of the early Tarzan movies, St. Louis Blues, The Alamo, To Kill a Mockingbird, In the Heat of the Night, Lady Sings the Blues, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and Being John Malkovich. Hairston starred in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). Hairston appeared on TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show. He had the role of Leroy on the radio program and as Henry Van Porter on the television program. He also played the role of Wildcat on the show That's My Mama. In his senior years he appeared on the show Amen as Rolly Forbes. His last television appearance was in 1993 on an episode of Family Matters. Hairston also played the role of "King Moses" on radio for the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall show Bold Venture. For his contribution to the film and television industry, Hairston has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"Mary's Boy Child" is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston (1901-2000). The song had its genesis when Hairston was sharing a room with a friend. The friend asked him to write a song for a birthday party. Hairston wrote the song with a calypso rhythm because the people at the party would be mainly West Indians. The song's original title was "He Pone and Chocolate Tea", pone being a type of corn bread. It was never recorded in this form. Some time later Walter Schumann, at the time conducting Schumann's Hollywood Choir, asked Hairston to write a new Christmas song for his choir. Hairston remembered the calypso rhythm from his old song and wrote new lyrics for it.
Harry Belafonte heard the song being performed by the choir and sought permission to record it. It was recorded as a single in 1956. Belafonte released it again the following year in on his album An Evening with Belafonte, using a different, longer take. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1957.
Long time ago in Bethlehem, so the Holy Bible say,
Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ, Was born on Christmas day.
While shepherds watch their flock by night, they saw a bright, new, shining star
And heard a choir from Heaven sing, the music came from afar.
Hark now hear the angels sing, New King’s born today,
And man will live forevermore Because of Christmas day.
Now Joseph and his wife, Mary, came to Bethlehem that night.
Then found no place to bear her child, Not a single room was in sight.
By and by, they found a little nook in a stable all forlorn,
And in a manger, cold and dark, Mary’s little boychild was born.
Trumpets sound and angels sing, Listen what they say,
That man will live forevermore Because of Christmas day.
About the Hymns:
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
The carol we now know as "Hark! the herald angels sing" did not start life as such, and required at least four people to bring it to its current form. Wesley's original, written as a Christmas Day hymn and first published in 1739, is made up of ten four-line verses, rather than the longer eight-line verses with refrain which we have now. It is interesting to note that in the original version of Wesley's, the heavens ring with the phrase "Glory to the King of kings," echoing Luke's "Glory to God in the highest heaven." George Whitfield, who had been a student with Wesley, changed this to "Glory to the newborn King" in 1753. His fairly revolutionary Calvinist position was not compatible with Wesley's gentler reforming approach, which eventually bore fruit in the Methodist movement that he and his brother John inspired, Whitfield maintained the four-line verses of Wesley's original, but changed the angels' emphasis: "Glory to the newborn King" means something slightly but significantly different from "Glory to the King of kings." In the Gospel account, the angels praise God, whereas in "Hark! the herald angels sing," they are inaccurately described as praising Jesus. Furthermore, Luke does not say that the angels "sing," and so it may well be that this reinterpretation by Whitfield has emphasized the popular but unscriptural picture of angels singing the Gloria. ("While shepherds watched" also implies that they sang.) Whitfield also cut the final verses, which are now largely forgotten:
Come, desire of nations, come, Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman's conquering seed, Bruise in us the serpent's head.
Now display thy saving power, Ruin'd nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to thine.
Adam's likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp thy image in its place.
Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in thy love.
Let us thee, though lost, regain, Thee, the life, the inner man:
O, to all thyself impart, Form'd in each believing heart.
There is some real theological insight in these neglected verses. First of all we notice the Advent antiphon "Come, desire of nations, come," followed by a reference to the Fall, with the serpent bruising the heel of humanity and Adam bruising its head (Genesis 3:15). Wesley cleverly alters the meaning, asking that the serpent in us (sin) should be bruised (defeated) by Christ, the second Adam, who reinstates us as beloved sons and daughters of God. In the restoration of sinful humanity to a state of grace through the incarnation of Christ, the joining of divine and human nature is also achieved. Consequently, that which was lost (salvation) is gained and a new life is granted to all believers.
The familiar tune, MENDELSSOHN, is an adaptation of a melody from Felix Mendelssohn’s Festgesang for male chorus and orchestra.
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful, all you nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies;
With angelic hosts proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail, incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with us to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail, the Son of righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise each child of earth, Born to give us second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
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.
The First Noel the angel did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep, On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. (refrain)
They looked up and saw a star Shining in the east beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light, And so it continued both day and night.
And by the light of that same star Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a king was their intent, And to follow the star wherever it went.
This star drew nigh to the northwest, O'er Bethlehem it took it rest,
And there it did both stop and stay Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Then entered in those wise men three Full reverently upon their knee,
and offered there in his presence Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
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.
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
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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