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; most of it is copied from other websites 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:
Jerusalem, My Happy Home - Andrew Moore
(c. 1996, Concordia Publishing)
The authorship of this text is unclear. The fact that two versions are known, both dating from the latter part of the 16th century, (those of F. B. P. and W. Prid), points naturally to a common source from whence each was taken. Some hymnals claim the original author is St. Augustine and that F. B. P.’s text in a 16th or 17th century manuscript was based on the Augustine text. Other hymnals say Joseph Bromehead is the author. Still other hymnals attribute the text to James Montgomery. Although the first stanza is similar to the first stanza of the hymn “Jerusalem, my happy home, O how I long for Thee” from Southern Harmony (1835), the chorus and some other stanzas are not shared by any of the F. B. P. text.
For some centuries the volume known to us as The Meditations of St. Augustine (Liber Meditationum) had been popular, and had widely influenced the thought of the Church. At the time of the Reformation, Roman Catholic and Protestant alike vied in translations of it, in whole or in part. In many editions Cardinal P. Damiani's hymn on Paradise, "Ad perennis vitae fontem," is given as a part of the Manual, and has thus become frequently ascribed to Stanza Augustine. A passage in the Liber Meditationum [ed. Divi Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis Episcopi Meditationes, Soliloquia et Manuale, Venice, 1553, c. 25], …together with Card. P. Damiani's hymn, seems to have been the source of the hymn by F. B. P., as it is certainly of that by W. Prid.
The version by F. B. P. is in a manuscript book in the British Museum. The manuscript is undated, but is of the latter part of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century. In 1601, this hymn, abbreviated to 19 stanzas, was printed in The Song of Mary the Mother of Christ... with the Description of Heavenly Jerusalem (1601). These two versions, if the latter is not derived from the former, must have had one common source, and suggest the possibility of an earlier and probably printed version of the hymn now unknown being the source of both.
W. Prid's hymn on The New Jerusalem is contained in The Glasse of vaine-glorie: Faithfully translated (out of S. Augustine his booke, intituled Speculum peccatoris) into English by W. P.[rid] (1585). W. Prid translated direct from the work known to us as St. Augustine's Meditation; and it is highly probable that F. B. P. derived his directly from the same source, or indirectly through the translation of another.
Jerusalem, my happy home, Oh how I long for thee!
When will my sorrows have an end? Thy joys when shall I see?
Your saints are crowned with glory great; They see God face to face;
They triumph still, they still rejoice In that most holy place.
There David stands with harp in hand As master of the choir:
Ten thousand times would we be blessed Who might this music hear.
Our Lady sings Magnificat With tune surpassing sweet;
And all the virgins join the song While sitting at her feet.
There Magdalene has left her tears, And cheerfully does sing
With blessed saints, whose harmony In ev'ry street does ring.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, God grant that I may see
Your endless joy, and of the same Partaker ever be!
We're marching through Emmanuel's ground;
We soon shall hear the welcome trumpet sound,—
Oh, there we shall with Jesus dwell, And never part again:
What, never part again? No, never part again,
Oh, there we shall with Jesus dwell, And never part again.
Andrew Moore (b. 1954) is a British composer, arranger and music editor and also a Catholic priest. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he was ordained a priest in 1982 as a member of the Benedictine community at Downside Abbey having obtained a degree in theology at Cambridge University (Christ’s College). At Downside, he taught music and religious studiesr. As monastic and school choirmaster for many years he helped to maintain a high standard of liturgical music. From 1993-95, he was parish priest at the Downside Parish of Little Malvern. In 1996, he left monastic life for a more active ministry in the Diocese of Portsmouth. As a composer, Andrew Moore is best known for his liturgical music, having written several mass settings, many responsorial psalms, motets, anthems and carols. He has also written instrumental music, chamber and orchestral music. He makes much use of modal music (the plainsong influence), but there are also elements of jazz harmonies (his father was a very accomplished jazz pianist).
Darwall - Healey Willan
(c.1960, C. F. Peters)
“Awake, Ye Saints, Awake” was written by Thomas Cotterill (1779-1823) studied at St. John's College, Cambridge, England, and became an Anglican clergyman. A central figure in the dispute about the propriety of singing hymns, Cotterill published a popular collection of hymns (including many of his own as well as alterations of other hymns), Selection of Psalms and Hymns in 1810. But when he tried to introduce a later edition of this book in Sheffield in 1819, his congregation protested. Many believed strongly that the Church of England should maintain its tradition of exclusive psalm singing. In a church court the Archbishop of York and Cotterill reached a compromise: the later edition of Selection was withdrawn, and Cotterill was invited to submit a new edition for the archbishop's approval. The new edition was published in 1820 and approved as the first hymnal for the Anglican church of that region. Cotterill's suppressed book, however, set the pattern for Anglican hymnals for the next generation, and many of its hymns are still found in modern hymnals.
John Darwall (1731-1789) The son of a pastor, he attended Manchester Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, England. He became the curate and later the vicar of St. Matthew's Parish Church in Walsall, where he remained until his death. Darwall was a poet and amateur musician. He composed a soprano tune and bass line for each of the 150 psalm versifications in the Tate and Brady New Version of the Psalms of David (l696). In an organ dedication speech in 1773 Darwall advocated singing the "Psalm tunes in quicker time than common [in order that] six verses might be sung in the same space of time that four generally are."
Awake, ye saints, awake! And hail this sacred day;
In loftiest songs of praise Your joyful homage pay:
Come, bless the day that God hath blest,
The type of heaven's eternal rest.
On this all-glorious morn The Lord of life arose;
He burst the bars of death, And vanquished all our foes:
And now He pleads our cause above,
And reaps the fruit of all His love.
All hail, triumphant Lord! Heaven with hosannas rings,
And earth in humbler strains, Thy praise responsive sings:
Worthy the Lamb, that once was slain,
Through endless years to live and reign!
Healey Willan (1880-1968) was a 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."
About the Handbell Music:
When the Saints Go Marching In - Tammy Waldrop
(c. 1991 Ring Out! Press)
"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as "The Saints", is a Black spiritual. Though it originated as a Christian hymn, it is often played by jazz bands. This song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis Armstrong and his orchestra.The song is sometimes confused with a similarly titled composition "When the Saints Are Marching In" from 1896 by Katharine Purvis (lyrics) and James Milton Black (music). The origins of this song are unclear. It apparently evolved in the early 1900s from a number of similarly titled gospel songs, including "When the Saints Are Marching In" (1896) and "When the Saints March In for Crowning" (1908). The first known recorded version was in 1923 by the Paramount Jubilee Singers on Paramount 12073. Although the title given on the label is "When All the Saints Come Marching In", the group sings the modern lyrics beginning with "When the saints go marching in". No author is shown on the label.
Oh, when the saints go marching in, Oh, when the saints go marching in,
Lord, how I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in.
And when the sun refuse to shine, And when the sun refuse to shine,
Lord, how I want to be in that number When the sun refuse to shine.
And when the moon turns red with blood, when the moon turns red with blood
Lord, how I want to be in that number When the moon turns red with blood.
And when the revelation comes, Oh when the revelation comes,
Lord, how I want to be in that number When the revelation comes.
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call, Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call,
Lord, how I want to be in that number When the trumpet sounds its call.
Oh, when the band begins to play, Oh, when the band begins to play,
Lord, how I want to be in that number When the band begins to play.
Some say this world of trouble, Is the only one we need,
But I'm waiting for that morning, When the new world is revealed.
Tammy Waldrop holds a Bachelor of music degree and a Master of music degree in theory and composition from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. As a writer for handbells since 1980, she has served as Assistant Choral Editor and Handbell Editor for Word Music. Presently, Tammy is Handbell Editor for Ring Out! Press, the handbell publishing company she began in 1990, which is now a part of the Jeffers Publishing Group. In 1988, Tammy collaborated with Bob Burroughs and won the AGEHR national composition contest, and in 1991 she won the Area III competition. She served as Publications Chair for Area IX from 1994–1996 and currently serves on the Greater Houston Handbell Association Board.
About the Choral Music:
Recollection of Joy – Donna Butler
(c. 1990, Beckenhorst Press)
Donna Butler Douglas has enjoyed parallel careers in church music and graphic design. For over 20 years she served as Director of Music for churches in Oklahoma, Dallas/Fort Worth, Kansas City and Little Rock, Arkansas. She currently manages communications and publications for Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.A native of Ada, Oklahoma, Donna holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree in Piano from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Donna is published under her maiden name, Donna Butler, and has received annual standard awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) each year since 1989. Mrs. Douglas is an accomplished pianist, soloist and free-lance composer with over 100 compositions in print. Donna is a recipient of the “Profiles in Excellence” award, presented by Oklahoma Baptist University to noteworthy alumni.
“Recollection of Joy” is based on Phillippians 1.
I thank my God when I remember you, For He has blessed my life with yours.
With every prayer of mine for you, I’m filled with joy;
For I hold you in my heart.
And I pray that your love may abound yet more in knowledge
And in all judgement, that you may approve excellent things.
That you may be sincere, being filled with the fruits of righteousness
Unto the glory and praise of God.
Grace to you and peace to you from God our Father, Christ our Lord.
Oh, I thank my God when I remember you.
About the Hymns:
For All the Saints
“For All the Saints” is the quintessential hymn for All Saints’ Day, with its uplifting text and triumphant music. It was written as a processional hymn by the Anglican Bishop of Wakefield, William Walsham How (1823-1879). How was educated at Shrewsbury School and Wadham College, Oxford (B.A. 1845). Taking Holy Orders in 1846, he became successively Curate of St. George's, Kidderminster, 1846; and of Holy Cross, Shrewsbury, 1848. In 1851, he moved to the Rectory of Whittington, Diocese of St. Asaph, becoming Rural Dean in 1853, and Hon. Canon of the Cathedral in 1860. In 1879. he was appointed Rector of St. Andrew's Undershaft, London, and was consecrated Suffragan Bishop for East London, under the title of the Bishop of Bedford, and in 1888 Bishop of Wakefield. In 1854, he published Psalms and Hymns, Compiled by the Rev. Thomas Baker Morrell, M.A., . . . and the Rev. William Walsham How, M.A. This was republished in an enlarged form in 1864, and to it was added a Supplement in 1867. To this collection Bishop How contributed several hymns, and also to the S. P. C. K. Church Hymns , of which he was joint editor, in 1871. Nearly 60 of Bishop How’s hymns are still in common use, the most popular of which are "For all the Saints who from their labors rest" and "We give Thee but Thine own".
Originally in eleven stanzas, “For All the Saints” was published in Earl Nelson's Hymns for Saints' Days (1864) with the heading, "Saints' Day Hymn. A Cloud of Witnesses. Heb. 12:1." The hymn was sung to the melody Sarum, by the Victorian composer Joseph Barnby, until the publication of the English Hymnal in 1906. This hymnal used a new setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams which he called Sine Nomine (literally, "without name") in reference to its use on the Feast of All Saints, 1 November (or the first Sunday in November, All Saints Sunday). It has been described as "one of the finest hymn tunes of [the 20th] century."
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee: Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold. Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored. Alleluia, Alleluia!
For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify. Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong. Alleluia, Alleluia!
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed. Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way. Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, Alleluia!
Rejoice in God’s Saints
Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) gave us a fresh hymn for All Saints’ Day. Rather than elevating saints to a realm beyond the earthly, Pratt Green, in the words of Carlton Young, “describes the importance of saints and how they interact with the world.” In contrast to the “great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:2 that hover above us, Pratt Green brings these saints to our level: “A world without saints forgets how to praise.” Saints model for us the “habit of prayer” and a “depth of adoring” that we should “share.” The last half of the second stanza—“Some carry the gospel through fire and through flood / our world is their parish; their purpose is God”—is reminiscent of John Wesley’s famous declaration, “I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”
It was written for the six-hundredth anniversary celebration of [Julian of Norwich’s] Revelations of Divine Love (1373), commissioned by the Dean of Norwich Cathedral. British hymnal editor and composer John Wilson advised Pratt Green to explore the lives and influence of the saints beyond the cloistered life, showing how saints relate to common life.
An Englishman educated at Didsbury College in Manchester, Pratt Green was ordained in the Methodist ministry in 1928, serving circuits throughout the country between 1927 and 1969. During his ministry he wrote plays and hymns and published three collections of his poems. But it was not until his retirement that Pratt Green’s hymn writing blossomed, creating over 300 hymns. Generally considered to be the leader of the “hymnic explosion” that began in the 1960s, Pratt Green’s hymns appear more often than any other 20th-century hymn writer in English language hymnals published in North America.
Green’s approach to saints is in contrast to William Walsham How’s famous hymn, “For All the Saints” (UM Hymnal, No. 711), written more than 100 years earlier. How, echoing the conquests and colonization of the 19th century, drew heavily upon militaristic images of “faithful soldiers,” “victor’s crown,” “fierce strife” and “long warfare.” Images of “triumph,” “brave hearts” and “strong arms” in How’s text are replaced here with calls to prayer, patience and self-giving. Pratt Green offers an alternative to classical views of the saints that speaks to all of our experience.
Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days;
A world without saints forgets how to praise.
Their faith in acquiring the habit of prayer,
Their depth of adoring, Lord, help us to share.
Some march with events to turn them God’s way;
Some need to withdraw, the better to pray,
Some carry the gospel through fire and through flood;
Our world is their parish; their purpose is God.
Rejoice in those saints, unpraised and unknown,
Who bear someone’s cross or shoulder their own.
They shame our complaining, our comforts, our cares;
What patience in caring, what courage, is theirs!
Rejoice in God’s saints, today and all days;
A world without saints forgets how to praise.
In loving, in living, they prove it is true:
The way of self-giving, Lord, leads us to you.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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