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:
Aus der Tiefe - Robert Lind
(c.1994, Paraclete Press)
Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir (Out of the depths I call, Lord, to You) BWV 131, is a church cantata by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It was composed in either 1707 or 1708, which makes it one of Bach's earliest cantatas. Some sources suggest that it could be his earliest surviving work in this form, but current thinking is that there are one or two earlier examples. The cantata was commissioned by the minister of one of the churches in Mühlhausen, the city where Bach worked at the time. It was possibly written for a special occasion. The text is based on Luther's German version of Psalm 130 and also incorporates the words of a chorale. Bach's music integrates melodies from the chorale into larger structures. Bach also shows his interest in counterpoint, something which was characteristic of him throughout his career. A note on the autograph score of the cantata indicates that the work was commissioned by Georg Christian Eilmar, minister of the Marienkirche (St. Mary's church) in Mühlhausen. Bach was employed as organist at the city's other main church, Divi Blasii. He was also involved to some extent with performances at the Marienkirche, where civic ceremonies were held. One service there which Bach would have attended was that for the city council's inauguration in 1708 during which his cantata Gott ist mein Konig, BWV 71 had its premiere. He may have had a closer personal relationship with Eilmar than with the minister of his own church. Eilmar was godfather to his daughter Catharina Dorothea (born 1708).
The libretto is based on Psalm 130, one of the penitential psalms. The incipit of the psalm, "Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir", gives the cantata its name. Originally a Hebrew text, the incipit has variants in translation. While Psalms 130:1–6 is rendered "Out of the depths..." in the English King James Version, a closer translation of the German text used by Bach would be "deep" rather than "depths". The anonymous librettist, possibly Eilmar, includes in two of the movements verses from "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut", a Lutheran hymn by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt. The hymn is also penitential. Bach later used it as the basis for the cantata Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 113, where the words form a counterpart to the tax collector's prayer in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, the gospel reading for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity.
Bach's ability as a composer was recognized by the city council of Muhlhausen who paid for the printing of the cantata Gott ist mein Konig, BWV 71. They may also have arranged the publication of a later cantata now lost. None of the other cantatas was published in the composer's lifetime. Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir was first published in 1881 as part of the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, the first complete edition of Bach's works.
The first movement “Aus der Tiefen rufe ich” is a chorus based on Psalm 135: 1-2.
Out of the depths I call, Lord, to You.
Lord, hear my voice,
Let Your ears take note of the sound of my pleas.
This setting of the melody of “Aus der Tiefen” is by Robert Lind, who studied at North Park College at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, majoring in organ, composition, and music theory. At the age of 20, he worked with Leo Sowerby and became his assistant at the Cathedral of St. James, Chicago. He succeeded his mentor, Dr. Sowerby, as organist-choirmaster at the Cathedral two years later. After serving in the US Army during the Vietnam era, Lind entered the publishing world, while continuing to serve various churches in the Chicago area. He is currently organist at Lord of Life Lutheran church in Schaumburg, IL. He has played recitals in Chicago area for several decades, has presented organ repertory workshops for the American Guild of Organists, and has composed extensively for the church. Mr. Lind has approximately 180 works published for the organ.
About the Handbell Music:
Ah, Holy Jesus - Terry Osman
(c.2016, Lorenz Publishing)
"Herzliebster Jesu" (often translated into English as "Ah, Holy Jesus", sometimes as "O Dearest Jesus") is a German hymn written in 1630 by Johann Heermann. Heerman took his inspiration for "Ah, Holy Jesus" from a Latin text attributed to either Augustine (354-430) or Jean de Fecamp (c.1000-1079). The poetry was originally published in a fifteenth-century devotional book entitled Meditationes sanctorum patrum. Heerman's hymn version first appeared in his Devoti Musica Cordis, ca. 1630. Heerman wrote during the Thirty Years War, a time when many hymn writers became introspective. Writing during this time of uncertainty and trouble, Heerman's hymn emerged from a backdrop of his own personal suffering.
Its tune, also called "Herzliebster Jesu", was written ten years later by Johann Crüger. The hymn first appeared in Crüger's Neues vollkömmliches Gesangbuch Augsburgischer Confession (1640).
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For our atonement, while we nothing heeded,
God interceded.
For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving.
Terry Osman (b. 1956) holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music (now Shenandoah University). He has been pianist and conductor for forty years at the Mountain Playhouse, a professional summer stock theater in rural Pennsylvania. Terry has been the director of the Anthem Choir at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bedford, Pennsylvania since 1993 and director of the Handbell Choir since its formation in 2001. As a freelance musician, Terry has been at the keyboard for hundreds of high school and college musical productions, occasional concerts with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, and has also accompanied celebrities—including Eddie Fisher, Anna Maria Alberghetti, and Bernadette Peters—when their shows came to Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He is a published composer of children's musicals, handbell music, choral works, piano works (solos and duos), and piano and organ duos.
About the Choral Music:
A Lenten Walk - Hal Hopson
(c.1994, Augsburg Fortress)
“Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley." first appeared in the 1816 shape-note hymnal, Kentucky Harmony. It encourages us to bear our own burdens by reminding us that Jesus did so in His earthly life and death. This sensitive African-American spiritual addresses the earthly ministry of Christ, leading up to the crucifixion. Its first known recording was in 1927 by old-time musician David Miller. Through the years, this famous song was sung by many other gospel and country artists such as the Monroe Brothers, the Carter Family, and The Statler Brothers.
Jesus walked this lonesome valley; he had to walk it by himself.
Oh, nobody else could walk it for him; he had to walk it by himself.
We must walk this lonesome valley. We have to walk it by ourselves.
Oh, nobody else can walk it for us; we have to walk it by ourselves.
Jesus bore the cross of sorrow; he had to bear it by himself.
Oh, nobody else could bear it for him; he had to bear it by himself.
We must take our cross and follow; we must take it by ourselves.
Oh, nobody else can follow for us; we have to follow by ourselves.
Hal H. Hopson (b. 1933) is a full-time composer and church musician residing in Dallas, Texas. He has over 1000 published works, which comprise almost every musical form in church music. With a special interest in congregational song, he continues to make a significant contribution to the new repertoire of hymn tunes and responsorial psalm settings as evidenced by the proliferation of his settings that are included in newly published hymnals and psalm collections.
Hal is active as a conductor and clinician, having conducted choral festivals and workshops in United States, Europe, and Asia. More recently he has been recognized for his contribution to music by being included in The International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England, and by being awarded the esteemed title of National Patron by Delta Omicron, a national professional fraternity of musicians. He is active in several professional organizations, having served on the national boards of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and Choristers Guild. As a member of ASCAP, Hal has received an annual award from that agency for many consecutive years.
The Lord's Peace - Aaron Zinter
(c.2000, Abingdon Press)
Aaron M. Zinter, Director of Music at Oak Grove Lutheran School, is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and received his Master of Music degree in Choral Directing from Illinois State University in Normal, IL.
He is also director of the Master Chorale of Fargo-Moorhead.
As Director of Music at Oak Grove, he conducts the Concert Choir, Chapel Choir, 7th and 8th Grade Choir, 6th Grade General Music, AP Music Theory, Madrigals, Carolers and individual voice and guitar lessons. He directs and manages the annual 10-day Oak Grove Concert Choir Tour across the United States and Canada. He also prepares solo and ensemble members for academic competition, for which Oak Grove has earned 26 Outstanding Performances in the past six years at the North Dakota State Music Contest.
As the former Director of Music Ministries at Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, IL with a membership of 1500, he conducted twelve K-12 and adult choirs while serving as department head of seven musicians. While there, he directed and managed the Chancel Choir United States Mission Tour across 35 states and Canada. In March 2005, he led a 10-day choral mission trip to Northeastern Brazil with eight outstanding youth singers.
Mr. Zinter has composed and arranged original music for worship and special occasions, published choral works with Abingdon Press in Nashville, TN, and received an Outstanding Performance rating at the North Dakota State Music Contest with the Oak Grove Madrigals the past six years in a row. Mr. Zinter recorded four CDs with Chanson, a professional male acapella ensemble, and performed with Chanson in a Master Class with the King’s Singers. He has also been a volunteer facilitator of leadership training activities at Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Illinois for youth and adults with disabilities.
The text of “The Lord’s Peace” is from John 14:27.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you;
not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Amen.
About the Hymns:
O Word of God Incarnate
Anglican Bishop William Walsham How (1823-1897) is best known for one of the great All Saints Day hymns, “For all the saints who from their labors rest.” While one of the great legacies to the church from the 19th century, we actually learn more about How from his hymn on scripture, “O Word of God incarnate.” If not a unique bishop of his time, How was certainly an anomaly. He rejected offers to serve as bishop in prestigious settings such as Manchester and Durham and instead ministered in a slum area of London, a choice that resulted in his designation as “the poor man’s bishop.” While other bishops often lived in luxurious settings and were conveyed by private coach, How lived and worked with his people, traveling by public transportation.
While many churchmen were appalled by the doctrine of evolution and the feeling that science challenged the truth of the Bible, How was much more discerning. In his 1887 sermon “The Bible and Science,” How observed that evolution included many facts and theories that were difficult to dispute, and added one could not state categorically that “[a]ll such-like speculations are straight against God’s Word and therefore utterly untrue.” Even Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), grandfather of Aldous Huxley, and a leader in the scientific debate in England who was often known as “Darwin’s Bulldog,” cites the sermon in his book, Science and the Christian Tradition (1902). According to hymnologist Albert Bailey, Huxley “says that the Bishop was one of the few people who so treated . . . religion and science that he felt he could go along with him.”
Yet at the same time, this Oxford-educated clergyman had a “high” view of Scripture as this hymn attests. This hymn in praise of the Bible is based on Psalm 119:105, “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Singing this text, we pray that the church, the people of God, will always be led by the Scriptures to seek Christ, to whom the Scriptures point, and to bring the good news of his Word to the nations. This text was first published in the 1867 addition to Psalms and Hymns (1854), a supplementary collection How edited with Thomas B. Morrell.
How’s 54 hymns were all written between 1858 and 1871 while he was a rector at Whittington, before becoming Suffragan Bishop of East London, and in 1888, the first Bishop of Wakefield. He once said, “A good hymn should be like a good prayer—simple, real, earnest, and reverent.” How was a modernist who studied thoughtfully the latest scientific thinking of his day and still fully embraced Scripture—a model for us over 100 years later.
MUNICH has a colorful history. Traces of it run as far back as 1593 in the Dresden, Germany, Gesangbuch in conjunction with the text 'Wir Christenleut." A version from a Meiningen Gesangbuch (1693) is still used in Lutheranism for "O Gott, du frommer Gott." Felix Mendelssohn's adaptation of that tune for the quartet "Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord" in the oratorio Elijah (1846) is the most recent step in shaping MUNICH as we find it in the Psalter Hymnal and other modern English hymnals.
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (b. Hamburg, Germany, 1809; d. Leipzig, Germany, 1847) was the son of banker Abraham Mendelssohn and the grandson of philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. His Jewish family became Christian and took the Bartholdy name (name of the estate of Mendelssohn's uncle) when baptized into the Lutheran church. The children all received an excellent musical education. Mendelssohn had his first public performance at the age of nine and by the age of sixteen had written several symphonies. Profoundly influenced by J. S. Bach's music, he conducted a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 (at age 20!) – the first performance since Bach's death, thus reintroducing Bach to the world. Mendelssohn organized the Domchor in Berlin and founded the Leipzig Conservatory of Music in 1843.
Traveling widely, he not only became familiar with various styles of music but also became well known himself in countries other than Germany, especially in England. He left a rich treasury of music: organ and piano works, overtures and incidental music, oratorios (including St. Paul or Elijah and choral works, and symphonies. He harmonized a number of hymn tunes himself, but hymnbook editors also arrange some of his other tunes into hymn tunes. Given its geographical roots, we may be fairly confident that the tune is named after the German city Munich, although the city's name in German is München.
O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky,
we praise thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page,
a lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.
The Church from you, dear Master, received the gift divine,
and still that light is lifted o'er all the earth to shine.
It is the chart and compass that, all life's voyage through,
mid mists and rocks and quicksands still guides, O Christ, to you.
O make your Church, dear Savior, a lamp of purest gold
to bear before the nations your true light, as of old.
O teach your wand'ring pilgrims by this their path to trace
till, clouds and darkness ended, they see you face to face.
O For a Thousand Tongues
"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" was written by Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,000 hymns. Wesley was suffering a bout of pleurisy in May, 1738, while he and his brother were studying under the Moravian scholar Peter Böhler in London. At the time, Wesley was plagued by extreme doubts about his faith. Taken to bed with the sickness on May 21, Wesley was attended by a group of Christians who offered him testimony and basic care, and he was deeply affected by this. He read from his Bible and found himself deeply affected by the words and at peace with God. Shortly, his strength began to return. He wrote of this experience in his journal and counted it as a renewal of his faith; when his brother John had a similar experience on the 24th, the two men met and sang a hymn Wesley had written in praise of his renewal.
One year from the experience, Wesley was taken with the urge to write another hymn, this one in commemoration of his renewal of faith. This hymn took the form of an 18-stanza poem, beginning with the opening lines “Glory to God, and praise, and love Be ever, ever given” and was published in 1740 and entitled “For the anniversary day of one's conversion”. The seventh verse, which begins, 'O for a thousand tongues to sing', and which now is invariably the first verse of a shorter hymn, recalls the words of Peter Böhler who said, “Had I a thousand tongues I would praise Him with them all.” The hymn was published first in John Wesley's A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists in 1780. It has appeared first in every Methodist hymnal since that time.
The original 10 verses are:
O For a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise!
The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace!
My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the world abroad The honors of Thy name.
Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of cancell'd sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avail'd for me.
He speaks, - and, listening to his voice, New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; The humble poor believe.
Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, Your loosen'd tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Saviour come, And leap, ye lame, for joy.
Look unto him, ye nations; own Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone, Be justified by grace.
See all your sins on Jesus laid; The Lamb of God was slain;
His soul was once an offering made For every soul of man.
Awake from guilty nature's sleep, And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep, And wash the AEthiop white.
With me, your chief, ye then shall know, Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below, And own that love is heaven.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
No comments:
Post a Comment