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:
Variations on Sine Nomine - Richard Proulx
(c.1991, Morning Star Music)
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1982-1958) is arguably the greatest composer Britain has seen since the days of Henry Purcell. In a long and extensive career, he composed music notable for its power, nobility and expressiveness, representing, perhaps, the essence of ‘Englishness’.
Vaughan Williams was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Later he was a pupil of Stanford and Parry at the Royal College of Music, after which he studied with Max Bruch in Berlin and Maurice Ravel in Paris. Vaughan Williams volunteered to serve in the Field Ambulance Service in Flanders for the 1914-1918 war, during which he was deeply affected by the carnage and the loss of close friends such as the composer George Butterworth. For many years Vaughan Williams conducted and led the Leith Hill Music Festival, conducting Bach's St Matthew Passion on a regular basis. He also became professor of composition at the Royal College of Music in London. Vaughan Williams received the Order of Merit in 1938. His ashes are interred in Westminster Abbey, near Purcell.
At the turn of the century he was among the very first to travel into the countryside to collect folk-songs and carols from singers.As musical editor of The English Hymnal he composed several hymns that are now world-wide favorites (For all the Saints, Come down O love Divine). Later he also helped to edit The Oxford Book of Carols. In a long and productive life, his compositions included nine symphonies, five operas, film music, ballet and stage music, several song cycles, church music and works for chorus and orchestra.
Ralph Vaughan Williams composed SINE NOMINE for “For All the Saints” and published it in the English Hymnal in 1906. Vaughan Williams wrote two harmonizations¬–one for unison stanzas and one for choral stanzas. This book revolutionized the music of Anglo-American hymnody, incorporating a wealth of traditions (chorales, Genevan Psalms, plainchant, folk music) into a new mainstream. In addition to many hymn arrangements of folk tunes, Vaughan Williams contributed a several original tunes to the book. SINE NOMINE is probably RVW's best known hymntune, but there are a handful of other contenders for that distinction. Some fifty years after the fact, RVW described his work on the hymnal partly as one of purging the Victorian hymntune repertory:
Whilst trying to include all the good tunes, I did my best to eliminate the bad ones. This
was difficult, because I was not entirely my own master. My committee insisted that
certain very popular tunes should be retained. The climax came when my masters
declared that I must myself write a fulsome letter to a prominent ecclesiastic asking for
leave to print his horrible little tune. My committee and I finally settled our quarrel with
a compromise by which the worst offenders were confined to an appendix at the end of
the book, which we nicknamed the “Chamber of Horrors.”
In his preface to the volume itself he is somewhat more restrained: “...a short appendix is added of alternative tunes to certain hymns for the use of those who do not agree with the choice of the musical editor.” Joseph Barnby's tune for "For all the saints" was clearly one not to RVW's taste, as it is confined to the Appendix.
The tune's title means "without name" and follows the Renaissance tradition of naming certain compositions "Sine Nomine" if they contained no borrowed material and were not based on preexisting tunes. Equipped with a "walking" bass, SINE NOMINE is a glorious marching tune for this great text. Many consider this tune to be among the finest of twentieth-century hymn tunes
Richard Proulx (1937- 2010) was an American composer and editor of church music, including anthems, service music, hymn concertatos, organ music and music for handbell choir, formerly based in Chicago. The pronunciation of his name is suggested by the section of his catalog entitled "Noulx [new] from Proulx”. He served as a consultant on several important hymnals, including The Hymnal 1982 of the Episcopal Church (United States), the United Methodist Hymnal and the Roman Catholic hymnals Worship II (1975) and Worship III (1986). He had a long association with Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, and has made several recordings with The Cathedral Singers, a professional chorus which he founded in 1991.
Postlude Variations on "Come, Come Ye Saints" - Franklin Ashdown
(c.2017, Wayne Leopold Editions)
"Come, Come, Ye Saints" (originally "All is Well") is one of the best-known Latter-day Saint hymns. The lyrics were written in 1846 by Mormon poet William Clayton. The hymn has been called the anthem of the nineteenth-century Mormon pioneers. This hymn was written by William Clayton as he was fleeing Nauvoo after persecutions sent him and other Mormons away from their Illinois homes. Clayton’s journal relates this story of the hymn:
“Last night I got up to watch, there being no guard. This morning Ellen Kimball came to me and wished me much joy. She said Diantha [William Clayton’s wife who had not yet left Nauvoo] has had a son. I told her I was afraid it was not so, but she said Brother Pond had received a letter. I went over to Pond’s and he read that she had a fine boy on the 30th. Truly I feel to rejoice at this intelligence. Spent the day chiefly reading. In the afternoon President Young came over and found some fault about our wagons. In the evening the band played, and after we dismissed we retired to my tent to have a social christening. We had a very pleasant time playing and singing until about 12:00 and drank health to my new son. We named him William Adriel Benoni Clayton. This morning I composed a new song, ‘All Is Well.’ I feel to thank my Heavenly Father for my boy. I hope that my wife will soon be well.”
It was set to the music of a popular English folk tune, "All is Well.”
Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, But with joy wend your way.
Tho' hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day.
'Tis better far for us to strive Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell— All is well! All is well!
And should we die before our journey's through Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow too; With the just we shall dwell.
But if our lives are spared again To see the Saints their rest obtain,
O how we'll make this chorus swell All is well! All is well!
Franklin Ashdown is a composer and a medical doctor, and has pursued dual careers for the past three decades. Born in 1942, he was recruited to play the organ for a local congregation at age 13. He is a widely published composer of organ and choral music. A resident of Alamogordo, NM, Dr. Ashdown enjoys a full life as an internist, composer, and organist-choir director for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
You'll Never Walk Alone - Richard Rodgers
(c.1945, Williamson Music, Inc)
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. It was written in April, 1945 – less than a month before Nazi Germany’s surrender, in a country yearning for hope. In the dark days of World War II, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel premiered on Broadway and with it the song of survival: “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”The song's message of hope and resilience is repeated in countless renditions and arrangements, across genres and by a wide range of pop, opera and jazz performers.
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical theater writing partnership has been called the greatest of the 20th century. Their popular Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s initiated what is considered the "golden age" of musical theater. Five of their Broadway shows, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music, were outstanding successes, as was the television broadcast of Cinderella (1957). Of the other four shows the pair produced on Broadway during their lifetimes, Flower Drum Song was well-received, and none was an outright flop. Most of their shows have received frequent revivals around the world, both professional and amateur. Among the many accolades their shows (and film versions of them) garnered were 34 Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes (for Oklahoma!, 1944, and South Pacific, 1950) and two Grammy Awards.
When you walk through a storm Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of a storm There's a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown,
Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart,
And you'll never walk alone.
You'll never walk alone!
About the Choral Music:
Since We Believe that Jesus Died and Rose Again - Quentin Faulkner
(c.2015, Quentin Faulkner)
Dr. Quentin Faulkner (b. 1943) is a graduate of Westminster Choir College (B.Mus.), Southern Methodist University (M.Mus. & M.Div., and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music (DMA). He is Professor Emeritus of Organ and Music Theory/History at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. One of the foremost authorities on the keyboard music of J. S. Bach, he has published an edition of the complete organ works, as well as many books on organ literature and church music, including J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Technique: A Historical Introduction and Wiser than Despair: The Evolution of Ideas in the Relationship of Music and the Christian Church. Dr. Faulkner has played many organ recitals in the U.S. as well as Europe. In 1998 he received a Fulbright Grant to teach at the Evangelische Hochschule für Kirchenmusik (Protestant College of Church Music), Halle, Germany. Together, he and his wife, Dr. Mary Murrell Faulkner, have led Bach's Organ World tour a number of times, sharing their insights and wisdom about the instruments that Bach played or visited, about performance of his music, and what it feels to sit on the same bench that our master composer sat on some 300 years ago. They produced a CD Duetto: Early Music for Keyboard - Four Hands and many choral works written or edited for small church choirs.
In this brief anthem, Dr. Faulkner has set I Thessalonians 4: 14-15:
Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
Even so through Jesus, even so, through Jesus,
God will bring with him, God will bring with him
Those who have fallen asleep.
Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
Even so through Jesus, even so, through Jesus,
God will bring with him, God will bring with him
Those who have fallen asleep.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
About the Modern Band Music:
10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) - Matt Redman
(c. 2011 Thankyou Music, Said And Done Music, and SHOUT! Publishing)
Matt Redman wrote his most popular worship song in record time. It’s enduring appeal lies in encouraging Christians to worship God in the pain of our everyday realities. In 2011, Redman spent a few days in his local chapel working on new material with Swedish co-writer Jonas Myrin. They had been working for 15 hours and it was now about 1.30am. Several times during the session, Myrin had wanted to play Redman some chords, but was rebutted. Redman preferred to finish what they had, rather than start something new. But, as Myrin was not normally a pushy person and had tried several times, his friend thought he ought to at least give the music a quick listen. Myrin played him what was to become the chorus of ‘10,000 Reasons’ and it released an automatic response in Redman, matching a few words that he already had written down. He took as his inspiration the opening verse to Psalm 103: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless his holy name!” Whether Redman was lost in a flow of praise, or just keen to get home to his bed before dawn broke, the song was done within the hour. Its one of the fastest songs he’s ever been a part of writing.
The song is comparable to Redman’s earlier hit ‘Blessed be your name’, in that the song’s strength lies in acknowledging the difficulties we face in life yet also urges us to worship God through them. Redman himself lost his father to suicide when he was only seven and had a childhood that he describes as “turbulent.” He and wife Beth have also spoken in the past about their experience of miscarriage. In a 2016 Church Times interview, Redman noted that everyone experiences pain, heartache and stress, including Christians. Noting the number of laments in the Psalms, he added, somewhat counter-intuitively, “When you start to sing about troubles, you very quickly start to journey into the compassionate, kind, generous, caring heart of God,” observing that it was the songs he has written on these themes that have generated “the most beautiful stories.”
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name
The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name
You're rich in love and You're slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find
So bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name
Bless you, Lord
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!
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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