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:
Partita über den choral: "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" - Ernst Pepping
(c.1961, B. Schott's Söhne)
"Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" (How lovely shines the morning star) is a hymn by Philipp Nicolai written in 1597 and first published in 1599. The words in seven stanzas are based on Psalms 45, a mystical wedding song. Jesus is identified with the morning star, according to Revelation 22:16, and with the bridegroom of the psalm. Nicolai wrote the words in response to a pestilence in 1597. He published the chorale first in 1599 in his book Frewdenspiegel deß ewigen Lebens ("Mirror of Joy of the Life Everlasting") in Frankfurt, together with "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme". He introduced it: "Ein Geistlich Brautlied der Gläubigen Seelen / von Jesu Christo irem himlischen Bräutgam: Gestellt ober den 45. Psalm deß Propheten Dauids" (A spiritual bridal song of the believing soul / concerning Jesus Christ, her heavenly bridegroom, founded on the 45th Psalm of the prophet David). This hymn is often referred to as "The Queen of Chorales".
The hymn tune of "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern", was thought to be a creation of Nicolai. C. S. Terry claimed in an article in 1917 that the melody was at least 61 years older than Nicolai's publication. Joachim Stalmann wrote in 2000 that Nicolai's melody is reminiscent ("hat Anklänge") of a 1538 melody published in the Strasbourg Psalter in 1539 with the song "Jauchzet dem Herren alle Land", possibly by Jakob Dachser. It also closely resembles a tune used for Psalm 100 in Wolff Köphel's Psalter (1538).
Philipp Nicolai (1556-1608) lived an eventful life: he fled from the Spanish army, sparred with Roman Catholic and Calvinist opponents, and ministered to plague-stricken congregations. Educated at Wittenberg University, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1583 in the city of Herdecke. However, he was soon at odds with the Roman Catholic town council, and when Spanish troops arrived to reestablish Roman dominance, Nicolai fled. In 1588 he became chief pastor at Altwildungen and court preacher to Countess Argaretha of Waldeck. During that time Nicolai battled with Calvinists, who disagreed with him about the theology of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. These doctrinal controversies were renewed when he served the church in Unna, Westphalia. During his time as a pastor there, the plague struck twice, and Nicolai wrote both "How Bright Appears the Morning Star" and "Wake, Awake." Nicolai's last years were spent as Pastor of St. Katherine's Church in Hamburg.
The chorale appeared as a hymn in German hymnals and in several translations in English hymnals, starting with How bright appears the Morning Star! by John Christian Jacobi, in his Psalmodica Germanica, 1722. Additional hymns were written on the same tune such as "O heilger Geist, kehr bei uns ein" of Michael Schirmer (1640).
The first verse (in an anonymous English translation beginning "How splendid shines the morning star") appeared in the Southern Harmony, an 1835 shape-note tunebook compiled by William Walker, where it is set to a tune called Morning Star by composer J. C. Lowry. This arrangement is repeated in the current An American Christmas Harp, with the addition of two more stanzas in a translation by William Mercer (1811-1873).
A fairly literal translation of the seven verses by Frances Browne:
How beautifully shines the morning star
full of grace and truth from the Lord, the sweet root of Jesse!
You son of David from the line of Jacob, my king and my bridegroom,
have taken posession of my heart, [you who are] lovely,friendly,
beautiful and glorious, great and honourable, rich in gifts,
lofty and exalted in splendour!
Ah my pearl, my precious crown, true son of God and Mary,
a king of most noble birth! My heart calls you a lily,
your sweet gospel is pure milk and honey.
Ah my dear flower, hosanna, heavenly manna,
that we eat, I cannot forget you!
Pour most deeply within my heart, you clear jasper and ruby,
the flames of your love, and make me rejoice, so that I may remain
in your chosen body a living rib!
Because of you, gracious rose of heaven,
my heart is sick and smouldering, wounded with love.
A joyful light from God comes to me when with your dear eyes
you look on me as a friend. Oh Lord Jesus, my beloved good,
your word, your spirit, your body and blood refresh me within.
Take me like a friend in your arms, so that I may become warm
with your grace. To your word I come invited.
Lord, God, Father, my mighty hero, before the world you have
loved me in your son. Your son has betrothed me to himself,
he is my treasure, I am his bride, most greatly I rejoice in him.
Yes, yes. Heavenly life he will give me in the the world above!
My heart shall praise him forever.
Pluck the strings on the harp and let the sweet music
resound full of joy, so that with dear Jesus, my most beautiful bridegroom,
in constant love I may make my pilgrimage!
Sing, leap, rejoice, triumph, thank the Lord!
Great is the king of honour!
How full I am therefore of heartfelt joy
that my treasure is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end;
To his reward he will take me up to paradise, and so I clap my hands
Amen! Amen! Come, you sweet crown of joy,
do not long delay, I wait for you with longing.
Ernst Pepping (1901-1981) was a German composer of classical music and academic teacher, who is regarded as an important composer of Protestant sacred music in the 20th century. In 1934, Pepping accepted the offer of a teaching position for harmony, Partiturspiel and counterpoint at the Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule of the Protestant Johannesstift Berlin in Spandau, where he lived until his death. Pepping also taught at the Berliner Hochschule from 1935 to 1938 as a professor of church music and composition. He had ties to the Confessing Church, but as he wrote music on German texts, he was "left alone" by the Nazis. In 1938, he composed a German mass, Deutsche Messe: Kyrie Gott Vater in Ewigkeit (German Mass: Kyrie God Father in Eternity), which stressed German (rather than Latin), following the party line. He was exempt from service in World War II, even in the final phase when he was protected by the Gottbegnadeten list. Pepping taught again at the Berliner Hochschule from 1947 to 1968, when he retired and stopped composing. He composed instrumental music including three symphonies, and church music such as the motet Jesus und Nikodemus, the Missa Dona nobis pacem, and collections including the Spandauer Chorbuch (Spandau choir book) and Großes Orgelbuch (Great organ book), three volumes of organ pieces covering the liturgical year.
We Three Kings - Gordon Young
(c.1970, Theodore Presser Co.)
“We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the tune (KINGS OF ORIENT). It is thought to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns and Song in 1863. John Henry Hopkins, Jr., then an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, was instrumental in organizing an elaborate holiday pageant (which featured this hymn) for the students of the General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1857 while serving as the seminary's music director. Although there is no scriptural basis for stating dogmatically that there were three wise men, the fact that three distinct gifts are mentioned has given rise to this traditional idea. Master artists throughout the centuries have depicted three wise men on camels as one of their favorite nativity themes.
We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.
Born a King on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown him again,
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.
Frankincense to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping God on high.
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Glorious now behold him arise; King and God and sacrifice:
Alleluia, Alleluia, sounds through the earth and skies.
O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Gordon Young (1919-1998) was born in McPherson, Kansas, and during his lifetime was recognized as one of this country's great church organists. He was a prolific and talented composer for both organ and choir, with nearly 1000 published works. During the course of his career, he was a radio organist in Tulsa, a music critic and columnist for daily newspapers in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, and choirmaster in churches in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Mr. Young taught organ in conjunction with Wayne State University and for 15 years was organist and choir director at the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit.
About the Piano Music:
The Coventry Carol - Mark Hayes
(c.2022, Candela Works Music, div. of Jubilate Music Group)
"Coventry Carol" is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew. Many think this is a lullaby to Baby Jesus, but rather, the carol itself refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed, and takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children. It is a song of mourning and lament.
The carol is the second of three songs included in the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, a nativity play that was one of the Coventry Mystery Plays, originally performed by the city's guilds.
The exact date of the text is unknown, though there are references to the Coventry guild pageants from 1392 onwards. The single surviving text of the carol and the pageant containing it was edited by one Robert Croo, who dated his manuscript 14 March 1534. Croo, or Crowe, acted for some years as the 'manager' of the city pageants. Over a twenty-year period, payments are recorded to him for playing the part of God in the Drapers' Pageant, for making a hat for a "pharysye", and for mending and making other costumes and props, as well as for supplying new dialogue and for copying out the Shearmen and Tailors' Pageant in a version which Croo described as "newly correcte". Croo seems to have worked by adapting and editing older material, while adding his own rather ponderous and undistinguished verse.
Religious changes caused the plays' suppression during the later 16th century, but Croo's prompt-book, including the songs, survived and a transcription was eventually published by the Coventry antiquarian Thomas Sharp in 1817 as part of his detailed study of the city's mystery plays. Sharp published a second edition in 1825 which included the songs' music. Both printings were intended to be a facsimile of Croo's manuscript, copying both the orthography and layout; this proved fortunate as Croo's original manuscript, which had passed into the collection of the Birmingham Free Library, was destroyed in a fire there in 1879. Sharp's transcriptions are therefore the only source; Sharp had a reputation as a careful scholar, and his copying of the text of the women's carol appears to be accurate.
Within the pageant, the carol is sung by three women of Bethlehem, who enter on stage with their children immediately after Joseph is warned by an angel to take his family to Egypt: Sharp's publication of the text stimulated some renewed interest in the pageant and songs, particularly in Coventry itself. Although the Coventry mystery play cycle was traditionally performed in summer, the lullaby has been in modern times regarded as a Christmas carol. It was brought to a wider audience after being featured in the BBC's Empire Broadcast at Christmas 1940, shortly after the Bombing of Coventry in World War II, when the broadcast concluded with the singing of the carol in the bombed-out ruins of the Cathedral.
The carol's music was added to Croo's manuscript at a later date by Thomas Mawdyke, his additions being dated 13 May 1591. Mawdyke wrote out the music in three-part harmony, though whether he was responsible for its composition is debatable, and the music's style could be indicative of an earlier date. The three (alto, tenor and baritone) vocal parts confirm that, as was usual with mystery plays, the parts of the "mothers" singing the carol were invariably played by men. The original three-part version contains a "startling" false relation (F# in treble, F in tenor) at "by, by".
Mawdyke, who may be identifiable with a tailor of that name living in the St Michael's parish of Coventry in the late 16th century, is thought to have made his additions as part of an unsuccessful attempt to revive the play cycle in the summer of 1591, though in the end the city authorities chose not to support the revival. The surviving pageants were revived in the Cathedral from 1951 onwards.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child, By, by, lully, lullay;
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child, By, by, lully, lullay.
O sisters, too, how may we do, For to preserve this day;
This poor Young thing for whom we do sing, By, by, lully, lullay.
Herod the King, in his raging, Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight, All children young to slay.
Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee, And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting nor say nor sing, By, by, lully, lullay.
Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds. Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013. Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world”.
About the Choral Music:
What Gift? - Russell Mauldin
(c.1991, John T. Benson Publishing)
“What Gift?” is a song by Dave Clark, which was arranged by Russell Mauldin for inclusion in his Christmas musical, Open Your Treasures.
Beginning in 1987 with the Larnelle Harris hit “The Father Hath Provided,” Dave Clark achieved unparalleled success throughout the 1990s and 2000s with hits from 4Him, Sandy Patti, Phillips Craig & Dean, Mark Harris, Karen Peck & New River, Greg Long and more. A graduate of Nazarene Bible College, Clark is Creative Director for Lillenas Publishing and author of over 50 Christmas and Easter Musicals.
Russell Mauldin (b.1959) is an American arranger, orchestrator, conductor, vocalist, composer and producer. Originally a drummer for the Christian market in Greenville, South Carolina, now working with top artists in Nashville where he has been based since 1986.
What gift can I bring to You that is worthy of all that You deserve?
What do I have to offer that is worth more than frankincense and myrrh?
I have come just to worship You, the King of all I’ll ever be.
And I have brought You many treasures, blessed, Lord,
But most importantly that gift I give to You is me.
What gift can I bring to You that is worthy of all that You deserve?
What do I have to offer that is worth more than frankincense and myrrh?
I have come just to worship You, the King of all I’ll ever be.
And I have brought You many treasures, blessed, Lord,
But most importantly that gift I give to You is me.
But most importantly, the gift I give to You is me.
Love Has Come
Ken Bible (b.1950) received his Bachelor of Music in composition at the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He has worked at Lillenas Publishing Company for 30 years and served as director from 1977-1990. He is the editor of the current Lillanas hymnal, Sing to the Lord, and has compiled numerous collections, including the Master Chorus Book. Bible founded Living the Natural Way and LNWhymns.com, as a publisher of pocket-sized books and new hymns.
“Love Has Come” uses the melody of “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella”, which first appeared in print in 1688 with the Provençal text Venès lèu, Vèire la piéucello; Venès lèu, Genti pastourèu! in a collection of twelve Provençal noëls by Nicholas Saboly.
Love has come, a light in the darkness!
Love explodes in the Bethlehem skies.
See, all heaven has come to proclaim it.
Hear how their song of joy arises:
Love! Love! Born unto you, a Savior!
Love! Love! Glory to God on high!
Love is born! Come share in the wonder.
Love is God now asleep in the hay.
See the glow in the eyes of His mother.
What is the name her heart is saying?
Love! Love! Love is the name she whispers.
Love! Love! Jesus, Immanuel.
Love has come, He never will leave us!
Love is life everlasting and free.
Love is Jesus within and among us.
Love is the peace our hearts are seeking.
Love! Love! Love is the gift of Christmas.
Love! Love! Praise to You, God on high!
About the Hymns:
We Three Kings
“We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the tune (KINGS OF ORIENT). It is thought to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns and Song in 1863. John Henry Hopkins, Jr., then an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, was instrumental in organizing an elaborate holiday pageant (which featured this hymn) for the students of the General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1857 while serving as the seminary's music director. Although there is no scriptural basis for stating dogmatically that there were three wise men, the fact that three distinct gifts are mentioned has given rise to this traditional idea. Master artists throughout the centuries have depicted three wise men on camels as one of their favorite nativity themes.
We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar,
field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.
Born a King on Bethlehem's plain, gold I bring to crown him again,
King forever, ceasing never, over us all to reign.
Frankincense to offer have I; incense owns a Deity nigh;
prayer and praising, voices raising, worshiping God on high.
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Glorious now behold him arise; King and God and sacrifice:
Alleluia, Alleluia, sounds through the earth and skies.
O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
Star Child
New Zealander Shirley Erena Murray (b. 1931), one of the most accomplished living hymn writers in the English language, wrote this poignant text set to a beautiful melody by Carlton Young (b. 1926). The text "Star-Child, earth-Child" (1994) has a New-Age sound to it at first, but a closer examination of the words reveals a song rooted in Christian and human reality.
Shirley Murray, the wife of Presbyterian minister John Murray, studied Classics and French at the University of Otago in Dunedin in the far south of the lower island, where she was granted an M.A. with Honors. Her career has included experience as a teacher, researcher, and radio hymn program producer.
She began to write hymns in the 1970s to undergird the theology of her husband's progressive theology and the work of Amnesty International. The first independent publication of her hymns was In Every Corner, Sing (1987), a collection that featured many themes that she would continue to develop. Fellow New Zealander and hymn writer, Colin Gibson highlights these themes: "The search for peace, justice and human rights, inclusiveness, the honoring of women and the feminine element in spirituality, celebration of the natural world and the New Zealand environment, a call to social responsibility and a life of faith lived out with compassion and hopefulness.”
Murray reminds us that there are many among us for whom the joy of Christmas has never been experienced. She achieves this message through a series of short descriptive modifiers before "child." She catalogues children of all ages and stations of life: "street child, beat child," "hurt child, used child," "grown child, old child," "sad child, lost child.” All of these children are created in the image of the "Star-Child, earth-Child" of stanza one and the "Hope-for-peace Child" of stanza five. The refrain, "This year, let the day arrive," is a petition for the presence of the "Christ Child" for "everyone alive."
Carlton Young's musical setting captures the lyrical quality and warmth of a traditional Christmas carol. The beautiful melody becomes a vehicle for singing a message that fits our generation's stanza -- a worthy contribution to the great hymns of the church.
Since the turn of the century, Shirley Murray’s awards and honors are numerous, including the New Zealand Order of Merit (2001) and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music (2006). Her hymn "God, in your grace" was chosen as the theme song for the IX Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre, Brazil (2006), and she has been honored as a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada (2009).
Star Child, earth Child, go between of God,
love Child, Christ Child, heaven's lighting rod,
This year, this year, let the day arrive
when Christmas comes for everyone, everyone alive!
Street child, beat child, no place left to go,
hurt child, used child, no one wants to know,
This year, this year, let the day arrive
when Christmas comes for everyone, everyone alive!
Grown child, old child, memory full of years,
sad child, lost child, story told in tears,
This year, this year, let the day arrive
when Christmas comes for everyone, everyone alive!
Spared child, spoiled child, memory full of years,
wise child, faith child, knowing joy in store,
This year, this year, let the day arrive
when Christmas comes for everyone, everyone alive!
Hope-for-peace Child, God's stupendous sign,
down-to-earth Child, Star of stars that shine,
This year, this year, let the day arrive
when Christmas comes for everyone, everyone alive!
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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