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 Tiefer Not - Curtis Lanoue
(c.2003, Curtis Lanoue)
Martin Luther (1483-1546) is important in the history of hymnody for restoring congregational singing in worship. In addition, Luther wrote hymns and composed hymn tunes. Luther was one of the primary theologians of the Protestant Reformation and established the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany. Lutheranism eventually spread throughout Europe and North America. Luther had a unique theological perspective: Justification by Faith (salvation is a gift from God and is available through acceptance. It is not attained through 'works.'). Luther's theological views are evident in his hymns. Luther wrote both the text and tune of “Aus Tiefer Not (Out of the deep)” and published it in the Achtliederbuch in 1524, one of several hymnals he published. The text is based on Psalm 130.
Out of the deep I cry to thee; O Lord God, hear my crying:
Incline thy gracious ear to me, With prayer to thee applying.
For if thou fix thy searching eye On all sin and iniquity,
Who, Lord, can stand before thee?
For this, my hope in God shall rest, Naught building on my merit;
My heart confides, of him possest, His goodness stays my spirit.
His precious word assureth me; My solace, my sure rock is he,
Whereon my soul abideth.
What though our sins are manifold? Supreme his mercy reigneth;
No limit can his hand withhold, Where evil most obtaineth.
He the good Shepherd is alone, Who Israel will redeem and won,
Forgiving all transgression.
Curtis Lanoue’s desire to play the organ came from being a fan of Rick Wakeman – keyboardist for the rock group Yes. When he was 15, Curtis started organ lessons. He received his Bachelors in Music at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in jazz performance (trombone) and his Masters in studio jazz writing from the University of Miami and a Masters in Religious Studies with a focus on Christian Ethics. Lanoue is an elementary music teacher and the director of music at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Miami.
When Jesus Wept - David Schelat
(c.2008, Birnamwood Pub., div of MorningStar)
William Billings (1746-1800), remembered as a prolific composer and singing school leader, is often referred to as America’s first choral composer. He is generally acknowledged as a central figure in early American, sometimes called primitive American, church music. J. Murray Barbour, in his text The Church Music of William Billings, opens his introduction with the statement that Billings was “the most important composer of the pioneer period of American church music”; and Karl Kroeger, in his article on Billings for The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology, comments on Billings’ influence by writing, “he [Billings] became the informal leader of a large group of largely self-taught New-England composers who dominated American sacred music between about 1780 and 1810.
Billings, a Bostonian from birth to death, experienced tragedy as a young man when his father died and, due to this, was forced to abandon his formal education and become trained as a tanner to help support his family. As far as his education in music, there is some suggestion that he was trained, in part, through study with John Barry, a member of the New South Church choir, but the bulk of his education came from attending singing schools and through individual study of collections of psalmody. Particularly influential to Billings’ early compositions were the psalms of William Tans’ur (1706-1783), Aaron Williams, and other British psalmists. His connection to British hymn writers remained evident throughout his lifetime, with many texts coming from Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, and others, but his music style often diverged from the common practices of his day. Billings wrote about his compositional practice in The Continental Harmony (1794): “Musical composition is a sort of something, which is much better felt than described (at least by me) for if I was to attempt it, I should not know where to begin or where to leave off . . . although I am not confined to rules prescribed by others, yet I come near as I possibly can to a set of rules which I have carved out for myself; but when fancy gets upon the wing, she seems to despise all form, and scorns to be confined or limited by any formal prescriptions whatsoever”. Despite the purging of Billings’ and other composers’ music from hymnody after 1810, Billings is now considered “a talented and imaginative composer in a style only marginally related to the art music of his day.
During his life, Billings composed more than 300 works, most of which were sacred, a cappella, four-part choral works. Among these many compositions are psalms, anthems, hymns, and fuging tunes. Perhaps the most well-known work of Billings, “When Jesus Wept” was first published in his 1770 collection titled The New-England Psalm-Singer. This volume of music, the first book of music entirely composed by an American born in America, consisted of more than 120 original works that the subtitle of his book indicates consisted of “a Number of Psalm-Tunes, Anthems, and Canons.” Before moving to the music, it is worth noting that this volume contained a lengthy section on how to read music, as was the custom for songbooks connected to singing schools and that directly reflected the practice by which Billings himself learned music. As a matter of interest, this first volume was adorned by a frontispiece created by Paul Revere, one of Billings’ many friends during the colonial period.
“When Jesus Wept” is a beautifully-constructed canon that Billings tucked into the lower right corner of the final page of a longer anthem simply titled QUEEN, almost exactly halfway through the book, and it is written in a manner that looks very similar to a four-part choral texture. When singing the melody, one will find that it is quite beautiful and employs aspects of text painting. Some of these text paintings are the descending notes found on the words “falling tear,” the lovely slurred pitches on the word “flowed,” the single breaking away to the single appearance of lowest pitch in the phrase “beyond all bound,” the angular melodic line near the word “groaned,”, and the circling of the pitches around the tonic at “world around.”
The brief text by Perez Morton (1751-1837) connects the tears of Jesus over the death of his friend, Lazarus, in John 11, with the groaning of Jesus on the cross. The simplicity of the parallelism belies the depth of connection. Mourning is not a foreign emotion or experience to God, nor are screams of desolation. The hymn does not complete the theological thought, but leaves it for those singing to complete with their lives. God is with us in our pain. Let us be with others. God is with us in our pain; let us be with God. Let us mourn with those who mourn. Let us not hide our face from brokenness or devastation. The tears of Jesus are streams of mercy. Our God is not a stone, nor a ghost, but all human and all God, from the heights to the depths.
When Jesus wept, the falling tear
In mercy flowed beyond all bound.
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
Seized all the guilty world around.
David Schelat (b.1955) is Director of Music at First & Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. At First & Central he directs all music for worship and is president and artistic director of Market Street Music (MSM), a non-profit corporation that creates musical experiences for audiences and musicians in the Delaware Valley. For MSM, he produces Thursday Noontime Concerts and Festival Concerts, as well as conducts Center City Chorale (a community choir of downtown workers), and Mastersingers of Wilmington (a concert choir of professional and amateur singers).
As well as writing for the ensembles he conducts, Mr. Schelat composes on commission. Recent commissions include Biblical Sketches for Trumpet and Organ (for the 2015 Mid-Atlantic American Guild of Organists (AGO) Convention in Pittsburgh), Anthem for the Annunciation and Before the Dawn of Time (for the 2013 SE Regional AGO Convention in Columbia, South Carolina) Fantasy for a Festive Occasion (for organist Marvin Mills), Organ Sonata (for organist Michael Britt), and What does the Lord require (for the East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh).
David Schelat is a frequent organ recitalist in the United States, and has been heard on the nationally syndicated program on National Public Media, "Pipedreams." He has performed as organist, conductor, or composer for five regional conventions of the AGO, as well as for conferences of the Organ Historical Society, the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and National Association of Pastoral Musicians. An an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. He teaches organ at the Music School of Delaware, is adjunct instructor of organ for the University of Delaware, and has taught at numerous summer Pipe Organ Encounters (POE) for high school organists and adults. He served on the Delaware State Arts Council for 6 years, and in 2005, received a Wilmington Award for his longstanding arts leadership in the city of Wilmington. Schelat received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Ohio State University, his Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, and has pursued additional post-graduate studies at Syracuse University.
About the Choral Music:
Hold On - Sally Ann Morris
(c.2020, GIA Publications)
Mike Erb, a member of the Voices Together hymnal committee, lost his brother Rudy to suicide in early 2017. Adam Tice had a dream that Erb came to a committee meeting with a song to share. Upon awakening, Tice wrote out as much as he remember. He asked Sally Ann Morris to help him complete it. Tice stated, “while there are many songs that invite individuals to commit to a community of faith, I have found very few that name the commitment of the community to an individual.
Adam Tice studied at Goshen College and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He served as Associate Pastor at Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Hyattsville, Maryland, and is music director of the men’s choral ensemble The Open Fifths. He is text editor for the Mennonite hymnal Voices Together (2020) and Editor for Congregational Song for GIA Publications.
Sally Ann Morris (b.1952) discovered the joy of composing hymn tunes in 1990. Since that time, she has written about 100, most of which appear in two collections from GIA Publications, Giving Thanks in Song and Prayer (1998) and ...to sing the Artist's praise...(2009). She has hymn tunes (and a Mass setting) in Gather Comprehensive II, the New Century Hymnal of the United Church of Christ, The Hymnal 21 in Japan, the 2005 Hymnal of the Church of Scotland and in other collections, hymnal supplements and recordings. She appears frequently as a guest artist, clinician, composer, cantor and conductor in churches nationwide, and at national conferences including The Presbyterian Association of Musicians Worship and Music Conferences at Montreat, NC, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. Sally serves as Director of Music Ministries at Parkway Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, NC.
When pain or sorrow is too much to bear;
when your heart feels numb, unable to care,
when faith seems so pointless that you cannot pray,
when no one knows quite what to say,
then hold on, hold on, to find a way to get through.
And when your hope is gone and you can’t hold on,
we will hold on to you.
If God is silent when you need to hear
that you’re not alone, that comfort is near;
if you are abandoned when you need a friend,
when all good things come to an end,
then hold on, hold on, to find a way to get through.
And when your hope is gone and you can’t hold on,
we will hold on to you.
And when it looks like there’s no end in sight,
know all that is wrong can still be made right.
You’re never alone; God has promised to be
with us even when we can’t see,
so hold on, hold on, to find a way to get through.
And when your hope is gone and you can’t hold on,
we will hold on to you.
Sovereign Most Holy
(c.2013, Lawrence A Wik)
Rev. Lawrence Wik wrote this hymn for Lent in 2013 and gave it to the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church to publish on their website for free use by churches. Rev. Wik is a United Methodist pastor currently serving Lake Orion UMC in Michigan.
Partially based on earlier melodies (including the Genevan tune for Psalm 23), the tune HERZLIEBSTER JESU was composed by Johann Crüger (1598-1662) and published in his Neues vollkömliches Gesangbuch (1640). Johann S. Bach used the tune in both his St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, and various other composers have written preludes on the chorale. The name translates and the tune was originally written for the text “Ah, Holy Jesus”.
Sovereign most holy, Lord of might and splendor,
angels revere you, we our praises render.
Loudest hosannas we in love are bringing:
joy in us singing!
Jesus Messiah, gift of God’s own favor,
suffered at Calvary, and became our savior,
rose Easter morning to return victorious:
Christ ever glorious!
Spirit of mercy, and of love unswerving,
enter our hearts though we are undeserving.
“Amen,” we cry, in faith and hope believing:
new life receiving!
Praise to the Father, God of all creation!
Praise to Christ Jesus, hope of our salvation!
Praise to the Spirit, God within us yearning:
love in us burning!
About the Hymns:
In the Cross of Christ I Glory
Sir John Bowring (1792-1872) was a distinguished scholar, ranked by some as one of the great minds of his day in the English-speaking world. Among his gifts was his ability as a linguist, publishing translations of poetry from such varied languages as Russian, Batavian, Spanish, Polish, Serbian, Bohemian, Magyar, Czech and Hungarian. Bowring was also a social progressive, advocating free trade, parliamentary reform, education for all and prison reforms, according to hymnologist Albert Bailey. Few hymn writers have been as involved in politics. Knighted in 1854, Bowring helped develop commercial relationships on behalf of Great Britain, traveling to France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Syria and Siam (now Thailand). Bowring also was twice a member of Parliament, a consul at Canton (in charge of trade in China) and a governor of Hong Kong. He was evidently relieved of his duties in Hong Kong because he “was full of conceit and without any very clear idea of political principles on a large scale.” After retirement in 1860, his public service continued as a commissioner to Italy and other diplomatic posts in Europe and Hawaii.
Despite a demanding political and diplomatic career, Bowring maintained an active avocation as a translator of poetry, composer of original poems and writer of essays on political and religious themes. Mr. Bailey notes that the “hymns that have lived were all written when he was about 30 years old, when his poetic interests were uppermost, and the idealism of youth made him the champion of the downtrodden and the underprivileged.” “In the cross of Christ I glory” (1825) was composed while the author was in his early thirties. Appearing in Hymns by John Bowring (1825), the theme and language suggests a much more mature poet. Galatians 6:14 provides the basis for this hymn: “Far be it for me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Ithamar Conkey (1815-1867) was born in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, and was of Scottish ancestry. He was organist at Central Baptist Church in Norwich, Connecticut. After his work in Norwich, he went to New York City and served as bass soloist at Calvary Episcopal Church and later bass soloist and choir director of Madison Avenue Baptist Church. One Sunday in 1849 Conkey walked out of the morning service at Central Baptist Church, where he was choir director and organist, frustrated because only one soprano from his choir had come that morning. The next Sunday, the minister preached a Lenten message on the words of Christ on the cross. One of the hymns to be sung was Bowring's "In the Cross of Christ I Glory." Later that day Conkey's discouragement changed to inspiration, and he composed a new tune for that text. He named the tune after that one faithful soprano, Mrs. Beriah S. Rathbun. The tune RATHBUN was published in Henry W. Greatorex's Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes (1851).
In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o'ertake me, hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
never shall the cross forsake me. Lo! it glows with peace and joy.
When the sun of bliss is beaming light and love upon my way,
from the cross the radiance streaming adds more luster to the day.
Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure, by the cross are sanctified;
peace is there that knows no measure, joys that through all time abide.
In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o'er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915) was the author of over 8,500 gospel songs. Though blind at 6 weeks of age, Crosby began composing texts at age 6. She later became a teacher at the New York School for the Blind, where she was a student. A friend of several presidents, Crosby became one of the most important advocates for the cause of the blind in the United States. Her texts were set to the compositions of some of the most prominent gospel song composers of the day including William Bradbury, William Doane and Ira Sankey. Crosby composed under a number of pen names. She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne. British hymnals identify her as Frances Van Alstyne, her married name.
This hymn first appeared in the collection Bright Jewels (1869), compiled by Bradbury, Doane, W.F. Sherwin and Chester G. Allen, at least two of whom were famous writers of gospel song tunes. Indeed, it was Doane who wrote the music and then gave it to Fanny Crosby to add the text—a practice that was not uncommon in their relationship. It is one of many texts by Crosby that combine vivid imagery and powerful biblical and evangelical metaphors: the Cross, a fountain of healing streams, free grace, the daily walk of faith, God’s pursuing love and mercy, Jesus, the Lamb of God, beyond the river of death, heaven with its golden streets, and rest for the post-Raptured souls.”
The glory of the Cross, a theme of the refrain, is a common metaphor of Romantic-era hymnody. The Cross, a place where the pain of earth and the joy of heaven come together, is a kind of spiritual altar to which we might draw near for refuge and solace. Though an instrument of cruel punishment and torture, the Cross is a source of a “healing stream” (stanza one) and a place where “the bright and morning star sheds its beams” on us (stanza two). Stanza three invites us to meditate upon the Cross—“bring its scenes before me.” The “shadow” of the Cross falls on my daily path.
Many writers have commented on Fanny Crosby’s ability to employ the technique of hypotyposis—painting a vivid scene as if it were present—even though she was blinded soon after birth. Dwight L. Moody once asked Crosby: “If you could have just one wish granted, what would it be?” Moody expected her to ask for sight. She replied, “If I could have one wish, I’d wish that I might continue blind the rest of my life.” Moody was taken aback and asked, “How can you say that?” Crosby responded, “Because, after being blind for all these years, the first face I want to see now is the face of Jesus.”
Jesus, keep me near the Cross, there a precious fountain,
free to all a healing stream, flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Near the cross, a trembling soul, Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star Sheds it beams around me.
Near the Cross! O Lamb of God, Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day, With its shadows o’er me.
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand, Just beyond the river.
In the Cross, in the Cross, be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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