Musings: Sunday, April 6, 2025

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:

O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß - J. S. Bach

"O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß" (O man, bewail thy sins so great) is a Lutheran Passion hymn with a text written by Sebald Heyden in 1530. The author reflects the Passion, based on the Four Evangelists, originally in 23 stanzas. The lyrics were written for an older melody, "Es sind doch selig alle, die im rechten Glauben wandeln". The first and last stanzas have appeared in 11 hymnals. The hymn has been used in Passion music and is known in J.S. Bach's setting as a chorale fantasia closing Part I of his St Matthew Passion. S. Heyden originally wrote a reflection of the Passion based on the four gospels in 23 stanzas of 12 lines each. The original title begins "Der Passion auß den vier Evangelisten" (The Passion from the Four Evangelists). It reflects the Passion, narrating the stations of the cross and adding the context of Heilsbedeutung (meaning for salvation), beginning with man's sinful condition and ending with thanks.

Sebald Heyden (1499-1561) was a German musicologist, cantor, theologian, hymn-writer and religious poet. He is perhaps best known for his De arte canendi ("On the Art of Singing", 1540) which is considered to have had a major impact on scholarship and the teaching of singing to young boys. Heyden developed a great reputation as a scholar, devoted to studies and writing on education, theology, and music. It has been speculated that Heyden was the world's first true musicologist.

The melody of “O Mensch, bewein’ ” most probably was composed by Matthias Greiter (d. c1550). It was first published in the third Part of the Teutsch Kirchēampt mit lobgsengen (Strassburg, 1525; reprinted at Erfurt in 1848), and in Psalmen, gebett und Kirchenubung wie sie zu Strassburg gehalten werden (Strassburg, 1526), a book of 64 pp., containing 23 melodies, of which M. Greiter and his colleague Wolfgang Dachstein were the editors. In 1525-1526 the melody was set to M. Greiter’s version of Psalm cxix, “Es sind doch selig alle.” In Calvin’s Hymn-Book (Strassburg, 1539) it was adapted to Psalm xxxvi, “En moy le secret pensement.” In the course of the 16th century it was sung to the Hymns, “Als Jesus Christus unser Herr” and “Komm, heilger Geist,” and from c1584 chiefly to Sebald Heyden’s “O Mensch, bewein’.” M. Greiter was a monk and chorister of Strassburg Cathedral. He became a Protestant and in 1528 was assistant pastor of St Martin’s Church, and later of St Stephen’s Church, Strassburg.

The 2020 translation by Christopher J. Neuendorf of all 23 verses follows:

O man, thy grievous sin bemoan, Whence, from His Father’s bosom flown,
To earth came Christ, our Savior; Of virgin mother, undefiled,
For us was born the holy Child, To be our Mediator.
Unto the dead new life He gave, The sick from ev’ry ill He saved,
Until His hour of anguish, When He would be our sacrifice,
Pay for our sins the awful price, Yea, on the cross would languish.

Then, as the Jews’ great Feast drew nigh, With His disciples standing by,
Jesus addressed them, saying: The Son of Man shall be betrayed,

Upon the cross be killed, be slain. Then, lo! while they were staying
In Simon’s house, a woman brought Much costly ointment she had bought.
Upon the Lord she poured it. Though some disciples took it ill,
Jesus did not against her rail; Judas in hatred scorned it.

To the high priests he crept away, Agreed his Savior to betray
For thirty silver pieces. With His disciples Jesus came
And ate with them the Paschal Lamb, Which His new feast replaces:
He left for us a Testament To preach His death till this world’s end.
He washed their feet polluted, Depicting thus His love for them,
Commanding them to do the same; With comfort He concluded.

They on the Mount of Olives prayed. With fear and trembling them He bade:
Oh, pray with watchful labor. A stone’s throw thence did He depart,
Prayed to His Father from His heart: O Father, in Thy favor
Grant that this cup may pass from Me. All things are possible with Thee!
Yet what Thou wilt, be keeping. E’en so He prayed three times the same.
As oft as back to them He came, He found them quiet sleeping.

He spake: Sleep ye in My distress? Enough! The hour on us doth press.
The Son of Man is given Into the hands of sinners. Rise!
He who betrays Me draweth nigh. Stay near and pray to heaven.
While yet He spake, lo! Judas came, A hoard there followed in his train,
With spears and clubs arisen. A sign had the betrayer told:
He whom I kiss, on Him take hold, Him shall ye then imprison.

Since Jesus knew all things to be, He went to meet them willingly
And spake unto them mildly: Whom seek ye here with such a swell?
Jesus! They spake, and back they fell, Fearful, but raging wildly.
Judas then kissed Him, as he’d said, The dreadful hoard upon Him sped
And bound Him in their raving. Peter drew forth his sword, came near,
Cleft off the bishop’s servant’s ear, But Jesus answered, saying:

Fight not! Thy sword put in its sheath; Shall I not drink My cup of grief?
This said, He healed the servant. The hoard to Annas Jesus sped
And Him to Caiaphas they led, With bonds and fetters burdened.
Peter came to the court within Through a disciple known to them,
Three times the Lord denying. The bishop questioned Jesus there,
False witnesses they brought to bear, Him to condemn by lying.

Christ gave no answer unto them. Then spake the high priest unto Him:
What sayest Thou? Now hasten: By God I put Thee under oath,
Say, art Thou Christ, God’s Son? he quoth. Then without hesitation:
I am, He said, And from now on The Son of Man you’ll see upon
The shining clouds of glory, Sitting enthroned at God’s right hand!
The bishop did his garments rend, And said, Ye’ve heard His story,

How He blasphemes the God we fear! Spake he: What more need we to hear?
Spake they: To death! With screaming, They spat upon Him in His face,
His cheeks they struck, Him they disgraced, With bitter words blaspheming.
His face they covered, Him to blind, And struck Him with their fists unkind,
Saying: Tell, who hath struck Thee? Then in the dark of early morn,
With many threats and bitter scorn They dragged Him, beaten, bloody,

And brought Him unto Pilate’s throne. When Judas saw what had been done,
He rued the matter sorely. The silver to the priests he gave
And spake, I’ve sinned a sin most grave. He knew he’d served Him poorly.
Himself he hanged, and burst in twain. The high priests gathered both again,
The blood-stained silver selling: A potter’s field with it they bought;
Pilgrims for buri͜al there were brought, The Prophet thus foretelling.

As before Pilate Jesus stood, There rose a clamor from the crowd,
Crying with great upheaval: Much against Caesar hath He done,
Calling Himself God’s only Son, Leading astray the people.
Pilate to Him his questions put, But Christ to him no answer spoke.
At this was Pilate startled. He sent Him unto Herod’s lair;
Herod rejoiced to see Him there, Hoping to see some marvel.

As Jesus not a word would speak, Herod despised the Savior meek,
And sent Him back to Pilate. He summoned then the Jews, and spake:
This Man did Herod also take, In Him saw nothing violent.
You have a custom ev’ry year That I release a prisoner;
I’ll give unto you Jesus! They shrieked with voices raised on high:
No, Jesus take and crucify, More doth Barabbas please us!

So Pilate then had Jesus bound, To the praetori͜um driven round.
With purple they bedecked Him. Of thorns they twisted Him a crown,
Which pressed His head and pierced His brow, And with a reed they struck Him.
As king they greeted Him, cruel sport! Their filth they spat upon the Lord,
His holy head they chastened. Then Pilate spake: Behold the Man!
I find no violence in His hand, No cause for condemnation.

They cried the more with voices loud: Crucify, crucify Him now,
Else you’re no friend of Caesar! When Pilate heard them this repeat,
He sat upon the judgment seat, Hands washed, the crowd’s appeaser.
He freed Barabbas at their cry, Jesus he took to crucify,
Gave in to their defiance. His clothes they put on Him again.
As a loud clamor rose from them, He bore His cross in silence.

Then, as they followed Him without, Simon they forced to leave the crowd,
Helping His cross to carry. The women wailed and loudly wept,
But Jesus stopped, and round He stepped, Briefly with them to tarry:
O weep ye not for Me, He said, Daughters of Zion, weep instead
For yourselves and your children! For of the barren ye will say,
Who never nursed: How blest are they! Such terrors then will fill them.

To Golgotha at last they came. Two evildoers there in shame
Were nailed upon their crosses, One at His right, one at His left,
As Scripture long ago had said. Spake Christ, as was His office:
Father, forgive them, every one, For they know not what they have done!
Pilate a sign had written In Hebrew, Greek, and Latin tongue:
To Jesus, king of Jews, ’tis done, Much to the priests’ vexation.

As Jesus there they crucified, His clothing then did they divide,
And lots they cast thereover. As Jesus saw His mother there,
And John, this word with them He shared: Woman, you’ll be his mother.
Behold thy son! To John He spake: Behold thy mother—ne’er forsake!
Henceforth he gave her shelter. Then the high priests the Savior mocked,
And all the rest blasphemed their God: Is God in truth Thy helper?

If Thou art God’s beloved Son, Leave Thou Thy cross, come down therefrom!
So said the thief, His neighbor. Yet did the other thief confess,
Told him of Jesus’ innocence, And said: Lord, me remember
When Thou Thy kingdom dost receive! Spake Jesus: Truly thou shalt be
In paradise beside Me! At the sixth hour the darkness fell,
And at the ninth from Jesus swelled A great voice, loudly crying:

My God, My God! Why leavest Me? Sour wine they brought in mockery
And for a drink they offered. As Jesus tasted then the gall,
Spake He: ’Tis finished, I’ve done all! And finally, as He suffered:
O Father, into Thy dear hand My spirit now do I commend!
Then with a loud voice crying Gave up the ghost. Then tore the veil
Within the temple; earth did quail And tremble at His dying.

The ground beneath did also shake, The graves were opened as it quaked.
The captain and his servants Said: Yea, this Man was good indeed,
Truly the Son of God was He! They beat their breasts in earnest.
To break their legs the thieves they sought, Jesus was dead; they brake Him not,
Him with a spear they piercèd: Came blood and water from His side.
He who hath seen it testified, The Scripture further bears it.

Then, with the ev’ning drawing nigh, Joseph, the righteous man, came by,
Him from the cross to carry. Good Nicodemus also came,
Aloes and myrrh with him to bring; Jesus he helped to bury,
Wrapped in a pure and linen shroud; Within the rock a grave was found
Where none had lain reposing. There they laid Jesus, holy one,
And o’er the grave they rolled a stone, His body there enclosing.

The Jews a guard nearby had set, But on the third day, from the dead
Jesus arose in power, That we in Him might righteous be,
Within His kingdom now made free, Nor sin within us flower.
O therefore let us all rejoice, Unto our Savior raise our voice,
For Christ did truly conquer For us sin’s pow’r and deep distress,
And us redeemed from hell and death; The devil rules no longer.

So let us thank Him evermore That for our sakes such pain He bore,
After His will now living. Yea, let us be the foes of sin,
Since God’s Word brightly shines within And daily aids our striving.
Let us show love to ev’ryone As Christ Himself to us hath done
By His own suff’ring, dying. O child of man, reflect aright
How God’s dread wrath our sin did smite, Thou from transgression flying!

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity. His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music. Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony". He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of all time. A highly devout Christian, Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory).

The Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book") is a collection of 46 chorale preludes for organ, which form the first of Bach's masterpieces with a mature compositional style in marked contrast to his previous compositions for the instrument. Each of them treats a known Lutheran chorale with a motivic accompaniment. Bach explored a wide diversity of forms in the Orgelbüchlein. As stated by Albert Schweitzer: “Here Bach has realized the ideal of the chorale prelude. The method is the most simple imaginable and at the same time the most perfect. Nowhere is the Dürer-like character of his musical style so evident as in these small chorale preludes. Simply by the precision and the characteristic quality of each line of the contrapuntal motive he expresses all that has to be said, and so makes clear the relation of the music to the text whose title it bears.”

"O Mensch" is one of the most celebrated of Bach's chorale preludes. Bach ornamented the simple melody, in twelve phrases reflecting the twelve lines of the opening verse, with an elaborate coloratura. The ornamentation, although employing conventional musical figures, is highly original and inventive. While the melody in the upper voice is hidden by coloratura over a wide range, the two inner voices are simple and imitative above the continuo-style bass. Bach varies the texture and coloring of the accompaniment for each line of what is one of the longest melodies in the collection. Bach’s characteristic use of tone-painting is clear. In the penultimate line, accompanying the words "ein schwere Bürd" (the heavy burden of our sins), the inner parts intensify with the upper voice rising to a climax on the highest note in the prelude. The closing phrase, with its mounting chromatic bass accompanying the bare unadorned melody to end in an unexpected modulation to major, gives a sense of hope anticipating the resurrection.

O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig - Georg Telemann

(c.1944, Theodore Presser)

"O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" (O Lamb of God, innocent) is an early Lutheran hymn, with text and melody attributed to Nikolaus Decius. Originally intended as a German hymn instead of the Latin Agnus Dei, it was used rather as a hymn for Passiontide. In both meanings, the hymn has often been set to music, prominently as the cantus firmus in the opening chorus of J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244). It is included in most German hymnals.

The words of the Choral are the first stanza of N. Decius’ translation of the “Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi.” Until the 18th century, the hymn "O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" was printed in hymnals without mentioning an author. Philipp Julius Rehtmeyer (de) presented in his historical Braunschweigische Kirchen-Historie a Latin report from 1600, which called N. Decius as the author of text and melody of "O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" and "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr". A medieval melody may have been the model for the tune. The creation of hymns by N. Decius is dated 1522-1523, in the early Reformation, before Martin Luther's first hymns, published in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal. The song was first printed in Low German in Joachim Slüter (de)'s Geystlyke leder in Rostock in 1531. The first print in High German appeared in in Valentin S. Schumann’s Geistliche lieder auffs new gebessert und gemehrt (Leipzig, 1539). It was distributed in German-speaking regions.

The melody, “O Lamm Gottes unschuldig,” was composed or adapted by N. Decius (von Hofe or Hovesch) for his translation of the “Agnus Dei.” The tune was published, with the hymn, in Anton Corvinus’ Christliche Kirchen-Ordnung (Erfurt, 1542), issued, with a Preface by Elisabeth Duchess of Brunswick-Luneburg, for the use of the Principalities of Calenberg and Gottingen, of which she was Regent. The melody appeared with the text first in Johann Spangenberg (de)s hymnal Kirchengesenge Deudtsch (Magdeburg, 1545), but it had appeared in a slightly different version a few years earlier in a Strasbourg hymnal.

Like in the Latin model, the Lamb of God is called three times, twice asking for mercy, the third time for peace. The text is given as in the current German hymnals, with the translation of Catherine Winkworth, published in 1863 as No. 46 in her Chorale Book for England.

In all early prints, "O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" is titled Das Agnus Dei Deutsch (The Agnus Dei in German), indicating that it was supposed to take the position of the Agnus Dei during the Abendmahl (communion). This function was soon taken by Luther's "Christe, du Lamm Gottes", while "O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig", which adds the memory of Christ's Passion, was used as a hymn for Passiontide.

The hymn was included in the Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch (EKG) of 1950 as a Passion song, EKG 55, with two slightly different melodies, called northern ("norddeutsche") and southern ("süddeutsche") version.
The hymn appeared in 1616 first in a Catholic hymnal, in Paderborn, then in the Groß Catholisch Gesangbuch by David Gregor Corner. It was included in 1938 as "O du Lamm Gottes unschuldig" in the collection Kirchenlied as the only Agnus Dei song.

O Lamb of God, most blameless, Who on the cross didst languish;

Though mocked by hatred shameless, E'er patient in Thine anguish:

Thou barest our transgression, That we may gain salvation;

Have mercy on us, O Jesus!

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesheim, Telemann entered the University of Leipzig to study law, but eventually settled on a career in music. He held important positions in Leipzig, Sorau, Eisenach, and Frankfurt before settling in Hamburg in 1721, where he became musical director of the city's five main churches. Telemann was one of the most prolific composers in history, composing more than 3,000 pieces, and was considered by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of the time—he was compared favorably both to his friend Johann Sebastian Bach, who made Telemann the godfather and namesake of his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, and to George Frideric Handel, whom Telemann also knew personally. Telemann's music was one of the driving forces behind the late Baroque and the early Classical styles. Starting in the 1710s he became one of the creators and foremost exponents of the so-called German mixed style, an amalgam of German, French, Italian and Polish styles. Over the years, his music gradually changed and started incorporating more and more elements of the galant style, but he never completely adopted the ideals of the nascent Classical era: Telemann's style remained contrapuntally and harmonically complex, and already in 1751 he dismissed much contemporary music as too simplistic. Equally important for the history of music were Telemann's publishing activities. By pursuing exclusive publication rights for his works, he set one of the most important early precedents for regarding music as the intellectual property of the composer.

About the Piano Music:

Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief/Have I Done Any Good? - Sally de Ford

(c.2021, Sally de Ford)

James Montgomery (1771-1854) was a Scottish-born hymn writer, poet and editor, who eventually settled in Sheffield. He was raised in the Moravian Church and theologically trained there, so that his writings often reflect concern for humanitarian causes, such as the abolition of slavery and the exploitation of child chimney sweeps. Montgomery himself expected that his name would live, if at all, in his hymns. Some of these, such as "Hail to the Lord's Anointed", "Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire", "Stand up and Bless the Lord" and the carol "Angels from the Realms of Glory", are still sung. "The Lord Is My Shepherd" is a popular hymn with many denominations, based on Psalm 23.

"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" (originally titled "The Stranger and His Friend") is a seven-stanza poem written in 1826 by James Montgomery. The words of the poem have since been adopted as a Christian hymn. Montgomery wrote "The Stranger and His Friend" in December 1826 while travelling in England on extended trips in horse-drawn carriages. Montgomery did not write the poem with the intention of it being set to music. It was originally written as a Christmas poem. New York City preacher George Coles set the poem to music he wrote.^[1] The hymn was adopted by some Christian congregations in the United States and the United Kingdom.

"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" was a favorite hymn of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The hymn was introduced in the church by apostle John Taylor, who learned the hymn in 1840 as a missionary in England. Taylor included the hymn in the Latter Day Saints' Manchester Hymnal, which was used in England from 1840 to 1912. The hymn was also included in the church's 1841 hymnal published in Nauvoo, Illinois. Unlike the version in the Manchester Hymnal, the hymn in the Nauvoo hymnal included music composed by Taylor.

On the afternoon that Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in prison in Carthage, Illinois, the Smiths requested Taylor sing the hymn twice. After he became president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Taylor asked Ebenezer Beesley to compose new music for the hymn. The results were published in the church's 1889 hymnal, and the hymn has been included in every subsequent edition of the church's hymnal.

The original tune Taylor sang before the martyrdom became lost in the years following Taylor's death. In 2008, a descendant of Taylor found the original tune in the notebook of Beesley, and then shared his findings with historian Jeffrey N. Walker. Walker then published his arrangement of the hymn with the tune as it was sung to Beesley.

A poor wayfaring Man of grief Hath often crossed me on my way,

Who sued so humbly for relief That I could never answer nay.

I had not pow’r to ask his name, Whereto he went, or whence he came;

Yet there was something in his eye That won my love; I knew not why.

Once, when my scanty meal was spread, He entered; not a word he spake.

Just perishing for want of bread. I gave him all; he blessed it, brake,

And ate, but gave me part again. Mine was an angel’s portion then,

For while I fed with eager haste, The crust was manna to my taste.

I spied him where a fountain burst Clear from the rock; his strength was gone.

The heedless water mocked his thirst; He heard it, saw it hurrying on.

I ran and raised the suff’rer up; Thrice from the stream he drained my cup,

Dipped and returned it running o’er; I drank and never thirsted more.

’Twas night; the floods were out; it blew A winter hurricane aloof.

I heard his voice abroad and flew To bid him welcome to my roof.

I warmed and clothed and cheered my guest And laid him on my couch to rest,

Then made the earth my bed and seemed In Eden’s garden while I dreamed.

Stript, wounded, beaten nigh to death, I found him by the highway side.

I roused his pulse, brought back his breath, Revived his spirit, and supplied

Wine, oil, refreshment—he was healed. I had myself a wound concealed,

But from that hour forgot the smart, And peace bound up my broken heart.

In pris’n I saw him next, condemned To meet a traitor’s doom at morn.

The tide of lying tongues I stemmed, And honored him ’mid shame and scorn.

My friendship’s utmost zeal to try, He asked if I for him would die.

The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill, But my free spirit cried, “I will!”

Then in a moment to my view The stranger started from disguise.

The tokens in his hands I knew; The Savior stood before mine eyes.

He spake, and my poor name he named, “Of me thou hast not been ashamed.

These deeds shall thy memorial be; Fear not, thou didst them unto me.”

William Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909) was an American composer and music publisher. He founded the W. L. Thompson Music Company and tried his hand with some success at secular compositions before finding his forte in hymns and gospel songs. Thompson graduated from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, in 1870. In 1873, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music and later continued his musical studies in Leipzig, Germany. A member of the Church of Christ, Thompson is best known as the writer and composer of hymns and gospel songs, to which he increasingly devoted his talents after his teenage years.

His most well-known work is the classic and enduring gospel song "Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling" (1880) which has been translated into countless languages. Thompson published his own works under a variety of pseudonyms, such as James Orr, J. Calvin Bushey, Warren Bestley, S. S. Meyers, Will T. Meyers, Will Baker, John Rutledge, John Armstrong, and Will Lamartine.

"Have I Done Any Good?" was matched to the music for a popular tune "East Liverpool". It is popular in the LDS church and is used to inspire discussion about the effectiveness of Mormon missions.

Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad? If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today Because I was willing to share?

Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?

There are chances for work all around just now, Opportunities right in our way.

Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,” But go and do something today.

’Tis noble of man to work and to give; Love’s labor has merit alone.

Only he who does something helps others to live. To God each good work will be known.

Then wake up and do something more Than dream of your mansion above.

Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, A blessing of duty and love.

Sally Giles DeFord is a prolific composer and arranger whose choral, duet, solo, and instrumental music is given away through her website. “The Lord has placed me in circumstances that currently don't demand extra income, he has inspired the creators of technology to produce programs that I can use to publish the music without the assistance of typesetters, and he has given me a gift that I did nothing to earn. Sharing seems logical.” DeFord was born in 1959 in Eugene, Oregon. She fondly recalls that her love of music came listening to her grandmother practice the accordion and her grandfather singing her to sleep accompanied by his banjo. She wrote her first song—a ballad for a then-boyfriend—when she was sixteen, but scrapped it, as well as the next few songs she wrote. She attended Brigham Young University. Her music has been featured in Church magazines numerous times and she has received over thirty Church music awards for her compositions and arrangements. Her song, “If the Savior Stood Beside Me” was used in the 2008 Primary program and was performed in the Church’s General Young Women’s meeting in 2007.

About the Choral Music:

Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley - Jack Schrader

(c.2008, Hope Publishing Company)

“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.

Jack Schrader (b. 1942), arranger, composer, conductor, vocalist, and organist/pianist, is past editor with Hope Publishing Company, retiring in January of 2009. His association with Hope began in 1978. A 1964 graduate of Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, where he majored in Voice and Organ, he also received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Nebraska (1966). Further studies in theology culminated in Jack's ordination by the Evangelical Free Church of America (1975). Schrader is the best-selling choral composer in the Hope catalog. In addition to choral music Jack has published collections for keyboardists, instrumentalists and vocal soloists. He was a member of the editorial committee for Hope's most recent hymnal, Worship & Rejoice (2001), in which he has 24 hymn credits. His music is heard in hundreds of churches across the country each Sunday, and he can be seen throughout the year as a guest clinician at choral reading sessions and workshops.

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.

Jesus prayed for his disciples; He prayed alone for you and me.

Oh, nobody else could bear such sorrow; He prayed alone for you and me.

Jesus died on Calvary’s mountain; He died alone for you and me.

Oh, nobody else could die for sinners; He had to die for you and me.

About the Hymns:

Ah, Holy Jesus

"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.

Were You There?

(c.1989, United Methodist Publishing House)

Were You There was likely composed by African-American slaves in the 19th century. It was first published in William Eleazar Barton's 1899 Old Plantation Hymns. In 1940, it was included in the Episcopal Church hymnal, making it the first spiritual to be included in any major American hymnal. As reported in Howard Thurman's autobiography, the song was one of Mahatma Gandhi's favorites

For a time, the slaves simply by-passed the New Testament, especially since their white taskmasters used it to justify slavery. But there was something about the man Jesus, hanging there upon the hard, wooden cross. Here was a man who was beaten like they were. He was spit upon. He was falsely accused. He was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Finally, he was hung on a tree, a method of execution familiar to the slaves. Through all of these indignities, Jesus prayed, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

"How was he able to forgive?" they questioned. "What was it that enabled him to love those who were unlovable?" Was he in pain? They were in pain. Did he have to drink the cup of suffering? They had to drink theirs, too. Yes, their cross was one with his cross. Jesus died for the sins of all men, of every color. He had to be who he said he was. How else could he have done what he did? In time, they embraced Jesus as their Savior, and they experienced His peace, His grace and forgiveness, and His hope for the future. From this relationship they were able to sing. From the cross they felt a mighty emergence of the divine will, breaking down the barriers that separated man from man, and man from God. And so, instead of taking the destructive road to violence, many began to hum, then to sing, and sometimes to shout the spirituals - a cry to God for freedom and a declaration of faith in His ability to provide it.

“Were You There” utilizes a system of coded language in its lyrics like most, if not all, African-American spirituals. Metaphors, especially those involving Old Testament figures, as well as Jesus, are often central to the meanings of spirituals. “Were You There” tells the story of the Crucifixion of Jesus. Underneath this narrative, however, is a metaphor likening Jesus’s suffering to the suffering of slaves. In some versions of the song, the singer asks “Were you there when they nailed Him to the Tree?” Replacing Jesus’ cross with a tree further strengthens the metaphor between Jesus’ suffering and slaves’ suffering. African-Americans during the antebellum period, and all the way into the Jim Crow era, would have drawn a connection between Jesus nailed to a tree and the frightening prevalence of lynchings in their own lives. This expression of likening one’s experience to Jesus' is underscored by the first-person, present-tense perspective of “Were You There”; the singer personally witnesses the crucifixion. The use of first person pronouns in the spiritual reflects a sense of “communal selfhood” formed by African-American slaves in the face of oppression.

The following lyrics are those printed in the 1899 Unicorn. Old Plantation Hymns; other variations exist.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? (Were you there?)

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?