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:
Fantasy on Down Ampney: Toccata - Richard Gore
(c.1990, Augsburg Fortress)
Bianco of Siena (c. 1345-c. 1412) was born in Anciolina, a small hamlet in Tuscany, Italy, but moved at a young age to Siena where he labored as a wood carver. We have little information about the life of this mystic; what we do know is due to the efforts of Feo Belcari (1410-1484), a poet and playwright from Florence, who reconstructed Bianco’s biography from his poetry.
Bianco joined the Gesuati, a lay order founded by Giovanni Colombini, and lived for a number of years in a monastery of the order in Cittè di Castello. He spent the last years of his life in Venice. Bianco composed in the laude form, a vernacular sacred song used outside of the medieval Catholic liturgy. Lauda spirituale were popular well into the 19th century. Most laude were composed in a melody-only form, though polyphonic, or multi-part, laude developed in Italy in the early 15th century. Bianco’s more than 100 laude may be divided into two groups: doctrinal and mystical. Inspired by intense religious zeal, his poetry has its mystical roots in that of Jacopone da Todi, particularly in regard to the theme of divine madness. The immediacy of Bianco’s language and the unadorned simplicity of his statements enhanced the popular appeal of his poetry.
“Come Down, O Love Divine” (“Discendi, amor santo”) is a translation of four of the original eight stanzas from Bianco’s ‘Laudi Spirituali del Bianco de Siena, Lucca, 1851. Richard Littledale (1833-1890), an Irish scholar and minister, translated four of the stanzas that appeared in the People’s Hymnal (1867). The hymn’s popularity increased significantly after it appeared in the English Hymnal (1906), one of the most influential hymnals of the early 20th century, with a musical setting by the eminent English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). Vaughan William’s tune DOWN AMPNEY carries the majesty and mystery of the text beautifully and is now the standard musical setting for this text. Lutheran hymn writer Gracia Grindal notes that “the entire hymn is an invocation to the Holy Spirit [to] ‘kindle’ the heart so that it burns with the ardor of the Spirit.” The text is intense—intensely personal and intensely passionate.
Come down, O Love divine, seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.
O let it freely burn, till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace, till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.
American composer, Richard Taylor Gore (1908-1994) studied in Berlin, at the Eastman School in Rochester, NY from which he received a doctorate and with famous American organist, Seth Bingham (1882-1972). He was organist of Cornell University and then taught at Wooster College. Dr. Gore was also a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists.
About the Piano Music:
As the Wind Song - Marianne Kim
(c.2024, Hope Publishing)
Shirley Erena Murray (b.1931) is a New Zealand hymn lyrics writer. Her hymns have been translated into numerous languages and are represented in more than 140 hymn collections. Born a Methodist in Invercargill, she earned a Master of Arts degree with honours in Classics and French from the University of Otago. She later worked as a teacher and researcher. After marrying Presbyterian minister John Murray in 1954, she eventually moved to Wellington where John was minister for the St Andrew's on the Terrace from 1975 to 1993. Her hymn writing started in the 1970s and often used the congregation of St Andrew's as a testing place for the hymns. In 2001, she became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for "services as a hymn writer". In 2006, she became a fellow of the Royal School of Church Music. She received an honorary doctor of literature degree from the University of Otago in 2009. The same year, she was named a fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.
The tune WAIRUA TAPU is by Dr. Swee Hong Lim (b.1963), the Deer Park Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at Emmanuel College, and the Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program. He also serves as Director of the Chapel for the worship life of Emmanuel College. Before joining Emmanuel on July 1, 2012, Dr. Lim served as an Assistant Professor of Church Music at Baylor University. Prior to his work at Baylor, he served as a Lecturer of Worship, Liturgy, and Music at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. Swee Hong holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, where his dissertation won the Helen LePage and William Hale Chamberlain Prize for Outstanding Dissertation. He also holds a Master of Arts in Sacred Music from Perkins School of Theology. He completed his undergraduate work in Church Music at the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music in the Philippines. Swee Hong is well-published in global music, with his monograph, Giving Voice to Asian Christians, especially known among global musicians. He is also a prolific composer of hymnody.
As the wind song through the trees, As the stirring of the breeze,
So it is with the Spirit of God;
As the heart made strangely warm, As the voice within the storm,
So it is with the Spirit of God.
Never seen, ever known where this wind has blown,
Bringing life, bringing power to the world,
As the dancing tongues of fire, as the soul’s most deep desire,
So it is with the Spirit of God.
As the rainbow after rain, As the hope that’s born again,
So it is with the Spirit of God;
As the green in the spring, As a kite on a string,
So it is with the Spirit of God.
Making worlds that are new, making peace come true,
Bringing gifts, Bringing love to the world;
As the rising of the yeast, as the wine at the feast,
So it is with the Spirit of God.
A Chicago-based composer, pianist, organist, and harpsichordist, Marianne Kim (b. 1972) has been noted for her vibrant performances and compositions in a wide diversity of musical styles, including classical, jazz, Broadway musicals, R&B, and gospel, alongside traditional and contemporary church music. Born and raised in Korea, Marianne studied piano and composition at Pusan High School of Arts and earned a BM in composition at Pusan National University. After working professionally for more than a decade in the United States, she returned to school and earned dual Masters of Music in jazz studies and organ performance with scholarships and prizes from Northern Illinois University.
About the Choral Music:
Pentecost - John Ridgway Walker
(c.2012, John Ridgway Walker)
“Pentecost” is an anthem that tells the story of the first Pentecost and quotes from Psalm 104 and Acts 2.
And when the time had fully come,
They were gathered in one place.
A Holy Feast in an upper room,
Apart in time and space.
There the Spirit spoke to them in tongues of wind and flame.
The Living Breath filled them all, God’s wonder to problaim.
In wind and word and flame God came!
And suddenly, and suddenly a sound
like the blowing of a mighty wind
came from heaven and filled the house.
How many are Your works O Lord!
In wisdom You made them all.
The earth is filled with Your creation.
How is it? How is it that each of us hears them
declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues?
In the last days I will pour out my spirit on the Earth.
For now the time is fully come,
as we gather in this place to celebrate the Holy Word
in this time and place.
Here the Spirit speaks to us through wind and word and flame:.
The Living Breath fills us all..
God’s wonders, everywhere!
John Walker is a composer, conductor and clinician who loves to teach. He studied music at Luther College and the University of Alabama. Since 1995, Walker has operated Forest Refuge Music Studio in Santiago, Chile, writing original music. He has worked over 20 years in international schools in Latin America as teacher, clinician, and festival organizer. He was the founding conductor of the Dominican Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Director of The Sacred Music Society of Santo Domingo. His own performing organizations have toured extensively throughout the Caribbean, North, Central, and South America. He is the recipient of the Excellence in Education Award, Dominican Republic, 1989, and the Reconocimiento de Mérito, Federación Coral del Caribe y Centroamérica, 2005.
About the Hymns:
O Spirit of the Living God
Henry Hallam Tweedy (1868-1953) hailed from the northeast, born in Binghamton, N.Y. He was granted degrees from Phillips Andover Academy, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary and the University of Berlin. A Congregational pastor, he served churches in New York and Connecticut, and later taught practical theology from 1909-1937 at Yale Divinity School. He co-authored several books, including Training the Devotional Life (1919) and Religious Training in School and Home (1917). His most important contribution, however, was as editor of the hymnal Christian Worship and Praise (1939).
In addition to editing a hymnal, Tweedy published a practical volume, The Minister and His Hymnal, and won several hymn contests sponsored by the Homiletic Review and the Hymn Society of America.
Tweedy said he composed “O Spirit of the Living God” because “some of the old Pentecostal hymns were to me unsatisfactory, and I was eager to interpret the symbolism of the story in Acts in a way that modern men could understand and sincerely mean.” The text is an exposition of Acts 2, a passage focused on Pentecost. The hymn was first published in the Methodist Hymnal (1935).
FOREST GREEN is an English folk tune associated with the ballad "The Ploughboy's Dream." Ralph Vaughan Williams turned FOREST GREEN into a hymn tune for The English Hymnal (1906), using it as a setting for "O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
O Spirit of the living God, thou light and fire divine,
descend upon thy church once more, and make it truly thine.
Fill it with love and joy and power, with righteousness and peace;
till Christ shall dwell in human hearts, and sin and sorrow cease.
Blow, wind of God! With wisdom blow until our minds are free
from mists of error, clouds of doubt, which blind our eyes to thee.
Burn, winged fire! Inspire our lips with flaming love and zeal,
to preach to all thy great good news, God's glorious commonweal.
Teach us to utter living words of truth which all may hear,
the language all may understand when love speaks loud and clear;
till every age and race and clime shall blend their creeds in one,
and earth shall form one family by whom thy will is done.
So shall we know the power of Christ who came this world to save;
so shall we rise with him to life which soars beyond the grave;
and earth shall win true holiness, which makes thy children whole;
till, perfected by thee, we reach creation's glorious goal!
See How Great a Flame Aspires
(c.1964, Abingdon Press)
Perhaps inspired by the poet’s own Whitsunday (Pentecost) conversion, “See how a great flame aspires” paints a vivid picture of Charles Wesley’s experience of the presence of God. The word “aspire” speaks of a hope and desire to achieve something. It was with aspiration that the disciples waited for the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. And that flame, the Holy Spirit, was kindled, ignited or prompted by an act of grace: God’s unmerited favor in the sign of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, Charles experienced his conversion on Whitsunday, May 21, 1738, after returning from his disappointing mission to America. This hymn may be a rekindling of the spirit of his Pentecost conversion a decade later.
The hymns of Charles Wesley (1707-1788) and his brother John (1703-1791) provide the core of Methodist beliefs. Though it seems that John’s interpretation of God and scripture has become the main point of reference for Methodist teaching today, it should be noted that Charles often differed from John in smaller details. This was most evident in John’s frequent editing of Charles’ texts. Nevertheless, Charles greatly contributed to the wealth and breadth of hymnody and his theological imprint still exists within the fabric of Methodism.
Charles Wesley was the greatest hymnologist/poet of his family. Charles Wesley attended the Christ Church College at Oxford University; this is where the “Oxford Methodists” evolved. However, Charles Wesley was and remained loyal to the Church of England. Rev. Wesley received Deacon’s and Priest’s orders on two successive Sundays and spent much of his ministry as an itinerant preacher until 1756. This was due to his respect for authority of the Church of England.
“See how a great flame aspires” was published in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1749). John Wesley had not seen the work before it was published. The 1749 publication was prompted by Charles’ future mother-in-law who demanded that he accumulate £100 before he could marry her daughter. Since its initial publication, this hymn has been published in all subsequent Methodist based hymnals including the Wesleyan Hymn and Tune book (1860) and The Methodist Hymnal (1905).
By the very title, the hymn suggests a theme of Pentecost or renewal. Given that this hymn was written in response to a successful ministry endeavor, this does not seem out of the question. The reference to the “thirsty land” may be a reference to Old Testament prophecy in 1 Kings 17 by the prophet Elijah: “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” (KJV). Wesley mentions the outpouring of God’s Spirit of love in Acts 2:2: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” (KJV) The Spirit of Pentecost imbues the entire hymn. These are but a few of the many possible scripture references throughout the hymn. Charles Wesley’s language engages the singer, making it accessible so that one might grasp not only the message, but also the energy of the Pentecost event through rich scriptural allusions and vivid description.
There have been a few different tunes used as a setting for this text. The most recent tune used in The United Methodist Hymnal is a Welsh hymn melody ARFON ( major). ARFON is originally a six-phrase Welsh folk tune in minor tonality entitled 'Tros y Garreg." Named for a district on the mainland of northern Wales opposite Mon and Anglesey, the tune was published in Edward Jones's Relicks of the Welsh Bards (1784). In the later nineteenth century ARFON was associated in France with the Christmas texts "Un nouveaux present des cieux" and 'Joseph est bien marie.”
See how great a flame aspires, Kindled by a spark of grace!
Jesus' love the nations fires, Sets the kingdoms on a blaze.
To bring fire on Earth he came; Kindled in some hearts it is;
Oh! that all might catch the flame, All partake the glorious bliss!
When he first the work began, Small and feeble was his day;
Now the word does swiftly run, Now it wins its wid'ning way.
More and more it spreads and grows, Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin's strongholds it now o’erthrows, Shakes the trembling gates of Hell.
Heirs of God, your Savior praise! He the door has opened wide;
He has giv'n the word of grace; Jesus' word is glorified.
Jesus, mighty to redeem, He alone the work has wro't;
Worthy is the work of him, He who spoke a world from naught.
Saw you not the cloud arise, Little as a human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies, Hangs o'er all the thirsty land!
Lo! the promise of a show’r Drops already from above,
But the Lord will shortly pour All the Spirit of his love!
May God Bless and Keep You - Jim Strathdee
(c.1994, Desert Flower Music)
Internationally known artists, Jim and Jean Strathdee sing with thousands of people each year as they offer their music in concerts, worship, conferences, reteats, and workshops. Most often they travel throughout the United States and Canada, but over the 40 year span of their ministry they have shared their music in India, New Zealand, Cuba, and Central America. Their music spans a diversity of sound and style and includes use of guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, African drums, and Native American flute. They see music as an agent of transformation where ecumenical and inter-faith communities come together to make a stand for positive change. Jim and Jean have served on the staff of United Methodist churches in southern and northern California and Hawaii. They have written hundreds of hymns, songs, and anthems.
May God bless and keep you,
May God's loving face now shine on you and be gracious, gracious, Amen.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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