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:
Gloria Fanfares - Charles Callahan
(c.2022, Birnamwood, div of MorningStar)
The psalmodic recitation, i.e., using psalm tones, simple formulas for the intoned reciting of psalms, of early Glorias attests to their ancient origin. The initial words of the Gloria are straight from the Bible and part of an angelic hymn to God on that first Christmas night. However, after that line everything else was composed separately. There is no known author, but it can be traced back all the way to the third century. According to Joseph A. Jungmann in The Mass of the Roman Rite, “The Gloria, like the Kyrie, was not created originally for the liturgy of the Mass. It is an heirloom from the treasure of ancient Church hymns, a precious remnant of a literature now almost buried but once certainly very rich.”
At first it was used in the East as a a morning hymn in the Little Hours of the Divine Office and later translated into Latin, according to tradition, by St. Hilary of Poitiers. Similarly it was initially used as a general hymn of thanksgiving and praise used outside of the main liturgical events. Not surprisingly, one of the first instances of its use during the Mass was at the Mass of Christmas night, and then later it was added to Sundays and feasts of martyrs. As the centuries went by this particular hymn became more and more a central part of the Mass and was obligatory on certain days by the 5th century. Because of the austerity of Lent and Advent, the Gloria is not used during those seasons except for the few feasts and solemnities which may occur then.
The Gloria is a true hymn. Its opening burst of praise overflows into a series of joyful cries addressed to the Father: “we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.” The hymn goes on to implore the mercy of the Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In singing the Gloria, the church relives the experience of Saint Stephen who, “full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).
Gazing on Christ, the Church praises him: “You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High.” The final lines of the Gloria soar into the blinding mystery of the Trinity: “Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.” The hymn ends where it began: in the heavens.
The current General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains its vital importance: “The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is a most ancient and venerable hymn by which the Church, gathered in the Holy Spirit, glorifies and entreats God the Father and the Lamb. The text of this hymn may not be replaced by any other.”
Glória in excélsis Deo et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
Laudámus te, benedícimus te, adorámus te, glorificámus te,
grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis, Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili Unigénite, Iesu Christe,
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi, súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dóminus, tu solus Altíssimus,
Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spíritu: in glória Dei Patris. Amen
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Glory, glory to God. Glory to God in the highest.
Glory, glory to God. And on earth, peace to people…people of goodwill.
We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you.
We give you thanks for your great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, God almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ only begotten son
Lord God, Lamb of God son of the father.
You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
You take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
You are seated at the right hand of the Father…have mercy on us.
For you alone are the Holy one, you alone are the Lord.
You alone are the most high, Jesus Christ.
With the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Charles Callahan (b. 1951) is one of America’s leading organist-composers. A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Catholic University of America. In recognition of his service to the church and his commissioned compositions for Papal visits to the U.S., he was awarded the Papal Honor of Knighthood in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1999. In addition to compositions and performances, Charles Callahan is a noted educator and author whose two books on American organ-building have become standard reference works.
About the Piano Music:
There is a Happy Land - C. E. Walz
(c.2018, Lorenz Publishing)
A song which points out that the saints will be joyful and sing aloud in glory is “There Is A Happy Land.” The text was written by Andrew Young (1807-1891), who was born at Edinburgh, Scotland,, the son of David Young who was for more than fifty years a teacher in Edinburgh. After graduating from an eight-year literary and theological study at the University of Edinburgh, Andrew was appointed by the Town Council as Headmaster of Edinburgh’s Niddry Street School in 1830. In 1838, Young was spending the evening in the home of a Mrs. Marshall, the mother of some of his pupils. She played several pieces on the piano, one of which caught his attention. Asking about it, he found that it was an Hindustani air called “Happy Land.” With it still ringing in his ears, he produced this hymn for it, and it was sung in his classes at the school. There it was heard by James Gall who included it in the first series of his Sacred Song Book in 1843.
In 1840, Young had become Head English Master of Madras College, St. Andrews, from which he retired in 1853. Afterwards, he remained in Edinburgh and served for many years as Superintendent of the Greenside Parish Sabbath School. Many of his hymns and poems were contributed to various periodicals, and he published a collected edition of these, including “There Is A Happy Land,” in 1876 entitled The Scottish Highlands and Other Poems.
Many people are probably not familiar with this song because it has been in so few hymnals, especially the more recent ones. In her “Little House” stories, Laura Ingalls Wilder remembered this as a song that her mother, Carolyn Quiner Ingalls, used to sing frequently to the children to comfort them and put them to sleep. I cannot remember for sure, but it seems to me that it was used occasionally on the television show based on the books. Sometimes it is thought of as a “children’s song,” and it is certainly appropriate for children, but we adults also need to remember that “There Is A Happy Land.”
There is a happy land, Far, far away,
Where saints in glory stand, Bright, bright as day.
O how they sweetly sing, ‘Worthy is our (the) Savior King.’
Loud let His praises ring, Praise, praise for aye.
Oh, to that happy land Christ went away,
Who does in glory stand, While we delay.
Oh, we shall happy be, When from sin and sorrow free;
Lord, we shall live with Thee, Blest, blest for aye.
Bright in that happy land Beams every eye;
Kept by a Father’s hand, Love cannot die.
Oh, then to glory run, Be a crown and kingdom won,
And bright above the sun Reign, reign for aye.
Come to that happy land, Come, come away.
Why will ye (you) doubting stand, Why still (yet) delay?
Then we shall happy be, When from sin and sorrow free.
Lord, we shall dwell with Thee, Blest, blest for aye.”
C.E. (Carolyn) Walz was born and raised near Atlanta, Georgia, where, at age ten, she began piano lessons with Robert Fraumann, the minister of music at her church. By age twelve, Carolyn was playing piano solos for church services and accompanying children’s choirs. Apart from her musical studies, Carolyn had a keen interest in teaching English and writing children’s books. She earned her Bachelor of Art Degree in Christian Education from Atlanta Christian College and her Master of Science Degree in Middle Grades Education from Georgia State University. She authored several books for children and became a full-time English teacher at Woodward Academy. In 2015, she retired as English Department Head of the Middle School after more than thirty years of service.
Since retirement, Carolyn has become an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a two-time national winner of the DAR’s American Heritage Instrumental Music Award. Today she continues to serve as a church musician, accompanist, and children’s choir director as she pursues her new interest: composing and arranging piano solos and choral anthems for Lorenz and other publishing companies.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
I Know He Lives - Linda Chapman & Bonnie Heidenreich
(c.1990, Chapel Music)
This song is from the Easter Cantata, Because He Lives, and the Christmas Cantata, I Know He Lives, but its message is suitable for all seasons. Linda Rasmuson Chapman and Bonnie Heidenreich are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have collaborated on many songs, which they provide free of charge on their webpage.
I know He lives. With him there is no end.
I know he lives, as my eternal friend.
Because He lives, I know that I shall live again.
I know my Savior lives.
I know He lives and blesses me with peace.
I feel the joy inside my soul increase.
I’ll give my life to serve Him willingly.
I know my Savior lives.
He gently leads me. His spirit feeds me.
All that I am I owe to His great love.
One coming day, I shall see His face, and He will hold me,
For He has told me that I can live with Him eternally!
I know He lives, my Savior! I know He lives, my King!
I want to love Him ’til the end of time.
I know He lives. I know He lives.
About the Hymns:
Would I Have Answered When You Called
(c.1997, GIA Publications)
Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. (1923-2007) was one of the most prolific and theologically thoughtful hymn writers in the United States at the turn of the twenty-first century. His obituary, published by The Hymn Society states: “Stuempfle is among the most honored and respected of hymn writers of the 20th and 21st Centuries. His four volumes of hymn texts, published by GIA Publications, include songs of devotion and reflection; dancing and jubilation; sorrow, wonder, and delight.” Herman Stuempfle promoted the relationship between preaching and hymn writing: “hymns are the sung testimony to God’s mighty acts of grace and judgment.” To compose hymns was for him a “fundamental vocation to communicate the Gospel.”
Originally from Clarion, Pennsylvania, he was educated at Susquehanna University (A.B.), Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg (B.D.), Union Theological Seminary, New York (S.T.M.), and Southern California School of Theology at Claremont (Th.D.). After serving parishes in Pennsylvania and Maryland between 1947 to 1959, the Rev. Stuempfle joined the staff of the Board of Social Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America in 1959. In 1962, he became Professor of Preaching at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, a position he retained until his retirement in 1989. Dr. Stuempfle also served the seminary as Dean from 1971-1976, and as President from 1976-1989. He was active in much of his retirement in Gettysburg, continuing to teach, preach, lead workshops and conferences, and write hymns. He died on March 13, 2007 after a long battle with ALS.
“Would I have answered when you called” employs the poetic device of rhetorical question effectively throughout the hymn to engage the singer with Christ’s invitation to discipleship. Many hymns written in the first person express an emotional relationship between the singer and Christ. The Rev. Stuempfle’s hymn, however, moves the singers beyond sentimental piety to the challenge of deep Christian commitment. Throughout the four stanzas, Dr. Steumpfle interweaves biblical allusions with first-person experience.
Two years before his death, during the slow, but inevitable advance of ALS, the Rev. Stuempfle reflected on this hymn to this writer: “'Would I have followed' is more subjective than most of my texts. It was prompted by reading and reflecting on Mark 1:16-20. Mark’s brief narrative is like a mirror that insists upon self-examination. Does the security net of comfort and privilege most of us enjoy keep us from making the immediate and total response of those four fishermen? Are we willing to pay what Bonhoeffer calls ‘the cost of discipleship?’ Such questions cannot be answered in the abstract. Answers appear only when our life circumstances bring us to moments of decision.”
Dr. Stuempfle was the author of several books on preaching and theology including Theological and Biblical Perspectives on the Laity (1973), Preaching in the Witnessing Community (1973), Preaching Law and Gospel (1978), and Images for Ministry: Perspectives of a Seminary President (1995). His collections of hymn texts are published by GIA Publications, Inc., and include The Word Goes Forth (1993), Redeeming the Time (1997), Awake Our Hearts to Praise (2000), and Wondrous Love Has Called Us (2006). His hymn texts have also been published by the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and are found in numerous hymnals and choral works. Dr. Stuempfle was honored as a Fellow of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, the Society’s highest honor, in 2004 for his contributions to hymn writing.
Would I have answered when you called, “Come, follow, follow me!”?
Would I at once have left behind both work and family?
Or would the old, familiar round have held me By its claim
and kept the spark within my heart From bursting into flame?
Would I have followed where you led through ancient Galilee,
On roads unknown, by ways untried, beyond security?
Or would I soon have hurried back where home and comfort drew,
Where truth you taught would not disturbThe ordered world I knew?
Would I have matched my step with yours when crowds cried, “Crucify!”
When on a rocky hill I saw a cross against the sky?
Or would I too have slipped away and left you there alone,
A dying king with crown of thorns upon a terrible throne?
O Christ, I cannot search my heart through all its tangled ways,
Nor can I with a certain mind my steadfastness appraise.
I only pray that when you call, “Come, follow, follow me!”
You'll give me strength beyond my own to follow faithfully.
I've Got Peace like a River
This song is an African-American spiritual, but the time and place of origin are unknown. It is a song of declaration using water as a simile to describe the qualities of peace, joy, and love in three stanzas. The image of the first stanza, “peace like a river,” may have come from Isaiah 66:12, where a similar picture is used. The first three items of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22) are love, joy, and peace. This spiritual compares the peace of God to a placidly flowing river, the joy of Christ to a merrily bubbling fountain, and the love of God to a deep, wide ocean. The tune of this African-American spiritual developed with the text.
I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,
I've got peace like a river in my soul.
I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,
I've got peace like a river in my soul.
I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean,
I've got love like an ocean in my soul.
I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean,
I've got love like an ocean in my soul.
I've got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.
I've got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.
God Be with You till We Meet Again
“God Be With You Till We Meet Again”, which was written by Jeremiah Eames Rankin’s (1828-1904), was composed so his church choir could have something to sing when they parted each week. Rankin, a congregational minister and later the president of Howard University (Washington D.C.), was a prolific hymn writer and preacher. Rankin was the minister for the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. and said this about the hymn, “Written…as a Christian goodbye, it was called forth by no person or occasion, but was deliberately composed as a Christian hymn on basis of the etymology of “goodbye,” which is “God be with you.” He got the idea for the first stanza of the song when he saw the dictionary definition of “good-bye” was short for “God be with you.” While Rankin was responsible for writing the lyrics, William Tomer, who was the music director at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, composed the music.
The hymn became the official closing song for the Christian Endeavor Convention. Dr. Rankin said: “It has had no sweeter recognition than that given it by its adoption by the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor. Long, long, may they sing it!”
During the war, many postcards were printed with hymn lyrics to help soldiers in battle feel at ease. One such postcard was a colorful picture of soldiers going to battle with the following verse: “God be with you till we meet again; keep love’s banner floating o’er you, smite death’s threatening wave before you; God be with you till we meet again.”
The original hymn had eight verses and first appeared in the collection Gospel Bells (1880), Rankin’s (1828-1904) text is often amended to include a refrain, mimicking the style and content of other hymns used to close camp meetings, revivals, or sung on the occasion of the departure of a church leader to a new assignment. This practice of singing a goodbye may also be linked to the history of shaped-note singing schools concluding with a goodbye or farewell song.
God be with you till we meet again; By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; Neath His wings protecting hide you;
Daily manna still provide you; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; With the oil of joy anoint you;
Sacred ministries appoint you; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; When life’s perils thick confound you;
Put His arms unfailing round you; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; Of His promises remind you;
For life’s upper garner bind you; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; Sicknesses and sorrows taking,
Never leaving or forsaking; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; Keep love’s banner floating o’er you,
Strike death’s threatening wave before you; God be with you till we meet again.
God be with you till we meet again; Ended when for you earth’s story,
Israel’s chariot sweep to glory; God be with you till we meet again.
Till we meet, till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;
Till we meet, till we meet, God be with you till we meet again.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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