Musings: Sunday, July 27, 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:

Postlude on Hymn to Joy - Gordon Young

(c.1960, Harold Flammer)

"The Hymn of Joy" (often called "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" after the first line) is a poem written by Henry van Dyke in 1907 with the intention of musically setting it to the famous "Ode to Joy" melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's final symphony, Symphony No. 9. Van Dyke wrote this poem in 1907 while staying at the home of Williams College president Harry Augustus Garfield. He was serving as a guest preacher at Williams at the time. He told his host that the local Berkshire Mountains had been his inspiration. The lyrics were first published in 1911 in Van Dyke's Book of Poems.

Van Dyke wrote of this hymn: “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.” This hymn is generally considered by hymnologists to be one of the most joyous expressions of hymn lyrics in the English language.

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy, The Book of Common Worship of 1906. In 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was an American lecturer at the University of Paris. By appointment of President Wilson, a friend and former classmate of van Dyke, he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honors. Among his popular writings are the two Christmas stories, The Other Wise Man (1896) and The First Christmas Tree (1897). Various religious themes of his work are also expressed in his poetry, hymns and the essays collected in Little Rivers (1895) and Fisherman’s Luck (1899).

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;

Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee, Op’ning to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away;

Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,

Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,

Singing bird and flowing fountain Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, Ever blessing, ever blest,

Wellspring of the joy of living, Ocean depth of happy rest!

Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, All who live in love are Thine;

Teach us how to love each other, Lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus, Which the morning stars began;

Father love is reigning o’er us, Brother love binds man to man.

Ever singing, march we onward, Victors in the midst of strife,

Joyful music leads us Sunward In the triumph song of life.

Gordon Young (1919-1998) was born in McPherson, Kansas, and during his lifetime was recognized as one of this country's great church organists. He was a prolific and talented composer for both organ and choir, with nearly 1000 published works. During the course of his career, he was a radio organist in Tulsa, a music critic and columnist for daily newspapers in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, and choirmaster in churches in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Mr. Young taught organ in conjunction with Wayne State University and for 15 years was organist and choir director at the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit.

About the Piano Music:

My Lord, What a Morning - J. Bert Carlson

(c.1998, Augsburg Fortress)

The 1790 U.S. census reported over 700,000 African-American slaves. The majority embraced Christianity with its promise of a life beyond suffering and hate. As a result, they created and performed songs, particularly the spiritual, combining European chromatic-scale melody lines with African rhythms and harmonies. Thus, the spiritual is among the most important, vibrant, and enduring elements of American culture and is our first wholly American musical form.

Slaves held informal, possibly secret, prayer meetings. Recalled former slave Wash Wilson: “Sometimes us sing and pray all night.” The spirituals sung in these meetings drew from hymns, the Bible, sermons, and African styles of singing. Most slaves could not read, so the spirituals helped to teach them the Bible.

The spiritual “My Lord, What a Morning!” proclaims that Jesus will return, just as he left, in his physical bodily form, on a cloud, and “wake the nations underground”—the dead—in supreme victory over the bitter cruelty of the grave (Acts 1:1-11) and was essentially derived from the hymn “Behold the Awful Trumpet Sounds.” The original hymn, first published in Richard Allen’s 1801 hymnal, show where the slave composer received his inspiration:

Behold the awful trumpet sounds,
The sleeping dead to raise,
And calls the nations underground:
O how the saints will praise! …
The falling stars their orbits leave,
The sun in darkness hide:
The elements asunder cleave,
The moon turn’d into blood! …

Although the original hymn lies forgotten, the spiritual has maintained its popularity, with its uplifting view of a new world to come.

The tune BURLEIGH (also known as YOU’LL HEAR THE TRUMPET SOUND) is an anonymous spritual tune. It is named BURLEIGH because of a well-known choral arrangement by Harry T. Burleigh which popularized this spiritual. This can cause some confusion as there are two other hymn tunes also called BURLEIGH.

My Lord what a morning, When the stars begin to fall

You'll hear the trumpet sound, To wake the nations underground,
Look in my God's right hand When the stars begin to fall.

You will hear the sinner cry, To wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God’s right hand, When the stars begin to fall.

You will hear the Christian shout, To wake the nations underground,
Looking to my God’s right hand, When the stars begin to fall.

J. Bert Carlson (1937-2017) held a master of music from Duquesne University School of Music and served as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Whiting, NJ. Carlson was a piano teacher, organ recitalist, tenor soloist, musical director, and conductor as well as cofounder of the Chicago Oratorio Society and clinician for numerous workshops with an emphasis on choral methods, organ and hymn composition. His prodigious list of publications includes anthems, vocal songs, organ works, and piano works.

About the Vocal Solo Music:

In This Hour - Heather Sorenson

(c.2016, Hal Leonard Corporation)

Heather Sorenson entered the church music industry in her twenties, and her name quickly became a welcomed fixture in the publishing world. Diversity is the characteristic that makes Heather somewhat of an anomaly in the industry: she easily maneuvers both the traditional and contemporary genres of Christian music, often combining the two for a unique blend that has become her artistic fingerprint. Initially recognized for her skill as a pianist, Heather is now known for her compositions in choral anthems, solo piano collections, and orchestrations. She taught all elementary levels of music at Grace Academy of Dallas for 4 years, served as an adjunct music professor at Baylor University, and has served on many master class panels in piano and songwriting. Heather regularly is a guest speaker and conductor at churches across America and leads scores of sessions each year at various worship conferences, schools, and universities. Heather makes her home in the Dallas, TX area with her beloved (and very vocal) beagle, Lucy.

This song is like an authentic journal entry for a walk of faith, with a rare fragile quality that brings the listener close. Sorenson wrote both the words and the music, with the exception of a brief quote from “Sweet Hour of Prayer” by William Bradbury and William Walford.

There’s a place I go to rest. Once again, I’ve failed the test.

Gentle arms that right my path, show Your love instead of wrath.

In this hour, precious hour, I have met Redemption’s power.

In this place, holy space, I have seen amazing grace.

Blistered soul begins to heal, cease to hide that which is real.

Walls I build dissolve away in this hour when I pray.

In this hour, precious hour, I have met Your healing power.

In this place, holy space, I have seen amazing grace.

Then gentle words between us flow. Yours start easy, mine start slow;

but patiently, You listen close to every burden I disclose.

In this hour, precious hour, I have met Compassion’s power.

In this place, holy space, I have seen amazing grace.

You help me with the words I can’t yet say.

And when I can’t quite reach You, You run to me halfway.

And if my heart is silent, You still stay in this hour, when I pray.

In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief.

And so You wait to meet me there, in this special place of prayer;

savor every moment shared, and linger in this hour of prayer.

In this hour, precious hour, I have met Your faithful power.

In this place, holy space, I have seen amazing grace.

I’ll cast on You my every care, and linger in this hour of prayer.

About the Hymns:

We Sing to You, O God

(c.1993, Selah Publishing)

Since the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s, there has been an explosion of hymnody, particularly in the English speaking world. The reforms of Vatican II influenced Protestants as well, especially in terms of congregational song in the latter part of the 1900s. Late 20th century hymn writers include Fred Pratt Green, Brian Wren, Carl Daw, Mel Bringle, Ruth Duck, Delores Dufner, and many others who represent Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Congregational, and Roman Catholic traditions.

Gracia M. Grindal (b.1943) represents the hymn writers from the Lutheran tradition. Bornin Powers Lake, North Dakota, she graduated from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Currently she is the Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric at Luther Seminary. Grindal's research interests include Scandinavian-Lutheran hymnody and Scandinavian women hymn writers.¹ She writes new hymn texts, but has also translated hymns to English, including "Out of the Depths I Cry to You" and "Thy Holy Wings, O Savior”.

"We Sing to You, O God" is one of her original texts. It is the opening hymn of The Faith We Sing and includes four stanzas. Grindal's hymn does not lack biblical allusions and imagery. The entire hymn reflects Psalm 96:1-2, in which it states that we are to sing to God a new song and tell of God's "salvation from day to day.”It recounts salvific history and brings us into the present. Gracia Grindal begins with the Israelites' wandering in the desert after their release from Egypt and continues to current struggles. There are references to Deuteronomy 32-33, Psalm 57:1, and Psalm 66:2.

“We Sing to You, O God” is paired with John Darwall’s tune, DARWALL’S 148th. Darwall (1731-1789) took holy orders and became a priest around the age of 25 and eventually became a vicar after he moved to St. Matthew’s, Walsall. Darwall composed tunes for all of the 150 metrical psalms during the 1760s. In 1770, his most recognized tune, DARWALL’S 148th (set to the metrical version of Psalm 148), was first published in Aaron Williams’s The New Universal Psalmodist. Darwall’s tune became identified with Charles Wesley’s text, “Rejoice the Lord Is King,” in the Methodist hymnals during the nineteenth century.

We sing to you, O God, the Rock who gave us birth,
let our rejoicing sing your name in all the earth.
To you, O God, let songs be raised,

in joyful hymns, our feast of praise.

We wandered far from home out in a desert land,
you shielded with your love our fearful pilgrim band.
You kept us safe within your arms
and sheltered us against the storm.

You bear us through the world, an eagle to her young;
who rises on her wings and bears us toward the sun.
We ride the vaults of light and air
and trust in your unfailing care.

O God, eternal God, we hide within your wings,
the everlasting arms to whom our praises ring.
Your word is true, your way is just,
you are the God in whom we trust.

Since Jesus Came into My Heart

Rufus Henry McDaniel (1850–1940) was ordained to the ministry in the Christian Church. He penned this hymn in 1914 after the tragic loss of his youngest son Herschel. Composing the text of this uplifting and jubilant gospel hymn was his way of honoring the memory of his son. Composed in the first-person singular, McDaniel’s testimony becomes the personal salvation experience of all who sing this gospel hymn. The author sets the succinct hook phrase—“since Jesus came into my heart”—twice in each stanza. He repeats this hook, alternating with other lines of text to form each stanza, three times in the refrain. Thus, singers will affirm this signature phrase twenty-five times over the course of the hymn.

McDaniel’s poem sets out a scripture-based drama in five scenes along a timeline that stretches from the past to future. The refrain anchors each stanza. The first stanza describes the dramatic change in the Christian’s life (2 Corinthian 5:17) Stanza two rejoices in the dramatic ending to a wandering life (1 Peter 2:25, Acts 22:16). The third stanza expresses the abiding hope that “no dark clouds of doubt” will obscure the singer’s journey (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Stanza four, maintaining the journey theme, offers a light of hope on the pathway from the valley of death (Psalm 23:4) to the gates of the City (Hebrews 11:16) ahead. The final stanza provides an eschatological glimpse of dwelling in that City (Revelation 21:2).

The hymn tune MCDANIEL contributes to a perfect marriage to the text. The tune, composed by an established gospel hymn composer and editor Charles H. Gabriel (1856–1932), consists of two contrasting rhythmic patterns. The non-hook phrases are sung to lyrical, upward-moving, stepwise scaling melodies with a simple rhythmic pattern. The phrases with the repeated textual hook use a contrasting syncopated rhythm. The use of these contrasting rhythmic styles makes the “hooking effect” more memorable. The ascending final two measures of each stanza anticipate the refrain by employing the only chromatic melodic tones. Each stanza concludes on the highest pitch with a fermata, producing a dramatic anticipation of the refrain.

Gabriel became one of the most popular gospel song composers during the urban crusades of the 1910s led by Billy Sunday (William Ashley Sunday, 1862–1935) and Homer Rodeheaver (1880–1955). These evangelical revival meetings usually incorporated an element of fanfare-like entertainment especially when “Rodeheaver, a natural showman, warmed his audience with jokes and directed choirs and congregations with his trombone”. Originally, McDaniel sent this poem along with five others to Gabriel. He thought that Gabriel had rejected his texts, but Gabriel set the song to music. The hymn first appeared in pamphlet form and was introduced to the Billy Sunday campaign in Philadelphia in 1915 by Gabriel and Rodeheaver. The hymn was published earlier in Message in Song Number 1 and 2 (Philadelphia, 1914, No. 55), compiled by Arthur S. Magann, Charles F. Allen, and John P. Hillis. This song appeared that same year in Hymns of the Heart (Methodist Book Concern, 1914, No. 44), edited by Gabriel and others. This song had become so popular that Rodeheaver later purchased the manuscript and published it in his Songs for Service (1915)

McDaniel expressed regret for not entering into the field of hymn writing earlier in his career, but he had a great passion for leading song services. Though he wrote about one hundred hymns, “Since Jesus Came into My Heart” stands out as his most popular and beloved hymn, having been included in at least 224 hymnals. Within a year of its publication, it became “the song of the day”. One account testifies that a police officer in Philadelphia named Fowler was converted because of this song while he was on duty during one of the evangelistic meetings. The officer, in turn, then led over a hundred of his fellow colleagues to follow Christ. Gabriel records that “many thousands” of new converts gathered at the train station to bid farewell to Billy Sunday after a meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, by singing this song, changing the words to “Since Jesus came into my home!”

This testimonial poem is not some quick sparkling firework celebration of faith but the testimony of an authentic Christian journey of faith with a clear spiritual vision of God’s salvation and kingdom. This hymn vividly mirrors the author’s vision for crafting hymns:

The old desire for hymn writing has lately been

around. I feel in my soul that God has something for

me to do in brightening the experience of struggling

souls. My chief desire is to be a blessing, if possible,

to my fellow-men through these hymns and thereby

glorify God in the name of his dear son “whose I am

and whom I serve.”

“Since Jesus Came into My Heart” appears in collections for evangelical faith traditions in the UK and USA, including a number of African American hymnals. It is particularly popular in Asia, where it appears in Chinese-speaking contexts, especially among Baptists (Century Praise, Hong Kong, 2001) and Christian Missionary Alliance congregations (Hymns of Life, Hong Kong, 1986), and in mainland China (The New Hymnal, 1983). It appears in the Korean-English Hymnal (Seoul, 2010) as well as in the Indonesian Bahasa-Chinese hymnal, Kidung Puji-Pujian Kristen (Malang, 1976).

What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought