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:
Ride On, Ride On, in Majesty - John Behnke
(c.2004, Concordia Publishing)
"Ride On, Ride On in Majesty!” was written by Henry Hart Milman in 1820.It is a Palm Sunday hymn and refers to Matthew 21:1–17 and Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. While Milman wrote "Ride On, Ride On in Majesty!" in 1820, it was not published in a hymn book until 1827 when it was published in Bishop Reginald Heber's Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year. This is reported to only have happened after Milman met Heber in 1823 before Heber became Bishop of Calcutta. It was described by composer Stanley L. Osbourne as "Objective, robust, confident, and stirring, it possesses that peculiar combination of tragedy and victory which draws the singer into the very centre of the drama. It is this which gives the hymn its power and its challenge”. The hymn proved popular: in 1907, John Julian, in his Dictionary of Hymnology, stated it was the most popular Palm Sunday hymn in the English language at that time. The hymn is viewed to be full of dramatic irony. The third line of the first verse "Thine humble beast pursues his road" has been disliked by some hymn book editors. In 1852, it was changed to "O Savior meek, pursue Thy road" and in 1855 to "With joyous throngs pursue Thy road”; however, both attempts received little popular attention. This led to some hymn books omitting the first verse.
There are several tunes that are used for "Ride On, Ride On in Majesty!”: HEBRON by Lowell Mason, WINCHESTER NEW by William Henry Monk, and ST. DROSTANE. This setting uses WINCHESTER NEW.
Ride on, ride on, in majesty! Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry.
Thine humble beast pursues Thy road, With palms and scattered garments strowed.
Ride on, ride on, in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die.
O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin O'er captive death and conquered sin.
Ride on, ride on, in majesty! The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wondering eyes To see the approaching Sacrifice.
Ride on, ride on, in majesty! Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh;
The Father on His sapphire throne Expects His own anointed Son.
Ride on, ride on, in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain. Then take, 0 Christ, Thy power and reign.
John Behnke is Professor of Music at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin where he teaches organ, graduate handbell courses, directs The Alleluia Ringers, Concordia's touring handbell choir and the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble. He is also the Music Editor for AGEHR Music - Handbell Musicians of America. Behnke is a frequent organ recitalist, handbell clinician, and festival director. He enjoys composing and arranging having over 250 handbell, choral, and organ compositions in print.
Epilogue on "St. Theodolph" - Healey Willian
(c.1956, Novello & Company)
Theodulf of Orleans (760-821) was originally from Spain. Muslim conquests of Iberia drove him to leave, and he was brought to France by Charlemagne. In addition to serving as a kind of poet laureate, he was a scholar, church reformer, secretary of education, theological advisor to the king. His writings included sermons and theological treatises on baptism and the Holy Spirit. He opposed the use of icons and revised the text of the Bible. He became Bishop of Orleans about 785, and soon afterwards also Abbot of Fleury. After Charlemagne died, Louis the Pious accused Theodulf of joining Bernard of Italy (a royal nephew) in a conspiracy against the throne. Theodulf protested his innocence, but in 818, he was deposed from his influential posts and imprisoned at Angers, where he died in 821. While imprisoned, he wrote the words to the Latin hymn "Gloria, laus et honor tibi sit Rex Christe, Redemptor " or "All Glory, Laud and Honor To thee Redeemer King." More than a thousand years later, an English translation of his hymn remains a favorite for Palm Sunday.
Now often named ST. THEODULPH because of its association with this text, the tune is also known, especially in organ literature, as VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN. It was composed by Melchior Teschner (1584-1635) for Valerius Herberger's hymn for the dying. Teschner composed the tune in two five-voice settings, published in the leaflet Ein andächtiges Gebet in 1615. Teschner studied philosophy, theology, and music at the University of Frankfurt an-der-Oder and later studied at the universities of Helmstedt and Wittenberg, Germany. From 1609 until 1614, he served as cantor in the Lutheran church in Fraustadt, and from 1614 until his death, he was pastor of the church in Oberpritschen.
Thou art the King of Israel, thou David’s royal Son,
who in the Lord’s Name comest, the King and Blessed One.
The company of angels are praising thee on high;
and mortal men and all things created make reply.
The people of the Hebrews with palms before thee went;
our praise and prayer and anthems before thee we present.
To thee before thy passion they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise.
Thou didst accept their praises; accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest thou good and gracious King.
Refrain
All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Healey Willan (1880-1968) was an Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, but is best known for his religious music. Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne. He earned, by examination in organ playing, harmony, counterpoint, history and orchestration, the Royal College of Organists' Associateship in 1897 and Fellowship in 1899. The Anglo-Catholic Tractarian movement led to an Anglican revival of plainsong, and in 1910, Willan joined the London Gregorian Association (which strove to preserve and revive "plain-chant"). In 1913, Willan emigrated to Canada. In 1921, he become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Toronto), where he remained until his death. St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians. In 1920, the Toronto Conservatory (now the Royal Conservatory of Music) appointed Willan Head of its Theory Department. In 1934, he founded the Tudor Singers, which he conducted until it disbanded in 1939. From 1937 to 1950, Willan was University of Toronto Professor of Music and Organist. When the Order of Canada was established in 1967, it named Willan a Companion. In Britain, it was customary for the Archbishop of Canterbury to occasionally grant very distinguished English cathedral musicians the Lambeth Doctorate, Mus. D Cantaur; in 1956, Willan, "the Dean of Canadian composers", became the first non-English church musician to be so honoured. People who remember Willan from his time at St Mary Magdalene's like to moderate his somewhat dourly pious public image by quoting him: "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption.”
About the Choral Music:
Come, Jerusalem, Sing Hosanna! - Don Besig
(c.2005, Harold Flammer, div. of Shawnee Press)
Don Besig was a public school music teacher for over thirty years in western New York. He taught at all levels and since his retirement has continued to serve as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. Recognizing a need for choral music written especially for student singers and volunteer church choirs, he began composing for his own choral groups in 1960. He is also the recipient of several ASCAP Plus Awards Don is a graduate of Ithaca College and a member of Phi Mu Alpha and ASCAP. He and Nancy Price collaborate to write music and lyrics.
As morning comes to Jerusalem, Beyond the walls the Savior waits.
Excitement fills the air; they come from everywhere to join the crowd and celebrate.
Come, Jerusalem, lift up your gates; let the King of Glory come in.
Raise your voice, make a joyful noise; let the procession begin.
Come, Jerusalem, welcome Him now; come and wave your branches on high.
Raise a joyful “Hosanna!” See your Savior ride by.
Blessed is He, blessed is He who comes in the name, the name of the Lord.
He wears no scarlet robe; He wears no crown of gold;
He comes as no king has come before.
Come, Jerusalem, open your hearts for the day of triumph is here.
Clear the way, come and celebrate; now the Messiah draws near.
Come, Jerusalem, sing and rejoice; let your voices echo and ring.
Raise a joyful “Hosanna!” Praise your Savior and King.
Blessed is He, blessed is He who rides through the loud and jubilant throng.
They greet Him on this day; they cheer Him on His way.
Their voices resound in joyful song.
Come, Jerusalem, sing to the Lord; let your loud “Hosannas” be raised.
Shout His name and with joy proclaim all of His glory and praise.
Come, Jerusalem, join in the song; let your voices echo and ring.
Raise a joyful “Hosanna!” Come now and welcome your King!
Come and welcome your King!
About the Hymns:
All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Theodulf of Orleans (760-821) was originally from Spain. Muslim conquests of Iberia drove him to leave, and he was brought to France by Charlemagne. In addition to serving as a kind of poet laureate, he was a scholar, church reformer, secretary of education, theological advisor to the king. His writings included sermons and theological treatises on baptism and the Holy Spirit. He opposed the use of icons and revised the text of the Bible. He became Bishop of Orleans about 785, and soon afterwards also Abbot of Fleury. After Charlemagne died, Louis the Pious accused Theodulf of joining Bernard of Italy (a royal nephew) in a conspiracy against the throne. Theodulf protested his innocence, but in 818, he was deposed from his influential posts and imprisoned at Angers, where he died in 821. While imprisoned, he wrote the words to the Latin hymn "Gloria, laus et honor tibi sit Rex Christe, Redemptor " or "All Glory, Laud and Honor To thee Redeemer King." More than a thousand years later, an English translation of his hymn remains a favorite for Palm Sunday.
Now often named ST. THEODULPH because of its association with this text, the tune is also known, especially in organ literature, as VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN. It was composed by Melchior Teschner (1584-1635) for Valerius Herberger's hymn for the dying. Teschner composed the tune in two five-voice settings, published in the leaflet Ein andächtiges Gebet in 1615. Teschner studied philosophy, theology, and music at the University of Frankfurt an-der-Oder and later studied at the universities of Helmstedt and Wittenberg, Germany. From 1609 until 1614, he served as cantor in the Lutheran church in Fraustadt, and from 1614 until his death, he was pastor of the church in Oberpritschen.
Thou art the King of Israel, thou David’s royal Son,
who in the Lord’s Name comest, the King and Blessed One.
The company of angels are praising thee on high;
and mortal men and all things created make reply.
The people of the Hebrews with palms before thee went;
our praise and prayer and anthems before thee we present.
To thee before thy passion they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted, our melody we raise.
Thou didst accept their praises; accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest thou good and gracious King.
Refrain
All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King!
to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Hosanna, Loud Hosanna
Like "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" (375/376), this text is based on Christ's triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. However, "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" focuses more on the children's role in that event. The text was written by Jeannette Threlfall (1821-1880) in an "idle moment" (as she says she wrote all of her hymns, all others of which have been forgotten). Undoubtedly, Threlfall had Mark 11 in mind when she wrote this text, but she also alludes to Jesus' welcoming of the children in Mark 10:13-16. Threlfall's life was extremely difficult: she was orphaned at an early age, and two serious accidents caused her to be an invalid for life. But she bore her misfortune with grace and fortitude and maintained a ministry to many people who came in contact with her. Threlfall wrote devotional verse, which was published anonymously in various periodicals and later collected in Woodsorrel, or Leaves from a Retired Home (1856) and Sunshine and Shadow (1873), which included "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna.”
Published in a chapel hymnal for the Duke of Würtemberg (Gesangbuch der Herzogl, 1784), ELLACOMBE (the name of a village in Devonshire, England) was first set to the words "Ave Maria, klarer und lichter Morgenstern." During the first half of the nineteenth century various German hymnals altered the tune. Since ELLACOMBE's inclusion in the 1868 Appendix to Hymns Ancient and Modern, where it was set to John Daniell's children's hymn "Come, Sing with Holy Gladness," its use throughout the English-speaking world has spread.
Hosanna, loud hosanna the little children sang;
through pillared court and temple the lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them, close folded to his breast,
the children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.
From Olivet they followed mid an exultant crowd,
the victory palm branch waving, and chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state,
nor scorned that little children should on his bidding wait.
"Hosanna in the highest!” That ancient song we sing,
for Christ is our Redeemer, the Lord of heaven, our King.
O may we ever praise him with heart and life and voice,
and in his blissful presence eternally rejoice.
Come and Fill Our Hearts
(c.1991, Les Presses de Taize, admin. GIA Publications)
The hymn “Come and Fill Our Hearts” was written in 1982 by the Taizé community in France. The tune CONFITEMINI DOMINO was composed by Jacques Berthier. The hymn is a prayer of healing and centering.
Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) studied music at the Ecole Cesar Franck in Paris. From 1961 until his death he served as organist at St. Ignace Church, Paris. Although his published works include numerous compositions for organ, voice, and instruments, Berthier is best known as the composer of service music for the Taizé community near Cluny, Burgundy. Influenced by the French liturgist and church musician Joseph Gelineau, Berthier began writing songs for equal voices in 1955 for the services of the then nascent community of twenty brothers at Taizé. As the Taizé community grew, Berthier continued to compose most of the mini-hymns, canons, and various associated instrumental arrangements, which are now universally known as the Taizé repertoire. In the past two decades this repertoire has become widely used in North American church music in both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
Have mercy on us.
Give Me a Clean Heart
(c.1970, Margaret P. Douroux)
A song that captures the essence of the confessional spirit of Ash Wednesday both in its text and music is Margaret Pleasant Douroux's "Give Me a Clean Heart," inspired by Psalm 51:10. The Faith We Sing contains only the refrain. Dr. Douroux also has written stanzas to this refrain.
A Californian, Dr. Douroux (b. 1941) is a pioneer in the gospel music tradition. "Give Me a Clean Heart" (1970) was her first composition. More than 200 have followed. Dr. Douroux comes from a family that appreciated gospel music. In an interview granted in 2005, she notes that "both my father and mother, Rev. and Mrs. Earl A. Pleasant, are mentioned in the Smithsonian Archives as being pioneers of West Coast Gospel Music. They were my strongest mentors." Her father was a singer who toured with Mahalia Jackson. Following this Mr. Pleasant founded the Mount Moriah Baptist Church near the Coliseum in Los Angeles. Her mother, Olga, took on musical leadership at the church, organized choirs and taught all six children -- five daughters and one son -- to play the piano. Margaret was a shy organist, but took on more choral leadership in the 1960s, eventually succeeding her mentor at the church, Thurston G. Frazier.
When she wrote her first song, "Give Me a Clean Heart," Frazier introduced it at a national gospel song convention. It was composed soon after Margaret's father had died. Even though he had founded Mount Moriah Church, many people had been unkind to the family after his death, wanting them to move out of the manse with no place to go. In her prayers to God, she asked how she might respond to the ungratefulness of the congregation. Dr. Douroux heard God's response: “God said that he would give me a clean heart.”
Dr. Douroux holds a bachelor's degree in music from California State University, Los Angeles, and masters and doctoral degrees in education, working as an educational psychologist in the Los Angeles schools. She has been honored by the McDonald's Corporation with the Golden Circle Award for Lifetime Achievements made to Gospel Music. As the founder and CEO of the non-profit The Heritage Musical Foundation (www.hmrgospel.com), she has taken up the cause of promoting and preserving the African-American gospel music tradition.
I’m not asking for the riches of the land,
I’m not asking for high men to know my name.
Please Lord give me a clean heart, so that I may follow thee.
Give me a clean heart, a clean heart, and I’ll follow thee.
Sometimes I am up and sometimes I am down.
Sometimes I am almost level to the ground.
Please Lord give me a clean heart, so that I may follow thee.
Give me a clean heart, a clean heart, and I’ll follow thee.
Refrain:
Give me a clean heart, so I may serve thee.
Lord fix my heart, so that I may be used by thee.
For I’m not worthy, of all these blessings.
Give me a clean heart, and I’ll follow thee.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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