May 3, 2015

We continue our sermon series on religions of the world, which are now religions of Lewisville.  In examining our similarities and our differences, we build understanding and acceptance.  This week our focus is on Judaism.

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; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources 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:

The roots of all our Christian worship and the music in that worship lie in the practices of Judaism.  The disciples were Jews and steeped in Jewish worship and celebration, and they naturally adapted these practices to their Christian beliefs.  The origins of our rituals and sacraments can be found in Jewish tradition:  Holy Communion, Baptism, Christening, Confirmation, the marriage ceremony, the Advent candles, the candles on the altar, the altar itself, our choirs, our hymnody, and so many more.

The earliest synagogue music was based on the same system as that used in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Mishnah, the regular Temple orchestra consisted of twelve instruments, and the choir of twelve male singers.  The cantor sang the piyyutim (liturgical poems) to melodies selected by their writer or by himself, thus introducing fixed melodies into synagogal music. The music may have preserved a few phrases in the reading of Scripture which recalled songs from the Temple itself; but generally it echoed the tones which the Jew of each age and country heard around him, not merely in the actual borrowing of tunes, but more in the tonality on which the local music was based.  As early as the Renaissance period, composers began writing volumes of psalm settings for congregational and choral singing, as well as instrumental music for use before and during worship.

According to Jewish authorities, the organ was one of the instruments of music in the Temple. In the Authorized Version rendering of Ps. cl. 4 the terms "stringed instruments" and "organs" used to translate the Hebrew "minnim" and "'ugab" are supposed by commentators to be misplaced, and it is held that "organs" is the proper translation of the first Hebrew word "minnim."  The Temple organ very likely was the "magrefa" mentioned in the Talmud as one of the instruments of the sanctuary. It is described by Samuel as consisting of ten pipes, each pipe having ten holes; a total of 100 notes was thus obtainable. An earlier baraita describes the size of the magrefa as an ell square with a board extension, on which were attached pipes capable of producing 1,000 different tones; but this number is thought to be an exaggeration. Apparently the extension was the keyboard, and the pipes acted as air-channels, as in the modern organ.

Instrumental music in divine services ceased with the destruction of the Second Temple. Music was prohibited generally, in token of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem, except on festal occasions and especially at the marriage ceremony in order to delight and make happy the bridegroom and bride. It appears that the organ was employed in nuptial ceremonies which took place in the synagogue.  The use of the organ and instruments to accompany worship was reestablished by the 17^th century in some areas and widespread in the western world by the 19^th.  This has likewise led both to a renaissance of modern synagogue music and to a revival of music written in old Jewish modes.

Hear, O Israel – Jaromir Weinberger

Jaromír Weinberger (1896-1967) was born in Prague, from a family of Jewish origin. He heard Czech folksongs from time spent at his grandparents' farm as a youth. He started to play the piano at age 5, and was composing and conducting by age 10. He became a student at the Prague Conservatory at age 14.  In September 1922, almost inexplicably, Weinberger moved to the United States where he took up a position as an instructor at Cornell University. Between 1922 and 1926 he was professor of composition at the Ithaca Conservatory (currently Music School of Ithaca College), New York. When he returned to Czechoslovakia, he was appointed director of the National Theater in Bratislava. In 1926, Weinberger completed Švanda Dudák (Schwanda the Bagpiper) which became one of the most popular operatic works between the wars, with thousands of performances in hundreds of theaters including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In 1939, he fled his native country to escape the Nazis and settled in New York State, teaching there and in Ohio and became an American citizen in 1948.


The Bible Poems are a suite of six preludes which were Weinberger’s first works for organ.  Each is a symbolic expression of a Biblical quotation.  “Hear, O Israel” is based on an old Hebrew chorale and cites Deuteronomy 6:4, “"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”

Nigun (Air) – Herman Berlinski

A nigun (Hebrew: ניגון‎ meaning "tune" or "melody") is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "bim-bim-bam" or "ai-ai-ai!" instead of formal lyrics. Sometimes, Bible verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sung repetitively to form a nigun. Some nigunim are sung as prayers of lament, while others may be joyous or victorious.  Nigunim are largely improvisations, though they could be based on thematic passage and are stylized in form, reflecting the teachings and charisma of the spiritual leadership of the congregation or its religious movement. Nigunim are especially central to worship in Hasidic Judaism, which evolved its own structured, soulful forms to reflect the mystical joy of intense prayer (devekut).  Berlinski has composed this organ work in the style of a contemplative nigun.

Herman Berlinski (1910-2001) was a German-born American composer, organist, pianist, musicologist and choir conductor.  Herman Berlinski's parents, Boris and Deborah Wygodzki Berlinski, were Jews who lived originally in Łódź (then located in the Russian Empire following the 1815 Congress of Vienna, and now a city of Poland). With civil and political unrest well underway in Russia by 1905, growing discontent in Poland against the Russian rule led to many uprisings, the largest of which, commonly called the June Days Uprising or the Łódź insurrection, took place in that same year.  At that point, the Berlinskis fled to Leipzig. Herman Berlinski, born there on 18 August 1910, was the last of six children. They were brought up in the Ashkenazic tradition of Orthodox Judaism and they spoke Yiddish at home. Their mother arranged piano lessons for each of them, Herman's starting when he was six years old. He was educated at the Ephraim Carlebach School, Leipzig's only Jewish school at that time.

Herman Berlinski commenced study at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1916 at the age of 17. He graduated in 1932 with an honors degree. In the context of Leipzig's long involvement with European music, the strongest influences at that time on Berlinski's own composition style were J.S. Bach, Gustav Mahler and Max Reger.  His initial exposure to Lutheran liturgical music and the organ arose from attending Friday evening concerts at Leipzig's Thomaskirche.  Karl Straube, then cantor at the Thomaskirche and professor of organ at the Institut der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Landeskirche Sachsen, offered him organ lessons at the institute, but because it was a prerequisite that Berlinski become a Christian to have access to this program, and as he was not prepared to take that step, the idea proceeded no further.

As the National Socialist (Nazi) party gained power in German politics, general restrictions, including their involvement in the arts, were imposed upon the Jews. In 1933, having gained a Polish passport at his father's urging, Berlinski returned to Łódź. However, he found himself disadvantaged by being unable to speak Polish, and he was greatly disheartened by the misery of the Jewish community within which he was living. Finally, when called up for military service, he fled to Paris.  He enrolled at the Schola Cantorum of Paris where he studied Jewish liturgical music with the Sephardic synagogue composer Léon Algazi.  With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Berlinski offered to enter military service and joined the French Foreign Legion. At the end of almost a year, he was one of only 250 survivors out of 1,250 who had been assigned to battle on the Belgian border.  In 1940, after the surrender of France to the Germans, the newly established Vichy régime collaborated with the invaders by declaring certain groups including Freemasons, Communists and Jews as "undesirables". Thus, Berlinski received a certificate which declared him to be a "foreigner who had no right to work in France."  Facing the high risk of internment, Berlinski and his wife obtained visas and finally sailed to the United States, arriving in 1941.

A significant event in Berlinski's professional development was a meeting with Moshe Rudinow, cantor of New York's Temple Emanu-El, one of the city's leading Reform synagogues. Through Rudinow  he was introduced to the then-named Jewish Music Forum, a body which was set up to promote the study and analysis of all aspects of Jewish music and to organize the performance of new music, and he became an invited member in 1944.  He began organ study at the temple and quickly demonstrated a high level of skills both as a recitalist and as a liturgical organist, setting the direction for the future both in terms of his professional appointments and the types of works he composed.  In 1953, while continuing his organ studies with Yasser, Berlinski undertook post-graduate studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA) where he engaged in a musicological analysis of the origins and practices of ancient Jewish music.

After his retirement in 1977, Berlinski remained in Washington and founded his own performing group, Shir Chadash Chorale, through which he was able to arrange the performance of much Jewish music in the city and the surrounding areas. This thirty-voice choir continued its work for eleven years, giving concerts of Hanukkah and other high holiday music annually in the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and the Washington National Cathedral.  In 2001, the Federal Republic of Germany had awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit for his artistic achievements and his contribution to interfaith dialogue.

Many of his works have been inspired by ideas related to his Jewish background and experience.  Berlinski himself addressed this subject: "I don't think I can write a piece of music, no matter what I do and what I will try, that does not have the stamp of my Jewish existence."   It would be misguiding though to assume that either Berlinski's Jewish identity or his close involvement with writing music for the synagogue would or should limit the appeal of his works in any way. As Frohbieter commented in her thesis, "His music transcends parochial boundaries, to touch the souls of all mankind." In other words, Berlinski's music has something worthwhile to say to everyone.  A quick survey of Berlinski's works may suggest a propensity for him to be dwelling on Jewish suffering in general, and the Holocaust in particular. This drew leading American sociologist Joseph B Maier to ask him, "Could you tell me to what extent you are a composer concerned with the Holocaust, and how does it show in your work?" To which Berlinski replied:

"...I cannot suppress a continuous urge to come back to it again and again. I may be haunted by the fear that time will mollify the intensity of our memory, that the event will be forgotten altogether. Elie Wiesel once said, 'Memory is our strongest weapon.' I do not need the Holocaust to create music. Those who have been silenced by it need us."

Much of Berlinski's music expresses a sense of triumph in the face of affliction. His belief in that principle appears not only in the themes and ideas he explored in his music but also in the way he lived. In view of the tortuous path that led him from his place of birth, Leipzig, via his parents' home country, Poland, to France which was then overtaken by Germany's Nazi forces, and finally to the United States, it is highly memorable that a man could have had the wisdom, insight and strength of purpose that would allow him to do so.

Ata Echad – Emily Maxson Porter

Shabbat (Sabbath) is a day of history and destiny. On Shabbat each Amidah (prayer) has its own unique text. The Tur, one of the great authorities from the Middle Ages, writes that the three Amidot of Shabbat correspond to three specific Shabbatot in history: the very first Shabbat of Creation, the Shabbat when the Torah was given and the time of the Final Redemption, which is called also Shabbat. These three great Shabbatot of history are alluded to in the three Amidot of Shabbat, respectively: Ma’ariv on Friday night corresponds to the Shabbat of Creation; Shacharit the next morning corresponds to the Shabbat of the giving of the Torah and Mincha corresponds to the Shabbat of the Final Redemption.

This parallel is evident in the words of each Amidah. The first three blessings of the Amidah are always the same, no matter which Amidah is being said – be it on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or a regular day. The middle section, however, differs. In the middle part of the Amidah on Friday night, we find reference to the first Shabbat of Creation: Ata kidashta et yom hashvi’i lishmecha tachlit ma’aseh shamayim va’aretz, “You sanctified the seventh day for Your Namesake as the culmination of the creation of heaven and earth,” and then it quotes the verse, Vayechulu hashamayim veha’aretz vechol tzeva’am… “and God completed His work… and He rested on the seventh day… and He blessed the seventh day.”

In the Amidah on Shabbat morning, we find reference to the giving of the Torah. The middle section says, Yismach Moshe bematnat chelko ki eved ne’eman karata lo. Klil tiferet berosho natata lo be’omdo lefanecha al har Sinai ush’nei luchot avanim horid beyado vechatuv bahem shemirat Shabbat, “Moses rejoiced at the gift of his portion when You called him a faithful servant. A crown of glory You placed on his head when he stood before You on Mount Sinai. And he brought down the two tablets of stone on which was engraved the observance of Shabbat. As is written in Your Torah” – and then it quotes the verse –  Veshamru bnei Yisrael et hashabat, “the Jewish people shall keep the Shabbat.”

The Mincha prayer in the afternoon talks about the Shabbat of the Final Redemption. It says, Ata Echad veshimcha Echad umi ke’amcha Yisrael goy echad ba’aretz, “You are One and Your Name is One and who is like Your people Israel, one nation on earth.” The opening phrase that says “You are One and Your Name is One” refers to the time of the Final Redemption, when G-d’s presence will be felt in the world and everyone will see His Oneness.

The three great Shabbatot of history reflected in the Shabbat prayers and symbolized by the Shabbat meals teach that we relate to Shabbat not only as individuals but more broadly, as the collective of Klal Yisrael – the Jewish people. Of course, Shabbat is uplifting and inspiring as individuals – and as families and as a community as well. But Shabbat also has a historic dimension to it, which encompasses not only history but also destiny. It is not only about the past, but is also about the future. It is about the physical creation of the world as well as the spiritual creation of the world – namely, the giving of the Torah; and it is also about the Future Redemption.  Shabbat embodies the destiny of human civilization and of the Jewish people in particular. It underpins all of human activity: the world’s history began with Shabbat, as it was the very first thing man experienced after he was created; the pivotal, historic event of the giving of the Torah – the spiritual creation of the world – was also on Shabbat; and the final destination of the world is also called Shabbat. The physical world was created in the six days of Creation, the spiritual world was created when the Torah was given, and the destiny of civilization and the Jewish people is headed toward the Final Redemption, when the world’s history will reach its destination. Thus all of human history and destiny is contained within Shabbat. It is the pillar holding everything up and the engine driving human civilization and Jewish destiny toward its ultimate goal.

Porter has set the Mincha hymn/prayer which looks forward to the final redemption of the world.  Emily Maxson Porter (b. 1942) is organist at St. Philip’s Lutheran Church in Fridley, Minnesota.  She has previously taught organ and theory at Lynchburg College and Concordia College, St. Paul.  She has numerous published works, including anthems, vocal, choral, instrumental pieces, and larger organ works.  Porter won the 2002 Holtkamp-AGO Award in Organ Composition.

Ata echad V'shimcha echad                               

U'mi k'amcha Yisrael                                         

Goi echad ba'aretz, Goi echad ba'aretz

You are one, and Your name is one,

And who is like your people Yisroel

One nation on earth, one nation on earth

About the Choral Music:

Behold the Lamb of God – Hugh Benham

“Behold the Lamb” was written by Matthew Bridges (1800-1894) and was first published in his Hymns of the Heart, 1848, in 7 stanzas of 7 lines, and entitled "Ecce Agnus Dei." It is found in many modern collections both in Great Britain and in America, but never in a full and correct form. Scarcely two texts can be found alike, whether they begin with the original first line, or as—" Behold the Lamb of God/' as in Hymns Ancient & Modern, Thring, and others.  Matthew Bridges began his literary career in England with the publication of a poem, "Jerusalem Regained," in 1825; followed by a book entitled The Roman Empire under Constantine the Great, in 1828, its purpose being to examine "the real origin of certain papal superstitions." As a result of the influence of John Henry Newman and the Oxford Movement, Bridges became a Roman Catholic in 1848, and spent the latter part of his life in Canada.

Hugh Benham is organist and choir director at St. Boniface Anglican Church in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, and active in The Guild of Church Musicians. He is a writer of academic and educational articles and books, and a chair of examiners for GCE Music.

          Behold the Lamb of God!  O thou for sinners slain,

            Let it not be in vain That thou hast died:

            Thee for my Savior let me take,

            My only refuge let me make thy pierced side.

            Behold the Lamb of God!  All hail, incarnate Word,

            Thou everlasting Lord, Savior most blest!

            Fill us with love that never faints,

            Grant us with all thy blessed saints Eternal rest.

            Behold the Lamb of God! Worthy is he alone

            To sit upon the throne of God above;

            One with the ancient of all Days,

            One with the Comforter in praise,  All Light and Love.

About the Hymns:

O Worship the King

Of Scottish ancestry, Robert Grant (1779-1838) was born in India, where his father was a director of the East India Company. He attended Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was called to the bar in 1807. He had a distinguished public career a Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament, where he sponsored a bill to remove civil restrictions on Jews. Grant was knighted in 1834. His hymn texts were published in the Christian Observer (1806-1815), in Elliot’s Psalms and Hymns (1835), and posthumously by his brother as Sacred Poems (1839).

Grant’s text was influenced by William Kethe’s paraphrase of Psalm 104 in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (1561). Grant’s text was first published in Edward Bickersteth’s Christian Psalmody (1833) with several unauthorized alterations. In 1835 his original six-stanza text was published in Henry Elliott’s Psalm and Hymns. Stanza 3 was omitted in the Psalter Hymnal.

Rather than being a paraphrase or versification, the text is a meditation on the creation theme of Psalm 104, focusing on God’s creation as a testimony to his “measureless might.” More personal in tone, stanzas 4 and 5 confess the compassion of God toward his creatures and affirm with apocalyptic vision that the “ransomed creation, with glory ablaze” will join with angels to hymn its praise to God.  In the last verse, Grant points to Christ as the ultimate reconciler of a broken, but still beautiful creation. An original last stanza that we no longer sing reads, “The humbler creation, though feeble their lays, with true adoration shall lisp to Thy praise.”

I Love to Tell the Story

"I Love to Tell the Story" is a well-known hymn which was written as a poem by an English evangelist, Katherine Hankey (1834-1911). Hankey was the daughter of a wealthy banker and was associated with the Clapham sect of William Wilberforce, a group of prominent evangelical Anglicans from the Clapham area. This group helped to establish the British and Foreign Bible Society, promoted the … abolition of slavery, and was involved in improving the lot of England's working classes. Hankey taught Bible classes for shop girls in London, visited the sick in local hospitals, and used the proceeds of her writings to support various mission causes. Her publications include Heart to Heart (1870) and The Old, Old Story and Other Verses (1879).

Hankey had a serious spell of sickness while in a mission in Africa. During her long days of convalescence, she wrote a long on the life of Jesus in 1866 in two parts. The first part was a poem of fifty stanzas, titled "The Story Wanted" (dated January 29, 1866) and second part titled "The Story Told" (dated November 18, 1866). Certain verses were taken from Part I. by Dr. W. H. Doane in 1867 to make the popular and familiar hymn beginning, "Tell me the old, old story". From Part II. certain verses were selected to make the hymn, "I Love to Tell the Story".  The tune was composed by William G. Fischer and appeared in Fischer's Joyful Songs, Nos. 1 to 3 published in 1869 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Methodist Episcopal Book Room.

Apart from the context of the larger poem, some of the couplets of this text appear rather shallow or repetitious; thus the Psalter Hymnal includes only the original stanzas 1, 3, and 4. But the entire original poem provides a fine autobiographical testimony to Hankey's evangelical fervor, which she expressed in her writings and in her support of foreign and home missions (she taught church school classes to the rich and poor of London). The text simply affirms the Christian's zeal to "tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love" to the unsaved as well as to the saved, here on earth and in glory.

Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know

Johann Christoph Schwedler (1672-1730)  was born at Krobsdorf, the son of a farmer and rural magistrate.  He was appointed assistant minister at Niederwiese and later became pastor.  Schwedler was a powerful and popular preacher, and peculiarly gifted in prayer. It is said that sometimes, beginning service at 5 or 6 a.m., he would continue the service to relays who in succession filled the church, till 2 or 3 p.m. He also founded an orphanage at Niederwiese.  He was a popular hymn-writer. The principal theme of his hymns was the Grace of God through Christ, and the joyful confidence imparted to the soul that experienced it. Of his hymns, 462 appeared in his Die Lieder Mose und des Lammes, oder neu eingerichtetes Gesang-Buch, Budissin, 1720. Others are in his Wöchentliche Hauss-Andacht, in his various devotional works, and in the hymn-books of the period.

“Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know” was pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hirsch­berg­er Ge­sang­buch, 1741 (Wollt ihr wis­sen, was mein Preis?). It was trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ben­ja­min H. Ken­ne­dy in Hymn­o­lo­gia Christ­i­a­na, or Psalms and Hymns Se­lect­ed and Ar­ranged in the Or­der of the Christ­ian Sea­sons, 1863.

April 26, 2015

We continue our sermon series on religions of the world, which are now religions of Lewisville.  In examining our similarities and our differences, we build understanding and acceptance.  This week our focus is on Hinduism.

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; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources 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:

Allah Ho Tum Īśvara Bhī Tum

The bhajan has a special place in Indian society.  Most bhajans were written between the 14th through 17th centuries.  They are simple songs sung in the praise of God.  Complex spiritual truths are portrayed in the simple language of the farmers, merchants, and other common people of the time.  Bhajan is an important part of a Hindu revivalist movement which swept through India during the Mogul period; this movement was known as the Bhakti movement.  The crux of this movement was simple; spiritual salvation was attainable to anyone who had a pure and selfless love of God.  This salvation was not predicated upon formalised yagnas, pujas, knowledge of Sanskrit, or any of the characteristics of the older forms of Hinduism.  This was a spiritual empowerment of the masses.
Bhajan is difficult to describe musically because it is not defined by any musical characteristics; it is defined by a sense of devotion (bhakti).  Bhajans cover a broad spectrum of musical styles from the simple musical chant (dhun) to highly developed versions comparable to thumri.  The poetic content of the bhajan also covers a broad spectrum.  The more traditional ones by great saint musicians such as Mira, or Kabir are considered to be of the highest literary quality.  The lowest poetic form is the dhun, which is actually nothing more than a musical version of a chant.

Bhajan is often accompanied by the harmonium, also known as peti or baja.  This instrument is not a native Indian instrument.  It is a European instrument which was imported in the 19th century.  It is a reed organ with hand pumped bellows.  Although it is a relatively recent introduction, it has spread throughout the subcontinent.  It has evolved into a truly bi-cultural instrument.  The keyboard is European, but it has a number of drone reeds which are particularly Indian.  European models came in both hand pumped and foot pumped models.  The foot pumped models disappeared in India many years ago because the foot pedals required one to sit in a chair; something which is unusual for an Indian musician.  Also, the only advantage of the foot model was that it freed both hands so that both melody and chords could be played.  Indian music has no chords, so this was no advantage.  Although the hand pumped models required one hand to pump they were more portable and comfortable when played on the floor.

“Allah Ho Tum Īśvara Bhī Tum” is a traditional bhajan which speaks of the unity of God across all names and religions.

            You are Alla and Ishvara, You are Mahavira, Guru Nanaka and Rama.

            You are prosperous.  Sai, God from Puttaparthi, You are my life force, too.

            You are Zoroaster, Jesus, Buddha.  You are the all protecting God.

            Being, consciousness and bliss.  Sai, those are Your names shining in Brindavan.

Psalm-Prelude II – Herbert Howells

Herbert Norman Howells (1892- 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.  Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucestershire, the youngest of the six children of Oliver Howells, a plumber, painter, decorator and builder, and his wife Elizabeth. His father played the organ at the local Baptist church, and Herbert himself showed early musical promise, first assisting his father, and then moving at the age of eleven to the local Church of England parish church as choirboy and unofficial assistant organist.   In 1912, Howells moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music.  Howells' promise seemed likely to be cut short in 1915 when he was diagnosed with Graves' disease and given six months to live. His poor health prevented him from being conscripted in World War I.  At St Thomas' Hospital he was given the previously untried treatment of radium injections in the neck, administered twice a week over a period of two years. For much of this time Howells travelled between London for treatment and Lydney where he was nursed by his mother.  In 1920, he joined the staff of the Royal College of Music, where he was to remain until 1979.

In September 1935 Howells' placid existence as teacher, adjudicator and occasional composer was abruptly shattered when his nine-year-old son Michael contracted polio during a family holiday, dying in London three days later. Howells was deeply affected and continued to commemorate the event until the end of his life.  From that point on Howells turned increasingly to choral and organ music.    In 1941, Howells became  organist of St John's College, Cambridge.   Howells continued to compose until his late 80s.   He died in 1983, and his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey.   Howells was appointed CBE in 1953 and Companion of Honour in 1972.

The first set of Three Psalm-Preludes, Op. 32, was published in 1921.  The second piece in the set cites Psalm 37: 11, “and the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”  (KJV)

Prelude in Classic Style – Gordon Young

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 Choral Music:

This is My Song – Marty Haugen

This is of the most stirring tunes in the United Methodist Hymnal. The melody comes from a symphonic tone poem by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) by the name of “Finlandia”, Op. 26. It was adapted for the 1933 hymnal of the Presbyterian Church in the United States to be sung to the text “Be Still, My Soul”.  Not only is the spirit of the music appropriate for “This Is My Song,” but the history of Sibelius’ composition also adds meaning. He wrote “Finlandia” as a patriotic offering in 1899. The composition was performed as the last of seven musical pieces that accompanied a series of tableaus, each reflecting portions of Finnish history. Out of agitated and tumultuous opening music symbolizing the struggles of the Finnish people, the serenity of the hymn-like melody emerges, symbolizing hope and resolution.  In February 1899, a manifesto from Tsar Nicholas II declared Russia’s right to rule Finland without the consent of local legislators. Sibelius’ choice of “Finlandia” as a title for the composition served as a subtle form of protest against Russian censorship; however, that censorship was so intense that it couldn’t be performed publically as “Finlandia”, so other titles were devised including “Happy Feelings at the Awakening of Finnish Spring.”

Lloyd Stone (1912-1993), an American public school teacher who lived in Hawaii, authored 10 books of poetry and two children’s books. He wrote the first two stanzas of “This Is My Song” for its inclusion in the collection, Sing a Tune (1934). During the brief time of peace between two world wars, it was a song of hope for all nations—“for lands afar and mine.” The poet acknowledges love for his own country, but balances that with the love that others feel around the world for their nations.  The second stanza begins by alluding to the blue skies, the ocean, sunlight, “cloverleaf and pine” of Stone’s own country, but then acknowledges that in other countries, “skies are everywhere as blue as mine.” The stanza concludes: “O hear my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.”

Methodist theologian Georgia Harkness (1881-1974) added a third stanza at the request of Marion Norris, then executive secretary of the Wesleyan Service Guild of the Methodist Church. Harkness related: “[Marion Norris] wrote me that they had been using the first two verses but wanted something with a more distinctly religious note as a supplement to them. I cannot tell you exactly how long ago this was, but since I can recall writing the stanza at my desk when I was teaching at Mount Holyoke 1937-39, it was within this period.”  The hymn was adopted as the official hymn of the Wesleyan Service Guild and was widely sung throughout the former Methodist Church.

Harkness, one of the first women ordained in the Methodist Church and a leading ecumenical theologian of her day, added two additional stanzas, the second of which appears in our hymnal as the final stanza of the hymn. It is a prayer to the “Lord of all earth’s kingdoms.” Harkness skillfully ties the reference to “earth’s kingdoms” to a petition found in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come; on earth thy will be done.” Christ becomes the central figure in Harkness’ stanza, as one who will unite us in service to each other and help us to “learn to live as one.” Her stanza ends with a personal dedication: “Myself I give thee; let thy will be done.”  In this stanza, Harkness transforms a hymn of peace with vague religious overtones into a prayer for peace that comes from the author of peace, Jesus Christ.

Marty Haugen (b. 1950) is a liturgical composer, workshop presenter, performing and recording artist, and author from Eagan, Minnesota. For the past 30 years, Marty has presented hundreds of workshops and concerts across North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. He has over 30 recordings and more than 400 separate printed editions available through GIA Publications, Inc. and other publishers. He has a number of published mass settings for Roman Catholic communities, including Mass of Creation, and several worship settings for Lutheran congregations, including Holden Evening Prayer and Now the Feast and Celebration, as well as a communion setting for the new Evangelical Worship Book (ELW-Augsburg Fortress).

            This is my song, O God of all the nations,

            A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

            This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine;

But other lands have sunlight, too, and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

So hear my song, O God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

Teach us to sing, O God of all creation,

A song of hope for ocean, sky, and pine.

Teach us to walk the way that ends division,

Till every land and nation love entwines.

Then will all peoples see your glorious vision:

            The world at peace, beloved and divine.

About the Hymns:

Holy, Holy, Holy

Reginald Heber  (1783-1826) wrote this text for Trinity Sunday, the day for which lectionary in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer prescribes the reading of Revelation 4. Using reverent and apocalyptic language, "Holy, Holy, Holy!" alludes to Revelation 4:6-11; 5:13; 15:2-4; and Isaiah 6:1-3 to sing the great majesty of the triune God. Note the cosmic scope of the text: human beings (st. 1), saints and angels in glory (st. 2), and all creation (st. 4) praise the name of the Lord. Though God's holiness, love, and purity are cloaked in mystery, we can still experience God's mercy and mighty power, and we can participate in praising God.  It references the Sanctus, which is often called the "Holy holy holy" in English. The name is a tribute to the First Council of Nicaea which formalized the doctrine of the Trinity in 325.

It was first published in the third edition (1826) of  A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Parish Church of Banbury  and was also published posthumously in Heber's Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Services of the Year (1827). The unusual single rhyme (all on the "ee" sound) and the uneven number of syllables in some lines have not detracted from the hymn's popularity.  It was soon adopted by hymn-book compilers, and is the best known and most widely used of the author's hymns.

Come and Let Us Sweetly Join

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was the great hymn-writer of the Wesley family, perhaps, taking quantity and quality into consideration, the great hymn-writer of all ages. Charles Wesley was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley.  As a hymn-writer Charles Wesley was unique. He is said to have written no less than 6500 hymns, and though, of course, in so vast a number some are of unequal merit, it is perfectly amazing how many there are which rise to the highest degree of excellence. His feelings on every occasion of importance, whether private or public, found their best expression in a hymn. His own conversion, his own marriage, the earthquake panic, the rumors of an invasion from France, the defeat of Prince Charles Edward at Culloden, the Gordon riots, every Festival of the Christian Church, every doctrine of the Christian Faith, striking scenes in Scripture history, striking scenes which came within his own view, the deaths of friends as they passed away, one by one, before him, all furnished occasions for the exercise of his divine gift.  The saying that a really good hymn is as rare an appearance as that of a comet is falsified by the work of Charles Wesley; for hymns, which are really good in every respect, flowed from his pen in quick succession, and death alone stopped the course of the perennial stream.

“Come, and let us sweetly join” was written by Charles Wesley.  It originally had  22 double stanzas, divided into five parts, and was published in John & Charles Wesley's Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1740, and headed "The Love Feast." The five parts were subsequently published as separate hymns, as follows:
1. “Come, and let us sweetly join”  This was given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, and still appears in most Methodist hymnals.  This is the portion we have in our hymnal today.
2. “Come, Thou High and Lofty One” was included in Toplady's Psalms and Hymns, 1776, and in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780.

3. “Let us join, 'tis God commands” is in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, and in the revised edition, 1875, and in the Baptist Hymnal, 1879.
4. “Partners of a glorious hope” appeared in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, and in the revised edition 1875, and other hymnals.
5. “Father, hail, by all adored” was in the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780 and 1875.

Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love

The hymns of Charles Wesley have held a place of prominence in Methodism ever since "Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin," which was written by Charles upon his conversion in 1738. Both the quality and the quantity of his more than 6,500 hymns make Charles the most important hymn writer of the eighteenth century. The work of his brother, John, as hymn translator, compiler, editor, and distributor makes him the leading figure in English hymnody of that century. The sixty-four collections they published between 1738 and 1785 contain the substance of Wesleyan theology. Wesley hymns have always been important in Methodist devotion, instruction, proclamation, and public worship. Indeed, even today many would agree that it is the body of our Wesley hymnody that continues to give our denomination a sense of identity and unity during a period of theological, liturgical, and political diversity.  “Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love” is found in all five of the official United Methodist hymnals.

April 19, 2015

This week, we begin a sermon series on religions of the world, which are now religions of Lewisville. In examining our similarities and our differences, we build understanding and acceptance.  This week our focus is on Buddhism.

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; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources 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:

Words of the Sun – Zhou Long

It is said that Buddhist melodies can be described as strong, but not fierce; soft, but not weak; pure, but not dry; still, but not sluggish, and able to help purify the hearts of listeners.  The teachings or Dharma of the Buddha mention music on many occasions. It is written in an important Buddhist text the Amitabha Sutra, that heavenly singing and chanting is heard all day and night in the world around us: as flowers softly rain down from the heavens; as birds produce beautiful and harmonious music; the blowing of a gentle breeze; the movements of jewel trees… all being played together in harmony, in order to guide sentient beings to enlightenment. In addition to propagating the teachings of the Buddha, this music has long been adapted for use in various ceremonies like weddings, funerals, and so forth. Thus Buddhist Music very much plays a central role in everyday cultural practice among the observant.

The Tibetan traditions of Buddhism encourage the use of song and dance in certain ceremonies. In Tibetan Buddhism’s larger ceremonies, Lamas can be seen utilizing a variety of exotic ceremonial instruments such as specialized types of drums, windpipes, spiral conches, and trumpets.  When Buddhism was first introduced into China from northeast India, linguistic differences meant that monastics later recomposed and adapted classical folk songs along with some music commonly played to royalty and officials in the Imperial Court, to give rise to the unique flavour and tradition of Chinese Buddhist Music.  Chinese Buddhist Music utilizes a rich variety of musical instruments. Other than the inverted bell, thought to have originated in northern India, the instruments used in traditional Chinese Buddhist Music are native to China, and include the gong, large bell (qing), large drum (gu), a resonant wooden block known as the wooden fish, small cymbals, large cymbals and Chinese tambourine.

The lifestyle common to most people today is busy and quite stressful. With many people seeming to have no place to take any kind of spiritual refuge it can often become quite easy for them to become lost in themselves. However, the pure and clear sounding melodies of Buddhist Music aim to provide a way to communicate the higher spiritual states of mind that are advocated by the Dharma, and can serve to enrich and re-energize the hearts of people.

Zhōu Lóng (b. 1953) is a Pulitzer-prize-winning Chinese American composer.  Zhou Long, along with several other Chinese-born composers of his generation, has contributed greatly to the sounds of new music in the United States. Accompanied by accomplished composers such as Tan Dun, Bright Sheng, and Chen Yi, Zhou Long entered conservatories in Beijing and Shanghai immediately following the Cultural Revolution. After their studies, they all arrived in the United States in pursuit of higher degrees and evolving their music by intertwining elements of their old and new musical cultures. Considering himself as neither a solely Chinese nor American composer, Zhou Long draws upon influences from both musical spheres to create unique and unheard sounds in Western music circles.  He says, "Thinking about what we could do to share different cultures in our new society, I have been composing music seriously to achieve my goal of improving the understanding between peoples from various backgrounds. My conceptions have often come from ancient Chinese poetry."  Zhou Long’s compositions imbue listeners with a sense of meditative calmness versus soporific melodies. Zhou Long is considered a pioneer in the area of combining ancient Chinese musical traditions with contemporary Western ensembles as his visions reach exciting and novel, yet common grounds.

Words of the Sun, a poignant evocation of morning with its air of expectation slightly tinged with melancholy, sets a poem by the respected Chinese poet Ai Qing (1910-1996).  Described by Newsweek as the “prince of Chinese poets”, his collected works include at least 20 long lyrical and narrative poems, 1000 shorter poems, and nearly 200 essays on the arts.

            Open your windows, open your doors, quickly let me come into your little rooms.

            I come with a sprig of golden flowers, I come with fragrance from the grove,

            I come with light and warmth, I come with dew all over.

            Get up, riase your head quickly from the pillow,

            Open your eyes hidden by your eyelash, to let your eyes see I am coming.

            Let your hearts be like wooden houses, to open the windows, closed for so long.

            Let me bring your flowers and fragrance, let me bring your light, warmth, and dew,

            To sprinkle all space of your hearts.

God of Our Life, All Glorious Lord – Barbara Harbach

“God of our Life, All-Glorious Lord” is Lutheran hymn by  Paul Zeller Strodach. (1876-1947).  A grad­u­ate  the Lu­ther­an The­o­lo­gic­al Sem­in­a­ry, Phil­a­del­phia (1899), Stro­dach was pas­tor of several Lutheran churches in Pennsylvania before becoming li­ter­a­ry ed­it­or for the Unit­ed Lu­ther­an Church Pub­li­ca­tion House, Phil­a­del­phia, for two de­cades. He trans­lat­ed the 1523 Lu­ther­an Or­der of Bap­tism from Ger­man to Eng­lish, and wrote A Man­u­al on the Li­tur­gy, which be­came the stand­ard li­tur­gi­cal ref­er­ence in his tra­di­tion. He al­so served on the com­miss­ion for the 1958 Lu­ther­an Ser­vice Book and Hymn­al. His works in­clude The Church Year (1924), Oremus: Collects, Devotions, Litanies from Ancient and Modern Sources (1925), A Manual for Worship (1930, 1946), The Road He Trod (1932),  and The Collect for the Day (1939).

God of our life all glorious Lord, be now and evermore adored!

Into the op’ning of this day bring grace and love and peace, we pray.

Make clear our path, that we may see where we must walk to be with thee

and ever listen for Thy voice, that we may make Thy way our choice.

Give us Thy help in ev’ry task, nor let us fail of Thee to ask

for grace in speech, for love in deed from wrongful actions to be freed.

Barbara Harbach, Curators’ Professor of Music at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has a large catalog of works, including; symphonies, operas, string orchestra, musicals, works for chamber ensembles, film scores, modern ballet, pieces for organ, harpsichord and piano; choral anthems; and many arrangements for brass and organ of various Baroque works. She is also involved in the research, editing, publication and recording of manuscripts of eighteenth-century keyboard composers, as well as historical and contemporary women composers.  Harbach has toured extensively as  both concert organist and harpsichordist throughout the United States and Canada, and overseas in Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Romania, Serbia and Russian Siberia. Barbara Harbach initiated Women in the Arts-St. Louis, a celebration of the achievements of women creators.  Over 800 events by various cultural organizations in the St. Louis region  provided audiences with new and historical examples of the work of women  writers, composers and artists. 

About the Choral Music:

May the Mind of Christ My Savior – Lloyd Larsen

The believer asks, "May the mind of Christ," the "word of God," the "peace of God," and the "love of Jesus" live in my heart throughout each day, in "all I do and say." The text was first published in the London children's hymnbook Golden Bells (1925) and is attributed to Kate Barclay Wilkinson (1859-1928). She wrote this text in 1912 in six stanzas, inspired by Philippians 2:5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (KJV). Little is known about Wilkinson's life: a member of the Church of England, she was involved in a ministry to girls in London and a participant in the Keswick Convention Movement.

Lloyd Larson (b. 1954) is an active composer and arranger for several major publishing companies of church and school music. His compositions and arrangements include well over 1,000 published works—including choral anthems, numerous extended Christmas, Easter and non-seasonal works, keyboard collections, vocal solo and duet collections, instrumental works for solo and ensembles, orchestrations, and handbell settings. It is Lloyd's work in his local church that continues to be the catalyst for much of his writing. He currently directs the adult choir in his home church in addition to being involved in worship planning and leadership.

            May the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day,

            By his love and power controlling all I do and all I say.

            May the Word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour,

            So that all may see I triumph only through God’s love and power.

           

            May the peace of God my Father rule my life in everything,

            That I may be calm to comfort the sick and sorrowing.

            May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea,         

            Christ exalting, self abasing, for this is victory!

            May I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe,

            Looking only unto Jesus as onward I will Go!

            May the mind of Christ live in me.  Amen.

About the Hymns:

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) was a prolific hymn writer of the 18th century. Coming from a musical family, he left a lasting legacy of congregational song.  The youngest of 18 children, Charles possessed prodigious talents that soon blossomed. Little did he know that “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” would rise to become one of the most popular and consistently vocalized Christian songs.  Writing hymn texts that are solidly based on the Scriptures gives them an appeal across denominational lines. It is estimated that during his lifetime, Wesley penned more than 9,000 poems of a spiritual nature, 6,000 of which are hymns. What really set Charles apart from other hymn writers was his effective use of scriptural allusions, providing a spiritual roadmap whereby individuals could imagine a Christ-centered life. His writings were passionate and well-crafted, conveying the true essence of Christian teaching. 

A substantial number of his writings were completed while riding on horseback to his evangelical meetings.  Scholars suggest that he was able to compose about 10 lines of verse daily for 50 years. Charles’ brother John sometimes served as editor to his hymns. John’s typical response was, “some were good, some were mediocre, and some were exceptional.” John can also be credited with improving the singability of Charles’ hymns.

Both John and Charles were instrumental in changing the spiritual environment of Britain during the 18th century. In doing so, they formed the bedrock of what Methodism has become worldwide. Their unwavering devotion to expressing Christian spirituality through hymns has impacted individuals across all denominational lines.  We are fortunate to be the recipients of the poetic genius of Charles Wesley. He influenced Methodism more than any other hymn writer. Upon hearing of Charles’ death, an elderly Londoner asked, “Who will write poetry for us now?” 

“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” was first published in a collection of hymns entitled Hymns for those that Seek, and those that Have, Redemption in the Blood of Christ (1747). The incipit (opening line) was a play on the opening line of John Dryden’s (1631-1700) poem “Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling” set to music by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) in the generation before Charles Wesley was born.  The hymn is written around a progression of thoughts: (1) our prayers for the Holy Spirit, (2) praying for the return of our Lord through the second coming, and (3) prayers for the finalization of his new creation.

Stanza 2 expresses the Wesleyan concept of the “second rest.” When Charles referred to this in his hymns, it specifically applies to the “second birth,” “second blessing,” “second gift.” All of these are directed toward achieving full “sanctification” or “Christian perfection.” This is an important theological tenet of Methodist preaching from the very beginning.

There is no better way of describing the culmination of adhering to the biblical teachings of Christ, than in stanza four of this hymn. Wesley’s phrase, “changed from glory into glory” is almost a direct quotation from 2 Corinthians 3:18 (KJV). Wesley describes that day in heaven when “we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.”

Lord, I Want to Be a Christian

In Negro Slave Songs in the United States (1953), Miles Mark Fisher suggests that this African American spiritual could well have originated in Virginia in the 1750s, based on this story from Hanover, Virginia, 1756: "A black slave asked Presbyterian preacher William Davies, 'I come to you, sir, that you may tell me some good things concerning Jesus Christ and my duty to God, for I am resolved not to live any more as I have done. . . Lord [Sir], I want to be a Christian.'"  Both text and tune were first published in Folk Songs of the American Negro (1907), compiled by brothers Frederick Work and John W. Work, Jr.

The Gift of Love

Among the most prominent New Testament texts is the discourse on love found in I Corinthians 13. Hal H. Hopson has paraphrased part of this beautiful text in what has become one of the most popular late 20th-century hymns, appearing in many major hymnals published in the U.S. since 1980. "The Gift of Love" first appeared as a very popular anthem in 1972. Both the text and the music are effective paraphrases -- the text of I Corinthians 13:1-3 and the melody as an adaptation of the beautiful folk melody "O Waly, Waly." The original tune was collected by American folksong specialist Cecil Sharp and published in his Folk Songs from Somerset (1906).  "The Gift of Love" is very flexible and, according to Hope Publishing Co., is Mr. Hopson's most popular composition -- widely used as an anthem, solo and as a hymn. Speaking of the popularity of his hymn, Hopson said: "The first 'Gift of Love' was a two-part choral arrangement. Years later, at the suggestion of  George Shorney at Hope Publishing Company, I cast it in a form to be used as a congregational hymn. Since then it has become a standard hymn to be included in many hymnals. It is noteworthy that The United Methodist Hymnal, 1989, was the first hymnal that included 'The Gift of Love.' I was once surprised to be introduced at a seminar as the Gift-of-Love-Man."

Hal Hopson (b. 1933) is a native of Mound, Texas, and now resides in Dallas. He has an international reputation as a clinician and composer, and has published more than 1,300 compositions, which comprise almost every musical form in church music. With a special interest in congregational song, he continues to make a significant contribution to the new repertoire of hymn tunes and responsorial psalm settings as evidenced by the proliferation of his settings that are included in newly published hymnals and psalm collections.