January 24, 2016

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:

Shepherd Me, O God – Jeffrey Honore

Marty Haugen (b. 1950) was raised in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in Minnesota, and also writes contemporary hymns and liturgies for the Lutheran church despite being a member the United Church of Christ. Despite being a non-Catholic, his music has found favor in the both liberal Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations. Haugen holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Luther College and an M.A. degree in Pastoral Studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. For the past 25 years Haugen has pursued a career as a liturgical composer and workshop presenter.

His best-known works are two Lutheran liturgies, "Holden Evening Prayer" and "Now the Feast and Celebration", and settings of the Catholic mass, the most widely-know being the Mass of Creation. He has also composed dozens of other works, including liturgy settings, choral arrangements, sacred songs, and hymns, including "Here in this Place (Gather Us In)", "Canticle of the Sun", "We Are Many Parts", "We Remember", and "Shepherd Me, O God," as well as several psalm settings and paraphrases.

“Shepherd Me, O God” is a responsorial which is used in alternatum with the reading or chanting of Psalm 23 from the Psalter.

Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants,
beyond my fears, from death into life.

Jeffrey Honoré has served as a choir director in churches of many different denominations and worked as an organist, trombonist and voice teacher. He is the liturgical music director of St. Matthias Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and directs the archdiocesan choir. Jeffrey received the Vatican II Award for Distinguished Service in 1999.

Il Pastor Fido – G. F. Handel

Georg Friederich Handel (1685-1759) became a musician and composer despite objections from his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Handel studied music with Zachau, organist at the Halle Cathedral, and became an accomplished violinist and keyboard performer. He traveled and studied in Italy for some time and then settled permanently in England in 1713. Although he wrote a large number of instrumental works, he is known mainly for his Italian operas, oratorios (including “Messiah”, 1741), various anthems for church and royal festivities, and organ concertos, which he interpolated into his oratorio performances. He composed only three hymn tunes, one of which still appears in some modern hymnals. A number of hymnal editors, including Lowell Mason, took themes from some of Handel's oratorios and turned them into hymn tunes.

Il pastor fido (The Faithful Shepherd) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was set to a libretto by Giacomo Rossi based on the famed and widely familiar pastoral poem of the same name by Giovanni Battista Guarini. It had its first performance on 22 November 1712 at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, London.  The German-born Handel, after spending some of his early career composing operas and other pieces in Italy, settled in London, where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the first time with his opera Rinaldo. A tremendous success, Rinaldo created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers. Rinaldo, a "magic" opera featuring enchantments, sorceresses and scenic ingenuity, was followed by Il Pastor Fido, a shorter and simpler opera, which was not a success with London audiences at its first performances. The substantial revision of 1734, with the famed castrato Carestini, was much more successful, and the subsequent revival the same year featured dances by celebrated French ballerina Marie Sallé and her troupe, with specially composed music by Handel.

Trumpet Tune in C – Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell (1659^-1695), was an English composer. Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers; no other native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar.  As the son of a musician at Court, a chorister at the Chapel Royal, and the holder of continuing royal appointments until his death, Purcell worked in Westminster for three different Kings over twenty-five years. In addition to his royal duties Purcell also devoted much of his talent to writing operas, or rather musical dramas, and incidental stage music.  He also wrote chamber music in the form of harpsichord suites and trio sonatas, and became involved with the growing London public concert scene. One of the most important musical developments in Restoration London was the gradual establishment of regular public concerts.  The writing of incidental theater music was not to regarded as embarrassing or beneath Purcell’s dignity as Organist of Westminster Abbey. He was in the very midst of a tradition that not only permitted but actually encouraged well-known church musicians to provide lighter music for the theatre and opera.  Purcell contributed to every genre of music known in his day with true distinction. His anthems rank with the great music of the church; there are fine orchestral movements in his works for the theatre; his fantasies and sonatas and keyboard works contributed much to chamber music of his time; his one true opera, Dido and Aeneas, is an enduring masterpiece, and his other dramatic works (sometimes called operas) contain significant music; Purcell's songs are characterized by a great sensitivity to text. His reputation was so strong that a popular wedding processional was incorrectly attributed to Purcell for many years. The Trumpet Voluntary and Trumpet Tune were, in fact, written for harpsichord around 1700 by a British composer named Jeremiah Clarke.

A cibell, alternatively spelled cebell, is a gavotte-like musical piece in duple metre, predominantly heard in Baroque music. It is named after the chorus praising the goddess Cybele in Jean Baptiste Lully's Atys. Later cibells have been written either for voice or a variety of instruments, such as the trumpet or harpsichord. A typical example is Henry Purcell's Cebell for trumpet, strings and basso continuo in C major, which is frequently played as a trumpet tune for organ.

About the Choral Music:

Psalm 23 – Howard Goodall

Howard Goodall (b. 1958) is an award-winning composer of choral music, stage musicals, film and TV scores, is well known as a TV and radio broadcaster, and from 2007-11 was England’s first ever National Ambassador for Singing, leading a program (Sing Up) to improve the provision of group singing for all primary-age children. His best-known TV & Film themes & scores include Blackadder, The Gathering Storm, The Borrowers, Red Dwarf, Q.I., Mr Bean, Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, Mr Bean’s Holiday, Island Parish and The Vicar of Dibley. His score for the HBO film Into the Storm won him the Primetime EMMY award for Original Dramatic Score in 2009. In the theatre his musicals, from The Hired Man with Melvyn Bragg in 1984 to Love Story in 2010, have been performed in the West End and throughout world, winning many international awards.

His music has been commissioned to mark national ceremonies and memorials and his choral works, Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd and Love divine are featured on several platinum-selling CDs. His Eternal Light: A Requiem won  a Classical BRIT Award for Composer of the Year. In November 2011 Howard conducted the première in Westminster Abbey of his Every Purpose Under the Heaven: The King James Bible Oratorio, to mark the 400th anniversary of its publication. In June 2012 his Rigaudon formed part of the New Water Music that accompanied Queen Elizabeth II on her Diamond Jubilee Regatta.

For the past 15 years Howard has written and presented his own TV documentary series on the theory and history of music. For these he has been honored with a BAFTA, an RTS Judges’ Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Education in Broadcasting and over a dozen other international broadcast awards. He is recipient of the Sir Charles Grove/Making Music Prize for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, the Naomi Sargant Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education in Broadcasting, the MIA/Classic fm Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Education and in January 2011, he was appointed CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to music education.

Many of you may recognize his setting of Psalm 23, as it was used to the opening and closing credits of The Vicar of Dibly.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,

he maketh me to lie down in green pastues.

            He leadeth me beside the still waters.

            Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

            I will fear no evil for you are with me, you will comfort me.

            Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

            And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

About the Hymns:

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” was published in 1887 with music by Anthony J. Showalter and lyrics by Showalter and Elisha Hoffman.  Elisha Hoffman (1839-1929) after graduating from Union Seminary in Pennsylvania was ordained in 1868. As a minister he was appointed to the circuit in Napoleon, Ohio in 1872. He worked with the Evangelical Association's publishing arm in Cleveland for eleven years. He served in many chapels and churches in Cleveland and in Grafton in the 1880s, among them Bethel Home for Sailors and Seamen, Chestnut Ridge Union Chapel, Grace Congregational Church and Rockport Congregational Church. In his lifetime he wrote more than 2,000 gospel songs including "Leaning on the everlasting arms" (1894). The fifty song books he edited include Pentecostal Hymns No. 1 and The Evergreen, 1873.

Anthony J. Showalter received letters from two friends who had lost their wives about the same time. He wrote back to express his sympathy, and included a verse of Scripture: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27 KJV). As he thought about that text, he wrote the music and refrain to this hymn. He asked Elisha Hoffman to write the stanzas. The hymn was first published in 1887 in The Glad Evangel for Revival, Camp, and Evangelistic Meetings, for which Showalter was an editor.  The text has three stanzas and a refrain. The theme of the text is the peace that comes from knowing that God will protect us, and how that knowledge removes our fears.

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

“The King of Love My Shepherd Is” is an Anthony G. Petti (1932-1985) adaption of the 1868 Sir Henry W. Baker (1821-1877) paraphrase of Psalm 23. Baker took Holy Orders in the Church of England in 1844. He was closely associated with hymnody in the Church. Besides writing, translating, and composing a number of hymns, his most notable role was as Ed­it­or-in-Chief of the first edition of Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern (1861) which sold over 60 million copies.  “The King of Love My Shepherd Is” has proven to be his most enduring work. It is said that as he lay dying his final words were those of the 3rd stanza: "Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me; and on his shoulder gently laid, and home, rejoicing, brought me." It is sung to the tune: St. Columba, a traditional Irish melody.

Be Thou My Vision

"Be Thou My Vision" (Old Irish: Rop tú mo baile or Rob tú mo bhoile) is a traditional hymn from Ireland. The most well known English version, with some minor variations, was translated by Eleanor Hull and published in 1912. In 1919, the lyrics were set to the tune of the Irish folk tune "Slane", to which the song is sung to this day, both in English and Irish. The song dates from at least the eighth century, though the text dates to the sixth-century.

The original Old Irish text, "Rop tú mo Baile" is often attributed to Saint Dallán Forgaill in the 6th century. Eochaid Mac Colla (c. 530 – 598), better known as Saint Dallan or Dallán Forgaill (Old Irish: Dallán Forchella; Latin: Dallanus Forcellius), was an early Christian Irish poet whose writings include the "Amra Choluim Chille" ("Elegy of Saint Columba") and "Rop Tú Mo Baile" ("Be Thou My Vision").  Saint Dallan was Chief Ollam of Ireland (similar to poet laureate), as well as a scholar of Latin scriptural learning. He helped to reform the Bardic Order at the Convention of Drumceat.  He reputedly wrote Amra Choluim Chille, which he completed shortly after the death of Saint Columba in 597, because Columba had successfully saved poets from expulsion from Ireland at the assembly of Druim Cett in 575. The “Amra Choluim Chille,” is the earliest Irish poem that can be dated.

"Rop tú mo Baile" had been a part of Irish monastic tradition for centuries before its setting to music. It was translated from Old Irish into English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne in Ériu (the journal of the School of Irish Learning), in 1905. The English text was first versified by Eleanor Hull, in 1912, and is now the most common text used.

January 17, 2016

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:

Jesus Christus, unser Heiland – J. C. Bach

The model for "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt" (Jesus Christ, our Savior, who turned God's wrath away from us) is a late 14th-century hymn relating to the Eucharist by Jan of Jenštejn, archbishop of Prague. The 14th-century hymn, in content comparable to the 13th century Lauda Sion Salvatorem, exists in two versions with ten stanzas: the first eight verses of the Latin version ("Jesus Christus, nostra salus", Jesus Christ, our salvation) form an acrostic on JOHANNES, while another version, in Czech, was also spread by the Hussite Unity of the Brethren.
Luther wrote hymns to have the congregation actively participate in church services and to strengthen his theological concepts. In Lent of 1524 Luther was explaining his views on Eucharist in a series of sermons.  "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt", probably written around the same time, contained many ideas he had been developing in these sermons, taking the older Eucharistic hymn as a model: he kept the meter, the number of stanzas and the first line of "Jesus Christus nostra salus", but shaped the content to reflect his own theology.
In Luther's time "Jesus Christus nostra salus" was attributed to the church reformer Jan Hus (a "Johannes" like Jenštejn). Luther saw Hus as a precursor and martyr. Early prints of "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt" came under the header "Das Lied S. Johannes Hus gebessert" (The song of St. Johannes Hus improved).  Luther presented the hymn with several variants of the melody that had been associated with "Jesus Christus nostra salus" for over a century.  The earliest extant copy of "Jesus Christus nostra salus" (text and melody) is found in southern Bohemia, 1410. The earliest extant prints of Luther's hymn (both editions of the Erfurt Enchiridion and Johann Walter's choral hymnal Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn) originated in 1524

            Christ Jesus, our Redeemer born, who from us did God’s anger turn,

            Through His sufferings sore and main, did help us all out of hell-pain.

            That we never should forget it, gave He us His flesh, to eat it,

            Hid in poor bread, gift divine, and, to drink, His blood in the wine.

            Who will draw near to that table must take heed, all he is able.

            Who unworthy thither goes, thence death instead of life he knows.

            God the Father praise thou duly, that He thee would feed so truly,

            And for ill deeds by thee done up unto death has given His son.

            Have this faith, and do not waver. ‘Tis a fool for every craver

            Who, his heart with sin opprest, can no more for its anguish rest.

            Such kindness and such grace to get, seeks a heart with agony great.

            Is it well with thee? Take care, lest at last thou shouldst evil fare.

            He doth say, come hither, o ye poor, that I may pity show ye.

            No physician the whole man will, He makes a mockery of his skill.

            Hadst thou any claim to proffer, why for thee then should I suffer?

            This table is not for thee, if thou wilt set thine own self free.

            If such faith thy heart possesses, and the same thy mouth confesses,

            Fit guest then thou art indeed, and so the food thy soul will feed.

            But bear fruit, or lose thy labour; take thou heed thou love they neighbour;

            That thou food to him mayst be, as thy God makes Himself to thee.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s life was surrounded by Johann Christophs:  an uncle, a cousin, an older brother, and a son.  Here we have a chorale prelude by his 1st cousin once removed, who became the town organist in Eisenach in the year 1665 and court chamber musician there in 1700.  Prior to Johann Sebastian, Johann Christoph (1642-1703) would have been considered the most famous musician of the Bach family. His work is of the highest quality and, in some instances, has been improperly attributed to Johann Sebastian himself (e.g. the motet Ich lasse dich nicht). Johann Christoph composed choral works (motets and cantatas) and works for organ (preludes and fugues). Johann Sebastian described his cousin as "the great and expressive composer," and performed his works often as did Carl Philipp Emanuel.

Vorspiel über “Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn u” – Johann Kittel

J. C. Wetzel, i. 46, and ii. 404, relates what seems rather an apocryphal story regarding the origin of this hymn.  Johann Rosenmüller (c.1619-1684), while music director at Leipzig, had been guilty of improper practices with some of his scholars. He was thrown into prison, but having made his escape, went to Hamburg. Thence he sent a petition for restoration to the Elector Johann Georg at Dresden, and to support his petition enclosed this hymn, which Johann Georg Albinus (1624-1679) had written for him, along with a melody by Rosenmuller. If correct, this would mean it was written around 1655.   The earliest hymn-book in which it is found is Luppius's Andachtig Singender Christen Mund, Wesel., 1692.  It is a beautiful hymn of Penitence, in 7 stanzas of 8 lines.

O Lord, do not punish me in your anger, nor chastise me in your ferocity.
Have mercy upon me, Lord, for I am weak.
Lord, heal me, for my bones are terrified,
my soul is very terrified. So, Lord, how long?

Johann Christian Kittel (1732-1809) was a German organist, composer, and teacher. He was one of the last students of Johann Sebastian Bach.  He considered himself to be "grounded in the principles of Bach" and aimed "to awaken, maintain and heighten feelings of devotion in the hearts of his hearers by means of music". His teaching and composition fulfilled this aim by a restriction to simple forms which were best suited to liturgical use. He wrote some large-scale organ works such as double chorale variations based on Bach's examples, though he was influenced by the contemporary galant style, with a strong emphasis on melody.

Horns – Anonymous

Anonymous is the most prolific composer in the history of music, having written music in every genre and for every instrument.  Many people have speculated about the true identity of Anonymous.  Some suggest Anonymous was a woman and that she was unable to affix her name to her compositions if she wished to have them played and published.  I would suggest, rather, that Anonymous is the pen name of Doctor Who (b. 1063?), for only extensive travel in space and time explains the appearance of Anonymous’ music in all nations and eras of history. The Doctor was born on the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous, to a Gallifreyan father and a human mother. He studied law, art, architecture, cybernetics, pharmacology, history, thermodynamics, and engineering at the Prydonian Academy. He also studied tap dancing and voice with Australian opera singer Nellie Melba.  The Doctor was friends with composer Giacomo Puccini and was with him when he died in Brussels in 1924.  There is clear evidence that Doctor Who played the organ and guitar.  After the Sixth Doctor repaired his TARDIS' chameleon circuit, it took on the form of an organ for some time.  The Seventh Doctor had an organ from St Christopher's Church in his control room, and the Tenth Doctor increased the volume of Southwark Cathedral's organ with his sonic screwdriver before improvising on it.  Therefore, it would not be surprising to learn that he composed, also.


This particular work by Anonymous is from the 18^th century in England and features figures imitating the sound of hunting horns.

About the Choral Music:

Bless the Lord, O My Soul – Glenn Burleigh

Glenn Burleigh (1949-2007) was born into a family of ministers in Guthrie, Okla., Burleigh grew up to be a renowned pianist, conductor and clinician, as well as composer. His music has been performed on every continent in venues ranging from churches to classical concert stages.  His "Alpha Mass" and "Lamentation and Celebration," (dedicated to the victims and survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing) were recorded by the Choral Arts Society of Racine, Wisconsin.  One of Burleigh's many gifts was his ability to take disparate styles of music such as classical, blues, gospel and jazz, and bring them together.  Burleigh operated his own publishing company in Oklahoma City assisted by his brother, Kenneth. In addition, he served as Director of Music for the National Baptist Congress for five years and as Composer-in-Residence for the Ambassadors’ Concert Choir of Oklahoma City from 1984-2000.  He was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2014.

“Bless the Lord, O My Soul” was written in 1993, and the text is based on Psalm 103.

            Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me blessed be His Holy name.

            He’ll forgive all our iniquities.  He will heal our diseases.

            He’ll redeem us and renew our strength if we bless the Lord.

            I will bless the Lord at all times and His praises shall continually be in my mouth.

            I will praise his name at all times.  Bless the Lord O my soul.

About the Hymns:

For the Healing of the Nations

During the 1960s and 1970s, four English-language hymn writers emerged on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean who were the leaders of the “hymnic explosion.” Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000), Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926) and Brian Wren (b. 1936) all were born in Great Britain.   Unlike the other three, Fred Kaan (b. 1929), though ordained in the United Reformed Church and serving in England, is a native of Haarlem, The Netherlands.   These writers, along with their counterparts from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, brought the language and theological vision of hymnody out of the earlier Victorian era into the late 20th century. In many cases, their work continues to enrich 21st-century congregational song.

After serving congregations in England, Kaan served as minister-secretary of the International Congregational Council in Geneva, Switzerland and the executive secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.  He returned to England in 1978 as a moderator of the Western Midlands Conference of the United Reformed Church. From 1986-1989 he returned to parish ministry in the United Reformed Church.

Kaan’s linguistic ability, ecumenical service and fervent concern for the powerless are apparent in his hymns, numbering more than 200.  Collections of his hymns appear in this country as The Hymn Texts of Fred Kaan (1985), Planting Trees and Sowing Seeds (1989) and The Only Earth We Know (1999). He was elected Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in 2001. His hymns have been translated into more than 15 languages.

In 1985, Dr. Kaan reflected on “For the healing of the nations,” saying, “Of all the hymns I have written, this is the text that has been more widely reprinted and incorporated in major hymnbooks than any other. It was first used in 1965 in a worship service at the Pilgrim Church, Plymouth, to mark Human Rights Day. Subsequently, it has been used on many official occasions, such as the 25th anniversary of the United Nations organization.”

Dr. Kaan reminds us to care for a world where we are inter-dependant and to use our political will, global influence and natural resources for the good of all humanity in seeking justice and “abundant living” for all.Alleluia!

Happy the Home when God is There

Henry Ware (1793-1843) was the son of a Unitarian minister who was a professor at Harvard College. Ware studied theology at Harvard and became minister of the Second Unitarian Society, in Boston, in 1817. After a ministry of twelve years, he made a foreign tour, and on his return was elected "Parkman Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Theology" at Harvard College. His collected works in four volumes were published after his death by the Rev. Chandler Robbins.  “Happy the Home when God is There” was published in Selection of Hymns and Poetry for Use of Infants and Juvenile Schools and Families, third edition, 1846.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” was written by the 18th century pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. Robert Robinson (1735-1790) was eight years old at the time of his father's death. He was a very bright, headstrong boy who became increasingly more difficult for his mother to handle. When Robert turned 14, she sent him to London for an apprenticeship with a barber. Robert proceeded to get into even more trouble, taking on a life of drinking and gambling. 
At 17, Robert and some of his drinking buddies decided to attend an evangelistic meeting, with a plan to make fun of the proceedings. When George Whitfield began to preach, Robert felt as if the sermon was just for him. He did not respond to the altar call that night, but the words of the evangelist would haunt him for the next three years.  On Dec. 10, 1755, at age 20, Robert finally yielded his life to Christ, and very soon thereafter answered a call to the ministry. Three years later, as he was preparing to preach a sermon at the Calvinist Methodist Chapel in Norfolk, England, Robert wrote “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” to complement his sermon. The music for the hymn was composed by Asahel Nettleton in 1813.

The lyrics, which dwell on the theme of divine grace, are based on 1 Samuel 7:12, in which the prophet Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us". The English transliteration of the name Samuel gives to the stone is Ebenezer, meaning Stone of Help. The unusual word "Ebenezer" commonly appears in hymnal presentations of the lyrics.

January 10, 2016

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:

Pastorale on “O Waly, Waly” – Allan Mahnke

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."

Mr. 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.

Though I may speak with bravest fire,
And have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain,
As sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess,
And striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within,
The profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control,
Our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed;
By this we worship, and are freed.

Dr. Allan Mahnke (b. 1944) earned degrees from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, IN; Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO; and the University of Minnesota.  He is organist at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Center, MN.

 O for a Thousand Tongues – David Cherwein

"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" was written by Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,000 hymns. Wesley was suffering a bout of pleurisy in May, 1738, while he and his brother were studying under the Moravian scholar Peter Böhler in London. At the time, Wesley was plagued by extreme doubts about his faith. Taken to bed with the sickness on May 21, Wesley was attended by a group of Christians who offered him testimony and basic care, and he was deeply affected by this. He read from his Bible and found himself deeply affected by the words and at peace with God. Shortly, his strength began to return. He wrote of this experience in his journal and counted it as a renewal of his faith; when his brother John had a similar experience on the 24th, the two men met and sang a hymn Wesley had written in praise of his renewal.

One year from the experience, Wesley was taken with the urge to write another hymn, this one in commemoration of his renewal of faith. This hymn took the form of an 18-stanza poem, beginning with the opening lines “Glory to God, and praise, and love Be ever, ever given” and was published in 1740 and entitled “For the anniversary day of one's conversion”. The seventh verse, which begins, 'O for a thousand tongues to sing', and which now is invariably the first verse of a shorter hymn, recalls the words of Peter Böhler who said, “Had I a thousand tongues I would praise Him with them all.” The hymn was published first in John Wesley's A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists in 1780. It has appeared first in every Methodist hymnal since that time.

The original 10 verses are:

O For a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer's praise!
The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the world abroad The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of cancell'd sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood avail'd for me.

He speaks, - and, listening to his voice, New life the dead receive;
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice; The humble poor believe.

Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb, Your loosen'd tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Saviour come, And leap, ye lame, for joy.

Look unto him, ye nations; own Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone, Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid; The Lamb of God was slain;
His soul was once an offering made For every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature's sleep, And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep, And wash the AEthiop white.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know, Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below, And own that love is heaven.

Dr. David Cherwien (b. 1957) is currently serving as Director of Music at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, and in 2002 was appointed Music Director for the National Lutheran Choir, also based in the Twin Cities. He has also held full time parish music positions in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Chicago, Seattle, and Berlin.  He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance, and the Master of Arts degree in Theory and Composition, both from the University of Minnesota. His undergraduate work was in organ performance and music education at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where he was honored as distinguished alumni in the fall of 2000.

About the Piano Music:

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

         Jeremy Page, piano

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” was written by the 18th century pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. Robert Robinson (1735-1790) was eight years old at the time of his father's death. He was a very bright, headstrong boy who became increasingly more difficult for his mother to handle. When Robert turned 14, she sent him to London for an apprenticeship with a barber. Robert proceeded to get into even more trouble, taking on a life of drinking and gambling. 

At 17, Robert and some of his drinking buddies decided to attend an evangelistic meeting, with a plan to make fun of the proceedings. When George Whitfield began to preach, Robert felt as if the sermon was just for him. He did not respond to the altar call that night, but the words of the evangelist would haunt him for the next three years.  On Dec. 10, 1755, at age 20, Robert finally yielded his life to Christ, and very soon thereafter answered a call to the ministry. Three years later, as he was preparing to preach a sermon at the Calvinist Methodist Chapel in Norfolk, England, Robert wrote “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” to complement his sermon. The music for the hymn was composed by Asahel Nettleton in 1813.

The lyrics, which dwell on the theme of divine grace, are based on 1 Samuel 7:12, in which the prophet Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us". The English transliteration of the name Samuel gives to the stone is Ebenezer, meaning Stone of Help. The unusual word "Ebenezer" commonly appears in hymnal presentations of the lyrics.

About the Choral Music:

Open My Eyes, that I May See – Kurt Kaiser

Clara H. Scott (1841-1897) provides us with a hymn of consecration that has been sung for over 100 years.  In 1856, Scott attended the first Music Institute held by C.M. Cady in Chicago, Ill. By 1859, she was teaching music at the Ladies' Seminary, Lyons, Iowa. She married Henry Clay Scott in 1861, and published in 1882 the Royal Anthem Book, the first volume of choir anthems published by a woman.  Horatio R. Palmer, an influential church musician in Chicago and later New York City, was a source of encouragement for Scott, and helped her publish many of her songs. Three collections were issued before her untimely death, when a runaway horse caused a buggy accident in Dubuque, Iowa.

The text of "Open My Eyes" was written in 1895 shortly before Scott's death. Each stanza reveals an increasing receptiveness to the "Spirit divine." Open eyes lead to "glimpses of truth." Open ears lead to "voices of truth." An open mouth leads to sharing the "warm truth everywhere." An open heart leads to sharing "love to thy children."

The image of open eyes is common in the Bible. In some cases, this is a sign of Christ's healing power, as when Jesus gave sight to the blind man at the pool of Siloam in John 9. Closed eyes, on the other hand, could be a metaphor for avoiding the truth as in the case of John 12:40, a passage following the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem and beginning his journey to the cross: "He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."  The image of open ears is also significant in the biblical witness. Matthew often reprises the theme "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Closed ears become a metaphor for a lack of understanding: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Matthew 13:15).

While the eyes and the ears are receptive organs, the mouth has the capacity to project. The mouth may project "cursing and deceit and fraud" (Psalm 10:7), or it may be an organ that projects praise, as Psalm 51:15 exhorts us: "O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise."  The heart is the only organ included in this hymn that is not visible. It may harbor deceit. Jesus asks in Matthew 9:4, "Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" But Jesus also realized that the heart has the capacity for purity: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).  The gentle 6/8 meter of Scott's music provides a subtle sense of dancing in tune with the Spirit as we learn to see, hear and speak the truth from our hearts. 

Kurt Kaiser's (b. 1934) attended The American Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University School of Music, where he earned both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in music. In 1959, he joined Word Records as Director of Artists and Repertoire. He later became Vice-president and Director of Music there. From 1965 through 1970, Kaiser served as director of the Baylor Religious Hour Choir.  Kurt Kaiser and his friend Ralph Carmichael began writing Christian rock musicals geared to reach out to the youth of the time.  Crossing denominational boundaries, many of Kurt's compositions have found their way into a number of hymnals, including “Pass It On” and “O How He Loves You and Me”.   Kurt has achieved subtle trend changes by maintaining a sensitivity to that which is widely acceptable. His innovative approach has broadened musical styles that are palatable to the church at large. Associations with the Eastman School of Music and the Baylor University acapella choir, as well as many other fine choral groups are indicative of his taste for fine choral literature. Kurt finds it equally challenging to assist volunteer choirs to enjoy singing while bettering their art.  He helped to found the Day Spring Baptist Church in Waco, Texas and is their choir director.  In 2001 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

            Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

            Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.

            Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready my God, Thy will to see;

            Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

            Open my ears, that I may hear voices of truth Thou sendest clear;

            And while the wavenotes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready my God, Thy will to see;

            Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!

            Open my mouth, and let it bear gladly the warm truth everywhere;

            Open my heart and let me prepare love with Thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready my God, Thy will to see;

            Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!

About the Hymns:

All Creatures of Our God and King

The words of the hymn were initially written by St Francis of Assisi in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was rector of a Church of England parish church at Adel near Leeds. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first composed the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. Draper composed the hymn for his church's children's Whitsun festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book. The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymn books. The words written by St Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee", written in 580 AD. The hymn is set to the tune of "Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr", a German Easter hymn written by Friedrich Spee, published in 1623 in his book Auserlesene, Catholische, Geistliche Kirchengesäng. It was first used in English hymn books in 1906.

St. Francis is famous for many things, including love of animals.  Pictures of him usually have birds flying nearby and small animals at his feet.  A popular story tells of him stopping to preach a sermon to a flock of birds.  He reminded them that God had blessed them with beautiful clothing even though they had never learned to spin or weave–– and that God had blessed them with food even thought they had never learned to sow or reap.  Then he called them to sing their songs as praises to God.  St. Francis wrote this hymn near the end of his life.  Sick and suffering bouts of blindness, he was going home to die when he stopped to visit friends at the St. Damien monastery.  While there, he felt the inspiration to compose this joyful hymn.  It calls all God's creatures ––sun and moon ––wind and water––fruits and flowers––and all who are of tender heart––to sing, "Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!" to honor our God.

Where Charity and Love Prevail

Omer Westendorf (1916-1997) was one of the leading composers following the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  Beginning at age 20, he received his master’s degree in music at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and for most of his professional musical career served as organist and choirmaster at St. Bonaventure Church in Cincinnati. Under his direction the Bonaventure Choir sang concerts and recorded sacred music for several decades.  One of his greatest achievements was the founding of the World Library of Sacred Music in 1950 and World Library Publications in 1957. These organizations have been primary distributors of music for the Mass in the United States and beyond.

Westendorf was also known for his lectures and seminars on sacred music, consultations on liturgical music and as a hymn writer.  Westendorf’s People’s Mass Book, 1964, was the first vernacular hymn and service book to implement the Catholic liturgies decreed by Vatican Council II. He wrote Music Lessons for the Man in the Pew to teach the art of sight reading choral music.

“Where charity and love prevail” (1961) provides an English hymn version of a 9th-century Latin hymn, “Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est” (Where there is charity and love, God is there) based on 1 John 4:16. Traditionally, this is the final hymn on Maundy Thursday, called in the Latin tradition Mandatum novum (New Commandment), referring to the act of washing of the disciples’ feet initiated by Jesus.

Scholar H. Myron Braun comments on this ancient ritual: “[The Latin chant] is said to date from the ninth century . . . with its emphasis on community within the faith, on Christians holding one another in love and concern . . . It is appropriate for . . . [Maundy Thursday] when we note the “new commandment” that we love one another, and also several times in Eastertide when the lectionary leads us to reading on love from the Gospel and the epistles of John.”

The text draws directly on John 13:34, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” This version appeared first in Westendorf’s People’s Mass Book (1976). Before the publication of The UM Hymnal in 1989, the hymn appeared in the Supplement to the Book of Hymns (1982) with a plainsong melody.

O Church of God, United

"O Church of God, United" was composed for a hymn search conducted by The Hymn Society of America (now The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada) for the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Evanston, Illinois, on the campus of Northwestern University, August 15-31, 1954, on the theme, "Jesus Christ – the Hope of the World." This contest attracted nearly 500 submissions. Though the hymn did not win the competition, its merit was recognized, appearing in the July 1954 issue of The Hymn, the journal of the Society, and included in a small collection entitled Eleven Ecumenical Hymns; written at the invitation of The Hymn Society of America in recognition of the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston. Illinois. August, 1954.

The author, Frederick B. Morley (1884-1969) was born in Canada and educated at Syracuse University and Boston University School of Theology. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1915 and served churches in New Jersey and New York.