June 3, 2018

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 Piano Music:

We Gather Together – Larry Dalton

"We Gather Together" is a Christian hymn of Dutch origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius as "Wilt heden nu treden" to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout.  At the time the hymn was written, the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain.  “Wilt heden nu treden” resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship.  The hymn first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch patriotic songs, Nederlandtsch Gedencklanck.  The hymn is customarily performed to a tune known as KREMSER, from Eduard Kremser's 1877 score arrangement and lyric translation of “Wilt Heden Nu Treden” into Latin and German. The modern English text was written by Theodore Baker in 1894.  “We Gather Together” first appeared in an American hymnal in 1903.  It had retained popularity among the Dutch, and when the Dutch Reformed Church in North America decided in 1937 to abandon the policy that they had brought with them to the New World in the 17th century of singing only psalms and add hymns to the church service, "We Gather Together" was chosen as the first hymn in the first hymnal.   The hymn steadily gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving on such occasions as town and college centennial celebrations.  The "big break" came in 1935 when it was included in the national hymnal of the Methodist-Episcopal Church.   This hymn is often sung at American churches the day before Thanksgiving.

The text is also appropriate as we look toward the annual gathering of our church conference.

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing;
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be;
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

The son of a minister, Larry Dalton (1946-2009) was a regular performer on such Christian-oriented cable television shows as Hour Of Power and the 700 Club. Dalton traveled with a Southern gospel quartet called The Songsmen before attending Oral Roberts University (ORU). As a student he became an organist for Oral Roberts' crusades.  Dalton served as music director for Oral Roberts TV, penning more than one thousand tunes performed on the show.

Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face – David Angerman

Adoro te devote is one of five beautiful hymns St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) composed in honor of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Pope Urban IV's (1261-1264) request when the Pope first established the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264. The hymn is found in the Roman Missal as a prayer of thanksgiving after Mass. 

The paraphrase of the Latin text found in our hymnal is:

            Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face;

            Here would I touch and handle things unseen,

            Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,

            And all my weariness upon thee lean.

Here would I feed upon the bread of God,
here drink with Thee the royal wine of heav'n;
here would we lay aside each earthly load,
here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiv'n.

This is the hour of banquet and of song;
this is the heav'nly table spread for me;
here let me feast, and feasting, still prolong
the brief, bright hour of fellowship with Thee.

Too soon we rise, the symbols disappear;
the feast, though not the love, is past and done;
gone are the bread and wine, but Thou art here,
nearer than ever, still my Shield and Sun.

Feast after feast thus comes, and passes by;
yet passing, points to the glad feast above;
giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,
the Lamb's great bridal feast of bliss and love.

David Angerman (b. 1955) has been Director of Music and organist at Bethany Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, since 1980. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree and Master of Church Music Degree from Baylor University and a Master of Music Degree in Organ Performance from the University of Texas in Austin.  As a composer he has to his credit more than 100 published works including choral and handbell music as well as organ and piano solos. He has also written the music for several youth and children's musicals, and co-authored, along with Joseph Martin and Mark Hayes, KEYS FOR THE KINGDOM, a piano method for the Christian student, published by Shawnee Press. Many of his published works have been awarded Editor's Choice designations.

They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love – John Wilson

Peter Scholtes (1938–2009) wrote the hymn "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love" while he was a parish priest at St. Brendan's on the South Side of Chicago in the 1960s. At the time, he was leading a youth choir out of the church basement and was looking for an appropriate song for a series of ecumenical, interracial events. When he couldn't find such a song, he wrote the now-famous hymn in a single day. It is inspired by John 13:35. It was released on an LP of the same name featuring the congregation of Scholtes' church singing this hymn and others.  His experiences at St. Brendan's, and in the Chicago Civil Rights movement, influenced him for the rest of his life.

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
and we pray that all unity may one day be restored.

We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
And together we'll spread the news, that God is in our land

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll save each man's dignity, and guard each man's pride.

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son
And all praise to the Spirit, that makes us one.

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

John F. Wilson (1929-2014) was a conductor, performer, composer, teacher and worship leader.  His educational background includes undergraduate work at the Chicago Evangelistic Institute and American Conservatory of Music as well as graduate work at Northwestern University, where he received the Master of Music degree and pursued doctoral studies.  He spent the first half of his career and directing choirs and teaching music at Mountain View Bible College (Alberta, Canada), Fort Wayne Bible College (Indiana), Moody Bible Institute (Chicago), Indiana Wesleyan University and West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing.  He then joined the editorial staff of Hope Publishing Company, where he served for twenty-eight years as Executive Editor, Senior Editor and then, Editor Emeritus.  Over more than 40 years, he served as choir director of several church choirs as well as his own professional group, the John Wilson Singers.  He has composed over 400 published works for choirs and instrumental groups, including a number of full length musicals for adult and children’s voices.  As a long-time member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), he has received several awards for his contribution to serious contemporary music.

About the Choral Music:

We Are One, Lord – Stan Pethel

Dr. Stan Pethel is Chair of the Fine Arts at Berry College near Rome, Georgia. He has been on the music faculty there since 1973. In addition to his duties as Chair of Fine Arts at Berry College Dr. Pethel teaches music theory, composition and arranging, world music, and low brass lessons. He is a widely published composer and arranger with over 1000 works in publication with 26 different publishers. His writing includes works for choir, piano, organ/piano duet, symphonic band, jazz ensemble, orchestra, handbells, solo instrument and piano, and various chamber music ensembles. He is a regular recipient of the ASCAP Standard Award.

            We are one, Lord, united in your Spirit,

            We are one, Lord, surrounded by your love,

            We are one, Lord, one of heart and soul;

            Gathered as your children, we are one.

            We are free, Lord, free to serve each other,

            We are filled, Lord; our grateful voice we raise

            To your name, Lord, as you sustain us now.

            Gathered as your children, we are one.

            Though we come from many places, we share amazing grace;

            Though we be of different ages, we share one voice of praise,

            Though our talents, Lord, may vary, it’s the message that we carry

            That binds us all together in this place.

            We are one.

About the Hymns:

God of Grace and God of Glory

“God of grace and God of glory” was written in 1930 by Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) for the dedication of the famous Riverside Church in New York City.   Fosdick was granted degrees from Colgate University and Union Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1903 to ministry in the Baptist Church and became pastor of First Baptist Church, Montclair, N.J.   Fosdick served as a chaplain during World War I and then was pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New York City. From this congregation he was called to pastor Park Avenue Baptist Church, which was renamed Riverside Church.

“God of grace and God of glory” was written while the United States was in the throes of the Great Depression between the two World Wars. Fosdick was a champion of the social gospel, a movement that recognized the plight of the poor, especially in the urban Northeast during the Industrial Revolution.   UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young has noted: “Fosdick’s stirring radio sermons, books, and public pronouncements established Riverside as a forum for the critique of the same wealth and privilege whose gifts had made possible the building of the church.  Under his leadership Riverside Church was interdenominational, interracial, without a creed, and, astonishingly for Baptists, required no specific mode of baptism. At the center of Fosdick’s ministry was urban social ministry.”   Fosdick was perhaps the most vocal proponent of the social gospel of his time—a position that brought both wide acclaim and broad disdain. 

CWM RHONDDA was composed in 1905 by John Hughes (1873-1932) during a church service for a Baptist Cymanfa Ganu (song festival) in Capel Rhondda, Pontypridd, Wales. Hughes received little formal education; at age twelve, he was already working as a doorboy at a local mining company in Llantwit Fardre. He eventually became an official in the traffic department of the Great WesternRailway. Much of his energy was devoted to the Salem Baptist Church in Pontypridd, where he served as both deacon and precentor. Hughes composed two anthems, a number of Sunday school marches, and a few hymn tunes, of which CWM RHONDDA is universally known. At first widely disseminated in leaflet form, CWM RHONDDA gradually was adopted into various hymnals. The tune is named after the valley of the Rhondda River, a coal mining area in Wales.

One Bread, One Body

John Foley, S.J., (b. 1939) is an American Jesuit priest who is a composer of Catholic liturgical music and a professor of liturgy. Among his better-known compositions are One Bread, One Body (1978), Earthen Vessels (1975), Come to the Water (1978), The Cry of the Poor (1978), For You Are My God (1970), and the album As a River of Light (1989).  Much of Foley's early work on liturgical music was as a member of a group called the St. Louis Jesuits, composed of fellow Jesuit seminarians, with whom he released several albums. Other members of the St. Louis Jesuits were Dan Schutte, Bob Dufford, Roc O'Connor, and Tim Manion. He has also released several solo collections of liturgical music. Foley went on to earn a doctorate in liturgical theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.  In 1993 he returned to Saint Louis University where he founded the Stroble Center for Liturgy, of which he has served as director since its founding.

Written in 1978, “One Bread, One Body” is based on I Corinthians 10:16-17, ”Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.”  The first verse is readily identifiable as a paraphrase of Galatians 3:28, which reads, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In the second verse, we have more Scriptural paraphrase.  This time, the text is clearly taken from 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, which reads, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord.”  You don’t have to be a preacher to serve.  You don’t have to be a song leader to serve.  Even if your work is visiting the sick or cleaning the church building, you are no less important a part of the body of Christ than its most visible members.  Ultimately, every kind of service gets back to serving Jesus. The third verse echoes various Biblical texts (Matthew 13:3-9 and John 12:23-26 among them).  As Christ assembles us into one body, so too He plants us, causes us to grow, and gathers us in.

May 27, 2018

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 Piano Music:

Amazing Grace


"Amazing Grace" was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807).  With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.


Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was drafted into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.


Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was first printed in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. 


It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named NEW BRITAIN, to which it is most frequently sung today.  NEW BRITAIN was originally a folk tune, probably sung slowly with grace notes and melodic embellishments. Typical of the Appalachian tunes from the southern United States, NEW BRITAIN is pentatonic with melodic figures that outline triads. It was first published as a hymn tune in shape notes in Columbian Harmony (1829) to the text "Arise, my soul, my joyful pow'rs." It was first set to "Amazing Grace" in William Walker's (PHH 44) Southern Harmony (1835)

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be, As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.

This arrangement appears in a book of piano arrangements that were written by staff writers for a music publishing company.  Unfortunately, none of them are credited, so we don’t know who wrote this simple, yet beautiful setting.

Jesus Love Me! This I Know – David Angerman

"Jesus Loves Me" was written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called Say and Seal, written by her older sister Susan Warner (1819–1885), in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a dying child. The tune was added in 1862 by William Bradbury (1816–1868). Along with his tune, Bradbury added his own chorus "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus Loves me" After publication as a song it became one of the most popular Christian hymns in churches around the world, especially among children.

Anna’s family home was quite close to the United States Military Academy at West Point, in New York, in the era just before the Civil War. Each Sunday Anna taught Bible classes to the cadets. Her remains are buried in the military cemetery, and her family home is now a museum on the grounds of the United States Military Academy.

Her original poem follows:

Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong; They are weak but He is strong.

Jesus loves me! Loves me still, Tho I'm very weak and ill,
That I might from sin be free, Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me! He who died Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay Close beside me all the way.
Thou hast bled and died for me; I will henceforth live for Thee.

David Angerman (b. 1955-) has been Director of Music and organist at Bethany Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, since 1980. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree and Master of Church Music Degree from Baylor University and a Master of Music Degree in Organ Performance from the University of Texas in Austin.  As a composer he has to his credit more than 100 published works including choral and handbell music as well as organ and piano solos. He has also written the music for several youth and children's musicals, and co-authored, along with Joseph Martin and Mark Hayes, KEYS FOR THE KINGDOM, a piano method for the Christian student, published by Shawnee Press. Many of his published works have been awarded Editor's Choice designations.

Redeemed – John Carter

Frances Jane Crosby (1820-1915) was born in New York and became blind at the age of six weeks from maltreatment of her eyes during an illness. At the age of fifteen she entered the New York Institution for the Blind. She became a teacher in the institution in 1847. She taught English grammar, rhetoric and American history. She wrote the words to many songs for Dr. George F. Root, then the teacher of music at the blind institution. Subsequently she wrote the words for the cantatas of The Flower Queen and The Pilgrim Fathers, all of which were very popular in their day, though it was not generally known at the time that she was the author.

While teaching at the institution she met Presidents Van Buren and Tyler, and she had the honor of being the first woman whose voice was heard publicly in the Senate Chamber at Washington, reading one of her poems. She wrote over eight thousand hymns and poems in her lifetime.  She knew a great many portions of the Bible by heart and memorized the first four books of the Old Testament and the four Gospels before she was ten years of age.   Her scope of subjects is wide, embracing everything from a contemplation of heaven to an appeal to the work of this world.  Most of her published hymns appeared under the name of Fanny J. Crosby or Mrs. Yan Alstyne, but she also wrote under over 200 pen names.

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever I am.

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus, no language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence with me doth continually dwell.

I think of my blessed Redeemer, I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent; His love is the theme of my song.

John Carter is a productive and versatile composer with a notable and long-standing career in choral composition. In addition to hundreds of sacred and secular choral pieces, Carter has written several collections of piano and organ literature, bell choir arrangements, a number of works for musical theatre and an opera. He is a well-known clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States.  He is currently serving as Director of Music at the University Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio.

About the Choral Music:

I Will Arise and Go to Jesus – Austin Lovelace

Joseph Hart (1712-1768) was never voted "most likely to become a minister" by the friends of his youth. Though raised among Christian influences, he was not serious about spiritual matters and soon fell into, as he put it, the "vanities and vices" of youth. But as an adult he began to feel a concern for his soul, running what he described as "an uneasy restless round of sinning and repenting." Frustrated by his inner turmoil, he looked for answers elsewhere; and listening to all the wrong voices of the age, fell captive to a doctrine that taught grace unfettered by any responsibility. Among his scholarly writings during this period was a scathing attack on John Wesley titled The Unreasonableness of Religion (1741), which reveals his adherence to the rationalist critics and to a certain extent to deism. But approaching the age of forty, he became convicted of the error of his beliefs and reformed his ways. Over the next few years he began in earnest to seek a truer path, and eventually became a minister to a Congregationalist body in London.

Hymns composed on various subjects (1759), which went through countless editions as "Hart's Hymns," was written during this period of deep soul-searching and repentance beginning around 1757. According to Hart, "They are published not only in the same order, but also in the same manner in which they were first written: for though they have since undergone a cursory revisal, and have been lightly retouched, the alterations I have made in them are neither very numerous nor material." His collection is therefore not only an anthology of his work, but a spiritual journal of this period in his life. And for a body of hymns so quickly got together, his work well stood the test of time. Augmented by his supplements of 1762 and 1768, "Hart's Hymns" became a staple in Calvinist circles.

"Come, ye sinners" is held by many to be Hart's greatest hymn. It is #100 in his original 1759 collection, and falls within the last group of hymns in that work, probably written in the spring of that year. These hymns as a group seem to look back in review of Hart's spiritual journey, though they still shows flashes of that "disorder and darkness of soul" that plagued him over his sins. Frequent themes are the assurance of salvation, our hopelessness without the atoning work of Christ, the majesty of Christ revealed in His humble sacrifice, and encouragement to the weak in faith.  To this extent, then, "Come, ye sinners" is as much autobiography as invitation.

Raymond Glover has identified this as a variant on one of the stanzas of Caleb Jarvis Taylor's "Don't you see my Jesus coming?" Caleb Jarvis Taylor (1763-1816) was a schoolteacher from Maryland who served as a fill-in preacher for Methodist churches in western Virginia and Pennsylvania. In 1792 he moved to north central Kentucky, where he continued to teach school as his primary support, but preached wherever and whenever he could. Sometimes he preached as an official circuit rider sponsored by a Methodist association, but more often it was his willingness to fill vacancies for other preachers that kept him in the pulpit. He was the founder of the Mt. Gilead Methodist Church just north of Paris, Kentucky, also known as the Old Matheny Meeting House, probably the earliest Methodist congregation in that area northeast of Lexington. By 1795 he relocated to the vicinity of what is now Maysville, Kentucky, along the Ohio River.

The Mt. Gilead meeting house was less than ten miles from the famous Cane Ridge meeting house, so it was inevitable that Taylor was right in the thick of the Second Great Awakening. And though he was known to be a successful revivalist, he was noted by his contemporaries as well as by modern historians as one of the chief songwriters of this watershed moment in American religious history.

The earliest appearance of this tune in print appears to be that found in William Walker's Southern Harmony. As was typical of the old colonial singing-school music, Walker's arrangement places the melody in the tenor voice; he added a bass part below and a "treble" above. The Sacred Harp version has an alto part, added in later years, to fill out a more typical voicing. William "Singing Billy" Walker (1809-1875) was a Baptist song leader from Spartanburg, South Carolina. His Southern Harmony (1835) is one of the most important hymn publications in American history, because it preserved many of the melodies of the camp-meeting folk hymns at a time when the generation that created them was passing away. (Earlier publications of camp-meeting songs did not include the music.)

“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.

Austin C. Lovelace (1919-2010) was called by many the Dean of American Church music. Over many years he worked at a number of Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Colorado, North Carolina, Illinois, and Nebraska. He also worked at Union Theological Seminary in N.Y.C. and Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. He traveled widely as a Director of Music for general conferences, lecturer, and consultant. He was the organist for the Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1954. He was a prolific writer and composer with over 700 compositions for church in print, as well as numerous articles and books on church hymnody.

            I will arise and go to Jesus; he will embrace me with his arms.

                In the arms of my dear Savior, Oh! There are ten thousand charms.

            Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;

            Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of Loudest praise.

            Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above;

              Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love.

I will arise and go to Jesus; he will embrace me with his arms.

               In the arms of my dear Savior, Oh! There are ten thousand charms.

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, saints and angels in glory, and all creation 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.

The tune NICAEA is named after the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) at which church leaders began to formulate the doctrine of the Trinity to oppose the heresies of Arius. NICAEA is one of the finest tunes composed by John B. Dykes  and the only one of his many tunes that resembles the style of the Lutheran chorale – its similarity to WACHET AUF (613) is noted by various scholars. Dykes wrote NICAEA as a setting for Reginald's text, and ever since their first publication together in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), the text and tune have been virtually inseparable.

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 Frederik Work and John W. Work, Jr.

May 20, 2018

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:

Prelude on “Veni Creator Spiritus” – Murray Bradshaw

Veni Creator Spiritus ("Come Creator Spirit") is a hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus in the 9th century. When the original Latin text is used, it is normally sung in Gregorian Chant. As an invocation of the Holy Spirit, in the practice of the Roman Catholic Church it is sung during the liturgical celebration of the feast of Pentecost (at both Terce and Vespers). It is also sung at occasions such as the entrance of Cardinals to the Sistine Chapel, when electing a new pope, as well as at the consecration of bishops, the ordination of priests, when celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation, the dedication of churches, the celebration of synods or councils, the coronation of kings, the profession of members of religious institutes and other similar solemn events.

Since the English Reformation in the 16th century, there have been more than fifty English language translations and paraphrases of Veni Creator Spiritus. The version included in the 1662 revision of the Book of Common Prayer retained the Latin title and was written by Bishop John Cosin for the coronation of King Charles I of Great Britain in 1625. The same words have been used at every coronation since, and is sung by the choir after the singing of the Creed, while the sovereign is dressed in a white alb and seated in the Coronation Chair, prior to the Anointing.

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, and in our hearts take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid, To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O Comforter, to Thee we cry, Thou heav'nly gift of God most high,
Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.

O Finger of the hand divine, the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;
true promise of the Father thou, who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart, and shed thy love in every heart;
thine own unfailing might supply to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our ghostly foe, and thine abiding peace bestow;
if thou be our preventing Guide, no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit with them One;
and may the Son on us bestow the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

Murray Bradshaw (b. 1930) studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and received his PhD from the University of Chicago.  He is former Chair of Musicology at UCLA, and the author of several books and scholarly editions of music, including The Origin of the Toccata (1972), The Falsobordone: A Study in Renaissance and Baroque Music (1978), and Early Sacred Monody (4 vols; 1985-). His translation and study of Giovanni Luca Conforti's Breve et facile maniera s'essercitarsi(1593) appeared in 1998, and an earlier facsimile edition and translation, with Edward J. Sohnlen, of Girolamo Diruta's Il Transilvano (1593, 1603) appeared in 1983 and 1984. Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di anima e di corpo (1600), the first dramatic composition sung throughout, appeared in 2007 as the fourth volume of his series on "Early Sacred Monody." He has published numerous articles in many scholarly journals as well as compositions for the organ. He also served as the general editor of "Musicological Studies and Documents" and the "Miscellanea" series for the American Institute of Musicology.  He is organist at the 43^rd Church of Christ Scientist, Woodland Hills, California.

Komm, Heiliger Geist - J. S. Bach

For centuries, "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" ("Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord") has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Pentecost in German-speaking Lutheranism.  The hymn inspired composers from the Renaissance to contemporary to write chorale preludes and vocal compositions. The first stanza is a translation of the Latin antiphon for Pentecost "Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium" (Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful) from the 11th century.

Martin Luther added two more stanzas, keeping not only the meter and the tune, but also the structure, with acclamations at the beginning of lines 1 and 5, and the final Halleluja. In his stanzas, the group of "deiner Gläubigen" (your believers) is speaking directly, stating "wir" and "uns" ("we" and "us"). Luther alludes to several of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to Isaiah 11:2: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. He also drew on Galatians 4:6 ("because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts"), Matthew 23:8-10 ("for one is your Master"), and Romans 8:26 ("the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities"). In the second stanza, Luther uses the attributes "heiliges Licht, edler Hort" (holy light, precious refuge) and words the request "protect us from strange doctrines / so that we may never look for any teacher / except Jesus in true belief". In the last stanza, the Spirit's "ardent love" and "sweet consolation" are named, asking for help "always to remain joyful and comforted / in your service" and "so that we may bravely struggle / through life and death to reach you!"

The hymn appeared first in 1524 in Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn (de), (booklet of spiritual song), collected by Johann Walter. The same year it appeared also in Eyn Enchiridion in Erfurt, titled "Der gesank Veni sancte spiritus".   It has been translated, for example by Catherine Winkworth as Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord! in 1855, and has appeared in hymnals of various denominations.

            Come, Holy Spirit, Lord God, fill with the goodness of your grace

            The heart, spirit and mind of your believers,

            Kindle in them your ardent love!

            O Lord, through the spendour of your light you have gathered in faith

            People from all the tonuges of the world; so that in your praise Lord,

            May there be sung Halleluja! Halleluja!

            You holy light, precious refuge, let the word of life enlighten us

            And teach us to know God truly, to call him father from our heart!

            O Lord, protect us from strange doctrines so that we may never look for any teacher

            Except Jesus in true belief and may trust him wholeheartedly! Halleluja! Halleluja!

You sacred warmth, sweet consolation, now help us always to remain joyful and

            And comforted in your service; do not let sorrow drive us away!

            O Lord, through your power make us ready and strengthen the feebleness of our flesh

            So that we may bravely struggle through life and death to reach you! Halleluja! Halleluja!

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period.  He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.  Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to posterity.  His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.  Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognized as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century.  During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognized by several prominent composers.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven,  Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.  Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony".  He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period and as one of the greatest composers of all time.  A highly devout Christian, Bach signed all of his compositions “soli Deo Gloria” (to God alone be the glory).   

About the Handbell Music:

As the Wind Song – Carol Lynn Mizell

          Jubilation Ringers

Shirley Erena Murray (b.1931) is a New Zealand hymn lyrics writer. Her hymns have been translated into numerous languages and are represented in more than 140 hymn collections. Born a Methodist in Invercargill, she earned a Master of Arts degree with honors in Classics and French from the University of Otago. She later worked as a teacher and researcher.  After marrying Presbyterian minister John Murray in 1954, she eventually moved to Wellington where John was minister for the St Andrew's on the Terrace from 1975 to 1993. Her hymn writing started in the 1970s and often used the congregation of St Andrew's as a testing place for the hymns. In 2001, she became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for "services as a hymn writer". In 2006, she became a fellow of the Royal School of Church Music. She received an honorary doctor of literature degree from the University of Otago in 2009. The same year, she was named a fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.

The tune WAIRUA TAPU is by Dr. Swee Hong Lim (b.1963), the Deer Park Assistant Professor of Sacred Music at Emmanuel College, and the Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program. He also serves as Director of the Chapel for the worship life of Emmanuel College. Before joining Emmanuel on July 1, 2012, Dr. Lim served as an Assistant Professor of Church Music at Baylor University. Prior to his work at Baylor, he served as a Lecturer of Worship, Liturgy, and Music at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. Swee Hong holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, where his dissertation won the Helen LePage and William Hale Chamberlain Prize for Outstanding Dissertation. He also holds a Master of Arts in Sacred Music from Perkins School of Theology. He completed his undergraduate work in Church Music at the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music in the Philippines. Swee Hong is well-published in global music, with his monograph, Giving Voice to Asian Christians, especially known among global musicians. He is also a prolific composer of hymnody.

As the wind song through the trees, As the stirring of the breeze,
So it is with the Spirit of God;
As the heart made strangely warm, As the voice within the storm,
So it is with the Spirit of God.

Never seen, ever known where this wind has blown,

Bringing life, bringing power to the world,

As the dancing tongues of fire, as the soul’s most deep desire,

So it is with the Spirit of God.

As the rainbow after rain, As the hope that’s born again,

So it is with the Spirit of God;

As the green in the spring, As a kite on a string,

So it is with the Spirit of God.

Making worlds that are new, making peace come true,

Bringing gifts, Bringing love to the world;

As the rising of the yeast, as the wine at the feast,

So it is with the Spirit of God.

About the Choral Music:

Spirit of God, Descend upon my Heart – Joan Pinkston

The words of this sung prayer are among the most passionate in the history of hymnody.  This masterpiece of Christian devotional poetry is the work of George Croly (1780-1860), an Anglican minister born in Dublin, Ireland, but whose ministry took place in London. Having served a small parish in Ireland, he moved to London to pursue a literary career where he wrote in several mediums including poetry, novels, history and biography.  In 1835, Croly accepted the challenge to reopen a church in one of the worst slum areas of London, that had been closed for over a century. He was known among his peers as thoroughly conservative in theology with no tolerance for liberal views. Through personal charisma and dynamic preaching, he attracted large crowds to St. Stephen’s Church.  Croly prepared a new hymnal in 1854 for his congregation and published it as Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship. “Spirit of God, Descend upon my Heart” first appeared in that hymnal under the title “Holiness Desired.” It is the only hymn by Croly to have survived. 

Joan J. Pinkston studied at Bob Jones University, the Hartt College of Music, and Westminster Choir College.  She is a member of several national and regional music organizations and is a Fellow of Melodious Accord.  Pinkston has published numerous traditionally styled sacred choral pieces. In 2002, Hymns of Grace and Glory was published and features more than seventy of her own hymn tunes. During her 40 years as a professional musician, she has published over 400 pieces of music, given over a hundred workshops on composing and arranging, and performed numerous sacred concerts. Her hymn arrangements for piano and orchestra are featured on the recording Our Great Savior.. A recording of her piano arrangements, Our Song of Praise, was released in 2010. Pinkston has taught music theory, hymn improvisation, orchestration and choral composition at Bob Jones University for more than forty-five years She serves as pianist at Faith Free Presbyterian Church of Greenville, SC.

            Spirit of Got, descend upon my heart;

            Wean it from earth through all its pulses move;

            Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,

            And make me to love Thee as I ought to love.

            Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love;

            One holy passion filling all my frame;

            The baptism of the heav’n descended Dove.

            My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.

            Amen.

About the Hymns:

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

One of the most notable "Spirit Songs" of the twentieth century is "There's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place" by African American gospel songwriter Doris Mae Akers (1923-1995).  One of ten children, Dot Akers, as many called her, demonstrated her interest in music at the young age of six, teaching herself to play the piano by ear. By ten, she had composed her first song, "Keep the fire burning in me," and by age twelve had organized a five-piece jazz band, "Dot Akers and Her Swingsters."  In 1945, Akers moved to Los Angeles where she met some of the important names in gospel music of that era, including Sallie Martin, J. Earl Hines, and Eugene Douglas Smallwood. Soon after arriving, she joined the Sallie Martin Singers as a pianist and singer, formed the Akers Singers, and established her own publishing company, Akers Music House. In 1958, Akers formed the Sky Pilot Choir, the first interracial choir in Los Angeles. This choir was devoted to African American gospel music. She formed a relationship with Manna Music in the mid-1950s, just a few years before she composed "Sweet, Sweet Spirit" in 1962. In the late 1990s she was featured in Bill Gaither's gospel videos "Old Friends" and "Turn Your Radio On."  Honors include being named the Gospel Music Composer of the Year for both 1960 and 1961. Known affectionately as "Miss Gospel Music," she was involved in every aspect of the industry from composing, arranging, publishing, choir directing, recording, as well as performing as a soloist and with ensembles. In 2001, Doris Akers was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

"Sweet, sweet Spirit" expresses in simple, heartfelt language the work of the Holy Spirit as it works in the life of the church. It is a fitting hymn for Pentecost Sunday or any Sunday where God’s people gather to worship. Lindsay Terry comments on the origins of this song in an interview with Doris Akers in the late 1980s:

"She related to me that one Sunday morning in 1962, while directing the Sky Pilot Choir, she said to her singers, 'You are not ready to go in.' She didn’t believe they had prayed enough! They were accustomed to spending time with her in prayer before the service, asking God to bless their songs. She said, 'I feel that prayer is more important than great voices.' They had already prayed, but this particular morning she asked them to pray again, and they did so with renewed fervor.

"As they prayed, Doris began to wonder how she could stop this wonderful prayer meeting. She said, 'I sent word to the pastor letting him know what was happening. He was waiting in the auditorium, wanting to start the service. Finally, I was compelled to say to the choir, We have to go. I hate to leave this room and I know you hate to leave, but you know we do have to go to the service. But there is such a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place.'"

The phrase stayed with her and she wrote the song the next day. Matthew 3:16-17 inspired the specific line "Sweet heavenly Dove." This text focuses on the baptism of Jesus when "he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Every Time I Feel the Spirit

It is not always possible to find the story behind a song.  Songs classified as African-American spirituals, like this one, were typically created by slaves living in the southern United States in the pre-Civil War era.  The tunes and words were passed down for generations before even being written.  Some people consider Galatians 4:6 as the verse of inspiration for the song.  Words of spirituals often had multiple meanings also.  Multi-layered meanings were readily understood by the target audience.  For example, the line in Every Time I Feel the Spirit that reads, “There ain’t but one train on this track; It runs to heaven…” is likely referring to the Underground Railroad and the escape to freedom, a message easily recognized and of comfort to those enduring slavery.  Likewise, references to rivers often advised them to cross or wade in water to escape the pursuing dogs.  At the same time, it is an uplifting song celebrating the movement of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives.