Sunday, October 16, 2022

Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.  Some of this information is original; most of it is copied from other websites such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org.  It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.   

About the Organ Music: 

Eternal Joy - Noel Goemanne

(c.1972, Theodore Presser Co)

Noël Goemanne (1926-2010) was born in December in Poperinge, Belgium, and was named "Noël" in honor of Christmas, and during his long career as a composer of sacred music, he wrote many choral and organ pieces to celebrate that season. He attended The Lemmens Institute and the Royal Conservatory of Liege in Belgium. Outspoken about the importance of music from his earliest years, he was arrested during World War II for publicly playing the music of the Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn during the Nazi occupation. In 1952, he and his wife Janine immigrated to the United States, and he took the position of church organist at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Victoria, Texas.  When the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church changed in the early 1960s, he was quick to adapt to the changes while adhering to classical good taste. He composed the first Vatican II-approved Masses in English for use in the Church.  Goemanne held organist and choirmaster positions at St. Rita's Catholic Church and Out Lady, Queen of Martyrs Church in Detroit, Michigan; St. Monica's Catholic Church and Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas; and, finally, Christ the King Catholic Church from 1972 until his death.  During his long composing career, Goemanne received the "Pro Ecclesia" medal from the Vatican in 1977, the award from the Institute of Sacred Music, Manila, Philippines in 1974, and numerous ASCAP awards.

About the Piano Music:

I Know Whom I Have Believed - Ruth Elaine Schram 

(c.2008, Lorenz Publishing)

Daniel Webster Whittle (1840-1901) wrote multiple hymns texts under the pseudonym “El Nathan.”  Whittle fought in the army during the American Civil War and marched with General William Tecumseh Sherman through Georgia. At the end of the war, he was given the title of Major, and is still known by many hymnologists as Major Whittle. After the war, Whittle became closely associated with the evangelistic campaigns of the famous Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899). Whittle’s daughter married Moody’s son. His war experiences served as a basis for the gospel song, “Hold the Fort for I Am Coming” by Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876). Major Whittle, who composed around 200 hymn texts, continued to travel on evangelist tours in North America and Great Britain with Moody and Bliss until his death.

His hymn “I Know Whom I Have Believed” (1883) was also given the tune name EL NATHAN. The tune, written by prominent music publisher and gospel song composer James McGranahan (1840-1907), was given this tune name to match Whittle’s pseudonym. One of his more popular hymns, it was first published in Gospel Hymns, No 4 (1883), edited by a distinguished trio of gospel song musicians and promoters that included Dwight Moody’s evangelist, Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908), McGranahan, and George C. Stebbins (1846-1945). This hymn has been extremely popular in the United States, and it can be found in every Southern Baptist hymnal since The Baptist Hymn and Praise Book (1904), in The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), as well as in more than 200 other hymnals published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.

The tune of this hymn sounds like a typical gospel hymn tune with modest harmony and simple melodic lines. The direct quotation of Scripture results in an extended phrase in the refrain. The text of this hymn is a direct quotation from 2 Timothy 1:12: “. . . I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (KJV). In this letter, the apostle Paul has been imprisoned, yet he feels empowered in his suffering because it mirrors the suffering of Jesus Christ. Paul uses his plight to encourage his fellow Christian Timothy to remain strong in his faith, no matter the difficulties he is facing. Paul would argue that even though he feels that he may not able, he is made able through the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. Like in the first stanza, while we are unworthy, “Christ in love” has “redeemed me for his own.”

I know not why God’s wondrous grace To me He hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love Redeemed me for His own.

I know not how this saving faith To me He did impart,

Nor how believing in His Word Wrought peace within my heart.

I know not how the Spirit moves, Convincing men of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word, Creating faith in Him.

I know not what of good or ill May be reserved for me,

Of weary ways or golden days, Before His face I see.

I know not when my Lord may come, At night or noonday fair,

Nor if I walk the vale with Him, Or meet Him in the air.

But “I know Whom I have believed, And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed Unto Him against that day.”

Ruth Elaine Schram (b. 1952) wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and her first octavo was published twenty years later, in 1988. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 2,000 published works.  Over seventeen million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award each year since 1990.  In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video.  Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos.”  Schram began piano and theory lessons at the age of five. She studied music at Lancaster Bible College and Millersville State College and taught Elementary Music in Pennsylvania for several years. She now lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

About the Choral Music:

Just a Closer Walk with Thee - Ed Lojeski

(c.1975, Hal Leonard Pub)

"Just a Closer Walk With Thee" is a traditional gospel song, performed either as an instrumental or vocal song. While the precise author of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" is unknown, circumstantial evidence suggest it dates back to southern African-American churches of the 19th century. The first known recording was by the Selah Jubilee Singers in October, 1941.  Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the hymn and dirge section of traditional New Orleans jazz funerals. The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Corinthians 5:7 which states, "We walk by faith, not by sight" and James 4:8, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." 

Some personal African American histories recall "slaves singing as they worked in the fields a song about walking by the Lord's side."  Songs with similar chorus lyrics were published in the 1800s, including "Closer Walk with Thee" with lyrics by Martha J. Lankton (a pseudonym for Fanny Crosby) and music by William Kirkpatrick, which was published in 1885. Some references in Atchison, Kansas credit an African-American foundry worker and vocalist, Rev. Elijah Cluke (1907-1974), for the current rendition of the song. "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" became better known nationally in the 1930s when African-American churches held huge musical conventions. In 1940 Kenneth Morris arranged and published for the first time the well-known version after gospel musicians Robert Anderson and R.L. Knowles listened to William B. Hurse direct a performance of it in Kansas City and then brought it to Morris' attention.  Morris added some new lyrics and a choral arrangement. In the 1940s, a boom of recordings recorded the number in many genres, ranging from Southern gospel to jazz and brass bands.

Ed Lojeski (1942-2020) was acknowledged as one of the finest choral arrangers/directors in the business. His arrangements have a special meaning to vocal groups and choral directors who seek material beyond the standard and ordinary. Much of his writing success derived from his own wide experience as a nationally known performer and show producer.  Lojeski served as an accompanist and musical consultant for movie productions such as Where The Boys Are, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Hello Dolly and Shaft and on TV films for Mannix, Medical Center, Gunsmoke and Mystery Movie of the Week. Mr. Lojeski also wrote shows for Robert Goulet, Trini Lopez, The Nicholas Brothers and George Shearing. He served as a pianist-conductor and/or vocal coach for Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, Kathryn Grayson, The Lettermen, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Charles Nelson Reilly and Karren Morrow. He was on of the directors of the Doodletown Pipers.  Choral groups under his direction appeared on television and in the Hollywood Bowl. Ed Lojeski was a prolific writer of pop choral arrangements that were designed to bring maturity of sound to the young chorus and an edge of excellence to advanced groups.

I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee, Jesus, grant my humble plea!
Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

When the journey here is o’er, Time for me will be no more,
Guide me to thy distant shore,  To thy shore, oh dear Lord, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee, Jesus, grant my humble plea!
Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Peace I Leave with You - Matthew Glandorf

(c.1993, Randall M. Egan)

“Peace I Leave with You” is a text from John 14:27, which has been set by many composers.  Matthew Glandorf is active as a conductor, composer, church musician, and educator. He was raised in Germany, where he received early instruction at the organ of Bremen Cathedral with Wolfgang Baumgratz. At age sixteen he entered the Curtis Institute of Music. He pursued graduate studie at the Manhattan School of Music. In 2004 he was appointed artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, and in 2008 he became the artistic director of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. He has served as director of music for many Philadelphia churches, including Old St. Joseph’s, Old Pine Street Presbyterian, and Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion.  Mr. Glandorf joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1995. He has also served on the faculties of Swarthmore College and Westminster Choir College.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give unto you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give unto you.

About the Hymns:

Spirit of Faith, Come Down

Exploring the hymns of Charles Wesley (1707-1788) is like examining a trove of treasures excavated from the pages of his writings. While the church has preserved many of these treasures intact within its hymnals, sometimes a single gem is lost or forgotten. When such a jewel is recovered, it provides fresh color to the hymn as newly shed light streams through it and dances across the page. One such gem is the excised third stanza of “Spirit of Faith Come Down.”

“Spirit of Faith Come Down” by Charles Wesley was first published in Hymns of Petition and Thanksgiving for the Promise of the Father (1746) and is also found in the collection Whitsunday [Pentecost] Hymns (1746). The original hymn is composed of five stanzas, though in most hymnals today, there are only four, sometimes three, stanzas. This is due to the long lasting editorial change made by John Wesley when he included the hymn in his famous Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780). As observed by Carlton Young in the Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal, John Wesley removed the original third stanza and slightly altered the second line of the original fourth stanza.

The hymn is filled with references to Scripture. Charles Wesley directly quotes both 1 Corinthians 12:3 and John 20:28 in the second stanza. His construction of this stanza makes it clear, using Scripture as the basis, that one desperately needs the Spirit to have the faith required to fully accept Jesus and redemption through him.  Wesley’s theology of atonement also plays a key role in the text of this hymn, infusing the entirety of the hymn. The first stanza quickly delivers a statement of the ongoing process of redemption, pleading (possibly demanding) that the “Spirit of faith come down” to “reveal the things of God” so to “give us eyes to see who did for every sinner die, hath surely died for me.” In their Companion to Hymns and Psalms, Richard Watson and Kenneth Trickett note that Wesley often uses the expression, “Tis thine the blood to apply,” as he does in the first stanza, fifth line. This phrase is a poetic manifestation of Charles Wesley’s belief that the Spirit’s mission is to the individual person. Salvation is encountered through the Spirit and is delivered as an intimate gift, given through faith. This first stanza is a condensed teaching of Wesleyan redemption. Indeed, the entire hymn is written as a proclamation on the extraordinarily active and vital role the Spirit plays in giving, sustaining, and nurturing faith so one might believe and accept Jesus as the Redeemer.

While the hymn as we know it contains the Wesleyan standard of attention to Scripture and theological depth, the words of the original third stanza enrich the hymn as a whole and fulfill a role that stanzas currently available cannot hope to do.  The text of the individual stanza as it appears in the original 1746 hymnal is as follows:

I know my Savior lives, He lives who died for me,

My inmost Soul his Voice receives Who hangs on yonder Tree:

Set forth before my Eyes Ev’n Now I see Him bleed,

And hear his Mortal Groans and Cries While suffering in my stead.                                                                   

Here, in the original third stanza, is a vivid depiction of Jesus’ act of redemption and victory over death.  The stanza opens with a paradox of life and death and then moves on to a brutally vivid and deeply personal vision of the crucifixion.  In light of the vivid scene (known by the poetic device, hypotyposis) just painted in the original third stanza, to claim Jesus’ redemption as deeply personal gives a rather stirring and evocative opening statement. The words do not inspire a general claim or reality, but one that is intimately personal, which a person cannot help but share with the world. By omitting the third stanza, the hymn loses a key turning point in the journey through the hymn as well as a climactic follow up to the second stanza. The second stanza ends, “Thou art my Lord, my God,” and then the third stanza depicts in a shockingly graphic manner the one whom the individual is claiming as Lord and God. Stanza four then affirms that indeed, the one who is “my Lord and God…who hangs on yonder tree” truly and surely is “My dear atoning Lamb.”

The tune BEALOTH was first published in Sacred Harp, a songbook created and published by Lowell Mason and his sons in 1840.

Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that originated in New England and was later perpetuated and carried on in the American South of the United States. The name is derived from The Sacred Harp, a ubiquitous and historically important tunebook printed in shape notes. The work was first published in 1844 and has reappeared in multiple editions ever since. Sacred Harp music represents one branch of an older tradition of American music that developed over the period 1770 to 1820 from roots in New England, with a significant, related development under the influence of "revival" services around the 1840s. This music was included in, and became profoundly associated with, books using the shape note style of notation popular in America in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Brothers Lowell and Timothy Mason published their own Sacred Harp in 1840 in Cincinnati.  Originally from Boston, the Mason family is hardly associated with the promotion of shape-note (or “patent note”) notation—indeed, Lowell Mason would become a famously successful antagonist of shape-notes, which he derided as an obstacle to “scientific” music education.  Shape-notes were flourishing in the Ohio Valley in the 1830s, and the music publishers recognized that a shape-note version of the hymnal would boost its commercial prospects. The Masons were clear that their use of shape-notes was in no way intended as an endorsement, however: the preface acknowledges that “the Sacred Harp is printed in patent notes (contrary to the wishes of the Authors) under the belief that it will prove much more acceptable to a majority of singers in the West and South.

If the notation style of both Sacred Harps is the same, the contents are dramatically different. While B. F. White’s Sacred Harp largely followed its shape-note predecessors in reprinting a broad range of early American singing-school repertoire, southern vernacular hymnody, and new compositions based on those styles, the Masons’ Sacred Harp features music by European composers and new compositions based on a European aesthetic, many by Lowell Mason himself. In fact, the Masons intended their volume to supplant the American hymnody then popular in the region—the “patent notes” would be but a minor concession if the tunebook could succeed in pushing local musical taste toward the style that the Masons favored.   In the few examples of eighteenth-century American music they included, Lowell and Timothy Mason altered the harmonies to better conform to the European style they favored, eliminating parallel fifths and open chords.  

Spirit of faith, come down, reveal the things of God, 

and make to us the Godhead known, and witness with the blood. 

'Tis thine the blood to apply and give us eyes to see, 

who did for every sinner die hath surely died for me. 

No one can truly say that Jesus is the Lord, 

unless thou take the veil away and breathe the living Word. 

Then, only then, we feel our interest in his blood, 

and cry with joy unspeakable, "Thou art my Lord, my God!" 

O that the world might know the all atoning Lamb! 

Spirit of faith, descend and show the virtue of his name; 

the grace which all may find, the saving power, impart, 

and testify to humankind, and speak in every heart. 

Inspire the living faith (which whosoe'er receive, 

the witness in themselves they have and consciously believe), 

the faith that conquers all, and doth the mountain move, 

and saves whoe'er on Jesus call, and perfects them in love. 

Trust and Obey

This hymn was inspired in 1886 when the composer of the music, Daniel B. Towner (1850-1919), was the music leader during one of Dwight L. Moody’s famous revivals. Towner provided the following account cited by Moody’s musical partner, Ira D. Sankey, in his biography, My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns:   “Mr. Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of singing for him there. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, ‘I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.’ I just jotted that sentence down, and sent it with a little story to the Rev. J. H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. He wrote the hymn, and the tune was born.”  Sammis is said to have composed the lines of the refrain upon receiving the letter.

As is the case with most gospel songs, the refrain provides the central theme around which all of the stanzas were written. The text and Towner’s tune, TRUST AND OBEY, appeared in the 1887 collection, Hymns Old and New, and has been included in countless hymnals since. Methodist hymnals in the United States have carried it since 1897. 

When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, 

what a glory he sheds on our way! 

While we do his good will, he abides with us still, 

and with all who will trust and obey. 

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, 

but our toil he doth richly repay; 

not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, 

but is blest if we trust and obey. 

But we never can prove the delights of his love 

until all on the altar we lay; 

for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows, 

are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet, 

or we'll walk by his side in the way; 

what he says we will do, where he sends we will go; 

never fear, only trust and obey. 

Trust and obey, for there's no other way 

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

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First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus

Sunday, October 9, 2022

 Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.  Some of this information is original; most of it is copied from other websites such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org.  It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.   

About the Organ Music:

The King of Love My Shepherd Is - Charles Callahan 

(c.1991, Concordia Publishing House)

“The King of Love My Shepherd Is” a Sir Henry 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. He wrote many hymns of fine emotion and intellect, and yet his lyrical transcription of the 23rd Psalm was what came to him as he approached “death’s dark vale.” He died in the parsonage of the church where he had served for more than thirty years, a country vicar in the poor edges of Her Majesty Queen Victoria’s mighty Britain.  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."

Sir Henry Baker would not at first glance be a candidate for “perverse and foolish.” The son of a vice-admiral, he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was ordained in 1844 as a priest in the Church of England. After a curacy, he became the vicar of Monkland. He served his whole adult life in this parish, even after inheriting a baronetcy upon the death of his father. He lived in a nearby parsonage as a bachelor, believing in the celibacy of the clergy, and was cared for by his sister.

A great passion of his life, however, was the production of the innovative Hymns Ancient & Modern (1861), a monumental milestone in the history of English hymnody and a collection of great variety and musical effectiveness. Most congregations in Anglican churches were not singing hymns during the middle of the nineteenth century, being devoted only to metrical psalms. Methodists and evangelicals in England were singing hymns during the first half of the nineteenth century, and their influence spurred the Anglicans to join the ranks of hymn singers by the second half of the century.

A notable feature of this landmark hymnal was the printing of text and tune for each hymn on the same page, so any singer could see and sing the distinctive pairings. Each musical setting was intended to enhance the poetic text of the hymn, making the sensibilities and emotion of the hymn clear. Until this time, most published hymnals contained text only, or a limited number of tunes meant to be used repeatedly with various texts.

Sir Henry Baker led a committee of hymn writers, composers, and editors who compiled the hymns for publication. Many of these contributors were adherents of the Oxford movement. The Oxford movement was an ecclesiastical trend that Susan Drain (author of The Anglican Church in Nineteenth Century Britain: Hymns Ancient and Modern) describes as a deep regard for church rituals and the sacraments, respect for Apostolic traditions and the Roman Catholic Church, and a desire by clergy to preserve the past. With this standpoint in mind, many of the hymns chosen were translated from medieval Latin and German sources. Others were accepted from hymn writers of the day and edited, so much so that one contributor said “HA&M” should mean “Hymns Asked for and Mutilated.”

“The King of Love my Shepherd Is,” a metrical paraphrase of Psalm 23, was written by Baker for the Second Edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern in 1868, and included in the appendix. His friend John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876), a musical editor on the committee, wrote the tune DOMINUS REGIT ME specifically for it, which is the title of Psalm 23 in the Latin Vulgate translation. Many writers have commented on the compelling beauty of this well-suited tune and text, which British hymnologist Ian Bradley described as a regularity of rhythm and even balance between rising lines in phrases one and three and falling lines in phrases two and four. The unique double rhymes Baker uses in many places at the end of lines two and four are well-enhanced by this tune.

Later, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) sought to republish the hymn in The English Hymnal (1906) and was denied the right to use the tune. He then paired Baker’s text with his own arrangement of an Irish Air, ST. COLUMBA, which is the tune most often used today.

The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness faileth never;

I nothing lack if I am his And he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow My ransomed soul he leadeth,

And where the verdant pastures grow With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love he sought me,

And on his shoulder gently laid, And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death's dark vale I fear no ill With thee, dear Lord, beside me;

Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread'st a table in my sight; Thy unction, grace bestoweth:

And O what transport of delight From thy pure chalice floweth!

Charles Callahan (b. 1951) is one of America’s leading organist-composers.  A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Catholic University of America.  In recognition of his service to the church and his commissioned compositions for Papal visits to the U.S., he was awared the Papal Honor of Knighthood in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1999.  In addition to compositions and performances, Charles Callahan is a noted educator and author whose two books on American organ-building have become standard reference works.

Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow - Paul Manz 

(c.1970, Concordia Publishing House)

During the preparation and celebration of Thanksgiving this month, hymns of praise and thanksgiving are meaningful as we, through music, lead our congregations to focus on our gratefulness for what God has given us. The church has a rich repertoire of hymns for this season, but a beautiful starting point is the familiar doxological hymn, “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow,” by Bishop Thomas Ken (1637-1711).

From Hertfordshire, Ken was orphaned as a child and raised by his sister Anna and her husband Izaak Walton. They enrolled him in the all-boys school at Winchester College (1651-1656), and after his education there, he attended Hart Hall, Oxford, and New College, Oxford (BA 1661, MA 1664). He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1662, served as Rector to several parishes, and as a Chaplain to Princess Mary of Orange (1679-80), King Charles II (1683), and the Tangier Expedition (1683-84). In 1685, he was appointed Bishop of Bath and Wells. During the reign of King James II, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to sign the Declaration of Indulgence. Ken was acquitted of the charge, but when King William III ascended to the throne Ken refused to swear loyalty to him, he resigned his office and lived the rest of his life at the home of his friend, Lord Weymouth, at Longleat, Wilshire.

The original date of composition by Ken for the text of “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” is unknown, but the first mention of the hymn is in 1674 as the presumed final stanza of two longer hymns: “Awake, My Soul and with the Sun” and “Glory to Thee, My God, This Night.” These two hymns were referenced along with a third as Morning, Evening and Midnight hymns in a pamphlet written for his students titled A Manual of Prayers For the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College, which was accompanied by the directive:  “Be sure to sing the Morning and Evening Hymn in your chamber devoutly, remembering that the Psalmist, upon happy experience, assures you that it is a good thing to tell of the loving kindness of the Lord early in the morning and of his truth in the night season.”  This directive is most often interpreted to mean that the hymns were meant for private devotion, not the gathered assembly, and yet these four lines, often referred to as The Lesser Doxology, have “been sung more often than any other lines ever written.” The hymn texts were published later as an appendix in his 1695 pamphlet as ‘revised’ versions.

Much of beauty of these four lines lies in its reflection of the joyous outbursts of the Psalms. Here we see both the ‘host’ of heaven and the ‘creatures here below’ of earth praising God as in Psalm 96:11-12a and the final jubilant line of Psalm 150:6:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it.  (Psalm 96: 11-12a, NRSV)

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6, NRSV)

The Trinitarian structure of Ken’s hymn has also led to its common liturgical use. The first line describes the person of God the Father as the source of all blessings (Ephesians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:3). The second line, though, speaks to God the Spirit through whom all creatures praise God (Psalm 104:24-30, 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). The third line points to God the Son who is begotten of the Father, firstborn of heaven and superior to angels and the heavenly host (Hebrews 1:4). The fourth line summarizes the stanza and all of praise in general, since all praise is directed toward God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

OLD HUNDREDTH is a hymn tune in Long Metre from Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (1551) (the second edition of the Genevan Psalter) and is one of the best known melodies in all Christian musical traditions. The tune is usually attributed to the French composer Louis Bourgeois.  Loys "Louis" Bourgeois (c.1510-1559) was a composer and music theorist of the Renaissance. He is most famous as one of the main compilers of Calvinist hymn tunes in the middle of the 16th century.  In 1549 and 1550 he worked on a collections of psalm-tunes, most of which were translated by Clément Marot and Théodore de Bèze. Unfortunately, he fell foul of local musical authorities and was sent to prison in December, 1551 for changing the tunes for some well-known psalms "without a license." He was released on the personal intervention of John Calvin, but the controversy continued: those who had already learned the tunes had no desire to learn new versions, and the town council ordered the burning of Bourgeois's instructions to the singers, claiming they were confusing. Shortly after this incident, Bourgeois left Geneva never to return: he settled in Lyon, and his Geneva employment was terminated.

The Genevan Psalter was compiled over a number of years in the Swiss city of Geneva, a center of Protestant activity during the Reformation, in response to the teaching of John Calvin that communal singing of psalms in the vernacular language is a foundational aspect of church life. This contrasted with the prevailing Catholic practice at the time in which sacred texts were chanted in Latin by the clergy only. Calvinist musicians including Bourgeois supplied many new melodies and adapted others from sources both sacred and secular. The final version of the psalter was completed in 1562. Calvin intended the melodies to be sung in plainsong during church services, but harmonized versions were provided for singing at home.

The Genevan Psalter, the source for the hymns of both the Reformed Church in England and the Pilgrims in America. In the original versions by Bourgeois, the music is monophonic, in accordance with the dictates of John Calvin, who disapproved not only of counterpoint but of any multiple parts; Bourgeois though did also provide four-part harmonizations, but they were reserved for singing and playing at home. Many of the four-part settings are syllabic and chordal, a style which has survived in many Protestant church services to the present day.

Awake, my soul, and with the sun thy daily stage of duty run;

shake off dull sloth, and early rise to pay thy morning sacrifice.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew. Disperse my sins as morning dew;

guard my first springs of thought and will, and with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day, all I design or do or say,

that all my pow'rs, with all their might, in Thy sole glory may unite.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below;

praise Him above, ye heav'enly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

———————

Glory to thee, my God, this night, for all the blessings of the light: 

keep me, O keep me, King of kings, beneath thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son, the ill that I this day have done; 

that with the world, myself, and thee, I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Teach me to live, that I may dread the grave as little as my bed; 

teach me to die, that so I may rise glorious at the awful day.

O may my soul on thee repose, and with sweet sleep mine eyelids close; 

sleep that shall me more vigorous make to serve my God when I awake.

When in the night I sleepless lie, my soul with heavenly thoughts supply; 

let no ill dreams disturb my rest, no powers of darkness me molest.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below; 

praise him above, ye heavenly host: praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Paul Manz (1919–2009), was an American composer for choir and organ. His most famous choral work is the Advent motet "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come", which has been performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge. His most famous organ works are his volumes of neo-Baroque chorale preludes and partitas. Paul Manz long served the church as recitalist, composer, teacher and leader in worship. He was the director of the newly established Paul Manz Institute of Church Music, and was Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Christ Seminary Seminex at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Paul Manz concertized extensively in North America.  As a performer, Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals. Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a "festival" of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn an organ improvisation based on the hymn tune in question. The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment. Many volumes of these improvisations have been written out and published and are played by church organists throughout the world. 

The esteem and respect with which Paul Manz is regarded can be seen in the many honors he received. He was twice named one of the “Ten Most Influential Lutherans,” served as National Councilor of the American Guild of Organists and is listed as one of the “101 Most Notable Organists of the 20th Century.”  The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago presented him with the distinguished "Confessor of Christ Award"; The Chicago Bible Society presented him with the “Gutenberg Award; and the Lutheran Institute of Washington, DC honored him with the first “Wittenberg Arts Award.”

About the Choral Music:

Soon and Very Soon – Jack Schrader

(c.1994, Bud John Songs, Inc.)

 It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Andraé Crouch (1942-2015) in the gospel music field during the last fifty years. Few have had such a sustained level of accomplishment and recognition in gospel music — seven Grammys, six Dove awards, an Oscar nomination, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1998, and much more. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004. A San Francisco native who grew up in the Church of God in Christ, Crouch wrote his first gospel tune at age 14. By 1960, he had formed the Church of God in Christ Singers, a group that featured Billy Preston on keyboards.  He started another group, Andraé Crouch & the Disciples, in 1965, eventually signing to a contemporary Christian label, Light Records. Crouch brought a contemporary pop and R&B melodic sensibility to gospel, making him uniquely suited to appeal to both black and white audiences during the early days of the countercultural "Jesus movement" and also bringing him attention beyond the church.  Throughout his life, Crouch struggled with dyslexia, sometimes memorizing words by the shapes of their combination of letters. He often drew simple pictures to help him comprehend words and write songs.  Crouch's sister, Sandra Crouch, served as his spokeswoman, and the siblings were pastors at the New Christ Memorial Church in San Fernando, Calif., carrying on a work begun by their parents.

“Soon and very soon” (1978) is based on Revelation 21:3-4: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.   >He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” (KJV)

Jack Schrader (b. 1942), arranger, composer, conductor, vocalist, and organist/pianist, is past editor with Hope Publishing Company, retiring in January of 2009. His association with Hope began in 1978. A 1964 graduate of Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, where he majored in Voice and Organ, he also received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Nebraska (1966). Further studies in theology culminated in Jack's ordination by the Evangelical Free Church of America (1975). Schrader is the best-selling choral composer in the Hope catalog. In addition to choral music Jack has published collections for keyboardists, instrumentalists and vocal soloists. He was a member of the editorial committee for Hope's most recent hymnal, Worship & Rejoice (2001), in which he has 24 hymn credits. His music is heard in hundreds of churches across the country each Sunday, and he can be seen throughout the year as a guest clinician at choral reading sessions and workshops.

Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King; 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!  We’re going to see the King.

No more dying there, we are going to see the King;

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We’re going to see the King.

Peace I Leave with You - Matthew Glandorf

(c.1993, Randall M. Egan)

“Peace I Leave with You” is a text from John 14:27, which has been set by many composers.  Matthew Glandorf is active as a conductor, composer, church musician, and educator. He was raised in Germany, where he received early instruction at the organ of Bremen Cathedral with Wolfgang Baumgratz. At age sixteen he entered the Curtis Institute of Music. He pursued graduate studie at the Manhattan School of Music. In 2004 he was appointed artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, and in 2008 he became the artistic director of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. He has served as director of music for many Philadelphia churches, including Old St. Joseph’s, Old Pine Street Presbyterian, and Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion.  Mr. Glandorf joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1995. He has also served on the faculties of Swarthmore College and Westminster Choir College.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give unto you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give unto you.

About the Hymns:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

(c.1989, United Methodist Publishing House; descant C.1996, Jeff Whitmill)

"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" is a hymn based on Joachim Neander's German chorale Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, published in 1680. John Julian, in his A Dictionary of Hymnology, calls the German original "a magnificent hymn of praise to God, perhaps the finest creation of its author, and of the first rank in its class."  Neander wrote this particular hymn while dying and it says much about his faith. While contemplating the words to go along with the melody, he reflected on Psalm 103 with its claim that everything within us should praise the Father’s holy name.  It was the favorite hymn of King Frederick William III of Prussia, who first heard it in 1800.  In the Neander original, first the singer calls himself (my beloved soul) to praise God, then calls for a larger group to join the praise with musical instruments as well as song.  John Julian‍‍ '​‍s A Dictionary of Hymnology lists more than ten English translations of "Lobe den Herren" printed in various nineteenth century hymnals. 

The melody used by Neander, first published in 1665, is probably based on a folk tune. The common name given to this melody is "Lobe den Herren". Several variants were published with various secular texts between 1665 to 1680, when Joachim Neander published his German hymn, Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, using its meter. The text paraphrases Psalm 103 and Psalm 150.  

One interesting piece of history is the later use of Neander’s name. He often taught in a valley near the Düssel river, and over 100 years after his death the valley was named after him. It was in that valley that bones were later found, from which we get the name “Neanderthal.”

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!

All ye who hear; now to his temple draw near,

join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;

shelters you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!

Have you not seen all that is needful has been

sent by his gracious ordaining?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously made thee!

Health hath vouchsafed when heedlessly failing, hath stayed thee.

What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?

Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;

surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,

if with his love he befriends you.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!

All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him.

Let the Amen sound from his people again;

gladly forever adore him.

Go Forth for God

“Go Forth for God” is one of the great sending-forth hymns of the last half of the 20th century. Each stanza sends the congregation into the world armed with an essential trait of Christian character: peace, love, strength and joy.

John R. Peacey (1896-1971) was born in Brighton, Sussex, England. After his basic education at St. Edmund’s School in Canterbury, Peacey served in France during World War I, receiving the Military Cross.  He then went to seminary at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and served there after his ordination in 1921. In 1927, Peacey was appointed headmaster at Bishop Cotton School in Simla, India; he returned to England after World War II, serving as residentiary canon at Bristol Cathedral until his retirement in 1966.  In his last years, Peacey wrote hymn texts. His hymn texts were published posthumously in Go Forth for God (1981).

He wrote the original text to this hymn in 1968. The 1987 Psalter Hymnal version of the text, however, is a result of revisions made by Peacey in 1970 and by the editors of the English Hymnal supplement, English Praise (1975).  The stanzas are based on the Confirmation blessing found in the Revised Book of Common Prayer (1928), which in turn is derived I Thessalonians 5:14-18: “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (KJV).

GENEVA 124, a tune from the Genevan Psalter (1551). The Genevan Psalter, also known as The Huguenot Psalter, is a metrical psalter in French created under the supervision of John Calvin for liturgical use by the Reformed churches of the city of Geneva in the sixteenth century.  Before the Protestant Reformation a select group of performers generally sang the psalms during church services, not the entire congregation. John Calvin believed that the entire congregation should participate in praising God in the worship service.  For this reason he wanted to create a songbook of hymns based on the psalms in the belief that in this form these biblical texts would become more easily accessible to people.  Containing 83 psalms, the 1551 psalter appeared under the title Pseaumes Octante Trois de David (Eighty-three Psalms of David).  The Genevan melodies are still widely used in churches all over the world. In particular, the melody attributed to Louis Bourgeois known as The Old 100th or "Doxology" is found in numerous hymnals across the world.  GENEVA 124 (also known as OLD 124TH) was first published in the 1551 edition of the Genevan Psalter. Dale Grotenhuis harmonized the tune in 1985. One of the best known from the Genevan Psalter, the tune is published in most North American hymnals.

Go forth for God, go to the world in peace;

be of good courage, armed with heavenly grace,

in God's good Spirit, daily to increase,

till in the kingdom we see face to face.

Go forth for God, go to the world in love;

strengthen the faint, give courage to the weak;

help the afflicted; richly from above

God's love supplies the grace and power we seek.

Go forth for God, go to the world in strength;

hold fast the good, be urgent for the right;

render to no one evil; Christ at length

shall overcome all darkness with his light.

Go forth for God, go to the world in joy,

to serve God's people every day and hour,

and serving Christ, our every gift employ,

rejoicing in the Holy Spirit's power.

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