Music Notes: October 2nd, 2011

Over the last two weeks, God gave the Israelites first food, then water.  This week, he hands down to Moses the laws they should live their lives by, The Ten Commandments.  Our music this week reflects on these Words of God and the power and influence that God's Word has over us today.

HYMNS AND SONGS

Here I Am, Lord (Opening Hymn- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM. Opening Song- 11:15 AM)

Daniel Schutte composed this hymn for the Catholic Church in 1981 as a response to Vatican II.  It quickly rose in popularity and now resides in nearly every denominational hymnal.  Similar to John Ylvisaker's song from last week, "Water From The Rock," the verses and refrain are set in different voices.  The verses are set in the voice of God.  God notices our trials and tribulations, and promises to "make (our) darkness bright," "break (our) hearts of stone," and "give (us) hearts of love."  At the end of each verse, he asks "Whom shall I send?" to which we as a people respond, "Here I Am, Lord."

In the context of our hearing of the Exodus story, it could very easily be Moses whom God is looking for, as God needed someone to lead the Israelites out of exile.  Moses stepped forward, and though the task was, and continues to be, extremely daunting, he is holding fast and strong as a leader to his people who desperately need it.

I questioned long and hard about whether or not I would play this on organ or piano this week.  I finally settled on piano.  It works just fine on the organ, but I feel the style and the mood I like to play it in is more idiomatic to the piano in this case.

O Word of God Incarnate (Hymn of the Day: 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)

This hymn uses light as a metaphor for the Word of God, guiding us through our lives.  The second line of stanza one uses past/present tense very effectively in the words, "O Truth unchanged, unchanging..."  The Word of God is as solid and assured today just as it has been for thousands of years and will continue to be in the future.

The entirety of stanza two could be referring directly to the Ten Commandments themselves.  I would be surprised if that is what English Bishop William How (1823-1897, most notable for his hymn "For All The Saints") had in mind when he penned it, but it could certainly be interpreted in that way.

The metaphor of light continues in stanza three, where we ask God to turn our church into a lamp, which may guide God's pilgrims of the past (the Israelites) and present (all of us), through the darkness and into the light and love of God.

Thine The Amen (Communion Hymn: 7:45 AM, Closing Hymn: 9:00 AM)

This text by Lutheran pastor and hymn writer Herb Brokering is one of the most intriguing poems in the hymnal.  It is very much written in a "stream of consciousness" style; it has no punctuation, and it continually cycles through various things we are thankful and grateful for.  One of the most intriguing phrases in the poem is the second half of the first line of stanza four, "Thine the wonder full surprise."  Obviously, when that is sung, it simply sounds like "wonderful surprise," which would have been perfectly appropriate.  Since there is no punctuation in the poem at all, I am only guessing here, but if a comma is placed between wonder and full (Thine the wonder, full surprise), it may be a little clearer to interpret.  As I said though, it is very much dependent on stream of consciousness.  Where the hymn intentionally lacks in organization and structure, it makes up for it in pure spirit, thankfulness, and outright praise.  It is almost as though we are speaking in tongues.

The tune accompanying this by Carl Schalk is extremely appropriate for the characteristics of the text.  Moving almost constantly on step-wise eighth notes, the music allows the text to just roll off the tongue.  In the final line of the hymn, the music goes all the way up the scale and beyond, which paints the text of stanzas one, two, and four very beautifully.

Forever (Praise Song- 11:15 AM)

This wonderfully spiritual song by Chris Tomlin pretty much says it all in the title, and moreso, in the chorus.  God is FOREVER with us, FOREVER strong, and FOREVER faithful.  Our readings, Bible, music, etc... span 5000+ years, and whether you're a creationist or not, our universe that we live in has existed for as much as 14 billion years.  That is just a speck in the unfathomable pool of time that is FOREVER.  Just as infinity is a concept that can be difficult for our powerful, albeit small, brains to grasp, the concept of forever is equally so.  However, it is comforting to know that for however long forever will go on, the love of God will always be with us for generations to come.

Build Us Up, Lord (Scripture Song- 11:15 AM)

"Build us up, Lord.  Set in our lives a strong foundation.  Lead us to do your holy will; form and shape your new creation."

God did exactly that by handing us down our rules to live by.  Of course, none of us are perfect.  Thankfully, God cares about us enough to guide us and show us how to live righteous, faithful lives.

Musically, this song is set in kind of a "pseudo-gospel" style.  While not truly a gospel song, syncopations and harmonic structures are borrowed from the gospel style, creating a very effective, singable melody for this text.

All That We Have (Offering Song- 11:15 AM)

I cannot believe I never found this song before about two weeks ago.  That's what I LOVE so much about music... there is so much of it out there that I could live three lifetimes and there would still be music out there to be discovered.

This song by Gary Ault is a true song of offering.  Every week, it seems, the scripture has something from God that we need, and this week we may have received one of the most important things of all... God's rules to live by.  Verse two is absolutely wonderful, and ties into the idea from earlier of "forever."  I'd like to include all of verse two here...

Sometimes the road may be lonesome,
often we may lose our way.
Take courage and always remember,
love isn't just for a day.

God is always with us, and we give him all that we have... time, talents, abilities, to the best of our abilities.  God deserves no less.

You Satisfy The Hungry Heart (Communion Song: 11:15 AM)

This hymn was actually written in 1976 to commemorate the Bicentennial of the U.S.  It was sung during Communion at the Washington National Cathedral at the Bicentennial National Service.  I think stanza five sums it up nicely... "You give yourself to us, O Lord; then selfless let us be, to serve each other in your name in truth and charity."

Majesty (Closing Song: 11:15 AM)

Now THIS is a gospel song!!!!  Whether it is God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, they are all three in one and one from three.  "Kingdom authority flows from this throne unto his own..." whether it's the Ten Commandments or any other word of God, we can be thankful that God's presence is always with us, and in turn, we should glorify God in return.

CHORAL ANTHEM

If Ye Love Me- Thomas Tallis (Offering: 9:00 AM)

Though the source material for this Tudor anthem (John 14:15-17) actually refers to a different set of commandments (Jesus talking with his disciples), I feel it applies to the Ten Commandments as well, and that God would wish the same as a response to his rules.

Thomas Tallis is widely considered the father of English Renaissance music, spending over half of his life as one of the court musicians in the Chapel Royal, under monarchs Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, among others.  The piece is very characteristic of Tallis' style.  It alternates between homophonic, chordal writing, with simple counterpoint breaking up the texture.  Occasionally, the voices come together to emphasize particular snippets of the text ("...may bide with you forever,") and the piece concludes with a major triad, a characteristic English "sweet third" that was a trend started by John Dunstable in the 14th century.  Until then, most music would end on open 5th's or octaves, which was theoretically "correct," at the time.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Here I Am, Lord, arr. Arnold Sherman (Prelude: 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)

Bells Of Praise joins us for the first time this fall to offer this handbell arrangements of our opening hymn this week.  Arnold Sherman's setting is rather straightforward, but by varying the registrations, dynamics, and textures through the bells, as well as including hand chimes, he gives each verse its own characteristic sound and feeling.

Toccata in C Major- Johann Pachelbel (Postlude: 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)

This was actually the first "real" organ piece I ever learned.  As far as Pachelbel toccatas go, this one is about as straightforward as it gets.  You will hear florid, complex passage work among the two hands, dancing on top of a foundation of a solid pedal note (appropriately called a "pedal tone.)

MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS


1.  The Noise We Make- Chris Tomlin


Chris Tomlin's praise album from 2001 not only includes Forever, but other Tomlin favorites such as The Wonderful Cross, Be Glorified, and the title track, The Noise We Make.

2.  Tallis: Complete English Anthems- Peter Phillips, The Tallis Scholars


This disc is the definitive edition of the anthems of Thomas Tallis, sung by one of the best renaissance/baroque choirs in the world.  If Ye Love Me is on here, as well as several tunes that you may recognize.  The "Tunes For Archbishop Parker's Psalter," contains both the tune that is now known as "Tallis' Canon" (see ELW 565) and the tune that was made famous by Ralph Vaughan Williams in his 1910 composition, "Fantasy on a Theme by Thomas Tallis."  Speaking of which...

3.  Vaughan Williams: Fantasies; The Lark Ascending; Five Variants- Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Mariner


... I might as well include that piece as well.  Enjoy!!  There is a lot of goodness on this album, presented by one of the finest orchestras in the world.