The new liturgical year starts this weekend with the first Sunday of Advent. Not only do we begin our journey towards Christmas Eve and the birth of Christ, but we also embark on a new series of readings, which allow for new possibilities of music and exploration of other areas of the hymnal.
As a new liturgical year begins, I'd also like to announce a slight change I will be making to Music Notes. Due to time, resources, and effort required, I will no longer be including every piece of 11:15 AM service music in Music Notes. While currently, the majority of the content of this blog ends up being for the 9:00 AM service, I actually spend the majority of time on researching, writing, and learning more about the 11:15 AM music. While it is a worthwhile endeavor for me, I don't feel like it is a completely efficient use of my time when I spend hours researching it only to yield a paragraph of info that is shorter than this current paragraph. So unless there is a piece that I feel that I can really write something worthwhile and profound on, I will be omitting the majority of them from this point forward.
I want to emphasize that in absolutely no way do I consider that music to be "below" any of the music at the 9:00 AM service. It is simply a decision based on two things. First, my knowledge of that repertoire is more limited than that of the traditional hymnal, and secondly, being written more recently, there simply isn't as much interesting history, tidbits, or fun facts to be found about them. In general, the music is more easily understandable and more straightforward, requiring less explanation from me.
I would love to hear your feedback on this. If there is enough negative feedback from this decision, I would be more than happy to begin including them again.
HYMNS AND SONGS
The King Shall Come (Opening Hymn- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This first hymn of the Advent season certainly looks forward to the coming of Christ, but also references the previous week's celebration of Christ The King Sunday. In a sense, this hymn both looks forward and looks back. Christ isn't just the King of Kings on one Sunday of the year, it is celebrated every Sunday, whether we are awaiting the coming or are celebrating his baptism, arrival, or resurrection.
The King Shall Come foreshadows all of the major events in Christ's life, while still remaining relevant with its closing line, "Come quickly, King of kings." Its tune, CONSOLATION, is an early-American hymn tune from the Kentucky Harmony tune book, published in 1816. While "Sacred Harp" is generally considered the most well known shape note song book, Kentucky Harmony was the first major one to be published, including over 140 tunes, most of which were in four part shape note style.
Rejoice, Rejoice Believers (Hymn of the Day- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This hymn is based largely on the Parable of the 10 Virgins from Matthew 25. In the parable, 10 women go out to await the arrival of the bride groom. They all bring their lamps, but only five of them bring oil for them. When the bride groom approaches, the five with no oil ask to borrow from the five that did, but there was not enough for both. As the five with no oil scampered off to try and find some, the bride groom arrived, entered the party with the five who brought oil, and shut the door. When the other five had returned, they were denied entrance to the party.
Where the five virgins with oil were prepared for the arrival of the bride groom, we should also be prepared for the arrival of Christ in the church and in our lives. The advent connection of this lovely hymn is made in stanza four, "Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; arise, O Sun so longed for, o'er this benighted sphere."
The tune is a traditional Swedish folk tune, in a familar AABA format, meaning lines one, two, and four are identical musically, with only the third line leading to a secondary dominant and half cadence.
My Lord, What a Morning (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
For the celebration of Eucharist today, I've created a little triptych of hymns about light. Light is an extremely important element of the Advent season. This first selection is all about the dawn. This African-American spiritual preaches the rising of a sun over a new and glorious future. The "nations underground" of course refer to all the slaves who were in desperate need for the sun to rise in their life.
Light Dawns on a Weary World (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
As the sun rises, we feel the promised day of justice, the feast of plenty, and the green of Eden come into our world. This entire hymn describes the coming alive of nature, and our reactions to the light coming forth to the world. Mary Louise Bringle, professor of philosophy and religious studies at Brevard college, penned this hymn in 2002. It is a wonderful example of a modern day hymn packed with theology, imagery, and a beautiful Advent message.
Christ, Be Our Light (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
The third element of this Triptych is similar to the second. The primary difference is that "Christ, Be Our Light" is, as evident by its title, Christ-centered. On this first Sunday of Advent, our world is in darkness. We are waiting for truth, peace, and hope in the world. We are waiting for the glorious light of Christ to approach us and eventually arrive on Christmas morning. The first four stanzas of this hymn all follow the same formula. We are longing for something, and we then learn how the coming of Christ will deliver it. The final stanza puts the focus back on us, being servants to each other in the example of Christ's teaching, and let it be a sign of the kingdom to come.
Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding (Closing Hymn- 7:45 AM)
The translation of this ancient 17th century Latin hymn is set in the voice of the people, hearing a voice delivering the Advent message of Christ's coming. In stanza two, we once again see a reference to Christ as the sun, dawning over the world and shining upon the morning skies. In stanza three, we see a source to our confession of sins, as Christ comes from heaven with pardon and we flock for forgiveness. The hymn concludes with a doxological trinitarian statement, uniting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Benedictus- Alec Rowley (Prelude- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This expansive organ piece by English choirmaster Alec Rowley is mainly harmonically based, featuring a rising harmonic progression through a wide variety of keys. Beginning in E major, it quickly moves to G major, repeating the sequence. As the piece unfolds, the organ opens up to a glorious climax, finally settling in C major with the "melody" (really just a set of broken arpeggios), voiced differently in the lower krummhorn. The piece concludes with a characteristic bVI, bVII, I progression, characteristic of the English school of composition (if you're curious, I'll explain what that means later!).
Entrada on Rejoice, Rejoice Believers- David Lasky (Postlude- 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This brief piece is based on the Swedish folk tune from our hymn of the day. Surrounding a rather straightforward statement of the tune is a joyous trumpet fanfare, often stretching to some unusual, far-reaching key areas. Some of those progressions will be implemented into my organ introduction to the hymn as well.
CHORAL ANTHEM
Keep Your Lamps- arr. André Thomas (Offering- 9:00 AM)
Dr. Thomas is Director of Choral Activities at Florida State University, and is a well known composer and arranger of African-American spirituals. His setting of Keep Your Lamps is one of his most popular, and is based upon the Gospel of Matthew 25:1-13. The middle section, "Children don't be weary, 'till your work is done," of course references the ten virgins, who end up sleeping during the time prior to the arrival of the bridegroom. The second verse, "Christian journey soon be over, the time is drawin' nigh" connects us once again to Advent and the eventual coming of Christ.
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