Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
We have a very special event in worship this Sunday. In lieu of our normal liturgy, we will be celebrating the birth of one of the greatest hymn writers of all time, Isaac Watts. Born on July 17th, 1674 (that's 338 years ago) in Southampton, England, he eventually become recognized as the "Father Of English Hymnody."
His father, also Isaac Watts, was a well known religious nonconformist at the time. He was even arrested twice for his views. He was illegible for admission to either Oxford or Cambridge due to his family's views, so he attended the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690. He would spend much of his life in this London suberb. He occasionally embraced his father's nonconformist views, but spent most of his life promoting a non-denominational, ecumenical view of religion and theology. He never married, and died in 1748.
(Biographical information taken from Norman Mable's Popular Hymns and Their Writers and William Jensen Reynolds' A Survey of Christian Hymnody)
His legacy in the field of English hymnody is expansive in the least. Watts, along with Charles Wesley, did for English (language) hymnody what Martin Luther, Paul Gerhardt, and Johann Niedling did for German Lutheran hymnody. Watts was a visionary in creating new, original, theological texts for use in worship. Before Watts, music in the church was in the vein created by John Calvin during the Reformation, using verse translations of the psalms for congregational singing. Protestant hymnody was given a much needed boost when it was revolutionized by Watts and the people he influenced, including Reginald Heber (Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty), John Newton (Amazing Grace), and Augustus Toplady (Rock Of Ages).
Watts' original hymns are known for being both intensely personal and affirmational. His hymns could break down the barrier between poet and singer. Hymns like "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" are sung from the perspective of the singer themselves, and the text reflects the personal spirituality of many Christians. He also had his own take on the psalms, creating an entire poetic psalter, one example of which we will hear this Sunday.
I have chosen several Watts hymns to replace our standard liturgical elements, and will be sung throughout the service. Brief synopses of each follow...
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed- As a Kyrie can be thought of as a prayer for mercy, this Watts hymn used during Lent is a sign of the sacrifice Jesus gave in order that we may have that mercy.
Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs- The Canticle of Praise usually calls us all together and unites in worship. The title and first stanza of this hymn does just that, uniting our joys with us and all the angels.
Give To Our God Immortal Praise- This verse takes the place of our Gospel Acclamation this week, as its praise to God is a fine precursor to the Gospel reading.
O That The Lord Would Guide My Ways- This fine guidance hymn fills into our Offertory slot this week. Rather than being a true Offering hymn, it actually comments on our Gospel this week, asking for guidance from Jesus through times of hunger and need.
My Shepherd You Supply My Need- This is Watts poetic transcription of Psalm 23, which we will be using as the precursor to Communion in the Lamb of God spot.
Jesus Shall Reign- As a conclusion to the service, the exterior stanzas of this hymn of praise will be used as our Post Communion Canticle.
PRELUDE
Sonatine- Maurice Ravel (Prelude- 9:00 AM)
We'll be joined by Rachel Frantsen this week, daughter of Paul Frantsen (our director of Youth and Family). After having graduated this spring, she will be attending St. Olaf College in the fall to pursue a degree in piano performance. The pieces she is playing in worship are excerpts from her senior recital from a couple weeks ago.
Ravel's Sonatine is set in three movements, and was composed between 1903-1905. Rather than the more normalized "Sonata," the title refers to the slightly shortened nature of the work and not the potential simplicity that a piece of this title would carry. In fact, when Ravel debuted the work, he feared that it may be too difficult for most pianists (a rather ironic statement given that his Gaspard de la nuit, composed 3 years later, is one of the most difficult pieces in the piano repertoire).
The first movement is being played this week, and was the first movement that Ravel completed. He actually composed it for a composition competition in which the criteria was a sonata movement of 75 measures or less. Ravel was actually the only entrant, but was disqualified due to having 78 measures instead of 75. A prize was not awarded.
The first movement is in traditional sonata form, and though we will not be hearing them, the conclusion of the movement foreshadows portions of the second and third.
OPENING HYMN
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Opening Hymn- 9:00 AM)
Most of the time, this hymn seems to be performed slowly and contemplatively, with reverence and care. Personally, I think of this hymn as a hymn of praise. In the first stanza, it even says, "Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise."
The language of this hymn, composed by Robert Robinson, exudes some grand, wonderful statements. Robertson composed the hymn at the age of 22, and has been made famous primarily through Mack Wilberg's arrangement performed by the Morman Tabernacle Choir. American composer Charles Ives also used its tune, NETTLETON, in several of his compositions.
People ask me all the time what an "ebenezer" is. Its origins are in the Old Testament. 1 Samuel 7:12 says "Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer - "the stone of help" - for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!"
The Israelites went through a long period of journey, sadness, and tribulation. Under the leadership of Samuel, God finally restored the Israelites to their rightful place in society. Upon the acknowledgement of this, Samuel placed the stone where this restoration began, and dedicated it as a monument to God.
An Ebenezer stone can represent a fresh beginning for us in our faith journeys, despite being a rather archaic term. Over the years, many revisions to this hymn have been attempted to be put in place. None of them have stuck. Most of these revisions have to do with this word. I find it interesting that so many editors attempt to remove this phrase and replace it with something like, "Here by grace your love has brought me," or "Here I raise to thee an altar," while keeping words like "fetter" and "hither," two equally archaic words, remain.
Luckily, many people out there, including myself, are working to maintain these old texts while making them contemporary in other ways, through new arrangements and styles of playing the tune for example. This will be heard this Sunday at the REJOICE service when this hymn is done.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Beautiful Savior (Hymn of the Day- 9:00 AM)
This Silesian folk tune iws another that is much loved among Lutherans, especially in this part of the country, where Lutheran college grads spent four years and countless alumni gatherings singing F. Melius Christiansen's lovely setting.
The region of Silesia no longer exists, but most of it is occupied by what is now Poland. Unfortunately, there is little information on the origin of this hymn, nor who first translated it into English. The structure is symmetrical in that the interior and exterior stanzas are hymns of praise to the creator, and the interior stanzas proclaim said creation, by describing the meadows, woodlands, stars, and tying them to Jesus, who is said to shine fairer and brighter than all of these things.''
OFFERING
Rhapsodie in E-flat Major, op. 119, no. 4- Johannes Brahms (Offering, 9:00 AM)
Rachel Frantsen joins us once again with a late Brahms Rhapsody. The late works of Brahms, especially op. 118 and 119, are some of his finest, most creative, expressive works. Interestingly enough, the bombastic, passionate opening of this Rhapsodie hearkens back to his compositional style earlier in his life, such as the Scherzo, op. 4. Unusually, the piece actually ends in the parallel minor key of E-flat Minor.
COMMUNION HYMNS
We Come To The Hungry Feast (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
Though our hunger for the Eucharist is satisfied each week, there are many hungers in our lives that still remain. We're hungry for peace, and we're hungry to see the hunger of others satisfied. As stanza three of this hymn says, "... and knowing, though we eat our fill, the hunger will stay with us...". This song is a call to all of us that we should always remember and pray for those in the world that may not be as fortunate as many others.
Let Justice Flow Like Streams (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
The main idea of this hymn is justice and peace flowing through our lives, so that we may hold straight to the line of God's goodness. Jane Parker Huber, a renowned Presbyterian hymn writer of over 30 hymns, just passed away this last November. Among many other things, she was a tireless advocate of women in the Presbyterian church. The justice and peace referred to in this hymn is clearly influenced by those inclusive beliefs.
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)
This ancient chant from the Divine Liturgy of St. James comes from the 4th Century, AD, making it one of the oldest texts in the hymnal. This is actually the Offertory hymn of that service, and it is the only musical piece of the Liturgy that has found fame outside of the original setting. It was adapted and first used by Ralph Vaughan Williams where he set it to the tune PICARDY for use in the English Hymnal 1906. The translation of the hymn has many Biblical allusions, referencing Jesus, the six-winged seraph, Mary, and several others.
POSTLUDE
Fugue in E-flat Major "ST. ANNE" (Part 1)- J.S. Bach
The Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552 is one of Bach's finest masterpieces for organ. Both the prelude and fugue are in three parts with theological implications. The prelude represents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The fugue also has Trinitarian implications, but its subject bears an extremely strong resemblance to the hymn tune ST. ANNE, known most famously as the tune for Isaac Watts' most famous hymn, "O God Our Help In Ages Past."
Though the hymn was originally published in 1719 and this organ piece was published in 1739, it is theoretically possible that Bach could have been familiar with it. Given the theological differences that would have existed between the two parties however, it is unlikely that Bach would have known it. It is impossible for Bach to have seen this tune combined with the "O God Our Help," text, since they were not paired with each other until sometime later. After all, there are only twelve notes and a finite amount of ways in which they could be combined, so it is likely that the similarities between the two tunes are merely a coincidence.
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Wow, this has been quite an extensive edition of Music Notes this week! As filled with content as this iteration is, I feel less guilty about this next announcement. For the next two weeks, Music Notes will be taking a brief summer hiatus while I am away attending a conference and taking a week of vacation. I initially considered still writing Music Notes during those two weeks, but my darling wife has convinced me otherwise. So if you miss it desperately for these next two weeks, you may take it up with her!
I will return with the next Music Notes on or around Thursday, August 2nd.
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