Music Notes: August 5th, 2012

10th Sunday After Pentecost

After a two week break, Music Notes is back.  I spent a week at the Conference on Worship, Theology, and the Arts, immersed in a week long study of organ improvisation, choral rehearsal technique, and other issues relating to theology, music, and the church.  It is always my favorite conference to go to, and it is always a wonderful source of affirmation for me.  Upon returning, I made some changes with our organ at St. Paul's, and while you may not notice them unless one is closely playing attention, I have been able to take steps to make our small but versatile organ even more useful and practical for hymn playing of all types.

Discussion of the music of this week needs to begin with the Lectionary as it was last week.  Beginning last week, and continuing through the month of August, is a five week series of readings from the Gospel of John, where Jesus demonstrates the principal that he is the Bread of Life, and anyone that follows him will never be hungry.  The reading for this week ends with this exact declamation made by Jesus, but prior to it, Jesus teaches one of his most important lessons.  His followers ate and were filled, but where did this food come from?  How would they get more?  Jesus miraculously created loaves of bread on the shore of the sea, and the public was hungry for more.  Jesus instructs that it isn't this perishable food that they should be seeking, but rather the food that endures for eternal life.  It was not Moses that provided the bread for their ancestors in the wilderness, but it was in fact provided by God.

A series of readings such as these provide a difficult challenge for hymn selection.  When 4-6 weeks of similar readings are presented, it becomes challenging to make sure the hymnody selected reflects the readings and message, but also remains versatile and not repetitive. 

PRELUDE

DOVE OF PEACE- David Cherwien (Prelude- 9:00 AM)

Last week I played David's arrangement of the tune HOLY MANNA.  David Cherwien is well known for his inventive, creative, and daring organ interpretations.  DOVE OF PEACE is the hymn tune associated with the hymn "I Come With Joy," Brian Wren's poem which the summer choir will sing later in the service.  The piece is in three sections, with a loose ABA format.  The exterior sections feature a rambling, pastoral sequence with the tune on top on a separate manual.  The B section modulates to a chromatic third relationship, with the tune presented homophonically in the strings of the organ.  When the A section returns, the tune is in canon with itself, using the original orchestration as well as the higher register of the accompaniment.

OPENING HYMN 

Praise The Lord! O Heavens (Opening Hymn- 9:00 AM)

Much of Jesus' message in the Gospel reading this week is reflected here.  For instance, the end of stanza one ("...laws which never shall be broken for their guidance he has made.") could be referring to, for example, the mandate that Jesus' followers seek the eternal bread of life.  Jesus promises that this is the way, and in stanza two, the hymn says, "never shall his promise fail." 

The tune for this hymn, titled AUSTRIA, has a rich and colorful history.  The tune was originally penned by Joseph Haydn, one of the finest composers from the "classical" era of music.  The tune has its roots in German folk song, and Haydn was heavily influenced by the English national anthem "God Save The King."  He reportedly said that he wanted the German's to have a universal song that they could sing with the same amount of pride and patriotism that the English people had.  Years later, he reworked it and incorporated it into the second movement of one of his Op. 76 String Quartets, the "Emperor," heard here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc34Jr9udlU

For the next centuries, it was used at various celebrations across Austria and Germany.  In the early 20th century, it came under fire as it would occasionally be used by the Nazi's in Germany as part of their nationalistic propaganda, along with the music of Richard Wagner and other famous German composers.  This created a stigma surrounding the tune which still exists today.  Thankfully, the tune is started to be accepted again as what it was intended to be, that is, a joyful song of celebration and pride.

HYMN OF THE DAY

All Depends On Our Possessing

This German chorale, one of dozens translated into English by Catherine Winkworth, is presented here with its original chorale tune.  The tune itself has gone on to be used with a multitude of other texts. 

A lot of trust is necessary to embrace Jesus' task of embracing the enduring food of eternal life.  As this translation says, "They who trust with faith unshaken by their God are not forsaken."

This food and the results of it are the primary subject of stanza two.  The voice of this stanza is someone who has accepted that Jesus is the way.  They have been led to many joys and and are confident that they will be inside of God's good graces as he guides them through their lives and will always remain at their side.

The remainder of the hymn continues to reaffirm the ideas of faith, trust, and grace that we can only obtain by embracing a life of faith just as the singer of this hymn did.

OFFERING

I Come With Joy (Offering- 9:00 AM)

This is the final week of Summer Choir this Summer, and for this week, I challenged them with a task that I wish more choirs were willing to undertake.  I feel that one of the more difficult tasks for an SATB choir is to be able to sing in unison.  When a choir is singing in 4 part harmony, the primary responsibility of each section is to first unify with each other.  Once that happens, the tuning usually falls into place.  But to sing a beautiful, free, released unison tone, each choir member has to listen extra hard in order to make sure that they are unified with every single singer in both pitch and vowel.  It is an extremely important skill for a choir of any size, and it allows their message to be delivered with the utmost clarity and precision.

That message in "I Come With Joy" is love.  The word love appears in four out of the five stanzas.  This is the love that Jesus had for us when he made his ultimate sacrifice (in stanza one), the community of love that we take part in each week during Holy Communion (in stanzas two and three), and finally the love that binds us all together as Christians (in stanza five).

COMMUNION HYMNS

What A Fellowship, What A Joy Divine (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)

This beautiful gospel hymn by Elisha Hoffman and Anthony Showalter was inspired by a verse from the book of Deuteronomy, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27).  It has found a home in many motion pictures, most recently throughout the remake of True Grit (2010), as performed by bluegrass singer Iris Dement.  It has also been performed by singers such as Alan Jackson, George Jones, and others. 

Most performances of this song involve an up-tempo, jubilant rendition of the hymn.  As wonderful and as spirit filled as those performances can be, I choose to play the hymn as more of a 12/8 gospel ballad.  The sense of peace and comfort that the text provides suits itself better for a more reflective, contemplative rendition of the hymn.

Blessed Assurance (Communion Hymn- 9:00 AM)

Fanny J. Crosby spent her entire life working towards the mission of the church worldwide.  Blind since infancy, she became one of the most prominent figures in American evangelical life.  She was one of the premiere figures of the gospel song period, penning over 8000 hymns in her life. 

Blessed Assurance is likely Crosby's most loved hymn.  The anecdote behind it goes that the tune writer, Phoebe Knapp, was having a new pipe organ installed at her church while Crosby was visiting.  In lieu of the organ, Knapp plunked out a new tune she was working on on the piano.  When asked what she thought of it, Crosby responded by saying, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine." 

POSTLUDE

Toccata in Seven- John Rutter (Postlude- 9:00 AM)

As the title indicates, this is a toccata in 7/8 time.  Generally, a toccata involves a very active rhythmic structure.  Many toccatas for church performance are based on a hymn tune, but this was a free standing composition by Rutter, suitable for both church and concert use. 

Set in a three part ABA form, the middle section, with it's slower chords and dialogue between manuals and pedals are surrounded by a rhythmic pattern with clear, square phrases.  Characteristic of the English style of composition, this work features a good deal of modulation, pan-diatonicism (two keys at once), and colorful harmonies.