Music Notes: Sunday, September 9th

15th Sunday After Pentecost

This is rally Sunday here at St. Paul's.  Our Chancel Choir is back in the choir loft (boy I missed them!), and we will be having our annual church picnic following services.  Speaking of the services, the worship times are going back to our normal non-summer times, which are Sunday morning at 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM, and the REJOICE service at 11:15 AM.  The Saturday evening service will remain the same time.

In our scripture this week, we hear the story of Jesus traveling to Tyre, where he encounters a Syrophoenician (Gentile) woman.  The woman has a daughter who is plagued by a demon, and she is desperate to be healed by Jesus.  As a response, Jesus metaphorically says that even the children should be fed before the dogs.  The woman, despite her fear and desperation, cleverly responds by saying that even the dogs can feed on the crumbs dropped by children.  Jesus acknowledges this, and says that her daughter is healed.  This seminal moment marks the beginning of Jesus' ministry to the Gentiles.

PRELUDE

Adagio from Symphony no. 5- Charles Marie Widor

Most notable as the organist an Saint Sulpice for over 60 years, C.M. Widor was one of the finest organists of his time.  Many of his students, including Louis Vierne, Marcel Dupre, Darius Milhaud, and others, went on to great careers in composition and organ playing (Dupre succeeded him at Saint Sulpice).

Widor is possibly most well known for his collection of organ symphonies.  With the Saint Sulpice organ at his disposal, he had an array of colors and timbres that rivaled a full orchestra.  His symphonies reflect this.

This adagio from his most well known 5th symphony involves a low flute solo (played in the pedal), accompanied by strings in the manuals.  Despite our organ being significantly smaller than Widor's, the color palate still matches quite well.

OPENING HYMN

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee- arr. John Ferguson (arrangement at 9:00 AM only)

This glorious hymn by Henry van Dyke sets the mood perfectly for the festive nature of our Rally Day Worship this week.  This hymn of praise brings us together as we worship.  The first stanza uses the metaphor of a flower unfurling and drawing towards the sun as our hearts unfold and praise God.

The middle stanza is wonderfully pastoral as we reflect on the works of God around us.  We see God everywhere we look in the world... earth and heaven, stars and angels, field, forest, meadows, etc... even in the birds of the air and the flowing fountains of the earth call us to rejoice in God.  The closing line of the hymn, "teach us how to love each other," is a very poignant message as it relates to the Gospel reading.  Initially, it didn't seem like Jesus was willing to help the woman, but the moment he did ushered in one of the greatest ministries the world has ever seen.

At 9:00 AM, our Chancel Choir will be debuting and will lead this hymn using the choral setting by John Ferguson.  We will also be joined by the St. Paul's Brass Quartet and Dr. Karen Black from Wartburg College for this arrangement.

HYMN OF THE DAY

O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing

Charles Wesley will forever be known as one of the primary founders of Methodism.  Despite being an exquisite preacher and hymn writer, Wesley had a struggle with his faith around the middle of his life.  After overcoming that, he wrote this hymn a year later as a recognition of his renewal of faith.

Originally it was 18 stanzas, and was published as such in every Methodist resource up until 1983.  The version we have is arranged as follows... our stanzas 1-3 were originally stanzas 7-9, stanza 4 was originally stanza 11, stanza 5 was originally stanza 13, and the closing stanza in the ELW was actually the opening stanza in the original hymn.

Of all the stanzas here, stanza 4 is most applicable to our Gospel lesson.  When the daughter of this "humble, poor" woman was healed through Jesus' actions, it went a remarkable distance towards closing the gap between the Jews and Gentiles.

OFFERING

Alleluyas- Simon Preston (9:00 AM only)

While spending most of his early career as a church musician in England, Simon Preston has gone on to become a prolific recording artist and composer.  His "Alleluyas" is probably his most well known composition.

Based on a stanza from "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," the form of this piece is very complex, but there are several motives that tie together to create a cohesive whole.  The most prevalent is a major seventh interval that pervades most of the melodic motives throughout.

At times rough and jagged, and other times equally tranquil and beautiful, the piece is very much in the style of Olivier Messaien with its dissonance and color.

COMMUNION HYMNS

Now The Silence (9:00 AM only)

In the past, I've mentioned "Thine The Amen, Thine The Praise" (see ELW 826) as being a "stream of consciousness" hymn.  There may be a central idea, but its contents are seemingly randomized and thought up on the fly as though someone were just rambling.  This is some profound rambling here.  Jaroslav Vajda has combined various aspects, feelings, and emotions of the Eucharist.  It starts with the prayers of intercession, words of institution, the Eucharist itself, the combining of the elements inside us (compared to a wedding), concluding with one of the more obscure and profound Trinitarian statements (stated in reverse).

The tune is both characteristic and unique for Carl Schalk.  Schalk tunes are typically comprised of flowing quarter notes and modulating melodies.  This tune modulates, but instead is comprised of quarter/eighth note couplets.  Taken at a certain tempo, the tune certainly has a "drinking song" quality to it, but the appropriate tempo is much slower, in order to enhance the clarity and to reflect on this intriguing text.

O Christ, Our Light, O Radiance True (9:00 AM only)

The Nurnberg Song Book, published in 1676, was the source for many German chorales that are found in our hymnal today.  Being set here in 6/4 time, it creates a free, dance like quality, allowing this hopeful text to shine through.

I can imagine that for the Jews of Jesus' time that they viewed the Gentiles as "lost" people.  Stanza two references the "wanderers lost in error's maze."  It's a very intriguing metaphor.  While the "deep delusion" that the hymn mentions may be going too far for many of us, we all travel away from our faith at some points and need to be led back.

The majority of the hymn continues with this message, while at the conclusion we see their vision intertwine with ours, creating "a single voice uplifted."

CLOSING HYMN

Let Streams Of Living Justice 

While we introduce a new liturgy this weekend, in lieu of a post communion canticle, we will do a closing hymn each week.  This text calls for peace and justice to come to the earth, uniting us all as a people.  Stanza two contains possibly the only hymnal reference to knitting and looming, as we "weave our varied gifts together" and enroll us on the "loom of time" until our "thread of life is run."  God is then of course described as the "great weaver of our fabric."

POSTLUDE

HYMN TO JOY- Wayne Wold

When I have talked about doing improvisation in the past, I've mentioned the term "ritornello" before.  A ritornello is a common device used during improvisation, and it is also used brilliantly during this joyous postlude.  Interestingly enough, the HYMN TO JOY tune is never really presented in full, but the chord progression and general feeling of the ritornello indicate that the hymn tune was the source material.  The most obvious use of the tune is near the conclusion, as the trumpets blare out the third motive of the melody.