Music Notes: November 18th, 2012

25th Sunday After Pentecost

Last week was our first experiment of truncated music notes.  That being said, they were only about a half page less than normal when I made the print copy.  This week, I think we can keep it under two pages.

One reason for that is that we are having a very special guest this week.  Four student musicians from Wartburg College will be joining us this week at the 9:00 AM service, providing string quartet music.  They'll be playing at the prelude, offering, and postlude, and while I know what they are playing, I really don't know much about the arrangements, so I will not be commenting on them.  In addition, our Bells of Praise choir will be playing at both the 7:45 AM and 9:00 AM services this week.

The Gospel this week from Mark 13 is a rather interesting reflection before Christ the King Sunday.  In Mark 13, Jesus foretells the trials that were going to be upon them from the world.  There would be impostors and other threats to their faith, but Jesus tells them to not be alarmed.  We have to go through these trials and tribulations, but we know that Jesus will guide us safe on to the other side.  The music this week focuses not on the trials, but rather the feeling of faith and comfort that we can take in this promise.

PRELUDE

Reflections on Endless Song- Michael Ryan (Bells of Praise)

Even though the string quartet will be at the 9:00 service, the bells will still play there as well, as this piece is a partner piece to the opening hymn.  While the hymnal version we have of this hymn (My Life Flows On In Endless Song) is actually in 4/4, this arrangement for handbells is actually in 3/4.  The melody is in the top bells quite a bit, but it switches registration for a significant portion, putting the melody in the middle-lower bells.  It has been quite a challenge for Bells of Praise to make that melody clear, but they have done a wonderful job.

OPENING HYMN

My Life Flows On In Endless Song

In addition to being a hymn writer, Robert Lowry, perhaps best known for his hymn Shall We Gather At The River, was also a professor of literature and a Baptist minister.  While this hymn was written in the 1870's, it wasn't used very frequently until the 1980's when it was recorded by several well known Catholic church musicians including Marty Haugen and David Haas.  The refrain as we find it today was not originally the refrain, but rather stanza two.  The recording by Haugen and Haas made use of it as a refrain, and it has caught on in the new generation of print hymnals.

HYMN OF THE DAY

It Is Well With My Soul

This lovely Spafford/Bliss compilation was composed right around the same time as "How Can I Keep From Singing."  As such, it contains many similar melodic, harmonic, and textual characteristics.

There was a rather large controversy surrounding the beginning of the third stanza when the ELW came out.  Note the difference between the two versions...

Original:

"My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross..."

Alternate (in the ELW):

"He lives, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross..."

I am not entirely sure why this change was made, but the only possible reason I can think of was that too many people were misinterpreting the text, thinking their sins were the "glorious thought" that was being discussed.  That is a terrible misrepresentation of what this verse is about.  The "glorious thought" being referenced is the thought of our sin being nailed to the cross.  By adding "he lives" to the beginning rather than "my sin," it creates a concession that just doesn't seem to make sense.  Of course Jesus lives.  We know that.  But by changing it, it completely negates what the original message of the hymn was trying to say, which is a feeling of gratefulness we feel by having our sins forgiven through Jesus' ultimate sacrifice.

Despite that unfortunate change, it is still a beautiful combination of text and tune.

COMMUNION HYMN

My Lord, What A Morning (7:45 AM only)

Like many African American spirituals, this lovely example focuses on end time.  The three verses reference three elements (trumpets sounding, sinners crying, and Christians shouting) that are characteristic for the return and resurrection of Christ.  Given the lives that slaves had to live, there is really no surprise as to why many of their greatest songs focus on the promised land beyond our world.

CLOSING HYMN

Soon and Very Soon

Like the previous, this African American spiritual has a similar focus.  Most spirituals focus first on the present, and then on the future where there will be no more crying, tears, or pain.  Despite the lives they lived, there was always hope in the spirituals, always a path to follow, and always a Hallelujah to sing.

The Sunday School kids will also be joining us at the 9:00 AM service to sing this spiritual along with us, which will lead us right into Christ the King Sunday!  Thanks to Kris Meyer, Tammy Richards, and others for helping to rearrange that.