Music Notes: February 17th, 2013

1st Sunday Of Lent

The forty days have begun.  We've all heard the spiel... these forty days are a time of repentance, reflection, prayer, and preparation for the Holy three days.  At St. Paul's it's also a time to dig deep.  Concurrent with this Lenten season is the next step in the Capital Campaign, and during the five Sundays of Lent Pastor Sandberg will be sharing a sermon series on giving.

The first week of Lent signifies the start of a journey.  This journey will be reflected in the music this week and represents a journey through both Lent and the Capital Campaign.

PRELUDE

Improvisation on CONSOLATION

Most people know this hymn tune as it is loosely married to the Advent text "The King Shall Come."  But it is also associated with a Lenten text that we will sing later today.  This improvisation will center around this tune, but there may be other familiar Lenten tunes that make an appearance as well.

OPENING HYMN

Lead Me, Guide Me

This hymn to kick off the Lenten Sundays may initially seem a little too upbeat.  But the message of the verses is just what we're looking for during Lent.  Guidance.  Strength.  The power of God.  Aid.  Help.  Again, it serves a dual purpose, as both guidance through the season of Lent as well as the Capital Campaign.

The composer, Doris Akers, is a legend in the field of Gospel music.  She lived mainly in the midwest and had a long career as both a gospel musician and church musician.  She was proficient as a singer, pianist, choir director, composer, and arranger, all in the Gospel style.  The twilight of her career was spent in Minneapolis as Director of Music at Grace Temple Deliverance Center, a non-denominational community church that is still active.  She died in 1995.

HYMN OF THE DAY

O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days

I've already spoken on our multiple journeys.  Overlooked so far is the journey Jesus is taking in our Gospel reading.  He spent forty days praying and fasting, all while being tempted by the devil.  The first three stanzas of this hymn comment on the trials of Jesus, sung to him in retrospect.  We ask for Jesus to "lend us [his] nerve, skill, and trust," and to "teach us to deny ourselves that we may know God's love."

The final stanza focuses back on to our journey, where we ask for God to be with us through this season and all our days, so that when Easter (our own deaths and resurrections) arrive for us all, we may all join in Heaven's praise.

OFFERING

Prayer For Healing - Molly Ijames (Chancel Choir)

This prayer by noted church composer Molly Ijames (pronounced "eye-ams") can easily be interpreted as a prayer Jesus would have spoken to God as he was in the midst of his desert journey.  The piece starts in D minor, and reaches a climax about 2/3rds of the way through, where on the text "... here in my desert place, blossoming rose," the music suddenly and beautifully changes to D major, where it remains for the rest of the piece.

COMMUNION HYMNS

Eternal Lord of Love, Behold Your Church (7:45 AM only)

This tune originally came from the Genevan Psalter, a collection of metrical Psalm settings used throughout Switzerland and other European regions beginning in the 16th century.  The tune name, titled OLD 124TH, is so named because this tune was originally used for the metrical setting of Psalm 124.

This text by Anglican hymn writer Thomas Cain comments greatly on the contrast between death and life.  Each stanza has a reference to something dead or dying that quickly grows or revives.

CLOSING HYMN

Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer

This is yet another wonderful song of journey and guidance.  It is also a powerful testimony to the effectiveness of this hymn tune, CWM RHONNDA.  This Welsh tune is perhaps best known to the hymn "God of Grace and God of Glory," which is a text overflowing with joy and praise.  This text, while also joyful, is much more subdued and introspective as we seek help and guidance on our voyage.  Yet it is equally effective when set to this tune.

POSTLUDE

CWM RHONNDA - J. Bert Carlson

While I would normally play Paul Manz's wonderful setting of this hymn tune, it quotes Handel's Hallelujah Chorus (not the best choice for Lent), so I made it a mission to find a new setting.

This setting by J. Bert Carlson is very similar to the Manz setting in terms of form.  It has a ritornello that surrounds the four separate statements of the tune.  Near the end of the piece, it takes a wonderful harmonic twist into Bb Major, before finally returning to its original key and a wonderful conclusion.