Music Notes: May 5th, 2013

Sixth Sunday After Easter

Rainbow.  ROYGBIV.  Pot of gold?  A lot of ideas or images come up when we think of a rainbow.  For us at St. Paul's this week, we will hear and see signs of these rainbows through the words and tasks of our Sunday School and Saints Alive children.  They will introduce a song that has become a "theme song" for our Capital Campaign written by Director of  Youth and Family Ministry Paul Frantsen called "Catch A Spark," and will also share a "Rainbow Liturgy" with us.

Along with this rainbow celebration, the music, inspired by the story of the Syrophoenician woman who challenged God for the sake of her daughter, involves feelings of peace and comfort.

PRELUDE

Abide With Me- arr. Cathy Moklebust (Bells of Praise)

The Bells of Praise will be featured in their final performance of the year this Sunday, setting the stage for worship with an arrangement of this wonderful William Monk hymn of comfort and compassion.

Minnesota composer Cathy Moklebust is one of the most prolific writers of hand bell music in the United States.  She has a unique gift of making even the simplest handbell arrangement sound complex, instilling a feeling of confidence and security in handbell choirs everywhere.

Not to say that her arrangement of Abide With Me is easy.  It certainly is not, but it is composed in such a way, through the reusing of a rhythmic motive throughout, that creates a wonderful, thick bell texture which emphasizes and clarifies the hymn tune.  The use of the big, low hand chimes and malleted upper bells create a wonderfully unique sound.

CHORAL ANTHEM

Prayer For Peace- David Cherwien

This 2 part arrangement of David Cherwien's hymn tune OLIVER was written for the 2003 Conference on Liturgy at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.  The tune shares many characteristics of tunes by Carl Schalk.  The flowing quarter notes make a very singable line, as well as help to accentuate the text.

The two part structure is explored in the latter two stanzas.  In stanza two, the men take the melody with the women providing the counter-melody.  In the closing stanza, the alto and bass voices handle the melody with a descant in the sopranos and tenors.  Each stanza ends with the short refrain, "Bring peace, O God, bring peace again."

OPENING HYMN

What Is This Place

This hymn will connect directly out of the choral anthem at the 9:00 AM service, and is also a favorite of Pastor Schneider.  The idea of a mere building that comes alive with the spirit of God and its congregants has proven itself to provide a rather profound, moving hymn.

Textually, the hymn acknowledges both the word and the sacrament of the church.  The word is remembered and spoken in the walls of the church, and the "free, redeeming word" of God lives and flows through the church.  In stanza three, the hymn acknowledges the sacrament of Eucharist as well.  Again, this gift is received inside the four walls of the church, and the justice and peace of God is handed out to us as we depart.

Musically, this is a joyful, sprightly homophonic chorale.  Unlike the German chorales of its day, there is far less interior movement and counterpoint.  Rather, the harmonies stay quite simple, employing only one secondary dominant (4th measure from the end).  The melody is in three parts, with the first two parts being identical, and the third extended section leading to the final cadence.

HYMN OF THE DAY

Lord Of All Hopefulness (7:45 AM only)

One of my favorite structures of hymn writing is found in this hymn.  Each of the four stanzas has an identical structure, with each stanza going through a different portion of the day, asking God to be with us and give us a characteristic that corresponds with that time of day.

On our waking, we ask for bliss at the break of the day.  During the work day, we ask for strength at mid-day.  The correlation is beautiful in stanza three... home is where the heart is and where our loved ones are, so we ask for God's love as we arrive home.  Finally, the closing stanza asks for peace as we lay down to sleep and close our eyes.

You Are The Light Of The World (9:00 AM only)

Our Sunday School and Saints Alive kids will help to lead this charming kids song at the 9:00 service. The song by Cathy Pino is a popular one amongst the kids here, and talks about Jesus shining in our hearts, for he is the light of the world, a city on a hill, and the candle in the dark.  The song puts those descriptions on to us, so we can shine where we are just as Jesus shines in our hearts.

OFFERING

Catch A Spark- Paul Frantsen

Rachel Nelson, director of Saints Alive, initially asked me if I would write a "theme song" for the kids for use in the Capital Campaign.  I write music more for bigger people than the little ones, so I instead suggested Paul, our Youth and Family Director, who has a lot of experience with leading and facilitating children's song.

He came up with an absolutely fantastic song, with the refrain, "Catch a spark and activate your faith in God."  It correlates beautifully with the "Building Vision - Sparking Mission" theme of the Capital Campaign.  The children sing it with a great enthusiasm and vigor, complete with actions to enhance the words.

COMMUNION HYMN

Savior, Like A Shepherd Lead Us

While there are many paraphrases of Psalm 23 in the ELW and elsewhere, this is actually not one of them despite its use of shepherd imagery.  What this is is a hymn of comfort and peace for us as we take Communion.  Each stanza ends with a refrain beginning with "Blessed Jesus..."

Musically, this hymn is wonderfully characteristic of the 19th century style of hymn writing.  Homophonic (meaning all four voice parts aligned on each beat), with an accessible, repetitive melody, characteristics that maximize the singability of a tune.

CLOSING HYMN

To Be Your Presence

Just as Jesus showed his "compassion and listening" to his disciples and those needing healing, this hymn shows us that it is our mission to show the face of compassion and the ear of listening to our society.  We're called to feed the poor, shelter the homeless, to be the hands of justice, uphold what is right, and to do all these things in the name of Christ.

The tune by Charles Villiers Stanford is one of the most singable and enjoyable tunes in the hymnal.  With its ambiguous ending, it can either lead directly into the next stanza or be an ending in itself.  To keep the involvement of children in the service, they will process through the aisles with streamers as we depart worship.

POSTLUDE

Toccata in C Major- Johann Pachelbel

This was actually the first "real" organ piece I ever learned.  As far as Pachelbel toccatas go, this one is about as straightforward as it gets.  You will hear florid, complex passage work among the two hands, dancing on top of a foundation of a solid pedal note (appropriately called a "pedal" tone.)