Music Notes: September 15, 2013

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Prelude

Amazing Grace - Philip Gehring

The Amazing Grace hymn tune composed by William Walker, titled NEW BRITAIN, is so iconic that just about every church-goer, casual or diligent, should be able to sing this tune on command.  It is simple in the sense that it is four square phrases with a clear rise and fall in its contour and consistent in that each measure is a half note followed by either a quarter or two eighth notes.

With such a recognizable tune, a composer has to take extra effort to get their arrangement to stand out.  Philip Gehring's effort here stands out in the sense that you're never sure which area of the organ the tune appears in.  Just as you think you're hearing it in the lower register, a reed in the manuals will budge in and take over.  There's a dissonance throughout that calls to attention the phrase "I once was lost..." and creates a powerfully contemplative message.

Opening Hymn

Immortal, Invisible

I have always had a love/hate relationship with this hymn.  On one hand, I absolutely love the tune and how singable it is.  On the other, I've always had difficulty with this text.  It took me a long time to embrace the idea that God was "inaccessible, hid from our eyes."  I always struggled with this, feeling that the idea of God, despite the lack of an empirical presence, should be accessible to anyone.

Despite this concept being Biblically based (1 Timothy: 1-17 "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen.") I feel that this accessibility, or lack thereof, is rooted in our own minds.  Is the light experienced at the Transfiguration really a light that we could all experience, see through, be accessible to our eyes?  That's a question that can likely never be answered.

It wasn't until I read a passage from Exodus that I started to make sense of this concept.  Through that passage, I realized that even though we all may desire to lay our eyes on God at some point, there's really no reason to.  Faith should be able to overcome all and provide all the justification we need.

Hymn Of The Day

Amazing Grace

The iconic text and tune were composed by John Newton and published in 1779.  Its message is that of redemption, in that any Christian, regardless of his sins, can be saved through God. 

The hymn itself is John Newton's very personal conversion story.  Growing up without any religious conviction, he was eventually forced into service for the Royal Navy and became a slave trader.  Newton was one of the most vulgar, profane men of his time.  Stories abound of him using the most disgusting language existing, while even managing to invent new words and phrases that were even more offensive.

While at sea, his ship was involved in a severe storm which severely crippled the ship and took most of the crew.  In responding to his own efforts to keep the ship afloat, Newton was reported to have said, "If this will not do, then God have mercy upon us!"  Weeks later, the ship and its starving crew arrived in Ireland.  His conversion wasn't immediate, but over the years he gradually softened his vulgar ways and became a very fine hymn writer, publishing over 70 hymns in his life. 

Offering

Amazing Grace - arr. Nick Klemetson

This was one of the first compositions that I set to paper about five years ago.  It was initially intended to be a part of my Masters recital, but I ended up leaving it for a different setting of Amazing Grace. 

While it may seem repetitive to have this as the Hymn of the Day and sung here, there's more to this setting than just Amazing Grace itself.  It uses two other tunes and texts.  The first is Precious Lord, Take My Hand, and the second is a Charles Wesley text not in our hymnal titled "O God, I Stretch My Hands To Thee," set to the hymn tune MARTYRDOM. 

These three texts and tunes co-mingle together, creating a journey of faith from being "lost" to becoming "found."  The texts play off each other and respond to each other, and the choir has worked very hard in making these tunes distinctive, yet not overwhelming, even when they are sung simultaneously.

Closing Hymn

Praise the Lord, Rise Up Rejoicing

In reading through this text, it was pretty clear to me that it was composed in the 20th century, and not from the same era as the tune comes from.  The second person narrative, the Eucharist declaring the final victory, and going forth in the spirit are all subtle clues to this.  Together with the joyful German tune, its message of praise for the Eucharist declaring the final victory ring true at the end of our service.

Postlude

All Glory Be To God On High - J.S. Bach

Bach set quite a few chorales several times, and this particular one contains at least three settings.  It was one of the most popular chorales in its day.  This setting features the chorale in the soprano with active voices below it, dancing around and through each other, making this a short but joyous setting.

Music Notes: September 8th, 2013

ELCA 25th Anniversary Weekend

Prelude

Hymn to Joy - Paul Manz

One of Paul Manz's favorite compositional techniques is the use of ritornello.  A ritornello is a short refrain-like motive that is usually returned to throughout a composition.  In this case, the ritornello is characterized by a dotted rhythmic figure and a walking bass line.  The tune is played in the tenor range, and is presented without elaboration, so as to be easily heard.

Opening Hymn

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

This has been a traditional starter for us on the first Sunday after Labor Day.  Joy and love are the themes that pervade this lovely 18th century text by Henry van Dyke.  We see this in the very first line, "... Lord of love."

Stanza two shows us nothing but reasons to give.  The wonderful world around us... all the gifts we have been given.  All the wonders of the world, time and space, give us reasons to share what we have been so graciously given.

The final stanza recaps this idea of a giving God ("Thou art giving and forgiving...").  The hymn concludes as it begins, with a prayer to God to teach us how to love each other.

Hymn of the Day

I Want To Walk As A Child Of The Light

As Jesus was enveloped and overtaken by light at the Transfiguration, this hymn is our petition that we too embrace this light in order to follow Jesus.  No matter which way our congregation decides to go forward through the vote on Sunday morning, we should always remember to walk as a child of the light.
Kathleen Thomerson, recently retired from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Austin, TX, has created a lovely bit of prose, that despite having no rhyme scheme, is wonderfully singable to its chant-like melody.  As stanza three carries more of an Advent theme, it will be omitted at this service, but the first two verses comment nicely on the themes that envelop the 25th Anniversary of the ELCA.  As we move forward to 25 more years and beyond, may the light of Christ shine in our hearts.

Offering

Baptized and Set Free - Cathy Skogen-Soldner

Chancel Choir returns this Sunday with this lovely hymn that expresses our thanksgiving for baptism on this Sunday when we are both celebrating the 25th anniversary as well as introducing new members to our congregation.
The first three stanzas of the hymn do a wonderful job at illustrating the actual Baptism rite as well as what it means for us.  The cleansing waters stifle the powers of sin, and Jesus opens the door for us to a whole new life of salvation and thankfulness.
On the fourth stanza, the entire congregation will join as we all display our love and gratefulness for our baptisms.

Communion Hymns

Draw Us In The Spirit's Tether

Stanza one of this stunning text derives itself from Matthew 18:20... "Where two or three are gathered, God is also there."  There is also a passing reference to the healing power of Jesus' clothing, such as the woman who laid her hands upon his robe was healed.

Stanza two ties the Last Supper to the way we take Communion today in remembrance of that.  As the disciples were offered bread and wine by Jesus, we continue to be offered that same body and blood today weekly, and it brings us together closer as a community.

Much like Thomas and the rest of the disciples bore witness to the risen Christ, resulting in them being more faithful than ever as disciples, the closing stanza of this hymn inspires us to act as these disciples did and encourage us to live ever more strongly in the name of Christ.

Remember and Rejoice

There are some hymns that use the first stanza again at the end, not as a refrain or a reprise, but rather an affirmation of the message.  This is one of those hymns.  The second stanza reinforces the mark of Christ that we have on our foreheads.  As important as that is, the message from the third stanza is even more applicable to our worship this week as we embark on our congregational vote.  No matter the outcome, we need to remember to come together as a community in Christ and move forward.

Closing Hymn

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Though it will forever be tied with the Civil Rights Movement from the 1960's, this poem was actually composed in the year 1900 by james Weldon Johnson.

The language of this poem has not ever been updated from its original version (nor should it be!!), but some of the lines may require contextual references in the realm of the Afro-American spiritual.  The idea of the spiritual was born out of the time of slavery, struggle, turmoil, etc... but what was always and forever present was HOPE.  In the very first lines of Johnson's poem, he calls for us to sing until both earth and heaven ring with the harmonies of liberty.  Later in the stanza, he pulls the past and future together, referencing both the "dark past" and "hope [of] the present."  "Let us march on 'till victory is won," is certainly not a militaristic reference.  Rather, the "victory" he speaks of is the arrival of the promised land (see the old great Baptist hymn, "Victory in Jesus.")

 

Even though we aren't singing the second stanza today, it is still important to reference.  For the slaves, the "chastening rod" mentioned at the start of stanza two was literal.  Johnson is writing in the context of his culture and history.  Slaves were literally exposed to beatings on a daily basis.  However, it can still apply to all of us.  We all have obstacles in our lives and adversity to overcome.  As stanza two continues though, we have hope offered again, where we will eventually arrive at a place where those before us have only dreamed of.  The road has been long and difficult, but we will eventually come to the point where we will all be standing together "where the white gleam of our bright star is cast."

 

The final stanza speaks of the God who brings us all along on the journey that we have been on.  The hymn closes with a prayer that despite we may stray from the presence of God, we will always find our way back and stay true to ourselves and our God.

Postlude

Hymn To Joy - Wayne Wold

Wayne Wold is well known in the church/organ world for creating a large quantity of liturgical organ music for organists of all ability levels.  This large fantasy on Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee has a very tight structure, comprising of five parts and a coda.

 

Much like the ritornello technique used in Manz's seting, 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.