Music for August 31, 2014 + The 12th Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

When Jesus Wept – William Billings (1746-1800), arr. A. F. Schultz (b. 1942)

 Instrumental Music

Voluntary         If thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee – Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Piano                Hymne – Vangelis (b. 1943)

Voluntary         Trumpet Prelude – Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758)

 Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.

Hymn 401        The God of Abraham praise (LEONI)

Hymn 421        All glory be to God on high (ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HOHE)

Hymn 635        If thou but trust in God to guide thee (WER NUR DEN LIEBEN)

Hymn              I have decided to follow Jesus (Indian folk song)

Hymn R 226    Ubi caritas et amor (Taizé)

Hymn 450        All hail the power of Jesus’ name (coronation)

Psalm 26:1-8 - mode IV

The tune for the anthem today is a “fuguing tune,” or round, by the first American to achieve lasting fame and respect as a composer. William Billings of Boston, Massachusetts was born on October 7, 1746 with vision in only one eye and uneven legs. He started music lessons as a young boy with a local choirmaster, and by the late 1760’s had become America’s first professional composer. A leather tanner by trade, Billings began teaching a singing class in Stoughton, Massachusetts, which would later become the Stoughton Musical Society (America’s oldest music society and first singing school). He organized the first church choir in America. In 1770, Billings made history with the publication of the first hymnal in America, The New England Psalm Singer, which included this melody, When Jesus Wept.

Alan F. Schultz arranged the anthem, beginning with the entire choir singing the tune in unison, using the original text by Billings based on John 11:35. He then includes two stanzas of the hymn Take up thy cross, the Savior said, the first stanza being sung in canon, and the third stanza being sung in unison with a grand organ accompaniment. Schultz was for many years conductor and music director of The Southern Arizona Symphony and the Tucson Masterworks Chorale, as well as organist/choir master of St. Michael’s Episcopal in Tuscon. 

The opening voluntary is was originally an improvisation for organ on hymn 635, If thou but trust in God to guide thee (WER NUR DEN LIEBEN),  by the Lutheran organist Paul Manz. Typical of his improvisational style, he begins with a ritornello, a section that is repeated throughout the piece, “returning” again and again as the name ritornello (Italian for return) would suggest. The ritornello uses a fragment of the opening of the German Chorale-tune as its basis, played by two different flute stops (sounds) on the organ, before playing a four-part setting of the hymn on the string stops of another manual.

The communion voluntary is a piano piece by the Greek composer of electronic orchestral music, Vangelis. Born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, he is best known for his Academy Award–winning score for the film Chariots of Fire. This is a simple, meditative melody in three quarter time.

Music for August 24, 2014 + The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Built on a Rock the Church Doth Stand - Ludwig Lindeman, arr. David N. Johnson

Instrumental Music

• Concerto: I. Allegro – Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)  Bennie Wemh, trumpet
• Ubi Caritas/Adoro te Devote – Michael Larkin (b. 1951)
• Thou Art the Rock – Henri Mulet (1878-1967)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.

• Hymn 525        The Church’s one foundation (AURELIA)
• Hymn R 37       Father, we love you (Glorify your name)
• Hymn 707        Take my life and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE)
• Hymn 220        Let the hungry come to me (ADORO TE DEVOTE)
• Hymn R 226     Ubi caritas et amor (Taizé)
• Hymn R 306     We are marching in the light of the Lord (SIYAHAMBA)

Summer's over, the Good Shepherd Choir returns to the loft the Sunday, and it couldn't happen to a better set of scripture.
One of my favorite organ pieces to play is Henri Mulet's toccata, Thou Art the Rock. I have loved it since I first heard Virgil Fox's recording of it on the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia. I learned it as a junior in college, and it is perfect for this week's Gospel lesson from Matthew 16. 

15[Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Mulet's actual title was long, and in Latin, taken directly from the 18 verse of Matthew 16. Tu es petra et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus te. You are Peter (the Rock), and the gates of Hell will not prevail against you. It is fast and furious, with a sense of conviction about it. The main theme will be heard in the pedal, coming in rather softly on page two of the music. Mulet was a French organist and composer who served as choirmaster of the basilica of Sacré-Coeur, Paris. Thou Art the Rock is from a collection of ten pieces called "Esquisses byzantines," half of them inspired by various parts of the Sacré-Coeur basilica. In 1937 Mulet burnt his manuscripts and left Paris for Provence. He was cathedral organist in Draguignan until 1958 and died there in 1967. He spent 30 of his 89 years in seclusion. He had no children, and died in a convent.

The Choir's anthem is a hymn setting with trumpet by David N. Johnson. It's a strong, sturdy tune which fits the text perfectly. It's a staple among Lutheran hymnody, and is also a perfect fit for today's scripture.

Built on a Rock the Church Doth StandEven when steeples are falling;Crumbled have spires in every land,Bells still are chiming and calling;Calling the young and old to rest,Calling the souls of men distressed,Longing for life everlasting.
Not in our temples made with hands,God, the almighty, is dwelling;High in the heavens his temple stands,All earthly temples excelling;Yet He who dwells in heavens aboveDeigns to abide with us in love,Making our bodies his temple.
We are God’s house of living stones,Built for his own habitation;He fills our hearts, his humble thrones,Granting us life and salvation;Were two or three to seek his face,He in their midst would show his grace,Blessings upon them bestowing.
Through all the passing years, O LordGrant that, when the church bells are ringing,Many may come to hear God’s wordWhere he this promise is bringing:“I know Mine own, Mine own know Me;Ye, not the world, My face shall see.My peace I leave with you.” Amen.

The piano meditation at communion is what the kids nowdays call a "mash up," mixing two, often disparate pieces of music together. The two tunes that Michael Larkin, a composer/musician from Wilmington, Delaware, has chosen to meld together in one are both Gregorian chants that have become hymns in modern hymnals. First we hear the chant, "Ubi caritas et amor" (hymn 606 in The Hymnal 1982) played in the treble (high end) of the keyboard. After a declaration of that tune, we hear "Adoro te devote" (hymn 314 in The Hymnal 1982, as well as hymn 357 and the hymn we will sing during communion from Renew, R220, Let the hungry come to me.) Then the pieces wraps up as it began, with a verse of "Ubi Caritas." Note that the chant "Ubi Caritas" is not the same as the Taizé piece "Ubi Caritas" that we will also be singing during communion.

Music for August 17, 2014 + The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Instrumental Music

• Guitar selections by Rosendo Reyna
• Rondo in G - John Bull/Richard Ellsasser (1926-1972)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.

• Hymn 410 -Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LAUDA ANIMA)
• Hymn 421 – All glory be to God on high (ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HÖH)
• Hymn 530 - Spread, O spread, thou mighty word  (GOTT SEI DANK)
• Hymn R 201 - Be still, for the spirit of the Lord (BE STILL)
• Hymn R 226 - Ubi Caritas (Taizé)
• Hymn 371 - Thou, whose almighty word (MOSCOW)
• Psalm 67 - mode IVa, 

We are fortunate to have guitarist Rosendo Reyna playing for us  at the 10:15 Service on August 17th. A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a Masters in Music, he has been on the faculty of Lone Star College, Kingwood as guitar instructor since 2002. He will be playing several classical guitar selections, starting with an extended prelude before the service. Thanks to Lynn and Mike Boyd for making his visit possible

The only thing I am playing on the organ is the closing voluntary which has always proved to be a favorite with congregations everywhere. It’s the Rondo in G, attributed to the English Tudor composer John Bull, but mostly written by Richard Ellsasser, an American concert organist, composer, and conductor, who was primarily active during the 1940s, 50’s and 60’s. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 14, 1926, the young Ellsasser was a musical prodigy who, at the age of seven, toured the eastern United States as an organist with various symphony orchestras. He made his New York organ debut in 1937. At the age of 19 he became the youngest person in history to have played, from memory, all 250+ organ works of J. S. Bach.

Ellsasser later went on to study at Oberlin College, Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory (from which he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree), the School of Theology at Boston University, and the School of Religion at the University of Southern California (where he earned a Master’s Degree in Theology). Ellsasser also earned a Doctorate from Boston University.

For many years, Ellsasser was Minister of Music at Wilshire United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California, where he later created and directed a series of music festivals. In later years, he became Minister of Recitals at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles. In 1967, he suffered a stroke, which forced him into retirement. He died August 9, 1972 in New York.