Music for October 26, 2014 + The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Let Us Love in Deed and Truth – Larry King (1932-1990) 

Instrumental Music

• Sonata in D Minor: Cantilena, Opus 148 No. 11– Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901) 
• Sonata in E Minor: Scherzoso, Opus 132, No. 8 - Josef Rheinberger 
• Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, BWV 147 – J. S. Bach (1685-1750) (arr. Douglas Wagner) 

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

• Hymn 423 – Immortal, invisible, God only wise (ST. DENIO) 
• Hymn 707 – Take my life and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE) 
• Hymn R 145 - Lord, I want to be a Christian (I WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN) 
• Hymn R 289 - Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love (CHEREPONI) 
• Hymn 610 – Lord, whose love through humble service (BLAENHAFREN) 
• Psalm 1 (Tone IV )

The anthem this Sunday is by Larry King. No, not that one. Not the one in suspenders who used to work on CNN. And not the Larry King whose Larry King Orchestra plays for all the big society galas in the Chicago area. I am talking about Larry Peyton King, a composer and organist who was the music director at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan for 21 years. King was a graduate of Redlands University in California and received a master's degree in sacred music at Union Theological Seminary. He studied organ at the Royal Academy of Music in London on a Fulbright scholarship. As a composer, he wrote many groundbreaking works for choir, organ and other instruments, including pre-recorded synthesizer sounds. He loved to use new sounds and musical styles in worship services, and composed numerous choral works and three intriguing organ works based on scriptural passages.

Trinity Church, NYC, where Larry King was organist
for 21 years. Note the World Trade Center in the background.

It is one such work that our choir sings today. The anthem, Let Us Love In Deed and Truth, uses a paraphrase of the scripture from I John 3:17-23, which I believe forms the basic tenets of Christianity:

If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his neighbor in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth: We have confidence before our God, and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments, and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another.

The choral parts stand apart from the accompaniment, which forms a carpet of sound that supports, but not duplicate, the choir.

About our hymns:

Hymn 423 – Immortal, invisible, God only wise (ST. DENIO) "Now unto the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever" (I Timothy 1:17) is the basis for this hymn of pure praise. The rollicking anapestic rhythm of the Welsh melody rushes the singer along to the climactic poetic thought of God being invisible only because he is hidden by the glory of light.
Hymn 707 – Take my life and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE) A favorite at Good Shepherd because it is used so often as a presentation (of the offering) hymn, it was written by Frances R. Havergal who, during a visit with friends in the 1870s, prayed that God would use her to witness to win all ten members of the family to Christ. "Before I left the house everyone had got a blessing," she wrote. On the last night of her visit, she penned twelve couplets including these two stanzas in our hymnal.
Hymn R 145 - Lord, I want to be a Christian (I WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN) The story goes that in 1756, a slave in Hanover, VA went to a Presbyterian minister with the request: "I come to you, sir, that you may tell me some good things concerning Jesus Christ and my duty to God, for I am resolved not to live any longer as I have done." This desire to be a Christian is a universal longing that is voiced in many spirituals like this one.
Hymn R 289 - Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love (CHEREPONI) One of the simplest and most appealing melodies in our hymnal is this one that comes from the African nation of Ghana. It is a statement of commitment and servanthood, appropriate not only for Maundy Thursday, but for any service emphasizing discipleship. The tune name, CHEREPONI, comes from the village in Northern Ghana where this melody was collected.
Hymn 610 – Lord, whose love through humble service (BLAENHAFREN) This hymn was written in 1961 in response to an invitation of the Hymn Society of America to write hymns on social welfare. As Christians, we should follow the example of Christ, whose life was spent serving others. The tune is another of the Welsh tunes that are in our hymnal (like today's opening hymn) that has an easy melody to sing coupled to a driving rhythm.