Music for August 30, 2015 + The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost + RALLY DAY

Vocal Music

• The Tree of Life – K. Lee Scott (b. 1950)

Instrumental Music

• Call to the Faithful – Rex Koury (1911-2006)
• Epithalame (Sortie) – Healey Willan (1880-1968)

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

• Hymn 473 Lift high the cross (CRUCIFER)
• Hymn 490 I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON)
• Hymn 149 I, the Lord of Sea and Sky (HERE I AM, LORD)
• Hymn 306 We are marching in the light of the Lord (SIYAHAMBA)

A beautiful poem by the 17th century Slovakian pastor Pécselyi Király Imre, "Paradiczomnak te szép elö fája" (“You beautiful living tree of Paradise”) was translated by the English priest and hymnist Eric Routley for the ecumenical hymnal Cantata Domino in 1974. He paired it with Hungarian tune, then a decade later, chose another tune for publication in another hymnal, but the hymn did not gain traction in the worldwide church until it was set to a tune by Alabama composer K. Lee Scott, who was commissioned by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama to write a hymn for their 1995 Year of Evangelism. He named the tune SHADES MOUNTAIN, after the mountain on which he lived near Montgomery, Alabama. (Shades Mountain is right at  the bottom of the Appalachian chain.)

Once this tune and text were paired, it has become a favorite anthem for choirs of all denominations, and has appeared in at least eleven hymnals (but none of them Anglican!)

Here is the text:

 There in God’s garden stands the Tree of Wisdom,

whose leaves hold forth the healing of the nations:

Tree of all knowledge,Tree of all compassion,

Tree of all beauty.

Its name is Jesus, name that says, “Our Savior!”

There on its branches see the scars of suffering;

see where the tendrils of our human selfhood

feed on its lifeblood.

Thorns not its own are tangled in its foliage;

our greed has starved it, our despite has choked it.

Yet, look! It lives! Its grief has not destroyed it

nor fire consumed it. 

See how its branches reach to us in welcome;

hear what the Voice says, “Come to me, ye weary!

Give me your sickness, give me all your sorrow;

I will give blessing.”

This is my ending, this my resurrection:

into your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit.

This have I searched for; now I can possess it.

This ground is holy.

All heaven is singing, “Thanks to Christ whose Passion

offers in mercy healing, strength, and pardon.

Peoples and nations, take it, take it freely!”

Amen! Our Savior!

It is not unusual for English church organists to leave the Land of Hope and Glory and move to the Land of the Free and the Home of the brave. The current choirmaster at Washington National Cathedral, Michael McCarthy moved to the states from London Oratory School, St. Thomas Church in New York City turned to St. Paul's Cathedral, London, when they called John Scott, who died this month way too soon. In Houston, we have Giles Brightwell at St. Thomas Church in Meyerland. This same migratory pattern is true for the two men who composed the voluntaries this week, though one ended up in Canada and the other in Hollywood.

Healey Willan was born in England, and he began musical training at age eight, with studies at St. Saviour's Choir School in Eastbourne. In 1913 Willan emigrated to Canada where he ended up at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Toronto. He is often quoted as saying, "English by birth; Canadian by adoption; Irish by extraction; Scotch by absorption." His organ music is very typical of English organ music of the early 20th century, with a soaring melodic line over thick, rich harmonies.

And just who is Epithalame Sortie? It's not a who, it's a what. It was originally (among the Greeks) a song in praise of bride and bridegroom, sung by a number of boys and girls at the door of the nuptial chamber. (That would slow down, if not halt, some wedding night bliss). Here the title is used with the word sortie (French for exit), denoting its use as a wedding recessional. 

Rex Koury in his retirement

The other organist is not nearly as well known in church music as Willan, but his music has been heard by literally millions. Rex Koury was born in London, but his family moved to America when he was but one year old. At age 14, he began to accompany silent movies, but when sound was introduced, he decided, at 17, to leave for Hollywood and try his hand at the movies. He never made it in motion pictures, but found his calling in the new medium of radio. He became staff organist for  NBC Hollywood and wrote free-lance compositions for CBS Radio. He was later appointed music director for ABC Hollywood. His best known work was in the music he wrote and directed for the CBS radio and tv show, Gunsmoke. He wrote the theme song, The Long Trail, in 1952.

When he retired in the 1970s, he began playing in churches, and wrote music for those services, which ultimately got published. In today's opening voluntary, you can here the trumpet rallying call to Christians to follow Christ. You can imagine that this tune could have easily been used as a theme song on a radio program in the 30s and 40s. 

We close our month of favorite hymns with the top favorite hymn, Lift High the Cross. Christ's death on a torturous cross was a horror beyond compare. But it wasn't the end of his story: The gruesome cross experience opened the way to Jesus' glorious victory over sin and death. Those two ugly realities have plagued the human race since the Fall in Eden. But today, the outcome of that battle is sure: Christ conquered sin and death on the cross.

Jesus' stunning sacrifice requires a response. And that's exactly what Lift High the Cross provides. With a triumphant melody, the hymn calls Christians to bring the story of the cross to the entire world. We are to "lift high the cross" for the world to see, so that they might come and adore Christ the victorious King. (from songsandhymns.org)

It's a great hymn for Rally Day!