Music for March 24, 2019 + Lent III

Vocal Music

• Create In Me A Clean Heart, O God – Carl F. Mueller

Instrumental Music

• Flûtes – Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (1676-1749)
• Récit de Nazard – Louis-Nicolas Clérambault

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

• Hymn 143 - The glory of these forty days (ERHALT UNS, HERR)
• Hymn R141 - Come, ye sinners, poor and needy (ARISE)
• Hymn 439  - What wondrous love is this (WONDROUS LOVE)
• Hymn 685 - Rock of ages, cleft for me (TOPLADY)
• Hymn 244 - Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing (TUNE)
• Hymn 149 - Eternal Lord of Love, behold your church (OLD 124TH)
• Psalm 63:1-8– Psalm tone IIa

Carl F. Mueller

The Good Shepherd choir sings verses from Psalm 51, set to music by the American composer Carl Frank Mueller. A native of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he graduated from Elmhurst College in 1910 with the aim of becoming a concert organist. Subsequently, he was director of music at Grand Avenue Congregational Church and organ department head at the Milwaukee Institute of Music in Wisconsin. In 1927 he moved to Montclair, New Jersey, and served as organist-director of Central Presbyterian Church (1927-1953), taught at Montclair State College (1928-1954), and was founder-director of the Montclair A Capella Chorale (1931-1956). After summer study in choral music with John Finley Williamson at Westminster Choir College, he obtained a Fellowship there in 1937, and began composing choral music. He later served as organist-director at First Presbyterian Church in Red Bank, New Jersey (1953-1962), and taught at the Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music. He received an honorary doctorate from the Strassberger Conservatory of Music in St Louis, Missouri. He is best known for today's anthem, Create in Me A Clean Heart, which has sold over 2 million copies.

The organ music today comes from the pen of Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, a French organist and composer of the 18th century. He was organist at various churches including Church of the Grands-Augustins, Saint-Sulpice and the church of the Grands-Jacobins, where he was responsible for playing the organ and directing the choirs.

His important published work includes a large number of religious pieces with chants and choirs; 

more than 25 secular cantatas on subjects often inspired by Greco-Roman myths; sonatas for violin and basso continuo: a book of dance pieces for the harpsichord; and a book of organ pieces in two suites in which melodic charm wins out over religious spirit. These two suites seemed destined to begin a cycle of pieces in all keys but Clérambault never completed the cycle. Today's music comes from the second suite.