Music for August 23, 2016 + The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• All Who Hunger Gather Gladly – attr. to William Moore, 1825, Margie VanBrackle, soprano

Instrumental Music

• Tranquillo, ma con moto – Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
• Choral Dorian – Jehan Alain (1911-1940)
• Allegro impetuoso – Herbert Howells

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

• Hymn R250 How great thou art (O STOR GUD)
• Hymn 671 Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound (NEW BRITAIN)
• Hymn 324 Let all mortal flesh keep silence (PICARDY)
• Hymn 562 Onward, Christian soldiers (ST. GERTRUDE)\

More Bread? Yes, please! This Sunday we hear the last of the Gospel of John's Bread passage, and in response, Margie VanBrackle will accompany herself on guitar as she sings Sylvia Dunstan's beautiful Eucharistic hymn, All Who Hunger, which draws on the 6th chapter of John as well as other scripture for its inspiration.

All who hunger, gather gladly;

holy manna is our bread.

Come from wilderness and wandering.

Here, in truth, we will be fed.

You that yearn for days of fullness,

all around us is our food.

Taste and see the grace eternal.

Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, never strangers;

seeker, be a welcome guest.

Come from restlessness and roaming.

Here, in joy, we keep the feast.

We that once were lost and scattered

in communion’s love have stood.

Taste and see the grace eternal.

Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, sing together;

Jesus Christ is living bread.

Come from loneliness and longing.

Here, in peace, we have been led.

Blest are those who from this table

live their lives in gratitude.

Taste and see the grace eternal.

Taste and see that God is good.

- Sylvia G. Dunstan, © 1991, GIA Publications, Inc.

The tune is an American tune from Columbian Harmony, 1825, a shaped-note hymnal compiled by William Moore, who is suspected to have written the tune. When Sylvia Dunstan, a United Church of Canada minister,  attended the Hymn Society of America's annual convocation in South Carolina in 1990, she was introduced to this melody, and later worked the text out in her head while strolling up and down the South Carolina coastline. 

The organ music is all 20th century organ works, with two little-known works by Herbert Howells book-ending the service. Howells was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music.  He showed a keen interest in composition early in his life and, at the age of eighteen, began studying with the organist of Gloucester Cathedral. At twenty he received a scholarship to the Royal College of Music and studied under Charles Villiers Stanford, Walter Parratt, Charles Wood and Hubert Parry.

His focus on sacred music began with the Hymus Paradisi (1938) and continued into the 1940s with a series of compositions setting Mass texts and Canticles, most notably the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from the Anglican Evensong service. The two organ works I'm playing today are from a posthumously published set of six small works for organ. He had begun work on these before his death, and students pieced together his notes and sketches to come up with these finished works. The opening voluntary title means "peacefully, but with motion."

The communion voluntary is a quiet piece by the short-lived French composer Jehan Alain, whose bright star on the organ-world's horizon was tragically cut short by the German offensive of May 1940. Alain took part in the struggle, displaying exceptional bravery and confidence, but neither faith nor music could help him. He was killed by enemy fire on 20 May 1940.

This Sunday's hymns includes 3 from our continuing review of the top 17 hymns chosen by the congregation this past June. There is no middle ground about these three hymns; you either love them or hate them. One parishoner told me she was going to the 5 PM service this Sunday so she would not have to sing "Onward Christian Soldiers." The militaristic tenor of this text causes many sincere, dedicated, peace-loving Christians to cringe. Tom Long, an ordained Presbyterian Minister who was on the faculty of Emory University's Candler School of Theology wrote an interesting article which shows both sides of this coin: I will not quote it, but give you the link so that you can read the entire inspiring article and the comments which follow. (I avoid reading comments on web pages. They often just give me heart-burn. These, however, are thought provoking.) 

Music for August 16, 2015 + The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• How Can I Keep from Singing – American Folk Song, arr. By Richard Walters (b. 1956), Leila Hays, mezzo-soprano

Instrumental Music

• O God, Thou Faithful God – Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
• Trumpet Tune in E – David N. Johnson (1922-1988)
• Two Reflections on Hymn Tunes – David Ashley White (b.1944)

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

• Hymn 688 A Mighty fortress is our God (EIN FESTE BURG)*
• Hymn R37 Glorify your name
• Hymn 662 Abide with me, fast falls the eventide (EVENTIDE)*
• Hymn 335 I am the bread of life (I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE)*
• Hymn 680 O God, our help in ages past (ST. ANNE)*

One of our newest choir members, Leila Hays, sings an arrangement of an old gospel hymn, How Can I Keep From Singing? by the 19th century Baptist preacher Robert Lowry (who also wrote Shall We Gather At the River). It is arranged by Richard Walters, managing editor of the concert music division at Hal Leonard Publishing and an extraordinary pianist, arranger, and orchestrator. I met Richard in New Orleans over 13 years ago, and our similar backgrounds (He's from Mississippi, I'm from Tennessee, we were both raised in the Methodist church and very active in its music ministries) caused us to develope a great friendship. Upon my return to Kingwood, I received a large box of music from Hal Leonard Publishing containing many volumes of his music, some of which he edited, and some of which he arranged. It is one of those pieces we are using today.

This hymn is a reminder of the joy of faith, especially in times of trial. It opens with an assertion that the troubles of this world are nothing when compared to the new creation that is to come. By keeping our focus on our Lord – that He is our Rock and that He lives – we can follow the admonition of the apostle James: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2). This arrangement is rather quiet and has a peaceful mood.

Johannes Brahms, date unknown
(Library of Congress)

Johannes Brahms, composer of the opening voluntary, had no particular personal relationship with the organ - he was not a church musician and had not studied the instrument - so it is strange that he would turn to it for his last compositions. They were written in the summer of 1896 after his dear friend Clara Schumann’s death, and it is highly probable that Brahms was already aware of his own illness at that point.  The preludes are “settings” (albeit wordless) of religious texts--Lutheran hymns and their associated chorale melodies. Though not a particularly religious man, he may have found comfort in the hymns of his upbringing.  This may have influenced his decision to set, twice each, the chorales "Herzlich tut ich verlangen nach einem sel'gen End" (I sincerely wish for a happy end) and "O Welt, ich muss dich lassen" (O world, I must leave you). Indeed, the second of the two "O Welt" settings contains the last notes the composer ever wrote.

But it is not one of the funeral hymns that we hear today, but the chorale "O Gott, du frommer Gott" (O God, Thou faithful God), a prayer of faith, hope, and healing.

O God, Thou faithful God,
Thou Fountain ever flowing,
Without whom nothing is,
All perfect gifts bestowing,
A pure and healthy frame
O give me, and within
A conscience free from blame,
A soul unhurt by sin.

At communion I am playing two piano arrangements of hymn-tunes by David Ashley White, a Houston composer who retired as the director for the Moores School of Music in 2014. He's arranged the hymn-tune MARTYRDOM (Alas, and did my Savior bleed or, as in the case of our 1982 Hymnal, As longs the deer for cooling streams) and his own tune, GARDEN DISTRICT, which he wrote in 2005 after the devastating Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.

* We continue our singing of the top 15 (though it turned out to be 17) favorite hymns from our Summer Hymn survey. The astute (and faithful) congregant will notice that once again we are singing I am the bread of life. That's because we are in Year B of the lectionary, and "B" stands for Bread. We are hearing six weeks of bread readings during the last days of summer. As one of my friends on twitter says,

Jesus describes himself as the bread of life.  I've spent my life being afraid of carbs. Hmmm. There's a sermon in that....   Daniel D. Brereton, @RevDaniel on Twitter) 

Perhaps that explains my disdain for this hymn. (But let it be noted that I still schedule hymns that I don't like as well as the ones I do!)

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide (EVENTIDE) is today's featured hymn. According to an edition of the British Weekly, in the late summer of 1847, after preaching his final sermon, knowing his time on earth was drawing to a close, Henry Francis Lyte

walked in the valley garden in front of the home, then down to the rocks, where he sat and composed. It was a lovely sunny day and the sun was setting over distant Dartmoor in a blaze of glory. On the left lay Brixham harbor like a pool of molten gold, with its picturesque trawling vessels lying peacefully at anchor. After the sun had set, Lyte returned to his study. His family thought he was resting, but he was putting the finishing touches to his immortal hymn. (Bailey, The Gospel in Hymns, 171). 

Later that fall, Lyte passed away, but his hymn has indeed endured through the years as a beloved hymn of peace and prayer in the face of change. Theodore L. Cuyler once relayed a story in which a dying woman recited this hymn as she lay in bed during her last hours. He writes,

As I came away from that room, which had been as the vestibule of heaven, I understood how the ‘light of eventide’ could be only a flashing forth of the overwhelming glory that plays for ever around the throne of God (Sankey, My Life and Sacred Songs, 57). 

What a beautiful image when we see the light of day ebbing – this light is only a shadow of the light of life that shines forth from Christ.

William H. Monk wrote the tune EVENTIDE for Lyte's text in ten minutes. As the story goes, Monk was attending a hymnal committee meeting for the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern of which he was music editor. Realizing that this text had no tune, Monk sat down at the piano and composed EVENTIDE. The hymn was then published in that edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern. The tune has always been associated with this text.

Music for August 9, 2015 + The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music
Ave Maria – J. S. Bach/Charles Gounod
Jade Panares, soprano

Instrumental Music

• Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541 – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
• Devotion - Jim Brickman (b. 1961)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of the communion hymn, which is found in the Episcopal supplemental hymnals Lift Every Voice and Sing II and Wonder, Love and Praise.)

• Hymn 494 - Crown him with many crowns (DIADEMATA) *
• Hymn 685 - Rock of ages, cleft for me (TOPLADY) *
• Hymn - Taste and See (TASTE AND SEE)
• Hymn 178 - Alleluia! alleluia! give thanks to the Lord (ALLELUIA NO. 1) *

* - denotes one of the top 17 favorite hymns of this congregation.

Here in the Episcopal Church, we follow the Lectionary, a three-year cycle of readings from the Bible that, each week, prescribes a reading from each of the Old Testament, Psalms, The Epistles, and the Gospels. I use these readings to help shape a theme of the day when choosing the hymns and other music for our Sunday worship. All my good intentions, however, fly out the window this month, as we sing the hymns you have chosen as the favorite hymns of the congregation. This list is as random a list as they come, so I'm just choosing the rest of the music to be as random.

Take the offertory this morning. Jade Panares, a recent choral intern in our choir, is going to sing "Ave Maria" in a setting by Charles Gounod. It's probably also a favorite of many in this congregation. I particularly like it because it uses the Prelude in C Major for clavier (keyboard) by J. S. Bach. The prelude is from a collection of 24 preludes and fugues in all 12 major keys and all twelve minor keys, something that was not possible to do in Bach's earlier years as a composer because up until that time, keyboard instruments were tuned to an unequal temperament, a temperament that keeps pure or nearly pure intonation in some keys but causes dissonances in the little-used keys, making them sound out of tune. The "equal tempered scale" was developed for keyboard instruments so that they could be played equally well (or badly) in any key. It is a compromise tuning scheme. Bach wrote this collection, called Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (or The Well-Tempered Clavier) in 1722.

131 years later, Charles Gounod is waiting for dinner with his fiancee and her parents. He's fiddling around with the Bach Prelude and improvising a lovely melody that his future father-in-law, Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmermann, notices and asks him to play again. Zimmermann hurried to note it, then some days later, had Gounod listen to it played with a violin, and supported with a small choir. And so was born " Consideration on Bach's prelude " which later became the famous Ave Maria. (Let us add that Zimmermann, who had signed up with a publisher, handed back to Gounod a sum two hundred francs for the purchase of the work.)

Hymn focus

Rock of ages, cleft for me.

No one was more surprised than me to see this hymn in the top 17 list. After all, it's a pretty old hymn, with a kind of sing-songy melody that we really don't sing much at Good Shepherd. I think, much like in American politics, that the older generation voted more in this poll! Regardless of how it got there, it actually is a very solid hymn.

1."Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee! Let the Water and the Blood, From thy riven Side which flow'd, Be of Sin the double Cure, Cleanse me from its Guilt and Pow'r.

2.“Not the labors of my hands Can fulfill thy Law's demands: Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for Sin could not atone: Thou must save, and Thou alone! 

3.“Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to thy Cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for Dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly : Wash me, Saviour, or I die! 

4."Whilst I draw this fleeting breath— When my eye-strings break in death— When I soar through tracts unknown— See Thee on thy Judgment-Throne— Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee! 

The hymn appeared in the March 1776 issue of The Gospel Magazine following a pair of related articles. The first, which was attributed to “J. F.,” demonstrated by a series of questions and answers the magnitude of the British national debt, and how it could never be repaid. The second article, which was by AugustusToplady, used the same approach to demonstrate the magnitude of human sin, and how impossible it is for a human to achieve the righteousness of God for even one moment; hence, the need for Christ and his redemptive work on the cross. He then went on to say that Christ's redeeming work “will not only counter-balance, but infinitely over-balance, all the sins of the whole believing world” and concluded the article with the four stanzas of this hymn, which he titled “A living and dying Prayer for the holiest Believer in the World.”

Augustus Montague Toplady was an
Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was
a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley

Each stanza elaborates on a truth about salvation. The first stanza describes the redemption that can be found in Christ. The second lists various ways in which human effort is inadequate to atone for sin, and the third is a declaration of dependence on the Savior and a plea for His cleansing. The final stanza looks forward to heaven. Our hymnal combines the last of stanza two and the first of stanza three into one middle stanza. (denoted by the bold-faced type)

Music for Sunday, August 2, 2015

Vocal Music

• Jesus, Shepherd, Be Thou Near Me – J. S. Bach (1685-1750) Bruce Bailey, tenor.

Instrumental Music

• Toccatina – R. M. Stults (1861-1933)
• Jubilee March – R.M. Stults 
• Aria – Philip Baker (b. 1934)

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

• Hymn 8 - Morning has broken, like the first morning (BUNESSAN)
• Hymn 335 - I am the bread of life (I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE)
• Hymn R-247 - Shine, Jesus, shine (SHINE, JESUS SHINE)
• Hymn 325 - Let us break bread together (LET US BREAK BREAD)

I began my organ career at my home church, the First United Methodist Church of Tiptonville, Tennessee. We lived across the street from the church that my mother had attended all her life and served as the volunteer choir director. I cannot remember the first time I had attended choir practice with her, playing in the church while she led the small choir through their paces, but when I was fourteen, I began to sneak into the church and play around with the 1924 Möller Organ.

The 20's were a decade of unprecedented economic growth in America, coming off the end of World War I. Even small town churches like First Methodist were able to build some small but beautiful buildings and furnish them with pipe organs. During the 1920s it is said that the M.P. Möller Organ company was building an organ a day to keep up with the demand.

First United Methodist Church, Tiptonville, Tennessee

In spite of the abundance of church organs, there proved to be a dearth of trained organists, so local pianists would be pressed into service to play for the local congregations. Obviously, they would need simpler music to play, so the Lorenz Publishing Company began publishing a bi-monthly magazine of simple, useful organ music for these novice organists. The organist of First Methodist, Tiptonville, was one of those who subscribed to this magazine, and when I started playing the organ, a stack of these magazines, dating back to the 1920s, was what I used as my introduction to the organ. This Sunday I am playing two pieces from those magazines.

These two pieces, Toccatina and Jubilee March, are from the pen of  Robert Morrison Stults, an American composer of popular music in the late 19th century and early 20th century. His most popular work, The Sweetest Story Ever Told, was published in 1892 and was still popular into the first half of the 20th century. Prior to 1910, Stults mostly wrote popular music, but after 1910, he wrote more sacred and bigger works, including a number of works for the organ. Toccatina is a short, perpetual movement sort of piece with limited pedals (perfect for those piano teachers who could manage the manual (hand) parts but were not as sure with their feet.) The Jubilee March is a typical march, but the pages of music I have are missing what would be the Trio (the B section in the middle), so I have re-created the trio with some music of my own.

The hymns today are from the list of the top 17 favorite hymns as determined from our Summer Hymn Survey. You can see the total results here:
 http://goodshepherdsongs.blogspot.com/2015/08/our-favorite-hymns.html

Morning Has Broken
“Morning has broken” first appeared in the USA in the Presbyterian Hymnbook (1955), but it was not until Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) sang it on his triple platinum album Teaser and the Firecat in 1971 that the song became well known and, as a result, has been included in most hymnals since that time. This is a rare, though not unique, example of a Christian hymn receiving acclaim through the popular media.

Percy Dearmer, editor of Songs of Praise (1931), requested a thanksgiving text from the poet Eleanor Farjeon to the lilting Gaelic tune BUNESSAN. Farjeon (1881-1965) who had around 80 works to her credit including Nursery Rhymes of London Town and The Glass Slipper, wrote a hymn that effectively links and expresses the creation stories in Genesis 1 and John 1, and reminds us that each new day is a gift from God.
The tune BUNESSAN demands a lesser-used poetic meter (dactylic) in threes. The result, according to British hymnologist J. R. Watson, is a “springy rhythm… [and a] beautifully sustained… poem [that] makes a delightful and charming morning hymn.” 

Our Favorite Hymns

At the beginning of summer, I asked the congregation of Good Shepherd to give me a list of their top 10 favorite hymns. Fifty-three people responded, resulting in a list of 190 different songs. Notice I said “songs” and not “hymns,” because not all of the selections were in praise of God. One vote went to “Jingle Bells,” and while it is a fun and festive holiday tune, is not a hymn. “Michael, row the boat ashore” was twice nominated (from the same family, I might add), though the only thing religious about it is the word “Alleluia!” Another favorite was “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” the 1968 rock song by Iron Butterfly. The only time I have heard this sung in church was in “The Simpsons” episode, "Bart Sells His Soul", when Bart passes this song out in church as a hymn entitled "In the Garden of Eden," with composer credit given to "I. Ron Butterfly." The organist, as I remember, really rocked it out.
Another 60’s pop hit, “Turn, Turn, Turn”, does, however, have solid scriptural basis as its lyrics are taken almost verbatim from the Book of Ecclesiastes, as found in the King James Version of the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Three people voted for it. There were also single votes for some old songs from the early 20th century (“In the Garden”, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow”, “Whispering Hope”, and “The Church in the Wildwood”).

What surprised me most were the hymns straight from the 1982 Hymnal that, to the best of my memory, have not been sung at Good Shepherd in my 18 year tenure. “Come, Labor On” (no. 541) received three votes.

There were no huge surprises in our list of the top 15 (which was expanded to 17 due to ties). Here is the rankings, along with the dates they will be sung.

ranking	Hymn	percentage	Date to be sung
1	Lift High the cross	30	8/30
2	Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound	24	8/23
4	Morning has broken, like the first morning	20	8/2
4	Onward, Christian soldiers	20	8/23
5	I, the Lord of Sea and Sky	17	8/30
7	A Mighty Fortress Is our God	15	8/16
7	How great thou art	15	8/23
10	Crown him with many crowns	13	8/9
10	O God, our help in ages past	13	8/16
10	Rock of ages, cleft for me	13	8/9
17	Abide with me, fast falls the eventide	9	8/16
17	Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord	9	8/9
17	I am the bread of life	9	8/2
17	I want to walk as a child of the light	9	8/30
17	Shine, Jesus, shine	9	8/2
17	We are marching in the light of God	9	8/30
17	The church’s one foundation	9	7/19

One thing that is clear from the survey is that no certain type of hymn is going to make everyone happy. For instance, you might thing that singing “Amazing Grace” would make everyone in the congregation feel warm and fuzzy and want to hug puppies and children, but I am here to tell you, there is a significant vocal body of people in the congregation who surprise me with their disdain for this hymn which they feel is overused. (Note: in 2014 it was only sung twice in worship at 10:15). In the same manner, the 20% that love singing “Onward, Christian soldiers” may not be the same 20% that get a happy feeling singing “Morning has broken.”

I want to give a great big “Thanks” to Bruce Bailey for collecting and tabulating the votes for this survey.

Music for July 19, 2015 + The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Instrumental Music

• Tribute (Lullaby) – Craig Phillips (b. 1961)
• A Tune for the Tuba – Eric Thiman (1900-1975)
• Meditation on “Repton” -  Robert A. Hobby (b. 1962)
• O Perfect Love - Gordon Young (1919-1998)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 525 - The Church’s one foundation (AURELIA)
• Hymn 653 - Dear Lord and Father of mankind (REPTON)
• Hymn 343 - Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless (ST. AGNES)
• Hymn 708 - Savior, Like a shepherd lead us (SICILIAN MARINERS)

Lots of organ music this week, and all of it, I think, is immediately accessible even to those not particularly fond of the organ. Two of the pieces are original works with no reference to a hymn tune. 

The communion piece, Tribute, was written by Craig Philips, the organist and director of music at All Saints (Episcopal) Church in Beverly Hills. He wrote this at the request of concert organist David Craighead in honor of David's concert manager, Karen McFarlane. It is a gentle piece with the opening melody played on the krummhorn, one of the oldest organ sounds that in its most familiar form has a tone resembling that of the clarinet. It's written in 3/4 time, so it lends itself to the feel of a lullaby (which is probably why Philips sub-titled it thus so.)

The closing voluntary features another distinctive organ sound, the tuba. Much like the trumpet, it is a reed-stop with a brassy sound, but at 16' pitch, meaning it sounds an octave lower. This is a work written by the organist and composer Eric Thiman, who was active in England in the middle of the 20th century. Largely self-taught, he was Professor of Harmony at the Royal Academy of Music, and from 1956 to 1962, Dean of the Faculty of Music at London University. He was also organist and choirmaster at the City Temple in London, a Congregational Church where he achieved renown as an improviser of great skill. This Tuba Tune is in a form often used for trumpet tunes on the organ, with the solo featured on the opening theme, followed by the exact same theme with the full organ. The most famous example of that is the Trumpet Voluntary (Prince of Denmark's March) used so often at weddings.

The two other organ works are based on hymn tunes. 

Robert A. Hobby

C.H.H.Parry

We start of with Robert Hobby's straightforward setting of the tune Repton, used for the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. The tune first appeared in Charles H. H. Parry's oratorio Judith with the text, "Long since in Egypt's plenteous land, Our fathers were oppressed." Some time later this chorus was published separately as an anthem with the words which we will sing today as a hymn later in the service. It's a glorious melody, with a second half of the hymn tune that gradually builds toward a high note with such sweeping grandeur that one cannot fail to feel the passion of the music. 

At the last minute I had to substitute an organ voluntary for the vocal selection originally scheduled for today. Since I knew Father Bill was going to preach on recent events concerning marriage, I thought I would play Gordon Young's setting of the little-used wedding hymn, O Perfect Love. Regardless of your thoughts about marriage equality, you have to admit the text of the hymn, written in 1848 by Dorothy Francis Blomfield for her sister's wedding, is appropriate for any couple pledging their love for each other. It is a prayer that the marriage will be blessed with love, faith, endurance, and other qualities that lead to a strong relationship. The fourth stanza is a doxology addressed to the members of the Trinity.

O perfect Love, all human thought transcending,
lowly we kneel in prayer before thy throne,
that theirs may be the love which knows no ending,
whom thou in sacred vow dost join in one.  

O perfect Life, be thou their full assurance
of tender charity and steadfast faith,
of patient hope and quiet, brave endurance,
with childlike trust that fears no pain or death. 

Grant them the joy which brightens earthly sorrow;
grant them the peace which calms all earthly strife;
grant them the vision of the glorious morrow
that will reveal eternal love and life

Music for July 5, 2015 + The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown – setting by K. Lee Scott (b. 1950) Danial Ward, bass-baritone

Instrumental Music

• Variations on an American Tune – Gordon Young (1919-1998)
• Variations on “God Save the King” – Charles Wesley (1757-1835)

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

• Hymn 636 How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord (FOUNDATION)
• Hymn R 37 Father, we love you (GLORIFY YOUR NAME)
• Hymn 536 Open your ears, O faithful people (TORAH SONG) 
• Hymn 716 God Bless Our Native Land (AMERICA)
• Hymn 718 God of our fathers, whose almighty hand (NATIONAL HYMN)

The fiberglass-and-steel “Statue of Liberation
Through Christ” at World Overcomers Outreach 
Ministries Church in Memphis, Tennessee.

A Christian, an American, and a church musician walk into a bar. The Christian looks at the church musician and says, "Let's sing a hymn!" The American says, "Yes! Let's sing "America, the Beautiful!" The church musician says, "I just came in here for a drink."

The Sunday near Independence Day is one day when I just want a drink.

My friend and fellow church musician, David Perry Ouzts, writes a blog similar to mine, and his post for this Sunday is called Fanfares and flag-waving: How to be Episcopalian for the 4th of July. I want to quote some of it here:

As a liturgist, the Sunday nearest to the fourth of July is always a Sunday of great compromise. As an Episcopal parish, we do not just throw out the readings (AKA “the propers”) for the day: that’s “liturgically illegal” according to the Book of Common Prayer and actually requires permission of “the Diocesan” (a.k.a. the Bishop).

On the other hand, in a country in which we give thanks for our religious freedom, praying in church for our country and its leaders is quite acceptable. Moreover, our hymnal, The Hymnal 1982, contains a small section of “National Songs,” those hymns that we all love and probably learned as school children. In fact, our Book of Common Prayer contains an entire set of proper readings for liturgies if held on the exact day of Independence Day in a given year; these propers never supplant the Sunday propers but are available for use, even as private devotions.

Well, like David and the Church of the Holy Communion in Memphis, we are going to go for the middle ground, the via media, as good Episcopalians are wont to do. I'm playing variations on "God Save the Queen" during communion, as written by Charles Wesley Junior, the son of the imminent hymn writer and Anglican priest. Charles junior was a musical child prodigy who became an organist and composer who spent most of his career as the personal organist of the English Royal family. 

God Save the Queen is, of course, the tune we Yanks use as for the words "My country, 'tis of thee," which we'll sing at the Independence Day Celebration after church in the Great Hall. It is also the tune for the communion hymn this morning, God bless our native land, a hymn that is a prayer for any land or nation. I feel it's fitting for a worship service.

The opening and closing voluntaries are based on a familiar hymn that, while it is not 'patriotic,' carries a real American flavor. Gordon Young wrote these variations on the tune NETTLETON (Come, thou fount of every blessing) for the dedication of an organ in Fort Worth. The theme and seven variations show off the colors of the organ in different and unique ways. Sometimes the theme (melody) is apparent. Other times it is only hinted at with fragments and chord progressions from the hymn. The last movement will be used at the closing voluntary. Why not stay and listen to this brilliant finale and let the lines for hot dogs die down!

The closing hymn is often referred to as the "National Hymn." Daniel C. Roberts wrote this "God of our Fathers" in 1876 for July 4 centennial celebrations in Brandon, Vermont, where he was rector at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. This hymn puts God first, and is constantly addressed to Him as a prayer for the nation, without reference to American superiority. The second and third stanzas allude to a nation's need for God's law and guidance to maintain peace. It was published in the Protestant Episcopal Hymnal of 1892.

Don't forget to vote for your ten favorite hymns. The top 15 will be sung in church during August. You can email your choices to jacksonhearn@goodshepherdkingwood.org
The deadline is July 5!