Pentecost titles, 5.22.2010

Someone asked me for the title of the hymn in the prelude. That's a nice compliment. Thanks.

My preludes usually begin ten minutes before the hour. Last Sunday I played, first, a short Bach prelude in A major. Then I launched into a heavy version of "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" (blue #619). The tune is known as Austrian Hymn, composed by Franz J. Haydn in 1802. That was pretty loud. Then, to bring things down, and to signal the focus on the Holy Spirit, I play blue # 303, "Come, gracious Spirit, heav'nly dove, with light and comfort from above. Be thou our guardian and our guide; o'er every thought and step preside." The new hymnal has updated "be thou" to "come, be our."

Pentecost is the church's birthday.

titles 5.16.2010

Most people probably recognized the offertory yesterday, the tried and true (and possibly tired) old chestnut, Malotte's Lord's Prayer. Albert Malotte was born in Philadelphia in 1895 and died in Los Angeles in 1964. Most of his career was as a composer in Hollywood. He was trained in church music and was himself an organist.

One of the preludes, the loudest one, was an arrangement of "A mighty fortress is our God."

Don't ask me for the title of the postlude. There was none since the service ended outside with five baptisms.

Ascension Day

Pulled over for my favorite Amish roadside stand today. A scrawled sign said: closed due to Ascension Day. Ouch! I forgot it this year. I like something about Ascension Day. You have to have it to finish the story of Jesus on earth, right? Jesus didn’t die for long; he came back and went to heaven. So if I say Jesus is in my heart…. Okay, I won’t quibble with words, but I prefer the objective Bible story telling us where Jesus really is.

Also, five dollars that no one can find a praise and worship song that does what Chas. Wesley does in “Hail the day that sees him rise/ to his throne above the skies,/ Christ, awhile to mortals giv’n,/ enters now his native heav’n.” (1969 Menno Hymnal #185). And “high and lifted up” does not count.

Anyway, I’ll get those strawberries tomorrow.

Mother's Day titles

Yesterday was Mother's Day--not a church calendar day. But, with our lovely mothers on many persons minds I played at the offertory, "There is Beauty All Around When There's Love at Home." John Hugh McNaughton (1829-1901) wrote both the music and words. For a "western wedding" in Japan, this hymn is the second most popular after "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

Prelude titles 5.9.2010 were He Shall Feed His Flock (from Handel's Messiah) and Twila Paris's How Beautiful.

titles for 5.2.2010

Two persons asked me what I played for the postlude. It was "Blessed Quietness," # 301 in the blue hymnal. Published in 1911, the first line is "Joys are flowing like a river since the Comforter has come." The poet was the Irish-born woman, Manie Ferguson, who married a Presbyterian minister, then got religion in the holiness way and founded a city mission in Los Angeles, "a holiness revival station spreading the message of Christian perfection," as Wikipedia puts it. Our hymnal supplement gives a swinging version and I used that.

"Thine is the Glory" (blue #269, resurrection section) was the prelude before the handbells finished with "Adoro Te Devote," (blue #464). At the offertory the bells gave us a version of "Jesus Shall Reign." The bells really sounded sweet to me.

middle school festival, extra-mural

I'm at Neffsville to support it. Once in a while a church musician does something extra-mural. This time is was to judge at a local Christian middle school association. Darlene Hein was also a judge. Sermon-issimo: school and church really intermingle with youth; so when you support one you support the other. Here I am, mid-morning, awaiting the next large choral ensemble to get up on the risers (far left). The other judge (beside me) was also an organist.