Watts concert

This Nov. 24, the last Sunday before Advent, I led a concert focused on Isaac Watts (1674-1748)  hymns.  He's pretty much captured the high ground of global hymnody with Joy to the World, Jesus Shall Reign, When I survey, Alas and Did, The Lord my Shepherd Is, et. al.

Supporting the congregational voices I had the Bravura Brass Quintet, a select vocal ensemble, me on the organ a few times, and Patricia Martin on piano for three songs.  The brass preluded and interluded the event with pieces written by contemporaries of Watts (e.g. Bach, Handel, Albinoni) and one piece by me, the third of the offertory.  I also wrote all the brass parts accompanying the hymns.  If you want to hear the 52 minutes of just the music, click here.  Here's one view of the event.

titles for 3.6.2011

Thanks, everyone, for getting really quiet during the end of my preludes. I played nine minutes of early composers, Clerambault (1676-1749), a French organist and composer, and Pachelbel (1653-1706), one of Bach's teachers. Here's Pachelbel's signature before the days of ball point pens. I segued into a well-known traditional hymn, words and music by Clara H. Fiske Scott (1841-1897), "Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth...." That is taken straight up from Psa. 119:18. Verse two starts, open my ears; and verse three begins, open my mouth. Clara was born in Illinois and lived as an adult in Iowa. She wrote tons of hymns. This is the only one still in use.

I played the melody on a tiny little high flute. The chorus goes: silently, now, I wait for Thee, ready my God thy will to do. It was so fitting that everyone was quiet.

A detail about Clara's life--there were accidents before interstates and fast cars. Clara died an untimely early death when a runaway horse threw her from the buggy in Dubuque, Iowa.

The offertory was Bach's "Jesu, joy of man's desiring."

AGO hymn sing

Come and enjoy. Hear six different organists play hymns and sing along with these assorted local church music persons of leadership--organists, choir directors, music ministers, etc. Mark it down--Monday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.

titles for 8.26.2009

Yesterday, July 26, I played six pieces. Three of them were instrumental pieces, not based on words. Just nice music to fit the occasion.

The other three were based on hymn tunes.

1. Prelude. "I will sing of my Redeemer," Vs. 3 goes...I will praise my dear Redeemer, His triumphant power I’ll tell, How the victory He giveth Over sin, and death, and hell. Click here to hear the tune.
2. Another prelude. "Take my life and let it be consecrated..." Blue hymnal #389.
3. Offertory. "Sweet hour of prayer," an arrangement by Wood that I like. I hope you heard it. I had the organ set as almost as quiet as possible because I wanted the single flute to be heard.

potter at breakfast

Roy Yoder, a potter not far from Souderton, was the feature "speaker" at the appreciation breakfast for the ministers of the two local MCUSA conferences. I was the song leader.

Roy: the piece is being shaped from both outside and inside.

Songs: "I owe the Lord a morning song," "gathered here in the mystery of this hour" (with motions), Chinese thanksgiving hymn (with hand chimes), advent ancient chant "Creator of the stars of night (with hand chimes), "Spirit of the living God" (hum with eyes closed first time), and "O beautiful star of Bethlehem."

how hymns get chosen

Tuesday evening the worship planning committee met in the library. Nate joined us.
Also around the table were Nancy, Joyce, Jennifer, Kevin and myself. Hunter was pursuing D. Min. work in California. Edie was engaged in Mennonite Church USA board work.

So, six of us paged through blue and green hymnals, referencing the scriptures and themes of the services planned for July. I said, let's suggest what comes to mind and edit ourselves as we go around this at the end.

That's how the hymns were chosen for July.

Maunday Thursday, what to do

Pastor Hunter gave me the bulletin from the 2007 and 2006 Maundy Thursday services. I was supposed to propose readings and music for this year, yesterday.

All that happened. He made the final tweaking of the details. I thought I was done except for the music preparation.

I was wrong. Hunter takes the minster crew to the sanctuary and we set up. His guiding principle was "intimate." He wanted these most somber verses of scriptures to be felt deeply.

What finally emerged was a "circle," with the communion elements and cross set on a small table at the corner of the platform. The amen corner with the choir would face south, the church board members readers would sit on a semi-circle of chairs placed on the platform, the rest of the congregation would face west, seating restricted to the window side tier of benches.

A lot of church musicians restrict instrumental music at this service, remembering the arrest and trial of Jesus. Except for a little piano support for the choir for the anthem at the beginning right before communion, I decided to go cold turkey and go for broke with acappella.

Results? Remember, we are used to singing most hymns with organ and some songs with a modest worship band. Result? People told me afterwards--we actually sang, we sang parts, on hymns not very familiar by the second verse we were sounding good.

I'm glad I trusted the people to take a small musical risk. Something changes among the people when the crutch of accompaniment is taken away. Something enabling after the first little fear that "we won't sound very good."

No sermon. The bread and cup. The shuffle of the congregants' feet as in silence they went to the "table" to eat the sacred meal--that was what finally gave me a holy moment. We are hungry. We are going to go where there is nourishment. That made me tremble with a holy moment.

Oh, sure. The rest nourished me. The readings of the story. The snuffing out of the twelve candles, one by one. The dimming of the hall lights. The singing. The silence.

10 or 15 mph?

The drive to work gives me a nice block of audio book time. I've gotten through Jimmy Carter's Christmas at Plains, and I'm mostly through a book about writing and the creative process.

The drive also helps me see America, at least one tiny slice of Pennsylvania. If I think there are so many ambiquities in church music and worship styles, the sharp turn on Ott Road, not far south after Gravel Pike, makes me chuckle.

Going south, approaching the carriage-narrow, tree-tight ninety degree turn, the sign warns me--15 miles an hour. I wouldn't surpass that by much. Yet on my way to Souderton, the sign on the other approach to the turn gives me a sour warning to not exceed 10 mph. I think that would be right, too.

How can they both be right? Maybe one way was determined by the township guy, the other by the PennDot experts. Maybe because the road is not level at that point. A descent would call for a slower turn.

What's this have to do with music after 4 p.m. after a hard day's work already, and an instrumental rehearsal at 5:30 and choir at 7:00?

It's kind of like hymns look different depending on which direction you're coming to them. Contemporary songs, same thing.

date stone 1968

I walk in the front door and see two date stones to the right. One fits the new bricks of the building and is "1968." The other is aged and weathered and says "1892." It is obviously imported from an earlier age and place.

1968. One year before Woodstock. One year before a whole bunch of stuff.

But, now, 40 years before this beautiful building was built. One persons tells me they remember walking into this building as a high school kid, singing "We're Marching to Zion." Another tells me their husband was on the building committee.

I can see having some musical tributes this year. I think I'll look up the hymns sung those first Sundays in the new building.