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You can find 21 Isaac Watts hymns in here

I'm doing Watts April 7, 2024

I am one of the song leaders for the singing at Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pa., on Sunday, April 7.  That's just two weeks away.  Stan Godshall, Steve Ness, and Mike Burkholder also will lead hymns.  For my set of hymns I am choosing hymns by Isaac Watts.  Why?  I admire his craftsmanship over all other authors of hymns. And, this year is the 350th anniversary of his birth.  That's something--collecting royalties for 350 years (well, not the royalties part)!  

I normally would grab Voices Together for singing, but the editors missed the boat on Watt.  Tice included only seven (an eighth not set for congregational singing) of the masterpieces.  So, we'll find all we want in Hymnal, a worship book, where you can find all of twenty-one of those gems.

titles for Mar 28, 2010, and evening program

It was Palm Sunday. Just as the crowds at Jesus's "parade" were exultant and noisy, the people coming into the sanctuary getting a palm branch made a steady din of chatter. I don't know if anyone heard the organ music before the service. But anyway, at ten till the hour I led off with "Let My People Go," to make the connection between Jesus and Moses, as liberators of the people of God. Then a Couperin 16th century light piece to signal the start of spring.

I ended the prelude time with a tune from Duke Ellington's sacred piece "Something about believing..."

In the evening the other part of my professional life, Harmonies Workshop, sponsored an evening featuring Marcy Hostetler leading the packed out Blossom Hill Church in "top ten" favorite hymns and Jim Baer of the Kraybill campus of the Lancaster Mennonite School brought his "woodshed singing boys."

sports in their place

Yesterday's Reporter had this "sound off" letter and I quote:

"As someone who had two children involved in sports...I would gladly melt all their trophies and burn all their ribbons if either one of them could play a musical instrument." Whoah! Off to a daring start.

Then: "Sports is so overrated. When you're in your 40s, 50s, and 60s you're not going to be out there throwing a ball. But if you can play a piano, or a flute, or a saxophone, wouldn't that be enjoyable?"

As a church musician I gotta add--or if you sing in a choir. I've had singers in their late 80s singing away in choirs making a great contribution.

pipes at the seminar

Once during the master class, when my mind wandered just a bit, I pointed my camera up and over my right shoulder and saw the facade of the pipes. Of course, any organ builder puts the shiney ones in the front.

These are especially stunning. And they sounded just as good.

I'm from the plain school of singing means singing--like with our own God-given voices. But in this beauty I'm ready to say that these pipes can help singing and lift our hearts just looking at them or hearing them. It's not this OR acappella. Why not this AND acappella.