Sentiment or Emotion?

Ever since I read this interesting post from a fellow hymn-blogger last week, I have been pondering the whole subject of sentimentality in carols. There is no doubt in my mind that the Christmas season is one which stirs up a great variety of feelings in all of us - and for many different reasons. Some feelings have positive connections, some negative.

On Sunday, Dec. 20th we sang as our closing hymn Long ago, prophets knew (words by Fred Pratt Green). The last line of the final verse is: "unborn son of Mary, Saviour do not tarry!" Tears welled up in my eyes as I played. It seems with each year that passes, my prayer grows in intensity that Christ will come again. So - is this sentiment or emotion? Or something else altogether?

Definitions from the Oxford dictionary: emotion - a strong mental or instinctive feeling such as love or fear; sentiment - [I'm abbreviating here] a mental feeling; tendency to be swayed by feeling rather than by reason.

Merriam-Webster is less wordy: emotion - a usually intense feeling; sentiment - thought and judgment influenced by feeling.

Now really, I'm not sure these definitions make things any clearer. And maybe I'm just trying to justify my own feelings! What do you think? Is there a difference between being emotional about a certain carol and being sentimental? Are these differences simply one of implication?

Merry Christmas!

The Christ candle burns bright and clear; we celebrate the birth of the Baby whose life continues to change the world! Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Prepare the Way - Advent 4

I can think of no better day to post about the Light of the world, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, than on the shortest day of the year. Take heart, my friend, we have almost come to the end of our waiting for the celebration of His coming! Today, in Winnipeg where I live, the sun rose at 8:24 a.m. and set at 4:29 p.m. I am quite happy to know that the days will now get longer again.

It is common to reserve the image of light in carols to those used around Epiphany. For example, We Three Kings - "guide us to Thy perfect light." Or, Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light. However, we also have Silent Night - "Son of God, love's pure light" and O come, all ye faithful - "God of God, Light of light, born unto Mary, the virgin blest". Let us rejoice, not just on the day with the least amount of daylight, but every day of the year that we can trust the Light of all lights to guide us on our way!

Prepare the Way - Advent 3

I recently (Dec. 6th) presented a solo concert of Advent and Christmas music. Basically, I have two goals in preparing for such a concert. First - to give information about the music or words to make them more meaningful to the audience; second - to introduce lesser known works to expand musical horizons. My favourite new-to-me Christmas song is the Wexford Carol. I included it in the program as part of the second goal. I discovered it in a book of arrangements by Phillip Keveren called, appropriately enough, Celtic Christmas. Here is a most wonderful version I found on YouTube.

Prepare the Way - Advent 2

The darkness of December deepens; the light of Advent grows! There is so much wonderful music for this time of year that it was difficult to choose what to include in Sunday evening's concert program. Due to time constraints, this piece was not included.

Of the Father's Love Begotten

Of the Father's love begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega
He the Source, the Ending He
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore.

O ye heights of heaven, adore Him!
Angel-hosts, His praises sing!
Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
And extol your God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring.
Evermore and evermore.

Words by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius
- based on the Latin hymn Corde Natus ex Parentis
Music derived from 13th Century Plainsong

The Latin hymn on which these words are based was written in the early Fifth Century by Aurelius Clemens Prudentius whose professions include being a lawyer, head bodyguard to a Roman Emperor and, later in life, a monk. These are only 2 of 10 English verses translated first by John Mason Neale and later revised by Henry W. Baker, both in the 1800's. The 13th Century plainsong melody is hauntingly beautiful and creates just the right mystical atmosphere of awe as we try to put into words the divine mystery of Christ's coming to earth.

Prepare the Way - Advent 1

The church year has rolled around and, once again, we are celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. Today I am struck by the discipline of waiting and preparing.

Christmas music is definitely some of my favourite. It fascinates me that many carols we sing have been sung for several centuries already. We only sing them for a short time each year, yet we know and love them and look forward to singing them every season. The discipline part comes for me in not using carols (in worship) that speak of Jesus' birth before Christmas Eve. We are still preparing for His arrival. We sing the words of the prophets. Christ will be our Dayspring from on high, the Key of David, Emmanuel - God with us! We wait and anticipate Christ's coming. Will you wait with me this Advent?

Remembering Dad

Today I have been thinking of my Dad, Rev. Weldon Bull. He would have turned 89 today. I credit his (and my mom's) love for and knowledge of hymns with building that love in me. Not too long ago Brenda Martin and I traded CD's. One of the hymns she arranged and plays on "And Can It Be: Hymns and Songs of Faith" is one that was a favourite of Dad's, Arise, My Soul, Arise. As I have not sung it for several years, I had sort of forgotten about it until I heard it again on Brenda's CD. Dad seemed to particularly love the hymns of Charles Wesley. Here are the words.

Arise, my soul, arise; Shake off thy guilty fears.
The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears.
Before the throne my Surety stands;
Before the throne my Surety stands;
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above for me to intercede;
His all-redeeming love, His precious blood to plead.
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers, They strongly plead for me.
"Forgive him, O forgive," they cry;
"Forgive him, O forgive," they cry;
"Nor let that ransomed sinner die."

The Father hears Him pray, His dear Anointed One;
He cannot turn away the presence of His Son.
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pard'ning voice I hear.
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear.
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And, "Father, Abba Father," cry.

Words: Charles Wesley
Tune: LENOX 666688 by Lewis Edson

So Much Music, So Little Time

I have had many ideas recently of things I could write about here. Unfortunately, as the title says, there doesn't seem to be enough time - and there's too much music. Music to learn; music to perform. Many musicians find Christmas to be the "feast" time. January will come soon enough and then it will be "famine"!

I wanted to post on November 1st, All Saints' Day, about my favourite appropriate hymn "For All the Saints" and I haven't been able to get a line of the words out of my head since. So even though I think this deserves a longer blog, let me just say that I can really identify with the line, "We feebly struggle, they in glory shine." I do feel feeble these days, not in a physical sense, but more in the sense that our efforts here on earth are always less than perfect in our attempts to praise God and give our life's work to God. As I said, there's much more that could be said, but I'll leave it there and maybe one of my readers will add to the thought.

Guidelines to Follow

If you've been involved in church music for any length of time, you know there are guidelines to follow. They may be unwritten (except in your head) but you know they're there anyway. The one that comes immediately to mind is: Know your congregation. I don't think that means you can't stretch your congregation, but the limits are there - somewhere. In my enthusiasm for introducing new music, and trying to broaden the horizons of those I serve, I may have gone past the limit recently. I haven't heard any rumblings, but still... On a happier chord (!) I introduced another new piece which was so well received, we sang it a second time. It was May the peace of God by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, c. 2006. This piece I can highly recommend!

Dreaming in Music... Again

I was dreaming in music again on Saturday night. It wasn't the choir anthem running through my dreams this time, but a piece from a workshop I attended almost a year ago. I got the music package out the other day to refresh my memory on some of the songs we went through and "I Love to Praise Your Name" by Noel Robinson has been firmly (re)planted in my brain! Now, there were other pieces I remember from that workshop, so that led me to wondering why this one seemed unique to me. I think some of it is the chord structure. The song is in G+ but in the second bar there is a B7 chord. It's unexpected and quite enjoyable!

This year, I'll be accompanying at the workshop, New Songs for Worship IV, led by Christine Longhurst. I'm very excited about learning the new music and sharing my love for worship music with others. If you're in the Winnipeg area, consider attending; it will be worth your Saturday morning I am sure!

They don't write them like this anymore...

I was sorting through some choir music the other day and came across an anthem c. 1926 - original price: 22 cents, but that was stamped over with "25 cents". Goodness knows how long ago that music was purchased! The title is: In Joseph's Lovely Garden, words by Helen A. Dickinson.

In Joseph's lovely garden
The Lord Christ's tomb was made,
And there His broken body
To rest was gently laid.
A great rock strongly sealed it,
That Death might have full sway;
But God sent down His angel,
To roll the stone away.

When dawn was faintly breaking
Across the garden fair,
Three women entered weeping,
Bearing spices rare.
Then spake the guardian angel,
In shining raiment bright,
He whom ye seek is risen,
And Death is vanquished quite!

O angel of the garden,
Descend to us today,
And comfort all our sadness,
And drive death's fear away.
We all are sorrow laden
Speak to our hearts we pray,
"He whom ye love is risen,
And lives with Christ alway!"

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
All praise to Thee we bring;
No power of death could hold Thee,
Our Saviour, Lord, and King!
As Thou has ris'n all glorious,
May we one day arise,
O'er sin and death victorious,
In Thy blest Paradise.

I dare say that 80+ years ago when this was written, the language used in it was much closer to 'everyday' than it is now. Although the use of Thee, Thou and Thy is very poetic, it's not used much in literature or church today. I also find it interesting that Death is capitalized in places, almost as if it is a person (the grim reaper?). One thing that I wish was done today that I see in this anthem is capitalizing him, or his when it refers to Christ. I'm not sure why that isn't done anymore... Does anyone out there know?

First time ever - Part 2

Yesterday the choir at St. Andrew's sang a setting of the Swedish hymn "Children of the Heavenly Father" and I thought I'd tell you about the "first time ever." I first remember hearing this hymn about 35 years ago when our District Superintendent, Neil Hightower, came for a Sunday to worship with us in Sarnia. He must have brought the music with him as I don't recall it being in the hymnal we would have been using at the time. I also don't remember who accompanied him - my sister or me. Those details didn't stay with me, but the hymn itself certainly did. It is such a lovely, simple tune which is so appropriate for the words. Here is a link to a brief video excerpt where Professor Gracia Grindal, tells a little about the life of the author, Lina Sandell.

Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in Heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish;
In His holy courts they flourish;
From all evil things He spares them;
In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.

Lo, their very hairs He numbers,
And no daily care encumbers
Them that share His ev’ry blessing
And His help in woes distressing.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers:
Your Protector never slumbers.
At the will of your Defender
Ev’ry foeman must surrender.

Christmas in the summer

This was supposed to be a summer of Christmas music. It still has been, to some extent - to the extent that all church musicians have to think and plan ahead to order music, choose anthems, etc. No, this was supposed to be the summer of recording a second album focusing on Advent and Christmas arrangements. My husband, Gord Keeley, will be my recording engineer again, and we'll record in the living room on my very own Petrof baby grand. So, what happened? New windows are what happened - and not on my timetable! I 'thought' (read, 'unrealistically hoped') they'd be in by mid-July and I'd have a good month to get the tracks down the way I wanted. A change in windows means a change in the acoustics of the room so I really had to wait until the project was complete. Well, finally today it is finished. A little late for a summer recording project. But maybe it's just as well - we've had a very wet, humid summer and I doubt the piano would have held its tuning well at all. Is there a lesson here? Probably. Do I know what it is? Not really. But I do know the new windows look nice.

You hear hymn tunes in the most unexpected places!

Yesterday I had occasion to drive out of the city. It was a lovely day for a drive - sunny and not too hot - and I enjoyed being out on the open prairie where the sky is the whole horizon and the bright yellow canola fields border the highway. I took along 2 new CD's to keep me company, and I listened leisurely as the kilometers rolled by. The first selection was by Debussy - En blanc et noir: Three pieces for two pianos. This is not repertoire I am familiar with, I guess mostly because it is for 2 pianos. Anyway, the second piece of the three is called "Lent, sombre" (slow, sombre) and I was absentmindedly listening when I thought I heard one of the pianos playing Ein feste burg. My ears perked up - yes, undoubtedly it was! Isn't it true, you hear hymn tunes in the most unexpected places!

First time ever...

I was listening to some Chicago the other day. Now before you get all agitated about that being on a blog about hymns, take a deep breath! As I listened, I realized again the power of music to transport us in so many ways - time and emotion to name just two. Chicago takes me to my teens and twenties in a flash. Sometimes I even recall where I was when listening to that tune 'way back when.

There are a few hymns on a similar list - the list of "The first time I remember singing that hymn". Today I'm sharing one of those experiences with you, my reader. (I had to actually check back to see that I hadn't already written about this. I guess I just thought about writing it!) The first time I remember singing "Blest be the tie that binds" was at a family reunion in 1967, Canada's Centennial Year. I must have sung the hymn prior to that, but this occasion really sticks out in my mind. The reunion was my paternal grandfather's siblings and their descendants and until that day, I never knew how many Bull's there were! I don't recall the actual number of people attending, but to a 9 year old it seemed like an awful lot. As we were getting ready to go our separate ways, someone suggested we sing this hymn together. It could have been Dad I suppose but I don't know for sure. I know we sang at least one verse together - maybe more - and when I look back on it, I think that was pretty remarkable. What a blessing to share a hymn together at a family reunion!

Do you have a particular memory of the first time you sang hymn X? Please do share the memory with me.

Northern Lights - Part 2

I mentioned in Part 1 how difficult it can be to see the Northern lights when the sky is cloudy or there is too much light from the city. This brought to mind I Corinthians 13:12 - "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (KJV) The first part of the verse seems especially relevant. I often remind myself that there are so many things which will be revealed to us later - things which puzzle or confuse us, things that don't seem to make sense in this life. (Sometimes I also wonder if any of those questions will matter in eternity...) No matter how much we think we can understand God and what is required of us, the more there is to learn and see in the Christian life. Like the Northern lights in the city, there is more to God's glorious presence which will be revealed to us when the clouds part and Christ returns.

(This is not my photo and must have been taken away from the city lights to see such definitive streaks of colour, not to mention the stars as well.)

Northern Lights - Part 1

The Northern lights were out last night, sweeping their green and glorious path across the cloudy sky. As I checked the windows before heading to bed, I looked out 'just to see' - Are the Northern lights out tonight? It's been awhile since I've seen them, and living in the city as I do, it isn't all that easy to catch a glimpse of that amazing sight. They truly are awesome (ie., they inspire awe) to me and serve to remind me what an almighty God I serve. His creativity is beyond comprehension!

Sometimes, the Northern lights are more ribbon like and can be seen as one long, flowing line as you look northward. Last night they were swirling all around the midnight sky. Imagine mixing melted chocolate into cake batter or the swirls in marble paper and you will have a good idea what it looked like. I have seen them this way only once before that I can recall and that was about 25 years ago and 2 hours away from city lights. The sight was even more magnificent!

All this led me to wonder if there are any hymns which mention the Northern lights. I couldn't think of any, but a quick search brought two results. The first is verse 2 of a hymnal version of the lyrics for O Canada, written by Albert D. Watson.

Almighty Love, by Thy mysterious power,
In wisdom guide, with faith and freedom dower;
Be ours a nation evermore
That no oppression blights,
Where justice rules from shore to shore,
From lakes to northern lights.
May love alone for wrong atone;

Refrain:

Lord of the lands, make Canada Thine own:
Lord of the lands, make Canada Thine own!

The second result brought lyrics by Catherine MacLean, copyright 2008 by The United Church of Canada. You can read them here.

Organic history

As much as we might like to deny it at times, we are inevitably linked to the past. Sometimes this is a painful thing, especially when it seems we don't learn enough from history to avoid making the same mistakes again. However, there are also instances when linking our present life to history is inspiring and uplifting.

I recently read in this magazine about a Spanish pipe organ restoration which took place last year. The present day workers found a letter dated Feb. 27, 1829 which was hidden deep in the workings of the organ by young apprentices when the instrument was built in 1828-29. They knew that only future organ builders would find this document in which they outlined their credentials and asked for prayers on their behalf. The restoration experts copied the letter and wrote their own note on the back, saying that they hoped it would be a good long time before it was discovered (180 years?) as they had tried to do their job correctly. The beautiful music produced by the organ since it was built, and the music it will still yield now that it has been restored is a testimony to those who worked many years ago to build something that would outlast them - built to the glory of God.

The above was first printed in the June 28/09 bulletin for St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg. I write a section called "Noteworthy Musings" which includes information about hymns, anthems, and other music included in the service from week to week. When I began to blog, I purposely decided not to duplicate posts from one to the other. This is an exception - just because it's summer!

An oops!

Today I was leafing through the binder where I record the hymns/songs we sing each week at St. Andrew's looking for a certain hymn. I came across this: "O breath of life, come (swapping) sweeping through us". Something or someone must have distracted me while I was writing down the title! (You might think for a musician, particularly an organist, I'd be able to do more than one thing at once...) I burst out laughing :) Then I thought, this is not a bad mixup of words, in a rather funny way. God's Spirit can sweep through us, and before we know it, things are replaced or swapped for other things. Priorities change, attitudes change, we change - through the power of the Holy Spirit. A good reminder during the season of Pentecost, eh?

"Rabbi, carest Thou not that we perish?"

Sunday's gospel lesson was Mark 4:35-41 where we learn of a stormy boat trip taken by Jesus and his disciples. I have always liked this passage for many reasons. 1. Christ seemed oblivious to the storm; He was asleep. 2. The disciples accused Him of not caring what happened to them. 3. Jesus commanded the wind and waves to be still and they were! 4. The disciples were filled with awe. (And they apparently still did not understand who Jesus was.)

While choosing hymns for the service I recalled this hymn from my early years and would like to share it with you, my reader. It has been many years since I have sung it! You can read a little about how the words were written and hear the tune here.

Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'ershadowed with blackness, No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish? How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threat'ning A grave in the angry deep?

Chorus
The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will, Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies:
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled - Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish Sweep o'er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master - Oh, hasten, and take control.

Master, the terror is over, The elements sweetly rest;
Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored, And heaven's within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer! Leave me alone no more,
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor, And rest on the blissful shore.

Words by Mary A. Baker Music by H.R. Palmer

Here might I stay and sing

A wonderful man of God, Dr. Hugh Rae, went home this week. Over the many years that I have known the Rae family, I have one enduring picture in my mind of Dr. Rae. In my mind's eye I see him standing, hands clasped, singing heartily from memory all the verses of CRIMOND. He has walked through "death's dark vale" to the other side and could he still speak, I am sure his testimony would be, "Goodness and mercy all my life [have] surely follow[ed] me."

Earlier this week I had planned to write about another hymn, the one in the title of this post, "My song is love unknown". It will be used during Communion on Sunday and so I have been singing it often this week. There are times when it seems like a good idea to just stay at church singing about God's love rather than facing the world with its struggles. For the Christian, the place and time for unending praise will come in eternity where our only focus will be God - "in whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend."

Over the last couple days, these two hymns have come together for me. Dr. Rae, who so obviously loved God and loved singing His praise is now spending all his days doing just that.

Jesus Shall Reign

We sang "Jesus shall reign" on Sunday and ever since this post has been stewing in my brain. Until I went to St. Andrew's in 1998 I had always sung these words to DUKE STREET. In The Book of Praise (1997) however, the words are married to the tune WARRINGTON. I find myself humming the second tune more easily than the first when I think of the text these days and that seemed rather strange to me given the fact that I have spent more decades of my life singing DUKE STREET.

This pondering led me down the metrical road. I'm not talking kilometers here! Of course, the text is in the same meter no matter what the tune. (This is 8888 or Long Meter.) My focus has been on the tune and how the melodic flow seems to emphasize different words.

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
does its successive journeys run;
his kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.

(When you sing it to WARRINGTON in 3/4 time, the bold type is what you get for syllabic emphasis.)

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
does his successive journeys run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

When you sing it to DUKE STREET in 4/4 time, the bold type is what you get for syllabic emphasis.)

Quite honestly, I was surprised at the results when I went through the words. I thought there would be more difference in the emphasis in the words between the 2 tunes, especially given the different time signatures. So maybe, in the end, it just comes down to which tune you are accustomed to singing at any given time. Oh, incidentally, I found another tune used for these words in The Hymnary of the United Church of Canada which was published in 1930 - old to us now, but then it was a brand new hymnal for a brand new denomination! That tune is RIMINGTON, a tune which is new to me.

Victoria Day

Up here north of the 49th we are approaching the first long weekend of 'summer'. (I write this with tongue in cheek as the temperature at 9:40 a.m. is only 2C (36F) - so far below normal it's disgusting!) We still observe Queen Victoria's birthday, which is actually May 24th, although the holiday is designated as the Monday preceding the 24th. In researching her well known connection with Felix Mendelssohn, I learned a little more about her husband Prince Albert. I knew that he was a musician of sorts and that he played the organ. Organists know this kind of thing! What I learned was that he also wrote music. You can read a little more about that here. I don't know that I have ever heard any of Prince Albert's compositions although apparently they are performed from time to time. So, happy Victoria Day; enjoy the fireworks!

Dreaming in Music

Last night I was dreaming in music. Sunday's anthem was floating somewhere in my subconscious - maybe in the state of "This music is so glorious, I can't let it go, even when I'm asleep!" I rarely accompany the choir on the organ, but this week I am and maybe that is part of what makes the music so wonderful. It's also the fact that it is written by John Rutter and I've never met a Rutter anthem I didn't like.

"So what is this glorious music?" you may ask. The title is Eternal God, c. 1999 by Collegium Music Publications. I have an edition printed by Hinshaw Music, Inc. All the verses have great lyrics, but a few lines in particular stand out for me.

Eternal God, we give you thanks for music,
Blest gift from heav'n to all your servants here on earth...

and

As we are blest, so may our gift bless others:
May hearts be touched and spirits lifted up anew.

I hope you, my reader, will have an opportunity to hear this piece sometime.

I am the Good Shepherd

Yesterday's Gospel lesson was from John 10 where Christ describes himself as the Good Shepherd. One of the hymns we sang at St. Andrew's was Saviour like a shepherd lead us. Of course, there are many other hymns with a shepherd theme, particularly Psalm 23. I have no statistics to back me up, but I would guess that Psalm 23 is one of the best known passages of scripture. That thought then followed to, "What would be the second best known passage?" I'm guessing The Lord's Prayer. So why are there so many different settings of Psalm 23 (I can think of half a dozen or so without much difficulty.) and only 2 or 3 well known musical settings of The Lord's Prayer? Does one passage speak to us more than the other? Are we more willing to be comforted by the words of Psalm 23 than we are to earnestly pray the words of The Lord's Prayer? Your comments are welcome!

You learn something new everyday!

In all honesty, I learned this new thing on Sunday but I didn't want to post twice on one day... So, a friend at church was going through some music she had at home and brought me some to look at. One item was The Manitoba School Song Book first copyright in 1940 and reprinted many times, the most recent (the date of my copy) being February 1959. Yes, I know; it's not really all that recent!

I realized once again, as I thumbed through the book, how British oriented the school system was at that time. Makes sense, historically speaking. I was not yet in school in 1959 (!) but when I think back to my elementary school years, yes, the songs we sang in music class were often British folk songs, hymns and occasionally Canadian folk songs. By now, you're wondering what it was I learned.

Well, the hymn that is variously called The Agincourt Hymn or Deo Gratias is one that I have seen with the words, "O love, how deep, how broad, how high". I recall my organ teacher, Conrad Grimes, referring to this tune as The Agincourt Hymn but I had no idea why. Here are the words I found. Unfortunately there is no information given about the lyrics, approx. date of origin, etc.

Our King went forth to Normandy,
With grace and might of chivalry;
The God for him wrought marv'lously,
Wherefore England may call and cry Deo gratias.

He set a siege, the sooth for to say,
To Harfleur town with royal array;
That town he won, and made a fray,
That France shall rue till Domesday. Deo gratias.

Then went our King, with all his host,
Through France for all the Frenchman's boast:
He spared for dread of least nor most,
Until he came to Agincourt coast. Deo gratias.

Then forsooth that Knight comely,
In Agincourt field he fought manly:
Through grace of God most mighty,
He had both the field and the victory. Deo gratias.

Their dukes and earls, lord and baron,
Were taken and slain and that well soon:
And some were led into London,
With joy and mirth and great renown. Deo gratias.

The gracious God now save our King,
His people and all his well-willing:
Give him good life and good ending,
That we with mirth may safely sing, Deo gratias.

A New Perspective

I hinted in my previous post that my perspective on some hymns has changed over time. That fact is consistent, I think, in that our perspective on many things changes as we go through life. The specific hymn that came to mind during Holy Week was "Beneath the Cross of Jesus", a hymn I have known and sung since childhood. I used to dread singing this hymn as it seemed to me to be so painfully slow and mournful, and not really enjoyable to sing. When I consider the text, the tune (ST. CHRISTOPHER) definitely suits it and I think as children, very generally speaking, we do not want to think of sad things, or hear sad tunes. Maybe the simple fact of it is that as we mature physically, we realize that sadness is inevitably part of life. Hopefully we also are maturing spiritually and realize the importance of Christ's death and why the cross is such an important part of our faith.

On Good Friday, when we sang this hymn, I found my eyes filling with tears at the profundity of the words of verse 3 - part prayer, part confession.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His (Jesus') face;
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss;
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all, the cross.

More to come...

I have been thinking lately about how my perspective on hymns has changed. Hymns I once dreaded to sing in church have now become meaningful and emotional to me. Is this simply a matter of maturity/age? Is it a matter of understanding/comprehension? I will write more on this subject when Holy Week has come to its glorious conclusion.

Not My Favourite Hymn

Not too long ago I posted about one of my favourite hymns. On Sunday the choir sang a hymn for the anthem. This is not our usual practice, but it was necessary as I had cancelled choir rehearsal due to a late spring blizzard (the driving was treacherous!) and the anthem we had been working was not far enough along to sing. When I choose a hymn for the choir to sing on days like that, I try to find one that is not well-known to the congregation and that was indeed the case. It was a hymn that I knew well and one that I'm not particularly fond of. Two things happened: 1) God spoke to me about my role as leader. 2) The whole situation made me reflect on why it is a hymn I don't enjoy.

About the first - as a leader, it would be easy to always/only choose music which I enjoy. God reminded me that, even though I don't particularly like a certain hymn/song, it may very well speak to someone else in the congregation. There are times when I must set aside personal bias in favour of the whole community. All of that led me to reflect on why I don't really like that hymn. It came down to association with a certain time and place. My dislike has nothing to do with the text itself.

My guess is that the same would hold true for others too. I've heard people say, and likely you have too, "I can't stand that song!" Do they take theological issue with the words? Or is it, as it was with me, that they associate that song with something long past which brings back memories? God gently reminded me that each of us is unique. What speaks to me may not speak to you. We have different tastes and preferences yet we can worship God together.

Lead me, Lord

For a few weeks now, Christians have been journeying through Lent. This season of reflection and penitence mirrors 2 Biblical events - the wandering of God's people through the wilderness (40 years) and Christ's 40 day fast in the wilderness. In the first example, God's leading is obvious in hindsight. The people had the cloud by day and the fire by night to show them where to go. I'm guessing I would have been among the complainers had I actually been there, wandering around for 40 years! In the second example, Christ shows us the importance of scripture in our battles with temptation. We can rely on God's word to give us the guidance we need to persevere in our Christian walk.

The anthem the choir sang last Sunday has been running through my thoughts all week, and has become a prayer for me. Part of the piece is by Samuel S. Wesley (1810-1876) and I quote it for you here:

Lead me, Lord, lead me in your righteousness;
Make your way plain before my face,
For it is you, and you, God only,
Who makes me to dwell in safety.

Words based on Psalm 4:8 and Psalm 5:8

O Love, Light, Joy, Cross...

Occasionally I am asked, "What is your favourite hymn?" My response is usually which ever one is running through my head at that moment because I have so many favourites. "O Love that wilt not let me go" is definitely one of them. I think it is an appropriate hymn for Lent; the words make me reflect on my own commitment to God, and rejoice in the nature of God's unfailing love and redemption.


O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine's blaze, its day
may brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain
that morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red,
life that shall endless be.

This hymn was written by George Matheson (1842-1906), a Scots preacher, scholar and writer. He was born with poor vision which gradually deteriorated, leaving him blind by the time he was 20. Matheson never married, but with the help of one of his sisters, completed his education at the University of Glasgow, entered the ministry, wrote books, and lectured. He wrote of how this hymn came to be: "I am quite sure that the whole work was com­plet­ed in five min­utes, and equal­ly sure that it ne­ver re­ceived at my hands any re­touch­ing or cor­rect­ion. I have no na­tur­al gift of rhy­thm. All the other vers­es I have ever writ­ten are man­u­fact­ured ar­ti­cles; this came like a day­spring from on high." George Matheson - Wikipedia

To my knowledge, these words are always sung to the tune ST. MARGARET by Albert Lister Peace. Someday, I'd like to post about the life of St. Margaret, as I always think of her story when hearing this hymn.

Memories...

When it comes to hymns and researching them, or looking up an old tune, it doesn't take much to distract me! This morning, against my better judgment, I decided to page through this old hymnal to look for tunes written by Phoebe Palmer Knapp. (I say 'against my better judgment' because I really do have lots to do today.) I read this interesting post yesterday and it started me thinking; this old hymnal might be a place to search. "Glorious Gospel Hymns" was copyright/printed in 1931 by the Nazarene Publishing House. My earliest memories do not include singing from this book, but from the one I think followed it. It had the same colour cover - what I call 'hymnal maroon' - with a gold print title on the cover. Was it "Praise and Worship"?


It struck me once again as I leafed through this old book how very powerful music is. I have seen a man with severe Alzheimers sing every word along with an old song, although he probably could not have told me where he lived. The melodies and words stick in our heads, and maybe our hearts too, and come back to us at a moment's notice. The hymn on the right is one of many I came across which brought back memories. Now, sentimental as that is, there is more to it than that. The words speak to our faith: "He saw me ruined in the fall, yet loved me, notwithstanding all." "He safely leads my soul along, His loving-kindness, O how strong!" Words that reinforce our faith or help us articulate what we believe are a valuable expressive tool for believers.

What are you giving up for Lent?

We are now in the season of the church year known as Lent. I find this the most difficult season to understand and it occurred to me yesterday that that is the reason why I have not been eager to post. What to say? How does Lent translate into my life, or the musical life of the church?

There is one more or less obvious answer, musically speaking, to the question which is the title of this post. When we hear, "What are you giving up for Lent?" often the response is something like: sugar, chocolate, coffee, etc. As a church musician, my response is, "I'm giving up Alleluias for Lent." The word 'alleluia' (from Greek) or 'hallelujah' (from Hebrew) literally means 'praise Yahweh'. Some say that the angels in heaven use alleluia as their refrain of praise around God's throne. Maybe a reader can think of scripture that backs this up. In a way, it's the ultimate word of praise and as such is considered inappropriate during Lent, a season of reflection and penitence.

I think there are other good reasons to refrain from singing alleluia for a few weeks. It is good spiritual discipline. Denial is part of our Christian walk. When we 'do without' for awhile, we appreciate all the more when Easter morning comes, and we can again sing out with great joy, "Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia!"

Hymns in Literature

I was choosing hymns for today's worship a few days ago and came across "Come, ye disconsolate" in the Lent section of The Book of Praise. I knew and sang this hymn as a child and I enjoy the old words and expressions it contains. The words "disconsolate" and "languish" are not exactly part of everyday speech in 2009, but they carry a weight of expression that other words do not. Another old term is "mercy seat" referring to the "altar" as a place to kneel in prayer.

Whenever I see, hear or sing this hymn I think of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. In the story, Amy and Laurie have just returned from Europe and the family is all gathered for an evening of food and conversation. As the time together comes to a close, Jo proposes "our sing, in the good old way, for we are all together again once more... They were not all there. But no one found the words thoughtless or untrue; for Beth still seemed among them..." Amy begins to sing. "The room was very still, when the clear voice failed suddenly at the last line of Beth's favorite hymn. It was hard to say - 'Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.'"

Aside from Christmas carols which are quoted in novels from time to time, I can't think of another instance of a hymn being quoted in literature as part of the story. If you have an example, please comment and let me know!

The Music of Black History Month (3)

Traditional spirituals are the songs that come to my mind when I think of music representing Black History Month. In reality, this one style of music has, over many decades, grown, evolved and definitely influenced a lot of other music. Jazz and gospel are 2 styles that can claim roots in early spirituals.

Choirs all over the world have traditional spirituals in their repertoire. One very moving experience I had a couple years ago was hearing a recording of the Men's choir from the Theological Seminary in Cluj, Romania. This choir is led by Canadian Brian Johnston who is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and teaches English and Music at the seminary. The choir toured eastern Canada from Sept. 20-Oct. 10, 2006 and the recording was made during their visit to PCC offices in Toronto. You can listen to it by going to: www.choir.tk/. You will find the video clip under "Table of Contents - Choir Tour 2006". I hope you enjoy their rendition as much as I do.

The Music of Black History Month (2)

When you think of 'global music' in worship what comes to mind? I think back to my childhood and the only 'global' song I can remember singing in church circles was Kumbaya. Maybe there were others, but what I recall is music of British, European or N. American origin. How the world has changed! World travel and communication has made our lives so much more global in scope, and music is no exception. We have access to songs and hymns from all over the world which I feel can only enhance our worship and add to our knowledge of and love for our Christian brothers and sisters in other countries. We are family!

Kudos to the editors, staff and volunteers who worked together to present The Book of Praise (c. 1997) for use in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. I feel they have done an excellent job in bringing more global music to the attention of worshipers across the country. I counted 8 songs from various African countries and traditions, not to mention many other languages and countries which are also included.

For the month of February, we have been using #388 Come, O Holy Spirit, come as our Gathering Song. This piece is from Nigeria. We are singing it in English to make it easily accessible, but the original words and a French translation are also printed. Take the leap! Try adding some global music to your worship and see where God's Spirit will lead you.

The Music of Black History Month

Over the last few years, it has become a tradition to celebrate Black History Month in the music during worship at St. Andrew's. This happens in different ways. Sometimes the choir presents a significant piece; other times the congregation is involved. The anthem sung on Feb. 1st was Amazing Grace, probably one of the best known hymns around the world, in a wonderful gospel arrangement by Jack Schrader. The words were written by John Newton (1725-1807) and are one of the reasons why we still recognize his name today. His mother died when John was only 6 years old and by age 11 he had followed his father to sea where John gradually rose through the ranks to become a slave ship captain. 'Through many dangers' he eventually came to faith in God and, over time, was ordained to ministry in the Anglican church. He supported William Wilberforce in his efforts to abolish slavery in Britain.

The poem we now sing as the hymn, Amazing Grace, was originally titled "Faith's Review and Expectation" and has as its subtitle the reference I Chronicles 17:16-17.

Some info from Out of the Depths, an autobiography of John Newton which was originally published in 1764. Portrait of Newton from Wikipedia.

The Seven O Antiphons

This photo is from the house concert I gave last weekend. The first half of the program consisted of arrangements of general hymns, some from my CD Notes of Faith. I began with Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho and ended with On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand - both a nod to Black history month.

For the second half I decided to play selections from the church year. In every concert, I give notes on the history of the hymn, or the hymn writer, or some personal meaning that piece holds for me. Here I am counting off the seven great O antiphons of that wonderful Advent hymn, O come, O come Emmanuel. I was privileged to relate to my audience an almost mind-boggling bit of information which I read on this blog just before Christmas. There were audible sounds of awe - not sure how else to describe it - when I finished. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to share knowledge of the words of this ancient hymn, then sit down at the piano to play it knowing that I have helped my audience appreciate it even more than they did before.

Hanging on until...

The two photos above were taken about a week apart on Jan. 6/09 and Jan. 12/09. The snow continued to drift and the overhang got even bigger until I really began to wonder how long it would hang on. It eventually fell off on Friday when the temperature here in Winnipeg got above 0 (C). It struck me the other day that I was feeling a little like that drift... hanging on over the edge and looking down at the ground!

January became a very busy month for me. Part of the reason for that was the house concert I gave last evening. For the past couple of weeks, my head has been full of the music I was preparing, and the program notes I was writing, or at least thinking through in my head. One of the joys for me of performing is digging into the history behind the hymns and songs I am playing. I thought for this post, I'd share one of my favourite tidbits of insight from the program.

"Be Thou My Vision" - I love this hymn! The arrangement I play is by Teresa Wilhelmi and it is wonderful in its simplicity in places, and awesome in its power in others. A couple times in the words we find the phrase "High King of heaven". While reading The Fields of Bannockburn by Donna Fletcher Crow awhile back, I learned that the ancient Celts had many kings of small kingdoms. These kings would meet together and elect one of them to be the "High King" - the king of all kings. Singing "Be Thou My Vision" has taken on a new dimension for me ever since.

Remembering my baptism

I admit, it is getting a little hard to actually remember my baptism although it happened in my teens, outside, in a river. On January 11th, the Sunday that we read the passage from Mark about Christ's baptism, I came home from church and spent about a half hour looking for the photo I have somewhere of the Beaver River in Ontario where I was baptized. If I had found it I would have scanned it and posted it here. In any case, the important thing as I see it, is not that we have an actual memory of the time and place we were baptized. After all, many believers are baptized as infants or young children. The important thing is to remember what it means. As I mentioned earlier, I was baptized in a river - totally immersed under the water and raised up to life in Christ. Each year in the church calendar there is a week to remember Christ's baptism, and through it, our own. It seems very appropriate to me that we do this at the beginning of the calendar year when our minds are so often focused on a new beginning.

Making Candles (2)

I'm new to blogging and didn't get these photos attached to the blog below. Some of the 'equipment' I use for making candles is what my Mom used 30-40 years ago, like the pan holding the water on the left of the photo. The hexagon and round molds are my own and less than 10 years old.

Making Candles = Epiphany?

All of last week seemed to fly by and I missed posting something for Epiphany. (I thought about it, but that was about as far as I got.) To begin writing today, I thought I'd look up the Oxford Dictionary definition of the word 'epiphany' - and I was a little surprised at what I found:

"Epiphany = manifestation of Christ to the Magi, festival of this (6 Jan.); (epiphany) manifestation of a supernatural being."

What surprised me was what wasn't there - no mention of 'having an epiphany' or of 'epiphany moments' or any of those expressions we sometimes hear. That got me thinking; what do we mean when we use those phrases in common speech? The way I've used them, or heard others use them, is to mean that I've had an 'aha' moment. The light has dawned! I understand! To the Magi this revelation of Christ was much more than an 'aha' moment. Their realization of who Christ was and their dream afterward was a life changing experience which even made them alter their route home to avoid telling Herod what they had discovered.

By now perhaps you are wondering how all this connects to candle making. I usually make candles before Christmas, sometimes for gifts. I couldn't let the (extended) season go by without making any, so I began a couple days ago. Somehow it seems appropriate to be creating a source of light when we are celebrating that the light has dawned -the Light of God's love, Jesus.

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Today we sang a hymn that was new to me when I began serving in the Presbyterian church. I may have heard the words before then as Dad often quoted words by Fanny Crosby or Frances Ridley Havergal, the latter being the author of this hymn.

Standing at the portal of the opening year,
words of comfort meet us hushing every fear,
spoken through the silence by God's loving voice,
tender, strong and faithful, making us rejoice.

Refrain:
Onward, then, and fear not, children of the day,
for God's word shall never, never pass away.

"I, your God, am with you: do not be afraid;
I will help and strengthen; do not be dismayed,
for I will uphold you with my own right hand;
you are called and chosen in my sight to stand."

God will not forsake us and will never fail;
God's eternal covenant ever will prevail.
Resting on this promise, what have we to fear?
God is all-sufficient for the coming year.

As we sang the third verse, I was overwhelmed by the truth of the words. God is all-sufficient for the coming year no matter if the year is 2009 or some year in the 1800's when the words were originally written. People then had fears for the future, whether they voiced them or not, just as today we do not know what the year ahead may hold, and may be fearful of the unknown. St. Andrew's is beginning a year of changes: change in leadership, a possible change of location - all unknowns at this point. I urge you, wherever you are to claim God's promise to be with us through the year ahead.

New Every Morning

Happy New Year!

I knew it was snowing when I went to bed last night - or maybe I should say very early this morning - but I was pleasantly surprised to see about 2-5cm of fresh snow when I got up today. There are many wonderful things about a fresh snowfall. It makes everything so clean and white, and especially on New Year's it seems to mirror the fresh, clean start we all get to the year. A new snowfall also sparkles like diamonds when the sun is out, as it is now, and it reminds me of the riches of God's grace and love in my life, and the beauty of the world around me.

One hymn that often comes to mind for me on this day is "Great is Thy Faithfulness". I remember singing this at a Watchnight service as a teenager. I'm not sure if that's when it became significant to me, but the words are meaningful still all these years later.

There's a more recent setting of words from Lamentations 3 by Edith McNeill that have also been running through my head today:

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
Your mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning, new every morning:
great is your faithfulness, O Lord, great is your faithfulness!"

I hope that on this first day of 2009 you will find time to reflect on the goodness of God and the fresh start that God's mercy and grace give us each day.