Of the Father's Love Begotten

Here is the first hymn of this wonderful Christmas season!

Title: Of the Father's Love Begotten

Tune: Divinum Mysterium

Meter: 8.7.8.7.8.7.7.

Composer: 13th Century Plainsong, Mode V

Author: Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, (348-413); Tr, J.M. Neale (1818-1866), Sir Henry William Baker (1821-1877)

               Written in the 5th century, "Of the Father's Love Begotten," was based off of a poem written by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentias who was the greatest Christian poet of his time. The text of this poem, with centuries of history behind it, is a confession of faith to the Christ, the Son of God, whose birth and saving ministry's came as a fulfillment of ancient prophecies. The text comes from Marcus Aurelius C.P.'s poem "Corde natus ex parentis," which was originally written in Latin, and was later translated by Dr. John Mason Neale (verses 1-3), and published in his 1851 collection, Hymnal Noted. Though the text was translated well, a doxology was added several years later by Sir Henry William Baker (the final verses are considered the doxology), and published in his 1861 collection, Hymns Ancient and Modern. These two translations serve to support the text that is printed in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship. the text is originally written as "Corde natus ex parentis," which translates to "Of the parent sole begotten," which the word "parent" was used as a more inclusive synonym for God in the Latin text. Later, the text was changed to "Father," giving the text a more exclusively male impression. The text for this hymn surpasses controversy as one of the church's timeless texts.
               Publishing many texts under the prefix "Marcus," Prudentias is one of the most prominent and most prolific authors of Latin sacred poetry in its early days. Not much is known of Prudentias outside of what he wrote about himself. What we do know, is that he was born in northern Spain, and was a well educated man. During his life, Prudentias served as a lawyer, a judge, civil servant, and a scholar. When Prudentias was 57 years old, he retired from the world, and withdrew to a monastery where he committed the rest of his life to prayer and writing for the church. Though it did not seem that Prudentias had done this for any particular reason (most of the time, people would join a monastery later in life because of the nasty and vulgar lives they had lived before), it can be said that he had discovered the meaning and worth that is associated with the material world, and that it paled in comparison to a life in the church. Though we do not have much more information about Prudentias than this, we can attribute his great success in poetry to his decision to leave the world behind.
               John Mason Neale is known for his translation of Latin and Greek hymns in the 19th Century. When Neale was young, he grew up reading Isaac Watts's collection Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children (1715), which was full of texts that would come to cause Neale to have an aversion to studying hymnody entirely. The collection contained similar texts as:

"There is an Hour when I must die,

Nor do I know how soon will come;

A Thousand Children, young as I,

Are call'd by Death to hear their Doom."

Song X (Westermeyer, p 25)

After reading such texts, Neale was determined to write an alternative to these text, thus causing him to publish Hymns for children in 1842, the same year in which he married Sarah Norman Webster (which was the year after he was ordained). Because of lung disease, Neale was forced to spend quite a bit of time in Madeira, which gave him access to a well stocked library. As Neale continued to ponder hymnody, he began to realize that hymns did not only belong to Watts and Evangelicals but were a part of the earliest history of the church and included in it's daily prayer (Westermeyer, p 26). After this discovery, Neale turned his attention away from what he found to be "trashy" in Evangelical hymnody, and began looking to the breviary, which he found to be the liturgical book for daily prayer, and thought of this as the core of the church's hymnody. With his capability of learning languages (it is said that Neale could speak nearly 20 different languages), it is no wonder that Neale was able to provide the English world with so many wonderful translations of Greek and Latin hymns. 

               Most of Neales hymns were published in Medieval Hymns and Sequences (1851), and his collection The Hymnal Noted (1851 and the second edition in 1854), which was published with a version containing only the text, as well as a version containing  notes in Gregorian notation on a four-line staff. Thomas Helmore (known for the tune Veni, Emmanuel) was responsible for a version of this text that included harmonizatoins in the Accompanying Harmonies to the Hymnal Noted (1858, Parts I and II were bound together as one).  During Neale's life, he held a "high church" view, which would cause him to be place in an out-of-the-way place by his "low church" bishop in 1946. He was placed as the Warden of Sackville College in East Grimstead, which looked after old men who needed care all the time (Westermeyer, p 26). During his lifetime, Neale organized an abbey for the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, which cared for the poor, the sick, and the needy, as well as opened and orphanage and school for girls. Though Neale did these things for many years, he spent most of his life translating hymns. After his death in 1866, Neale's daughter, Mary Sackville Lawson, gathered all of his translations and published them in her 1914 collection Collected Hymns, Sequences, and Carols of John Mason Neale.

               Born May 27th, 1821, in London, Henry Williams Baker was the son of the well-known Admiral Sir Henry Loraine Baker. Baker graduated from Trinity College at Cambridge his bachelors degree in 1844, which is the same year he took holy orders as the vicar in Monkland, Herefordshire (he also received his masters in 1847). Though he was still young, Baker remained at this posting for the rest of his life. Baker's name is known well in the world of hymnody, but he did not write many hymns himself. He is also well known for having composed the text for "Angels We Have Heard On High." 

               Named after a trope on the Sanctus, the tune "Divinum Mysterium" most likely comes from the thirteenth century. The tune was originally written in a triple meter, and was first published with such markings in Theodocricis Petri's collection Piae Cantiones, which was published in 1582. The tune was not paired with the text until the 19th century, when it was published with J.M. Neale's English translation of the text. Though Petri published the tune in triple meter with alternating half and quarter notes, the tune was redone by Winfred Douglas (1867-1944). Douglas took the tune and equalized the note values and published the tune in The Episcopal Hymnal (1916). Douglas was an Episcopal musician and priest who had done extensive studying and editing of Plainsong. The version that was published by Douglas is the most commonly published version today.

The Text:
(1) 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.

(1) Corde natus ex parentis
Ante mundi exordium
A et O cognominatus,
ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt,
quaeque post futura sunt.
Saeculorum saeculis.
(2) Oh, that birth forever blessed
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Savior of our race,
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face
Evermore and evermore.

(2) O beatus ortus ille,
virgo cum puerpera
Edidit nostram salutem,
feta Sancto Spiritu,
Et puer redemptor orbis
os sacratum protulit.
Saeculorum saeculis.
(3) O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.

(3) Psallat altitudo caeli,
psallite omnes angeli,
Quidquid est virtutis usquam
psallat in laudem Dei,
Nulla linguarum silescat,
vox et omnis consonet.
Saeculorum saeculis.
(4) This is He whom Heaven-taught singers
Sang of old with one accord;
Whom the Scriptures of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word.
Now He shines, the Long-expected;
Let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.

(4) Ecce, quem vates vetustis
concinebant saeculis,
Quem prophetarum fideles
paginae spoponderant,
Emicat promissus olim;
cuncta conlaudent eum.
Saeculorum saeculis.
(5) Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unending praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory
Evermore and evermore.

(5) Tibi, Christe, sit cum Patre
hagioque Pneumate
Hymnus, decus, laus perennis,
gratiarum actio,
Honor, virtus, victoria,
regnum aeternaliter.
Saeculorum saeculis.
My Take on the Hymn:

               This hymns is one of great celebration and is very joyful in nature. Celebrating the coming of Christ, this text takes us from when Christ was expected, all the way to when Christ is taken into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father. The text talks about Christ being the means to all ends, which to me rings a very profound meaning: Christ is the only way, and no other can take his place or lead you to salvation as it is said in John 14: 6, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one come to the Father except through me.'" Christ has come to us this Christmas season as it was promised us by prophets of old, but we cannot reach our heavenly place unless we accept Christ in our lives. It is one thing to acknowledge that Christ does exist, but it is entirely different to acknowledge that without Christ, we would not be here today, and our lives would be a lot darker. The third stanza speaks to Christs power that he has over everything, "Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King." Everything that is in earth was created by God the Father, and he has rule over everything. The fourth verse is interesting as well, regarding the topic of gifts that have been given to people. The verse says that God taught us to sing, and with those voices, we will sing of Gods praise. God has given the world so many things, but each and every thing that we have received was given us so that we may worship Christ. The world is a wonderful place, but everything will eventually pass away. Knowing this, we must live each and every day with the thought that one day, we will be home in Heaven, and everything we have here on earth was given so that we may spread the good news of Christ, and that we may better serve one another, and by doing so, show the love that Christ has given us!

The Hymn:

If you cannot read music, just start the Youtube video and follow along!

Bibliography:

Julian, John. "Of the Father's Love Begotten." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "J. M. Neale." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Sir H. W. Baker." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Aurelius Clemens Prudentius." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.

""Of the Father's Love Begotten"" "Of the Father's Love Begotten" Lutheran Hymnal, n.d. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.

Westermeyer, Paul. "Of the Father's Love Begotten." Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Vol. 1. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2010. 25+. Web.

O Lord, How I Meet You

Here is another hymn for the rapidly closing season of Advent!

Title: O Lord, How Shall I Meet You

Tune: Wie Soll Ich Dich Empfangen

Meter: 7.6.7.6. Doubled

Composer: Johann Cruger (April 9, 1598- February 23, 1662)

Author: Paul Gerhardt (March 12, 1607- May 27, 1676) tr. Composite

                Originally written in German with ten stanzas, “O Lord, How Shall I meet You” was published in 1653 in Cristoph Runge’s D.M. Luthers und anderer vornehmen geistreichen und felehrtern Manner geistliche Lieder und Psalmen, in which the composer of the tune, Johann Cruger, was the musical editor. The translation that can be found in the Evangelical Book of Lutheran Worship can be traced back to the same translation in The Lutheran Hymnal published in 1941. Though that particular text contains several different alterations too it, it seems to be very similar to the translation done by Catherine Winkworth (to learn more about Catherine Winkworth from a previous post, click Here), which was published in her 1863 collection The Chorale Book for England. The topic of the hymn is welcoming God who has come to set us free from our gloom, and rejoicing in his presence.

                Paul Gerhardt was born near Wittenberg, Germany, where he studed at the Furstenchule at Grimma, and eventually studied at the University of Wittenberg in 1628. During the early years of his life, Gerhardt suffered through the trials and the trauma of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Though he was not ordained until 1651, Gerhardt started preaching around the age of 30 in Berlin. In the same year he was ordained, he took orders as the pastor of a church in Mittenwalde Germany, in the vicinity near Wittenberg. Throughout his life, Gerhardt had troubles, suffering through political unrest, as well as violence that would cost him the family home in which he grew up in. In 1637, Gerhardt’s home in the town of Grafenhayniches (his father had been the mayor of the town) was set on fire by Swedish Soldiers. The family home was completely destroyed, along with his family’s possessions and his family’s church. Because of the theological unrest, Gerhardt was forced to enter into some of the “squabbles” of the times, when his conscious would not allow him to accede to the Calvinist demands of the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm. Because of his disagreement with Wilhelm, Gerhardt was removed from his post in 1666. Three years later, in 1669, Gerhardt was named the pastor at the church in Lubben an der Srpree, where he served for the remainder of his life. Though he remained at the post for 10 years, the members of his congregation were not supportive of him or his ideals.

                The tune “Wie Soll Ich Dich Empfangen” was written by Johann Cruger, who was the other half (Paul Gerhardt being the first half) in what many considered one of the church’s partnerships of text and tune writers, of pastor and musicians (Westermeyer, p 5). Johann Cruger met Paul Gerhardt, when Gerhardt was a tutor in Berlin, and the two of them became good friends. The two of them collaborated, and thus this tune was written to go along with this particular text. The tune is named for the first line of text in the original German translation, and was published in 1653. Cruger helped introduce Gerhardt’s hymns to the public by publishing them in his Praxis PietatisMelica, which is considered to be the most important hymn collection to be published in the 17^th century. Published in its first edition in 1644, the collection was expanded and published with more than fifty different editions over the next century, long after Cruger had passed away. Unlike Luther, Gerhardt’s texts along with Cruger’s tunes were very smooth and connected.

                Born the son of an innkeeper in Prussia, Cruger studied in Regensburg with one of Giovanni Gabrieli’s Students, Paul Homberger (c. 1560-1643). Eventually, in 1620, Cruger began studying at the University of Wittenberg, but two short years later, and for the next forty years of his life, Cruger served as the Cantor in the St. Nicholas Church in Berlin as well as the director of music in the Gymnasium of the Grey Cloister, the College of St. Nicholas (Westermeyer, p 5). During his lifetime, Cruger wrote at least 71 different tunes, and most of which were written for Paul Gerhardt. Though Cruger was known for his collection, Praxis Pietatis Melica, he also worked on a number of different collections including his Newes vollkomliches Gesangbuch Augsbergischer Confession, published in 1640, which is the predecessor to the Praxis Pietatis Melica. In this publication, most of the chorale melodies were arranged with figured bass (Westermeyer, p 6). This helped to emphasize the newly found importance of harmony and of the organ in congregational singing, a fairly new phenomenon in the reforming era of the church. Cruger’s definition of music is “the science of artfully and judiciously combining and inflecting harmonic intervals, which make a concentus of diverse sounds. This definition can be directly contrasted by Augustine’s definition of music, which is “how to make controlled variations of sound in the right way.” Both definitions can be considered for the glory of God, but for Cruger, the harmony is central which explains the role he played in introducing or at least supporting the incoming practice of accompanying the congregation with the organ. The practice of accompanying the congregation with Organ took many centuries to catch on, even in the time of J.S. Bach, and well into the 19^th century, many congregations were singing in unaccompanied unison.

The Text:

(1)    O Lord, how shall I meet you,
How welcome you aright?
Your people long to greet you,
My hope, my heart's delight!
Oh, kindle, Lord most holy,
Your lamp within my breast
To do in spirit lowly
All that may please you best.

(2)    Your Zion strews before you
Green boughs and fairest palms;
And I too will adore you
With joyous songs and psalms.
My heart shall bloom forever
For you with praises new
And from your name shall never
With hold the honor due.

(3)    I lay in fetters, groaning;
You came to set me free.
I stood, my shame bemoaning;
You came to honor me.
A glorious crown you give me,
A treasure safe on high
That will not fail or leave me
As earthly riches fly.

(4)    Love caused your incarnation;
Love brought you down to me.
Your thirst for my salvation
Procured my liberty.
Oh, love beyond all telling,
That led you to embrace
In love, all love excelling,
Our lost and fallen race.

(5)    Rejoice, then, you sad-hearted,
Who sit in deepest gloom,
Who mourn your joys departed
And tremble at your doom.
Despair not; he is near you,
There, standing at the door,
Who best can help and cheer you
And bids you weep no more.

(6)    He comes to judge the nations,
A terror to his foes,
A light of consolations
And blessed hope to those
Who love the Lord's appearing.
O glorious Sun, now come,
Send forth your beams so cheering,
And guide us safely home.

My Take on the Hymn:

                This hymn is perfect for the joy that comes with expecting the coming of Jesus, and the wonder that comes along with waiting for his love to arrive! Though the hymn is an advent hymn, it does cover many topics of Christ, including when Christ would leave this world. The voice of the text is one that is humbled and is one that comes from an introspective point of view. During this time of Advent, it is important for us to look inside and see what it is we can do to honor and worship Christ. Sometimes, it is as simple as asking Christ in prayer to show you how, but sometimes, we need to sit back and listen to the words that Christ is telling us through our lives. As the third stanza says, Christ will always come to people in their darkest hour, and he will raise those people up to the glory that is only possible through Christ. God has a funny way of taking us from our bootstraps, throwing us up in the air, and helping us to land back on our feet again. As humans, we are messy. We don’t have an easy life, we don’t have simple solutions to simple problems, and we don’t always have everything figured out, but that is why Christ came. Christ came so that we can trust that God will help us through our times of trial, and that we will always have a place to turn when we are in the darkest parts of our lives.

The Hymn:

If you cannot read music, just play the Youtube video and follow along!

Bibliography:

Julian, John. "Ah! Lord, How Shall I Meet Thee." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "WIE SOLL ICH DICH EMPFANGEN." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Paul Gerhardt." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2012.

"O Lord, How Shall I Meet You." O Lord, How Shall I Meet You. Lutheran Hymnal, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2012.

Westermeyer, Paul. "O Lord, How Shall I Greet Thee." Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2010. 5-6. Print.

               

                

Blessed Be the God of Israel

Here is another hymn!

Title:  Blessed Be the God of Israel         

Tune: Forest Green

Meter:  8.6.8.6.8.6.8.6 (Common Meter Doubled)

Composer: English Folk Tune; arr. Ralph Vaughn Williams (October 12^th 1871-August 26^th 1958)

Author: Carl P. Daw. Jr. (March 18^th 1944)

                This hymn was written for a hymn writing competition in 1985 sponsored by The Hymn Society of America. This text shared the same first line as another hymn written by Michael Perry that was being presented at the competition as well. This hymn is a paraphrase of Zechariah’s song found in Luke 1: 68-79, which is the Benedictus at the circumcision of John the Baptist. This hymn uses many allusions to other texts throughout the bible, including passages from Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:1-2, Mark 1:2-8, Luke 3: 1-20, and John 1: 19-28. Though these allusions are specifically named, Daw has inserted “intentional echoes” from Galatians 5: 22-23, and Colossians 3: 1-2, as well as an attempt to create a blend between John the Baptist acclaiming the coming of Christ, and the triumphant Lamb found in the book of Revelations (Westermeyer, p 15).

                Born the in Louisville, Kentucky, as the son of a Baptist pastor, Daw grew up in several towns throughout the state of Kentucky. Before his ordination, Daw taught in the English department at the college of William and Marry for nearly eight years. After his ordination, he began serving as Assistant Rector of Christ and Grace Church in Petersburg, Virginia for three years, and he served as the Vicar-Chaplain of St. Mark’s Chapel at the University of Connecticut at Storrs fir nine years. Eventually Daw spent three years serving as a resident Companion of the Community of Celebration in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and has served in many different capacities since then. From 1996-2009, Reverend Dr. Daw served as the Executive Director of the Hymn Society in America and in Canada, while the ecumenical organization held its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts  at the University School of Theology, where Dr. Daw remains as an adjunct professor of Hymnology in the Masters of Sacred Music degree program. Dr. Daw also serves as the Curator of the Hymnological Collection at the School of Theology. Dr. Daw is known for having numerous hymns published in ecumenical hymnals all around the world in countries ranging from Canada, all the way to Scotland and England as well as Japan. Daw acted as a consultant for the Text Committee, as well as a contributor of his own translations, paraphrases, and original hymns in the Hymnal 1982. Working with Hope Publishing Co, Daw has published four titles: A Year of Grace; Hymns for the Church Year (1990), To Sing God’s Praise (1992), New Psalms and Hymns and Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1996), and finally Gathered for Worship( 2006). Daw has been an active member of several different committees, including one that published the Hymnal 1982 companion, as well as a member of the committee that has published several essays regarding the importance of hymns in the church today.

                The tune “Forest Green” was written by the famous English composer, Ralph Vaughn Williams. Vaughn Williams is famous in the wind band era, having written several pieces for a concert band, which in his time, was a very new and incredibly interesting idea. Vaughn Williams notated this tune in December of 1903, after he had heard the tune being sung by a man named Garman of Forest Green, near Ockley, Surrey (Westermeyer, p 16). This tune is included in Vaughn Williams 1906 English Hymnal, in which he was the musical editor. This tune is written in the form of AABA, which may get repetitive, but the difference between conjunct motion (connected with step-wise motion), and the disjunct motion (not connected with leaping motions) helps to keep the piece interesting. To cover all of the information on Vaughn Williams, one could write a separate essay that ranges anywhere from 10-20 pages, but his range in the world of hymnody is somewhat shorter conversation.

                Being one of few composers who understood hymns, Vaughn Williams focused much of his attention on the tunes and congregational singing. Evidence of this can be found in several different places, including the fact that he collected folk songs, edited The English Hymnal, wrote prospectively about folk songs and congregational singing, and the most prominent piece of evidence, is the hymn tune he composed and placed in his composition, Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. The tune is based off the third mode and is rightly called the “Third Mode Melody.” Born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, to a Lutheran Vicar, Vaughn Williams was raised mostly by his mother in Leith Hill Place, which was a family home in the Hills of Surry. Vaughn Williams was forced to move there because of the sudden death of his father in 1875 (Only three years after his birth). An interesting family lineage is found with Vaughn Williams, in that his great uncle was none other than Charles Darwin. Though Vaughn Williams was born into an upper middle class family, he always worked hard for his Democratic and Egalitarian ideas in which he strongly believed in. In his younger years, Vaughn Williams studied piano, but was never very good, so he picked up the violin which he describes as his “musical salvation.” Studying at the Royal College of Music, Vaughn Williams had the opportunity to work with several prominent people including C. Hubert H. Parry, and Charles V. Stanford, and eventually he began studying in Germany with Max Bruch, and in Paris with Maurice Ravel. During his time at the Royal College of Music, Vaughn Williams became friends with an influential person in his composition life, one Mr. Gustav Holst. Though his compositional skills grew slowly, Vaughn Williams eventually had a career that merged into several different areas in his life. Vaughn Williams thought music to be very important, and believed that musical choices, including hymn choices, were “moral matters.”

The Text:

(1)    Blest be the God of Israel

who comes to set us free

and raises new hope for us:

a Branch from David's tree.

So have the prophets long declared

that with a mighty arm

God would turn back our enemies

and all who wish us harm.

(2)    With promised mercy will God still

the covenant recall:

the oath once sworn to Abraham,

from foes to save us all;

that we might worship without fear

and offer lives of praise,

in holiness and righteousness

before God all our days.

(3)    My child, as prophet of the Lord,

you will prepare the way,

to tell God's people they are saved

from sin's eternal sway.

Then shall God's mercy from on high

shine forth and never cease

to drive away the gloom of death

and lead us into peace.

My Take on the Hymn:

                To me, this hymn shows us the promise that is given to us through the birth of Christ, but it also shows us the things that we have been charged with doing here on Earth. The first verse tells us of all the things Christ will do, being that he will save us from our times of trial, and he will set us free from the bonds of sin, but into the second verse, we are reminded that we as humans have made a covenant with God. I often question why God is so merciful to us, and the answer always boils down to this, his undying love for us. Why does he give us this love? That is a question that only God knows the answer to, but I am thankful for it each and every day. Our covenant with God reminds us of the things that God has asked us to do in order that he will remain loving us till the end of days. Finally, the last verse, which is all about the things that God has asked us to do throughout each and every day of our lives. Christ asks us to share the good news of God and to give of our time and our talents so that God’s love may be seen throughout the world.  Christ is coming, but it is our job to prepare the world for his arrival, so that when he is here, the world will be ready for him. We can all take part in this by preparing a place for Christ in our hearts. I challenge everyone (myself included),  take ten minutes a day to reflect on how you can open your heart to Christ’s call. Whether it be on the drive to or from work, or the first thing you do in the morning, or even if you are sitting on the treadmill at the gym, try and find the ten minutes in your day to spend thinking of how you can worship Christ. Merry Christmas to everyone, and happy holidays!

The Hymn:

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a recording of this hymn. I will see if I can place one on here sometime in the near future. 

Bibliography:

"Ralph Vaughan Williams." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.

"FOREST GREEN." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.

"Carl P. Daw." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.

"Blessed Be the God of Israel." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.

"Blest Be the God of Israel." Oremus Hymnal:. Hope Publishing, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Here is another hymn! Less than a week until Christmas is here!

Title: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Tune: Freu Dich Sehr

Meter: 8.7.8.7.8.8.

Composer: Louis Bourgeois (c. 1510-1561)

Author: Johann Olearius (1611-1684), Trans. Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)

Originally written as a German versification of the text Isaiah 40: 1-5, the text of this hymn was meant to show the promise of better days to come within the coming of the Messiah. The passage from Isaiah marks the beginning of the remaining large passages of prophecies (Isa. 40-66), in which the prophecies display messages of condolence and of hope that the exile of Judah from Babylon will soon be over. The hymn was written by Johann Olearius in honor of St. John the Baptist day, and was published in the 1671 collection Geistliche Singe-Kunst. This collection contained nearly 1200 hymns, 300 of which came from Olearius himself. it wasn't until nearly 200 years later that Catherine Winkworth translated this hymn from German to English and published it in her 1863 collection of translations Chorale Book for England. Known for her clean translations, Winkworth was good at maintaining the original form of the texts she translated. 

            Born the son of a Johann Olearius, the pastor of St. Mary's Church, and the superintendent in Halle, Germany, Olearius was born into a long line of Lutheran Theologians. He began his studies at the University of Wittenburg in 1629, where he earned his master’s degree in 1632, and eventually his doctorate in 1643. Eventually, while studying at the university, Olearius became lecturer, and in 1635 was named as an adjunct member of the Philosophical Faculty. Two years later, in 1637, Olearius was appointed superintendent at Querfurt, where he remained until 1643, when he was appointed by Duke August of  Sachsen-Weissenfels as the chief court preacher and private chaplain at Halle. During his time in Halle, Olearius became Kirchenrath (1657) and eventually the superintendent (1664). In 1680, upon the death of Duke August, the administration in Halle fell under the control of Duke Johann Adolf, who gave Olearius many of the same positions that he already held, only this time in Weissenfels, which Olearius held until his death in 1684. During his lifetime, Olearius had published many different works, one of which was a commentary on the entire bible itself. Olearius was also known as one of the biggest contributors to the largest collection of hymns at the time, Geistliche Singe-Kunst (1671). Olearius worked on both the first edition of the collection and the second edition of the collection (published only a year later, updated with nearly 100 more hymns). Olearius is also known for having translated Thomas A. Kempis's book Imitatio Christi (the Imitation of Christ), which is a widely read book. 

            Catherine Winkworth was a woman of great note, being a well-educated woman, and a supporter of women's rights and higher education for women. Beginning her education with her mother, Winkworth was raised with her close relatives in Dresden, Germany, where she became interested in her German Hymnody. Eventually, Winkworth moved to Manchester, England, where she remained until 1862, when she moved with her family to Clifton, which is just outside of Bristol, England. Spending most of her life translating texts of German hymns, Winkworth began with a collection of hymnals from her friend, Baron Bunsen. Though the translations are often changed, most of her original translations are used in many different hymnals today. The bulk of her work was published in two collections of Lyra Germanica (1855, 1858), as well as her book Chorale Book for England. In this collection (Chorale Book for England), Winkworth was sure to pair each tune with the appropriate German text, which was annotated by two gentleman, Sterndale Bennet and Otto Goldschmidt. During her lifetime, Winkworth also translated biographies of German Christians who supported ministries to the poor and to the sick, as well as biographies of German hymn writers, and published them in Christian Singers of Germany (1869).

            Originally written as an accompaniment for the text from Psalm 42, the tune "Freu Dich Sehr" was composed by Louis Bourgeois. Born in 1510, Bourgeois was a famous French Renaissance composer and music theorist. Though almost nothing is known about Bourgeois's early life, it is known that his first publicatioin was a collection of secular chansons published in 1539 in Lyon, France. In 1547 however, Bourgeois moved to, and became a citizen of Geneva, where he published his first collection of four-voice psalms. Between 1549 and 1550, Bourgeois worked on a number of tunes that were supposed to accompany psalms. Though it was known that Bourgeois had worked on this collection, the extent to which he was a composer, compiler or arranger was unknown until a copy of a long-lost copy of the Genevan Hymnal was brought to the library at Rutgers University. In an avertissement (or note) to the reader, Bourgeois specified the exact work that had been done by his predecessors, what he had changed, and which arrangements were his. Bourgeois is one of the three main composers who contributed to the Genevan Hymnal. 

            Around this time, Bourgeois lost his reputation with musical authorities around France, and was eventually thrown in jail in 1851 for having made changes to popular hymn-tunes "without a license." Eventually, Bourgeois was released from prison on a personal recommendation from John Calvin himself, but, even after his release, the controversy continued. Because the singers had already learned the original tunes, had no desire to learn anything new, the town council demanded that a burning of his instructions be held, claiming that his instructions were too confusing and unnecessary. Shortly after this incident, Bourgeois (understandably) left Geneva, and moved to Lyon, which his wife followed sometime after. Shortly after his move, his employment in Geneva was terminated. Eventually, in 1560, Bourgeois moved to Paris, where he published a fierce piece of invective against the publishers in Geneva. During his time in Paris, a Parisian publisher came out with a collection of four-voice chansons written by the composer, a form of music which Bourgeois had claimed to be "dissolute," during his time in Geneva. Oddly enough, his daughter was born around this time, and she was baptized as Catholic. Nothing is known of Bourgeois's life after 1560, though most hymnals print his date of death as 1561. Bourgeois is the most responsible for the tunes in the Genevan Psalter, a source for music in both the Reformed Church, and the church in America. Though many of his tunes were written in a monophonic style (containing only one part for voice), it is known that he had written harmonization for each of his tunes, but that was usually reserved for performances in his home. Of all Bourgeois compositions, perhaps the most famous is known as the Old 100th, which many in the protestant church known as the tune for the Doxology.

The Text:

(1) Comfort, comfort ye my people,

Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;

Comfort those who sit in darkness,

Mourning 'neath their sorrows' load;
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them,
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.

(2) Yea, her sins our God will pardon,

Blotting out each dark misdeed;

All that well deserved His anger

He will no more see nor heed.
She hath suffer'd many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.

(3) For Elijah's voice is crying

In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance,

Since the kingdom now is here.
Oh that warning cry obey,
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.

(4) Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain,
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign;
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall fee the token
That His Word is never broken.

My Take on the Hymn:

            This hymn is very important to the message that is coming with the season of Advent. In the time of Advent, it is important that we take the time to not only to admit the sins we had committed, but also to atone for them. In the first verse, the voice of the text speaks to those who are in times of trial. When we are struggling with something, sometimes it is very difficult for us to admit that we are struggling, but that is all God requires of us, to give our sorrows and struggles to Him. The second stanza speaks to God’s ability to forgive and forget. The fact that God is willing to accept us into his house, no matter what we have done, is incredible. Christ is the only one who can forgive us our sins, but we must go through Him in order to be completely forgiven. Into the kingdom of heaven, there is no shortcut, and there is no easy way in, which leads us into the third stanza. This stanza is all about atoning for the sins that we have committed, which is the only way that Christ will forgive us. God knows the sins we have committed, but he wants us to admit to Him that we know what we have done, and that we know that what we have done is wrong. The fourth stanza is all about the power of Christ. At the end of time, Christ will bring everything to light, and he will take what is crooked and make it straight, and he will take everything that once was dark, and he will awaken the dead, and raise them up into the realms of glory!

            On another note, I feel that the magnitude of what has occurred this past week deserves a response. The event that took place at Stony Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is one that has no explanation, no reasoning, or any resemblance of an iota of sense. For the parents of the children that have been killed (as well as the rest of their family), and to the families of those adults who were killed, I am truly sorry for your loss, and I pray that you will be able to heal and find comfort in the time to come. Please remember, there are two powers at work in this world, Satan, and God himself. Though it may seem easier to blame God for this, he would not ever cause his children this much pain. This may be the darkest hour in your life so far, but through God, healing will come, and he will not allow you to go through this alone. Christ will be with you, He will be with you, and He will provide for you the things you need to heal. The thing that we must concentrate on most now more than ever, is how we can help the families heal, and then we can deal with things as they come.

The Hymn:

If you cannot read music, just play the Youtube video and follow along!

Bibliography:

"Comfort, Comfort Ye My People." Hymnary.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Louis Bourgeois." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Catherine Winkworth." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Johann Olearius." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "FREU DICH SEHR." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

"Comfort, Comfort Ye My People." Comfort, Comfort Ye My People. The Hymns and Carols of Christmas, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

Joy to the World

Here is another hymn for this wonderful season of Advent! Before I continue, I want to take a moment to say thank you to all the people who have read my blog, and continue to read the new posts as they appear! My goal and prayer was to reach 1,000 page views by Christmas this year, and I am happy to announce that my goal has been met, and exceeded. We are now over 2,000 page views, and we still haven’t reached Christmas yet! God is good!

Now on to the hymn!

Title:  Joy to the World

Tune: Antioch

Meter: Common Meter (8.6.8.6. Repeat)

Composer: English melody, 18^th Century; arr. Lowell Mason (8 January 1792- 11 August 1872)

Author: Isaac Watts (17 July 1674- 25 November 1748)

                Though this text is very commonly known as an Advent/Christmas hymn, originally it was written as neither of those two. Written as the second half of a paraphrase of Psalm 98 from the Psalms of David (1719) written by Isaac Watts, the text stood as the first Christmas hymn in the Lutheran Book of Worship. Now, in today’s world, this hymn is usually one of the last Advent hymns, marking the close relation between the meaning for the season of Advent, and the meaning for the season of Christmas. Considered the father of English hymnody, Isaac Watts argued against the Calvinist practice of using only metrical psalms and instead supported using hymns. At first, Watts’ six hundred hymns and psalm paraphrases ran up against stiff opposition, but eventually the hymns broke through the barriers and set in motion English hymn writing. Though Watts had published many different books, the most well-known books are Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), where Watts had included explanations as to why the hymns should be sung, and The Psalms of David (1719), in which he interpreted the psalms through a Christological lens.

                Born the son of a Schoolmaster (who was well known for being a non-conformist) in Southampton, England, Isaac Watts showed promise of great maturity and intelligence from a young age. Having begun studying Latin at the age of four, and writing respectable verse at the age of seven, Watts was destined for something great.  During Watts’ younger years, his father was imprisoned twice for standing up for his religious convictions, a path that Watts would later follow. At the age of 16 Watts was offered the opportunity to study at a University in England, but refused to offer so that he could study at the non-conformist academy with an independent pastor, Rev. Thomas Rowe in Stoke Newington, England (1690). Eventually, in 1693, Watts became a member of the Independent Congregation at Girdlers Hall, which was led by Thomas Rowe. At the age of 20, Watts finished his studies at the academy and moved back home for two years, in which he spent the majority of that time composing the bulk of his publication Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707-9). Most of these hymns were written and sung in the Southampton Chapel. Considered to be the first hymn ever written by Watts, “Behold the Glories of the Lamb” was written in order to raise the standard of praise in Southampton. Eventually, in 1698, Watts returned to Stoke Newington where he assumed the post of tutor to the son of a prominent Puritan, Sir John Hartopp.

                Though Watts had begun his career in the church, it wasn’t until the age of 24 that he actually preached his first sermon. For three years, Watts was asked on and off to preach, until 1702, when he was officially ordained as pastor of the eminent Independent Congregation in Mark Lane, which was home to several prominent members including: Charles Fleetwood, Charles Desborough, Sir John Hartopp, Lady Havershom, and other distinguished members. In the following year (1703) Watts’ health began to deteriorate, which left him too weak to continue on his own, and thus he was given an assistant, Mr. Samuel Price. In 1712, however, Watts fell ill to a fever that shattered his constitution and created the need for Mr. Price to be promoted to Co-pastor of the Congregation. During this time, Watts became the guest of Sir Thomas Abney, of whom he would reside with Abney and his widow (After Abney had passed away in 1722) for the rest of his life. In 1728, Watts was awarded an unsolicited D.D. from the University of Edinburgh, which was one of the last events in Watts’ life before his health had turned worse, and would eventually claim him on November 25^th, 1748. During his life, Watts penned over sixty different books in subjects ranging from geography, to logic and astronomy.

                The tune most strongly associated with “Joy to the World” is Antioch, which was written by a prominent American Composer, Lowell Mason.  The tune for “Joy to the World” was not coupled with the text until nearly 100 years after it was written. Originally published in Mason’s 1836 booklet Occasional Psalm and Hymn Tunes (the 3^rd edition), the tune was marked “Arr. From Handel” (Westermeyer, p 40), which has added some confusion to the origin of the hymn tune. Because of the marking, many people wonder if the tune didn’t come from “Glory to God” and “Comfort Ye” from G.F. Handel’s Messiah, but it has been suggested that the origin begins three years prior to Mason’s booklet. The tune can be linked to tunes in Thomas Hawkes’s A Collection of Tunes (Watchet, Somerset, 1830), and William Holford’s Voce di Melodia (London, c. 1835)(Westermeyer, p 40).  The apparent arrangements made by Mason may have been a slight arrangement of the melody (he changed four notes), and the coupling of the tune with Watt’s “appealing text.” Though he never was very good at it, Mason managed to take the melody and make the hymn into a fugue. This moves to show the “inertia and importance of the community in spite of what any individual author or composer may like or dislike,” (Westermeyer, p 40).

                Lowell Mason is known as the father of American church music, and had shown musical prowess from his birth in 1792 in Medfield, Massachusetts. Mason has contributed many things to the world of music, including the large shift of respect of the profession of a musician that has changed over the last century. Mason is known to have played a large role in changing the face of early music education, as well as the education of music in the church. Spending most of his spare time practicing music, Mason had an incredible drive to get better as a musician and to constantly improve upon his skill. At the age of 20, Mason began a clerkship in a banking house in Savannah, Georgia, in which he spent any time when he was not working, practicing and taking lessons under the instruction of F.L. Abel. During his spare time, Mason began working in his personal compositions, and eventually came up with a collection of church music that was presented to a publishing company in Philadelphia and Boston, but was turned down by both companies. Eventually, the manuscript caught the attention of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society, and was submitted to the severest editor in Boston, Dr. G.K. Jackson. After Jackson had heartily approved of the manuscript, he entered some of his own compositions into the manuscript and resubmitted it to the publisher. In 1822, the publication was finally approved, and was published under the name of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music, without the name of Lowell Mason (which was done at Mason’s own request).   With the book becoming wildly popular, with nearly 17 editions published, Mason was given the opportunity to become an honorary member of the Handel and Haydn Society, but he turned down the offer so that he could become an active member, earning a guaranteed $2,000 a year.

                Finally, in 1826, Mason returned to Boston, where he was offered the job of Director of Music at Hanover, Green, and Park Street churches, in which he would go between the two churches every 6 months. Eventually, Mason left the guaranteed money, and accepted a full time position as the Music Director at the Bowdoin Street Church. In 1827 Mason accepted the position as Director and Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society, in which he earn the title of “Father of American Church Music.” Because Mason was in America, he was considered to be higher than his surroundings when it came to musical ability, but had he been in Europe, he may have been considered “average,” which allows us to know his musical prowess was so strong and played a prominent role in America.

The Text:

(1)    Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

(2)    Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

(3)    No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

(4)    He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

My Take on the Hymn:

                This hymn always amazes me, especially around Christmas time. The celebratory nature of the text allows us to feel the full joy of Christ’s arrival on Earth. With the coming of Christ, we need to make room for him in our hearts, and that is what the season of Advent is for. In the third stanza, the text “He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found” stands out to me above the rest of the text. Christ has come to us on Earth so that we as man would no longer be held by the bonds of Sin and Death, and he did these things from the moment he was born. Our lives are full of hurt every day, but Christ has promised us that he will take the hurt away from us, and this promise was fulfilled with his arrival on Earth. For centuries, prophets had been predicting Christ’s birth, but we as humans had to wait in slow anticipation for him to arrive, but this hymn perfectly describes the joy that can be found in the arrival of our savior, marking the end of our suffering, and the beginning of the reign of our Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God!

The Hymn:

If you cannot read music, just play the Youtube video and follow along!

Bibliography:

Julian, John. "Joy to the World! the Lord Is Come!" Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

"Isaac Watts." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "ANTIOCH." Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

Julian, John. "Lowell Mason." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2012.

Westermeyer, Paul. "Joy to the World." Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Vol. 1. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2010. 39-41. Print.