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Hymn History: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

02 Dec

“Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart”
Edward H. Plumptre
The UM Hymnal,  Nos. 160 and 161

Rejoice, ye pure in heart;
rejoice, give thanks, and sing;
your glorious banner wave on high,
the cross of Christ your King.
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, give thanks, and sing.

“Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart” was the middle hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on October 15, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s Sanctuary choir, congregation, directed by Patrick King and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Closing Hymn “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart” on May 29, 2022 was directed by Brian Stevenson and accompanied by Liz Sellers on piano and sung by the Pender Sanctuary Choir and Congregation.

Anglican priest and professor Edward Hayes Plumptre (1821-1891) composed “Rejoice, ye pure in heart” as a processional hymn for a choir festival in one of England’s majestic places of worship, Peterborough Cathedral.

Writing in the mid-20th century with perhaps a hint of condescension, hymnologist Albert Bailey describes the context for this hymn by saying that the “untravelled American can hardly realize the emotional effect of a processional made up of choirs from a dozen different communities, marching with full panoply through ‘long-drawn aisle’ and under ‘fretted vault’ while we hear:

The storm their high-built organs make,
And thunder-music, rolling, shake
The prophets blazoned on the panes.

“The massiveness of the old Norman Peterborough makes a marvelous background and amplifier for such a processional.”

Plumptre was a distinguished scholar of his day. Educated at University College, Oxford, he then became a fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford, receiving his ordination in the Anglican Church in 1846. After serving as a clergyman, he became chaplain and professor of New Testament exegesis at King’s College, London, and dean of Queen’s College, Oxford. His most prominent position as a clergyman was that of dean of Wells Cathedral.

Of the original 11 stanzas, five or six stanzas appear in most hymnals. Stanza one refers (in the original text) to the “festal banner” and “Cross of Christ your King,” symbols of the faith that would be carried at the head of such a procession in the Anglican context.

Omitted stanzas refer to this processional in martial terms as warriors who “march in firm array.” This kind of imagery is not only consonant with the times, but also reflects the theology of the Anglican Communion that views its role on earth as the “Church Militant” while the church in heaven is the “Church Triumphant.”

Of course, the music used for this text must reflect the spirit of a stately processional. American hymnologist Leonard Ellinwood said that the tune MARION was written for this text by Arthur Messiter (1834-1916). Messiter added the refrain drawn from the first two lines of stanza one: “Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice give thanks and sing” echoes Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”

Hymnologist William Reynolds noted that it “was not unusual for a cathedral processional to take from ten to thirty minutes, and the hymn that was sung by both the choir and the congregation needed to have enough stanzas for this.”

Mr. Bailey’s earlier comments notwithstanding, not all participants in festival worship were enamored by such lengthy processionals. Mr. Reynolds goes on to say that “A review of a hymnal… [commented] that some of the processional hymns were so long that some of the congregation would need to walk about in order to stay awake.”

The United Methodist Hymnal includes a second tune, VINEYARD HAVEN, with this text. Richard W. Dirksen composed this tune in 1974 for the installation of John M. Allin as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in Washington Cathedral.

Carlton Young, editor of The UM Hymnal, found this text less than worthy, and notes: “Dirksen’s setting… [saves] a maudlin hymn from its deserved place in hymnic obscurity.”

Regardless of how one evaluates the quality of this text, we can all be grateful to be spared from 30-minute processionals in worship.

Dr. Hawn is professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology.

From https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-rejoice-ye-pure-in-heart

 
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Posted by on December 2, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Ministries, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

 

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Hymn History: When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee

25 Sep

 

“When Jesus the Healer Passed through Galilee”
Peter D. Smith
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 263

“When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee” was the closing hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 10, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s Sanctuary choir, congregation and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Closing Hymn “When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee” on Sunday June 19, 2022 was accompanied by Liz Sellers on piano, Brian Stevenson on guitar and sung by Brian and the Pender Congregation.

During the season of Epiphany, we recall those actions of Jesus, especially the miracles, that demonstrate that he was indeed the Christ, the Son of God. “When Jesus the healer” provides a compendium of many of Christ’s miraculous healing activities.

Peter David Smith was born in Weybridge, Surrey, England, in 1938. After working for a time in the aircraft industry, he became a Methodist minister. A hallmark of his ministry was his gift as a folksinger. Though trained as a classical pianist, the folk guitar became his instrument of choice. He edited several popular song collections including Faith, Folk, and Charity (1968), Faith, Folk and Nativity (1969), Faith, Folk, and Festivity (1969), and New Orbit (1972). These collections appeared during the height of the popularity of the folk music idiom.

The folk idiom in the service of the church provides an immediacy and accessibility to great biblical truths. While classical hymnody often engages through the depth of metaphors and symbolic use of language, the more colloquial language of the folk idiom captures us with its earthiness—what you see is what you get. The music of a successful folksong must be easily learned—captured immediately—or it works against the directness of the language.

Folk Songs often tell stories, or have a narrative quality. The guitar is the preferred instrument of the folksinger. Its portability and accessibility invite participation. An organ or even a piano might separate the singer and the people, both in physical and psychological space, but not the guitar.

In many ways, Christian folk singers of the 1960s and 1970s find their roots in the songs of Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), Pete Seeger (b. 1919) and Bob Dylan (b. 1941), to name a few. However, the prototype of the Christian folksong may be found in Sydney Carter (1915-2004) and his famous “Lord of the Dance” (1963). Carter shocked the faithful and endeared himself to the prophets in the church. While he is known primarily for “Lord of the Dance” in the United States, many more of his songs are commonly sung in England.

The overarching narrative of Jesus as healer guides this hymn. In a mere 22 syllables and a brief refrain, the author opens up an entire healing narrative in each stanza: stanza 1, Luke 4:31-41; stanza 2, Mark 2:3-12; stanza 3, Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; stanza 4, Mark 10:46-52; stanzas 5 and 6, Matthew 10:5-15. A soloist carries the weight of the narrative in the third person while the people respond from the perspective of those needing healing in the first person plural: “Heal us, heal us today!”

Mr. Smith composed this song during a course he was teaching on contemporary worship for the Iona Community in 1975. Later, he served on the editorial committee for the hymnal, Partners in Praise (1979), and this was one of ten contributions by the composer included in its contents.

One stanza was omitted due to sensitivity to discriminatory language and a slight alteration to one line in stanza five was made for the same reason. Other than that, the hymn comes to us as originally composed.

The composer skillfully draws the people into the narrative in the final stanza by pointing out that the need for Christ’s healing power is still with us today: “There’s still so much sickness and suffering today. . . . We gather together for healing and pray: Heal us, Lord Jesus!”

*© 1979 Stainer & Bell, Ltd. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dr. Hawn is professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-when-jesus-the-healer-passed-through-galilee

 
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Posted by on September 25, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Military Ministry, Ministries, Music, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

 

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Hymn History: Be Thou My Vision

12 Sep

 

“Said to be a favourite of King Charles’, ‘Be Thou my Vision’ is one of the oldest hymns in the world. Its text has its origins in 6th-century Ireland, in a poem attributed to early Christian Irish poet Dallán Forgaill. In the early 20th century, Forgaill’s Gaelic words were translated into English by Mary Elizabeth Byrne, and soon after adapted into verse by Eleanor Hull.

“Today, the text is usually sung to an Irish folk tune known as ‘Slane’, an ever-rising and deeply satisfying melody which gradually opens up through the verse, before resolving on the tonic on the final three notes.”
from The 15 greatest, most rousing hymns of all time

“Be Thou My Vision” was the middle hymn at Pender’s Music Appreciation Sunday on June 11, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and guitar by Brian Stevenson.

“Be Thou My Vision”
Versified by Eleanor Hull
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 451

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day and by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Sometimes hymn singing invites us to connect with the saints who have gone before. Such is the case with the famous Irish hymn, “Be Thou my vision.” The original poem, found in two Irish manuscripts in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, may be dated as early as the 8th century.

Quite often, older hymns come to us as a collaborative effort before we are able to sing them from our hymnals. The Irish text, beginning “Rob tu mo bhoile, a Comdi cride,” was translated into literal prose by Irish scholar Mary Byrne (1880-1931), a Dublin native, and then published in Eriú, the journal of the School of Irish Learning, in 1905. Byrne was also known for her academic publications, including Old and Mid-Irish Dictionary, Dictionary of the Irish Language, and a treatise, England in the Age of Chaucer.

The original prose translation comes to us in 16 couplets.

The first is: Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart. None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

And the last is: O heart of my heat, whate’er befall me, O ruler of all, be thou my vision.

It is at this point that Eleanor Hull (1860-1935) enters the story. Born in Manchester, England, she was the founder of the Irish Text Society and president of the Irish Literary Society of London. Hull versified the text and it was published in her Poem Book of the Gael (1912).

Following the original publication in Ireland, the hymn was included in a number of British hymnals. After World War II, the hymn came to the attention of hymnal editors in the U.S. and it has become a standard hymn in most hymnals today.

Irish liturgy and ritual scholar Helen Phelan, a lecturer at the University of Limerick, points out how the language of this hymn is drawn from traditional Irish culture: “One of the essential characteristics of the text is the use of ‘heroic’ imagery to describe God. This was very typical of medieval Irish poetry, which cast God as the ‘chieftain’ or ‘High King’ (Ard Ri) who provided protection to his people or clan. The lorica is one of the most popular forms of this kind of protection prayer and is very prevalent in texts of this period.” The original chieftain language of the “High King of heaven” has given way to the more inclusive “Great God” in the UM Hymnal.

When Hull’s versification was paired with the lovely traditional Irish tune SLANE in The Irish Church Hymnal in 1919, its popularity was sealed. The folk melody was taken from a non-liturgical source, Patrick Weston Joyce’s Old Irish Folk Music and Songs: A Collection of 842 Airs and Songs hitherto unpublished (1909).

“Most ‘traditional’ Irish religious songs are non-liturgical,” says Dr. Phelan. “There is a longstanding practice of ‘editorial weddings’ in Irish liturgical music, where traditional tunes were wedded to more liturgically appropriate texts. This is a very good example of this practice.”

It was on Slane Hill in County Meath around 433 CE that St. Patrick lit candles on Easter Eve, defying a decree by High King Logaire of Tara that no one could light a fire before the king signaled the beginning of the pagan spring festival by lighting a fire on Tara Hill. King Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance, he was permitted to continue his work as Ireland’s first Christian missionary.

Dr. Hawn is director of the sacred music program at Perkins School of Theology.

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Music, Music Ministry, Posts of Interest, Videos

 

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Hymn History: Tell Out My Soul/Be Still My Soul

04 Sep

The above is the melody to Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, which is commonly used for “Tell Out, My Soul” as well as “Be Still, My Soul”.

“Be Still My Soul” was the prelude at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on August 6, 2023. It was played on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

 

“Tell Out My Soul” by Joel Raney was sung at Pender’s 2022 Christmas Cantata by Laura Connors, soprano and Brian Stevenson, baritone

The main melody was based on Finlandia, a tone poem by Jean Sibelius.

From the publisher: This paraphrase of the Song of Mary calls for Christians to proclaim the greatness of the Lord, the greatness of his name, the greatness of his might, and the greatness of his word. For soprano and baritone solo with choir backup, this piece is equally effective with piano accompaniment or full orchestra. It originally appeared in Mary McDonald and Joel Raney’s best-selling Christmas musical, Sing Christmas.

Special thanks to the Sanctuary Choir, Liz Sellers, accompanist, Brian Stevenson, director and the Orchestra: Gwyn Jones, flute; Jeff Kahan, oboe; Alisha Coleman, clarinet; Jeanne Kim, violin; Sean Wittmer, violin; Ethan Chien, viola and Kyle Ryu-cello for all the effort in presenting Pender’s Christmas Cantata!

More from the Christmas Cantata at https://penderumc.org/music-ministry/concert-series/

The Finlandia hymn refers to a serene hymn-like section of the patriotic symphonic poem Finlandia, written in 1899 and 1900 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was later re-worked by the composer into a stand-alone piece.

Finlandia used in Be Still My Soul:

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2023 in Christmas, Christmas Music, Hymn History, hymns, Music, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

 

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Hymn History: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

28 Aug

 

“All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall,
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.”

“All Hail the Power of Jesus Name” was the opening hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on July 30, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and violin by Sean Wittmer.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Opening Hymn “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” on Sunday July 3, 2022 was played by Liz Sellers on piano and sung by the Pender Congregation.

The popularity of this late-18th-century hymn may be attested by the fact it appears in hymnals with as many as three different tunes: CORONATION, DIADEM and MILES’ LANE. Each tune reflects a different cultural and denominational context in which this text is sung.

Another unusual aspect of “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” is the number of modifications that have been made from the original text.

The original hymn text dates from 1779 and 1780, and was first printed in November 1779 in the Gospel Magazine, a publication by “Rock of Ages” composer Augustus M. Toplady. An eight-stanza version appeared just a year later in the same magazine titled, “On the Resurrection. The Lord is King.”

Massive alterations began as early as 1787 when the text was included in John Rippon’s Selection of Hymns with the title “The Spiritual Coronation, Canticles 3:11”—a reference to the Song of Songs: “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.”

British hymnologist and literary scholar J.R. Watson notes, “By applying Solomon’s crowning to this hymn, the Old Testament reference is seen as Solomon’s prefiguring of Christ.”

Among the most notable changes made by Rippon was the final stanza. Perronet originally wrote:

“Let every tribe and every tongue
That bound creation’s call,
Now shout in universal song
The crowned Lord of all.”

Rippon’s version, which took hold in the early 19th century and remains in constant use today, is:

“O that with yonder sacred throng
We at his feet may fall,
We’ll join the everlasting song,
And crown him Lord of all.”

Perronet (1726-1792) was born in Sundridge, England, and died in Canterbury. His family came from the Huguenots of Switzerland, and according to The UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young, “was closely associated with and esteemed by the Wesleys.”

Against the desires of John Wesley, Perronet promoted the idea that Methodist preachers should be able to administer the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. In another controversial act, Perronet published a satire on the Church of England, The Mitre, angering the Countess of Huntingdon in whose chapel he served. As a result, he left to become a minister in the independent chapel in Canterbury.

Working together for a time, Wesley encouraged Perronet to preach, but Perronet preferred to defer to Wesley. The Methodism founder persisted, however, and announced that, “Brother Perronet will now speak.” Perronet stood before a large crowd and declared, “I will now deliver the greatest sermon ever preached on earth.” He then read the Sermon on the Mount and promptly sat down.

The tunes commonly associated with this famous text reveal much about this joyful expression of the 18th-century evangelical revival movement. CORONATION is a tune by American Oliver Holden (1792) and was first published in Boston in 1793. A stately tune in duple meter, it has the character of a coronation march.

DIADEM was composed by James Ellor in 1838 at the age of 19 for the anniversary of a Wesleyan Sunday school in his hometown of Droylsden, Manchester. This tune, in triple rhythm, has the feel of a stately minuet and suggests an anthem to be sung by a choir, especially with the independent parts of the refrain. It is indeed thrilling to hear congregations or church musicians sing this version in four parts.

The tune originally paired with this text, MILES’ LANE, does not appear in The United Methodist Hymnal. Written by William Shrubsole (1760-1806), it is less favored, in light of the other more buoyant tune options.

Regardless of the tune, the version we sing today leaves no doubt that the entire earth—from the “chosen seed of Israel’s race” and “sinners” and “martyrs” to “every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball”—will sing the “everlasting song” at Jesus’ feet. Now that will be a song to hear!

Dr. Hawn is professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-all-hail-the-power-of-jesus-name

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Music, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

 

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