PRAY Lord, we are grateful for the beauty You created, for the Divine and human love we get to experience and return, and for Your great sacrifice for us. Accept this song as an offering of gratitude. LYRIC For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light, Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild, Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For yourself, best gift divine, to the world so freely given, agent of God's grand design: peace on earth and joy in heaven. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. SCRIPTURE Psalm 8 BACKGROUND The text "For The Beauty Of The Earth" was written by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint in 1863. Sitting on a hilltop outside his home in Bath, he wrote these lyrics in appreciation for the beauty of God's creation in the nature he saw all around him. Although he wrote several volumes of poetry and contributed to a number of hymnals, For The Beauty Of The Earth is the only hymn that we still sing today. One commentary noted, "Above all, Pierpoint thought of the sacrifice of Christ, in the greatest of sacrifices, that of his life in return for ours. He thus originally wrote the text of “For the Beauty of the Earth” as a hymn for the Lord’s Supper. The original chorus read, “Christ, our God, to thee we raise this, our sacrifice of praise.” The hymn was meant not only as a song of thanksgiving, but as the only thing we could give Christ in return for his mercy and love: a hymn of praise laid upon the altar as a sacrifice. Editors have since altered the refrain so it has become a more generic hymn of thanksgiving, but as it stands, it takes on a deeper meaning when understood as something we not only sing, but offer up to God." The hymn-tune to which this lyric is set is entitled DIX and was composed by Conrad Kocher, a German who initially aspired to be a teacher but ultimately became a musician due to his love for musical greats Haydn and Mozart. He spent most of his life working in and around the church for whom he composed an abundance of music. The version of this tune that has been accepted as "DIX" is actually a version of his chorale melody for “Treuer Heiland, wir sind hir,” which William H. Monk shortened and edited. "Minuet No. 2" as it is often called, is popularly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, although it is likely that it was actually written by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In either case, in 1725, Bach included it in his "Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach" as 7. Menuet, BWV Anhang 116. This composition was originally written for keyboard instruments (in that time period, likely it would have first been performed on harpsichord or organ) but has been adapted for many solo instruments. PERSONAL If you've been struggling to figure out the new frequency with which I plan on posting new Hymns From Home, you're not alone. I've been trying to figure it out as well! I've landed on once-a-week as a frequency that is sustainable in my new found role as an unemployed, full-time-stay-at-home-mom-to-a-toddler-that-gave-up-napping-for-Lent-and-has-continued-with-no-forseeable-end-in-sigh. Monday nights at 8:00 pm central are my target, and as always, that 8pm central part has a big ole window of grace next to it.
Last night as I set up my gear to record something for tonight, not having a clue what I wanted to record, I flipped open an old hymnal that happened to be on my bookshelf that my mother rescued from a church that was getting rid of them. For the Beauty of the Earth basically fell open and I loved the idea that it was one I could have fun with so I started literally fiddling around with it and in the middle it hit me that although it was in a different time signature, it felt reminiscent of a Minuet I'd learned on the violin when I was about 4. If you've ever had a kiddo in the Suzuki program, you've likely heard this tune screeched out during practice sessions. I've taken liberty with it so if you're a Baroque purist, don't send me mean emails. However, Bach both wrote for the church AND took a few liberties in life, so I'm decently confident that if he were here today he would be fine with it. It's probably been over 20 years since I've thought to play this tune, so it may not be accurate, but I thought it paired nicely with the hymn and gave us a result that was both happy and worshipful.
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PRAY Lord, remind us even at the close of this day, that morning will break again tomorrow and Your Mercies are new EVERY MORNING. Put a praise on our lips and a song in our hearts. LYRIC Morning has broken Like the first morning, Blackbird has spoken Like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing Fresh from the Word! Sweet the rain’s new fall Sunlit from Heaven, Like the first dewfall On the first grass. Praise for the sweetness Of the wet garden, Sprung in completeness Where his feet pass. Mine is the sunlight, Mine is the morning, Born of the one light Eden saw play. Praise with elation, Praise every morning, God’s re-creation Of the new day! SCRIPTURE Lamentations 3:21-23 BACKGROUND Morning Has Broken was written by Eleanor Farjeon, best known as a children's author who was particularly popular in Britain in the first half of the 20th century. However there is nothing childish about Farjeon at all who was an incredibly talented writer across the board both of stories and of lyrics...even having co-composed the libretto to an opera at age 16 with her brother. The hymn-tune was Gaelic melody that was first formally published in 1888 as the setting for different hymn text by Mary MacDonald. The tune was formally named BUNESSAN after MacDonald's birthplace and the name stuck even when applied to Morning Has Broken in 1931, and a few other texts as well. I'm not certain the validity of this story, but the origin of the text that I most commonly found in my research was simply that a children's hymnal needed a song giving thanks to God in the morning, and she was contracted to write one. Simple, but in this season as I think about how we are each seeking to meet needs, I find this story both plausible and beautiful. PERSONAL I've always loved the singable folk quality of this hymn, particularly, as one may be able to guess, the version that streamed out of my parents' record player from the Cat Stevens LP I'd often put on. I couldn't imagine doing a Hymns series without it...and to capture that fun folky feel I knew I'd need "The Stephens."
I first met producer/guitarist/studio engineer Stephen Leiweke about five years ago while working on a project with Kelly Minter. Since then, we've had the pleasure of playing as part of the band for the Cultivate: A Gathering Around The Word events as well as few studio sessions at his amazing Yackland Studio, and many many hours on the road. He was also gracious enough to play guitar on my solo show last summer. Stephen sets the bar high both as a musician and roadmate. Everything he does is executed with precision and perfection as if he is simply incapable of making a mistake. He also happens to have one of the kindest, servant-hearted attitudes of anyone I know. If you find your self needing something, he's probably already anticipated the need, sniffed out the resources, and got a solution all ready and waiting for you. This video project is no exception. My friends and I up to this point have been sort of gleefully winging things - playing with neither count in nor click track and crossing our fingers that it all works out. (Which is has because Michelle Margiotta is a patient, video-editing genius). However, when I opened the dropbox folder Stephen sent me I saw not only his flawlessly beautiful video and audio tracks, but also a written chart, three different versions of click track, written notes on what he'd played to help me out, and he'd already sent the whole enchilada to our ukulele friend too. Because of course he had. I had the immense pleasure of becoming dear friends with Stephen Mason's wife, Jude, before I ever knew him at all. She and I were part of a group that was equal parts poetry/writing/art/therapy/friendship and a couple years later when I first set foot in our now-church, I was beyond delighted to see her there in a pew. Fast forward a few years and her husband Stephen has become one of my most favorite fellow music makers. His presence in our church music loft brings color and shine both figuratively and literally as he recently refinished his bass in sparkly glitter. After spending 20 years as a founding member in the band "Jars Of Clay," Mason qualified as a Master Barber and opened his own shop called "The Handsomizer." From straight-razor shaves to haircuts, he does it the old-fashioned "right" way and clients walk out not only looking, well...handsomer, but also with lighter souls from having spent an hour with one of the best listeners in town. Beyond the fact that I thought the talents of these gentlemen would just lend themselves well to this tune, I also felt like the lyric fit them both. Though different from one another for sure, both these fellows are the type that find the good in each day, gently remind me of that good when I struggle to find it for myself, and faithfully praise the Lord. May we remember that His mercies are new every morning and will be until there are no more mornings except the Eternal morning in His Presence. Typically our church begins our Holy Saturday Easter vigil with this song. Since we could not all be together this year, one of our congregants and my friend Adam Wirdzek produced this incredible video of our musician team and singers performing this beautiful piece. I was so honored to be able to play a tiny part in this alongside so many incredibly talented friends and am excited to share it as a special Easter Sunday edition of Hymns From Home.
Shine On Us Words and Music by Michael W. Smith and Deborah D. Smith © 1996 Deer Valley Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing), Sony/ATV Milene Music. CCLI# 1754646. Used by permission. Performed by members of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, Nashville, TN. Video produced by Adam Wirdzek. Sound engineering assistance by David Madeira and Meg Settle. PRAY Lord, on this Holy Saturday as your absence is so pronounced and we anticipate your return and the hope that it brings, may we not forget this feeling of longing and trembling and use it to help us choose you each and every morning until we finally meet you face to face. LYRICS
Give Me Jesus and the hymn-tune by the same name, is a beautiful spiritual that began to make its way into hymnals in around 1860. Likewise, "Were You There" also grew out of the African American spiritual tradition although it's first inclusion in a hymnal wasn't until 1899. Additional stanzas ask the questions "Were you there when they pierced him in the side?" and one of the most poignant - "Were you there when the sun refused to shine?" which struck me immensely as I consider this Easter weekend. Tonight's guest pianist is Dr. David Madeira, director of music at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, a professor of music theory and theology/worship studies at Belmont University, and a prolific composer, percussionist, pianist and arranger. An expert in the field of congregational psalmody, Dr. Madeira is best known for the creation of the twelve-point chant, a new format that makes chanting the Psalms accessible for modern congregations. His "The Twelve Point Chant Psalter" includes all 150 Psalms for congregational use and is available for purchase HERE. David and his wife Elizabeth, a teacher and community organizer, live near Nashville, TN with their three kids. I'm grateful to Michelle Margiotta for her work editing this video. PERSONAL Of all the events that I've had cancelled due to this pandemic, nothing has hit me harder than the loss of celebrating this Easter weekend with the congregations with which I was scheduled to worship is the loss that has weighed heaviest on me. The services that lead up to Easter Sunday are raw and weighty and I almost don't know how to move through this season without the guide of playing through music prayerfully curated to follow the liturgy and Scriptures that follow a series of events so crucial to our Faith. Although I often "work" on Easter Sunday worshipping with my violin alongside another church that I don't regularly attend, being with my St. B's community on Maundy Thursday through Saturday Vigil has become sacred to me.
Even tonight as I write this I'm grieving that we aren't in the sanctuary that has become such a safe space for me, playing notes that accompany our parish family down the path from the cross to the tomb to the garden. When I was first planning for this #HymnsFromHome series I'd shot David a text asking if he had any hymns he'd particularly like to play and he instantly recalled doing an arrangement of "Were You There" a few years ago (which I'd forgotten) and because the lamenting tone of that spiritual so well fits the desperate cry of "Give Me Jesus," I asked if he'd arrange the two together for Holy Saturday. In these hours between the crucifixion and the revelation of Christ's resurrection, I can only imagine the hushed discussions that would have taken place..."were YOU there? Last night? When Jesus who calls Himself the Messiah was crucified?" and how desperate His followers would have been to have Jesus back. Or at least understand the events that were unfolding. "Give me Jesus" would certainly have been their cry as it is ours tonight and all the time. REFLECT The forced pause of this year reminds us of the first Easter when the longing and grief of Thursday and Friday and Saturday were sharp and unprecedented. Those who knew Jesus during His time on earth did not have the benefit of having already experienced a risen Christ, so they lamented and mourned without hope. I pray that although our hope feels deferred in this season that we would find a richness in the message that a resurrection is coming - not of our old way of ife, but of a new way that is better than the past for "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:19) LYRIC & SCRIPTURE Because this piece is instrumental only, in lieu of lyric I am posting instead an excerpt of Psalm 22 and a link to John 19 as they are the corresponding Psalm and Gospel reading for this Good Friday. I encourage you to open these passages up and read and consider them as you listen. Psalm 22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest. Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel. Our forefathers put their trust in you; they trusted, and you delivered them. I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. John 19 BACKGROUND Arvo Pärt is a contemporary Estonian composer who has had a huge impact on the musical compositions of the past century. His personal history was deeply affected by the rise and fall of the USSR. His greatest contribution perhaps is the development of a new musical language called tintinnabuli (from the Latin for ’little bell’) that plays on melody and triad. His Spiegel im Spiegel piece was composed in this style in 1978. The title is German and can mean both "mirror in the mirror" as well as "mirrors in the mirror" certainly appropriate for a piece used as a setting for reflection. Pärt is married with two sons and continues to contribute to the landscape of modern music. Tonight's guest pianist is Dr. David Madeira, director of music at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, a professor of music theory and theology/worship studies at Belmont University, and a prolific composer, percussionist, pianist and arranger. An expert in the field of congregational psalmody, Dr. Madeira is best known for the creation of the twelve-point chant, a new format that makes chanting the Psalms accessible for modern congregations. His "The Twelve Point Chant Psalter" includes all 150 Psalms for congregational use and is available for purchase HERE. David and his wife Elizabeth, a teacher and community organizer, live near Nashville, TN with their three kids. This video was edited by Dr. Michelle Margiotta. PERSONAL Although not a hymn, I'm including this piece in the "Hymns From Home" project anyway as it was originally recorded as part of a socially distanced Good Friday liturgy for St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. I first heard this piece back in 2017 when David sent it to me to consider playing for the Maundy Thursday foot-washing service that our church holds. I actually found the email the other day where I wrote back to him and said, "sounds great - doesn't look complicated." Of course this was before I'd played it. The bow control necessary in the violin part is delicate and precise and I'm still on the journey to doing it justice. (To be honest, there are moments even in this particular video that I cringe a bit because I know it *could* have been more precise.) But the melody and the sensitivity are so beautiful and they turn over in my mind and fingers whenever I need to breathe and pray you find the same in them tonight.
We have titled this particular performance "Spiegel im Spiegel {A.Pärt/Together}" as a play off the composer's name but also to pay homage to the season and form in which it was performed. Because this piece already exists in a delicately balanced space of rhythm and scale, not being able to be together to record made it especially challenging. David and I both had the opportunity to be in the music loft space at our church, but obviously not at the same time due to this season as is reflected in the videos you see above. The juxtaposition of the same setting at different times; the light streaming through the stained glass and the dark chapel with only the light of the cross was honestly an unintentional necessity, dictated by our personal schedules, but it is a reminder of the strange and disjointedness of this present day as well as a tribute to the beauty of hope that transcends all darkness. |
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January 2022
CategoriesAbout BethanyBethany is a freelance violinist/fiddler and tour manager who works with artists & events such as Kelly Minter, Cultivate: A Gathering Around The Word and Laura Story. She and her husband Keith live in Nashville, TN with their daughter Clare, cat & 6 backyard chickens. For more info on Bethany, visit her bio page!! |