Lofty Sounds and Themes

BETWEEN THE LINES for Sunday, October 6, 2013

The intended audience for this blog post is members and friends of Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill, South Carolina. It is shared as a resource in preparation for worship this coming weekend. Blessings to all read this post. May the peace of Christ be with you.    

THE PRELUDE for TRUMPET SOLO

The Prelude this Sunday, “I Sing the Almighty Power of God” for trumpet solo with piano, comes from the pen of Jim Lucas. This fine arrangement is from his collection Everlasting Song, Descant Publications, 1990. Lucas says in the introduction to the collection:

The Lord knew the power music would have upon His creation: the power to set a heart at rest, the power to excite, to motivate, to stir the soul, the power to shield the believer from the enemy.

The hymn text for this prelude selection is a beautiful reflection on the wonder of God’s powerful act of creation:

I sing the almighty power of God, that made the mountains rise;

That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.

I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day,

The moon shines full at His command, and all the stars obey.

                                                            Isaac Watts, 1715

The hymn concludes with a reminder of God’s sovereignty over and omnipresence in His creation:

While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care;
And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.

I can’t think of a better way to begin worship than with a reminder of such lofty themes. Or as the psalmist said in Psalm 95:

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,

    and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

    the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

    and his hands formed the dry land.

MUSIC by ALEXANDRE GUILMANT

The offertory selection and one of the pieces played during Holy Communion are organ works written for church services by the great French organist and composer Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (1837 – 1911). His vast output of works is almost entirely for his own instrument, the organ. It’s a real possibility that his works, many of which are fairly short, might be the most often played repertoire in places of worship where an organ is used around the world in the decades since he penned them. In worship, we always fall in line behind a vast heritage of men and women who have dedicated their lives to the house of God and its services of worship.

Selections from Guilmant this week include Cantabile, Op. 41, No. 4, and Prayer, Op. 47, No. 4.

Cantabile is a musical term that means in a singing style; to be performed melodiously and singingly. I like to think of this verse from Ephesians 5 every time I see that term used: 

Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.

The lovely, simple Prayer is an unspoken reminder during the serving of communion that “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.” (I Cor. 11:28)


OTHER MUSIC 

During communion, a setting of Beneath the Cross ofJesus will also be heard. With a sermon series taking the congregation through the book of Exodus, the first stanza from that hymn strikes a freshly resonant chord:  

Beneath the cross of Jesus, I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way
From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.

The postlude is a Voluntary on the hymn Lift High the Cross in a setting by Charles Callahan. Although this hymn has become better known in recent decades, it was penned in 1916.

The privilege of playing music by such gifted composers on fine instruments is a reason for both musicians and listeners to say, “Thanks be to God for the gift of this music!”

October 6 is celebrated as World Communion Sunday in many houses of worship around the world. I hope to commune at the table of our Lord with many of you in worship this weekend.      Nancy Gerst, organist

MUSIC LINKS for a PREVIEW

Cantabile and Prayer, Op. 41, No. 4; Op. 47, No. 4, Guilmant 

I Sing the Mighty Power of God - in an a capella male ensemble version;

    and here for organ and timpani from the Crystal Cathedral (begins at 1:03);

and here with an English tune by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.