Immortal Love, Forever Full

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Well, it’s been quite a week. 

From productive meetings and back-to-back private students, two great choir rehearsals, and my first full day at Fitchburg State, “stomping out fires” and a massive amount of email, it’s been exciting and a little overwhelming at times. 

I am amazed at all of the music and teaching opportunities that are in front of me this semester but there are times when I feel incapable. “How can I keep up with all of this?” I ask myself. Perhaps I need to read this post again?

Yesterday, I took a few minutes to review a few pieces before choir rehearsal.  I turned to one of our new pieces (my favorite anthem in the folders right now)—“Immortal Love, Forever Full” (arr. Kreider—listen here). 

I was the only one in the Sanctuary and the church was quiet. . .it was so peaceful. I relished the moment of solitude. It became a moment of worship for me, playing there in the middle of the afternoon. I read the words and let the meaning sink in. A sense of calmness washed over me—just what my soul needed. “Forever shared, forever whole, a never ebbing sea!”

–

Immortal love, forever full, 
forever flowing free,
forever shared, forever whole, 
a never ebbing sea!

Our outward lips confess the name
all other names above;
love only knoweth whence it came, 
and comprehendeth love.

We may not climb the heavenly steeps
to bring the Lord Christ down;
in vain we search the lowest deeps,
for Him no depths can drown.

But warm, sweet, tender, even yet,
a present help is He; 
and faith still has its Olivet,
and love its Calvary.

The healing of His seamless dress
is by our beds of pain;
we touch Him in life’s throng and press,
and we are whole again.

The letter fails, the systems fall,
and every symbol wanes;
the Spirit over brooding all, 
eternal Love remains.

- John Greenleaf Whittier, 1856

Thinking of You

Thinking of you this weekend, darling. Good luck with your world premiere of "A Song of Singing" in Delray Beach tomorrow!

Image Credit: Nicholas Garofalo

Choir Concert

This weekend, the Sanctuary Choir performed a concert of their favorite anthems from the 2010-2011 church year.  We chose a Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., dressed in black and white, put together a program, and planned a reception of sweet treats.  How did we choose the music?  We took a vote!  Here are the choir's collective "top 10" anthems (in program order): 1. And the Father Will Dance (Mark Hayes) 2. Blest Are They (David Haas) 3. Come to the Water (arr. Lynda Hasseler) 4. For the Beauty of the Earth (John Rutter) 5. Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming (Michael Praetorius) 6. An Hour of Hallowed Peace (Steve Danyew) 7. Brother James' Air (arr. Gordon Jacob) 8. Speaking Love (Steve Danyew) 9. Prayer for Peace (Mary Lynn Lightfoot) 10. Go Light Your World (Chris Rice)

We had a great turnout (about 80) and it was a wonderful experience for all involved!  And there were cupcakes!

We talk often about the text in our rehearsals and preparation of music.  It is our way of communicating the message of each anthem to those listening.  As such, we thought it important that those attending this concert have at least a few representative lines for each piece.  Here are the program notes we included in each program:

And the Father Will Dance is a jubilant anthem based on Zephaniah 3:17: “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”

Blest Are They is a beautiful portrayal of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12.  The alternating verse/chorus structure of this piece brings back recurring text of hope and assurance.

Come to the Water is a powerful, moving anthem; one which reminds us of God’s beckoning call – “Come.”

For the Beauty of the Earth is the first in our set of anthems with old texts.  Written by Folliott Pierpont in 1864, the text of this traditional hymn of thanksgiving reads as follows:

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, For the love, which from our birth over and around us lies, Lord of all, to thee we raise this, our joyful hymn of praise.

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming is the oldest anthem on our program today.  With the tune dating back to the Renaissance period (16^th century – harmonized by Praetorius in 1609) and original German text from the 15^th century (Anonymous), this hymn is traditionally sung during the season of Advent.

Lo, how a rose e’er blooming, from tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung. It came, a flow’ret bright, Amid the cold of winter, when half-spent was the night.

An Hour of Hallowed Peace is a new composition by Steve Danyew composed for the Sanctuary Choir in April 2011.  The text by William Tappan was discovered in an old hymnal purchased at last year’s Westminster Historical Society Sale:

There is an hour of hallowed peace For those with cares oppressed When sighs and sorrowing shall cease, And all be hushed to rest: ‘Tis then the soul is freed from fears And doubts, which here annoy; Then they, who oft have sown in tears, Shall reap again in joy.

Brother James’ Air was first published in 1915 by the Scottish composer, James Leith Macbeth Bain (known as Brother James).  Gordon Jacob set the text of Psalm 23 to the tune in 1934:

Speaking Love is a new composition by Steve Danyew composed for the Sanctuary Choir in December 2010.  Though written for the Christmas season, the message is one to live by all through the year:

Giving joy, sharing hope, Cheering spirits, sing noel, Being comfort strong enough, Peace on earth, speaking love.

Prayer for Peace is a beautiful, lyrical anthem – a reflection on our desire for peace in our hearts and across the nations.

Go Light Your World is an upbeat, contemporary piece – a call to reach out to the lonely, the lost, and those in need; to light a candle, to share the light of Christ.

A Day with Alice Parker

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a choral workshop in western Massachusetts with Alice Parker.  The soft-spoken, grey-haired woman dressed in bright colors had the room of 15 attendees mesmerized for two 3-hour sessions.  You’d never know she was in her mid-eighties.  In addition to reflecting on her experiences (her time at Juilliard and the opportunity to work with the great Robert Shaw), Alice spoke of the qualities that make music powerful and captivating.

We spent the morning singing and improvising folk songs with a focus on accents, melody, and text.  Never before have I paid such close attention to the melody!  In our Western culture, we place so much emphasis on harmony that the inherent value of the melody is often lost or obscured.  Alice states in her book (The Anatomy of Melody, p. xv):

Western music is the only society to list harmony right up there in the trinity of musical greats.  But I don’t think it belongs there.  If melody (tones) and rhythm (time) are intrinsic to human beings, then harmony is a subset of melody.  It is no more on the same level as melody than vertical combinations of rhythmic figures would be equal to rhythm itself.  Should we say melody, harmony, rhythm, and polyrhythms?

With this mindset in place, a room of music professionals enjoyed singing elementary-level music in unison.  There was freedom and flexibility in the music-making and almost no accompaniment.  What better way to teach choral music, especially for children?  In the afternoon, we observed a coaching session between Alice and a high school chorus from the area.  What incredible insight as to how to truly embody music and communicate its fullest potential.  Lastly, Alice focused on departure from the written score and greater reliance on the ear.  She also speaks about this in her book (The Anatomy of Melody, p. xxii):

I have come to realize over the years that a healthy mistrust of written music is the only proper starting point.  The page doesn’t mean what it seems.  It’s only a beginning (sight) not an ending (sound). . . .Does a song you know leap out at you with the immediacy of a remembered voice?  Or do the symbols lie obstinately flat on the page with the attendant words similarly meaningless?  To understand what I am attempting here, realize that I am trying to balance two antithetical worlds at once–those of eye and ear–and in this case, ear must always triumph not only in notes, but in the written text where a living voice must be sounding for you to begin to respond in kind.  And respond, aloud, you must!  Sing, argue, affirm, correct–the page does not live until you enter into its dialogue with your ear, voice, and mind.

Image Credit: personal