Transfiguration

The Epiphany season ends this week; the Brazilian Carnival begins on Saturday.  We won't have a party quite that crazy this week, but we will celebrate the Transfiguration with a range of festive music.  We open and close on big hymns to match the festival: "Oh, Wondrous Image, Vision Fair" (ELW 316) and "Immortal, Invisible" (ELW 834).  Also, at communion we'll sing "Beautiful Savior" (ELW 838), which is naturally dear to the heart of this St. Olaf alum.  For most of the hymns and the liturgy, we'll have a guest trumpet player adding to the celebration.

In addition, the choir will be singing two pieces.  The anthem is built solely on the text of Mark 9:7, "This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to him!"  It is a very modern piece, as different as possible from the Renaissnace music of the last two weeks.  (In rehearsal, I warned the choir to beware musical whiplash as we move from style to style.)  The music has many cluster chords to give it a different sound from anything you're used to hearing us sing.  It also uses long rests to draw the listener's attention to the importance of the word "listen."  The second choir piece will be sung at communion, and it's a melodic tune titled "With This Communion We Thank You."  Even if the first piece stretches your ear too far for comfort, I know the communion piece will be a more pleasing, though still modern, tune.

The bell choir will also be playing this week, offering "Amazing Grace" as the prelude for the late service.  Our dedicated ringers are back already with only one week off.  As always, it's a pleasure to conduct such talented and dedicated volunteers!

Alleluia (part two)

In addition to some great hymns and organ music this week, we will have musical offerings from both the choir and the bell choir.  The choir will be giving up their usual anthem slot so the bell choir can play "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name."  I've even convinced the somewhat reluctant group to play from the front of the church so you can see them play.

During communion, the chancel choir will sing "Praise God, the Lord, Ye Christians All" by Heinrich Schutz, who was among the most important composers of the 17th century.  His music falls in the gap between Renaissance and Classical, between contrapuntal chant and four-part chorales.  In the piece's opening section, you'll hear the same motifs get passed from section to section in the choir, while the piece closes with the whole choir singing Alleluia.  To modern ears, the Alleluias shift from major to minor, along with a sharp dynamic contrast.  The piece is technically modal, but such details aren't needed to appreciate the unique nature of the music.  Incidentally, the ELW includes one hymn tune by Schutz (ELW 573, "My Soul Now Magnifies the Lord").  It's a great example of how the church has preserved the work of some of history's greatest composers.  Where else could you hear a tune by Schutz this week?

I hope you enjoy the music of the choir and bell choir this week.  Be sure to thank a (volunteer) choir or bell choir member for their dedication, and provide feedback to me on the music anytime!

So what's your excuse now?

Lutherans are singers.  I know this.  It's encoded in the DNA of our church, and it's one of my favorite things about being an organist in the ELCA.  And yet...every church struggles for choir members and participation throughout its music program.

Like most music directors, I've heard pretty much every excuse and every explanation.  But I just want to let everyone know that we're taking away one of those excuses for the next few weeks.  We're moving choir rehearsals to Sunday afternoons.  So if you're one of the people who has told me that you're busy on Wednesday nights, or you're one of the people who just can't get yourself out of the house on a dark winter evening, now you can just stay after the second service and sing with us for another hour.  You can set aside another hour of peace and calm in your week and enjoy some time making music with friends.

If you can't sing, maybe you'd rather play in the bell choir?  We're rehearsing between the services (9:45 - 10:30).

Easter may be months away, but planning for Holy Week and Easter are currently at the top of my to do list.  I would love nothing more than to have a huge choir for that most important festival of the church year.  We have 21 choir robes to fill.  Think it over.  Make it a New Year's resolution, part of your commitment to the church - and now there's one less excuse to give it a try.

The Grinch and the Shawshank Redemption

Christmas is not always a happy time for those of us who work in the church.  Advent Vespers and Christmas services alone are more work than a typical July for a church musician, and I know that pastors, secretaries, and volunteers in churches everywhere feel that same strain, as do mothers and fathers as they decorate and buy gifts.  The holiday season has perhaps become more famous for its stress than its joy.  Throw in days of shoveling, a chaotic final exam schedule, and travel plans and you have the makings of a very Grinch-like blogger.

Yesterday, I spent hours baking and cleaning and packing and preparing for services, enjoying it and yet moaning about it.  I had become a Grinch, and my Advent was no longer about preparations for Christmas but a yearning for the blissful calm of January.

Then in the evening, we sat down to watch a movie - The Shawshank Redemption.  An odd Christmas choice, perhaps, but my significant other had never seen it, and since he's a big fan of the television series "Prison Break," Netflix thought he would enjoy it.  I hadn't seen it in years.  And when the movie reached the scene where Andy plays the duet from the Marriage of Figaro over the prison public address system, I suddenly remembered what the Christmas season was about.  It did, indeed, redeem the season for me.

Music restored my calm, and helped me rediscover the purpose of the season.  In the movie, Andy says, "You need [music] so you don't forget...that there's something inside that they can't get to, that they can't touch, that's yours...Hope."

It may seem trite, but it took that reminder for me to discover again the beauty of the music and the message of Christmas.  My ears were opened again to the music, so that I can enjoy the choir and bell choir and brass and organ and piano tonight.  I can focus on the beauty and joy, and the redeemer that came to us two millenia ago.

I hope we can communicate that message with you tonight, and I hope you all have a blessed and merry Christmas.

Ring Them Bells

The bell choir is re-forming, with our first rehearsal coming up this week Wednesday at 6:45.  All are welcoem and invited to come join us.  It's fun and easy to learn and a great group activity.  In fact, I once heard a member of our church describe bell choir as "the ultimate team sport."  It's quite different from playing in a band or singing in a choir, in which individual players can play or sing their own melodies and harmonies.  Instead, each player has just a few notes, and the melody is passed from player to player.  It takes coordination and teamwork to make beautiful music.

What bell choir does not require is an expensive instrument, a good voice, a strong embouchure, fast fingers, or any of the other skills and talents that you might associate with being a musician.  In other words, it can be a great way to participate in a musical ensemble without requiring lots of practice.

The bell choir will play for our first worship service at the Advent Vespers on December 12th, so we'll be hitting the ground running.  I hope to see you there - and stick around for Chancel Choir to follow!

In the meantime, hum a few measures of Liza's famous number, which is its own Joyful Noise:
Ring them bells, come on, ring them bells
Make 'em sing, you'd better ring them bells
It's such a happy thing to hear 'em ting-a-ling
You gotta swing them, ring them, swing them, ring them bells!

Mark your calendars now

The Worship and Music Committee has decided to schedule an Advent Vespers service for the evening of December 12th at 7:00 PM.  We're still hard at work hammering out details, but it will be a night of meditation and prayer, candlelight and beautiful music.  It will mark the return of the bell choir and feature not just the Chancel Choir but a number of soloists and small groups.

It will be a worship service, not a concert, but it will be different from Sunday morning worship.  We will be focused on the symbols of darkness and light, waiting and preparing - all themes of Advent.  I'll be writing more about some of the specific music soon, but I hope you mark your calendar and spread the word.  It should be a beautiful service, and it would be fantastic to share it with a full church!

Variations on Wondrous Love

We might call this week "Wondrous Love Sunday" at Bethany. For starters, we'll be singing the hymn as a congregation. But we'll be hearing it in two other forms as well. The choir will be singing Paul Christiansen's folk style arrangement of it, with Tim as our featured soloist. A different tune with the same title will also be the Meditative Prelude, this time composed by Paul Manz for a modern sound.

The hymn is a southern folk hymn from the 19th century, which is revealed both in its tune and text. The tune is a lilting, flowing melody that is easily memorable and singable. Meanwhile, the text is simple and repetivie. Rather than conveying doctrine or quoting a Biblical passage, the text simply ponders God's wondrous love. Again, I find that to be a more inspiring image during Lent - it's a season of love, not deprivation!

The spiritual origins of the text are particularly noticeable in the final verse, which I find particularly inspiring from a musical point of view: "And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on...I'll sing God's love for me, and through eternity I'll sing on." It's a glimpse of the beautiful music of praise that the eternal choir sings and that we will someday join.

The bell choir will also be playing the prelude at both services this week. Their music always provides enjoyable variety to the service, so be sure to say good morning and thank the players who volunteer their time and talents! (And of course, keep in mind that all the musical groups at Bethany would always welcome your participation too.)

Time and talent

First, I want to be sure to thank the bell choir for playing on Sunday morning. I heard lots of positive comments, and I think they added a nice touch to a familiar hymn. It's amazing how little things like different harmonies, arrangements, or descants can make us hear a piece of music in a new way.

That also provides me a chance to recruit a bit here. I know that all our members have received their "Time and Talent" forms to help drum up participation. I really want to encourage you to consider the musical opportunities - not just choir and bell choir - but perhaps you play an instrument? Or maybe you can't make the time commitment to choir but would be willing to sing a psalm or a solo?

The Bible mentions participation and music so many times. One of my favorites is Psalm 100: "Make a joyful noise to the Lord." It's a great reminder that we should all participate in making music together. You notice that it doesn't say "Sing joyfully in perfect four-part harmony to the Lord." In fact, I have sometimes seen it translated as "a joyful shout." There are ample opportunities for musicians of all abilities to participate, as well as learn and grow. Please consider it as you fill out your forms, and as always feel free to approach me or Cassie to learn more!

Choir Notes from Cassie

This Sunday both the Chancel and Handbell Choirs will be joining us for worship. The bells have been working several weeks on an arrangement of the melody Hydrofol that you will all hear as the gathering Prelude.

Fun Handbell Fact:
Handbells began as a neighbor-friendly method of practice called change ringing.

The Chancel Choir will be singing K. Lee Scott's arrangement of "The Apple Tree." The text of this piece was found in the anonymous collection of Joshua Smith from the time that he came to the New World. Not only can you reflect on the text during worship, but perhaps also as apple-picking season arrives. As we harvest from fruit-bearing trees and enjoy our delicious Ohio apples and pies, remember the following:

The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ, the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excell:
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought;
I missed of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ, the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest a while:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ, the apple tree.

Choir starts this week!

Cassie has asked me to share this message from her about the start-up of choir. I'll add my own comment that we're a friendly, fun bunch and would love to see new members at any rehearsal! Now, here's Cassie:

As we walk through our lives from day to day, night to night, one moment of quiet can reveal how strongly every living thing is connected to the next. The storm blows wildly, and we all huddle inside - quickly - and watch, as the trees take the brunt of the winds. Just as our congregation rises in song, with every voice connecting to the next, our choirs and instrumentalists rise to offer their gift of music, blending in beautiful teamwork and structure to create something as abstractly free as praise to the Glory of God.

Scurry up to the choir room as we begin a new season of song. In your hand, carry a pencil; for your mind and in your ears, a warm openness for your heart. Together we will work as an interlocking music ministry and discover how sweet the sound.

Rehearsal start-up schedule:

(Note time alterations to accommodate summer Wednesday worship.)

Wed., Aug. 26th

6:00 pm - Handbell choir

After service - Chancel choir

Wed., Sept. 2nd

6:00 pm - Handbell choir

After service - Chancel choir

Wed., Sept. 9th

(Regular schedule resumes)

6:30 pm - Handbell choir

7:30 pm - Chancel choir

Sat., Sept. 12th

1:00 - Wittenberg Choir rehearsal

Happy Pentecost!

Remember to wear red this Sunday in honor of the holiday. It's Pentecost or Holy Spirit Sunday, and all of the service music will reflect that theme. The tunes of the prelude, postlude, and offertory will all invoke "Come, Holy Spirit." Hopefully they aid in your reflection this Sunday.

It's also the final Sunday of the regular choir and bell choir season. The bell choir will play the first prelude. I think the sound of bells is perfect to symbolize the Holy Spirit because the ringing has an inherently ethereal quality. Of course, it also helps that they play from the back of the church so the sound emanates from behind the congregation and reverberates through the sanctuary.

Pentecost marks a time of change in more ways than the end of the choir season. Our new summer services will begin - on both Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. We'll have new liturgical settings to learn and sing. A different sound, a different time, and the ongoing theme of the Creed - I hope all of these things intrigue and involve you in active participation at Bethany beyond this festival weekend.

Dupre and bells

Our first prelude this week will feature the Bell Choir. I hope you enjoy the novelty of the Sundays when they play. I hope that the variety of instruments available to us - piano, harpsichord, organ, choir, and bells - helps keep your ears awake to the different sounds of the prelude. For me, the chance to listen rather than play the prelude always makes for a calmer worship experience simply because I've taken that extra moment to meditate and pray before the service begins.

The second prelude will be a setting of the hymn "Now the Green Blade Rises" by Marcel Dupre. It's a simple one-verse chorale, but it clearly incorporates a more modern chord structure so that you can hear the hymn in a new way.

Dupre (1886 - 1971) was a French organist and a famous organ virtuoso. Some of his compositions are considered among the most difficult pieces ever written for the organ. He was an academic and a performer, however, and not primarily a church organist. Those are some of the reasons his work is not often performed. However, the modern sound can provide a welcome change of pace from the Bach I've been playing through Lent up to this point.

I hope you enjoy the music on this 5th Sunday of Lent. Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter will be a big change musically from the past weeks!