An instrumentation experiment

So who was playing the piano?  I got asked that once after services this Sunday.  For the second communion hymn, the first verse was played on the organ and the rest on the electronic keyboard.  Well, the answer is that I was playing both of them from the organ console.

I've mentioned it before, but I know there are still many people who don't know about the integration of three different systems at Bethany - the pipe organ, a set of Ahlborn "electronic pipes," and the Roland keyboard.  They are all linked together with a Midi system that allows me to play sounds from any of them on the organ keyboards.  So even though you don't often see me sitting at the keyboard, you are actually hearing sounds from it almost every week.

I decided this week to make the shift a bit more obvious, partly to show off the technological capability and partly because the particular hymn we were singing was quite pianistic.  It had plenty of rolling eighth notes in the interior voices, which can sound strange and disjointed on the organ.  It was composed by Marty Haugen, who was born in 1950 and is known for composing lighter, modern fare that can be played on a variety of instruments but are particularly well suited for piano (and even guitar in some churches).  He composed the liturgy that we were singing over the summer before switching back to one of the "old settings" this fall.

In my opinion, this particular experiment was only semi-successful.  I had the keyboard volume set too low at first service, for one thing.  It was also a relatively unknown hymn so that the congregation seemed to struggle with it a bit.  (The choir will be singing next Sunday, which always helps provide a solid core sound to any hymn!)

But the whole issue reminded me of the flexibility of some composers and some music.  Early keyboard works were often composed for harpsichord or organ or piano or whatever keyboard instrument you had aruond.  Bach's Well Tempered Clavier (ostensibly a keyboard work) has famously been played by string quartets and recorded by the Swingle Singers.  This coming Sunday, we'll be hearing one of Mozart's oboe concertos played on an alto saxophone.  The variety lets us hear familiar pieces in a new way, and the change of sound helps keep our attention lest we get lulled into complacency during worship.  In that sense, I think the hymn was successful this past week, as well as the change in liturgy.  I hope you enjoyed both!

Marching and Dancing, Part 2

My last entry focused on the marching and military themes of some of our recent hymns, but today I want to focus on the second part of my title: dancing. Our communion hymn on Trinity Sunday was "Come, Join the Dance of Trinity," and the poetry and imagery of the text were a poignant contrast to the march tunes we've sung lately.

Perhaps my mind was on the beautiful spring weather that day, but when I read the text of the dancing, interweaving trinity the image that sprang to my mind was of a May Day celebration, with a crowd skipping around a Maypole. The inclusive call to dance also brings to my mind wedding receptions - the one social occasion where people of all ages (and dancing abilities) will head for a dance floor together. To dance is to embrace the duality of rhythm and freedom. Unlike the lock-step of marching, we can all move to the same rhythm but in our own way, with our own step, unified but individuals. That's such a beautiful image of a dancing trinity: three in one and one in three.

A quick quiz

Here's a quick, one problem quiz for you:

Name two different pieces of music that I have played during communion at a worship service any Sunday in the past 18 months.

Can you name anything other than "Blowin' in the Wind"? And that, my friends, is a primary reason that I think it was a great addition to this past Sunday's worship: it was memorable. It made people talk. (In fact, some people who came to second service had already heard about it.) Now, I'm not saying that church musicians should be controversial simply for the sake of controversy and conversation, but it can be exciting to see people actually discussing the music, rather than blithely ignoring it.

Many mega-churches have gone to the extreme of contemporary music, having no pipe organs at all in place of a praise band, for instance. Rick Warren famously said that people don't listen to classical organ music in their home (or on their iPods), so why should they have to do so when they come to church? I have three responses to such a critique. First, the unique nature of the language and music of church is what sets it apart as a santuary for our community. Second, some of the music people don't listen to is among the greatest ever composed (just as some of the books we don't read are the truly great classics), and we have a responsibility to aid their propagation. Finally, we can maintain our traditions while also being flexible and welcoming new music, technology, language, and ideas - the most promising trend in church music is toward "blended" worship.

Plus, I do believe that philosophers, artists, composers, and musicians continue to grapple with the same driving questions about the human condition that the Bible raises. In this particular instance, Bob Dylan's answer "in the wind" is not that different from the ongoing search of the book of Ecclesiastes.

I hope you enjoyed the musical change of pace, and whether you did or you didn't, I'd love to hear from you any week!

Happy Mothers' Day

Yesterday I posted a short biography of Clara Schumann, but she isn't the only special music that I'll be playing in honor of Mothers' Day. The Meditative Prelude will be "In Memoriam" by Rosalie Bonighton, a contemporary Australian composer and organist. I'd like to dedicate it to the mothers, grandmothers, and generations of women whom we honor in our memory this weekend.


We'll be singing the hymn "For All the Faithful Women," which reminds us that the Bible isn't just about patriarchs. There are important women in the Old and New Testaments - Ruth and Naomi, Esther, Eve, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and on and on.


I will also be playing a piano arrangement of "Let Us Break Bread Together" during communion. It's one of my mother's favorite hymns. (In fact, you may recall that I played it to fill some extra time at one of the Christmas services when she was here. It's an inside joke that I know I can share with her from the organ bench.)


I know it always makes my mom smile to hear it, so even though she won't be in town this weekend I'll think of her and play it for the mothers who are in the congregation. (Incidentally, I realized yesterday when talking to Cassie that this will be her first Mothers' Day as a new mom, so be sure to wish her a happy day.)

Happy Mothers' Day, everyone.