Music for the First Sunday in Lent - March 10, 2019

Prelude Andante Cantabile Robert J. Powell

Gathering Hymn Jesus, Still Lead On (Seelenbräutigam) ELW 624

The text is by Nicolaus L. von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), a Moravian bishop and founder of several religious communities. He even visited Pennsylvania where he tried, unsuccessfully, to get Lutherans and the German Reformed church to work together.  He is known for a theology that concentrated less on doctrine and more on the individual’s spiritual relationship with the Savior.

Adam Drese (1620-1701), a skilled player of the viola da gamba, wrote the music. In his later years he developed pietist leanings under Philipp Jakob Spener.  He was a composer of opera and secular music, but much of that is lost. Some believe he destroyed it himself in response to becoming a Pietist.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 setting, Thomas Pavlechko

This psalm setting includes a refrain which quotes Martin Luther’s tune Aus tiefer Not (ELW 600). Thomas Pavlechko is a well-published composer of church music whose work appears in ELW six times.

Hymn of the Day Bless Now, O God, the Journey (ELW 326)

This text, combined with a Welsh hymntune, is perfect for leading us into the season of Lent. Sylvia Dunstan is one of the best known hymnwriters of our day. She died in 1993 shortly after being diagnosed with liver cancer. Read her full biography here: https://www.giamusic.com/store/artists/sylvia-dunstan

Musical Offering A Lenten Prayer David Ashely White (Festival Choir)

White’s music is a reverent setting of the text of ELW 328. It’s written for choir, organ, and flute – but we are using an oboe which is just as beautiful.  Thanks to Eric Olson for playing the oboe!

Communion Hymns

Lift Every Voice and Sing (Lift Every Voice and Sing) ELW 841

James W. Johnson (1871 -1938) and J. Rosamond Johnson’s (1873-1954) were two brothers born in Jacksonville, FL! This hymn, also known as the black national anthem, was first sung at the Stanton School as part of an assembly honoring Abraham Lincoln. It was an important song during the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

Lead Me, Guide Me (ELW 768)
I hope the assembly sings this one a little loudly – because I love to play it that way! The song is written in the first person, but according to Paul Westermeyer “the first person singular of the African American tradition is profoundly communal.” This is a good thing to remember as we sing it together.

Sending Hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein feste Burg) ELW 503

The first day I walked into the office at St. Mark’s I was greeted by a smiling, vibrant woman named Lynn B. She shook may hand warmly, then in her pronounced southern accent said, “Don’t you evah. . .evah. . .EVAH make us sing that funny version of “A Mighty Fortress!”  I miss Lynn, but I bet she’d be proud of how well we sing this hymn today. It’s worth noting that the rhythmic version is much closer to the one that Martin Luther wrote – any closer and we’d have to sing it in German!

Postlude God of Grace and God of Glory setting, Walter L. Pelz