Hymn Blog - November 29, 2009

November 29, 2009 – First Sunday of Advent

VU 5 – All Earth Is Waiting. Catalonian words and music are by Alberto Taulé, a Catholic priest from Catalonia, who has had more than 35 of his hymns published in the official hymnal of the Roman Catholic church in Spain. The English translation is by Gertrude C. Suppe, a Californian who, in addition to many translations, has produced the only computer database of all Hispanic church music in current use. The hymn is very popular in Latin America, where its text picks up the themes of the indigenous liberation theology.

VU 7 – Hope Is a Star. Singing this hymn during the lighting of the advent candles has become a tradition at TSP. The text is by Brian Wren, and was written in 1985 for Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Chicago. The lovely setting, MOON BEAMS, was composed by Joan Collier Fogg in 1987.

MV 33 – Jesus Came Bringing Us Hope. This simple chorus is a traditional song from Cameroon. We will use it throughout advent, as the advent themes of hope, peace, love and joy can be used in the lyrics.

MV 17 – God in the Darkness. Author Elizabeth Smith is an Anglican minister in Melbourne, Australia, whose hymns have found their way into collections around the world. About her work in general, Smith writes "My first and ongoing commitment is to write hymns that women can sing without having to keep our fingers crossed behind our backs. There was a great deal in the traditional repertoire that named God in male ways as Father and King and very little else; there were lots of hymns that talked about men and brothers. There was a point at which a lot of us women just said, 'Not any more; I'm nobody's brother, I'm nobody's son, I want to be able to sing words that include me and I also want to sing to a God who I look a bit like." Composer Colin Gibson was born in Dunedin, the south island of New Zealand. He has been writing hymn texts and hymn settings for over 20 years. His works have been published and performed in Africa, Canada, the United States, Asia and Australasia, Great Britain and Europe. He is organist and director of the Mornington Methodist Choir, Dunedin, New Zealand, a lay preacher, and retired in 1999 as Head of the Department and Donald Collie Professor of English at the University of Otago where he currently heads the Department of Theatre Studies and continues to lecture on English Literature as Emeritus Professor. He has conducted numerous hymn workshops in New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain, and has been co-editor of a number of hymn collections.

MV 16 – Come and Fill Our Hearts. Our prayer response comes from the Taizé Community, an ecumenical monastic community in Taizé, France, which welcomes thousands of pilgrims each year from around the world to times of retreat and worship. The Taizé Community began experimenting in the late 1950s and early 1960s with new musical forms for worship, simple songs intended as vehicles for prayer, written primarily in Latin at first and increasingly in the languages of the many pilgrims who attend each year. Songs from Taizé are now widely sung in churches throughout the world.

VU 688 – O Day of God, Draw Nigh. The text is by R.B.Y. Scott, born in Toronto in 1899. He was professor of Old Testament in Canada at Union College, Vancouver and McGill University, before moving to Princeton Theological Seminary, where he became chair of the department of religion. This text was first published in 1937 by the Fellowship for a Christian Social Order, a group of biblical scholars concerned about issues of social justice and peace. The tune, ST. MICHAEL (OLD 134^TH), was composed or arranged by Louis Bourgeois for the Genevan Psalter of 1551.

VU 10 – Prepare the Way of the Lord. This short round was published in 1992 by Michael Burkhardt.  Burkhardt is known for his creative hymn improvisations and his work with children. He is in frequent demand as a choral and organ clinician and leader of hymn festivals. Dr. Burkhardt is a graduate of Carthage College and Southern Methodist University where he studied organ under Dr. Robert Anderson and choral conducting under Dr. Lloyd Pfautsch. He continued his studies at the post-graduate level with Esther Jones (California State University), at Indiana University, the University of Southern California, the University of Minnesota, and earned the DMA degree in organ performance as a student of Dr. Robert Clark at Arizona State University. He has served parishes in Southern California and Minneapolis as Organist-Director of Music, and he has served Christ College in Irvine, California as college organist and lecturer in church music and music education.