Hymn Blog - November 8, 2009

November 8, 2009 – Remembrance Sunday

VU 527 – God! As With Silent Hearts. This hymn of remembrance was written by the late Fred Kaan (see obituary in October 18 blog) and appeared in his collection Planting Trees and Sowing Seeds in 1975. The well known tune, ST. AGNES (LANGRAN), was written by James Langren as a setting for “Abide with Me”, but it has become associated with the communion hymn “Here, O My Lord, I See You Face to Face”, VU 459.

VU 695 – God Is Passionate Life. This round is by Colleen Fulmer, singer, composer and liturgist. She is a graduate of the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California. It comes from a collection of service music published by the Loretto Spirituality Network in Albany, California.

VU 896 – Blest Are They. This setting of the beatitudes is by David Haas, American author and composer of Contemporary Catholic liturgical music. Haas lives in Eagan, Minnesota, where he is the Director of the Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry. He is also Campus Minister and Artist in Residence at Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he teaches in the music and theology departments. Haas has produced over forty original collections and recordings of liturgical music. His music is sung throughout the world and appears in many hymnals of various denominations and languages.

MV 90 – Don’t Be Afraid. Our prayer response comes to us from the Iona Community. John Bell (text and music) is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and a Member of the Iona Community. After a period in the Netherlands and two posts in church youth work, he became employed full time in the areas of music and worship with the Wild Goose Resource Group. He is a past convenor of the Church of Scotland's Panel on Worship and was convener of the Committee which produced its Church Hymnary 4. In 1999 he was honoured by the Presbyterian Church of Canada and the Royal School of Church Music which bestowed a Fellowship on him, and in 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow. He was made a Fellow of the Hymn Society in 2006. John has produced (some in collaboration with Graham Maule), many collections of original hymns and songs and two collections of songs of the World Church. These are published by the Iona Community in Scotland and by G.I.A. Publications (Chicago) in N. America. He is an occasional broadcaster, lectures in theological colleges in Britain and U.S., but is primarily concerned with the renewal of congregational worship at grass roots level. Graham Maule (text collaborator) studied architecture, followed by several years in youth work, before moving into the area of worship renewal and adult education with the Wild Goose Resource Group of the Iona Community. Graham’s main areas of interest are in innovative lay training and education (theological and artistic) and lay involvement in worship.

VU 424 – May the God of Hope Go With Us. The first verse is by Alvin Schutmaat (1921-1987), an American Presbyterian minister who worked in Latin America for most of his career. He taught theology and music in Columbia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica. His primary goal was to use the arts to communicate the gospel, and served as a consultant in the arts for Central American churches and for the International Centre for the Arts in Mexico City. The second verse is by the late Fred Kaan. The text is set to an Argentine folk melody, chosen by Schutmaat for his text.