Music for 122709

We were pleased to welcome a couple of guests today. Charles Sprawls (son of Charlotte and Perry) was in town for the holidays and sang "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" at worship. It was beautiful, and the best part from my perspective was that he sang it unaccompanied! Very nicely done. The choir did "Glory to God" from "Messiah" this morning also. We had prepared it for 12/20 which was canceled because of weather. We did it this morning sans soprano soloist (at work) and sans string quartet (not contracted for this date), but we added a new soprano, our very own Shannon K. She had been wanting to sing with us for a while and decided today was the day. The whole ensemble did a very nice job. I played Willcocks variations on a couple of the carols so I was happy for that reason also. All in all a very nice Sunday. Next week we'll be back to our usual service schedule: FirstLight at 830AM and the second service at 11AM. The guest preacher will be our own Bob Tuttle preaching from the Prologue in St. John's gospel.

Merry Christmas

We've canceled everything at church for 12/20. The snow is insurmountable for many, and tantalizingly surmountable for some (including many who shouldn't even think about it). So for safety's sake, we're calling the day. Plus, there is a strong chance for more tonight. Not sure about the big whoop music planned: maybe 12/27, maybe save it for next year. Everyone's worked hard on a lot of stuff. And for that I am thankful. A second wintry storm is expected Christmas Eve. In case I don't see you between now and next Sunday, Merry Christmas. And thanks for reading the blog!

Not your father's Christmas pageant

This is from Highland Park PC(USA) in Dallas, from last Sunday 12/13/09.



I love it, but wonder if they couldn't have found a song a little more on point. The Forever cut is hugely popular because it was the track for a famous wedding procession earlier this year. But for Christmas there ought to have been a nice piece just a wee bit more targeted. But, I love this anyway.

Choir Retreat

I am home today with a sick kid, so I have a couple of minutes to catch up. Here are a couple of nice shots from the Choir Retreat in October at Lake J. Hope you can join us next year!

Dinner Theater

We had a great time. After all the fretting over the weather, the clouds broke around noon and we had clear skies and 50 degrees for the first show. The first seating was packed, including my "spare" table; seven o'clock wasn't very roomy either. The actors did a tremendous job; the food service staff, including choir singers as waiters were phenomenal.

Highlights:

"Jonathon's" spew at the first show

"Jess" bonking "Nathan" and "Rachel" on the head with an inflatable hammer when they got a little too off-the-hook

"Eli's" prayer at the manger scene

"Sarah's" "How-can-I-refuse-such-a-face" expression

Briggs and the baby donkey

Being together for a wonderful evening of food and fellowship

Impromptu Bells

'nuff said...

Next year, ladies...

Seasons of Joy 20 December 2009

BMPCNC will have a lessons and carols service at both services this coming Sunda 12/20. There ours will not be your standard issue L&C, I think the image below is still funny and on point. Keep an eye out this week for how we are developing out liturgy.


This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times. View the source here.

Dinner Theater Update

All the actors have been working very hard. I am especially proud of Scott R and Annie H, the leads who have the bulk of the lines. I have two very clever and committed assistant directors who have managed to catch a vision for the production and are doing tremendous things to make this a meaningful and entertaining evening. The kitchen crew goes into hyper-drive this morning putting together a wonderful menu.

The only downer is worry about the weather. Early predictions had shown rain for Saturday. Throughout the week, that has been pushed further and further out. This morning the word is "rain, sleet and/or freezing rain on Sunday." We have a Plan B, but it's not nearly as neat as the original. The original location for the outdoor scene is thoroughly saturated with rain from the soakings we've had last month and this. So we were actually already on Plan B with an alternate place to have the crowd stand for the final scene. Looks like we won't have to worry about being outside at all. I think the last time I did this show I was worried about it being too warm for the actors in all their costume layers (that was in Richmond)!

Notes to know: we have a "real baby" to be the infant Jesus, Larkin A, granddaughter of our own Ruby W. Plus we have a miniature donkey, and it's yearling offspring.

Busy Day

How many Presbyterians does it take to change a light bulb?


A committee of 7 to stew about the need to change the bulbs and fret about the expense (for 7 months), a motorized $300 a day lift to hoist the hired contractor into place to do the work (plus his paid assistant on the ground), 4 people to move the pew cushions and drape the pews with plastic to keep dust off them, one person to dust the ceiling rafters since we're already in there making a mess anyway, and three willing brutes (including the Chief of Police for the Town of Montreat) from the committee hanging around to do anything else needed on the ground, and one organist to take pictures of the whole event.


Seriously.

Maryville College Choir

Make plans now to attend a concert performance by the Maryville College Choir at BMPCNC on Friday evening March 12 (time TBA). Under director Stacey Wilner the Concert Choir and a smaller ensemble, Off Kilter, will present a varied program of sacred and secular music. Check out more information here. More details as we get them nailed down. Save the date now!

Sweet organ in Scotland, there, guys!

Young Artist

Maia C. drew this picture of our church organ recently. It appeared one day on my office door. I had to share it! I especially like the "smokin' sounds" that our organ produces!

Thanks, Maia! This is awesome!

You can click on the image to get a larger view.

Stuck on you

So we're vesting the Lord's house for Advent last Saturday. All of a sudden Ginny S. and Shannon K. are missing. No sooner than that and we get word they are stuck on the elevator. Alice P., efficient as ever noticed what was going, and with amazing presence of mind got the camera and lined up a photographer (Caroline P.) and then called for the fire department!

Everyone is fine; my colleagues were only stuck on board about 10 minutes. The repair guys are on the way. The firefighters did their job with efficiency and a high level of discretion and a minimum of snickering. But for the rest of us it was very exciting and just a little funny.

A Choir Director's Beatitudes

.... And, seeing the long Church Year before them, and knowing the awesome role that music must play in the worship services that lay ahead, the Choir Director called together the singers and spake to them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who are willing to blend their voices into a harmonious ensemble, for theirs is the music of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn when forced to miss rehearsal, but call to inform the Director of their anticipated absence, for in these faithful few shall the Director find comfort.

Blessed are the meek, who submit themselves to following the Director, for they shall merit great worth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after rehearsals are concluded, bringing with them neither gum nor goodies, for they shall be filled with music.

Blessed are the merciful, who take pity on the music's composer, careful to read the original notes, follow the original time, proclaim resoundingly the original message, for they shall obtain mercy from discriminating critics.

Blessed are the pure in pitch, in tone, in enunciation, for their voices shall blend in moving harmonies, enabling others to envision God.

Blessed are the music-makers, for they shall be called the heralders of God.

Blessed are ye singers when the Director shall seem to persecute you for the sake of the final rendition; be patient and rejoice, for of such perfection is the music of heaven.

Blessed are ye when other choirs shall revile you, and turn their ears from you, and say all manner of evil against you jealously.

Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heavenly satisfaction that you have sung faithfully and well - for so disparaged they the great singers who were before you ... perhaps even that Bethlehem choir of Angel voices!

John Clayton, a retired Presbyterian minister and former concert singer wrote the Beatitudes for a newsletter for some "pre-ordained" and just plain ordained Presbyterians, but found others were interested in them also. They have been reproduced many times. Thanks to K. Knowles for sending them to me.

Coming in December

In December the Chancel Choir will be singing Don Pearson's "An Advent Processional." He wrote this piece to sound like a medieval dance tune, using a familiar refrain, "O come, O come, Emmanuel..."

His instrumentation reflects the medieval influence, lots of pitched and un-pitched percussion. Of special note is the call for a hurdy-gurdy. We won't be using one, I don't think, for our performance. But they are still made by a select few historic instrument makers. I found this one recently. You can see a video of a man playing it here.

Wouldn't this be fun!??! And you thought no one made these things anymore!

Music for 112209

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Cherokee morning song
All hail the power of Jesus’ name

Opening Song
Did you feel the mountains tremble

Confession
King of kings

Scripture/Proclamation
We will glorify the King of kings (STF 2087.1, 2)

Creed
Canedo, Jesus Christ is Lord

Offertory
The church’s one foundation

Doxology
Give thanks

Closing Song
Shout to the north

11AM
Hymns
150, Come, Christians, join to sing (MADRID)
155, Rejoice, the Lord is King (DARWELL’S 148TH)
551, Come, ye thankful people, come (ST. GEORGE’S WINDSOR)

Introit
Jesus comes with clouds descending

Confession
579, Glory be to the Father (GLORIA PATRI)

Anthem
Craig Courtney, Coronation
Chancel Choir, Corey McClintock, French horn

Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow (with Alleluias)
Lasst uns erfreuen

Benediction
Yes, Amen, let all adore you

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Lübeck, Prelude in E
Offertory: Campbell, Air
Postlude: Buxtehude, Fugue in C

Copyright Can of Worms

The increased level of interest in our recordings of worship services at BMPCNC caused me just a little bit angst. When we were making 3 cassette tapes of our worship for shut-in members, I wasn't too concerned. But with the advent of digital recording, and the advent of our new preacher interest in CD recordings of our worship services has sky-rocketed. We continued to make 3 CDs for our shut-ins, but we had many requests for recordings for folks absent from worship for any number of reasons, and for extended family members and similar requests. And the increase got me nervous.

I did some investigating, using a book I've had for some time, "The Church Guide to Copyright Law" by attorney and CPA Richard R. Hammar, published by Christian Ministry Resources in 1990. I had for years believed that limited distribution of free recordings to shut-in members of a church was permitted under the broad category of "fair use" of copyrighted material. I've learned that I was wrong. Granted, these days some publishers give such permission with the purchase of music (so indicated by a note to that effect somewhere on the music), but not everyone is doing that, and it absolutely does not appear on older pieces of music.

So here's the gist: BMPCNC will now distribute to our shut-ins, and anyone else interested, only the Bible readings and the sermon from worship. Our dissemination of this same material on the Internet via our website will not be altered.

Now, I'll share some further detail on the matter. Churches that wish to distribute recordings of worship have several options. (These are related on page 114 of the book cited above.) They can get advance permission from all the copyright holders of material that will be in a worship service for the material to be included in the service-recording. They can avoid the use of any copyrighted material. They can simply record only the non-protected portions of the service. They might even choose to "splice in" public domain music in place of the copyrighted material. A church may choose to do nothing (which is what BMPCNC has been doing for some time). A church may finally enter into blanket license agreements with copyright holders, along the lines of a "compulsory license" (a specific means of gaining permission after the fact for utilizing copyright material).

In a typical worship service there may be as many as a dozen copyright musical and liturgical elements, which could mean as many as 12 publishers to deal with for a single service, plus 12 royalty payments according to those various publishers' policies. So as you can see either securing permission beforehand or afterward would entail a vast amount of new work for someone; and that someone would have to have very specialized knowledge of the law and the publishers of church music.

So, why not just continue to "do nothing?" Cases of legal enforcement of the law have escalated in recent history. Well-publicized cases that involved Nabster and similar Internet music sites got our attention a few years ago; the case this year of a graduate student in Boston is highly indicative (see our post on that case). A negative judgment against the church for mechanical reproduction of worship services would cripple the church's ministry to the point of forcing closure, most likely. As the closetest thing we have to an expert on these matters, I see it as my responsibility to help keep us in compliance with the law, and not simply let us continue to do nothing,

Copyright law deals with three broad areas of concern: print reproduction, mechanical reproduction (recordings), and broadcast reproduction (via television, radio or Internet). The good news is that our current standards for print and broadcast reproduction are safely within compliance with the law.

The sad news is that we will have to curtail our mechanical reproduction program in order to continue to safely operate as a church here in the valley.

Some will ask: "what about church's that broadcast over television or radio?" A specific case I can use as an example is a church whose service is recorded by a local television station, aired by the station, and then placed on the station's website. A large corporation like a television or radio station will have blanket licenses for copyright materials they air with all of the three largest copyright agencies, SESAC, BMI and ASCAP. These licenses are very expensive, however, and not within the scope of our budget provisions (to date). We currently hold blanket licenses for print materials (two of them) and pay about $400 per year. Without going into specifics (which I don't have), gaining mechanical reproduction licenses (it would probably entail gaining all three) could easily quadruple that amount. If this aspect of our ministry proves important enough to us, we may wish to consider exploring getting our own mechanical reproductions licenses for our worship services. But we're not there yet, I don't think. And we would still have the issue of reporting usage (a vast amount of paperwork).

Please post a comment if you want to know more or have specific questions.

Dinner Theater

BMPCNC will present a Christmas dinner theater on Sunday evening December 13 at 5PM or 7PM in the fellowship hall of the church. A cast including youth and adults will present John Carter's "In Bethlehem Inn," a you-are-there telling of the Christmas story. Persons attending the show are guests at the inn in Bethlehem on the night of Jesus birth. During a shared meal we learn of a young couple looking for shelter, here from local shepherds who have heard amazing things, and finally venture outside to a living nativity scene, to see for ourselves the wonderful thing that has come to pass.

The dinner-theater is free, but donations for the cost of the meal are much-needed. Reservations are required. Be prepared to specify which seating you prefer, 5PM or 7PM, and how many persons will be in your party (we will be seated at table groupings of 8). While we are taking reservations, seating is by general admission.

Thanks to everyone who is taking part in presenting this production, especially the actors and food preparation crew. Please have a good thought for them all as we venture into a new and exciting ministry event.

Contact the church office by phone or email to make reservations.

Colleagues of mine and members of a couple of my former employers will recognize this event. I became enchanted with this drama and the whole production while at Bon Air UMC in Richmond and mounted the production three years there, and three more times at Crestwood PC(USA). Everyone here is very excited and full of ideas. I've told them that this is a show that grows over the years. This time fairly low-key. Camels and palanquins next year!

Amazing bass player

Adam Benezra puts his instrument through its paces in the video. Nicely edited, and a really complete workout for the instrument. But the best part is the cat walking ON the bass! Thanks to Arts Journal Daily for posting this video.

Music for worship

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
He knows my name
I sing praises to your name
My life is in you, Lord

Opening Song
Great is the Lord

Confession
Halle, halle, hallelujah

Offertory
With all of my heart

Doxology
Owens, praise God from whom all blessings flow

New Members
Bind us together

Closing Song
The Summons


11AM
Hymns
466, O for a thousand tongues to sing (AZMON)
2130, The Summons (KELVINGROVE)

Introit
Cameroon, Praise the Lord

Confession
Hopson, We are forgiven

Doxology
591, OLD HUNDREDTH

New Members
438, Blest be the tie that binds (DENNIS)

Benediction
2279, You shall go out with joy (TREES OF THE FIELD)

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Arr. Kathy Moklebust, Be Still My Soul
Adult Handbells
Offertory: Wesley, Lead Me, Lord
Psalm 5.8 and Psalm 4.8
Postlude: William Selby, Voluntary in A

Postludes and hospitality

The issue of the postlude has arisen again in our congregation. My "both-and" opinion on the matter is well-documented. The suggestion being talked about right now is that during the upcoming holy season of Advent we (church leaders) urge the congregation by word and example to remain for the conclusion of worship.

As if on cue, I found this article on the matter. Writing from a Catholic perspective provides a unique viewpoint. I have been in enough Catholic churches over the years to know the image of folks returning to their seats after communing, and kneeling in prayer, and remaining knelt in prayer for the concluding words of worship and remaining knelt in prayer through the organ postlude. I wonder if kneeling were part of our tradition if we might find more people remaining for the conclusion of worship. For a few, no doubt, once they got down in a kneeling position, getting back up would take most of the time that is the length of the average postlude!

Catholic theology has a keen awareness of the sacred nature of the assembled body, the congregation. The theology is honed to such a degree that when part of the body leaves before it is time, the implication is that the rest of the body is injured. We Presbyterians would do well to re-examine our understanding of ourselves as a gathered community and the change in our nature which takes place as we become the body of Christ gathered for worship. (Gordon Lathrop's book, Holy People goes a giant step in helping Protestants discover this theological truth.) It's heady stuff but it could lead to a development of an understanding of what happens even at the end of worship as we leave.

I'm all for fellowship and hospitality. But can it not wait just a few moments while Christ's body, the church, puts a little bit of closure on the worship experience? I will gladly commit to playing very, very short postludes in order to help us move in a direction that sees the postlude as part of the service (no applause needed, please), and that sees these last few moments as the perfect time for a last few moments of prayer reflecting on the Word read and proclaimed or in preparation for the week ahead.

The idyllic life of the church musician

A couple of weeks ago news of a salary and stress survey made its way through the Methodist Musicians news list. The reason: church musicians placed 5th in a list of stressful jobs that pay poorly. Top of the list (the most stressful job that pays poorly) was "social worker." Next came "special events coordinator," "parole officer" and "news reporter." Next was church musician. The survey was done by PayScale.com and reported by CNNMoney.

Named in the article as one aspect of the job that provokes stress was providing music for worship services at critical times in peoples' lives: weddings and funerals. The article didn't name what I think is the obvious and most pervasive stress-inducer: the weekly challenge of selecting music for worship that appeals to the performers, suits the tastes of the congregation, is not too loud, is not too dissonant, is in a major key (see my earlier post).

The survey was conducted by PayScale.com. Here's their explanation of the scope of the survey:

(Payscale.com) defined high stress and low pay jobs: Starting from a database of over 2000 jobs, Payscale used data from over 36,000 respondents who ranked their jobs for quality of life factors, and chose those requiring a bachelor's degree or higher where the national median pay is less than $65,000. The survey was conducted between Aug 10, 2009 and Oct. 1, 2009.

I took a look at the PayScale.com site and took their rating survey. My salary ranked in the 45 percentile for my field. I think that means 55% of my colleagues earn more than me; and that my salary is 5 percentage points below the average salary reported for my field. I also discovered that persons holding my academic degree (Master of Divinity) have an average salary nearly $12,000 more than my current salary. I'm sure my career change plays into that in some way, but all the implications aren't clear to me.

Overall the survey was met with cries of "a-ha" from my list-reading colleagues. Those of us in the trenches, or on the bench as it were, know exactly what the survey is conveying.

Into the digital age

For years BMPCNC has been recording its 11AM worship service to cassette tape for distribution to our members not able to attend church. We kept a few copies on hand also for anyone who happened to be absent on a given Sunday and wanted to hear what went on. With the advent of new technology we began wondering some time ago about moving to digital recording. Finally when our recently dissolved Pastor Nominating Committee was doing its work they saved considerable time and expense by being able to hear potential candidates' sermons online in digital format. They got very excited about the possibilities of doing something similar with our worship. So these two streams merged into renewed interest in getting our services digitally recorded and online. Herewith: how we are doing it.

Some years ago the church placed two high-quality microphones on the rear wall of (west end) of the sanctuary for the express purpose of recording special music events. Concurrently they purchased a Tascam digital recording interface. This is the machine that takes the signal from the mics and converts it into digital signals that in turn are fed into a computer-based recording software. The church also had a pretty powerful laptop computer used for a variety of purposes including being the work station for the digital recording process. With the Tascam we got a piece of software known as Cubase, which is a fairly high-end and powerful recording and sound editing program. I don't know how the final product was used for those special music events. I haven't found any archived CDs nor files of music events recorded with this equipment. Once I arrived I was intrigued with the possibilities but didn't really take too much time to explore any of the components that much. Cubase has a pretty steep learning curve and I therefore let it slip off my radar most of the time.

However, with the arrival of our new pastor there was wide-spread interest and passion for getting on the digital wagon. We had almost all the equipment we needed. The only thing lacking was a speedy way to duplicate CDs for distribution as we envisioned it. So at the end of last summer I purchased a 3-CD duplicator along with a supply of CDs, labels and envelops. Now it was just a matter of stringing all the parts together and getting personnel in place to do the various chores.

First the computer crashed. Phil Cogbill built a new machine. It had a couple of kinks; he took care of them. The first install of the Cubase software was flawed, so we had to re-install that. In the midst of all that my dad died, Phil had H1N1 and we had the usual zaniness of church life during stewardship season. So everything took about a week longer than one might expect.

There are, of course, one-piece devices that do everything we wanted and were trying to do with 3-4 pieces of equipment. For $4000 you can get a digital recorder that will produce a master CD, make copies of that master and print a pretty label onto the CD. Sadly we didn't have that kind of money. And we did have these other components and a desire to be good stewards of what we had. We got the last piece of equipment and all the supplies for about $600. The desktop computer Phil assembled cost us nothing. (We did however, this week purchase a new laptop; we'll stick with the current set-up and keep the laptop free to move around the facility.)

So here's the process:

We turn on the recording computer and recording software

Sound is picked up by the mics and fed to the Tascam

The digital interface sends the sound to Cubase

With Cubase we create tracks of the service and edit the sound quality

Then we convert the tracks to WAV files

The WAV files are burned to a master CD

We duplicate the CD

We label the duplicate CDs and label them for distribution

We convert the sermon track to an MP3 file format and upload that to the church's website

A lot of folks remember the good old days of turning on a cassette recorder, hitting record and getting a tape of what you wanted. The digital format means superior sound quality but brings with it greater complexity in the recording process. These days its not a simple matter of recording a CD. That can be done; but we were tasked with doing this with no budget.

So while it sounds easy: "we have a CD recording of our worship service," it's been a long haul getting to this point. And there is a fair bit of work involved in producing the final product. This week I was especially grateful to Mark Banzhoff for helping get more familiar with Cubase. I still have plenty to learn but I think I have the basics.

Ultimately our goal is to spin this ministry off for interested lay folks. But we want first to be certain that everything works fluidly and that we can produce easily-to-follow and clearly-defined steps for the whole process. You can listen to sermons online at our website. Phil and Perry Sprawls added that functionality this week. That's where we are right now.

Major-Minor

A recent discussion on a musicians news-list got me thinking about major and minor tonality in worship.

As grade school students many of us were taught that major-keyed music was happy and joyful while minor tonalities were sad and slow. Aside from the wrongfulness of any sweeping generalization, I hope we all know this really is not true.

But the concept stuck at least for some. A colleague was writing that someone at their church was insistent that there be no minor-keyed music in worship because worship was supposed to be joyful and celebratory. And certainly the organ offertory couldn't be in a minor key, because that would lead to lower amounts in the collection plates.

So couple of things leap to mind. There is some incredibly joyous minor-keyed music for organ out there. And there are times when a little somber-ness is appropriate for worship. Finally I hope no one really thinks that the key signature of a piece of music is going to so powerfully sway someone that they cut back their offering to God based on what they hear coming from the organ. One's offering to God is a God-thing, not a music thing. Really.

I'll be playing a very sprightly and joyful prelude this week, in G minor. And I am not going to add a Picardy third to the end (that's changing the third tone of the chord to make it major instead of minor). I haven't encountered anyone in our congregation who has voiced opinions like those I mentioned above. I hope if these sort of views come up we can address them clearly with examples. And I hope to show by example that the simple major-minor paradigm doesn't go nearly far enough to describe the power of music to illicit feelings of joy or quiet introspection.

Choir Retreat

Members of our Chancel Choir took part in the Choir Music Weekend a few weeks ago at Lake Junaluska. In addition to a great weekend of music with some wonderful clinicians, it was peak weekend for fall colors. Many thanks to those who gave up several hours of a lovely weekend to work on music!

Music for Worship 110809

FirstLight

Piano Prelude
Sonatina
Hymn to Joy
Connor Watson, piano

Gathering Song(s)
Here I am to worship
I give you my heart

Opening Song
Come, now is the time to worship

Confession
Dayenu

Peace
Shalom Chaverim

Dedication of pledges
God whose giving knows no ending (BEACH SPRING)

Offertory
Lazarus dies again (Darrell Scott*)

Doxology
Owens, Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Closing Song
Give thanks

11AM
Hymns
478, Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LAUDA ANIMA)
422, God, whose giving knows no ending (BEACH SPRING)
420, God of grace and God of glory (CWM RHONDDA)

Introit
Brazilian Folk Melody, O Sing to the Lord

Confession
579, Glory be to God the Father (GREATOREX)

Anthem
Handel, Shout the glad tidings

Doxology
592, OLD HUNDREDTH

Benediction
Kenneth M. Scott, Sr. May the grace of Christ our Savior

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Camidge, Gavotte in G Minor
Offertory: Herren, Arietta
Postlude: Handel, Allegro, Sonata in F

* Darrell Scott is a singer-songwriter from KY. This song is from his album Family Tree. Thanks to Andy G. for charting it out for us, and to SJK for suggesting it.

PipeScreams

I gave a short concert on Wednesday evening for the kids in our Logos program and as part of our on-going Thursday Night Live fellowship series (I know: Wednesday/Thursday; just go with it). I had done three PipeScreams concerts in Ashland and they were very popular (they even led to spin-offs for July 4th). This being the first here, we kept it short and simple. One of my piano students, Nick M. played a piece from his lesson book. He did great! We had about 125 in attendance, including many in costume. Eli turned pages for me and worked the lights (killed the house lights at the beginning, and turned on the works lighting for the kiddie talk). It was his first time and he did awesome; I was very proud of him. Things look good for PipeScreams II next year!

Music fo All Saints Day 110109

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Uyaimose
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Opening Song
Alabare

Confession
You are my king

Offertory
Commune with me

Doxology
Give thanks

Communion
Hallelujah, saved by your grace

Closing Song
Forever


11AM
Hymns
526, For all the saints (SINE NOMINE)
414, As those of old their firstfruits brought (FOREST GREEN)

Introit
Fred Dunn, Jubilate, Everybody
Aerie Singers

Confession
Glory be to God the Father (WESTMINSTER ABBEY)

Doxology
OLD HUNDREDTH

Music during Communion
Eslinger Communion Service in C
O What their joy and their glory must be
Soon and very soon

Benediction
The Southern Harmony, Promised Land

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Paul Manz, Let us ever walk with Jesus
Offertory: Kinley Lange, Esto les digo
Esto les digo, si dos de ustedes se ponen de acuerdo aquí en
la tierra para pedir algo en oración, mi padre que está en el cielo,
se lo dará. Porque donde dos o tres se reúnen en mi nombre allí estoy yo,
en medio de ellos.
This I say to you, if two of you agree here on earth to ask for something in prayer, my Father, who is in heaven, will give it to you. Because where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18.19-20
Postlude: Couperin, Chaconne in G Minor

I learned Wednesday night of the death of Paul Manz. He had been ill for some time, and this was not unexpected. I heard Dr. Manz once in Maryland while I was in div. school. He played a pretty standard recital but end with improvisations, which were his forte. He improvised on "In Babilone" which improvisation ultimately was published. He was an inspiration for my own nascent improvisational skill development. Requiscat in Pace. Soli Deo Gloria.

Music crosses borders

You kind of had to be there, but...our band was playing "Alabare" in rehearsal last night. Unbeknownst to the band, our regional committee on outreach in Central and South America was in the building, including guests from our sister churches in Guatamala. They heard the song and came running into the rehearsal room, started singing with us! One of the fellows even grabbed a guitar and played along! It was an awesome Holy Spirit moment with lots of laughter, clapping and great joy. We played another couple of songs together and took a couple of pictures.

Music for 102509

This weekend a few of our Chancel Choir choristers will be at the Choir Music Weekend retreat at Lake Junaluska. They'll be back for worship on Sunday, though their fearless leader will not: I'm taking the weekend off. I'll be back on Tuesday. Thanks to Andy Gwynn and Perrin Todd for taking the helm at 830AM and to NWAIII for leading music at 11AM.

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Made me glad
You are my all in all

Opening Song
We will glorify

Confession
Your mercy flows

Scripture/Proclamation
Thy Word

Offertory
The Wonderful Cross

Doxology
Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord

Closing Song
How firm a foundation

11AM
Hymns
260, A Mighty fortress is our God (EIN FESTE BURG)
278, Our God, to whom we turn (WAS FRAG’ ICH NACH DER WELT)
361, How firm a foundation (FOUNDATION)

Introit
Matsikenyiri, Jesus, we are here

Confession
579, Greatorex, Glory be to the Father

Anthem
Harper, Psalm 150

Doxology
592, OLD HUNDREDTH

Benediction
Dufner, The Spirit sends us forth to serve

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Guest Organist
Offertory: Guest Organist
Postlude: Guest Organist

Music for Worship 101809

FirstLight

Gathering Song(s)
No higher calling
We bow down
We fall down

Opening Song
Come let us worship and bow down

Confession
Celtic Alleluia

Scripture/Proclamation
Spirit of the living God

Offertory
How great is our God

Doxology
Owens Doxology

Prayers
Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord

Closing Song
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love

11AM
Hymns
487, When morning guilds the skies (LAUDES DOMINI)
2236, Gather us in (GATHER US IN)
376, Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love (CHEREPONI)

Introit
Routley, Let all the World in Every Corner Sing

Confession
579, Greatorex, Glory be to the Father

Anthem
Pfautsch, Seek to serve
May I live in the world as one who always seeks to serve. May I live as one who knows the love of God. Lord, teach me how to live and how to serve. With my ears may I hear. With my eyes may I see. With my lips may I speak. May your Word be heard through me. Thus as I live each day may love sustain the will to serve. Amen. (Copyright © 1983 Agape Publishing, Carol Stream, IL)

Doxology
OLD HUNDREDTH

Benediction
Haugen, Three-Fold Amen

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Arr. Behnke, Gather us in
Offertory: JS Bach, Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Postlude: Homilius, Toccata in G

Music for 100409

Gathering Song(s)
Come all you people
Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty

Opening Songs
Glory, glory, hallelujah
Glorify thy name
We sing of your glory

Confession
Halle, halle, hallelujah

Offertory
Breathe

Doxology
Give thanks

Prayers
Cambodian Lord’s Prayer

Communion
Cherokee Morning Song

Closing Song
Jesus Messiah


11AM
Hymns
482, Praise ye the Lord, the Almighty (LOBE DEN HERREN)
439/440, In Christ there is no east or west (ST. PETER and MCKEE)
Stanzas 1 and 2 to the tune ST. PETER
Stanzas 3 and 4 to the tune MCKEE

Introit
Traditional Zulu, South Africa, Jikelele
God is “everywhere.”
Emily Wasser, soloist

Confession
Halle, halle, hallelujah

Doxology
592, OLD HUNDREDTH

Music during Communion
Cambodian Lord’s Prayer (at the end of the Great Thanksgiving)
Communion Setting: Eslinger in C (Nicea)
Music at the Distribution
Tuya, es la Gloria (STF 2011)
(Stanzas 1 and 2 in English, Stanza 1 in Spanish)
Taste and See (STF 2067)

Benediction
Dauermann, The trees of the field (STF 2279)

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Zachau, Schmuecke dich, O mein’ selle
Offertory: Douglas E.. Wagner, Sanctus
Chancel Choir
Postlude: Gilbert Martin, Fanfare on McKee

We had to sacrifice a continent here or there to keep the service from becoming overly long. Something about wanting to do something other than sing, for some reason. But we know it can be done!

Seven Continents

This week is World Communion and my plan is to offer music at both services from around the world. The only place that will be un-represented is Antarctica; funny, I just couldn't fine music from that region!

At FirstLight:
North America: the spiritual Glory, glory hallelujah
Europe: the hymn Praise to the Lord the Almighty, paired with
Africa: Come all you people (Uyaimose)
Asia: Mark Sedio's setting of the Lord's Prayer to a Cambodian tune
South America: Tuya es la gloria (We sing of your glory)
Oceania: a Hillsong tune to be determined

At 11AM:
North America: Doug Wagner's anthem Santus
South America: Tuya es la gloria (We sing of your glory)
Asia: Mark Sedio's setting of the Lord's Prayer to a Cambodian tune
Afica: Jikelele, from the songbook, To everyone born
Oceania: A Tongan prayer song
Europe: the hymn Praise to the Lord the Almighty

I think it's a testimony to our global awareness that most of the songs that we're not already planning to sing at both services, easy could be sung by both gatherings. The musicians have worked long and hard to learn a huge array of music in many, many styles, and our congregation really seems to appreciate and join in with all of it.

Space Opera

Classical music at its best? Probably not. But what a way to crossover!

Getting ready for Shannon

The Choir at Woodhaven Pres in Irving, TX gave this pair of "preaching shoes" to Shannon Kershner as a going away present. (FYI: turquoise blue, patent leather, D&G, yeah baby!) She wore them on her last Sunday there. Shannon and her family will arrive this week in Black Mountain and Shannon will begin as pastor and head of staff at BMPCNC on 10/5. Are we ready for this? I think we are. Travel safely, Kershners!

Music for 092009

This week we bid farewell to our Interim Pastor of 21 months, The Rev. Karen Haak. Some of the music selections are among her favorites.

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
As the deer
Glorify thy name
Lord, I Lift your name on high

Opening Song
Come now is the time to worship

Peace
Shalom chaverim

Offertory
More precious than silver

Doxology
We are an offering

Prayers
Cares Chorus

Closing Song
They’ll know we are Christians by our love

11AM
Hymns
464, Joyful, joyful, we adore thee (HYMN TO JOY)
430, Come sing O church in joy (DARWELL’S 148TH)
537, Shalom chaverim (SHALOM)

Introit
Arr. Cartford, O Sing to the Lord (472.1)

Confession
579, Glory be to the Father (GREATOREX)

Anthem
Courtney, Be not afraid
A setting Isaiah 43.1-4

Doxology
591 Old Hundredth

Benediction
Bringle, Light dawns on a weary world

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Buxtehude, Our Father in Heaven
Offertory: Wesley, Pastorale
Postlude: John Bull, Rondo in G

New Art Project

The Arts team is at work on a new banner installation for the fall season. They plan to have it up for the arrival of our new pastor on 11 October. Drawing from the anthem and a hymn text for that day, the theme is "new beginnings." They were hard at work on it yesterday in the church hall. I saw chiffon fabric in pastel colors and what appeared to be butterflies and a scrim-like piece of material. I think they said it would be done by the end of the day. I know where it's stored, but I'm not telling!

Music for 091309

The Music list for this week's worship:

FirstLight

Gathering Song(s)
Pass it on (new)
Jubilate everybody

Opening Song
Love grows in a weary land

Confession
Dayenu

Scripture/Proclamation
Thy Word

Offertory
Did you feel the mountains tremble

Doxology
We are an offering

Prayers
Cambodian Lord’s Prayer

Closing Song
The trees of the field


11AM

Hymns
229, From all that dwell below the skies (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)
Pass it on (PASS IT ON)
357, O Master, let me walk with thee (MARYTON)

Introit
Latin American Worship Song, Tuya es la Gloria

Confession
Caribbean, Halle, halle, halleluja

Anthem
Glenn Burleigh, Order my steps
Libby Barker, soloist
An interpretation of Psalm 119.133
“I want to walk worthy, my calling to fulfill. Please order my steps, Lord, and I’ll
do your blessed will. The world is ever-changing, but you are still the same. If
you order my steps, I’ll praise your name.”

Doxology
591 Old Hundredth

Prayers
Cambodian Lord's Prayer

Benediction
Dufner, Now let us go the serve in peace

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Arr. Behnke, I want to walk as a child of the light
Offertory: Handel, Trio, from Sonata in B-Flat
Postlude: Lemmens, Fanfare

Oh snap!

This 40' tall oak (located beside the upper lot, near the church house) broke earlier this morning. It snapped at about 4' off the ground and fell into some neighboring trees. No damage to people, cars nor property. The neighboring trees were a little upset, but none the worse for wear. The pre-school took a short field trip to check the scene. A crew is here now to finish the job and take down the stump. Our little bit of excitement for the day.

Change-Ringing Event

The American Guild of Change-Ringers had it's annual meeting this past weekend in NYC. Here is a neat article from the NY Times. The nearest (as I can tell) peal is in Hendersonville, which is not really to far, considering we're talking about a very arcane musical form here. Fascinating stuff. Keep in mind that "ringing bells" doesn't mean the same thing to all folks, especially Brits. The little devices we ring in church we originally created to assist change-ringers in their practice sessions (they didn't have to go up in the tower and didn't have to disturb the whole town!). I've got a friend in Fayetteville, NC who has just begun change-ringing and has been keeping us up-to-date on his progress via Facebook.

Music for 090609

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
Holy, holy, holy
Tuya es la gloria

Opening Song
Prince of peace (You are holy)

Confession
You are my king

Offertory
Mighty to save

Doxology
Doxology (Avery and Marsh)

Prayers
Cambodian Lord's Prayer

Closing Song
Bring forth the kingdom (STF 2190)


11AM
Hymns
477, Ye servants of God (HANOVER)
2190, Bring forth the kingdom (BRING FORTH THE KINGDOM)
Congregation sings portions indicated "All" and the refrain
429, Lord you give the great commission (ABBOT'S LEIGH)
stanzas 1, 2, 4, 5

Introit
Strathdee, What does the Lord require of you?

Confession
Purcell, Glory be to God the Father

Anthem
David Hass, Blest are they
Keithie Knowles, Lamar Williamson, Wilma Leary
please join in singing the refrain as you become familiar with it, STF #2155

Doxology
591 Old Hundredth

Prayers
Cambodian Lord's Prayer

Benediction
Dauermann, The trees of the field
Please join in singing STF 2279

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Henry Purcell, Voluntary in C (TOC)
Offertory: John Stanley, Voluntary in A Minor
Postlude: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in E Minor (BWV 533)

It's called a cipher

Folks at 11AM worship today were treated to a relative rarity: a cipher on the organ. For an inexplicable reason a pipe sounds on its own. It our case this morning, it was one of the loud reed pipes and it began during the pastoral prayer.

The cipher actually sounded thrice. The first during the prayer: I checked my hands and feet to make sure I wasn't touching anything. I also re-cancelled all the stops and checked the crescendo pedal, thus turning everything absolutely off. But it happened again. I turned the instrument off. Several minutes passed while the liturgy continued. I turned the organ back on for the offertory (a soft selection from the Vierne 24 Pieces), and about 2/3 of the way through it sounded again (remember it's the solo reed). Off went the organ again, and I played the rest of the liturgy from the piano.

In olden days a bit of dust or other debris could get wedged below the pipe preventing the pipe valve from closing all the way, thus letting a relatively small bit of air into the pipe, and ultimately producing a sound. In modern instruments (like ours) very often electricity controls the flow of wind to the pipe. It could still be a bit of dust, but it could also be something hinky in the wiring to the specific pipe.

Whether it was dust or a wire, it happened to us today. And of course it was not one of the soft pipes under expression. It was a pipe in the solo reed stop, one of the loudest on our instrument. And it didn't happen during the postlude, when many are on their way out and only half listening. It happened during the pastoral prayer, a particularly moving prayer, after a particularly introspective sermon. Of course.

The organ is not broken. But it is most likely something in the wiring. I'll take a look myself in the morning, but I already have made a call to the service technician. They are usually good about getting round quickly in a situation like this.

Let's hope we've heard the last of this sort of surprise for a while!

Photo courtesy of creativecommons.com

Music for 083009

FirstLight
Gathering Song(s)
I will call upon the Lord
You are worthy of my praise

Opening Song
Prince of Peace (You are holy)

Confession
Your mercy flows

Offertory
Taiwanese Pastors' duet

Doxology
Give thanks

Closing Song
Come and find the quiet center

11 AM
Hymns
422, God, whose giving knows no ending (BEACH SPRING)
2222, The Servant Song (THE SERVANT SONG)
398, There's a sweet, sweet Spirit (SWEET, SWEET SPIRIT)

Introit
Iona, Be still and know

Confession
O’ Carroll, Celtic Alleluia

Anthem
Horman, Come away with me

Doxology
591

Benediction
Vaughan Williams, God be with you

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Alec Wyton, Lotus
Offertory: Vierne, Priere
Postlude: JS Bach, Prelude and Fugue in E Minor (BWV 533)

Worship Music 081609

This Sunday there will be a joint worship service in Montreat involving BMPCNC, the Montreat PC(USA) congregation and the Conference Center. We'll also be host to a visiting choir from Pinehurst, NC.

Voluntary Majesty arr. Schrader

Hymn of Praise: 455 All Creatures of Our God and King Lasst uns Erfreuen

Hymn 404 Precious Lord, Take My Hand Precious Lord

A Joyous Response: Hymn: 398 There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Anthem Festive Praise Allen Pote

Hymn of Response: 536 Lord, Make Us More Holy African-American Spiritual (adding as Stanza #5: “Lord, grant us more wisdom”)

Offertory Like a Tree Ford

Response of Praise The Doxology Old Hundredth

Closing Hymn: 145 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart! Marion

1:All 2: Men and Youth 3: Women and Children 4: All

Postlude Now Thank We All Our God Callahan

Worship Leaders: Jim Richardson, Kay Layman, Mike Begley, Terri Sinclair,

Michael Barker, Margaret C. Neale, Community Presbyterian Church

of Pinehurst, Brass Players: Julie Howard, trumpet , Will Straughan, trumpet,

Eric Nichols, euphonium, Dave Barstow, trombone, Bob Cumming, trombone

Review: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELCA)

I was able to pick up a copy of the new Lutheran hymnal recently. Published in 2006, it represents the first in what will probably develop into a wave of new denominational resources for congregational song in the next several years. The PC(USA) has a project in the works. The United Methodist Church had one going until funding issues led to its suspension. There are others also.

The new volume fits in the same spaces in sanctuary pew racks as previous books did. It's red. (Youth at a conference where Presbyterian Congregational Song Project chair David Eicher was present suggested yellow for the new PC(USA) hymnal!) It seems to weight ever-so-slightly more than their previous worship hymnal.

After preliminary resources at the outset of the volume, the book includes the complete lectionary of the church year, plus a prayer for each Sunday. Then follow prayers for other commemorations and events.

Next follow ten (yes, 10) settings of the service for Holy Communion including music. Then come services of the Word, Baptism, liturgies for confession and forgiveness and, special liturgies for Lent and Lenten holy days, funerals, healing and daily prayer. At page 335 begins a complete psalter, in a translation "intended for common sung prayer and proclamation rather than a translation for study." Nice. Until the Psalter, the pages were numbered sequentially (growing out of lessons learned in previous books on the part of various denominations). But, oops, the service music section begins with #151. It's not quite clear where that number came from, because we're actually on about page 390. Following the extensive section of service music, hymns proper begin with #239 and open with hymns for the church year. The last hymn is #893, giving us a total of about 650 songs.

The last section includes a daily lectionary (that's in addition to the Sunday lectionary at the front of the book). This makes this truly a book for church and home use. There is also a brief catechism, and then the standard indices expected in a church hymnal.

A couple of remarkable points stand out. There is a lot of global music, representative of the ELCA's global mission outreach and the ethnic make-up of some of its American congregations. There is a dearth of Praise and Worship contemporary songs. (A cursory read through the volume revealed none; they may be hiding in there somewhere.) There are quite a few new hymns and songs drawn from the contemplative traditions of Taize and Iona.

I heard this summer the Augsburg-Fortress is also in the process of releasing a multi-volume set of resources for the hymnal: a piano setting and an organ setting of each hymn in the book. Several hymnals have such supplemental resources for the accompanist, but if this as complete as advertised (a piano piece and an organ piece for every hymn), then it's a remarkable undertaking and boon for the church musician.

All in all this is a commendable volume. I was at a conference at St. Olaf College in Minnesota in 1998 when there was an initial flush of buzz about the new hymnal undertaking. It's neat to see what that buzz led to. I am curious to know what the denomination is going to put forth to support the use of P&W contemporary music, or if they are going to sort of side step that issue. Every church musician needs a copy on the shelf; persons interested in hymnody and liturgy also need a copy. The average lay person, not so much. + + +

Review: New Irish Hymns: The Complete Works (Keith Getty)

All the contemporary Irish hymn-writing one could hope for!

Keith Getty is an important writer of hymn texts and music for our generation. This collection (Kingsway Music KMCD2858, 3 CDs) of 44 songs represents a significant cross-section of Getty's work over the past several years. Those who are familiar with Getty solely as partner with Stuart Townend on the text "In Christ Alone" will find here a more complete representation of what Getty is about. The texts are good, in some cases quite good. They reflect a classic spirituality with vibrant images that speak to a new generation of persons seeking to grow in faith. The tunes are often good, sometimes only so-so. There are plenty of effects which make one think, "Irish music," but they grow ever so slightly predictable after 40+ songs.


In addition to his own hymn texts, Getty adds a couple of older hymn texts (adapted), a nice homage to the history of hymn-writing. Upon first hearing a song like "In Christ Alone" or "Speak, O Lord," folks are struck often by the contemporary sound of the tune and the lyric. I try to remind folks that Getty writes in a very traditional hymn-text format: very often straightforward verse forms, or verse/refrain. Folks seem to get drawn in by the often soaring melodic lines and effective orchestration, in addition to vivid imagery. There are here the essential tin whistle, bodhrans, and Uilleann pipes, but also well orchestrated strings and other percussion. Couple that with standard harmonies and simple bridges and you've got a pattern that obviously speaks to the listener and conveys the message of faith well. Folks who loves Irish music will get a kick out of this collection. Listening to all three CDs in one sitting is only for the most stalwart listener! + + +

Music-Sharing

Be careful sharing music files. It's probably worth the 99c to avoid this situation:

Joel Tenenbaum, a graduate student from Providence, R.I., pose outside federal court, after taking the stand in his defense in his copyright-infringement trial, Thursday, July 30, 2009, in Boston. Tenenbaum is accused of illegally swapping music through an online file-sharing network. (AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye)

He was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $675,000. Read the whole thing here. Thanks to the Boston Globe for covering this story.

Bobby McFerrin's take on the pentatonic scale. And look who he's talking with on this subject: neuro-scientists.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Quite a milestone

from the United Methodist News Service:

EXELAND, Wis. (UMNS)--First United Methodist Church celebrated the 100th birthday of organist Helen Aspseter on July 12. Aspseter was playing the prelude, accompanying the hymns, and providing worship music throughout the service, just as she has done virtually every Sunday and holy day for the past 74 years. Her tenure began shortly after she married Andy Aspseter, a Great Lakes seaman, and he brought her home to Exeland. He left her in the house across the street from the church while he went to start the fire to warm their new home. The pastor appeared and asked if she would play for the Christmas Eve service that evening. She did, and she's been at it ever since. On July 12, the church was overflowing with well-wishers at the morning worship and later at a musical program in her honor. From youth to grandparents, the program featured performers of all ages, many of whom had been her students.

Worship Music 072609

Hymns
430, Come sing, O church, in joy (DARWELL’S 148TH)
514, Let us talents and tongues employ (LINSTEAD)

Confession
Patterson, Alleluia, alleluia

Anthem
Selections from The Prodigal Son, a gospel oratorio
I. Young man (Lamar Williamson)
II. Jesus spake (Libby Barker)
III. A certain man (Choir)
IV. And the younger man said
(Libby Barker, Wade Talbot, Ken Scott, Jr.)
V. There comes a time (Lamar Williamson and Choir)

Doxology
591 Old Hundredth

Instrumental/Organ Music
Prelude: Arr. Bastien, Holy Spirit Rag
Nick Murphy, piano
Offertory: Robert Ray, Acclamation: Hallelujah, let us praise
the Lord, from Gospel Mass
Postlude: JS Bach, Little Prelude and Fugue in E Minor

New Carpet

We are replacing carpet in some key areas of the facility this week. The narthex, the office suite and the lower floor of the education building are getting new reddish-rust carpeting. Thankfully no changes in the sanctuary (we're holding out for wood flooring for the entire chancel area in the next few years.)

The smell is minimal (basically "new carpet" smell) and the dust has been minimal. It's amazing how much space is in the narthex when all the "stuff" is out of the way!

The church office will be closed on TH while the crew takes a whack at the office suite (so sad).

Here's a link to some pics of the project.