Singing during a pandemic

"How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?"  The words of the psalmist are hauntingly relevant for us these days. The people of God making this cry in Psalm 137 had been dispersed from their homes and cast into a culture of non-belief in the God of Jacob. Familiar sights, sounds and smells were gone. All hope seemed lost. There was, it seemed, no balm in Gilead for their suffering bodies and spirits. They longed to sing, but the words wouldn't come out.

One of the first things I heard as the pandemic was unfolding several weeks ago, and we began to shelter at home away from friends, family and routines, was, "I miss singing together." Indeed some of the most creative energy I witnessed in response to the pandemic revolved around trying to make music with other people in the midst of isolation. We heard tales of Italians leaning out their balconies to sing in the evenings. We have heard of neighborhoods in the US where persons clap and bang and stomp at sunset as an expression of solidarity, and a testimony against all that is drear.

And then we heard grim reports of choirs that met for rehearsal with one symptomatic person, only for germs to spread on the very breaths of music. We've heard perhaps that singers, as they release music from their bodies, are also  potentially "super-spreading" germs.

In the midst of such gloom and despair, and in the midst of such confusion over what is safe and what is harmful, how can we sing the Lord's song? My response, indeed, "how can we keep from singing?" We were designed to give praise to the Creator. We can barely take a breath without vocalizing a hum. It is our creaturely nature to transform vowels and consonants into pitch and rhythm.

Our music-making will look different for a while. But whenever we create music, our pulsing voices join the universal music of the spheres. Singing together in a visible, corporeal way will be suspended for a time. But we know intuitively that corporate music-making continues: mountains sing, trees clap their hands, rivers roar. So I remark every morning that the birds still sing (especially one particularly boisterous robin outside my window); my music making joins theirs. Somewhere around this tremendous globe, someone is singing with me.

This is a gloomy time for those of us who make music, especially those who find great meaning in making music in smaller or larger ensembles. The people of God have at many points in history found themselves in similar situations. This is just a season. A new and glorious morning will come: I'm rehearsing even now for that glad day.

Organ tune

To partner with our recent sermon series, relating to questions about our faith from a child's perspective, I used John Leavitt's "Scenes of Childhood" for some of the organ music at our second service. The sermon series addressed questions about our faith that were asked by children in our congregation. The music by Leavitt seemed to me a natural choice to pair with worship during the series. The series concluded today with a sermon related to what heaven is like. I used the final movement from Leavitt's suite for the postlude.

Leavitt in turn used poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson as the inspiration for his music. The composer intended that the poems be read before/after the performance of the music; we simply print excerpts in our printed bulletins. The last piece is called "Pirate Story" drawn from a poem of the same name. The piece begins with a riff on "Sailor's Hornpipe" and concludes with a riff on the Little Prelude in C attributed to JS Bach. Folks were immediately captivated by the music, many of them associating the music with the Popeye the Sailor Man television show from several decades ago. To help put the music in perspective, I tracked down a short summary of the tune.

While this sermon series has been going on, have also utilized art work by children from our congregation in our narthex gallery area. We currently have up work by older elementary children; it was preceded by work by younger elementary children. In mid-August we'll feature work by middle- and high-school students. It's been enjoyable having so much to connect to worship, and to celebrate the earnest questions children have about our faith, and their work in the arts, and music (and poetry) for them.

(After a quick look it seems the music is out of print, else I would put a link to it..)

Music ministry

I was struck this week by how cool and exciting it is to be in church music these days. I think a key factor in my recent excitement is the setting in which I am working these days, but some of this would be relevant no matter where I was working.

Our congregation partners with Bread for the World. Yearly we take a Sunday to emphasize that relationship, and sponsor a letter-writing campaign to our state and federal political representatives on matters of hunger relief. A couple of years ago I got the idea of us celebrating communion on the day of this Bread for the World emphasis. It seems to resonate in the minds of our congregation. Also, in our congregation are a number of retired church professional: minister, educators, musicians, administrators and missionaries. These folks provide a unique energy to our life and mission and bring all manner of vibrancy and insight to our deliberation and priorities.

All of that is prelude or background to my thinking this week. In planning the music for Sunday, I wanted organ music that would "ping" off the Bread for the World relationship, be sensitive to our communion celebration, representative of our global faith, and musically challenging for me and compelling for the listener. I recently purchased a couple of folios of Asian-fusion music by Chelsea Chen, inspired by (I presume) her own ethnic heritage. One of the pieces in her collection of three Taiwanese folk songs is titled, "Song of the country farmer." I thought this might be a relevant piece for this Sunday. I did some investigating on the Internet (fruitless, but amazing that I could do that!). I asked one of our retired medical missionaries if she recognized the tune. "No," was her answer, but she allowed the piece was extremely reminiscent of indigenous music of Taiwan. I checked with the publisher via email to see if Chen had provided any additional notes that didn't appear in the folio. "No," was also their reply, but here, contact her directly via email and ask her yourself. A short email elicited an overnight reply! Chen was able to give me a little background on the song, just enough so that I can intelligently answer the questions I know I will field when folks hear this piece!

I was struck by how the resources available to me have expanded exponentially since I began church music 25 years ago. The wide array of repertoire that is being written for the global church, based on indigenous folks songs is new and exciting for me, and much-appreciated by this congregation. The ease with which I was able to contact the publisher and the arranger herself and get some helpful information, and form a nascent bond over a shared interest in folk music has made my day and makes me grateful.

For what it's worth, the other music in this Sunday's service includes Michael Jothen's "You are the branches" from Choristers Guild; Anne Krentz Organ's arrangement of "Mfurahini alleluia" in the Laudate series from Concordia, and a mix of old a new hymnody from the Presbyterian hymnal, "Glory to God."

Choir Anthem Connection: Fall, 2014

The choir is learning a fairly new setting of "O God our help in ages past" by Rhonda Woodward. It's a really nice a capella setting in D major, with a flatted seventh. Altos begin, followed by tenors and sopranos and finally basses. The piece is in two large sections with fairly closely-related thematic material. Both sections have that flatted seventh thing going on. Last night at rehearsal, one of the singers remarked that it reminded her of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." It does indeed have that similar folk-y sound, characterized by the flatted seventh, without the rhythmic drive of the popular song. The Woodward setting is remarkable for how it works with a very confined musical theme, but does so much with it. While I can't really call it a perfect piece of choral music, a distinct category in my imagination, it really is commendable. Woodward's setting has been recorded by the BYU choir in 2003. Luckily the publisher provided a demo recording of the complete arrangement at the time of publication, which I still have. (Don't tell anyone, but I dubbed it onto my personal "great choral music" compilation!) Woodward herself, according to the bio on the musical score lives nearby in SC; I don't know if she is still there. So here are some links to listen to and compare and contrast.

Woodward, "O God our Help in Ages Past" (excerpt), Brigham Young University Choir ("The Road Home")
(scroll down the playlist and click on the title to hear the excerpt)
Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Crossover

NPR had an article this morning on cross sounds in country music. Big names like Eric Church and Blake Shelton were mentioned as was this song by Jason Aldean:



Yeah, he breaks into rap after about a minute! Of course what comes to my mind is Charlie Daniels and "The Devil went down to Georgia" and what amounted to rap for each verse (he did sing the refrain).

Several years ago when I was putting together bluegrass events at church as bridge events, I had a note by post after one event. "I don't know what you would call it, " referring to Old School Freight Train's set, "but it certainly wasn't bluegrass music." It was definitely bluegrass, but just not your grandfather's bluegrass. OSFT opened shortly thereafter for a major, major act in Nashville, their big breakout performance.



I heard of Mumford and Sons right after they were in Asheville on tour back in spring. Rock + Celtic. This version leaves out (it's just a dead gap) the "dirty word." It's easy enough to find versions of the video that include the complete lyric.



Then the youth used this song by Ben Harper in their photo montage for Summer Mission Sunday last week. African percussion, vocal harmonies, and a little bit of plinky piano, that screamed section about 3/4 way through, a little bit of Delta blues guitar work. Of course, he kind of gives it away in the opening of the video when he walks into a world musical instrument store!



I think one of the best things happening in music these days is the cross-fertilization, or synthesis, or fusion or whatever you want to call it. There's plenty of room for "pure" examples of a genre, but I think growth is happening where the edges blur together. It's been said that JS Bach himself didn't "create" anything new in the baroque sound, he merely synthesized (incredibly) strands that were in the air so to speak. Enjoy!

New piano

I've put a short recording of two Chopin preludes in the Music sidebar. Nick Murphy was one of three performers who helped us break in the new Yamaha piano on the day we dedicated it. The performance is first-rate, and the new piano sounds wonderful!

Worship Music

The magazine Christianity Today this month has a follow-up pair of articles on worship music. The issue arose with a set of five article in the March 2011 issue. I have found the whole discussion quite helpful in refining my thinking on the function of music in worship and how it's selected.

The series began with John Koessler's article giving a helpful corrective by asserting that the whole point of worship is not about satisfying the individual's needs for a particular style of liturgy or music, but in our need to acclaim God and and God's sovereignty. Penny-ante "wars" over worship and music have no place in the context of what we are truly to be about when we worship.

We think of worship as something that originates with us, our gift to God. Perhaps this is why so many of us are conflicted about it. We consider worship to be an expression of our personal devotion. So when the musical style or some expression gets in the way, we don't feel like it is our worship at all.

Several years ago I read Thomas Day's book Why Catholics can't sing. T. David Gordon seems to have followed-up with a Protestant version of the thesis with Why Johnny can't sing hymns. An insightful interview with him is part of this collection in the March issue of CT. His beef is with a perceived idolatry of that-which-is-contemporary in our worship, especially the fleeting trends in contemporary church music. The interview was a helpful reminder of the sin inherent in jettisoning everything old from our worship.

Another of the 5 articles explores the handful of hymns that keep appearing in published hymnals generation after generation; it was quite revealing and interesting.

The June issue (not available on line yet) has two follow-up articles offered somewhat in response to the first series. Both were helpful. Lawrence Mumford is a composer, teacher and worship leader in CA; his article is a sort of primer in what distinguishes pop worship music from traditional worship music. As an important aside he notes that young listeners hear symphonic music quite a bit when they watch even the newest film releases; that arena is one of the last in which a symphonic composer can make a career. His main point may be that the emotional depth called for by the experience of worship calls for an equally deep (or wide) pool of worship music. D.H. Williams sends a cautionary shot across the bow of worship planners who mimic too closely the entertainment field. I don't think person involved in planning contemporary worship and music have this (entertainment value) as a goal, but it's possible for me to see where such could influence worship/music design and planning where due diligence is not exercised.

CT promises that the discussion of the issue of worship style and music-for-worship style will continue in upcoming issues.

From a friend of mine, Allen Bean, a church musician in Richmond, VA...

A week ago I asked a boy chorister to remove his watch, which he kept checking during rehearsal. This week he showed me his bare arm at the beginning of rehearsal. I commended him. He said, "But I think you cursed me. There's rash where I wear my watch." I replied, "No. I don't have the power to do that." Another boy says, "O yes you do. You have the power of music, which is the most powerful force on earth."

France has got talent

Via the Internet:

Temperament and Tuning

Here is a very helpful article that is part book review and part introduction to tuning theory.

The author is Jan Swafford (b. 1946) who is an American composer and author who teaches compostion, theory and musicology at the Boston Conservatory and writing at Tufts University.

The book under review is How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care) by professor Ross W. Duffin. Swafford pretty quickly leaves behind a real review of the book, and concentrates on explaining some of the issues involved in tuning and temperament in very readable language. Here's an excerpt:

There have been some 150 tuning systems put forth over the centuries, none of them pure. There is no perfection, only varying tastes in corruption. If you want your fifths nicely in tune, the thirds can't be; if you want pure thirds, you have to put up with impure fifths. And no scale on a keyboard, not even good old C major, can be perfectly in tune. Medieval tunings voted for pure fifths. By the late Renaissance the tuning systems favored better thirds. The latter were various kinds of meantone temperament. In meantone, most of the accumulated fudges were dumped onto two notes, usually G# (aka A flat) and E flat. The shivery effect of those two notes played together in meantone temperaments earned it the name "wolf," which, like its namesake, was regarded with a certain holy fear.

Enjoy the article.

And FYI: the choir anthem for Sunday: it's in A-flat major. But nary a howl to be heard anywhere!

Resurrection Sunday de-brief (an open letter)

It was a glorious morning, thanks in no small measure to your leadership. I am deeply grateful for your talents and dedication to our church and its worship. I hope folks were as effusive with you as they were with me about the music for the day and the whole service. Rumor has it that there were about 600 persons in worship, between the two services.

At 830AM: "Our God is here" rocked. I don't need to say anything else. It rocked. And it was so fun to have drums back! "Mighty to save" also rocked. 'Nuff said. I think we found the right tempo for everything when we got down to it in the service!

At 11AM: The choir nailed the anthem. Russ would have been proud! It peaked right on time. The bell piece was quite nice. I was nervous and so played the fugue with you. The end result was great, as you heard from the congregation. They don't know or care I played along where it wasn't written; they only know the joy you conveyed (and none of the nerves!). The cumulative effect was exactly what we would hope for: an expression of utter joy on Easter Day. I was so delighted to be able to have brass today. They lent drama and power that was icing on the cake for all they participated in. The communion responses, especially, were awesome thanks to the addition of brass. I had a nice worship moment when so many joined in the refrain for "Up from the grave he arose"! Thanks to Susan H for getting us in and in the right places; and to David S. for stepping in and conducting the introit from the rear. You sounded awesome for that piece, and I knew then that the rest of the service was going to take wing!

(In case you noticed me scouring the organ top during the benediction, I was looking for the volume that contained my postlude, there at the end of the service. It was long gone! Probably just as well: it would have been too long, and poor denouement for a tremendous musical worship experience.)

Thanks again for your hard work leading up today, including your leadership on Palm-Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday and your presence and encouragement on Good Friday.

As a reminder, I am on vacation this week (in town, but laying low). No Tune Weavers rehearsal; no Chancel Choir rehearsal. Andy and Perrin will make the call on Prophets practice TU evening. Music stands are in the sanctuary. (M Banzhoff will be in town, and is planning to sit in on practice and worship next Sunday.) I'll be tidying up bell equipment and re-setting the chancel probably on Wednesday. Next Sunday at 11AM N Allen will sub for me, and Susan B will be singing a solo for the anthem.

I think that's it. Thank you again. Have a blessed Easter!

Christus vincit, Christus regnat; Christus imperat.

Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules.

A Jazzy Lent

I am conflating several different notions here. Wrapped together are fond memories of yesterday's worship music, especially the jazz influenced music at 11AM. Yesterday Lamar W. gave me a copy of an article by Frank Burch Brown in Interpretation. (Brown gives a nice discussion of "Forth Days" piece by Dave Brubeck), that I have been reading this morning. Finally, Shannon K. will be speaking at Chapel at Montreat College this week; she asked, I suspect rhetorically, her Facebook friends what she should talk about.

Here's a video of the Brubeck piece:



This may push the envelop for some person's concept of "sacred music." And I think that is what's on my mind this morning. For Lent we often "give up" something as an act of devotion, penitence or for any number of reasons. In recent years Protestants especially have offered the notion of "taking on" something for Lent: a new level of devotional reading, works of outreach during the season, and the like.

I think maybe for musicians a good Lenten discipline would be to push your comfort envelop this season. If you love classical music for Lent (Handel, Bach and the boys) try listening to jazz this season and hearing what modern voices have to say about our faith. If you prefer contemporary Christians (pop) music, try listening to some Southern gospel this season. We can get very comfortable with our musical choices and miss a whole lot of good stuff. Give a listen to something not usually on your radar. Don't just listen but strive to find what is captivating about the alternative musical style, and find out how it may add to your Lenten devotional life.

A couple of years ago I spent the Lenten season listening to the Bach St. Matthew Passion. I listened to it almost daily and read liner notes and technical articles about the work. I prayed the chorale texts. It wasn't earth-shaking, but it was deeply moving to spend that much time with a single piece of music and to have its message so deeply penetrating my thoughts for 6 weeks or so.

Try something like that this season. let me know what you try and what you encounter in the experience.

Spring Music and Events

Below are music plans for worship in the coming months, plus basic information about a couple of other upcoming music events. Keep an eye hear for details

31 January
830AM: Love the Lord
11AM: Bass, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
C. Konnert, cello, prelude and offertory

7 February
Jane Marshall, You call us Lord

14 February, Transfiguration
Haydn, Great and glorious
Adult Handbells: Awake my heart
Nick Murphy, piano, Beethoven, Sonatina in G

17 February Ash Wednesday Community Service
Tune Weavers
Sleeth, Promised land
Come ye sinners

21 February, Lent I
830: Take my life
11AM: Handel, Behold the lamb of God (Messiah)
Halley, Agnus Dei

28 February, Lent II
830: Down to the river to pray
11AM: David L. Mennicke, Down to the river to pray

7 March, Lent III
830AM: King of glory
11AM: Courtney, Secure

12 March Friday
Maryville College Choir Concert (7PM)

14 March, Lent IV
830: O the deep deep love of Jesus
11AM: Young, O the deep, deep love of Jesus

21 March, Lent V
Tune Weavers
Sleeth, Promised Land
Come ye sinners

28 March, Palm/Passion Sunday
830AM: Worthy is the lamb
11AM: Courtney, Hosanna to the king

1 April, Maundy Thursday
Mozart, Ave verum
String Quartet

2 April Good Friday
Organ Concert and Sanctuary open for prayer (7PM)

4 April, Easter
830: Mighty to save
11AM: Nagy, Now, O death, where is thy sting
Handel, Hallelujah (Messiah) (choir, organ, brass)
Wagner, Rondo Jubilate (bells, organ, brass)
Brass Ensemble, Adult Handbells

Musical Arrangements

Who wrote that song? Have you ever noticed the words “arranged by” in our 11AM guide to worship? These words are used in relation to some of the music you hear in worship. A recent example is the Tune Weavers’ rendition of “It is well with my soul.” The song’s lyrics were written by Horatio Spafford in response to a personal tragedy. Philip Bliss wrote the music a few years after the lyrics had been written. If the Tune Weavers had simply sung the basic hymn, the worship guide would have given credit to Bliss and/or Spafford. As it is the quartet sang an “arrangement” of the hymn. That is, the arranger added new harmonies and new accompaniment to the basic structure created by Bliss. (In this instance there were no changes to the lyric, though that sometimes occurs.) Thus we give credit to the arranger instead of the creators of the original. In a perfect world, we would credit everyone involved in the final product, not just the arranger; but with print space at a premium, we give credit just to the arranger. Just so you know, JS Bach himself was an arranger, sometime of his own music. Many of his settings of chorales for organ are extensive arrangements of very straightforward hymn melodies! When you see that a musical selection has been arranged, you might choose to explore and discover the origins of the music. Very often this sort of information will appear on the music ministry blog.

New Site

Mark Banzhof, who played with the Prophets last fall, has set up a new site. A fine musician and artist he's trying to get his niche out there. Take a look and leave a comment!

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!

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.

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.

Space Opera

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

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.