Hymn of the Day: “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” ELW 634
Text: Edward Perronet, (1726-1792), sts. 1-4; J. Rippon, A Selection of Hymns, 1787, sts. 5-6
Music: CORONATION, Oliver Holden, 1765-1844
The first stanza of this hymn was printed anonymously in the Gospel Magazine (November 1779). Six months later the Gospel Magazine (April 1780) printed it again, this time with seven more stanzas by Edward Perronet (1726-1792) and the title "On the Resurrection, the Lord is King." The hymn appeared once more in A Selection of Hymns (London, 1787) by John Rippon (1751-1836). Many argue that the hymn has experienced continued popularity due to the hymn tune MILES LANE which appeared with it in Gospel Magazine and the tunes CORONATION and DIADEM which have accompanied the text since that time. The use of this hymn in various forms and many languages is very extensive. A rendering in Latin, "Salve, nomen potestatis," is given in Bingham's Hymnologia Christiana Latina, 1871. In the number of hymnbooks in which it is found in one form or another, it ranks with the first ten in the English language.
Like MILES LANE, CORONATION was written for this text. Oliver Holden composed the tune in four parts with a duet in the third phrase. The tune, whose title comes from the theme of Perronet's text, was published in Holden's Union Harmony (1793). It is the one eighteenth-century American tune that has enjoyed uninterrupted popularity–from the singing schools of that era to today's congregational worship.
CORONATION is a vigorous marching tune with many repeated tones that delighted Holden's contemporaries. The tune requires the jubilant repetition of the last couplet of text for each stanza.
Holden was reared in a small rural community and had only a minimal formal education–a few months in a "common school" in Groton, Massachusetts. He worked as a carpenter and was involved in community service in Charlestown, holding posts in the Anti-Slavery Society and serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In addition he worked very profitably as a merchant and real estate dealer, and served as a Puritan lay preacher. Very interested in music, Holden became a composer and singing-school teacher in the tradition of William Billings. He was involved in publishing various tune books, including The American Harmony (1792), The Massachusetts Compiler (1795), Plain Psalmody (1800), and The Charlestown Collection of Sacred Songs (1803).
Offertory: "How Can I Keep From Singing" Sarah Quartel
How Can I Keep From Singing?" (also known by its first line "My Life Flows On in Endless Song") is an American folksong originating as a Christian hymn. The author of the lyrics was known only as 'Pauline T', and the original tune was composed by American Baptist minister Robert Lowry. The song is frequently, though erroneously, cited as a traditional Quaker or Shaker hymn and the song has often been attributed to "early" Quakers, but Quakers did not permit congregational singing in worship until after the American Civil War (and many still do not have music regularly). But learning it in social activist circles of the fifties and hearing Pete Seeger's (erroneous) attribution endeared the song to many contemporary Quakers, who have adopted it as a sort of anthem. It was published in the Quaker songbook Songs of the Spirit, and the original words, were included in the much more ambitious Quaker hymnal project, Worship in Song: A Friends Hymnal in 1996.
Canadian composer and educator Sarah Quartel is known for her fresh and exciting approach to choral music. Deeply inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur while making choral music, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience. Her works are performed by choirs across the world, and she has been commissioned by groups including the American Choral Directors Association, the National Children's Chorus of the United States of America, and New Dublin Voices. Since 2018 she has been exclusively published by Oxford University Press, and she continues to work as a clinician and conductor at music education and choral events at home and abroad.
Opening Voluntary: “Chorale Prelude on Liebster Jesu, Wir Sind Hier,” Gerald Near (1942)
Gerald Near, an alumnus of the University of Michigan, has an extensive catalog of well-crafted, published, choral and organ music. His early position as choirmaster at Calvary Church, (an Anglo-Catholic parish) Rochester, Minnesota, afforded him the opportunity to hone his craftsmanship for the special choral requirements of that unique community of worshippers. Later, he was appointed a lay Canon Precentor (Director of Music and Organist) of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, Dallas, Texas, before becoming composer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John, Denver, CO. Currently he is a freelance composer, and Choral Director and Cantor at Holy Faith Episcopal Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
This beautiful, lyrical setting of “Liebster Jesu wir Sind hier” is one of my favorites. A Lutheran hymn with text by Tobias Clausnitzer in 1663, it is a prayer for illumination, regularly found in Protestant and Catholic hymnals, with German and English translations. The tune was composed by Johann Rudolph Ahle (1625 –1673), a German composer, organist, theorist, and Protestant church musician.
Closing Voluntary: Chorale Prelude on “Nun danket alle Gott” op. 65, no. 59, Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)
Of his 66 Chorale Improvisations, this exultant march is one of Karg-Elert's most cherished works for the organ. It refers to the 17th-century text written by Lutheran hymnist Martin Rinkart, which in English is "Now thank we all our God," and it is widely used at this time of year. We also celebrated Karg-Elert's birthday this past Tuesday: November 21, 1877!