From: Richard Thomas <RichardAThomas@OptOnline.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 1, 2022 1:11 AM
Subject: Music for the OSHC Sunday Service of December 4, 2022, 2nd
Sunday of Advent
Hi Choir,
The choir will be singing Hal Hopson’s “Jesus Took the Cup” at communion.
The bulletin also shows that an anthem will be sung before the children’s message.
(I wondered about the purple poinsettias. Was their color just a fancy of the illustrator? I checked Google. You can order purple poinsettias online from Home Depot. They are live plants, but they aren’t naturally purple. They have been sprayed with a purple dye.)
If this were the second Sunday of Advent in 2000, we would be lighting The Bethlehem Candle, as that year, Old South Haven used the sequence:
Prophets,
Bethlehem,
Shepherds,
Angels.
For a number of years at Old South Haven, the second Sunday was when the Candle of Faith was lit.
The choir would sing:
Light one candle in the night.
Light one candle of faith;
faith that can heal a world in need,
faith that can conquer hate and greed,
faith in a child who will come to lead.
Light one candle of faith.
https://youtu.be/KSU5in35vDE?t=49 “Candles of Advent,” words by Don Besig
(But we wouldn’t have used the bulletin covers shown, as the anthem we sang had no candle of Joy. It had instead a candle of Love.)
For other congregations, the second candle is the Candle of Love.
For still others, the Second Sunday of Advent is the time for lighting the Candle of Peace.
For others, the 2nd Sunday of Advent and its candle point to the Annunciation.
Expectation, Annunciation, Proclamation, Fulfillment
In 2000, the Prophets’ Candle was lit at Old South Haven on the 1st Sunday of Advent, but some congregations will instead light The Prophets’ Candle on the 2nd Sunday.
The Patriarchs, The Prophets, John the Baptist, The Virgin Mary
Actually, I kind of like that there has been a wonderful diversity of ways of observing Advent and naming the candles.
(I’m all for diversity.)
If you do a Google search for this coming Sunday’s services, I’m fairly sure you will still find a few congregations that use one of the variants.
The opening hymn will be the one we sang as a communion hymn on October 2, “I Come with Joy,” no. 507. The words of “I Come with Joy” were authored by Brian Wren (1968, rev. 1977). The tune, DOVE OF PEACE, is from William Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835. In the blue Presbyterian Hymnal (1990), it is scored for unison singing.
https://youtu.be/l4X3QYTuggs “I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord, Forgiven, Loved and Free,” SAB, arr. Zebulon M. Highben (with parts and score on screen)
Here is “I Come with Joy” sung by a men’s choir in March 2009 (with piano and violin):
http://youtu.be/w4gaqf5n1v0 “I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord, Forgiven, Loved and Free” AMC Men’s Choir
As it appeared in Southern Harmony, the tune had a different rhythm and tempo than in the 1977 arrangement by Austin Lovelace in the video above.
Here is the original song as sung at a sacred harp meeting:
https://youtu.be/c73lDdtPhlE Southern Harmony, 59b “Dove of Peace,” sung in sacred harp style
You can see the words sung to the tune (by an artificial voice) and hear the original tune by clicking on “All” on “Audio” here:
https://sevenshapes.sacredharpbremen.org/59b-dove-of-peace/ DOVE OF PEACE, original tune
The Presbyterian Hymnal (1990) contains eleven hymns by Brian Wren.
BRIAN WREN (b. 1936) is an
internationally published hymn-poet whose work appears in hymnals from all
denominations and traditions. He was born in 1936 in Romford, Essex,
England. He was in the British Army from 1955-1957, then studied modern
languages at Oxford University where he received a B.A. in 1960. He
obtained a B.A. in theology in 1962, also from Oxford, and a Doctor of
Philosophy degree in theology of the Old Testament from Oxford in 1968.
Ordained in Britain's United Reformed Church, he lives in Decatur, Georgia,
where he serves as the first holder of the John and Miriam Conant Professorship
in Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary.
Brian lives with his partner in marriage and ministry, Rev. Susan Heafield ("Hayfield"), a United Methodist Pastor and composer. Together they have published two worship song collections.
Next there is an anthem.
The first reading is Psalm 72:1-7 and 18-19. Verses 8 through 17 are skipped. Here are all 20 verses of Psalm 72:
[Of Solomon]
O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions,
Grant the king’s son the ability to make fair decisions,
that he may rule your people with justice,
and your oppressed ones equitably.
Mountains and hills will bring peace to the people,
and the hills will announce justice.
He will defend the oppressed among the people;
he will deliver the children of the poor,
and crush the oppressor.
People will fear you as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,
for generation after generation.
He will come down like rain on mown grass,
like showers that drench the earth.
In his days, the godly will flourish,
peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky.
My he rule from from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
Before him the coastlands will bow down,
and his enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and the coastlands will pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Saba will offer gifts;
all kings will bow down to him,
all nations will serve him.
For he will rescue the needy when they cry out for help,
and the oppressed who have no defender.
He will take pity on the poor and the needy;
the lives of the needy he will save.
From oppression and violence he redeems them,
he will value their lives.
Long may he live;
may they offer him gold from Sheba.
May they continually pray for him.
May they pronounce blessings on him all day long.
May there be an abundance of grain in the earth;
waving on the tops of the hills.
May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon.
May its crops be as abundant as the grass of the earth.
May his fame endure.
May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky.
May thy use his name when in their blessings,
and all nations recognize him as favored by God.
Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders;
blessed forevermore his glorious name. May the whole world be filled with his glory! Amen! Amen!
The collection of the prayers of David son of Jesse ends here.
The second hymn is no. 14, “Savior of the Nations, Come.” This hymn is in both the blue hymnal and the red Rejoice in the Lord hymnal used before the blue one. We sang in December 2018 and in December 2020.
“Savior of the Nations, Come” is a hymn attributed to the fourth century Ambrose of Milan. Martin Luther used the second verse “Veni, redemptor gentium” by Ambrose of Milan for a chorale text, “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland.” The tune, NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILAND, is based on a plainsong melody.
Veni redemptor gentium,
Ostende partum virginis,
Miretur omne saeculum,
Talis partus decet deum.
(or: Talis decet partus deum)
Luther’s
adaptation:
Verse 1:
Nun komm, der Heiden
Heiland,
Now come, Savior of the gentiles,
der Jungfrauen Kind erkannt,
recognized as the child of the Virgin,
des sich wundert alle
Welt,
so that all the world is amazed
Gott solch Geburt ihm bestellt.
God ordained such a birth for him.
https://youtu.be/lY5EztLcSVo “Veni
Redemptor gentium” (Gregorian with saxophone), sung by Schola Cantorum
Riga with Gints Paberzs (saxophone)
https://youtu.be/OqKpdIFX5LE “Savior
of the Nations, Come”
https://youtu.be/ol78eWbhE1o “Savior of the Nations, Come” (modernized version) by Cardiphonia
You can see all the parts here, but it is a slightly different setting, as the bass part in the video is easier to sing than the one in the Presbyterian Hymnal.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4D2121E24B302049&feature=view_all
These YouTube videos of parts are musically pleasing:
https://youtu.be/7iCxtXYIju8 “Savior of the Nations, Come,” alto part
https://youtu.be/YnuMIyNdzAY “Savior of the Nations, Come,” tenor part
https://youtu.be/TF8mwcbe480 “Savior of the Nations, Come,” bass part
For an extremely difficult (though quite beautiful) choral arrangement by William Braun, see:
https://youtu.be/TZEK58XRgUA “Savior of the Nations, Come” (choral arrangement by William Braun), with words and score
Here’s a choral arrangement Daniel R. Boyle (with a great organ accompaniment score) that is quite beautiful and the “Difficulty” is only “Easy-Medium”:
https://youtu.be/Uu3t9ZUMEo0 “Savior of the Nations, Come” SATB, 4-part, (choral arrangement by William Braun), with words and score
Ambrose of Milan (Aurelius Ambrosius, Bishop of Milan) was born about 340 A.D. into a Roman Christian family and died in 397. Before he became a bishop, he was the Roman governor of a region of northern Italy and a region of northwestern Italy around Genoa. The Roman Catholic Church has given special recognition to four of its saints, calling them Doctors of the Church, and Ambrose of Milan is one of them. (The other three are Gregory, Augustine, and Jerome.)
Ambrose promoted a style of chanting in which one side of the choir responded to the other, called antiphonal chant.
Ambrose grew up in a part of the Roman Empire that is now northern France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and parts of the Netherlands and Germany (a region of Gaul called Gallia Belgica). He then studied literature, law, and rhetoric in Rome, after which he entered public service, rising to the position of a governor in 372. His headquarters were in Milan which had been the capital (instead of Rome) of the Western Roman Empire since 286. Ambrose became Bishop of Milan in 374.
At the time, many bishops (and some families of the Imperial Court) followed the teachings of Arius, that Jesus was the Son of God, begotten by the Father, and distinct from God the Father. Ambrose resolutely held to the Nicene Creed of 325, that Jesus was of one substance with the Father. When the Emperor Valentinian II and his mother Justina wanted one of the churches in Milan to be allocated to the Arians, Ambrose and his congregation barricaded themselves in the church to prevent it.
You might think that opposing the emperor would be hazardous to one’s health, but at the time, Ambrose possessed skills and abilities which the emperor desperately needed. Magnus Maximus had taken over Gaul and was threatening Italy. Valentinian sent Ambrose to persuade Magnus Maximus to remain in Gaul, which Ambrose succeeded in doing.
Ambrose died on 04 Apr 397. His body can still be viewed in the church of Saint Ambrogio in Milan.
Body of Ambrose of Milan (in white vestments) in the crypt of Saint Ambrose, with skeletons of two other saints.
The second lesson is Isaiah 11:1-10. In some years, the first verse was an excuse for singing “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming.”
https://youtu.be/-sNuXNcNdnM “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming” sung by the Illumni Men’s Chorale and the Harvard Glee Club
https://youtu.be/OAIro_A1CYw “Es ist ein Ros’ engsprungen” sung by The Gesualdo Six at Ely Cathedral
The passage is also about wolves and lambs, leopards and kids, and calves and lions and fatlings—and the little child who shall lead them.
A shoot will spring from the stock of Jesse, a new shoot will grow from his roots.
On him will rest the spirit of Yahweh, the spirit of wisdom and insight,
the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh:
his inspiration will lie in fearing Yahweh.
His judgement will not be by appearances, his verdict not given on hearsay.
He will judge the weak with integrity and give fair sentence for the humblest in the land.
He will strike the country with the rod of his mouth
and with the breath of his lips bring death to the wicked.
Uprightness will be the belt around his waist, and constancy the belt about his hips.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the panther lie down with the kid,
Calf, lion cub, and steer together, with a little boy to lead them.
The cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like the ox.
The infant will play over the den of the adder;
the baby will put his hand into the viper's lair.
No hurt, no harm will be done on all my holy mountain,
for the country will be full of knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea.
That day, the root of Jesse, standing as a signal for the peoples,
will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.
“Peaceable Kingdom with Two Olives” by Will Bullas
Will Bullas’ painting is a parody of the “Peaceable Kingdom” paintings by the American folk painter and Quaker, Edward Hicks (1780-1849). Edward Hicks was so taken by the images in Isaiah 11:6, that he did 62 different “Peaceable Kingdom” paintings. https://folkart.org/mag/edward-hicks
“Roots and Shoots” is the title of Rev. Johnson’s sermon.
Before communion, the choir will sing “Jesus Took the Cup.”
https://youtu.be/E4FG9ms0Kjc “Jesus Took the Cup” by Hal Hopson, sung by the choir of the Bethel Lutheran Church, Grove City, Ohio
https://youtu.be/WuTlnGx_xTY “Jesus Took the Cup” by Hal Hopson, sung by the choir of the First United Methodist Church, Bryant, Arkansas. (Bryant lies southwest of Little Rock.)
The Old South Haven choir learned this piece in January 2008 when Danny Corneliussen was the choir director. The choir also sang the piece in October 2014, after Sandy had become the director.
The closing hymn is “Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” hymn no. 9.
Here is an instrumental version by The Piano Guys that is hauntingly longing:
http://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” instrumental: piano and cello, by the PianoGuys
The Brigham Young University group Vocal Point does an interesting rendition of this hymn:
http://youtu.be/AdR79P-2ewo?t=12s “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” BYU Vocal Point
The hymn and tune come from an ancient chant, “Veni Emmanuel.” It was translated by John Mason Neale in 1851.
http://youtu.be/Mn7iFxvfn3A “Veni, Veni Emmanuel” sung by the Paderborn Cathedral Choir of Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Here is a performance by the Stonebriar Community Church with full orchestra, a children’s choir, and a very large adult choir. (The Stonebriar congregation does a great job of decorating their church. They even have a big blue Star of Bethlehem.)
http://youtu.be/sID0vyENNBU “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” arrangement by Paul Thompson (who posted it to YouTube), Stonebriar Community Church
Stonebriar Community Church is a “a nondenominational evangelical Christian church in Frisco, Texas, a fast-growing suburb north of Dallas, Texas.” It was founded by a small group in 1998 and now has 4,000 worshippers every Sunday.
Instrumental Music
Unknown. The titles of the instrumental pieces do not appear in the bulletin.
Richard