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Music at Central Westside

Music at Central Westside


"Music Notes"

brought to you by

Fiona Evison, Music Director

B.C.M., M.A. Community Music

music@centralwestside.ca

Association of Canadian Women Composers profile


December 31, 2023

New Year’s Eve 2023

Can you believe that we are drawing to the end of 2023? Time just keeps on rolling by, whether we are ready for it or not, but our service on Sunday will be a wonderful time to reflect on the gift of another year to serve God and acknowledge His faithfulness.


Choosing this week’s service music was challenging for several reasons. There are so many resonant choices for these themes. Some of these hymns were a result of the practice of poets and ministers to write a New Year’s text—including “Another Year is Dawning” by Frances Havergal, which will open our service. Some of these hymns have lost their original association with New Year and are used more generally. An example of this is Newton’s “Amazing Grace,” which he wrote for a New Years’ Day church service, and looked back over God’s blessings in his life and anticipated them for the future. We will sing this hymn together as well as “God of the Ages,” “One More Step Along the World I Go,” “On This Day of Celebration,” and others. Bruce is bringing his sax and I’ve invited musical friends to join us: Marilyn Rader (vocal), Ridley Gillmore (trombone), and Jackie Mersich (trumpet).

 

Not only is it the end of the year but also the end of my time as your music director at Central Westside. I appreciate so much your positivity about my musical support and initiatives. I have learned much from serving you each week and am thankful for this opportunity offered to me in 2019 when I was not looking for a church position but was preparing for doctoral studies.

 

Partings can be challenging, and I have included a special song for us to sing at the service end. It begins: “How sweet the hour of praise and prayer, when our devotions blend, and on the wings of faith divine our songs of joy ascend! ’Tis then we hear in tones more clear the gracious promise giv’n, that, tho' we part from friends on earth, we all shall meet in Heav’n.” Accompanying these meaningful words is the tune, “Auld Lang Syne,” which further makes it a perfect New Year’s Eve closing.

 

I hope you will be able to gather with us on Sunday morning, as we prepare for new ventures together.


December 24, 2023

Advent 4 and Christmas Eve 2023


Every so many years, Christmas Eve ends up being on the same day as Advent 4, which is very fitting if we think about the idea that Love (Advent 4 theme) came to us in a human form on the night (or maybe early morning) of the very first Christmas. 

 

We do not know the exact day of when this happened, and scholars have argued the point for a long time. I read a convincing argument based on Jewish calendars and the timing of Gabriel’s appearance to Mary that estimated Christ’s birth to be very close to December 25. Some Christians get a little heated over such debates, but I do not. It is lovely to have a non-commercial time in our busy lives to focus on the incredible message that God would leave Heaven’s glory, come as a helpless Babe into a sin-cursed world, so that He could one day pay the price for our salvation. Some carols make this connection clear—many of them refer to the birth of a Saviour, and “What Child is This?” contains these startling lyrics:

 

Nails, spear will pierce him through, the cross be borne for me and you.

 

Such lyrics may seem out of place with the image of a lamplit barn, newborn baby, new parents, adoring shepherds, and singing angels, but as one song says, Jesus was born in the shadow of a Tree (cross). Without Good Friday, there is no need for Christmas Day.

 

The child in the above picture is eagerly waiting on Christmas Eve for the joys of the morning. As Christians, though, we don’t have to wait for God’s gift to us. It can be our reality each and every day. We will gather on Sunday morning and evening to consider and sing about the wonder of Christmas and pray for the love and presence of Christ to be real in our hearts, minds, and souls. I hope you will join us.

 


December 17, 2023                                                                Advent 3, 2023

This week, Ridley Gillmore and I present some favourite Christmas carols (aren’t they all favourites?) with international connections: the Caribbean (The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy), Germany (How Great Our Joy!) and Canada (The Huron Carol). The Huron Carol is Canada’s oldest carol, and it comes to us from nearby at Ste. Marie among the Hurons, originally written in the mid-1600s by Jesuit priest Jean de Brebeuf. Brebeuf portrayed the nativity story in a way that the Indigenous community at the mission could understand, using the Wyandot language. Here is the first verse and chorus, in which I have highlighted the phrase, “Jesus, He is born.” My vocal arrangement includes that phrase in Wyandot.

Estenniayon de tsonwe Iesous ahatonnia
onn' awatewa nd' oki n' onyouandaskwaentak
ennonchien eskwatrihotat n'onyouandiyonrachatha

Iesous ahatonnia, ahatonnia. Iesous ahatonnia.

 

Its translation in Wikipedia is drastically different from the imaginative English version we use:

 

Have courage, you who are humans. Jesus, He is born.
Behold, it has fled, the spirit who had us as prisoner.
Do not listen to it, as it corrupts our minds, the spirit of our thoughts.

Jesus, He is born. He is born. Jesus, He is born.


The emphasis in this verse is on freedom from fear of evil spirits, which comes from believing the gospel message. My friend’s grandmother was a missionary in the Arctic, who also found that fear of spirits kept people in bondage. They were released from fear when they trusted in Jesus, and experienced great joy. Advent 3’s theme is Joy, and we, too, can experience the joy of Christ in our hearts, minds, and souls.

 

To experience more Christmas music joy, consider joining me on Sunday at 7pm at the Historic Leith Church Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. The lessons will be read in lamp-light by community members and there will be congregational carols. I will be conducting the GB Children’s Choir as well. It is a very popular event with limited seating, so come early!

Evan and I thank you sincerely for the appreciation and gifts last Sunday in recognition of our ministry with you. The piano cake was an especially fun addition to our coffee fellowship time!




December 10, 2023

Advent 2 2023

I introduced a new Advent final hymn last week, “Go, All Ye Faithful.” The tune is ADESTE FIDELIS, one of our oldest carol tunes and thought to be from the 1600s. I came across it in a Facebook group for church music directors, where it was shared by the author, R. G. Huff, a hymnwriter and music professor:

 

Go, all ye faithful, all who know the Saviour,

carry the message far beyond these walls!

Hold forth the Christ light, conquer ev’ry darkness.

Go forth, O Church of Jesus, proclaim the One Who frees us,

speak peace, reach out in mercy, kindness and love.

 

Go, all ye faithful, take the (hope, peace, joy, love) of Christmas!

Carry the message far beyond these walls!

Hold forth the Christ light, conquer ev’ry darkness.

Go forth, O Church of Jesus, proclaim the One Who frees us,

speak peace, reach out in mercy, kindness and love!

 

I will be interested to hear your feedback on singing this for our closing hymn each week. The lyrics change weekly in verse two to match the Advent theme. One positive aspect is that you will memorize the words quickly (so I will be expecting good singing volume to match the organ.) The choir also gave you a preview of our new piece, which we will repeat on Sunday, with more dazzle! Claire Baker will also join us with her oboe and English horn to add a special touch to the service. You can also hear her with me and the Georgian Bay Children’s Choir on Saturday at 2:30 at St Andrews. Tickets are $18 at the door and support this important community educational opportunity for our area children.

 

Advent 2’s theme is Peace. May we experience the peace of Christ in our hearts, minds, and souls.


December 3, 2023

Advent 2023

You can always tell when Christmas is coming at Central Westside because the garlands are hung in the choir loft, the tree is decorated in the sanctuary, and there is the warm glow of Christmas everywhere that you look. If you look outside the window this week, you will see the fresh snow that reminds us of God’s forgiveness and ability to cleanse our sins (Isaiah 1:18; Psalm 51:7).

 

This Sunday marks the start of Advent—a season of preparation focusing on Christ’s first and second coming. This Sunday’s prelude features two Advent hymns: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and a medley of two tunes for “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” We will sing a third tune in the service for the latter, as well as a Spanish advent hymn, “All Earth is Waiting,” whose lyrics from Isaiah remind us that the world is struggling, but we can find comfort in the Prince of Peace.

 

Christmas music with different musicians throughout the month will include Marilyn Rader, soprano; Claire Baker, oboe and English horn; Jackie Mersich, trumpet; Ridley Gillmore, trombone, Bruce Steer, sax, and Glen Eden, piano and fiddle. Our CWUC choir will use bells and voices in a new composition, “All in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light.” The words are from Matthew 4:16:

 

“The people living in darkness have seen a great Light;

upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death, Light has dawned.”

 

As we are reminded during the Christ candle lighting, Jesus, the Light of the world, has come! 


November 26, 2023

Words and Music

In my last Music Notes, I commented on Voices United’s use of “As the Deer” with alternative paraphrased words from Psalm 42. I stated that the substitution was difficult to sing, and I would not use it. Subsequently and ironically, in our next choir rehearsal, we had a funny and confusing moment when one chorister sang out of a hymnal with the problematic text and couldn’t understand why everyone else was singing different words! I did not realize that when the denomination shipped new hymnals to CWUC, it sent hymnals with both “As the Deer” versions. Happily, this occurred in rehearsal. When that sort of confusion occurs in a service, it creates a Sunday morning “worship train wreck”! 

I would like to expand my thoughts on the importance of “singable” congregational songs. You may be wondering why or how would a congregational song become or be unsingable? There are several factors at play, related to cultural shifts in community singing and the Christian media industry.

 

First, there has been a general cultural shift away from musical literacy—the ability to read traditional music notation. You might have learned to read basic music as a school child; however, the school system does not support arts education as it did in the past, and many students do not learn to read music. Those doing extra-curricular music activities (e.g., private lessons) learn to do so. Of course, the human brain is excellent at learning music by just hearing it—and this “aural” way of music learning has existed for thousands of years—before notation was developed in the Middle Ages as a memory aid for church singers. Aural musical learning still exists in many cultures, including our own—just think of all the radio songs that you can sing along with without ever seeing them notated! However, how easily music can be memorized involves repetition within the song, or how many times you listen to it.

 

Many churches have switched from using hand-held hymnals to projected screen lyrics. This change can avoid the train wreck in paragraph 1, and it allows for easily including new songs or verses. However, you no longer see where the music gets higher/lower, and when to sing/not sing. Thus, it is even more important now that lyrics support the music, and vice versa, lining up well with the tune. The choir knows this secret, but I will adjust lyrics for ease of singing. A recent example is the final verse of “Christ, Be My Leader,” which I adapted slightly, without changing meaning, to help us not stumble when singing it. Hymnal notation used to help us figure it out, but changing times make adaptation sometimes necessary.

 

Other factors like how high or low the music goes (range), what part of the range it uses (tessitura), if the notes travel smoothly or jump around (conjunct vs disjunct) also determine singability. Some songs were written for professional musicians, often making them musically demanding and not good congregational choices. This is more of an issue when leaders choose recorded songs they like, but hymnals sometimes contain songs that are just too high for our voices. (I’m looking at you, “O Holy Night”! You might think of others.) So, choosing and adapting music for singability, as well for supporting/ expressing faith is an important music director role. Feedback on whether or not we achieve this balance is always helpful. 


I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday.


November 19, 2023

A Thirst to Worship

 

The past Sunday, my prelude included a section from Marilyn Ham’s gorgeous arrangement of “As the Deer.” I have always considered it to be a beautiful song of praise, and after one of our members commented following the service that it was a song that she also found lovely, I located it in the back of Voices United in the Psalms section. When I received Ridley’s plans for the sermon, I realized that the focus of the sermon and “As the Deer” will go well together, so we will sing it together on Sunday as our sermon response.

The composer is Martin Nystrom, an American music educator, who has written over 120 worship songs, “As the Deer” being the best known (1). The song is a personalized version of Psalm 42, expressing our souls’ thirst and longing to worship and express our love for Christ.


I am pleased (and surprised) that this song is available for our congregational use; however, the accompanist VU version has a concerning note: “At the request of the copyright holder, Martin Nystrom’s three original verses are provided in this edition between the staves. In earlier editions, verses paraphrasing Psalm 42, written specifically for Voices United had been provided” (2). This means that, as with other hymns, the editors made substitutions to a perfectly wonderful song. The substitution is difficult to sing, and I would personally never use it with this tune, so I am glad we can sing the original instead!

 

I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday!


1 Nystrom, Marty, “About Marty,” accessed November 14, 2023. https://martynystrom.com/.

2 Voices United Music Leaders’ Edition, The Hymn and Worship Book of the United Church of Canada, 1997, The United Church Publishing House, p. 766.


November 12, 2023


When Technology Doesn’t Go as Planned…

 

If you joined us for worship on Sunday, you know that the trial shared service with Southampton, Sheffield, and Rockton United Churches did not go as planned, and it vividly demonstrated some research that I recently published and had already planned to share with you. First, and importantly, this is in NO WAY a criticism of anyone involved in the service or in running tech! They are dedicated people with vital roles, committed to serving their local churches and deserving of our support and gratitude!

 

For unknown reasons, a significant delay or “lag” between the audio and video (with the audio being slower) meant that we were responding at CWUC to what had already happened in the other churches. As we watched our screens, the audio was out of sync with the images, resulting in such things as silent violin playing, hymn slides one verse ahead of what we were singing, and speakers’ voices that did not match actions. Unfortunately for our church, participation was also hindered, with Scripture and Remembrance Day readings being out of sync and disrupted (since the other churches heard silence when it was our turn because we were still listening due to lag). Music that I had prepared could not be shared, either. Southampton made the necessary decision to stop including CWUC in participatory elements. It was disappointing and discombobulating. I have not heard what was experienced on Southampton’s side of things, but I am certain it was disconcerting for them, too.

 

This is an illustration of when technology intended to benefit and aid participation has the opposite effect, which is a topic that arose in my recently published research. My article (1) describes how the technology that community music leaders used during the pandemic to maintain musical activities was difficult to learn and was not accessible to all community members. This resulted in the exclusion of some people from regular musical activities. For example, not everyone has a computer or is comfortable using it for more than emails. Consequently, many choirs did not use computers to continue singing. If they did, special (and expensive) software and training were required, and it created a huge amount of leader work for an experience that was often unsatisfying for singers. One of my research participants tried it once then never again! For another research participant, creating “virtual choir” recordings of the church choir to use in Sunday services took so much time that it became his main job during pandemic restrictions. In that church’s case, there was another music director who could do all the other tasks, but most music directors work alone, and so this type of time-intensive recording was a challenge.

 

I join other writers who suggest that there can be a lot of assumptions around technology: it will make things easier and better, it will solve problems, and everyone has it and can use it. Technology does not always bring improvement. Don’t misunderstand me. Technology is vital to how we now function—I am writing this note to you on a computer, which I’ll send through the Internet to Carolyn, who will use technology to incorporate it into the LightNews, then to distribute it to you through the Internet for you to read using your own technology. Wow! Technology can help us to accomplish amazing things! Tech that allows shared participation between distant churches is also amazing, and our brilliant tech teams will work to solve Sunday’s issues. It is worth noting, though, that when problems arise, it can disrupt the whole purpose of using the technology—which, for us, resulted in hindering worship.

1.   Evison F. Musical engagement at any cost? Community music leaders’ embrace of recorded music-making during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Pop Music Educ. 2023;17:169–93.


November 5, 2023

Jesus Loves Me

 

One of the best-known children’s hymns is Anna Warner’s “Jesus Loves Me.” Written by an American woman who was known for her kindness and ministry to military cadets, the song’s tune and lyrics have gone through many transformations over the years. Originally the lyrics were set to a pentatonic melody (based on five notes and often associated with Asian, Indigenous, and Celtic musical cultures), but William Bradbury composed the tune that is used today. Bradbury is the composer of other classic hymns such as Sweet Hour of Prayer, Just as I Am, He Leadeth Me, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, and Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us (which I played in last week’s prelude).

 

The lyrics were originally focused on teaching a simple version of the gospel and God’s care for us:

Jesus loves me—this I know, for the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to him belong—they are weak, but he is strong.


Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me,—he who died, heaven’s gates to open wide;

He will wash away my sin, let his little child come in.


Jesus loves me—loves me still, though I’m very weak and ill;

From his shining throne on high comes to watch me where I lie.


Jesus loves me,—he will stay close beside me all the way.

Then his little child will take up to heav’n for his dear sake.

 

These original lyrics have sometimes been changed to include other thoughts, such as assurance of God’s enduring love:

Jesus loves me when I'm good, when I do the things I should,

Jesus loves me when I'm bad, though it makes Him very sad.

 

and recommitment on the singers’ part to walking in faith:

Jesus, take this heart of mine, make it pure and wholly Thine;

On the cross You died for me, I will try to live for Thee.

 

Voices United uses a Canadian Anglican version by David R McGuire about the friendship of Jesus:

Jesus loves me, this I know, as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee, saying, “Let them come to me.”

 

Jesus loves me still today, walking with me on my way,
waiting as a friend to give light and love to all who live.

 

Regardless of text, the hymn remains a favourite, For more details, including a Buddhist version, see C. Michael Hawn's article. I’ll see you on Sunday for a different kind of service through the wonders of tech!



October 29, 2023

Sing to the Lord of Harvest

 

The Canadian Encyclopedia tells us that although Indigenous peoples celebrated the fall harvest before European settlers arrived in Canada, the first official annual Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated on November 6 1879. Unsurprisingly, the explorers of Canada were known to celebrate thanksgiving, including Martin Frobisher and crew in 1578 and Sameul de Champlain in 1606 (in what was then New France). It was the people of Nova Scotia who introduced the turkey, squash and pumpkin meal that is so common today, beginning in 1750 and spreading across Canada by the 1870s. The federal government proclaimed the second Monday of October as Thanksgiving day In 1957, and most provinces and territories have made it a statutory holiday.

 

Of course, Christians sing their thanksgiving to God regularly, but the focus of harvest makes a wonderful focus for our October hymnody. The last hymn to share with you on this theme is Sing to the Lord of Harvest. This is a new hymn to me, but it is not a new hymn, having been written by an Irish clergyman, who published it in 1866. John Monsell enjoyed writing thanksgiving hymns, and this one is rich with biblical imagery that extends our thankfulness beyond the harvest to our salvation:

 

Sing to the Lord of harvest, sing songs of love and praise; 
With joyful hearts and voices your alleluias raise! 
By him the rolling seasons In fruitful order move; 
Sing to the Lord of harvest a song of happy love.

 

By him the clouds drop fatness, the deserts bloom and spring,

The hills leap up in gladness, the valleys laugh and sing.

He filleth with his fullness all things with large increase;

He crowns the year with goodness, with plenty, and with peace.

 

Heap on his sacred altar the gifts his goodness gave, 
The golden sheaves of harvest, the souls Christ died to save. 
Your hearts lay down before him when at his feet you fall,
 And with your lives adore him Who gave his life for all.

 

To God the gracious Father, Who made us "very good," 
To Christ, who, when we wandered, restored us with his blood, 
And to the Holy Spirit, Who doth upon us pour 
His blessed dews and sunshine, be praise forevermore.

 

 

This is a Trinitarian hymn, as you can see in the final verse all three members of the Godhead receive praise. I look forward to seeing and hearing you sing this on Sunday!

New Paragraph


October 22, 2023

Pflügening and Streuening 


I am tempted to say that I love Thanksgiving hymns the best of all, but that is actually not true, because I love Christmas and Easter hymns just as much. However, because October songs of the faith usually only get “aired out” on one Sunday a year, they continue to hold their appeal! Two weeks ago, I wrote about the thanksgiving themes in “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” then about the spiritual harvest table in “All Things are Ready.” I plan to continue using and writing about thanksgiving hymns all month. 

Do you have favourite Thanksgiving hymns? I arranged one of my favourites (a perk of being the music director) for Bruce and me to play together on Thanksgiving Sunday—We Plough the Fields and Scatter. It has a very strong musical motif in its opening lines, which is interesting to sing and play. Wikipedia tells me that the hymn’s origins are in 1782, when the German poet, Matthias Claudius, wrote "Wir pflügen und wir streuen," which he based on Psalm 144. He penned 17 verses in the process! (Our thanksgiving services would be considerably longer if we sang all the verses.) Also known as the Peasant’s Hymn, and All Good Gifts (from the chorus text), We Plough the Fields and Scatter has been a staple of German Protestant hymnody since 1800. A common way to present it was for a cantor to sing the verse and everyone to join on “All good gifts around us are sent from heav’n above…”


As has happened with many other hymns, women have a part in this hymn’s history, with Jane Campbell’s English translation in 1862 in England. She thought this would be a hymn that children would like to sing, and it was included in a children’s hymnal of the time. I am glad that it made its way out of children’s hymnals and into the traditional Thanksgiving praise of churches all around the world. 

While it may be more accurate these days to sing, “We plow the fields with tractors…”, it does not have the same feel to it at all! Modern farmers still plough and scatter, even if they now have a lot of mechanical help to do so!


I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday!




October 15, 2023

Singing About a Heavenly Banquet


Ridley Gillmore, our guest speaker on Sunday, contacted me several weeks ago to say that the next service will be based around the parable of the wedding banquet for the King’s son (in Matthew 22). It is a serious story that reminds us that God invites us into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. The invitation is open to all, but not all will choose to accept it. Consequently, I selected music with the theme of invitation: Come in, Come in and Sit Down and Come to the Table. The second hymn is my adaptation of an old gospel hymn by Charles Gabriel, All Things Are Ready. My adaption is:

 

1. All things are ready, come to the table,

come, for the Father's feast now is spread.

Come all who hunger, come all who linger,

come and you shall all be richly fed.

 

2. All things are ready, come to the table,

come, for the door is now open wide.

A place of honour and invitation

has been reserved at Jesus' side.

 

3. All things are ready, come to the table,

come without worry, come without strife.

Do not delay for Jesus is calling;

come, feast on love and eternal life.

 

I think that it is a lovely image of God’s invitation and welcome, and the lilting Irish tune BUNESSAN (also used with Morning Has Broken) is a perfect setting for it.

 

Another piece we will try out together in A Time for All Ages is His Banner Over Me is Love. Wesley’s Wuppets sing this song, but they skip the banquet verse, so we will sing it together. You might remember this fun one from Sunday School. It is a definite lively contrast to Come to the Table. I’m hoping that Ridley will help us out with some jazzy trombone! Ridley is also bringing his trombone friend, Barry Cook, along to play some new trombone duos that I put together, so that will be a special treat.

 

Don’t forget that Sunday at 4pm at the church will be the Hymn Festival with the Royal Canadian College of Organists (I am a member) and the Owen Sound Salvation Army Band. There are about 16 or more musicians coming, the sound will be glorious, and you will be invited to sing, sing, sing! The event is in support of OShare and will be a wonderful time of music. All are welcome, so please invite your friends and come prepared to give a thanksgiving offering in support of our community.

 


October 8, 2023

Summer, Winter, Springtime and Harvest

 

The seasons listed in the title are not in chronological order, but they are in musical order for a great American hymn of praise, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” This hymn text was written in the 1920s by amateur poet Thomas Obediah Chisholm (1866-1960), and it was set to music by a musician from the renowned school, Moody Bible College, William H. Runyan (1870-1957).

 

George Beverly Shea’s performance of the hymn at Billy Graham crusades led to the hymn becoming well-known and much loved. I have always loved it, and had it sung at my wedding to Evan. The words are a musical paraphrase of Lamentations 3:22-23: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

 

Musically, the hymn begins with thoughtful verses about creation, then moving on to the peace from salvation that Christians can experience. The verses contrast with the triumphant chorus:

 

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

The way that the music builds to the last phrase of the chorus creates great emotional impact and reminds us of God’s promises to His people: Everything that we need, God has provided. It is a wonderful message, not just at Thanksgiving, but any time of the year.  


October 1, 2023

October Hymn Sing for OShare

 

Here is an event at CWUC  that you need to share and attend!  It will be a wonderful time of music and come prepared to give an offering in support of our community.


September 24, 2023

All Things Bright and Beautiful

 

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.

 

The well-known hymn that Sally Ann Longfellow has chosen to open our Sunday service was first published in the 1848 hymnal, Hymns for Little Children, which was published by its composer, an Irish woman named Cecil Frances Alexander. Alexander wrote many other hymns during her lifetime, including two found in Voices United: “There is a Green Hill Far Away” and “Once in Royal David’s City.” Alexander wrote this particular hymn as a children’s hymn, to be used to teach children the theme from catechism (formalized religious training that children memorized) that God is the creator of everything.

 

Scholars have wondered about the source of her descriptions of nature in the hymn, and speculated that she was describing various landscapes in Wales and Ireland, including Llanwenarth House and Markree Castle. This speculation is perhaps fueled by this verse that is not usually found in hymnals:

 

The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate,

He made them, high or lowly, and ordered their estate.

 

The text encourages us to appreciate God’s creation and give praise to God, with “How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well.” We do live in a beautiful area of Ontario, and there is much to praise God for in His creation, but some writers have pointed out that there are elements of creation that are more difficult to appreciate. Barry Mitchel penned these alternative lyrics in 2006:

 

All things bright and beautiful, All creepy things that crawl ...

Some despised, some hungered-for, the Lord God made them all.

 

Each pit-bull jowl that opens, each killer bee that stings,

God made their gnawing molars, God made their spiny wings.

 

And if you are a Monty Python fan, you may know these lyrics:

 

All things dull and ugly, all creatures short and squat

All things rude and nasty, the Lord God made the lot

 

Each nasty little hornet, each beastly little squid

Who made the spiky urchin? Who made the sharks? He did!

 

However, we will continue singing the traditional verses! I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday!


September 17, 2023

Sunlight

 

According to Wikipedia, Judson Van DeVenter is the American evangelist who wrote the piece “Sunlight in My Soul Today,” which Ridley and I will play in our prelude on Sunday. Van DeVenter was a public school art teacher and supervisor as well as an accomplished musician, singer, and composer. As a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he was involved in the church's outreach, and eventually he became an evangelist after much soul searching. His indecision over a five-year period about changing his life’s work led him to write the familiar words of a hugely popular hymn, “I Surrender All.”

 

Van DeVenter traveled as an evangelist throughout the United States, England, and Scotland, accompanied by singer Winfield S. Weeden, who assisted him for many years. Together, they published their co-written gospel hymn, "Sunlight". Sunlight is an upbeat song that uses a popular theme at the time of writing—sunshine. For example, other hymns referring to the sun are “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” and “There is Sunshine in My Soul Today.”

 

You won’t hear the “Sunlight” lyrics since we will play it on trombone and piano, but the first verse is:

 

I wandered in the shades of night,

Till Jesus came to me,

And with the sunlight of His love

Bid all my darkness flee.

 

Sunlight, sunlight in my soul today,

Sunlight, sunlight all along the way;

Since the Savior found me, took away my sin,

I have had the sunlight of His love within.

 

I have set this first verse in the cheerful way that the hymn is usually sung. The second verse, however, is set in a melancholy way to better match the lyrics:

Clouds may gather in the sky,

And billows ’round me roll,

However dark the world may be

I’ve sunlight in my soul.

 

I then switch back to the cheerful first setting on “Sunlight, sunlight…”

 

You may remember this hymn from your childhood, and here is a fun gospel quartet version: Old Fashioned Revival Hour Quartet. I hope that it will remind you of the sunlight of God’s love for you, and I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday!


September 10, 2023

Jesu, Fill Us With Your Love

 

Welcome back to church, singers! I hope that you are eager to join together in singing and worshipping the Lord at Central Westside. I enjoyed the break that allowed me to work on writing my dissertation and enjoy some time away with my family. The conference presentation of my Wesley’s Wuppets paper went well, and attendees were interested to be introduced to this new resource. I also enjoyed learning from the other conference presentations.

 

Our guest this week has requested VU 593: “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love.” According to the Methodist website Discipleship Ministries, this song was writing by Thomas S. Colvin (1925-2000), who was a missionary for the Church of Scotland in Ghana and Malawi from 1958-1974. He graduated in theology from Trinity College in Glasgow and belonged to the well-known Iona Community in the north of Scotland. The Iona Community has been a source of numerous songs under the leadership of John Bell, who is the author of “Will You Come and Follow Me,” which we have sung many times. (Bell was a presenter at my conference, and I enjoyed singing with him and hearing his thoughts on congregational singing.)

 

Colvin's missionary ministry focused on justice issues such as Christian service, refugee resettlement, and community development. He collected indigenous songs, which have now spread through the Iona Community to the global church. "Jesu, Jesu" is an example, having a melody adapted from a Ghanaian folk song. The theme of the lyrics is love for all people, regardless of nationality. To learn more about Colvin or this song, please visit the link posted in the second paragraph.

 

Our congregation has not sung this song in many years, so I will play the tune in my prelude to help you reacquaint yourself with it. Visit this video to hear it sung by a children’s choir (but not necessarily in a way that reflects its African heritage): Jesu, Jesu children’s choir. As you will hear here, the word Jesu can be sung with a J, or a Y. Jan Temple-Jones will let us know on Sunday which pronunciation to use.

 

I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday!

 

Fiona

 

Fiona Evison

B.C.M., M.A. Community Music

music@centralwestside.ca

Association of Canadian Women Composers profile


July 2023

Looking Back Over Music Notes


This edition of Music Notes marks my 151st note to you, and I thought it would be illuminating to look back over the past 150 notes before I take a summer break. In my first note, I wrote about looking forward to getting to know you better in the days ahead and being a part of what God is doing here in Owen Sound through Central Westside. I wanted this section in the LightNews to be a place to let you know about upcoming music and activities. In keeping with that theme, I have used my notes to give you:

 

  •       Backgrounds and lyrics of 50+ hymns
  •       Information about various hymn tune choices
  •       Biographies on hymn writers
  •       Details on worship themes
  •       Tidbits on Christian worship traditions in various cultures
  •       Historical trends in Western congregational music
  •       Seasonal music and worship practices
  •       Helpful hints on using your hymnals
  •       Guidance for music-making
  •       Ideas for continuing to sing during the pandemic
  •       Updates on my activities as your music director and previews of Sunday services
  •       Insights into some of my academic work and research on congregational singing
  •       And of course, lots and lots of music links for listening and enjoying!

 There have been a lot of changes over this time. When I began, Nicholas was the minister and I had to get to know the common repertoire of the church under his leadership, as well as songs that he was unfamiliar with, but that you knew and enjoyed singing.

 

The pandemic presented a mammoth task of how to continue to engage you in worship and equip you to face the hardships of restrictions and lockdowns. We found out that recording music takes a long time, and that virtual services can have various hiccups!!!

Since Nicholas’s departure in November 2021, we have seen a revolving door of guest speakers, bringing the challenge of accommodating their service themes and requests, while also advocating for choices that you might find easier to sing. Behind the scenes, there has been a lot of activity to ensure that things go well on Sundays. A highlight has been composing for Ridley G’s trombone!

 

A few things to look forward to before the summer break include an outdoor service—weather permitting— and services themed around puppets, the children of CWUC, and more gospel music. This will be my last Music Note as I gear up for intense PhD work. I hope I will see some of you on Saturday at the children’s choir concert, and I look forward to seeing and hearing you on Sunday!

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