Music Spotlight (Sunday, August 1, 2021)

HYMNS

#41 "O Worship the King, All Glorious Above!" (LYONS) 

Composer Sir Robert Grant was born and died in India—a country that by this time had long played a major role in the British Empire....Though it was first published in England, the tune has been more popular in North American than there... READ MORE

#74 "When God Restored Our Common Life" (RESIGNATION) 

The text was written by Ruth C. Duck (b. 1947–) and published in 1992. Robin Knowles Wallace (Prof. at Methodist Theological School in Ohio) comments, “[Duck's] hymn texts and worship resources call for a world that looks more like God’s vision for the world, with flourishing nature, especially birds, and flourishing human relationships based on justice, mercy, and love.”

You may recognize the tune with the words "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need," which first appeared in the Southern Harmony collection. 

A significant source of the shape-note tunes found in today’s hymnals is Walker’s The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion (hereafter referred to as Southern Harmony). One of the most popular and successful of the nineteenth-century shape-note tunebooks, Southern Harmony [1835, first edition] stands as an important “anthology” of the musical styles and genres of its day. As Harry Eskew notes, it is probably the first shape-note collection to be compiled in the “Deep South.” The legacy and tradition of this popular collection continues even today at the “Big Singing Day” held annually in Benton, Kentucky... READ MORE

#747 "Enviado Soy de Dios (The Lord Now Sends Us Forth)" (ENVIADO) 

This text by a Cuban Pentecostal pastor is plural here in English and singular in the original Spanish version; singing in both languages helps to show how the call to action in the world is both corporate and individual. The minor tune suggests the resolve needed to do God’s work.

SPECIAL MUSIC

"Our God" and "Jesus, You Remain" by Andrew Wilson (written for VBS Knights of North Castle)

This Sunday, we invite the kids from VBS back into our sanctuary to sing a few of their favorite songs for you! We will adapt the pop sound of the original songs to our traditional worship aesthetic by arranging the music for piano and other acoustic instruments.