Category: Hymns

I was stumbling through my files looking for a prelude for this coming Sunday’s service (it’s Pentecost Sunday), and I found this that I’d arranged during the early days of the pandemic. We weren’t having services in person because of the lockdown. Instead, we had videos of Rev. Wells preaching and lots of music tracks created by me! I wouldn’t go back to those days, of course, but it was, beyond all doubt, one of the very most productive times in my life as a musician. From what I’ve read, productive in earlier pandemics, historically, skyrockets.

On Christmas Eve at my church job, I play an extended 30+ minute prelude. These are the pieces I’ll be playing: https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/a-christmas-concert-ive-piano. This is in an “album” order (best ones first), but at church, I’ll do it in exactly reverse order (best ones last since it’s an extended prelude and folks are pretty rowdy early on). That URL will be in the Xmas Eve Bulletin so if people want to hear the pieces again later, they can. These are all self-published arrangements of mine available at sheetmusicdirect and sheetmusicplus. This album cover was done by Nathan Jones, my son, for an earlier CDR release; the recordings linked to here are all new and I think I’ve done a better job of performing them and mixing them than the old CDR album.
#piano
#music
#christmas

The sermon this coming Sunday needed musical selections with the word, “Joy,” in the title. Of course, there’s a bunch of hymns that qualify, and one Sunday School song I remember to this day from childhood. Of course, Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. I decided, needing a postlude, I might see what I could come up with of my own. This is the result. Alas, no trumpeter at hand, so I’ll just do a piano rendition as best I can on this Sunday. I seem to be coming up with a collection of trumpet and organ pieces. This’ll be a happy addition to that I think. The high school band trumpet player in me (I didn’t continue trumpet into college) thinks it’d be a fun and not too difficult piece to play! Although the title is appropriate for Easter, the original text Puer Nobis Nascitur) is a Christmas text!

You may need to boost your volume a little in order to hear the description I spoke at the beginning. Rev. Kim bought a book of Shaker hymn tunes. One of these she asked me to arrange for the choir to sing today, Mother’s Day. The Blessed Mother, in the Shaker tradition, was the founder of the Shaker sect. There’s another phrase you my hear with is “love, love,” which is, the best I can tell, a term that means the same as agape, or divine love. The song, as it was passed down by Mother indicates where people should dance–they believe that dancing was prayer–and where people should speak in tongues (they called it “shout”). I picked a bunch of words that relate to motherhood, like Work, Song, Fatih, Peace, Care, Hope, Love, Joy, Dance, Soul, Life, Home, Dream, Heart, and the choir in certain passages are to intone words of their choice from that set of words, randomly.

Cate Colgan has been videoing Rev. Kim’s sermons and, recently, has started videoing the choir when they do a piece of mine, for which I’m am very grateful. I’m so lucky to get to work with these folks. They deserve to be heard and acknowledged. They’re always game to tackle anything, including my stuff.

Below is the text of the anthem they’re singing in this video.

Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning
Text: Bishop Reginald Heber, 1783-1826; modified: HKJ
Music: Hilton Kean Jones

1. Hail, the blest morn when the great Mediator
Down from the mansions of glory descends;
Shepherds, go worship the babe in the manger,
Lo! for his guard the bright angels attend.

CHORUS: Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

2. Cold on the cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies Christ’s head with the beasts of the stall.
Angels adore Christ in slumber reclining,
Lover and Teacher and Savior of all.

CHORUS

3. Shall we not give Christ, in costly devotion
Odors of Edom and off’rings divine,
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?

CHORUS

4. Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gifts would we favor secure.
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

CHORUS