Music – Page 60 – Lakewood United Church of Christ

God’s Eye Is on the Sparrow

His Eye Is on the Sparrow The records of the incomparable Mahalia Jackson were much loved in my home as a child. This song, then, as now, was one of my favorites of her recordings.

The actual title of the song is Why Should I Feel Discouraged. Also, in the United Church of Christ we use gender neutral language. So, you may be more familiar with the original text version, His Eye Is on the Sparrow. God’s Eye Is on the Sparrow is # 475 in the New Century Hymnal.

To sing along, go to https://hymnary.org/text/why_should_i_feel_discouraged for the old text and the music.

Just a reminder that the complete collection of these hymn recordings is available for free listening (streaming) at https://soundcloud.com/hilton-kean-jones/sets/hymns-at-lakewood. When each new recording is posted on the church website, it is also added to this album.

Wendeyaho

Screen Shot 2020-03-29 at 4.40.50 AM Something different this morning! It’s not found in any hymnal although it should be; rather, it’s a Native American hymn traditionally sung to the four directions in the morning by the women of the community. The arrangements and orchestrations are my own. I’ve done several settings–orchestra, solo piano, and choir–the first two of which are presented here.

“Wendeyaho” is often described as a “Cherokee Morning Song.” However discussion of it on the Internet indicates that the word, “Wendeyaho,” is not contemporary Cherokee, although it may have its origins in an ancient form of the language. The translation I was able to piece together from various internet sources is as follows:

Translation – We n’ de ya ho
Freely translated: “A we n'” (I am),
“de” (of),
“Yauh” –the– (Great Spirit),
“Ho” (it is so).

First, here is my orchestral arrangement.

And, here is the piano solo arrangement. Feel free to download the 2 page sheet music PDF from THIS LINK so you can play it at home, yourself. You need to do some tricky shifting of hands to cover all the parts in the last two variations, but it’s doable, I promise.

Forest Green

Forest Green brass ballsjpg This recording is named, not for the first line of the hymn as is customary, but for the tune name. Each tune in the hymnal has its own name irrespective of the words that are sung to it.

Further, each tune is described by the number of notes (sort of…) in each phrase of the melody. Tunes are then organized in a metrical index. Some of the metrical patterns have nicknames. The pattern for Forest Green is 8.6.8.5.D of “Common Meter Double,” which means twice through 8.6.8.6. Sorry…you didn’t know this was going to be a class did you.

Anyway, this metrical organization of tunes permits singers to sing any set of words of a specific metrical pattern to be sung to any tune of the same pattern. For instance, Forest Green, in the New Century Hymnal, is used with two different sets of words: #434 (All Beautiful the March of Days) and also #110 (Now Bless the God of Israel). As you sing along, the words for #434 (my own favorite words for this tune) may be found at https://hymnary.org/text/all_beautiful_the_march_of_days and the words for #110 at https://hymnary.org/text/now_bless_the_god_of_israel. Some hymnals even use it for “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” which may have been (I don’t know for sure) the text associated with Forest Green when Ralph Vaughan Williams made his famous 4-part harmonization that I used here.

OK…class dismissed. Have fun!

Corona Sabbath 2

cornerstone These weeks when we cannot gather in person for Sunday worship, Lakewood United Church of Christ is providing brief weekly sabbath programs for you to listen to on your own or with those you live with. They will be posted on Friday so that you can schedule your sabbath time to suit your schedule and your spiritual inclinations. We hope these programs are of spiritual support to you in these difficult times.

Find a quiet place, inside or outside. Light a candle. Breathe. Be present.

When you are ready, start the video below.

There is a scripture lesson and a brief meditation by Pastor Kim Wells followed by music offered by Music Director, Hilton Kean Jones.

(For written text of video click HERE.)

As you listen to the music from Hilton which follows, you are invited to pay attention to the thoughts and feelings and reflections that arise for you.

After viewing the video and listening to the music, you are invited to offer the following closing…

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. -Albert Camus 1913-1960

Breathe. Extinguish your candle and engage whatever may come with a sense of peace and a desire to serve.

LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

A Just Peace Church
An Open and Affirming Church
A Creation Justice Church
2601 54th Avenue South, St Petersburg, FL 33712-4700
(727) 867-7961‎
see the Contact page for
map, personnel, and email addresses

The mission of Lakewood United Church of Christ, as part of the Church Universal, is to:

Celebrate the presence and power of God in our lives and in our world;
Offer the hospitality and inclusive love of Christ to all people;
Work for God’s peace and justice throughout creation.

I’ve Got Peace Like a River

I've Got Peace Like a River Pictured is the River Strong outside D’Lo, Mississippi, where my daddy’s family is from. This particular location of the Strong River also happens to be where the baptism scene in Brother Where Art Thou was filmed! All of which kind of fits in with this morning’s hymn recording.

For the music and words go to https://hymnary.org/text/ive_got_peace_like_a_river. The New Century Hymnal has this footnote for the hymn: “Most of the spirituals that drew from biblical stories and images used the Hebrew scriptures, rather than New Testament as their inspiration. The imagery of “peace like a river’ derives from the book of Isaiah.” Among the scriptural references listed at the top of the hymn is Isaiah 66:12.

There’s lots of way to do this hymn but this morning I opted for kind of an easy-listening approach. Should work for singing–or at least humming–along. It’s #478 in the New Century Hymnal.