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 The Verse
A monthly newsletter |
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The Hymn Society
in the United States and Canada
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Corrected July 2013
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Greetings!
Apologies for the problem with the "In This Issue" table of contents. Here's a corrected copy of the July issue.
What a great time we had at the annual conference. Over 340 people gathered in Richmond! We sang, studied, talked together, sang some more, planned and dreamed, worshiped -- did I mention that we sang?? Oh, and we had ice cream sundaes, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Hope and GIA Publishing Companies. It was really hot (does that surprise anyone?) but everyone took it in stride.
Here's a comment sent to me by a first-time attendee:
What a wonderful week I had at the conference -- my first! I sang my heart out, loving all the new hymn texts and tunes & accompaniments. I had stimulating conversations morning, noon, and night. I tried not to miss anything -- although that was impossible. Leaving the conference, my suitcase weighed a ton, but my heart was light, my soul was on fire with renewed passion, my head exploding with new ideas. I just want to say thank you! THANKS to all the many leaders: for plenary addresses and panels, sectionals, festivals, Morning and Night Prayer services and to all who helped with airport runs, golf cart shuttles, tour "bus captains" and to the inimitable staff who expended a month's energy in five days -- it takes quite large group to make the conference a positive experience. I'm deeply grateful for everyone who contributed.
Meanwhile, keep singing!!
Deb
Deborah Loftis
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The "Move" -- Here we go again!!
The Hymn Society has moved, is moving, will move again.
On August 13, 2013 The Hymn Society office will be moving from its temporary location and all materials will be placed in storage until the new permanent location is ready sometime in September. Deb will be responding to emails and can be reached through the 800-843-4966 number but her ability to respond to requests will be limited due to a lack of reference materials and files during this "homeless" period. We appreciate your patience during this unavoidable hiatus.
While our physical location will change, our mailing address will stay the same: 3400 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227. The new school that has purchased the property is allowing us to keep our present address as long as the offices stay in Richmond.
We'll let you know when we're unpacked and settled in the new offices.
Thanks for your patience in the transition!!
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The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology
will be launched at a special conference to be held in Bristol, United Kingdom on 19th and 20th October 2013. The new dictionary is the first successfully completed update of John Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology for over 100 years. There has been a significant contribution to this publication from North American authors, so it would be highly fitting to have among the delegates at the Bristol conference a good representation from across the Atlantic! The weekend promises to be a celebration of this monumental publication and all the people who have put so much hard work into it. For further information on the schedule, speakers and conference rates, please visit the conference website, where you can also register as a delegate:
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Upcoming Events
Worship Matters Conference - September 20-21, First Baptist Church, Orillia, Ontario.
One of our new members, Arlen Wiebe, has shared information about this upcoming conference. The keynote speaker is Bob Kauflin from Louisville, KY. The purpose of the conference is to "broaden your vision, deepen your ministry effectiveness and connect you with other worship leaders and teams." For more information: Worship matters
Community of Christ will present their new hymnal, Community of Christ Sings
with a conference entitled, "Peace, Justice, and Song" on October 17-19, 2013. John Thornberg will present the keynote address; John Bell, FHS, will lead worship and workshop sessions. Jane Gardner, Jan Kraybill, Lauren Hall, and Joey Williams who have worked to produce the hymnal will also lead portions of the event. Congratulations to all! The Hymn Society will showcase this new hymnal at the 2014 conference in Columbus, Ohio.
Holy Land Tour
Join Tony Alonso, Marty Haugen and Msgr. Ray West for an 11-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, December 26- January 5. See the atached brochure for more information. brochure
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News of Members
Stuart Forster
is excited to announce the publication of his book,
Hymn Playing: A Modern Colloquium. This book is now available from
MorningStar Music Publishers at
http://www.morningstarmusic.com/viewitem.cfm/item_id/90-44.
Excerpt from the back cover:
Playing hymns on the organ is a centuries-old tradition that has been
passed down largely through osmosis and guesswork. To address a growing
need for more explicit instruction, Forster surveys available resources
about hymn playing, and then launches a discussion expounding twenty
vital aspects encompassing the art of accompanying hymns. To equip the
organist with a palette of tools for every occasion, he has amassed the
expertise of eleven leaders in the world of hymn playing. Here, we learn from David Cherwien, Mark Dwyer, David Erwin, John Ferguson, Peter Jewkes, Stephen Loher, Walden Moore, Bruce Neswick, John Scott, Jeffrey Smith, and Tom Whittemore. 352 pages.
Dr. Stuart Forster is Director of Music and Organist at the Episcopal
Church in Harvard Square-Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts. His
web site is www.StuartAForster.com <http://www.StuartAForster.com>
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In Memoriam
We remember the family of Bert Polman, who died July 1, 2013 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Obituary
Calvin College, where Bert served on the music faculty, compiled this tribute.
http://www.calvin.edu/news/archive/calvin-remembers-bert-polman
Remembering Don Hustad, FHS:
Last fall, NAMM interviewed Don Hustad. You can access several minutes of the extended interview at:
www.namm.org/library
Go to 'search this library' (upper left of screen) and type 'hustad.'
The the NAMM oral history site also includes excerpts from interviews of George H. Shorney and Carlton R. Young, both also Fellows of The Hymn Society.
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New Book on The Battle Hymn of the Republic
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Civil Rights Movement Musical Memories
Patricia Woodard writes: If you participated in the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s (demonstrations, marches, Freedom Rides, voter registration, etc.) and have musical memories of those events, I would be very interested in talking with you for a planned article. Please contact me at pfwoodard@gmail.com
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Congregational Hymnal Query
Has your parish compiled its own hymnal within the past ten years? A medium-sized Catholic parish in Texas is considering such a project. Please tell us about your experiences, decision-making processes, workflows, successes, difficulties, and most especially, the costs involved in terms of time, effort, and expertise as well as money. Written documentation and/or figures would be greatly appreciated. Please contact: Felicia Piscitelli, f-piscitelli@library.tamu.edu . E-mail is preferred, but you may also write to me at: 1413 S. Dexter Dr., College Station, TX 77840, or call (979) 845-1951 weekdays between 9-6 Central Time.
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Correction:
June 3, 2013 -- A Hymn Festival, "In Praise of the Trinity" was held at Community United Methodist Church, Slingerlands, NY, led by Brian Axford, piano, Iteke Prins, organ and George Smith, saxophone. Omitted last month was Lauren Philips, who helped plan the festival.
April 14, 2013 -- Salem United Methodist Church of Fond du Lac, WI held its first annual Hymn Festival, "Hymns Through the churh Year." The three choirs from Salem plus two guest choirs from Marian University participated. The festival was the capstone project of Peter Capoyianes for his BA in Liturgical Music from Marian University. Following the festival, Dr. David Thompson, professor at Marian University gave a lecture entitled, "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs."
July 1, 2013 -- David Cherwien led "Jesus Christ The Same, Yesterday, Today and Forever" a Hymn Festival as part of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians Biennial Conference in Valparaiso, IN.
Be sure to let us know of hymn festivals in your area. Send copies of the program to the office if available so that we can pass them along to others for planning ideas.
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Reviews of Hymn-Based Compositions
Christine Sullivan provides this month's choral reviews. July reviews.
Michele S. Johns offers these reviews of organ music. July organ reviews
Many thanks to both reviewers!!
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Earliest Lutheran Hymnal
Joseph Herl writes that Hymn Society members might be interested to learn that an edition of the earliest Lutheran hymnal,Enchiridion Oder eyn Handbuchlein ("Manual; or, A Handbook"), published in Erfurt in 1524, has been discovered in Dublin. Roy Stanley, music librarian at Trinity College, was preparing an exhibition in June 2013 when he realized that the library's copy of this edition was the only one known to survive after another copy had been destroyed in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War.
In the intervening years, scholars have made use of a lithographic reproduction from 1848; but the reproduction was imperfect and was retouched by hand, and a number of errors were made. It still has value, though, because the Dublin copy is missing one leaf (folio D4), which contains the tune and beginning stanzas of Luther's Easter hymn "Christ lag in Todesbanden."
Three editions of this hymnal were published in 1524 by two competing Erfurt publishers. The newly discovered one is from the press of Mathes Maler "zcum Schwartzen Hornn" ("at the Black Horn"). German scholars Günter Birkner and Konrad Ameln, in separate studies of textual and typographical differences among the three printings, determined several decades ago that this was the second edition published and had probably been cribbed from the press of Johannes Loersfeld even before the latter's edition had appeared for sale, possibly from stolen galley proofs.
The year 1524 was a banner year for Lutheran hymns. Also appearing in that year were the so-called Achtliederbuch ("book of eight hymns"), which was not so much a hymnal as a slapped-together assemblage of previously published individual song sheets, and the Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn, a hymnbook for four-part choir edited by Luther's musical advisor Johann Walter, which appeared later in the year in Wittenberg
The Enchiridion has been digitized and may be viewed at digitalcollections.tcd.ie (search for "Enchiridion").
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| New Psalm Contest
Church of the Servant is excited to announce its 2013 New Psalm Contest.
Last year, the judges sang through 78 submissions before voting David Ward's setting of Psalm 90, "God of the Ages" the winner. We fully expect that the submission numbers and quality will continue to increase this year, as they have each year since our first contest in 2010. We would be delighted if you would take part in this year's contest or spread the news to those who might have a new Psalm to share. Here is a paragraph suitable for publication, email, or church bulletins:
In an effort to encourage Psalm-singing, Church of the Servant invites congregational songwriters to submit a Psalm-based song to its 2013 COS New Psalm Contest. The winner will receive a $500 award. There is no entry fee and the contest is open to all. Submissions must be emailed or postmarked by October 1, 2013. The song will be premiered in worship on February 2, 2014. Church of the Servant is a Christian Reformed Church with a rich history of encouraging the arts in worship. Its worship is Reformed, liturgical, participatory, eclectic, and open to creative new worship expressions. This contest is made possible by a generous donation in memory of Ben Fackler, who loved all things musical.
For complete contest rules see: http://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/2013-cos-new-psalm-contest
To download the PDF brochure: https://www.churchoftheservantcrc.org/files/2013_COS_new_psalm_contest.pdf
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| Continuing Hymn Contests and Searches
The Liturgy and Music Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut is seeking submission of new hymn texts for a competition to select a new hymn to be used at our annual Diocesan Convention on October 25-26, 2013 in Stamford, CT.
The text shall be inspired by the theme of the Convention, "The Way of Jesus: Growing in God's Mission." The goal is to have a hymn that will serve as a unifying element throughout the convention itself and beyond through use in parishes.
The text should consist of 4-5 stanzas in a regular meter that can be paired with an existing hymn tune.
Authors shall suggest a tune from The Hymnal 1982 to accompany the submitted text; the Commission reserves the right to select a different tune for the winning submission. The tune shall be in the public domain.
The text should utilize inclusive, contemporary English.
Texts must be submitted as an e-mail attachment to Jody Wynn Rodiger at jrodiger@ctdiocese.org no later than August 25, 2013 at 11:59 pm.
The competition will be judged by members of the Liturgy and Music Commission in a blind reading of submitted texts. The judges reserve the right not to choose a winner if no submission is deemed of suitable merit.
A prize of $500 will be awarded to the winning text. All participants will be notified of the decision of the Commission by October 1, 2013.
For more information: https://www.ctepiscopal.org/Content/2013_Convention.asp#hymn
South Congregational Church United Church of Christ (South Church), Kennebunkport, ME, announces a contest for hymn writers. It carries a prize of $1000 for the winning entry. We are asking for a new hymn which speaks of the Church and it's ministry to the wider community, rooted in its history, responsive to the present and laying a foundation for the future. All entries must be postmarked by September 15, 2013. The judges will arrive at their decision by November 1, 2013. For more information see the attached pdf: South Church Contest
The 2013 Macalester Plymouth United Church hymn contest will be a search for a new Advent or Christmas carol which speaks to the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation, and the coming of the One who brings justice, mercy and "peace to all on earth." As always, both new music and familiar music is welcome! For more information, call the church (651-698-8871) or visit the church website at www.macalester-plymouth.org. For more details, consult the attached pdf: Macalester Plymouth 2013
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David B. Whitney operates The Pealing Chord, "a religious music and religious poetry library for promoting and deepening worship." This resource is among the largest in North America -- 21,000 nonduplicate hymn, chorus, and choir books plus many thousands of pamphlets and recordings. You are invited to offer books, leaflets and recordings for sale or exchange, or as gifts. Contact:
David B. Whitney
8 Ellen Dr.
Wyoming, PA 18644-9390
pealingchord@yahoo.com
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