Music

In the sixth century of the Common Era, a blind monk named Dallán Forgaill wrote the poem Rop tú mo baile. This poem is a submission to the complex and infinitely incomprehensible will of God. It is also a plea to Him to guide a person with limited means to use his or her gifts to the utmost ability. This Irish monk recognizes that God grants us many daily and life-long blessings, while challenging us with severe limitations at the same time. Since the monk did not see in the physical sense (in fact, his name, “Dallán,” means “little blind one”), he probably submitted to God’s guidance even more than if he were sighted.

Rop tú mo baile was translated to English in 1905 by Mary Byrne, and versified in 1918 by Eleanor Hull. Then it was set to the Irish folk song, Slane, and we know it best today as the hymn, “Be Thou my Vision.” The text of the first stanza is:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Since blindness is the incapacity to perceive light, the last line magnifies the monk’s handicap. However, it incorporates the sense that God is our other senses, as well, namely, our thinking, or sense of reasoning. Most importantly, when one sings this hymn the idea is that God simply exists and that is enough, as in the second line.

The adult choir sang a very moving arrangement of this hymn in June by Philip Stopford. Ellen Hamilton provided the flute obbligato and Norma Vande Bunte sang the soprano solo. This is one of the anthems that the adult choir considers one of its “own.” We have grown to love the text, the music, and the composer. We sang it in September, but I thought that it was beautiful enough to bring it out again. Needless to say, we learned many new things about it the second time around. Needless to say, if we sing it a third time in the future, we will learn even more about its tremendously powerful and far-reaching text.

At First Reformed Church we know that God is not going to do something for us when we think we need Him to act. We must be confident that God is present in every action and every sense that we express every day. His mere presence is enough to provide the energy and senses that allow us to live every day. We can often live without seemingly essential equipment, even our sight (or smell, hearing, taste, feeling, memory, etc.). This is because we know that God is all of this equipment to us, and He exists eternally, including the present moment, and everywhere. Praise Him, and rejoice in the blessing of God’s existence.

Let Him guide all of your actions and know that His will is being executed in each moment.

{ 0 comments }

The Easter season was anticipated for many reasons. We waited for the excitement of opening Jesus’ tomb to find that He was arisen from the dead, for the glorious music of the resurrection, and the joyous activities that bring families together, chocolate to the stomach, and peace to the heart. Then what happens after Easter? Sometimes we choose to reflect on the excitement of the season that is already past us. Other times it is thrilling to think of a long summer, laying out on the beach or playing tennis, unburdened by work, school, planning, organ playing, singing, finishing degree requirements, recital preparation, harpsichord tuning, or any other thing that occupies the life of a normal person.

In the music ministry of First Reformed Church, however, we are never complacent! We view every change of season as a new opportunity, a chance to inject our worship style with new life. For example, on May 9th, the Bell Choir played a piece to accompany the choir, Come Thou Lord, Creator Spirit. I was particularly inspired by the hard work and dedication shown by the members of the Bell Choir who participated, under the direction of Erie Beemsterboer. Do not be fooled! It is hard to imagine that those three smiling faces behind the bell table were working tirelessly to maneuver this difficult piece of music.

The adult choir continues to work hard and grow in ministry. Learning new music is no easy feat, especially for the singers in this choir, which performs a huge variety of styles, from Taizé to Buxtehude, from praise songs to High Victorian hymnody, in many languages. If you ask a singer in our church how he or she learns a new piece of music, he or she may say, “using solfège, of course!” If you don’t know what that is, you should come to choir rehearsal on Wednesday nights at 7:30 to find out.

Pentecost was a joyful occasion for music. Hartmut accompanied the congregation beautifully on his guitar in our Taiz –style opening hymn. Pam, Ashley, and Erie danced beautifully to evoke the Holy Spirit in the entire congregation, and the choir sang an anthem with the help of the congregation. See, even if you don’;t join the choir you have to participate in our music!

While rejoicing in the present moment, we always have an eye open for the future. Children’s Day is on Jun 27th, and with blessings in the form of sunshine and rain withheld, we will worship outside with our portable piano. The children will sing at that service once more before the summer, after which we will get organized again for the fall and, eventually, Advent.

We will restart singing hymns in the morning before Sunday worship services after Children’s Day. You can find more information regarding the change of worship time on the calendar.

{ 0 comments }