In August of 1980 I began my service as Director of Music Ministries for Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas – a position I was honored to fill until October of 1989 when I assumed a similar position at First Presbyterian Chuch in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1981 a life saving book – at least for me – was published. The book was Faithsong: A New Look at the Ministry of Music by Thomas L. Are*. I will never forget the first time I read this book – all 96 pages in a single sitting. In the following years it was my genuine privilege to get to know Tom Are who at that time was the Pastor of Shallowford Presbyterian Church in the Atlanta area. Over the years since that time one specific thing has drawn me back to this incredible volume over and over and over – like me – Tom Are started his education as a musican before his move to the work of a pastor.

In 2005 when I finally entered seminary to begin my study toward a Master of Divinity degree with a desire to move toward ordination as a pastor – once again Faithsong proved to be a very valuable resource. In March, 2009 I was ordained and installed as an associate pastor of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation here in Austin, Texas. My health necessitated an early retirement from that call at the end of 2012.

This week I have returned to active music making by accepting a part-time offer to once again serve as Director of Music Ministries for another Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation here in Austin, Texas. While I am excited about the return to active music making I am also very aware that the church of 2013 – and not only Presbyterian – is not the church that I served in different locations for thirty years. Times have changed!

So once again I have turned to my dear friend Faithsong – and once again I have discovered that the teachings of Tom Are are just as valid today as they were when the book was first published. However, I have also quickly realized that there is a great need for another layer of current study that is needed to go with the strong foundations provided by Faithsong.

I have told many people that one thing I intend to do as soon as possible in my retirement is pursue writing – working on two books that have more than patiently remained on the shelf for several years – but – I now strongly believe that book number three is going to need to come forth first. Also – I feel that discussing this must take precendence over the topic that I had planned to begin this week – even though that one will surely follow as it has a very direct bearing on this subject matter. Another interesting item is that this return to music making has also rekindled my desire to compose and arrange – I have written two new anthems in just the past several days.

I hope that a number of people who read these blog posts will be willing to accompany me on this journey. Specifically – I am interested in your thoughts concerning the role of music ministry in the life of a community of faith – matters of language, style, and craft that make some music appropriate for inclusion in worship while other selections should not be included – as well as any other thoughts that you feel would be helpful as I begin this journey with a sense of urgency.

When I was in the midst of the interview process for this position I inquired of the pastor how he discerned the primary role of music in the church. He basically answered my inquiry with a single word – PROPHET. Naturally I immediately came home – took my copy of Faithsong from the shelf – anxious to know what my mentor Tom Are had to say on this matter in his 1981 book. On pages 52 and 53 I found the following:

“A prophet teaches a truth beyond academics or information-giving. A prophet proclaims what we really are. The truth sets us free. The minister of music is just succh a teacher.

The art of singing involves far more than producing vocal sounds. Singing is theological. God has given to human beings the ability to use tongue, teeth, lips, and palate to form consonant sounds. In short, we can pronounce words. We shade and color vocal utterances to make vowels. God provides us with a priceless gift of vocal expression far more refined and expressive than that of any other creature. The process of vocal training frees the singer to be known, to disclose himself or herself.

As children, our most effective learning technique is imitation. We learn by trying to do what others do. Unfortunately, in trying to sound like others, we are up against an unbeatable handicap. We cannot hear our own voices.

When we speak or sing, others hear sound waves transmitted through the air and striking their eardrums. We, of course, hear a bit of this. But what we hear of ourselves is muffled by bone, muscle, flesh, and all the other physical properties in the head. The inner ear picks up mostly internal vibrations. Consequently, we don’t hear our own voices as they sound to others.

When we start as children to mimic the vocal noises of others, we begin pulling, pinching, and covering the natural voice in an effort to make it ‘sound right.’ This effort results in a sound wrong for us.

The ‘affected’ sounds we produce are shallow; they are not really our natural sounds. The first task of a voice teacher is to inspire us to sing our best. By helping us relax our phony techniques, the natural sounds may be freed.

The voice teacher who fulfills this task is a prophet, proclaiming the worth of each singer’s expressions of personhood. This can be a frightening experience. We hide behind the mask of our ‘affected voices.’ Only when we feel secure can we attempt to overcome our negative habits. Thus, if voice teacheers are to help us vocally, they must first support us emotionally.”

I know that my new colleagues expectation of PROPHET is much more than this – but – this at least gives us a place to begin the journey and the adventure. I also – I am sure to no one’s surprise – have consulted the writing of Robert Shaw who has much wisdom to offer on the subject. I will offer some of his words tomorrow.

I hope you will join me!!

*Are, Thomas L. Faithsong: A New Look at the Ministry of Music. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1981.

To conclude this week long series on favorites I have decided to offer two items that are significantly different – although the two have one thing in common – they were both part of my life when I was in the doctoral program in conducting and composition at the University of Oklahoma in the mid 1970s.

First a composition by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) set for four vocal soloists, mixed choir, accompanied by four pianos and a large group of percussion instruments – “Les Noces” – or “The Wedding” written during the early years of the twentieth century.

I conducted this work as one of my recitals for my doctoral studies during the time I was in residence in Norman at the university. We performed an English translation rather than attempting the original Russian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAXanZ1B7wI

The second is an arrangement that I was honored to prepare for The Pride of Oklahoma marching band which is still used as the band enters the field prior to home games.  (NOTE:  If your browser asks if this comes from a trusted source – the answer is yes – I have opened and played it many many times).

http://www.soonersportsmedia.com/audio/oklahoma_without_intro.mp3

This coming week I plan to follow this “favorites” series with a series of posts from my own compositions and arrangements.

Most of these “favorites” posts have focused on major compositions. Today we change the pace and look at five different works in the chronological order that they were part of my life – the last of the five is a larger work but provides an appropriate way to conclude this portion of our journey.

The first one is the first musical selection that ever provided my some monetary compensation – $10.00 as I recall – the prize offered for a talent show at the Butler County Fair in Kansas during the years I was in junior high – too long ago for the idea of a middle school to even exist.

The selection is “Kitten On The Keys” by Edward Elzear “Zez” Confrey (1895–1971) performed by the composer and captured on Edison Re-Creation 50898-L (8226), recorded in New York City on September 21st in 1921.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBxRRUj1bcA

Second is the “Toccata in E-flat Minor by Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978).  This performance, recorded in 2008, is by Sonya Kahn.

This was the final selection on the recital that I played toward the end of my senior year in high school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBkz2A1z8xM

Next is the work that concluded my junior recital in undergraduate school.

The “Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor”, Op. 28 (1917), composed by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953).  This performance is by Boris Berman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGRls_Kjt9I

Of course there is a work by Brahms – the “Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2 in A major” – this wonderful recording is by the legendary Arthur Rubenstein (1887-1982).  One interesting bit of trivia – Arthur Rubenstein is the father of John Rubenstein who among many other achievements created the title role of “Pippin” on Broadway.

Every time I have played or heard this beautiful composition I lovingly remember when I was asked to play this at the memorial service for Edwina Parker, my incredible piano teacher beginning when I was in the sixth grade and continuing until I graduated from high school and began my undergraduate studies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqBzK5tKFVc

Finally – we turn to a larger work by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) – the “Piano Concerto No 3 C minor” – in this performance the pianist is Murray Perahia with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner.

I was invited to perform this work with the university orchestra during my senior year in undergraduate school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rn6IxE9BIs

I hope that you have enjoyed this autobiographical sketch of my early years!

Without question or reservation my favorite musical work of all time is Ein deutsches Requiem by my favorite composer Johannes Brahms.

It has been my pleasure to have numerous opportunities to particpate in this magnificent statement of music and faith crafted by Brahms. First I participated as a singer, later as a person preparing the choir for another conductor, and finally, on two separate occasions, as conductor.

As you might guess by now – one of my favorite recordings of this masterpiece is conducted by Robert Shaw leading the orchestra and chorus of the Atlanta Symphony.

The other one is the one linked to this post – a complete recording (one hour and almost nineteen minutes) recorded in Vienna and conducted by Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989). My love of this recording is based on two very important things – I believe that Karahan’s interpretation completely captures the intentions of the composer – full of emotion and restraint – and – watching von Karajan conduct provides an exquisite seminar in manual conducting gestures – again – full of emotion and restraint.

Two interesting side notes – notice that not only does von Karajan not use a score – but also – that the singers are all singing from memory. Wow! that is impressive even if German is your first and native language.

Also – a personal reflection – when I was serving in the United States Air Force in the early 1970s and was stationed with the European Command Air Force Band in Wiesbaden, Germany I was privileged to attend a performance by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Maestro von Karajan at the State Theater and Opera House in Wiesbaden. One of the major items on the program was one of the symphonies by Brahms – again I experienced a mix of great emotion combined with significant and elegant restrain.

The following is from the Introduction to a biography of Maestro von Karajan by Paul Robinson which fully captures my memory of being present when von Karajan led the Berlin Philharmonic in one of the most memorable musical experiences of my life:

“When the players of the Berlin Philharmonic had finished tuning, a breathless silence fell over the audience; the orchestra, too, seemed tense and expectant. Then the conductor appeared, walking slowly from the back of the orchestra to the podium. The whole orchestra rose as one in a silent gesture of respect. The audience broke into sustained applause of shattering intensity. By the time the conductor mounted the podium to take a bow, shouts and whistles had broken out. Before any inkling of his musicianship could be discerned, this conductor had excited his audience the way only a great actor can before he utters a line.

But then, before the applause could die, he was into the music. With a downbeat of breathtaking authority and grace the symphony was underway. And throughout the long symphony the conductor stood as if rooted to the spot, with only his arms in motion. He conducted as if in a trance, his eyes closed, his handsome, rough-hewn features taut with nervous energy. With only the slightest gesture the orchestra would surge with a fortissimo that made one’s hair stand on end. Without any knee-bends or fingers to lips, the conductor reduced the sound of the orchestra to the merest whisper. So rarely did this man give any of the usual cues that he seemed to be conducting his own invisible orchestra. Yet there was no doubt that this extraordinary realization of the symphony was his creation. The performance was prepared to perfection and executed with the utmost concentration and commitment. Rarely had one ever seen professional musicians play with such involvement. In some mysterious way this man was able to galvanize orchestra and audience alike and bring them to give their very best. And throughout the performanc of the symphony nothing existed for either conductor or players except the experience of the composer’s compelling vision.

The conductor was Herbert von Karajan.” (3-4)*

Here is the link to this stunning presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMMWgXPyveg

*Robinson, Paul. Karajan. London: Macdonald and Jane’s, 1975.

The last few posts have featured large symphonic works. Today we move to a mostly quiet thoughtful and beautiful composition for solo piano. I mentioned this work yesterday – the Opus 5 Sonata in F Minor for piano by Johannes Brahms. The complete sonata was the centerpiece of my senior recital in undergraduate school – many many years ago.

Today I encourage to listen to a superb recording of the second movement of this great work – the following two links will take you to a wonderful 1971 recording by Claudio Arrau – be sure to listen to them in sequence as the first is for the beginning of the movement while the second is for the conclusion.

This movement begins with a quotation above the music of a poem by Otto Inkermann under the pseudonym C.O. Sternau.

Der Abend dammert, das Mondlicht scheint,
Da sind zwei Herzen in Liebe vereint
Und halten sich selig umfangen

Through evening’s shade, the pale moon gleams
While rapt in love’s ecstatic dreams
Two hearts are fondly beating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrX9dz1HHoo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkLuQtzjxOA

When you follow these links you will also find links to the other four movements of the work from the same recording.

Enjoy and be at peace!

Yes – I have often been asked – who is my favorite composer – and consistently my answer for many years has been the same – Johannes Brahms – born in 1833 in Hamburg, Germany – died in 1897.

From time to time someone has also asked the logical follow-up question – why. After some reflection I think that I am now finally ready to answer that question.

For me – the music of Brahms represents a superior example of the emotional romantic era music of the 19th century while, at the same time, retaining much of the logical structural integrity and restraint of the great classical era composers of the 18th century.

While I love all of the music that I have ever heard or performed by Brahms – without any doubt two of his works are my most beloved.

First is the Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5 while the other is Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45. I will have more to say about each of these monumental works in the coming days.

Robert Shaw wrote the following words about the Requiem in 1997:

“That the world celebrates this year the 100th anniversary of the death of Johannes Brahms with uncountable performances of his German Requiem is testimony not only to the esteem in which his music is held by a large part of the Western World, but also to the very special affection in which his Requiem itself is held.

Though it was his longest work, and acknowledged as very pivotal to his growing renown, he himself was not really satisfied with the title of German Requiem, saying that it referred solely to the language in which it was written. He would now prefer, he said, a ‘human’ Requiem, for he was writing in exploration of a universal human experience.

It should be reported also, that he appeared to find very little comfort in the ritual or dogma of his day. He deliberately abstained from the Latin tradition of centuries in favor of a text which he himself assembled from the Hebraic/Christian Scriptures in Martin Luther’s translation.

Certain things are abundantly clear: first, that he knew these scriptures very well indeed: the text which he gathered to form the seven movements of his Requiem has some sixteen widely separate sources among the thousands of pages of the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha.

In the second place, it is clear that he was more concerned with comforting the hearts of those left to mourn, ratheer than with escorting the departed though the medieval horrors of Wrath and Judgement.

The latter half of the nineteenth century was a period of historical, scientific and intellectual enrichment of the Hebraic/Christian tradition. Though the Latin rites for the dead are deeply embedded in the religious history of Western Civilization, there can be little doubt that Brahms uses his text to welcome the consideration of death as a relevant and illuminating aspect of life itself.” (229-230)*

*The Robert Shaw Reader. Edited by Robert Blocker. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.

Early in my undergraduate studies I experienced the music of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) for the first time. Ever since that time I have held a special place of honor in my list of favorites for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C Minor – known as the “Ressurection” symphony – especially the concluding portion of the final movement.

Also – I have also always favored the interpretation of Leonard Bernstein even though he may actually overstep the boundaries of Mahler’s intentions from time to time. However, there is no denying that Bernstein makes the most of every moment and every emotion of Mahler’s gigantic masterpiece.

Today I point you toward a 1974 recording that was offered at the Edinburgh Festival with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, and soloists Sheila Armstrong, soprano, and Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano – conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

This first link will take you to the final section of the final movement – about 8:30 – while the second link will take you to a recording of the entire symphony – about an hour and a half. The third link will take you to notes and text prepared by Richard Freed for a 2008 presentation at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Again – turn the volume up and revel in the overwhelming impact of this gigantic masterpiece!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf5fM1i3MGQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdc5n562zZg

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=2484

An extra special treat today – Maestro Leonard Bernstein conducting the Overture to Candide – his own composition – recorded in London in 1989

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422-yb8TXj8

Today’s post is offered as an homage to two of the giants of music of the twentieth century – Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) and Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) – and this link takes you to a performance where their talents are combined

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogJFXqYEYd8

The work is the Finale (Allegro non troppo) of Shostakovich’s thrilling Symphony No. 5 conducted by Leonard Bernstein.

This video offers a marvelous example of how a conductor “becomes” a musical compostion – and please notice – without any score in front of him.

All that needs to be said is – turn up the sound – watch and listen – and enjoy!!!!!

With this post I begin a series that will introduce you to some of my personal favorites – composers – and – compositions and arrangements.

I begin with the final movement of an orchestral composition by Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) – born in Germany and came to the United States in 1940.  Hindemith became a citizen of this country in 1946.  The work is the Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber – composed in 1943.  My first awareness of this work was during the time I was studying conducting and composition in the doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma.  I invite you to listen to an impressive performance recorded in 1965 by the Berlin Philharmonic with the composer conducting.  Turn your volume level up and enjoy this stirring performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpxVGaq5TBI

Another monumental work by Hindemith is When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.  This is a magnificent and complex longer work.  I recommend the recording by Robert Shaw with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with vocal soloists William Stone, baritone, and Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano.  It was my great pleasure to get to know William Stone during the days we spent together at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.  This recording may be found at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2Qzuygm6-0

During the semesters that I was privileged to study composition with Michael Hennagin (1936-1993) at the University of Oklahoma I was introduced to Hindemith’s Craft of Musical Composition.  Hindemith begins his text with an introductory quote of Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) in the foreword of his Gradus ad Parnassum:

“Perhaps some will wonder at my undertaking to write about music, when there are at hand the opinions of so many excellent [people] who have written learnedly and sufficiently about it, and particularly at my doing so at a time when Music has become an almost arbitrary matter, and composers will no longer be bound by laws and rules, but avoid the names of School and Law as they would Death itself . . .”

Fux’s book was published when the great Johann Sebastian Bach was only forty years old.

Hindemith then adds his own analysis of his current situation:

“A musician who feels called upon in these times to contribute to the preservation and transmission of the craft of composition is, like Fux, on the defensive.  He is, in fact, even more so than Fux, for in no other field of artistic activity has a period of over-development of materials and of their appolication been followed by such confusion as reigns in this one.  We are constantly brought face to face with this confusion by a manner of writing which puts tones together according to no system except that dictated by pure whim, or that into which facile and mileading fingers draw the writer as they glide over the keys.  Now something that cannot be understood by the analysis of a musican, making every conceivable allowance for individual characteristics, cannot possibly be more convincing to the naive listener.  In Die Meistersinger one reads, it is true, that the composer must make his own rules and then follow them.  But this privilege is granted only to a master – one, moreover, who knows, or at least feels, the bases of his work provided by Nature.

It is not surprising that things have developed as they have.  The discovery, in the last century, of the extreme limits of power and subtlety in the effect of musical tone extended the boundaries of the tonal domain at the disposal of the composer into hitherto undreamed-of distances.  New combinations of tones came to be recognized, and new ways of bending a melodic line were discovered.  It seemed as if the sun had risen upon a new, glowing, iridescent land, into whcih our musican-discoverers rushed head-long.  Blinded by the immense store of materials never used before, deafened by the fantastic novelty of sound, everyone seized without reflectiion at whatever he felt he could use.  At this point instruction failed.  Either it fell into the same frenzy as practice, and devoted itself to flimsy speculation, instead of adapting its systems of teaching to the new material, or it lapsed into inactivity, and what had never been a very strong urge towards novelty turned into a barren clinging to the past.  Confidence in inherited methods vanished; they seemed barely adequate now to gude the beginner’s first steps.  Whoever wished to make any progress gave himself unreservedly to the New, neither helped nor hindered by theoretical instruction, which had simply become inadequate to the occasion.” (1-3)

WOW!  We are only able to wonder what Hindemith might write about our situation in this day and time.

Hindemith, Paul.  The Craft of Musical Composition.  Book 1: Theoretical Part.  Fourth edition.  English translation by Arthur Mendel.  Mainz:  Schott, 1942.