ARDMORE CALVARY KONNOAK HILLS CHRIST MESSIAH HOME FAIRVIEW TRINITY Service:Great Sabbath Service.42998 3/18/16 8:14 AM Page 1 L A I R O M E M S E I R F N E D E W E N L E U N A M M I S P I L I H P . T S L E P A H C E N I P A D S E H T E B Sabbath Great 2016 The Music of the Service Insert:Great Sabbath Service.42998 3/17/16 4:22 PM Page 1 The Music of the Service The anthems for this evening’s worship represent but a small portion of the great body of works composed by Moravians for the Great Sabbath service. Of the composers represented here, Johannes Herbst, Johann Friedrich Peter, Francis Florentine Hagen, and John Mochnick have lived and served in the Salem community, and Christian Gregor visited here (1770-1772). These anthems were chosen in thanksgiving for the 250th anniversary of the founding of Salem and the 60th anniversary of the Moravian Music Foundation. May the music we make together this evening be a foretaste of the heavenly harmony to come. O may our imperfect songs and praises be well pleasing unto you, Lord Jesus . Unto Jesus’ Cross .............................................................................................................. John Gambold (1760-1795) John Gambold, Jr. was born in London and educated in Germany. While he was inclined towards scholarly research, the church assigned him to teach in its schools for young people, where he spent the remainder of his life. He composed 26 vocal pieces and 6 keyboard sonatas, the latter of which were published in Leipzig in 1788. Unto Jesus’ Cross was edited from manuscripts in the Herbst Collection and Salem Congregation Collection. Unto Jesus’ cross I’m now retiring, at my Savior’s pierced feet; dying love a grateful sense inspiring, bathed in tears, I humbly greet. May I never lose this blest sensation, but in spirit fix my happy station on those heights so dear to me, Golgatha, Gethsemane. The words of Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow were written by Church of England clergyman and author William J. S. Simpson (1866); the music is by English composer, organist, and writer John Stainer (1887). None Among Us ........................................................................................................... Johannes Herbst (1735-1812) Johannes Herbst was born in Germany, and joined the Moravian Church at age 13. He served as a bookkeeper, teacher, and organist, coming to America in 1785 to serve as pastor in Lancaster and Lititz, Pennsylvania. In his spare time he wrote over 300 sacred vocal pieces for use in Moravian worship, and copied a huge collection of anthems and many larger works for his own private collection, which has become the source of many modern editions of Moravian music. He was consecrated a bishop in May of 1811; was called to Salem; and served here for seven months before being called to the more immediate presence of the Savior in January of 1812. He is buried in God’s Acre in Salem. None Among Us was evidently a well-loved anthem among the 18th and 19th century Moravians, as it exists in the congregation music collections from Salem, Bethlehem, and Lititz. The text is from Romans 14:7-8. None among us lives to self; none among us dies to self. If we live, we live unto the Lord. If we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, still, we are the Lord’s. Hail to You, O Life Now Fading .......................................................................... Johann Friedrich Peter (1746-1813) Johann Friedrich Peter was born in the Netherlands to missionary parents, and was educated there and in Germany. He came to America in 1770, where he soon began composing music. He served in Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Lititz, and in Salem from 1780-1790, where his leadership established the strong musical heritage that still thrives here. His many compositions have earned him the reputation as the most gifted Moravian composer in America. Hail to you, O Life now fading; hail to you within your tomb. By your wounds your strength conveying, from your griefs our life will bloom. Lost in wonder we draw near and adore with holy fear, O Redeemer! For your suffering, take our joyful hearts as offering! Requiem ......................................................................................................................................... John V. Mochnick John Mochnick, a member of Home Moravian Church, is a well-regarded composer, conductor, and jazz performer, with a teaching career including time at Wake Forest University and Southern Illinois University. The Requiem was written in memory of Steven Rierson, son of Robert and Annalise Rierson. Most of the piece is written over a basso ostinato (depicting a funeral march); the bass part changes at the final statement of the theme as the harmonies expand. The string introduction and interlude are based on the hymn Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us , and the concluding Dona Nobis Pacem text, not a part of the ancient liturgical introit, was added to provide additional comfort for the grieving. Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn befits thee, O God, in Zion, and to thee a vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer, for unto thee all flesh shall come. Grant us peace. God Was in Jesus ................................................................................................................................ Johannes Herbst This anthem was edited from Herbst’s own manuscript copy, and was written for Great Sabbath of 1782. The text is from 2 Corinthians 5:19 and a hymn by Johann Rist. God was in Jesus, and he reconciled the world to himself. Thousand, thousand times to thee, dearest Lord, we offer thanks. The Music of the Service Insert:Great Sabbath Service.42998 3/17/16 4:22 PM Page 2 Verse 1 of For Our Transgressions was written by Moravian bishop, administrator and composer Christian I. Latrobe (1758-1836), and verse 2 by German Lutheran pastor Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676; translator unidentified). The two verses were put together for the first time in the 1969 Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church . The tune dates from the early 18th century in Herrnhut. Hail to You, O Life Now Fading was also a well-loved anthem, with parts surviving in the congregation collections from Salem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. The publication of this anthem is dedicated to the choirs and directors of the Salem Congregation churches for their Great Sabbath service. Surely He Has Borne Our Sorrows ...................................................................................................... Johannes Herbst This anthem was edited from Herbst’s own copy, and also from parts in the Salem Congregation collection. It was originally composed for Great Sabbath of 1775. Deeply moving in this anthem is Herbst’s setting of “the blows were laid on him”, with the intense repeated chords in the orchestra, so different in style than the rest of the piece. Surely he has borne our sorrows; upon himself he has taken our griefs. He was for our iniquities chastised and wounded, and for our transgressions he was afflicted. The blows were laid on him. Through him our peace was given, and from all his sorrows we have received his grace. Till at Last My Life Shall End ........................................................................ Francis Florentine Hagen (1815-1907) Francis Florentine Hagen was born and grew up in Salem, and went to Moravian Theological Seminary. He served as a pastor and teacher, but was always active in music, and his musical style reflects 18th-century Moravian roots influenced by 19th-century romanticism and gospel music styles. In addition to his well-known tune for Morning Star, he composed anthems, organ works, piano works, and songs, along with one of the earliest orchestral overtures written by an American composer. Till At Last My Life Shall End was edited from copies in the Salem Congregation collection and a manuscript book in Hagen’s own hand. The text is by Christian Gregor. The first two-thirds of the anthem is one long sentence, where the writer pledges to honor, by faith, Jesus’ passion, and to praise him in spirit until being called to the Savior’s more immediate presence. Till at last my life shall end, and my dearest Savior lays my body to its rest, as his own was buried, and until my eyes can, in the eternal pleasures which have been prepared for me, feast on him forever: I will honor still unseen all his wondrous passion, and exalt his blood and wounds, and my heart there nourish. Full of faith will I ascend to my Lord in spirit, and above with joyful voice praise and sing his glory. He is worthy without end, that in countless anthems, both in heaven and on earth, all his creatures praise him. The text to Sleep Thy Last Sleep was written by Anglican clergyman and tutor Edward Arthur Dayman (1807- 1890), and the music by English church organist and conductor Joseph Barnby (1838-1896). The hymn was introduced to the American Moravians in the Offices of Worship and Hymnal of 1891. The hymn is traditionally played at the funerals of Moravian clergy and musicians. Sleep thy last sleep, free from care and sorrow; rest, where none weep, till the eternal morrow; though dark waves roll o’er the silent river, thy fainting soul Jesus will deliver. In Slumber ................................................................................................................... Christian Gregor (1723-1801) Christian Gregor was born in Silesia and joined the Moravian Church when he was seventeen. He served the church as organist, minister, and church administrator, visiting Pennsylvania and North Carolina in that capacity in 1770-1772. He was consecrated a bishop in 1789. Gregor was instrumental in Moravian liturgical and musical development and composed several hundred musical works.