Music Notes

Hymn of the Day: ELW 723, “CANTICLE OF THE TURNING”
Text: Rory Cooney (1952) based on the Magnificat
Tune: STAR OF COUNTY DOWN, Irish Traditional

Rory Cooney says he “simply wanted to write a setting of the canticle that attempted to capture the revolutionalry spirit of the gospel.” A composer of multiple collections of liturgical music, he has also served as director of liturgy and music at churches in Illinois and Arizona.

Musical Meditation: “Be Thou My Vision,” John Carter (b. 1930)

JOHN CARTER is Director of Music at University Baptist Church, Columbus, OH. John is a well-known composer with several hundred choral compositions to his credit as well as several musicals, an opera, and a dozen collections for keyboard and organ. He and his wife, Mary Kay Beall, often collaborate as writers and in Music Ministry. He is a recognized clinician and choral conductor, and is particularly noted for his versatile writing style and his long-standing creative productivity.

Choir Anthem: “Create A Pure Heart In Me” Susan Matsui

Susan Matsui began composing as a child. She plays fiddle, French horn, piano, and organ, and many medieval and folk instruments, both string and wind. She studied composition at Williams College with Dan Gutwein and at the Salzburg Mozarteum with Cesar Bresgan. She is the organist and music director at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and a member of the American Guild of Organists. She is also a public school music teacher and a member of Woodbinde Medieval Band. She is continually composing and arranging music, often for use in her church, for both the adult and junior choirs. Her music is influenced by her nearly twenty years in Japan, as well as by medieval music, and by her formative years in an Episcopal church with an outstanding music program (Grace Episcopal Church in Nyack, NY). She has published 39 children’s books in Japan, among which are three songbooks, as well as scores of children's songs for children's magazines. She continues to write and publish for the Japanese children's book market.

The text is a paraphrase of Psalm 51.

Create a pure heart in me, O Lord.
Grant me a new and steadfast spirit.
Do not drive me away from thy presence,
or take thy Spirit from me.

Revive in me the joy of deliverance,
Grant me a steady soul to uphold me.
Open thou my lips, everlasting Lord,
that my mouth may sing thy praises.

Thou takest no delight in sacrifice,
nor hast thou any wish for whole offering.
My sacrifice, Lord, is a broken soul,
my offering, a contrite heart.