Music Notes

Hymn of the Day: “We Come to You for Healing, Lord” ELW #617
Text: Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr (1923-2007)
Tune: MARTYRDOM, John B. Dykes (1823-1876)

MARTYRDOM was originally an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody used for the ballad "Helen of Kirkconnel." Hugh Wilson (1766-1824) adapted MARTYRDOM into a hymn tune in duple meter around 1800. A triple-meter version of the tune was first published by Robert A. Smith (1780-1829) in his Sacred Music (1825), a year after Wilson's death. A legal dispute concerning who was the actual composer of MARTYRDOM arose and was settled in favor of Wilson. However, Smith's triple-meter arrangement is the one chosen most often. The tune's title presumably refers to the martyred Scottish Covenantor James Fenwick, whose last name is also the name of the town where Wilson lived. Consequently, in Scotland this tune has always had melancholy associations.
Hugh Wilson learned the shoemaker trade from his father. He also studied music and mathematics and became proficient enough in various subjects to become a part-time teacher to the villagers. Around 1800 he moved to Pollokshaws to work in the cotton mills and later moved to Duntocher, where he became a draftsman in the local mill. He also made sundials and composed hymn tunes as a hobby. It is thought that he composed and adapted a number of psalm tunes, but only two have survived because he gave instructions shortly before his death that all his music manuscripts were to be destroyed.
Although largely self-taught, Robert Smith was an excellent musician. By the age of ten he played the violin, cello, and flute, and was a church chorister. From 1802 to 1817 he taught music in Paisley and was precentor at the Abbey; from 1823 until his death he was precentor and choirmaster in St. George's Church, Edinburgh. He enlarged the repertoire of tunes for psalm singing in Scotland, raised the precentor skills to a fine art, and greatly improved the singing of the church choirs he directed. Smith published his church music in Sacred Harmony (1820, 1825) and compiled a six-volume collection of Scottish songs, The Scottish Minstrel (1820-1824).

Rev. Dr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., was the son of the late Herman G. and Helen Stuempfle, Sr. He lived most of his life in Gettysburg, PA. He attended Hughesville public schools, and was a graduate of Susquehanna University and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He received additional advanced degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York and a doctoral degree at Southern California School of Theology at Claremont. He served as President of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg.
Rev. Dr. Stuempfle was the author of several books and numerous articles and lectures on preaching, history, and theology. He was also among the most honored and respected hymn writers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Rev. Dr. Stuempfle was known for his leadership in community and civic projects. Always taking an active stance on social issues, he participated in the creation of day care centers, served on the Gettysburg interchurch social action committee, helped create and support prison ministries and a homeless shelter, and tutored young people in the after school program of Christ Lutheran Church, where he was a long time member.

Musical Reflection: Chorale Prelude on "Liebster Jesu wir sind hier”
Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Gerald Near, an alumnus of the University of Michigan, has an extensive catalog of well-crafted, published, choral and organ music. His early choirmastership at Calvary Church, (an Anglo-Catholic parish) Rochester, Minnesota, afforded him the opportunity to hone his craftsmanship for the special choral requirements of that unique community of worshippers. Later, he was appointed a lay Canon Precentor (Director of Music and Organist) of St. Matthew’s Cathedral. Dallas, Texas, before becoming composer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John, Denver, CO. Currently he is a freelance composer, and Choral Director and Cantor at Holy Faith Episcopal Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

This setting of “Liebster Jesu wir Sind hier” is one of my favorites. The tune, which is found in many hymnals, was composed by Johann Rudolph Ahle (1625 –1673), a German composer, organist, theorist, and Protestant church musician.