If you missed the Halloween or Nasty Women concerts, they are available on demand at www.countrysideucc.org/concerts
Introduction and Passacaglia – Max Reger
Max Reger was a late romantic german composer. His compositional style is interesting and unique – it takes counterpoint to the absolute limits of what is possible without entering into the realm of atonality. Though Bach is the master of counterpoint, Reger takes the style of Bach to its logical endpoint. Arnold Schoenberg, an important early twentieth century composer and pioneer of atonal music, thought that Reger was a genius and was underperformed – Reger took tonality further than Schoenberg thought possible. The Introduction and Passacaglia is somewhat vanilla compared to some of Reger’s later works, but certainly in the introduction, as well as the conclusion of the passacaglia, you can hear what Schoenberg is referring to – harmonic twists and turns that surprise the listener, but make sense in context.
Be Still My Soul
We have done a number of hymns representative of the Pietist movement. They tend to be more timeless than many other schools of hymn writing, with theology and imagery that is still applicable today, with a few caveats here and there – far less need for re-writing or editing for modern times, let alone more progressive theology! It was a movement that emphasized personal faith over ecclesiastical doctrine, and living out ones faith over the appearance of godliness. Pietism pushed back on the Lutheran Church specifically, which it saw as a theological and doctrinal rebuke on Catholicism, but too doctrinaire and not spiritually nourishing. Puritanism and to some extent Wesleyan though (ultimately Methodism) are outgrowths of the pietist movement.
Ernest Edwin Ryden writes: “Spiritual revivals in the Christian Church have always been accompanied by an outburst of song. This was true of the Reformation, which witnessed the birth of the Lutheran Church, and it was also characteristic of the Pietistic movement, which infused new life and fervor into that communion. The Pietistic revival, which in many respects was similar to the Puritan and Wesleyan movements in England, had its inception in Germany in the latter part of the 17th century and continued during the first half of the 18th century. It quickly spread to other Lutheran countries, particularly Scandinavia, and its influence has been felt even to the present time.”
Katharina von Schlegel, a notable woman of the Pietist movement, wrote the hymn in the 17th century. It was set to a tune derived from a piece of music written by Jean Sibellius (the conclusion of the Symphonic/Choral tone poem “Finlandia”).
Be still, my soul: for God is on your side; bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Trust in your God, your savior and your guide, who through all changes faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: your best, your heavenly friend through thorny ways leads to a peaceful end.
Be still, my soul: for God will undertake to guide the future surely as the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake; all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know the voice that calmed them in this world below.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on when we shall dwell with God forever more,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past, all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
I Waited for the Lord – From Symphony no. 2 “Hymn of Praise” by Felix Mendelssohn
I waited for the Lord, he inclined unto me, he heard my complaint.
O blessed are they that hope and trust in the Lord.