Hymns: George Washington to James Monroe

From George Washington to James Monroe

            The United States of American is known for its rich heritage and the great men who founded it. These men are known for many of their attributes and accomplishments, but not often do people dig deeper to get a glimpse into the lesser parts of these men’s lives. While the music that these men listened to and enjoyed might seem like an unimportant detail, it gives us a fuller, clearer view of who these men were. This last month I have studied our first five founding Presidents; studying not just their presidency, but also studying the music (namely hymns) that they enjoyed.

            George Washington: This man who left probably the largest legacy on our Nation was not only a devout Christian, but also a lover of music. Known as his favorite hymn, the song "How Happy Is He Born" and Blessed is one of the best descriptions of Washington’s life that I have ever read. This humble, Virginian frontiersmen became a national hero during the French and Indian War which led to his entrance into politics. Known for his great honesty and humility, Washington understood his dependence on God. Providence protected him many times in his life against all odds.

 He had a love for good music and even though he himself may not have been very musical, he made a very large effort to ensure that his step-children and grand-children had proper musical education. Alexander Renigale, a popular composer at the time, performed and taught for the Washington household. Washington enjoyed different kinds of music including opera. Although, his favorite hymn may not be very well known now, it is a hymn the needs to be resurrected. The powerful truths of the song can be seen throughout his entire life and give us an even stronger idea of who Washington was and what he believed.

            John Adams: Being the second President and following in the footsteps of a man like Washington, Adams had his fair share of trials. At first glance, it does not appear that music played very much of a role in this President's life, but that is most likely because of his strong Puritan background. He did however write about some of the different denominational singing that he enjoyed and it was he who is responsible for first bringing the U.S. Marine Band to the White House. To this day the band is known as "the President's own band."

His favorite known hymn was "How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings Fair," by: John Milton, the author of “Paradise Lost,” and “Paradise Regained.” The tune used is more commonly used for Watts' song, "O God Our Help In Ages Past." This hymn must have greatly comforted Adams as he left office quite un-liked by most people. In times of depression and discouragement it must have given him hope in Christ.

            Thomas Jefferson: Extremely intelligent and heavily influenced by Enlightenment thinking, it is easy to see how Jefferson came to be the primary author of The Declaration of Independence. He worked very hard to separate church from state and ensure religious freedom for the American people. He was probably one of the most musical Presidents. He played several instruments and had violin duets with his friend Patrick Henry. He also made sure that his daughters were well trained in music.

Jefferson was not just a lover of music, but he was a lover of good music. His favorite hymn was “Hark the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes,” by: Phillip Doddridge. (By the way, of the songs that we have done so far, this one is my favorite musically, although I enjoy singing all of them.) At the age of 74 he said that music was “the favorite passion” of his soul.[1]

            James Madison: Father of the Constitution, James Madison definitely left his mark. Like Jefferson, he was not an evangelical but he fought hard for religious freedom. During his Presidency, the War of 1812 broke out, which did not make him very popular. (One very common theme I have noticed in studying our first few Presidents is men who were great men and did amazing things, but were not very popular during their terms as President.)

Madison and his wife were very hospitable while he was in office, which made music a vital part of their lives. They were the first couple to purchase a pianoforte for the White House. His favorite hymn was “O God My Strength and Fortitude,” by: Thomas Sternhold, the groom of robes to Henry VIII of England.  There is great solace in this song that must have uplifted Madison many times.

            James Monroe: Born in the oldest county of Virginia, serving in the Militia during the Revolutionary War, serving in Congress, being minister to France, becoming Governor of Virginia for 3 terms and eventually gaining the rank of President, James Monroe ranks high up with the men who served as President before him. His presidency was known as the “era of good feelings,” and it was he who gave the address before Congress we now know as “The Monroe Doctrine.” (The cornerstone for America’s foreign policy)

            Music wise, we know very little about him. He was the first President to have an inaugural concert. His favorite hymn was “O Lord, I Would Delight In Thee,” by: John Ryland, Jr., who is the Baptist minister that baptized William Carey. (Sorry, I just love learning about those kinds of connections!)  It’s a shame that we do not know more about the music he enjoyed, (if he even enjoyed itJ) but he did have a wonderful favorite hymn.

[1]  From the book, Presidential Praise, By: C. Edward Spann & Michael E. Williams, Sr.

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The Foundation of Love

If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On. - William Shakespeare

For years I have seen this lovely saying on my Grandma's fridge. I always thought that it was a beautiful picture.  Every now and then, I get to thinking about love... hey; we all do at some point. I'm not a big fan of fictional romance and all that, but I do love a true, real life, love story of people in history, to that of my own parents. Having studied different musicians and read biographies of different people, I have found two stories in particular to be quite the interesting comparisons. These stories have a similarity, because both of the couples "fell in love" through their love for music. The love stories are that of Jonathon and Sarah Edwards and that of Robert and Clara Schumann. The major difference in these two stories is that one couple based their relationship on God and the other did not. Both stories are romantic tales, which I enjoyed learning about, but I do have a favorite... I'll share in due time.

In 1723, in the backdrop of British citizens and the thirteen colonies, there was a town called New Haven, and in that town there was a slightly distracted school teacher. This teacher was the twenty year old Jonathon Edwards, and his distraction was the thirteen year old Sarah Pierrepont. He wrote about this young lady in his Greek grammar book.... something I'm very glad he did. But what he wrote about was not silly daydreaming, rather it was about this lass's great love for God. They were very different from each other, but they both loved music. Jonathon Edwards said, "The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other, is by music. When I would form in my mind and idea of a society in the highest degree happy, I think of them as expressing their love, their joy, and the inward concord and harmony and spiritual beauty of their souls by sweetly singing to each other." (1) They became friends and spent more time together talking about life, and God, and sharing books that were influential in their lives. In the spring of 1725 they were engaged. Jonathon waited for two years, until Sarah was seventeen, to marry her. According to Noel Piper, in her book "Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God," this wait was difficult for him, but he endured it anyways in order to honor God. Shortly after they were married, Jonathon got a job as a pastor in Northampton. In total, they had eleven children. I won't go into details on the rest of their lives. Of course, you should read about them anyways as there is much to learn and the preaching of Jonathon Edwards played a big part in the First Great Awakening, so please do some further reading if you haven't already.

The story of Robert and Clara Schumann is a very dramatic love story, filled with trauma and anguish. Robert was a "lawyer-to-be" who in fact, would never be a lawyer because he preferred music over law. Clara was an amazing pianist with a protective father. The two met when Robert began studying music under Friedrich Wieck, Clara's father. When Robert and Clara fell in love, Wieck was furious at the idea of his gifted daughter marrying this poet-musician and he tried to stop them in every way possible. They actually had to take him to court where the judge made Wieck take back many of the untrue statements he had made against Schumann. Robert and Clara won in court, but it took some time before they were actually able to marry.(2) They wrote to each other when they were away and in 1840, they were married. The couple was devoted to each other for life and they had eight children. Unfortunately, later in life, Robert had an ear problem where he constantly heard ringing in his ears. He tried to commit suicide by throwing himself in the Rhine River, but was rescued by boatmen. He lived in a mental institution for the last two years of his life. Once again, there is much more to the story that I have not written.

These two stories are both considered romantic love stories from history. After reading both of these stories, I was thinking about how both couples fell in love with a great love for music as a common thread and suddenly something very important dawned upon me. I was trying to figure out what made these two stories so different, besides the obvious difference in time, place and situation.  Then it hit me. While Robert and Clara both loved music, as did Jonathon and Sarah, there was something extremely different about the Edwards. Jonathon fell in love with Sarah because of her great love for God. God was the foundation for their relationship. They both loved music, but they loved God more. As I look at the later lives of these four people, I see that God used the Edwards in mighty ways in furthering His Kingdom. I do not see this in the Schumanns. The Schumanns may have produced amazing music, but they did not do it for God's glory.

 I love music. I think music is a beautiful thing, and I love the above Jonathon Edwards quote on music. But that does not change the fact that I love God more. While I think it is a beautiful thing for two people to have a common love for music, I think it is an even greater thing for two people to have a common love for God. The foundation of all our relationships should be God. Obviously, the Edwards were not perfect, only Christ is perfect, but I do think they got it right when it came to matters of love and marriage. They put Christ first in their lives, and it shows.

The foundation of love is Christ. Don't let other earthly things...yes, even music...get in the way or distract you from His perfect love.

Just some thoughts.

In Christ,

Kaila

1. Piper, Noel. Faithful Women & Their Extraordinary God. Wheaton, Il: Crossway Books, 2005.

2. Smith, Jane Stuart and Betty Carlson. The Gift of Music. Wheaton, Il: Crossway Books, 1995.

Pictures from Wikipedia.org

Luther's Musical Achievement

How I LOVE when I find a gem among the ex-college library music books that I have accumulated! I'll be honest; most of these books are not exactly what I would consider pleasure reading. Not that this is a bad thing, they're just not easy to read. It's like overdone steak. You have to chew it for a VERY LONG TIME. Well, I was looking through my music books and came across this little gray book entitled, "Patterns of Protestant Church Music." It is wonderful! (So far) I just finished the first chapter which was on Martin Luther.
Luther had such a great love for music. He believed largely in singing in church, which was an issue argued by different reformers.  He said of music, "Next to the Word of God, only music deserves being extolled as the mistress and governess of human feelings.... Through the medium of praise the Holy Spirit placed His gifts into the hands of the Prophets; again through music the devil was driven away, as was the case with Saul, king of Israel.... The Fathers and Prophets desired....that nothing be more intimately linked up with the Word of God than music." 1

Luther not only loved congregational singing, but he also greatly liked polyphonic singing done by trained choirs. He is said to have defined music, "as an art which to be appreciated properly must be studied rather than merely listened to…" 2
 He knew music well and had a very good voice. He believed that the study of music was an essential part of the school curriculum. He would not hire a teacher that was not trained in music. He himself knew music well enough that when he got a new song book, if he saw one slight mistake he would return it and have it corrected.

"When natural music is sharpened and polished by art, then one begins to see with amazement the great and perfect wisdom of God in his wonderful work of music, where one voice takes a simple part and around it sing three, four, or five other voices, leaping and springing round about, marvelously gracing the simple part, like a square dance in heaven, with friendly bows, embracings, and hearty swinging of partners." Martin Luther, Quotation from Luther's foreword to Georg Rhau (1538) 3

One other thing that struck me was that he enjoyed "researching" the composers of the time to see if their music was appropriate. This is something that I enjoy doing myself, to some extent.
I intend to write a brief summary on every chapter of this book as I go through. Thus far, I have been exceedingly delighted by what I have found.  One thing is certain, the more you study music and the history of music, the greater appreciation of music one has.

In Christ,
Kaila

1. Stevenson, Robert M. Patterns in Protestant Church Music. London, England: The Duke University Press, 1953. pg.9

2. Ibid pg.4

3 Ibid pg.9-10

Julius Rontgen

Born: May 9, 1855
Leipzig, Germany
Died: September 13, 1932
Utrecht, Holland
Famous For: Composer and Pianist

Julius Rontgen was born on May 9, 1855, to Engelbert Rontgen and Pauline Klengel, in Leipzig, Germany. His father, a violinist, was Dutch, and his mother, a pianist, was German. From a very young age, Rontgen was good at composing and was taught by some of the best teachers. When he was fourteen years old, he was able to play some of his music for the famous composer, Franz Liszt. When he was twenty-two, Rontgen moved to Amsterdam, where he took a job as a piano teacher. He was an excellent pianist and became very close friends with Johannes Brahms, another famous composer of the time. Rontgen was able to play some of Brahms’ works for him during a concert in Holland. Julius Rontgen composed many songs in a wide variety of styles. He did much composing with old folk songs. Rontgen became well known and was a film composer. His love for folk songs shows through in many of his compositions. On his seventy-fifth birthday, he was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburg.
Rontgen died on September 13, 1932, having lived a life full of music. It is said that, “His vast body of work (around 650 compositions) encompasses symphonies, concertos, chamber music, songs, choruses and operas.” (Oron)
If it were not for Rontgen, Brahms, perhaps, may not have been as well known as he is and there would be a great many movies that would not have music. Rontgen lived a full and productive life and even in his old age he still continued to compose.

Adrian Boult - A Great Conductor

Adrian Boult was born on April 8, 1889, to Cedric and Katharine Boult in Chester, England. Throughout his schoolboy days, he often went to concerts of the great musicians of his time. These concerts would have a great impact on him as he was able to watch some of the greatest conductors in the world, at that time, lead their orchestras in music. Boult went to Christ Church college at Oxford where he was an undergraduate in history and then in music.

After Christ Church, he went on to study music at the Leipzig Conservatory. The conductors there were greatly observed by Boult. He learned many things from these men which he would be able to apply to his own conducting. He became a professional conductor in 1914, and made his debut with a few members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He began conducting for some of the major British orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra. He helped many composers of the time by conducting their works for them. I did not realize what a large impact the conductor has on the orchestra.

Boult quickly became a leading conductor and was very popular amongst the orchestras. He became the director of music at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and remained there for several years. These years were some of the greatest for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Unfortunately, during WWII the orchestra lost forty players to active service or for other reasons. Boult stepped down so that the composer Arthur Bliss could take the position. He was quickly offered a job by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which he accepted. Boult loved music and he loved conducting. He was not picky about the composers that he conducted music for. During his time working for the LPO, he traveled to many different countries on tour and made several recordings. In 1959, he stepped down from his position and became LPO’s president and was a guest conductor until he retired. Stepping Down gave him more freedom to record and conduct when and where he wanted to. He died at the age of 93, on February 22, 1983.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

My family just got done learning about The Netherlands in school last month. We learned about several famous poeple from The Netherlands, so I thought that I would share what I learned about the ones that are known for their music.

Today's Dutch Person Is.....

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (Try saying that one without practicing.) :-)




Born: May 1562,
Deventer, Holland
Died: October 16, 1621
Amsterdam, Holland
Famous For: Composer of the Geneva Psalter, Organist and Composer

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was born in May of 1562, to Peter Swybbertszdon and Elske Sweeling. His father was a well-known organist and it was he who taught Sweelinck. The other main teacher of Sweelinck was Jacob Buyck, the pastor of Oude Kurk. Buyck taught Sweelinck until he left the church because of conflicts with the Calvinists. Sometime around 1577 Sweelinck became the organ player for the Oude Kurk church. He was an amazing organist and was excellent at improvisation. Sweelinck, for the most part stayed in Amsterdam. He occasionally left to go inspect other organs in nearby cities, but for the most part he just stayed in the city. Sweelinck was the best, most advanced organist before Johann Sebastian Bach. Not only did he compose beautiful organ music, he also did many works for the voice.
Sweelinck was the man who took music from the Renaissance era, into the Baroque era. His music for the organ and for voice was complex, but beautiful in sound and in style. Most likely, Johann Sebastian Bach was greatly influenced by Sweelinck’s music and compositions.
Sweelinck’s life may not seem very exciting because, for the most part, he did not leave Amsterdam. Compared to many famous composers, he lived a very dull life, but quite often, it is the dull life that God quietly uses for great things. Just think, if it wasn’t for Sweelinck, J. S. Bach would not have been the composer he was, and we would not have had such beautiful music for the Geneva Psalter. (Oron)

Works Cited
Oron, Aryeh. "Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (Composer)." Bach Cantatas February 2006.


More soon to come...

In Christ and For His Kingdom,
Kaila

Frank Lloyd Wright- The Music Loving Architect

In school we have been learning about architecture and different houses. Today we learned about the famous Frank Lloyd Wright. I knew that he was an architect that built interesting houses, but beyond that I didn't know a whole lot about him. I certainly didn't know what a huge impact music had on him and so I got very excited as I kept hearing references to music as we learned about his architecture.

Frank Lloyd Wright's father was a very talented musician who struggled to make enough money to provide for his family. (Common occurrence with great musicians of old.) He was so good that he started a music school in Madison, Wisconsin. The school didn't last long, but the impression that music made on Frank would last for a lifetime.
"When Frank designed a prairie house, he remembered the music his father had taught him. The structure in a musical composition is like the structure of a house. When he thought of a house he thought about music. He saw that harmony and the combinations of several melodies in music were the same as the harmony and combinations of colors and building materials used to make a house. He used the dramatic changes that loud and soft sounds and rhythm made in music to make the spaces in his house more interesting." (Thomsen 33)
Frank Lloyd Wright saw the beauty and heard the sounds and music of nature. He worked to make his houses blend and not disturb nature if possible. His architecture of his houses like "Falling Water" depict this well.

Frank and his wife Catherine had six children, so he made sure to include large playrooms in the houses he designed. In the playroom of his own house he wanted there to be a grand piano but didn't want it to take up the play area. So instead of moving the piano to a different room he cut a piano sized hole in the playroom wall. The keyboard side of the piano was in the playroom and the rest of the piano hung out over an open staircase! Talk about efficiency!
Not only did Frank love music, but he instilled that love into his children as well. "On some evenings the family orchestra practiced there [playroom]: Lloyd the cello; John played the violin; Catherine sang; David played the flute; Francis played the piano; and baby Llewellyn played the mandolin." (Thomsen 28)

I thought it was so neat to learn all of these things just from the book "Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids" by Kathleen Thorne-Thomsen. Let's just say that I am much more excited now to read my biography book assignment on Frank Lloyd Wright now. :-) It never ceases to amaze me how God can use music. I would have NEVER guessed that music helped a man like Frank Lloyd Wright. So, with great excitement I must stop writing to go and begin reading that biography and perhaps learn some even more interesting things about him.

In Christ,
Kaila

Thorne-Thomsen, Kathleen. Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1994. Print

Johann Sebatian Bach

Johann Sebastien Bach is one of my favorite composers. His music is fantastic. A few months ago I read a REALLY BIG book about him. It was very informative and I learned alot, but it took me two months to read, which slowed me down on my 201 book goal. The little bit I have written below is just a small fraction of all that you can learn about Bach. I'm quite positive I'll be writing a lot more about him later.

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician
Christoph Wolff



Johann S. Bach came from a very musical family. He was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685, which was the same city where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. When Bach was ten years old, his parents both died and he went to live with his older brother Johann Christoph, who had been a student of Pachelbel. Johann Sebastian learned from this young age the importance of learning from other’s work to help improve one’s own skills. After Johann Chistoph died, Bach went to be a boy soprano at Luneberg, Germany. There he became very good at the violin and viola and by the time he left at eighteen years old he was a master clavichordist, organist and was very good at composing.
He worked in the court orchestra at Weimar, Germany, playing his violin and viola but he loved the organ. So, he moved to Arnstadt where he wrote organ music. In 1705, Bach walked two hundred miles to hear Dietrich Buxtehude, the greatest organist of the time. His music was never the same. In 1707, he moved to St. Blasius where he married his cousin, Maria Barbara. Two of their sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philip Emanuel both became well known musicians.
After a year, Bach moved back to Weimar to be the court organist to Duke Wilhelm Ernst. Being a strong Christian, he wrote a great many chorale preludes and in his “Little Book for the Organ,” he wrote, “To the glor of God alone in the highest and to further the learning of everyone.” In 1717, Bach went to be the court conductor for the Prince of Cothen. He believed that the main reason for writing music was for the glory of God. While in Cothen, he wrote, “The Well Tempered Clavier.” In 1720, Bach returned home from a trip to find out that his wife had died and had been buried while he was away. He later married Anna Magdelena, a soprano for whom he wrote many great works. She helped him greatly in his work. In all, Bach had twenty children, but sadly only ten lived to adulthood. In 1723, Bach went to Leipzig where he became cantor of the St. Thomas Church. It was here that Bach wrote most of his musical compositions.
Bach died at the age of sixty-five and was mourned greatly. Bach is considered one of the greatest, if not THE greatest composers to have ever lived. In truth, his greatness came from God, whom Bach served with upmost adoration. He set an example that we should recognize and follow. Just like the young Johann Sebastian Bach copied other men’s work and used it to further his musical skills, we should look at his life and use it as an example of a man who followed God with his whole heart.