Too often in our busy life we neglect the quiet period of meditation, a time when we unhurriedly think upon spiritual and beautiful things. "Be still and know that I am God." "Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary ... praise Him with stringed instruments and organs." Ps. 46:10; 15o 1, 4. There are significant and vital values in Christian experience which can be gained only through meditation upon the "beauty of holiness." Under the pressure of a great task to be done, the church responds with increased activity and hard work. Often it is only the enforced periods of sickness or imprisonment that teach the lesson of meditation and quietness.
It was to provide one of these opportunities for meditation and spiritual reflection that a series of vesper organ programs was planned for the closing half hour of the Sabbath at Emmanuel Missionary College. There is a wealth of beautiful and spiritual organ music, written by Bach, Widor, Guilmant, Vierne, Edmundson, Kreckel, and others, which makes an effective setting for the closing moments of the Sabbath. Listening to great organ music is a spiritual and aesthetic experience which helps to bring more of beauty and loveliness into the soul, and so is an art path toward God.
In order to prepare even better the mood for hearing the music, appropriate selections of sacred poetry and portions of the Scriptures are read between the organ numbers. The primary objective in this thirty-minute program is to present beautiful organ music associated with spiritual words in a setting that is contemplative and meditAive, rather than in a concert setting. An individual cannot be forced into an enjoyment of beauty or spiritual values. For this reason attendance at these programs is entirely voluntary. Those who wish to spend half an hour in the presence of beautiful organ music and spiritual poetry avail themselves of the opportunity. There is no attempt to please an audience with entertaining music. The objective is to present art in a spiritual manner. The following are sample programs which have been given during the present school year:
(1) Prelude and Fugue in B Minor....................... Bach
Andante from Sonata No. I................... Borowsky
Evening Prayer and Chimes........................ Caiver
Hymn Meditations .............................. Thompson
Saviour, Thy Dying Love
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
(2) Come, Redeemer of Our Race........................... Bach
O Thou, of God the Father............................. Bach
O Lamb of God, Our Saviour........................ Bach
Chorale in E Major..................................... Franck
Chorale Prelude on "Rockingham"............... Noble
Chorale Prelude on "Picardy"....................... Noble
To the Setting Sun............................... Edmundson
As an illustration of the poetry used between the organ selections, the following program, with the poetry used, is given:
Largo................................................................................................. Handel
Lord, I would thank you for these things:
Not sunlight only, but sullen rain;
Not only laughter with lifted wings,
But the heavy, muted hands of pain.
Lord, I would thank you for so much:
The toil no less than the well-earned ease;
The glory always beyond our touch
That bows the head and bends the knees.
Lord, I would thank you for eyes to see
Miracles in our everyday earth:
The colors that crowd monotony,
The flame of the humblest flower's birth.
Lord, I would thank you for gifts without season:
The flash of a thought like a banner unfurled,
The splendor of faith, and the sparkle of reason,
The tolerant mind in a turbulent world!
—Joseph Auslander.
Prelude and Fugue in C Major................................................... Bach
This night, whatever day has brought of shadow,
Comes calm with healing dew, and quiet, long,
Slow weaving of lavender dusk on hill and meadow,
And one late robin's song.
The evening star will take its watch and stand In pure, still loveliness.
As sure as Heaven,
As sure as love, unto a weary land That blessing will be given.
Today's distress, the burden of tomorrow,
Will dim like dreams.
The thought of God will keep
Such old and faithful guard that even sorrow
Must fold her hands and sleep.—Nancy Byrd Turner.
Night Sorrow............................................................................. Bingham
So many hearts are brave.
Each day I see
The lifted banners of their courage shine
Out of the myriad eyes that look in mine:
The banners mankind carry as they march
To prove that they are undefeated still.
Though tired feet must often drag behind;
Though there be scarcely strength to climb the hill.
Brave women and brave men, who go their way
Without the blare of music down the street;
Without the cheers, or the encouragement
Of words that would be heartening and sweet.
So many have the courage to go on
Undaunted by their loss, or pain, or fear;
Beaten perhaps, yet holding in their souls
The beautiful, bright quality of cheer.
So many hearts are brave—though well they know
How rough the road is that their feet must go.
—Grace Non, Crowell.
(The organ selections for the programs cover a wide range of composers. "Especially useful are such collections as : The Chorale Preludes of J. S. Bach ; Preludes and Fugues, Bach; Musica Divina, Books One to Three, Philip Kreckel; Hymn Meditations, Van Denman Thompson; Chorale Preludes, T. T. Noble; the works of Garth Edmundson, Guilmant, and others.
The poetry and readings can be selected from such sources as the Bible, the "Church Hymnal," "Christ and the Fine Arts," Maus (Harpers) ; poems by Grace Noll Crowell and Elaine V. Emans, and anthologies of poetry.)
Piere Heroique ................................................................................ Franck
In silence comes all loveliness:
The dawn is ever still.
No noise accompanies the dew
That glistens on the hill.
The sunrise slips up quietly.
The moon is never heard,
And love that animates the eyes
Surpasses any word.
And prayer is best in solitude—
It seems so very odd
That, long before,
I did not know In silence I'd find God.
—.lane Sayre.
Memories.................................................... Dickinson
At the conclusion of the organ playing, a Scripture reading and prayer brings the Sabbath to a close. It is the hope that the influence of these programs will bring many souls nearer to the beauty of the kingdom of God.
