Top 10 Hymns

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My friend Sherry is conducting a Top 100 Hymns Survey.  Sherry’s blog has a huge following because of her weekly Saturday Review of Books, a marketplace for book reviews.  For her hymns survey, she is asking folks to email her their top ten favorite hymns of all time to her.  Her guidelines are at the first link.  Email with “Hymn Survey” in the subject to sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom.  Deadline is May 31st. 

If you have a hymnbook, this is a great exercise.  Thumb through it, page by page, and make a list of your favorites.  One of the casualties of “singing off the wall” (words projected onto a screen) is the hymnbook in the home.  I’m such a dork, I took a hymnbook with me on my honeymoon. 

The two hymnbooks I use the most these days are Trinity Hymnal and Cantus Christi. If you like old hymns in minor keys (e.g. O Sacred Head Now Wounded) you will find more in Cantus than in any other hymnbook.  They are not all dirges, oh no.  Invariably when people visit our church, they comment on the singing.  It is full-bodied, exuberant and, as it were, one voice.  One of our women has a gorgeous and powerful voice; she said this is the first church where her voice didn’t stick out. 

I’m going to post my top 10.  As I find time I will add more favorites in increments of ten.  It is painful not mentioning other favorites.  The names in SMALL CAPS are the hymn tunes. 

1.  Doxology OLD HUNDRETH   In my opinion, this should be the first praise song every toddler learns. And perhaps the last song with the last breath of life.  Our church sings this, a capella, at the end of every service. It’s a classic (shows up in Tom Sawyer, not that that matters ) which remains fresh and solid. 

2.  Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing NETTLETON    Did you know there are more verses than the three we normally sing?  I so relate to the wandering heart theme in this hymn.

3.  My Soul Now Bless Thy Maker (Psalm 103) NUN LOB, MEIN SEEL   The truth is that many of my favorite hymns are based on Psalm 103.  Unfortunately this one is obscure.  How do I translate to you the joy and thrill it is to sing this?  Almost every audio version I’ve found has a slow, dreary tempo when this is a vigorous and confident tune.  So here’s the best combo I can find: Listen to this version (click on 519) after you’ve opened a window with the words.

4.  Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns TRURO   I love TRURO like my friend Steph loves HYFRYDOL. We are kindred spirits in our hymn geekdom.  Listen here.

5.  Only Begotten, Word of God Eternal  ISTE CONFESSOR   There is a majesty and mystery in this ninth century hymn.  I’m sorry for the gymnastics, but the tune is here and the words are here (pause the music that automatically starts). “Hallowed this dwelling where the Lord abideth, this is none other than the gates of heaven.”  chills go up my arm.  I’ve added to my list of songs for my funeral.  The praise to the Trinity in the final verse makes hard lumps in my throat every time. 

6.  Jesus Shall Reign  DUKE STREET   Besides loving ancient hymns in minor keys I love triumphal anthems.  Tune here and words here.  I love to modulate up a half key on the last verse.  I also love the idea of sitting during the first four verses and rising for the fifth verse: Let every creature rise and bring peculiar honors to our King.

7.  O Sing A New Song to the Lord (Psalm 98)  LYNGHAM / DESERT   A family sings this here.   The four parts weave in and out, making a tapestry of tones.  To hear a room full singing this is glorious. True story: yesterday a group of five teenage boys were throwing a frisbee on the lawn belting this one in parts.  

8.  O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus EBENEZER  The music matches the words in this piece better than any other hymn I can think of.  I hear the ocean currents.  And no one (not even Selah [!]) does this piece better than Stephanie Seefeldt.  Worth the price of  the album A Little Less Than More.

9.  Praise To the Lord, the Almighty LOBE DEN HERREN  How oft in grief, hath not he brought thee relief? If you don’t know this hymn, please learn it.  Every phrase is rich, solid, steady. 

10.  In Christ Alone  Music and lyrics here.  What is it about this modern day hymn that is so potent?  The words speak to the core issues of life and death.  It’s normal for me to choke up on this one.  The music with its soaring intervals grabs me too.  Combined it is powerful. 

Okay, it is your turn.  Do you have a favorite hymn?  Three you love?  Favorite five?  Top ten?  Leave your answers in the comments.  If you are so inclined send them on to Sherry.

It’s About Science

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Science is my nemesis.  I never got it.  I didn’t get the sparks, the aha! moments, the passion. 

My dear friend, however, almost chirps – she waves her hands and rocks up on her toes – she’s that excited about science! When her kids were young they would pulse with recognition: “Look, Mommy!  It’s a dicot!” 

As a young homeschool mom, I overbought science enrichment materials in an attempt to compensate for my deficiencies.  They mostly stayed on the shelf. Fortunately, we had co-op teachers who lived and breathed science, whose heart beat faster when they contemplated quarks.   

I wasn’t happy about my Science Idiot status. But it paled in the light of feeding four males, keeping them shod and clothed and breaking three of them of saying, “Me and Josh are going to the park.”  

Then I had an epiphany. 

I read Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel.  It was an incredible story, well-written, absorbing page-turner.  Not until I was finished did it occur to me that I had just immersed myself in…..science! 

And that, my friend, was an AHA! moment.  My path to scientific knowledge (a redundancy since science means knowlege, learning) was through literature.  What rebounded off my brain in a textbook, had a chance of sticking if it was couched in a story.  All-righty, then.

I followed Longitude with another Dava Sobel, Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love, which was wonderful and textured and satisfying and fabulous.  (It begins with one of my favorite letters of condolence ever.) 

I thought, perhaps, that I was on to something.  Paul de Kruig’s Microbe Hunters was an excellent read aloud bit of science history that took us from Antony Leeuwenhoek’s first microscope, Spallanzani and Louis Pasteur (who wanted to learn how to make good beer) to Walter Reed.  I also enjoyed The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. 

I tried Kepler’s Witch: An Astronomer’s Discovery of Cosmic Order Amid Religious War, Political Intrigue, and the Heresy Trial of His Mother; I actually raved about the first third of the book.  Then I lost interest.  There are other books and authors – John Muir for instance – whom I read with such enjoyment that I don’t think about the stuff I am learning along the way.  I’ve read several adolescent biographies of scientists like Ernest Rutherford.

My dogpile of books to read includes Lewis Thomas’ Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher and Philip Yancey’s Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. 

And that’s the extent of my remedial-science journey.  As my responsibilities of teaching my sons are coming to a close and my learning and reading is not curriculum-driven, I want to begin “filling in the potholes” of my learning. I’m making a list of stuff I want to learn and a plan on going about it.  

Can you recommend any books along this line? 

I would be very grateful. No textbooks. Biographies, narratives, non-fiction.  Books that make your eyes light up; books that make you suck in the air and hold it without knowing you are doing it.

Bonus:   If you have a title that makes physics even remotely accessible, I would write a post with your name in it forty-five times.    

8 Uptakes

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1.   I still regard air travel with wide-eyed wonder.  That we could wake up in Pennsylvania and go to sleep in Oregon is in the realm of miraculous.  My favorite part of flying?  The thirty seconds before the air leaves the ground…feeling those g-forces, oh yeah!

2.   Relaxed brides are a blessing.  I quote my niece Faith:  All I ever wanted was a Cinderella dress and Gerber daisies.  She got that and a whole lot more beauty.  Photos (and flowers) by Tiffany, the wedding coordinator.  One of the pleasures of playing the piano for weddings is a clear view of the groom’s face as the bride comes down the aisle.  This groom’s smile was wider than the Mississippi. 

3.   Small world stories are more fun than bubble wrap and your very own box of sparklers.  We made a rip-roaring, over-the-moon connection this weekend.  Our old family friends were in my small town -unaware that I lived here- last summer to see their friends in the region that belong to me too!  Did they [mutual friends] know you were a Harper?  Um, no, I don’t normally go around announcing my maiden name.

4.    Our hotel was next to the cemetery where my niece is buried.  Ellie’s journey on earth was too short, one brief day in 1985.  A group of us hiked up the hill to see the heart-shaped stone above her grave.  I love the impulse of my siblings to mark and share that loss.  I wish dear Ellie were still with us.

5.   A delightful surprise was an impromptu drum recital (!) given by my sister-in-law, who surely gets the Lifetime Learner Award.  At sixty, she’s acted on a desire to learn to play the drums.  You know: the whole drum set thing.  My brother drops her off for lessons and they have a date night afterward.  How cool is that?

6.  My sister and her husband made heroic efforts to be with us.  Limited mobility and chronic pain are part and parcel of her life.  Yet you will never hear her complain.  She amazed all of us with her determination and gumption.

7.   My nephew shared his pictures from a trip he took with his sister (my niece) to eastern Turkey.  I was amazed at the Armenian Cathedral ruins at Ani.   




check out the story of Jonah and the whale

8.   As a large family whose parents are gone, we don’t have the best track record for staying in touch.  After such a great time together we have renewed intentions to meet again…sooner than later.  The older I get, the more I understand the Jewish words of parting: next year in Jerusalem.  Our Jerusalem may be St. Paul, MN, and we hope it might included a performance of Prairie Home Companion.  

Also file in the Renewed Intentions File: trip to NYC to see my nephew, an Art History major, for a few days of art museums; The Sturdy Shoes Trip (what my sister-in-law and I call our dream of a children’s literature tour of the UK). 

My Life is a Visa Commercial

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Airline tickets:  $430
Motel: $360

Two hours with my father’s friend and colleague — all of my siblings and spouses, and several of our kids — listening to stories about my dad and mom….priceless.  Dr. Smith worked with my dad from 1959 until his death in 1987.

The wedding was beautiful, the reception was lovely, and the music went swimmingly. 

But the hallmark of this trip, I believe, will be those hours of laughter, tears, questions, revelations.  The winks and nods and fingers lovingly pointed by the spouses when a certain trait of my father’s was described.  That’s you, babe.

Priceless.  Unforgettable. 

A gift.

Bonus: my husband and oldest son shared the experience. 

Hang Time

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Detroit Airport

(this thread is for Steph)

I don’t bring a book on the plane when I fly.  I bring five books.  Because I never know what I’ll be in the mood to read!  Yesterday, however, I did very little reading.  We (my husband, oldest son and I) are headed to a family wedding in Pennsylvania, one in which I am playing the piano.  My schedule had not allowed much practice time, so I practiced on the plane.  In my mind…..

I know that sounds bizarre, but desperation drives one to new, um, heights. 

I have been fixated on Steph’s incredible rendition of O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus.  How I want to mimic her playing!  (Her singing too, but we’ll have to wait for glory for that transformation.)  With my ear buds in, I played the song over and over, analyzing, meditating…straining to listen.  Realizing that my brother’s voice is higher than Steph’s, and knowing he’d want to sing it in Gm or Am, I tried to piece out the chord structure.  At least I got the bass notes.

And regretted the choice I made one year to take French IV instead of Music Theory.  How I regret not taking Music Theory.  Was that an augmented chord with a G bass, or a diminished chord, or just a sixth? It will be an adventure this afternoon when I get to a piano to see how close I came!

Nevertheless, it was a potent exercise in listening.  Really listening.  And that’s why I’ll never forget the trip from Boise to Salt Lake City, from Salt Lake City to Detroit, and from Detroit to Pittsburgh.

Thanks, Steph.  Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.  You were a great travel companion.  Next year in Jerusalem, so to speak, eh?

Thankful on Thursday

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Isaiah, the young man we’ve been praying for

Today we got an opportunity to visit with Isaiah, our young friend who has survived a 350 foot drop in a car crash, has waken up from a coma but has experienced some brain damage.  He has been making *remarkable* progress, ahead of every expectation.  What an encouragement to hear him say, “cool” when we told him how many people have been praying for him. And to nod his love back and grip hands when we told him we loved him. His mom was a gracious mediator, drawing out responses from him and encouraging us with her steadfast love. 

I asked Isaiah if I could take a picture to document his “celebratory” status, and he gave a sweet smile.  Of course, my camera futzed and missed the smile.  He is scheduled to come home in June and continue his work relearning functions like writing and speaking and walking.  This is such a praise.  Such a glorious work.  We continue to pray.  It is a marathon, not a sprint.

Thanks be to God.  And thank you for your prayers, my friends.

 

Downsizing

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“This time, however, it felt very different. I wasn’t just pruning and thinning here and there. This was “biblio clear-cutting.” I committed to keep only those books that I truly cherish, really want to read, or have some prospect of using in my post-teaching career.This hurt. I said good-bye to hundreds of books. But I also found that radical downsizing of a personal library can be instructive.”

Downsizing, Donald Yerxa*

I am always impressed – favorably – by friends, people who love and cherish books but are able to let go of them with such grace and little angst.  I keep telling myself that I should be combing through my shelves regularly, systematically.  But it goes in spurts, and I keep receiving more than I cull.  But they are really good books, ones I will love, I’m sure!   

*If only proper names could be used in Scrabble!  We know a couple, Zane and Quinn, whose names could win you a Scrabble game.

Wendell Berry’s Mother

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To My Mother

by Wendell Berry

<!– (from Entries) –>

I was your rebellious son,
do you remember? Sometimes
I wonder if you do remember,
so complete has your forgiveness been.

So complete has your forgiveness been
I wonder sometimes if it did not
precede my wrong, and I erred,
safe found, within your love,

prepared ahead of me, the way home,
or my bed at night, so that almost
I should forgive you, who perhaps
foresaw the worst that I might do,

and forgave before I could act,
causing me to smile now, looking back,
to see how paltry was my worst,
compared to your forgiveness of it

already given. And this, then,
is the vision of that Heaven of which
we have heard, where those who love
each other have forgiven each other,

where, for that, the leaves are green,
the light a music in the air,
and all is unentangled,
and all is undismayed. 

~     ~     ~

I received a keeper Mother’s Day card in the mail yesterday.  Here’s one sentence from it:

I honor you for the hard work, blood, sweat and tears

that you poured into me as a child and want you to know

that these have been small seeds planted in my life;

but they have reaped a bounty of blessings on me.

This same son wrote a Mother’s Day note when we had been reading Milton.  It began

To my precious,

I love you more than false Unas

or a damnéd sprite

a sentiment that made me laugh (you have to read the Faerie Queen to get it) and rejoice both.