Hymn of the Week: June 13
by David Sinden
Organist & Director of Music
St. Peter's, Ladue
Proper 6B, June 13, 2021
Hymn 589: "Almighty God, your word is cast"
Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how." (Mark 4:26-27)
The sprouting and growing of the seeds is a mystery to the sower. And is not music, too, a mystery?
Composer Jane Manton Marshall (1924–2019) put it this way: "[M]usic itself, when it is the real thing and not a cheap imitation, is worth having faith in, too. It is no exaggeration to say that music, a large mystery within the larger mystery of the Deity itself, is always there to heal and inspire when everything else on earth falls short."
One of Jane Marshall's hymn tunes, Walden, is beautifully suited to the words of Hymn 589: "Almighty God, your word is cast."
Almighty God, your word is cast
like seed upon the ground,
now let the dew of heaven descend
and righteous fruits abound.
David Ouzts, the Minister of Music and Liturgy at the Church of the Holy Communion, notes, "The melody [Walden] actually drops downward in thirds, just like walking along and planting seeds. The noteheads themselves even look like little seeds!"
We might also note the descending line mirroring the drop of the "dew of heaven."
Not only is Walden a good match for John Cawood's text, but it is a joyous celebration of Marshall's mother, who was also a church musician. Walden was Marshall's mother's maiden name.
And at its heart, Walden has a confidently joyous ring to it. You could even say the melody tintinnabulates.
One of the standard change-ringing patterns often heard in large churches with eight change ringing bells is called "Queens." For this pattern, the bells ring
1 3 5 7 2 4 6 8
with 1 being the highest bell and 8 being the lowest bell.
This exact "Queens" pattern is heard twice in the course of Walden and evokes—at least to my ear—the ringing of bells.
Marshall said this hymn tune somehow captured her mother in sonic form. And so this hymn gives us a three-fold analogy: bells, a church organist, and the sower—all dutifully proclaiming the good news of God in Christ and praying for fruits of righteousness, love, peace, and joy.
From Trinity Cathedral, Portland, Ore., comes this pandemic-era performance of Hymn 589: "Almighty God, thy word is cast," sung by Katie Burk with Bruce Neswick on the organ. This performance is a part of their delightful "Hymns Up Close" series.
Almighty God, your word is cast
like seed upon the ground,
now let the dew of heaven descend
and righteous fruits abound.
Let not our selfishness and hate
this holy seed remove,
but give it root in every heart
to bring forth fruits of love.
Let not the world's deceitful cares
the rising plant destroy,
but let it yield a hundredfold
the fruits of peace and joy.
John Cawood (1775–1852), alt.
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