Compositions – The Organ Is Praise: Recent Episodes
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The Latter-day Saint hymn Secret Prayer is powerful reminder to pray always. Prayer is either a great help or possibly even an antidote to whatever situation we find ourselves in. In remembering to acknowledge God, either in our triumphs or our difficulties, we show both our reliance upon and our gratitude to him for his hand in all things. Let us not forget that without God, we are nothing, but with him we can overcome all things.
One of the things I try to do is honor those people who have helped me in my development as an organist, composer or teacher by dedicating a composition to them. This arrangement is dedicated to Miriam Niemand, one of my first students and a great organist.
Secret Prayer – PDF
Download the audio file here (right click and choose download).
Silent Night is one of the most popular melodies ever written. It evokes a peaceful scene of the newborn Savior, lying in the manger, being watched over by Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and stable animals. There can be no more humble or lowly scene, and yet the Creator of the world had come to save it. On that day, the Messiah was born.
We give gifts at Christmastime, ostensibly to commemorate the gifts of the wise men, but we should remember that the greatest gift ever given was the gift that was lying in that manger: the gift of the Father unto us. Jesus took upon himself our sins, our weaknesses, and our mortality itself, and overcame them all upon the cross of Calvary. He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves and gives us freely the opportunity to repent of our sins and do better.
May God grant us faith, humility, patience, diligence and perseverance, so that we may fully avail ourselves of the gift that was given in Bethlehem.
Silent Night (right click to download) — PDF
This is a setting of the beautiful hymn “Now the Day Is Over”. Here I’ve set the melody twice: once very softly in the pedal and again more loudly in the manuals. It’s a reminder to pray always, either silently or aloud. This arrangement is dedicated to Victor Ruiz, one of my students. He’s a… Read More Now the Day Is Over
This is a setting of a hymn tune that is well-loved in my faith. It is sung to the words We Are All Enlisted. I like the lyrics because they speak of several things that my mother taught me when I was growing up: Do not be weary in well doing. We are all enlisted… Read More We Are All Enlisted (Montclair)
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly is a beautiful Christmas carol from Poland. The tune traditionally sung to this poem compliments the message beautifully, with the verse rising to a gentle climax followed by an echoed retrospective. I’ve come to associate chimes with Christmastime, and I’ve used them in this arrangement to provide a descant on the… Read More Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Abide With Me has always been one of my favorite hymns. The image it evokes of Christ speaking with his disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of my favorite Bible stories. I wrote this arrangement as a special musical number for a Saturday evening session of stake conference a couple of months ago.… Read More Abide With Me (Eventide)
Sweet Is the Work is one of my favorite hymns. It’s powerful, optimistic message speaks of the joy that we can feel when we serve God and keep his commandments. This arrangement is in trio form. Along with my arrangement of I Need Thee Every Hour, it’s intended to be easier to learn than many of… Read More Sweet Is the Work (Douglass)
Each year the Church sponsors a music submission. The purpose of this submission, according to the Church’s website, is to “encourage the development of musical talent and to bring new musical works to light.” Last year I decided to submit a couple of pieces to the submission and was a little surprised that one of… Read More My Heavenly Father Loves Me
The nation of Wales, part of the United Kingdom, is famous for its love of music. Its music culture has greatly influenced our music as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My wife and I recently visited Wales and heard an excellent Welsh men’s choir perform at a Methodist church. At… Read More Postlude on “Aberystwyth”
Some people change your life. I’ve been fortunate in that most of those people have changed it for the good. Those people have far outnumbered those who have been a negative influence, thank goodness! Some people have been a positive influence in my life for years. One of these is my first organ teacher, who… Read More I Need Thee Every Hour (Need)
Here is a setting of the well-known hymn tune Duke Street. In my church it is sung to a text by Isaac Watts called “From All That Dwell Below the Skies”. Many other churches use a different poem by Watts called “Jesus Shall Reign” for the same melody. Regardless of the text, the hymn is… Read More From All That Dwell Below the Skies (Duke Street)
This is a fugal setting of the hymn “An Angel from on High” (tune name Cumorah). It’s more advanced than most of my compositions, but it’s doable with good practice techniques. I hope that you can find it useful in your service to the Lord. An Angel from on High — PDF Download the audio… Read More An Angel from on High (Cumorah)