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Johann Walter

1496 - 1570 Person Name: J. Walther Composer of "JESUS CHRISTUS, NOSTRA SALUS" in Hymns for Worship Johann Walther (b. Kahla, Thuringia, Germany, 1496: d. Torgau, Germany, 1570) was one of the great early influences in Lutheran church music. At first he seemed destined to be primarily a court musician. A singer in the choir of the Elector of Saxony in the Torgau court in 1521, he became the court's music director in 1525. After the court orchestra was disbanded in 1530 and reconstituted by the town, Walther became cantor at the local school in 1534 and directed the music in several churches. He served the Elector of Saxony at the Dresden court from 1548 to 1554 and then retired in Torgau. Walther met Martin Luther in 1525 and lived with him for three weeks to help in the preparation of Luther's German Mass. In 1524 Walther published the first edition of a collection of German hymns, Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn. This collection and several later hymnals compiled by Walther went through many later editions and made a permanent impact on Lutheran hymnody. Bert Polman ================ Walther, Johann, was born in 1496 at a village near Cola (perhaps Kahla, or else Colleda, near Sachsenburg) in Thuringia. In 1524 we find him at Torgau, as bassist at the court of Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony. The Elector Johann of Saxony made him "Sengermeister" (choirmaster) in 1526. When the Electoral orchestra (Kapelle) at Torgau was disbanded in 1530, it was reconstituted by the town, and in 1534 Walther was also appointed cantor (singing-master) to the school at Torgau. On the accession of the Elector Moritz of Saxony, in 1548, Walther went with him to Dresden as his Kapellmeister. He was pensioned by decree of Aug. 7, 1554, and soon after returned to Torgau, still retaining the title of "Sengermeister." He died at Torgau, perhaps on March 25, or at least before April 24, 1570. (Monatshefte für Musikgeschichte, 1871, p. 8, and 1878, p. 85; Archiv für Litteraturgeschichte, vol. xii., 1884, p. 185; Dr. Otto Taubert's Pflege der Musilz in Torgau, 1868, and his Gymnasial Singe-Chor zu Torgau, n.d., 1870, &c.) Walther was more distinguished as a musician than as a hymnwriter. In 1524 he spent three weeks in Luther's house at Wittenberg, helping to adapt the old church music to the Lutheran services, and harmonising the tunes in five parts for the Geystliche gesangk Bucklyn, published at Wittenberg in 1524. He was also present in the Stadtkirche at Wittenberg, when, on Oct. 29, 1525, the service for the Holy Communion, as rearranged by Luther and himself, was first used in German. His hymns appeared mostly in his Das christlich Kinderlied D. Martini Lutheri, Erhalt uns Herr, &c. Auffs new in sechs Stimmen gesetzt, und rait etlichen schönen Christlichen Texten, Lateinischen und Teutschen Gesengen gemehrt, &c, Wittenberg. Those of Walther's hymns which have passed into English are:— i. Herzlich Lieb hab ich dich, mein Gott. Trinity Sunday. First published in 1566 as above, and thence in Wackernage, iii. p. 204, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines. Translated as:— 0 God, my Rock! my heart on Thee. This is a good translation of stanza i., iii., iv., by A. T. Russell, as No. 133 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. ii. Herzlich thut mich erfreuen. Eternal Life. First published separately, in 33 stanzas, at Wittenberg, in 1552, entitled "A beautiful spiritual and Christian new miner's song, of the Last Day and Eternal Life" [Konigsberg Library]. Thence in Wackernagel, iii. p. 187, in 34 stanzas, stanza 33 being added from the Dresden reprint of 1557. It is set to the melody of a popular song on the Joys of Summer. It is a fresh and beautiful hymn, but is only partially available on account of its length. Translated as:— 1. Now fain my joyous heart would sing. This is a translation of stanza 1, 4, 5, 17, 33, 34, by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 223. Her translations of stanzas 1, 4, 5, were included in the English Presbyterian Psalms & Hymns, 1867, No. 325. 2. Soon will the heavenly Bridegroom come. This is by Dr. Kennedy, in his Hymn. Christanza, 1863, No. 1009, and follows the text of the Geistliche Lieder omitting stanza 16, 18, 13. It is repeated in the Laudes Domini, N. Y., 1884, &c. 3. The Bridegroom soon will call us. By Dr. M. Loy, from the Geistliche Lieder, but omitting stanzas 18, 13, as No. 24 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A. ] --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Lindsay B. Longacre

1870 - 1952 Composer of "ILIFF" in The Riverdale Hymn Book Lindsay Bartholomew Longacre was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on January 26, 1870, the son of Orleans and Rachel (Bartholomew) Longacre. Longacre wanted to become a musician, but pursuant to his father’s wishes, he attended the Columbia University School of Mines and was graduated from there with a degree in mining engineering in 1892. Following a call to the ministry, he attended Drew Theological Seminary, where he received a B.D. degree in 1896, and was subsequently ordained a minister in the Methodist Church that same year. From 1896-1910, Rev. Longacre served several small churches in the New York Conference. These included Glenville, St. Luck, Madison Avenue (later called Christ Methodist after a move to a new location), Fifty-Sixth Street Church, Morris Heights, and Woodlawn Heights. His pastorate at Madison Avenue Church was as the Assistant Pastor to Andrew Longacre, his uncle. In 1910, Dr. Longacre was appointed head of the Department of Old Testament Literature and Religion of the Iliff School of Theology. He held that position for 32 years. On several occasions during his tenure at Iliff, Dr. Longacre also acted as president of the school. He authored four books, a number of articles, and church school curriculum. His books are: A Prophet of the Spirit: A Sketch of the Character and Work of Jeremiah (1917 and 1922); Amos, Prophet of a New Order (1921; translated into Burmese in 1939); Deuteronomy, A Prophetic Lawbook (1924); and The Old Testament: Its Form and Purpose (1945). He was invited to submit three articles to the Abingdon Bible Commentary(1929). These articles are entitled “The Bible as Literature,” Numbers,” and “Joshua.” Dr. Longacre also held membership in the National Association of Biblical Instructors and the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis. During his tenure at Iliff, Dr. Longacre was involved in a controversy known as the “fundamentalist-modernist controversy.” This controversy, which reached its height in the 1920s, grew out of reactions to the liberal approach that the school had taken toward religion and education. These reactions, from both inside and outside the Methodist Church, were in response to the school’s use of higher criticism in the teaching of Biblical studies. While at Iliff, Dr. Longacre also taught courses in preaching, worship, and hymnology. He had nurtured his love for music as an avocation, and wrote many hymns and songs. Some of these hymns were published in The Riverdale Hymn Book (1912), The Methodist Hymnal (1935), The Hymnal (Evangelical and Reformed Church) (1941), and The Story of Our Hymns: The Handbook to the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1952). He believed that great hymns were “God-centered.” In addition to composing music, he wrote explanatory notes for various Denver Symphony programs, and had a special love for opera. He also held membership in the Hymn Society of America, the American Guild of Organists, and the Quill Club of New York. In his courses on worship, Dr. Longacre expected no loess that excellence from his students in planning and leading services. He felt that worship should be be “truly theocentric.” Because of his interests in music and worship, he served on the Commission on Ritual and Orders of Worship of the Methodist Church from 1940-44. The Commission produced a new Book of Worship for Church and Home. Dr. Longacre contributed introductory sentences to accompany selected readings in two sections: “Scriptures for Reading and Meditation” and “Daily Readings and Prayers for a Month.” Dr. Longacre retired from Iliff in 1942. He and Florence Biggart Longacre, his second wife of six years, then made a brief move to California. (His first wife, Arabella Hyland Longacre, had passed away in 1930.) After returning to Denver, he played a leading role in the 1944 University of Denver production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. It was his first acting experience. That same year, the Longacre’s returned to New York City to pursue his interest in music and the arts through the cultural activities of the city. From 1947-1952, Dr. Longacre served as the Assistant Pastor to the Rev. Ralph W. Sockman of Christ Methodist Church. Dr. Lindsay B. Longacre died at the age of 82 years on September 18, 1952, after a long and distinguished career of service to the church and humanity. © 2002. Marshall Eidson http://www.iliff.edu/research/archives/longacre/bio.htm

John Stuart Blackie

1809 - 1895 Person Name: J. S. Blackie Author of "Lord of might and Lord of glory" in The Riverdale Hymn Book Blackie, John Stuart, LL.D., born at Glasgow, July, 1809, and educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and at the University of Edinburgh. After a residence on the Continent for educational purposes, he was called to the Bar in 1834. In 1841, he was appointed Professor of Latin in Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in 1850 Professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh. On the death of Dr. Guthrie he was for some time the Editor of the Sunday Magazine. His published works include:— A Metrical Translation of AEschylus, 1850; Pronunciation of Greek, 1852; Lyrical Poems, 1860; Homer and the Iliad, 4 vols., 1869, &c.; Lays and Legends of Ancient Greece, &c, 1857; and Songs of Religion and Life, 1876. To the hymnological student he is known by his rendering of a portion of the Benedicite (q.v.), "Angels, holy, high and lowly," which is found in several hymnals. -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ======================= Blackie, J. S. , p. 144, i. Dr. Guthrie was succeeded as editor of the Sunday Magazine by Dr. W. G. Blaikie, and not by Dr. J. S. Blackie. The latter resigned his professorship in 1882, and died March 2, 1895. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)