HAPPY FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY to the Bosch pipe organ at St. Michael’s. The organ was donated by Mr. & Mrs. John Washburn Wastcoat. The instrument was built by Werner Bosch Orgelbau in Niesetal-Sandershausen, Germany, disassembled, and shipped to Barrington where it was installed by two factory employees over several weeks.  On St. Michael’s Day in 1970 the organ was dedicated to the glory of God.  It features two manuals and thirty-four ranks over twenty-three stops.  The key and pedals are mechanically connected to each rank of pipes and the combination action is electric.  The sound is modelled after German organs built in the 18th century and it is well-suited to playing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.  I am grateful to be playing at a church with a fine instrument that is well-maintained.

This SUNDAY’S HYMN is All My Hope On God is Founded, number 665 in the Hymnal. 

These uplifting words began as “Meine Hoffnung stehet fete” written by Joachim Neander near 1680.  Robert Seymour Bridges (1844-1930), an English poet who served at Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death, freely translated the text for English-speakers.  It appeared in several English hymnals and was sung to several tunes. 

In 1930 British composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was asked to compose a musical setting of the hymn for the Charterhouse School.  Howells received the request in the morning mail, and composed the tune on the spot, or, in his words, “while I was chewing bacon and sausage.”  He titled the setting A Hymn Tune for Charterhouse, and the school used it regularly.  In 1936 he renamed the tune Michael, in honor of his son who had died the previous year. 

All My Hope On God is Founded has since entered the mainstream of English-speaking hymnody.  The words of Bridges and the music of Howells, with its stately tune and jazzy harmonies, add up to a joyous expression of Christian faith.