Hal Hopson, the composer of today’s offertory anthem, is a household name for most church musicians. There was a rumor that Hopson had composed so much music, that he had to start writing under various pseudonyms, because his music had saturated the market! I don’t know if that’s true, but Mr. Hopson is indeed, extremely prolific.  He has more than 3,000 published works to his credit.

Felix Mendelssohn (the composer of the solo at communion) is another prolific composer, but of a totally different significance. I don’t believe he ever composed under a pseudonym, but his sister did. Fanny Mendelssohn, herself wrote more than 500 compositions, but she had a tremendously difficult time getting her music published. It wasn’t until 1846, at 41 years of age, that she first published a work under her own name. Before that, she published music under her brother’s name. This was due to the fact that women composers were not afforded the same kinds of opportunities as their male, contemporary counterparts were. But Felix wrote and published more than 750 works of his own. Now these pieces were no small feat! We’re talking major, multi-movement works – symphonies, chamber music, choral music, oratorios, etc., and all of it in the mere 38 years that he was alive on this earth.

Now, I’m not going to even begin to say there is a comparison between the work of the late, great Felix Mendelssohn, and the work of Hal Hopson. But I will say, does it matter? Not at all. I think the marvelous thing is that both of these gentlemen were extremely productive. The paraphrase of the text from this morning’s offertory, from 1 Corinthians, is really what this is all about. Somehow, it’s always about the gift of love, a little or a lot. No matter how large the contribution, the spirit will always find a way to express love. And it will always find a way to work through you. Fanny Mendelssohn didn’t even let discrimination stop her. Felix was not limited by his short life span. Mr. Hopson doesn’t seem to be discouraged by the volume of works he has produced. Nope – there can be no excuse, nor judgement of the expression of love. There certainly is always a way to produce something with your life, no matter how small, how insignificant, or how large it is. It doesn’t even seem to matter what it is as long as it comes from a deeper, more urgent response to what’s inside you. It’s a response of the desire to love – to love what you do, to love people, and to love who you are. When you produce affection (a little or a lot), by expressing yourself, you’re making a real difference in the world. Each of us does this in a unique way, and musicians are no exception.  

So many people have responded to my Music Notes over the last two years. Honestly, I get more positive feedback from what I write about the music more so than the music itself. It’s probably because I really like telling you about it. It’s because I love writing them, every bit as much as you love reading them – at least I hope you do. When you love someone, or you love some activity, and you express that in some form, you’re bearing the fruit of the spirit. You’re acknowledging your gift, expressing that gift through love, and sharing it again. You can do that a little or a lot, but there is never any limitation on it, other than the one you place upon it. So give freely, or not. Be productive or not. Just always do it with love, and you’ll know it’s making a positive difference. I suppose that’s why composers like these just kept on giving and producing. Love just needs to be expressed in those kinds of ways, large and small. It certainly never needs anyone to condemn it, to judge it, or to place limitations on what it can do to change the world for the better. Soli deo Gloria!