Diamond Jubilee Concert of Praise

Dr. Mui guided members of the Joint Choir in their rehearsal

Premiere Performance of Dr. Cainan Mui’s New Song “A Prayer of Thanksgiving”

　　The Diamond Jubilee Concert of Praise held on May 16 will mark the climax of the Seminary’s 2011 Diamond Jubilee Anniversary Celebration. The theme of the concert is “Soaring High in the Lord’s Faith, Hope and Love,” and one of its surprising features is the absence of the sermon messages and testimonies. Instead, it will be a concert focusing entirely on praising God mainly with choir singing and playing musical instruments.

　　The other feature is the premiere performance of a mega joint-choir who will perform a new song “A Prayer of Thanksgiving.” The song was composed especially for this occasion by Dr. Cainan Mui, a composer and musician invited by the Seminary. The song, whose lyrics are taken from Psalm 30, is by no means difficult for either the singers or the listeners to understand and appreciate. Its melody is touching, and the song has a wide appeal as well as great spiritual significance.

　　The mega joint-choir consists of more than 280 members, including choir members from 18 Baptist churches and the Seminary’s Joint Choir (The Seminary Choir, the Alumni Choir, and the choir formed by the alumni and students of Lay Theological Education Department). In addition, the music teachers of both LTED and Edna Wong Christian Worship and Arts Education Center will sing and play musical instruments. The Sunlight Choir of the Baptist Convention of Hong Kong will also join the performance.

　　It is hoped that more brothers and sisters will attend the concert to receive the Lord’s grace and blessings through music. It is our hope that this concert will be a fragrant offering to God, expressing the Seminary’s thanksgiving and determination as we thank God for the grace and guidance of these sixty years and we determine to set out on the path that God has prepared for us, striving to train more and more excellent workmen for His kingdom.

An Interview with Dr. Cainan Mui

Can you briefly introduce “A Prayer of Thanksgiving”? First explain why you have chosen to compose this composition based on Psalm 30?

　　“The reason for choosing Psalm 30 is that I hope that through the story of Joseph, we can recount the Seminary’s experience of God’s grace in times of difficulties and together express in songs our deep feelings of gratitude.”

　　“In the past when I read the Bible, the image of Joseph being thrown into a pit was deeply imprinted in my mind. Psalm 30 says, ‘What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?’ Although this was the experience of David, it also makes me think of the story of Joseph. When I study the scripture in greater depth, I find that I can be ‘thoroughly’ grateful to God with this psalm. I feel that Psalm 30 consists of a trilogy, that is three principles of spiritual worship. That is why I edited ‘A Prayer of Thanksgiving’ into three parts. That means I incorporated three prayer passages into three movements and conclude it with ‘Gloria Patri,’ which is the fourth movement.”

　　“The first movement which is a worship of God shows the first principle: all kinds of thanksgiving should begin with the worship and praise of God. Thanksgiving inevitably links up with worship and praise, since only God is our object of worship. The second movement reveals the second principle: we are thankful to God not because of our own achievements but are conscious of our weaknesses. We will then manifest God’s power in our weakness. That is why David did not grumble to God about his weaknesses but rather offered thanksgiving to God. The third movement shows the third principle: God will certainly gain victory and all the disappointments, weaknesses, success or failure, and gain or loss are in God’s hand. Therefore, the third movement mentions that ‘you turned my wailing into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.’ Then it is followed by ‘my heart may sing to you and give you thanks.’ Only when we have a heart of praise can we say ‘Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name.’ This is a powerful testimony. The fourth movement is Gloria Patri, dedicating all the glory to God.”

What do you feel about this piece of creative work? Can you tell us a little about the motifs in each movement?

　　 “Every creative work in song composition is a spiritual experience. In ‘A Prayer of Thanksgiving,’ I increasingly feel that if we really do want to give thanks, what must be stressed is not our own achievement but our desire to worship before God in true humility; this is not a worship in form, but from the depth of one’s heart.”

　　“The motif is the same for the first and second movements, using a major key for the former and a minor key for the latter, just reversing the order of the motif. The motif of the major is to sing out the greatness of God while the motif of the minor is to express one’s own weaknesses. But what is important is that we keep calling upon the same God in the midst of our weaknesses for He is the same God who will never change. Then I borrow the motif from Martin Luther’s ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’ to remind the audience that since God is our mighty fortress, we can always call upon Him in prayer in times of trouble. In the the third movement, we extol the joy that God promises us as all the darkness will pass away. Here I use some contemporary composition techniques to express the sentiment of praise. The motif of the Gloria Patri in the fourth movement is to use ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ as we give all the glory to God.”

What kind of encouragement and help do you expect “A Prayer of Thanksgiving” to give to the choir and the congregation?

　　“I hope that through this song, we can understand how to give thanks to God with our heart and soul. I must thank God for this opportunity to serve Him. Through this experience, I have come to deeper understanding of Psalm 30, making it my prayer of thanksgiving and hoping that it can also be the special prayer of the choir and the congregation.”