Saturday, August 8, 2015

My God and I – I.B. Sergei (Austria A. Wihtol)




He is anonymous, nearly.  But, we could gather from what this composer wrote that I.B. Sergei (evidently also known as Austria A. Wihtol) did not want to be unfamiliar, particularly in relation to the Creator. “My God and I” that he wrote in 1935 provides a picture of intimacy between two – though one is human and the other divine, they seem to be close companions. That the composer may have been influenced by the Orthodox Christian branch (see photo of 12th Century painting representing that here) is an interesting possibility, considering the era in which the composer wrote this song – 1935. How far would someone go to express his-her faith, if for example he had remained in what later became a repressive state? How much inner strength would that take?

There’s not much that can be said about I.B. Sergei, other than the alternate name Austria (alternately, Austris) A. Wihtol, the year 1935, and the suggestion of his-her Latvian nationality (according to one source); another source (thank you for your comment on this blog entry Robert!) indicates the composer-concert pianist emigrated from Latvia to the U.S. in 1906-1909 as a teenager or perhaps a 20-year old, and lived and later died in 1974 in California . The words composed suggest the composer sought a close relationship with God, and found it. How difficult would that have been, if instead the writer-believer had been living in his native Latvia in the mid-1930s? The church’s persecution under the Stalinist regime in Russia would have made one’s open association with organized religion risky, perhaps even lethal, perhaps something he reflected upon in 1935. Latvia, though still independent in 1935, was not completely immune to its neighbor state’s manipulation – including the assassination of the archbishop of Riga in 1934. So, for Sergei, faith and trust in a higher being might have been nurtured in perhaps an anxious state, except for his decision to leave there earlier in the century. The peaceful scene painted in “My God and I”, of walking in a meadow hand-in-hand, amid laughter and pleasant storytelling of creation’s birth, doesn’t sound like a believer cowering in fear.  Indeed, Sergei had emigrated to a much different land, experiencing deliverance and perhaps therefore thanking Him with “My God and I”, perhaps watching from afar the troubling scenes from his homeland.

I.B. Sergei may someday give us more details on how “My God and I” developed, but can we imagine some of them now? It sounds as though Sergei was walking a bit in Adam’s shoes before the sin of Satan invaded humankind. To walk and talk, to share with God, and believe that nothing could separate us nor shorten the time we’d have together in an ideal, beautiful creation. ‘Unendingly’, that’s how Sergei concludes this song-message. Can I think of a time when my earth ‘trifles’, as Sergei calls them, would seem inconsequential? What would it be like to have nothing but joy and relationship with the All-Powerful, someone who could deliver on any promise, and smile on me for being who He made me to be? That’s what Sergei imagined. Just imagine having this, no matter where you are. Just imagine.       


Two sites describing the Orthodox Christian faith in Russia and Latvia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvian_Orthodox_Church

11 comments:

Robert said...

Austris Wihtol was a man, a Russian concert pianist and composer, born in Latvia. He emigrated to the United States in either 1906 or 1909. He was born on January 24th, 1889, and died in California (where he is buried) on April 3rd, 1974. He appears to have used the pen name I. B. Sergei for some compositions. He published the words and music for a gospel song called "My God and I" in 1935.

Unknown said...

I first heard this in Brazil in the 1960s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJHsgZjUTS4

Meu Deus e Eu
Letra e Música: Austris August Wihtol (1889-1974)
Título Original: My God and I

Texto Bíblico: Enoque andou com Deus; e não apareceu mais, porquanto Deus o tomou. (Gênesis 5:24)
Observação: Este hino foi publicado em 1935, sob o pseudônimo de I. B. Seregei.

1. Meu Deus e eu andamos pelos prados,
Quais bons amigos, juntos a passear;
Dadas as mãos, alegres conversamos,
Sem nada, nada a nos atrapalhar;
Dadas as mãos, alegres conversamos,
Sem nada, nada a nos atrapalhar.

2. Meu Deus me conta de outros tempos, quando
Eternos planos Ele fez por mim;
Quando o que vejo era apenas sonho,
Quando Ele o mundo fez tão belo assim;
Quando o que vejo era apenas sonho,
Quando Ele o mundo fez tão belo assim.
3. Meu Deus e eu, eternamente juntos,
Quais bons amigos, vamos sempre andar;
Inda que o Céu e a própria Terra passem,
Nada de Deus me pode separar;
Inda que o Céu e a própria Terra passem,
Nada de Deus me pode separar.

~~~~~~~
BB

Unknown said...

I first heard this in Brazil - have never heard it used in the US

brice said...

I purchased recently at a Thrift Store for 10 cents, the original sheet music for "My God and I".
It intrigued me in its' Title,as at the end of the day your life boils down to God and I doesn't it?
Music printed by the KAMA Conservatory,1910 Orchard Avenue,Glendale,California.
His printed name is AUTRIS A. WIHTOL
He also wrote,"Lord I have come to pray"
The Song is dedicated to Elly L. Wihtol.
If you would like a photo of Sheet Music,I will provide.
Thank You Autris A.Wihtol for writing such a personal love song to our Lord!

Sue Dziedzic said...

I am researching my favorite song for a church discussion. I must say that you were quite fortunate to have discovered this music! Thank you for sharing the information.

Susan

simplerecycling@gmail.com said...

Autris A Wihtol was my grandfather.. He also toured with a Latvian Folks Troup for many years, as the is when my grandmother meet my grandfather as a singer and dancer.

James Reed said...

A sincere thanks to your grandfather for this hymn, My God and I. I had never heard it before this year, and it has meant a lot to this 83 year old.

December 14, 2019

Unknown said...

Zondervan music publications included this song in their "One Hundred Sacred Favorites" in 1973 and it has been a favorite of mine since then as a young Bible school student. I just played this on the piano and it continues to give great comfort!

Unknown said...

My thanks to your grandfather. I first heard this hymn under the stars in devotionals at Oklahoma Christian University in 1965. It moved me then and still moves me today. We still sing it occasionally in Churches of Christ since we sing a capella. I am wondering if you can tell me about the poem about the stars that is often spoken at the end. I use the song almost every day in my private devotional.

Dell said...

I too am fascinated by the history behind this music. I have a suspicion, but cannot yet prove, that it is actually based on a Russian Folk Song. I was recently watching an obscure 1942 Italian film about the Soviet Union entitled "We the Living" and approximately 31 minutes into the movie a chorus began to sing a tune with harmonies almost exactly the same as this hymn.

I immediately recognized it having heard the song in church all my life so I have been searching for the connection, and discovered on "Find A Grave" that the copyright was from 1935 by Austria A Wihtol, renewed in 1963, and that he was living in Los Angeles in 1935 and moved to Chicago in 1936. He was allegedly born in Riga, Latvia 24 Jan 1889 and died in Los Angeles 3 Apr 1974 (age 85). It also published under a pseudonym of I.B. Sergei.

While it is technically possible that the unauthorized producers (under Mussolini) of the 1942 Italian film had somehow heard of a new melody composed by this Latvian living America in 1935, it seems more likely to me that the Italian producers used actual Russian folks songs easily available to them by the local Russian population and that the similarity is only because Austria A. Wihtol actually used the folk song either consciously or unconsciously as his melody and the copyright office simply had no way to verify that he had not actually composed it.
Again, I have no proof of this, but in my opinion is it a much more likely scenario given the lack of communication between Mussolini's Italy and America's Los Angeles in 1942. Even the author (Ayn Rand) of the book upon which the movie was made (actually two movies, "Noi Vivre" and "Addios Kera" now compiled together as "We the Living") was not aware the movie had been made until long after the fact.

Amanda and Derek! said...

I know this was years ago... but I'm looking for sheet music to this song if you still have it.