Volume 2 - Number 1
March 2007
HIS
VOICE From Co-Director
Richard C. Resch
The Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music is happy to give this advance announcement of the 2007 conference schedule. Since this year is the 400th anniversary of Paul Gerhardt’s birth and the 100th anniversary of Martin Franzmann’s birth, our theme will be:
Celebrating the Life and Hymns of Paul Gerhardt and Martin Franzmann The glorious hymn texts of these two giants in Lutheran hymnody will be celebrated as we learn about these men, their hymnwriting, and how to use their hymns in everyday life. And for two days we get to sing their hymns.
Our topics and speakers: Paul Gerhardt in Context: The Second Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War Christopher Boyd Brown, Boston University, LCMS Luther/Reformation Scholar The Theology of the Cross in Paul Gerhardt’s Hymns Richard C. Resch, Concordia Theological Seminary The Image of God, Sacraments, and Other Themes in Gerhardt’s Hymns – At the Onset of Pietism Lawrence Rast, Concordia Theological Seminary Gerhardt and Franzmann – Exegesis and Lectionary Use Arthur A. Just Jr., Concordia Theological Seminary Gerhardt and Franzmann – Organ and Choral Settings Paul J. Grime, Executive Director, LCMS Commission on Worship Martin Franzmann – His Life Richard Brinkley, author of Thy Strong Word: The Enduring Legacy of Martin Franzmann Co-presented with Connie Seddon, daughter of Walter E. Buszin, who witnessed the beginnings first hand as a close friend of the family
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Martin Franzmann – His Hymns Carl F. Schalk, Professor Emeritus, Concordia University Chicago Gerhardt’s Hymns as Day to Day Pastoral Care Pastor Philip Meyer, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Terre Haute, IN Pastor Peter Lange, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Topeka, KS The conference will also be filled with music supporting this theme. Without a doubt, a high point will be the hymn festival of Gerhardt and Franzmann hymns, led by Kevin Hildebrand. There will be an organ recital by Craig Cramer, featuring the music of Dieterich Buxtehude (ca. 1637–1707) in this year when we observe the threehundredth anniversary of the death of this distinguished North German organist and composer. Other highlights of the conference include All Saints’ Choral Vespers, daily chapel, and afternoon Choral Vespers with the St. Paul’s Youth Choir, directed by Barbara J. Resch. This choir will be singing a commissioned piece for two-part choir based on the Gerhardt text “Cloudless, Serene and Splendid,” written for this occasion by Kevin Hildebrand. I strongly encourage you to come to this conference with one of the most comforting topics possible. I promise that you will never forget two days of singing Gerhardt and Franzmann hymns in Kramer Chapel.
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PASTORAL RESOURCES by JOHN PLESS
Mark C. Mattes and Ronald R. Darge, Imaging the Journey . . . of Contemplation, Meditation, Reflection, and Adventure (Lutheran University Press, 2006), 119 pp. [$40.00] Luther once commented “Let him who wants to contemplate in the right way reflect on his Baptism; let him read his Bible, hear sermons, honor father and mother, and come to the aid of a brother in distress. But let him not shut himself up in a nook . . . and there entertain himself with his devotions and thus suppose that he is sitting in God’s bosom and has fellowship with God without Christ, without the Word, without the sacraments” (AE 3:275). Lutheran spirituality does not draw one out of creation but more deeply into creation, for God masks Himself in the flesh of Mary’s Son to be our Brother and Savior. By the creaturely means of words uttered by human lips, the water of Baptism, and the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper, God comes to us bodily. And He receives our service behind the masks of countless neighbors who look to us for good. Indeed we are daily bread one to another, to borrow Luther’s words. Contemplation does not transport us to some far away heavenly realm nor does it lead us to the depths of the interior life. For Lutherans, spirituality, while embracing all three articles of the Creed, is grounded in the earthly. Here of late, when Lutherans take an interest in spirituality they have often been tempted to look to other places, to sources outside of their own heritage. Some have turned to the spiritual disciplines shaped by monasticism, while others have embraced sundry liberationist mysticisms tainted with New Age ideology or the more pragmatic approaches of recent American Evangelicalism. While both Christian and secular book stores are overflowing with devotional books and guides to the meditative life, a pitifully small number fit with the vibrant themes that are dear to the Lutheran heart: justification by faith alone, the theology of the cross, Law and Gospel, God hidden and revealed, preaching and the Sacraments, and
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vocation. Lutheran theologian Mark C. Mattes has joined with his Grand View College colleague, Ronald R. Darge, to provide a volume that can be described as nothing less than exquisite in both appearance and content. Darge has provided photographic images, many from the campus of Grand View College in Des Moines, that invite the reader to reflect and ponder on Mattes’s well-crafted prose. Short, thematic prayers by Ronal Taylor conclude each meditation. The meditations are arranged around seven crucial themes: a spirituality of communication, the newness of the new life, fragmentation and wholeness, ministry as service, renewal in the midst of conflict, vocation, and Alpha and Omega. Since Grand View College has its origin in DanishAmerican Lutheranism, it is fitting that the volume bears the imprint of the hymnody of Nikolai F. S. Grundtvig (1783–1872) and his appreciation of creation and the Christian who is freed by Christ to be at home in the world without making the world an idol. Imaging the Journey brings to mind the wonderful observation of Werner Elert that “delight in creation is a prerogative of faith,” for knowing the truth of that creation is the Father’s gift, to be received with thanksgiving, which enlivens us to enjoy creaturely gifts with a good conscience. With his earlier book, The Role of Justification in Contemporary Theology (Eerdmans, 2004), Mattes has demonstrated himself to be a Lutheran theologian of the first order. Now he allows that theology to shape these devotional reflections. The attentive reader will hear echoes of Martin Luther in these pages as well as two of the most prominent and promising expositors of contemporary Lutheran theology: Gerhard Forde and Oswald Bayer. Forde’s commitment to the theology of the cross and Bayer’s insistence on the authorial character of God and His self-giving in the bodily word inform and nuance Mattes’s work. But this is not a book of academic theology; it is a book of meditation and prayer shaped by bedrock Lutheran themes and centered in Christ Jesus, crucified and raised from the dead.
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PASTORAL RESOURCES Mattes’s writing is well crafted and memorable. For example, on worship, he writes: “In worship, we are restored to creation. In worship God is serving us. Worship must never convey the economic system of the shopping mall. The mall promises only a materialistic utopia. Its sensuality is an empty, false imitation of the abundant blessings of God. The mall glorifies human control over creation. It worships our excesses. In contrast, worship shaped by Jesus’ cross acknowledges all things as gracious gifts of a merciful God” (18). Lutheran spirituality is churchly rather than individualistic. Mattes captures this as he writes: “In the life of the church, we are many. In baptism, however, we share a common story and identity in Christ. God’s pool and people are never stagnant. They are alive, active, fresh, and free-flowing” (60). Spirituality is not merely about God’s presence but His presence for us tied to a word of promise: “God is everywhere present and giving, but God is not everywhere present and giving for us. Many think that they can worship God apart from church, on a golf course, for instance. The golf course, however, does not speak a word of forgiveness or mercy. Furthermore, the golf course is a place where lighting strikes. How can that assure us that God is for us?” (58). Writing on vocation, Mattes observes: “. . . we are far more interdependent on each other than we recognize. The fact that we have never met the farmers who have raised our daily bread does not mean that we have no connection to them. Quite the opposite is true. Even in such anonymity we are dependent on their good graces and sense of responsibility” (84). Imaging the Journey contains dozens of similar citations that take us to the heart of the Lutheran way, inviting readers to ponder the good news that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself in the blood of the cross and the significance of this Gospel for our vocation in the world. In short, Imaging the Journey is a delight to the eye and to the heart. Both pastors and laity will find in this handsome book, at once both restful and invigorating, a fine tool to hone praying and living in Jesus’ name. I intend to return to it often.
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Bo Giertz, Preaching From the Whole Bible: Background Studies in the Preaching Texts for the Church Year, trans. Clifford Ansgar Nelson (Lutheran Legacy Press, 2007), 141 pp. Bo Giertz (1905–1998), the celebrated author of The Hammer of God, is rightly remembered for his sturdy confessional Lutheran theology and his lively commitment to deepening the spiritual lives of both pastors and laypeople. He served as a bishop in the Gothenburg Diocese of the Church of Sweden at a time when suspicions of the truthfulness of the Scriptures bred by historicalcritical scholars and doctrinal laxity among ecclesiastical leaders led to lifeless preaching and vapid church life. Yet enlivened by confidence in God’s mighty Word that does not return to Him empty, Giertz did not resign himself to despair. He worked tirelessly to strengthen pastors in their work as caretakers of the soul, helping them to see that their calling was to preach Christ crucified, not the clever opinions that quickly become worn-out fads. Giertz knew that the only message that is finally worth hearing is the one that comes from God. The Word of the Lord stands forever, and so it is the message of the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures, not philosophy, psychology, or social commentary, that is to be proclaimed in the church gathered in Jesus’ name. Originally published in Sweden in 1957, and translated into English and published by Augsburg Publishing House in 1967, Giertz’s Preaching From the Whole Bible: Background Studies in the Preaching Texts for the Church Year is available once again for a new generation of preachers and hearers. Based on the historic lectionary, these short sermonic studies are evangelical gems that will cultivate solid, textual preaching of God’s Law and His Gospel within the rhythm of the Christian year. Laity will discover in this book a treasury of carefully-crafted devotional reflections, while pastors will appreciate Giertz’s wise handling of the Scriptures with their own pulpit in view. The volume reflects its author’s faith that the Word of God is not bound but continues to have free course as it is preached to the joy and edifying of Christ’s holy people. Preaching From the Whole Bible: Background Studies in Preaching Texts may be ordered from the CTS bookstore. 4
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The Lutheran Spirituality Series (Concordia Publishing House, 2006). Written in a format that makes them conducive for either personal reading and reflection or group study, these short books take up themes that demonstrate that Lutheran spirituality is biblical, catechetical, liturgical, and vocational. In contrast to competing spiritualities, the Lutheran focus is determined by the Gospel of God’s justification of the ungodly by faith alone, centered in the theology of the cross, enlivened by the means of grace, and directed toward the life of the neighbor. Thus far, four of the projected eight volumes are available: Word: God Speaks to Us, by John T. Pless; Prayer: We Speak to God, by John Kleinig; Confession: God Gives Us Truth, by John T. Pless; and Cross: Suffering with Jesus, by Holger Sonntag.
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READING AND LISTENING by DANIEL ZAGER
Hans-Joachim Beeskow, Paul Gerhardt, 1607–1676: An Illustrated Biography, trans. Anne O’Donnell and David Willis (Heimat-Verlag, 2006), 140 pp. During this year when we celebrate the fourhundredth anniversary of the birth of Paul Gerhardt, a recently published and beautifully illustrated book on Gerhardt is most welcome. Hans-Joachim Beeskow traces Gerhardt’s life according to the various towns and cities where he lived, studied, and worked: Gräfenhainichen, Grimma, Wittenberg, Mittenwalde, Berlin, and Lübben. Numerous color photographs illustrate the churches with which Gerhardt was associated, as well as the paintings, statues, plaques, and stained glass windows that memorialize this Lutheran pastor and hymnist. Beeskow, a theologian and historian, has studied the seventeenth-century Berliner Religionsgespräche (Berlin religious discussions) between Lutheran and Reformed theologians. Gerhardt took part in these discussions, consistently upholding the Orthodox Lutheran position and steadfastly resisting syncretism. Thus, Beeskow’s study sheds new light on this critical episode in Gerhardt’s career, which led to his dismissal in 1666 from a pastoral position at the Berlin Nikolai Kirche. Gerhardt’s hymn texts are referred to throughout this volume, which is, however, a biographical study rather than a theological study of the hymn texts. The great virtue of Beeskow’s book is that he provides us a brief historical context for understanding how the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and the religious discussions of the 1660s shaped Gerhardt’s life as pastor and hymn writer.
Martin Geck, Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work, trans. John Hargraves (Harcourt, 2006), 738 pp. [$40.00] Geck’s study of Bach was originally published in German in 2000. While it does not displace Christoph Wolff’s Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (Norton, 2000) as the finest single-volume study of Bach in the English language, Geck’s book is nevertheless a useful one. He organizes his study in five parts: a preface that concerns how we approach the historical study of Bach and his works, part one on Bach’s life, part two on the vocal music, part three on the instrumental works, and part four (“Horizons”) covering various topics, including “Bach as a Christian” and “Theological Bach Research: Between Scholarship and Faith-Inspired Learning.” Geck’s thoughts on “Bach as a Christian” are well worth reading; one brief quotation must suffice here: Bach speaks of human suffering and the cross because they lead to God. That He can be found only per passiones et crucem, that is, through the suffering and the cross of Jesus Christ and his followers, is an insight coming from Luther and one that Bach passed down in a great many different ways in the texts of his cantatas and passions, but most of all in his music itself. With no other composer of Bach’s time do figures and emotion showing the suffering and cross of Christ play such an important role (p. 658). _______________________________________
This book was published simultaneously in English (ISBN 3-929600-33-1) and German (ISBN 3-929600-30-7) editions. Contact information for the publisher, Heimat-Verlag Lübben, is: www.heimat-verlag-luebben.de mail@heimat-verlag-luebben.de Heimat-Verlag Lübben Friedenstrasse 10 15907 Lübben Germany _______________________________________ HIS Voice • March 2007
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READING AND LISTENING
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J. S. Bach’s früheste Notenhandschriften/J. S. Bach’s Earliest Autographs
Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, In Bach’s Neighborhood: Organ Music of Georg Friedrich Kauffmann
[2006, Carus-Verlag 83.197, 1 CD]
[2006, Pro Organo CD 7165, 2 CDs]
In October 2006 the Bach-Archiv Leipzig announced the discovery of two previously unknown music manuscripts in the hand of Johann Sebastian Bach (www.bach-leipzig.de). Written “in and shortly before 1700,” these manuscripts contain the fifteen-year-old Bach’s copies of two chorale fantasias for organ: one on “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” [LSB 438] by the great Hamburg organist Johann Adam Reinken (1643–1722), and one on “Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein” [LSB 556] by Dieterich Buxtehude (ca. 1637–1707), the Lübeck organist and composer with whom Bach studied during a four-month period in 1705–1706. The Reinken copy, dated by Bach at 1700, also indicates that Bach knew Georg Böhm in Lüneburg, a studentteacher relationship long hypothesized by Bach scholars and now known to be true. These manuscript copies reveal that at an early age Bach was acquainting himself with the North German organ tradition, which he would assimilate together with the Central German Pachelbel tradition. In fact, these manuscripts also convey, in a hand other than Bach’s, two previously unknown settings by Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), one on “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” and another on “Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit” [LSB 942].
Georg Friedrich Kauffmann (1679–1735), who spent most of his life working as an organist and Kapellmeister at Merseburg, was one of the competitors for the Leipzig position of Cantor et Director Musices that eventually went to J. S. Bach. Kauffmann’s collection of organ chorale preludes, Harmonische Seelenlust, began publication in 1733, and at its completion in 1740 included some ninety-eight organ chorales. (One of them, on “Nun danket alle Gott,” has been readily available in Hermann Keller’s well-known collection 80 Chorale Preludes.) In Harmonische Seelenlust Kauffmann provided not only chorale preludes but also keyboard harmonizations for the chorales (some with written-out Zwischenspiele, or brief keyboard flourishes played between each line of the hymn). This collection was a very practical one for the working organist, and included ornamentation and organ registration suggestions that made it a very useful pedagogical work as well.
On this new Carus CD organist Jean-Claude Zehnder uses the Arp Schnitger organ at the St. Jacobi Kirche in Hamburg to record all of these compositions that influenced the young composer. As a bonus, Zehnder also includes Bach’s early (ca. 1707) setting of “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern,” the earliest autograph manuscript we currently have of one of Bach’s own organ chorale settings. This fascinating recorded collection conveniently documents these new manuscript discoveries, in the process bringing to life music that Bach copied and music that he composed.
Delbert Disselhorst (University of Iowa) has recorded this collection on the stunning organ (installed in 2000) by John Brombaugh at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Illinois. This recording brings to life not only an important collection of chorale preludes but also demonstrates (by way of a few selected chorales) how congregational hymns might have been accompanied and supported by organ at this point in the eighteenth century (though such practice still varied widely from place to place in Germany, and indeed even within the practice of a single parish some hymns might have been sung with organ, some without). www.zarex.com _______________________________________
www.carus-verlag.com _______________________________________
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Felix Mendelssohn, Sacred Choral Works [2006, Chandos CHAN 10363, 1 CD]
Felix Mendelssohn, Sacred Choral Music [2006, Hyperion CDA 67558, 1 CD] The past year brought these two new recordings of selected sacred choral music by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), the Chandos recording featuring the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, conducted by Richard Marlow; the Hyperion release featuring the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, conducted by David Hill. The Choir of St. John’s College is a traditional English choir of men and boys; the Choir of Trinity College is a mixed choir. A highlight of the Chandos disc is the Sechs Sprüche für das Kirchenjahr, op. 79, for eight-part choir. This cycle of brief ( 1½–2 minute) motets provides settings for Advent, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Passiontide, Good Friday, and Ascension Day. Among other works, the Hyperion disc includes Mendelssohn’s setting of Mitten wir im Leben sind, op. 23, no. 3, for eight-part choir. [This work was sung by the Seminary Schola Cantorum at the 2005 All Saint’s Choral Vespers.] Not to be missed on the Hyperion disc is Mendelssohn’s setting for four-part choir and organ of Verleih uns Frieden, the basis of LSB 777, “Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord.” The disc is worth purchasing just for this miniature gem, composed in February 1831. www.chandos.net www.hyperion-records.co.uk
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Recommended ORGAN AND CHORAL RESOURCES THE MUSIC OF KEVIN HILDEBRAND
BY DANIEL ZAGER
Those who were in attendance at the Hymn Festival during the 2006 annual conference of the Good Shepherd Institute were reminded once again what a fine composer (and organist) is CTS Associate Kantor Kevin Hildebrand. Here is a listing of Kevin’s music currently published by Concordia Publishing House (additional choral titles are published by MorningStar Music). My comments are brief and reflect only a few of my favorites in each volume of organ music.
ORGAN MUSIC Six Hymn Improvisations, Set 1 97-6763, $11.00 Of the improvisations included in this volume the one on EBENEZER (“Thy Strong Word” LSB 578) is particularly impressive and would make a fine prelude, especially when this hymn is placed as the entrance hymn. Settings of GOTT SEI DANK and MISSIONARY HYMN are welcome, since organ preludes on these hymn tunes are not plentiful. _______________________________________
Six Hymn Improvisations, Set 2 97-6886, $11.00 Included in this collection is a welcome setting of the tune BACHOFEN (“God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” LSB 594). The left hand and pedal ostinato in “Lord Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” (LSB 655) highlights the meaning of the word “steadfast” and places in relief the melody as solo in the right hand. The settings of KING’S LYNN (“By All Your Saints in Warfare” LSB 517/518) and NUN FREUT EUCH (“Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” LSB 556) are both suitable as extended introductions to the singing of these hymns. A setting of BELMONT (“The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want” LSB 710) is particularly welcome given the dearth of settings for this tune. _______________________________________
Six Hymn Improvisations, Set 3 97-6938, $12.00 The setting of AUS TIEFER NOT (From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee” LSB 607) presents the hymn tune as a canon at the octave between pedal and right hand, the left hand providing an ostinato accompaniment. Other tunes included in this volume are SCHÖNSTER HERR JESU; KOMM, GOTT SCHÖPFER; GROSSER GOTT; JESU, MEINE ZUVERSICHT; and EIN FESTE BURG. HIS Voice • March 2007 _______________________________________
Six Hymn Improvisations, Set 4 97-7022, $12.00 The setting of ATKINSON (“O God of Light” LSB 836) makes a fine introduction to the singing of this hymn. Also noteworthy in this volume is the setting of “Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure Eternal” (LSB 533) and a manuals only setting of “What God Ordains Is Always Good” (LSB 760). _______________________________________
Six Hymn Improvisations, Set 5 97-7051, $12.00 This volume includes two settings that would serve very well as extended hymn introductions: DEO GRACIAS (LSB 413, 544) and LOBE DEN HERREN (LSB 790), the latter being a particularly fine setting. Also very useful are settings of DIE GÜLDNE SONNE (“Evening and Morning” LSB 726) and O DASS ICH TAUSEND (Dretzel) (LSB 566, 590). _______________________________________
Six Hymn Improvisations, Set 6 97-7150, $12.00 Includes a lovely setting of DEN STORE HVIDE FLOK (“Behold a Host, Arrayed in White” LSB 676), a toccata on DIADEMATA (“Crown Him with Many Crowns” LSB 525) with tune in the pedal, and a setting of ITALIAN HYMN (LSB 864, 905) that would work well as an extended introduction to singing either of these hymns. These six volumes of hymn improvisations include many settings that are immediately within the grasp of the average organist. Other settings will require some careful work, while a few present some technical challenges. _______________________________________
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Music Sacra, Vol. 3: Easy Hymn Preludes for Organ
CHORAL MUSIC
97-7052, $18.00
CPH publications are listed here alphabetically by title.
Kevin’s volume in this series provides settings of eighteen hymns, some of the settings being manuals only while others have optional or easy pedal parts. Among my favorites is his setting of LITTLE FLOCK (“Have No Fear, Little Flock” LSB 735). _______________________________________
For You, O Lord, Have Delivered My Soul from Death (Psalm 116:1–9)
O Living Bread: Easy Preludes on Communion Hymnody 97-7152, $15.00 Includes settings of twelve hymns, most of the preludes being one or two pages in length. Among the preludes Kevin provides are three on Communion hymns that have been set less frequently than many others: “The Infant Priest Was Holy Borne” (ROCKINGHAM OLD, LSB 624), “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart” (BICENTENNIAL, LSB 641), and “Sent Forth by God’s Blessing” THE ASH GROVE, LSB 643). Keep this volume handy for use during Communion distribution. _______________________________________
Sonus Novus: Hymn Intonations and Harmonizations, Volume 5 97-7085, $15.00 For each of twelve hymns Kevin provides (on facing pages) a one-page intonation (as opposed to the more extended introductions that may be found in his series of Hymn Improvisations) and an alternate harmonization. I found the settings of ADORO TE DEVOTE (LSB 640) and ENGELBERG (LSB 603, 796, 815) particularly interesting.
Unison, Organ 98-3866, $1.75 We need more well-crafted settings such as this one for unison choir with organ accompaniment. This is a beautiful Psalm setting, and musicians and listening congregation alike will look forward to each return of the opening refrain “For You, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death. . . .” _______________________________________
Gabriel, You Brought to Mary SATB, Optional Congregation, Organ 98-3557, $1.50 A four-stanza text by F. Samuel Janzow on the Annunciation was provided with an original melody by Paul Bouman (text and tune © 1976). Kevin Hildebrand’s setting for SATB choir and organ (flute, oboe, and string parts available separately) calls for unison men to sing the first stanza, unison women the second stanza (both stanzas with organ accompaniment), and SATB choir (unaccompanied) to sing the third stanza. The fourth stanza calls for altos, tenors, and basses to sing the melody (with the option of the congregation joining in) while sopranos sing a descant, organ accompaniment returning in this final stanza. _______________________________________
How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord SATB, Organ 98-3671, $1.35 Fred Pratt Green’s text, joined to the tune REPTON (LSB 853), is set for unison choir and organ for the first stanza, unison women and organ for the second stanza, SATB choir for the third stanza, and a fourth stanza in which a soprano descant is added above the rest of the choir singing this beautiful hymn melody in unison. _______________________________________
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ORGAN AND CHORAL RESOURCES Psalm 121 Treble Voices, C or B-flat Instrument, Organ 98-3437, $1.25 Set for treble voices, C or B-flat instrument (the composer recommends oboe or clarinet), and organ, with an optional descant for the final recurrence of the refrain “The Lord preserve your coming in and your going out from this time forth and even forever more.” _______________________________________
The Timeless Gift SATB, Keyboard 98-3570, $1.00 Text and tune are by the late Thomas E. Gieschen, long-time choral conductor at Concordia University Chicago. Three stanzas of text are set for unison women, SATB, and two-part choir (SA/TB), the whole supported by a piano accompaniment. _______________________________________
You, Jesus, Are My Shepherd True
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HYMN CONCERTATOS Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands SATB, Brass Quartet, Timpani, Organ, Congregation 97-7111, reproducible scores $50.00 Set for two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, organ, SATB choir, and congregation. Stanzas 4 and 6 are for choir alone, stanzas 1–3, 5, and 7 for congregation. A stunning setting of Luther’s Easter hymn. _______________________________________
In the Shattered Bliss of Eden SATB, Organ, Brass Quintet (or Quartet), Timpani, Congregation 98-3741, $1.65 One of Stephen Starke’s finest hymn texts (LSB 572), stanzas 3 and 5 are set for choir; 1–2, 4, and 6 for congregation. _______________________________________
Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending
SATB, Keyboard, 1 or 2 Treble Instruments 98-3891, $1.65
SATB, Brass Quartet, Timpani, Organ, Congregation 98-3890, $1.65
A wonderful text of faith and trust by Jaroslav Vajda is provided with a melody (SHEPHERD TRUE) by Kevin Hildebrand. Three stanzas of text are set for SATB choir, keyboard, and one or two treble instruments, the composer stating a preference for flute and oboe but providing instrument parts in both C and B-flat.
Using the tune HELMSLEY (LSB 336), the composer provides a setting in which the choir takes stanza three alone (in the key of B-flat major), before a return to G major for the final stanza (congregation sings stanzas 1–2, and 4. _______________________________________
Now Sing We, Now Rejoice SATB, Congregation, Organ, Brass Quintet 98-3670, $1.35 The four stanzas, in F. Samuel Janzow’s translation, are set as: stanza one sung by all, stanza two by two-part mixed choir and organ, stanza three for SATB a cappella, and stanza 4 for all (with soprano descant).
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ORGAN AND CHORAL MUSIC by KEVIN HILDEBRAND
Thy Strong Word Did Cleave the Darkness
Come Now and Take the Body of the Lord
Carl Schalk SATB, Congregation, Brass, Timpani, Organ CPH 98-3881, $1.50
Charles Callahan SAB, Organ CPH 98-3903, $1.50
This is a welcome revision of Carl Schalk’s 1974 setting of this hymn, replacing the original three trumpets with brass quartet and timpani. Also, the setting of stanza 4 for choir now has an instrumental interlude to introduce the key change; similarly, another interlude brings stanza 5 back to the original key. All the choral parts remain the same from the original publication (stanzas 2 and 4 for SATB, plus the two independent descants). The text also is identical to how it appears in current hymnals. _______________________________________
It is challenging to take a text that is wed to an existing hymn tune and reset it to a new one, but Charles Callahan has successfully done so in his setting of this Communion hymn. The tune comes from a Gregorian chant melody, and has been “squared off” into ¾ meter instead of plainchant. There are some ethereal and lush chords in here, especially in the organ part. The choir part is an example of good SAB writing, with ample repetition in the parts without becoming predictable (some of the lush chords will keep the choir on their toes). As a musical tidbit, the organ part quotes the tune ST. MAGNUS (LSB 532) during the interlude. Choirs should learn this and keep it in their folders all year to sing during Communion at any time. _______________________________________
God, Who Built This Wondrous Planet John Ferguson SATB, Congregation, Organ, optional Brass Quartet CPH 98-3895, $1.65 John Ferguson has set the tune REGENT SQUARE in a stately setting for Jaroslav Vajda’s text. The choral writing is easy and accessible: stanza 3 is for SATB, with a small amount of meter changes and homophonic chord movement. All the other stanzas are unison. Written for the anniversary of Grace Lutheran Church, Columbus, Indiana. _______________________________________
HIS Voice • March 2007
Father Most Holy (Father, We Praise Thee) William Braun SATB, Congregation, Treble Instrument, Organ CPH 98-3899, $1.65 It is very encouraging to have a setting of these texts and this tune (CHRISTE SANCTORUM). In case your congregation does not know this tune (yet!), the choir can use this setting to teach the congregation. Actually, you get two-for-the-priceof-one in this setting, since this tune is used with two separate hymn texts (“Father Most Holy” LSB 504; “Father, We Praise Thee” LSB 875). Many choirs could learn this in one rehearsal, as one stanza includes contrasting echoes of the melody by women and men, followed by merely five measures of SATB writing. The instrumental part is very easy . . . a skilled teenaged player could do well. This setting would work well as a hymn concertato or as a choral response, perhaps even by a summer or other “drop in” choir. _______________________________________
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Recommended
READING AND LISTENING All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine Mark Bender SAB, Congregation, 2 Trumpets, Timpani, Organ CPH 98-3897, $1.80 This nice setting of ENGELBERG has all the elements of what is admirable in Mark Bender’s writing: solid SAB harmonizations, with a small amount of polyphony; accessible organ and instrumental parts; and a lofty and manageable (only one high g) descant. For congregations who are learning this tune for the first time in Lutheran Service Book, using this setting will be helpful. Note to directors: Even if you typically sing SATB, don’t rule out good SAB writing like this. _______________________________________
Jesus, Priceless Treasure Johann Sebastian Bach SATB CPH 98-3908, $1.25 This classic setting comes from the first movement of Bach’s well-known motet, Jesu, meine Freude. The SATB setting is included with three stanzas of text from the hymn (LSB 743). This could be useful as a stand-alone choral response, or as a choral stanza within the entire hymn (with appropriate modulations). This Bach setting should be in every choral library. _______________________________________
continued
When to Our World the Savior Came Joseph Herl SATB and Keyboard, optional Congregation and Flute MorningStar MSM-50-5807, $1.75 This text by Timothy Dudley-Smith is given a pleasant treatment by Concordia (Seward) professor Joseph Herl. The tune, aptly named HEALING CHRIST, works well with Dudley-Smith’s text, useful for lectionary appearances of healing miracles of Christ, with the utmost healing upon Calvary’s hill, “his healing hands stretched forth to save.” Herl’s two-part writing is especially pleasing, and one stanza of SATB stretches the choir both harmonically and in vocal range. The keyboard writing is definitely pianistic, and the composer was wise to include an optional organ part, which is appropriate for that instrument. Even if a piano is used throughout, the accompanist may choose to play from the optional organ part for a simpler setting that fits the hands more easily than the expansive piano writing. _______________________________________
Lamb of God Jeffrey Van SATB divisi, a cappella MorningStar MSM-50-5104, $1.25
Psalm 131 Jeffrey Van SATB a cappella MorningStar MSM-50-5105, $1.25
SATB divisi, a cappella
MSM-50-5104
Jeffrey Van Andante espressivo p Unison
Alto
Tenor Bass
& b 43 Œ
‰
? b 43 Œ
‰
Unison
These two settings by Jeffrey Van are summarized together since their writing and arrangement are similar. Both are good examples of a cappella choral writing, all too rare in many of today’s repertoire lists. Van includes a copious amount of seventh and unresolved chords, giving choirs a good learning experience as well as stretching their ears, and those of the listeners, beyond less adventurous settings. But their brevity (four and two pages, respectively) and welcome repetition in the writing make them accessible and enjoyable to learn. Choirs can never know too many settings of the Agnus Dei text, and Psalm 131, with a total of only three verses, results in an entire psalm setting in under forty measures. _______________________________________ HIS Voice • March 2007
$1.25
Lamb of God Traditional
4
Soprano Solo or Section
&b Œ
p ˙
O
&b
œ God,
? b œœ 8
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‰
œ God,
O Lamb of
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‰
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P ˙ Christ,
j œ œ œ
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j œ œ ‰ Jœ œ œ
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‰
j œ œ œ
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O Lamb of
God,
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˙.
j œ œ œ O Lamb of
j œ œ œ J
‰
p
thou
Lamb,
j œ œ œ J
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O Lamb of
God,
œ thou
‰
‰
Div.
‰
j œ œ ‰ œœ œœ œœœ œ J
Christ,
j œ œ œ J O Lamb of
‰
Div.
‰
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j œ œ œ
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j ‰ œœ œœ œœ J
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God,
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j œ ‰ œœ œœ œ œ J
j ‰ œJ œœ œœ œœ p œ
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of
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j œœ œœ œ J
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O Lamb of
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Copyright © 2007 Birnamwood Publications (ASCAP) A division of MorningStar Music Publishers, Inc., St. Louis, MO All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Original Copyright © 1991 by Augsburg Fortress Reproducing this publication in any form is prohibited by law without the permission of the publisher.
MSM-50-5104
The CCLI License does not give permission to copy this music.
13
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œœ œœ œ
Recommended
READING AND LISTENING God Be in My Head David Evan Thomas SATB a capella MorningStar MSM-50-6303, $1.50 Yet another example of nice a cappella choral writing is exhibited in this setting of a familiar prayer. The setting is brief (26 measures), which will allow a more limited choir an opportunity to try a bit more daring piece with some outstanding soaring phrases, and a very small amount of polyphony. At first glance, the initial key (F-sharp major, with six sharps!) may take some getting used to (yes, there’s an e-sharp in there). However, after only six measures of this unique key, it’s over to D major for the remainder of the piece. This is not for everyone, but choirs able to handle SATB writing a cappella should consider it. _______________________________________
O Sing to the Lord Andrew Carter SATB divisi, Soprano Solo, and Organ MorningStar MSM-50-5101, $1.90 This is a wonderfully written and very exciting composition, also quite difficult and expansive. It is included on our list of recommendations with full knowledge that very, very few churches should attempt it. However, even if a piece may not be practical, it is valuable for choir directors to have an example of some very good present-day choral and organ writing. Andrew Carter sets verses of Psalm 98 in very creative ways, without going over the top. “Praise him on the harp” is accompanied by rolled chords on the organ; “with trumpets” with the matching organ stop. The choral writing has lots of quarter- and half-note rhythms, very little syncopation, and mostly homophonic settings. For capable choirs, or for circuit or regional choral festivals/concerts, this could have possibilities. A very good organist is required! _______________________________________
continued
ORGAN MUSIC: Exploring the Works of Dieterich Buxtehude Since 2007 is the 300th anniversary of Dieterich Buxtehude’s death, it is a good opportunity to explore or rediscover the organ works of this master composer. Bärenreiter publishes a complete edition of Buxtehude’s organ works edited by Christoph Albrecht. This edition has just received its 4th printing, and is highly recommended. The five volumes are organized as Free Compositions (preludes, toccatas, chaconnes, etc.) in vols. 1–3, and Chorale Preludes in vols. 4–5. Bärenreiter editions are available from a variety of sources, including The Organ Historical Society (http://www.ohscatalog.com/sheetmusic.html). The OHS offers these five volumes for $157.00 (about $31 per volume), or volumes may be purchased individually for a comparable price. Most organists will probably find the Chorale Preludes (vols. 4–5) the most useful. Many organists are probably already familiar with at least some of Buxtehude’s organ works (e.g., “Nun bitten wir,” which occurs in several other collections). Having the complete collection of chorale preludes will be very useful, particularly in this anniversary year. Many of these settings fit easily in the hands and also across one or two pages. For organists in need of an introduction to Buxtehude’s works, I would suggest beginning with these three settings: 1. “Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott” (“Vater unser in Himmelreich”) (BuxWV 207) This setting is really a four-movement partita. Movements 2 and 4 are manuals only, in twopart writing . . . some of the easiest of all the settings. 2. “In dulci jubilo” (BuxWV 197) The melody is slightly decorated here, and the pedal is in mostly whole, half, and quarter note rhythms. continued on next page
HIS Voice • March 2007
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Recommended
READING AND LISTENING
continued
continued from previous page
3. “Lobt Gott, ihr Christen allzugleich” (BuxWV 202) Each phrase of the hymn is preceded with an imitative phrase. The pedal has lots of stepwise motion. There are six examples of double pedal at the end, unusual but quite accessible. Beyond those initial three suggestions, the remainder of the settings can be classified as follows. (For practicality, tunes that do not appear in current hymnals are omitted on this list.)
Easier (limited ornamentation and rhythmic variations, easier pedal, shorter length) ✠ Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort (BuxWV 185) ✠ In dulci jubilo (BuxWV 197) ✠ Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn (BuxWV 201) ✠ Lobt Gott, ihr Christen allzugleich (BuxWV 202) ✠ Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (BuxWv 76), especially movements 1 and 3) ✠ Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott (Vater unser in Himmelreich), (BuxWV 207), especially mvt. 2 and 4 ✠ Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist (BuxWV 209) ✠ Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BuxWV 211) ✠ Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren (BuxWV 213), especially verses 1 and 2 ✠ Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren (BuxWV 215) ✠ Vater unser im Himmelreich (BuxWV 219) ✠ Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (BuxWV 220) ✠ Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag (BuxWV 224) _______________________________________
Medium (moderate amounts of ornamentation and rhythmic variations, more activity in pedal) ✠ Auf meinem lieben Gott (BuxWV 179) ✠ Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam (BuxWV 180) ✠ Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (BuxWV 184) ✠ Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (BuxWV 186) ✠ Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (BuxWV 189) ✠ Gott der Vater wohn uns bei (BuxWV 190) ✠ Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn (BuxWV 191 and 192) ✠ Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (BuxWV 199 and 200) ✠ Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist (BuxWV 208) ✠ Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren (BuxWV 212 and 214) ✠ Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (BuxWV 221) _______________________________________ HIS Voice • March 2007
More difficult (more complex rhythms and longer settings) ✠ Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (BuxWV 188) ✠ Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein (BuxWV 210) ✠ Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (BuxWV 223) _______________________________________
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