His Voice - Volume 4, Number 1

HIS

Volume 4 - Number 1

April 2009

VOICE From Co-Director

Richard C. Resch

r. Arthur A. Just and I are very pleased to announce the program for the November 1–3, 2009 conference of The Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music. The focus of this year’s Institute is Bach in Today’s Parish: Still the Evangelist.

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Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the greatest treasures of and for the Lutheran Church.

We wish this conference to be a practical application of this treasure of music as it relates to a host of topics—from bell choir repertoire to home devotions, from lectionary to children’s choir with flute, etc.

The sad reality is that Bach’s music is not the norm in today’s Lutheran parish. But rather than focusing on why such neglect is the case, we will instead hold high Bach’s timeless musical proclamation and then provide ways to make this treasure alive yet again, even today in our homes, schools, and churches.

So we hope to welcome you to a Fort Wayne Bachfest in November. However, this Bachfest will not just be listening, but it will be one that you can take home.

4:30 PM

Bach Organ Recital (Kramer Chapel) David Mulbury, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music

7:30 PM

Bach Cantata Vespers (Kramer Chapel) Bach: Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (BWV 106) Mendelssohn: O for the Wings of a Dove!

Seminary Schola Cantorum, Richard C. Resch, director

Sunday, November 1 5:45 PM

8:45 PM 8:45 AM

Soup, Salad, and Sandwich Buffet (Katherine Luther Hall)

Welcome Reception (Student Commons)

Plenary Address (Sihler Auditorium) “The Global Importance of Bach Today” Uwe Siemon-Netto, Director, Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Monday, November 2

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Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church

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2:30 PM

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Plenary Address (Sihler Auditorium) “Bach as Preacher: Timeless, Yet Timely” Robert Bergt, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Sectionals

“Bach and the Lectionary: Then and Now” Arthur A. Just Jr., Concordia Theological Seminary (Sihler Auditorium)

“Bach for Keyboard and Instruments in the Parish Today” Kevin Hildebrand, Concordia Theological Seminary (Kramer Chapel) Sectionals

“Bach for Parish Choirs Today” Richard C. Resch, Concordia Theological Seminary (Kramer Chapel)

“Listening to Bach’s Sacred Music: Twenty-first-Century Listeners, Eighteenth-Century Lutheran Context” Daniel Zager, Eastman School of Music (Sihler Auditorium) Choral Evening Prayer (Kramer Chapel) The Children’s Choir of Our Savior Lutheran Church Grand Rapids, Michigan Christina Roberts, director Wine and Cheese Reception (Student Commons) Banquet (Katherine Luther Hall)

7:30 PM

Hymn Festival (Kramer Chapel) Kevin J. Hildebrand, organist Seminary Kantorei, Richard C. Resch, director

8:45 AM

Plenary Address (Sihler Auditorium) “Bach Among His Contemporary Christians: Cross-Currents of Theology, Liturgy, and Music” Robin A. Leaver, Visiting Professor, Yale University and The Julliard School

Tuesday, November 3

10:00 AM 11:00 AM 11:45 AM 12:15 PM

Choral Matins Concordia Lutheran High School A Cappella Choir, Fort Wayne, Indiana Timothy LaCroix, director Homily: David P. Scaer

Plenary Address (Sihler Auditorium) “What Would Bach Do Today?”

Paul J. Grime, Concordia Theological Seminary Q and A with Presenters Itinerarium

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Recommended

PASTORAL RESOURCES

by JOHN PLESS

The Pastoral Luther: Essays on Martin Luther’s Practical Theology

John W. Kleinig, Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today

The Reformation had its origin in a crisis of pastoral care, and Luther’s reforming work would leave no aspect of ministerial practice, church life, catechesis, or piety untouched. In rich and informative essays drawn from the work of an international array of recognized Luther scholars, the reformer’s evangelical understanding of issues ranging from preaching and Christian education, sacramental practice and consolation in the face of suffering, art and piety, are presented in view of challenges faced by twenty-first-century pastors.

The Pastoral Luther: Essays on Martin Luther’s Practical Theology will be an indispensable tool not only for Reformation scholars but also for pastoral theologians who seek to understand and anchor contemporary practices in the ancient yet ever lively confession of God’s grace articulated by the Wittenberg pastor. Luther’s pastoral theology has been a neglected theme; this volume happily fills that void with first-rate scholarship that will serve both academy and church. _______________________________________

Spirituality is a topic that is often as evasive as it is eclectic. The Australian Lutheran, John W. Kleinig has provided readers with a study of spirituality that is grounded in the externality of the Word, centered in Christ Jesus, and lived under the cross. Kleinig uses his considerable knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the writings of Martin Luther to provide laity and clergy alike with a reliable guide to life in the mystery of Christ—a life that is covered with a “hidden holiness” and lived out in meditation and prayer while fighting an ongoing war against the evil one. _______________________________________

ed. Timothy J. Wengert (Eerdmans, 2009), 392 pp. [$45.00]

Neil R. Leroux, Martin Luther as Comforter: Writings on Death (Brill, 2007), 340 pp. [$147.00]

Luther lived in a world where the reality of death could not be avoided. The reformer addressed death both theologically and pastorally. In contrast to contemporary attempts to manage death and views that would naturalize death, Luther saw death as the wages of sin. The radical teaching of justification by faith alone would also initiate a reformation of practices surrounding death and burial. Neil R. Leroux uses his own discipline of rhetoric to examine Luther’s sermons and writings of consolation used to prepare the dying for death and to comfort survivors. This fine study is thorough and well documented. It is deserving of careful study by pastors and others who care for the dying. _______________________________________ HIS Voice • April 2009

(Concordia Publishing House, 2008), 287 pp. [$15.49]

Holger Sonntag, “Freedom Shall Be a Servant of Love”: Distinguishing Faith and Love as a Criterion for Liturgical Practice in Luther’s Theology,” Logia 18 (Epiphany 2009), 37–44.

Holger Sonntag notes that “Luther’s approach to the question of diversity and uniformity in liturgical practice among congregations was governed by a clear distinction between faith and love, law and gospel” (37). This article very helpfully traces how the reformer used this distinction to formulate a genuinely evangelical approach to liturgical forms.

The author then observes how Luther’s distinction is misused by those who would transform freedom coram deo into freedom coram hominibus. This article would lend itself as a basis for study and discussion in pastoral conferences. _______________________________________

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PASTORAL RESOURCES Mark Tranvik, “Luther, Gerhard Forde, and the Gnostic Threat to the Gospel,”

Lutheran Quarterly 22 (Winter 2008), 415–26.

Mark Tranvik examines Luther and one of his primary contemporary interpreters, Gerhard Forde, on Baptism. Baptism is the sacrament of justification, and justification is set in an eschatological context for both Luther and Forde.

Tranvik concludes: “Overall, the death-life paradigm of baptism is a much-needed word in the church today. Our context is an all-pervasive Gnosticism, which seductively whispers to the self that it holds within itself the powers of divinity and thus is capable of its own salvation. Only an external word announcing that our death has already happened in Christ in baptism can counter this potent heresy.

Luther and Forde point the way to a proclamation with the power to do precisely that, namely, the proclamation of the baptismal promise” (424). _______________________________________

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August Friedrich Christian Vilmar, The Theology of Facts Versus the Theology of Rhetoric: Confession and Defense

trans. Roy A. Harrisville, with an introduction by Walter Sundberg (Lutheran Legacy Press, 2008), 127 pp.

August Friedrich Christian Vilmar (1800–1868), professor of theology at Marburg and a leader of the Hessian Lutheran Church, was a controversial but important voice in the confessional revival of the nineteenth century. This short book is Vilmar’s contrast between “the theology of rhetoric,” which he identifies as a “university theology” championed by Friedrich Schleiermacher, and “the theology of the facts,” a biblical and churchly theology maintained in confessional Lutheranism. Very little of Vilmar has been translated into English. This brief volume sets forth his programmatic approach to theology, especially pastoral theology. The chapters on homiletics, the sacraments, confession, and pastoral theology have much wisdom for present-day pastors. _______________________________________ Brill www.brill.nl

Concordia Publishing House www.cph.org Eerdmans www.eerdmans.com

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Terrific

TWO-PART CHOIR REPERTOIRE hether your choir sings two-part settings by necessity or by choice, more and more well-written compositions in this vocal arrangement are available. These settings would be especially useful during the post-Easter season and also during the summer. This may be the time to plan for an occasional “drop-in” choir during these seasons—rehearsing for an hour before the service and then singing in that morning’s worship. Also consider having a “men only” choir or “women only” choir—these two-part settings are appropriate for either men’s or women’s voices.

Finally, college students home on break and singers who can’t commit to weekly rehearsing may be good targets for these opportunities.

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Laudate Dominum / Sing, Praise and Bless the Lord Jacques Berthier GIA G-3374, $1.40

This arrangement from the Taizé genre is a good model of this style of church music. This setting can be used as the Psalm of the day (Psalms 117, 150, 47, and 100 are options). There is great flexibility in its performance: the refrain can be sung in English or Latin (there are only four Latin words to learn), in four parts, or 2–3 parts. Psalm verses are sung by a soloist (in English) while the choir sings the refrain as an ostinato (over and over). Finally, a variety of C and B-flat instruments can play another layer of parts on top of the singing (a part is also included for classical guitar). With a little planning from a creative director, this arrangement lends itself well to almost any setting. ___________________________

HIS Voice • April 2009

by KEVIN HILDEBRAND

Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him / Love Divine, All Loves Excelling Jeff Reeves Choristers Guild CGA 1128, $1.95

There are two sets of texts provided for this setting.

The “Love Divine” text makes it compatible with LSB 700. With the familiar tune HYFRYDOL, this arrangement works well if rehearsal time is limited.

Part II is really a descant for stanza 4, with an optional doubling by a C instrument. An optional part for handbells (easy) adds another dimension of sound. _______________________________________ Felix Mendelssohn, arr. Olaf C. Christiansen Kjos Music, ED.9, $1.30

The Lord Is a Mighty God

This setting of Psalm 95 by Felix Mendelssohn is labeled as “SATB” by the publisher, and is engraved on separate soprano, alto, tenor, and bass staves. However, the tenor and bass parts are always identical, likewise for the soprano and alto parts. Thus, it actually is a two-part mixed setting.

Even with a two-part arrangement, this is a big sound that the choir will really want to sink their teeth into—vocally, that is. After the men sing the main theme, the women and men continue and expand that theme in canon for the remainder of the work. Big octaves in the piano part require an accompanist who is not timid! _______________________________________

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TWO-PART CHOIR REPERTOIRE Heinrich Schütz, ed. David W. Music CPH 98-3540, $1.25

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by KEVIN HILDEBRAND

Johann Philipp Krieger, ed. Dale Grotenhuis MorningStar 50-2400, $1.50

I Ask One Thing of the Lord

How Bright Appears the Morning Star

Heinrich Schütz knew how to write for choirs of limited voices, since during the Thirty Years’ War his choirs were often depleted of singers. If you haven’t sung Schütz lately, let this setting reacquaint you with this Lutheran master. Two words of advice for preparing this setting: start rehearsing the fastest sections (with the sixteenth notes) so you know what tempo is comfortable, and let the quicker sections be sung with more lightness so the text is crisp and clean. _______________________________________

The two vocal parts of this piece echo and imitate each other before joining in typical baroque harmonies (lots of parallel thirds here). Keep the singing light and delicate, and it will be even more enjoyable. _______________________________________

George Frideric Handel, ed. William Braun CPH 98-3817, $1.75

Know That the Lord Is God

Psalm 100:3 is combined with George Frideric Handel’s Chandos Anthem No. 1 for a sparkling setting. Two treble instruments are required (parts for C instruments and optional cello are included).

As mentioned with the Schütz setting, beware of beginning too quickly, as a passage that includes thirty-second notes is approaching later in the work.

Learn the fastest parts first, at a comfortable tempo, and then add the rest of the piece. This setting would also be appropriate for two soloists (or, better stated, a choir of two people). _______________________________________ Maurice Green, ed. Michael Burkhardt MorningStar 50-6103, $1.85

Psalm 136: To God the Mighty God This delightful setting of psalm verses (for “twopart treble voices”) is lilting in its triple meter and includes a melodic instrumental part (C and B-flat parts included), The organ part is an easy continuo style. You can learn this setting during the spring and summer and then re-use it for Thanksgiving next fall. _______________________________________ HIS Voice • April 2009

Mark Bender CPH 98-3764, $1.65

The Lord Is My Light Mark Bender knows how to write very well for two-part mixed voices, and this setting continues to exemplify that quality. The refrain and verses are melodic and lilting. A frequent modulation to a new key is striking yet seamless, and not jarring.

Although settings of Psalm 27 are common, this paraphrase of the text is useful and provides another good example of choral psalmody. _______________________________________ John A. Behnke CPH 98-3816, $1.50

The Only Son from Heaven This text is familiar to all who know this hymn (LSB 402). John Behnke’s new tune and setting is not meant to supplant the chorale melody, but provides another framework for this sturdy text.

Although this hymn is in the “Epiphany” section of the hymnal, this setting could be used throughout the church year as a way to teach the text. Use it as music during the distribution of the Lord’s Supper, or perhaps on Trinity Sunday (with its doxological final stanza and “Holy, holy, holy” reference.) _______________________________________

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TWO-PART CHOIR REPERTOIRE Ralph Vaughan Williams Oxford 42.056, $1.80

O How Amiable

This choral standard may yet be unknown to some choirs, and should be dusted off or learned anew.

The text is from Psalms 84 and 90, and concludes with the first stanza of “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”—itself a paraphrase of Psalm 90. It is a bit of a stretch to classify this as two-part mixed: it is scored for SATB, and about half of the writing is in unison. The soprano and tenor parts are identical (in octaves), likewise for the alto and bass parts.

Three measures of actual “SATB” writing occur, and, as fair warning, the sopranos have a high Aflat. If you have the voices, use this anthem— often! _______________________________________

by KEVIN HILDEBRAND

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Choristers Guild www.choristersguild.org

Concordia Publishing House www.cph.org GIA Music www.giamusic.com Neil A. Kjos Music www.kjos.com

MorningStar Music Publishers www.morningstarmusic.com Oxford University Press www.oup.co.uk/music/choral

Johann Sebastian Bach, arr. John Leavitt CPH 98-3710, $.75 Is your choir singing enough Bach lately? Many choirs have sung the classic SATB arrangement of this chorus, but John Leavitt’s two-part arrangement makes it practical for smaller and more limited choirs. An alternate text of “Alleluia, O Praise the Lord Most Holy” can be substituted during the green season, perhaps. _______________________________________

Alleluia, for Christ the Lord Is Risen

George Frideric Handel, ed. Don Petering CPH 98-3785, $1.75

Give Us Your Body and Your Blood

This aria has appeared with a variety of texts over the years, and Don Petering has arranged a good text for the Lord’s Supper to be sung to this music.

As music editor, Petering has also wisely added optional cue notes to some notes at the top (or above!) the treble staff. Optional parts for violin and cello are included. If you have one, use the harpsichord to accompany this one. _______________________________________

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Recommended

LISTENING

by DANIEL ZAGER

Hieronymus Praetorius, San Marco in Hamburg: Motets (Weser-Renaissance Bremen, Manfred Cordes) [2008, cpo 777 245-2]

Seventeenth-century Hamburg enjoyed a rich church music environment in its four principal churches: Jacobi, Katharinen, Nicolai, and Petri.

Hieronymus Praetorius (1560–1629) followed his father Jacob (1530–1586) as organist of the Jacobkirche, serving there from 1586 until his death in 1629. Hieronymus Praetorius (no relation to Michael Praetorius) was Hamburg’s most prolific composer of sacred music in the first part of the seventeenth century. He favored the Venetian polychoral style, as it flourished in the hands of his Italian contemporary, Giovanni Gabrieli (ca. 155457–1612), the famed organist at San Marco in Venice. This recording contains a variety of Latin motets (ranging from 5 to 12 parts), an eight-part setting of the Magnificat, and one German-texted motet (“Wie lang, O Gott”), all expertly sung and played by the Bremen-based early music ensemble Weser-Renaisasance. This same group released another recording of music by Hieronymus Praetorius in 1999: Vespers Music for St. Michael’s Day (cpo 999 649-2). _______________________________________

Hieronymus Praetorius, Magnificats and Motets

(The Cardinall’s Musick, Andrew Carwood) [2008, Hyperion CDA 67669]

2008 was a good year for the music of Hieronymus Praetorius! The singers of The Cardinall’s Musick perform this demanding music with absolute assurance and verve. They include three settings of the Magnificat and eight Latin motets. Duplication of repertoire between the two Hieronymus Praetorius discs cited here is limited to one Magnificat setting and one motet, though that circumstance is fortuitous, providing the listener an opportunity to compare performances that combine voices and instruments (Cordes and WeserRenaissance) with purely vocal performance (Carwood and The Cardinall’s Musick). Both discs preserve beautiful performances that illustrate the splendid music heard in Hamburg’s early seventeenth-century Lutheran services.

HIS Voice • April 2009 _______________________________________

Michael Praetorius, Puer natus in Bethlehem: Advent and Christmas Music

(Bremen Barock Consort, Manfred Cordes) [2007, cpo 777 327-2]

On this recording Manfred Cordes is working not with his professional group, Weser-Renaissance, but with superbly talented students from the Bremen Hochschule für Künste. The composer here is the better known Praetorius—Michael Praetorius (1571–1621), the most prolific of the seventeenthcentury Lutheran cantors. Singers and instrumentalists combine to provide settings by Praetorius of some of the best known Advent and Christmas chorales: “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” (coupled with verses of “Veni redemptor gentium”), “In dulci jubilo,” “Vom Himmel hoch,” “Puer natus in Bethlehem,” and “Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ,” among other settings on this recording. _______________________________________

The Bach Organ of Störmthal (Hildebrandt, 1723) (William Porter) [2008, Loft LRCD-1086]

Störmthal, a village near Leipzig, is the site of the organ builder Zacharias Hildebrandt’s (1688–1757) first instrument, a one-manual and pedal organ dedicated on 2 November 1723. Johann Sebastian Bach composed a cantata, Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest (BWV 194), for the occasion. While the instrument suffered some alterations during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, much of Hildebrandt’s pipe work has remained. William Porter focuses on Bach’s shorter chorale preludes, drawing from both the Neumeister collection (seven settings) and the Orgelbüchlein (eleven settings).

Hildebrandt’s fourteen stops provide much variety and a consistent warm beauty, and Porter’s playing is superb in every respect. _______________________________________

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Recommended

LISTENING

continued

uring 2009 we observe the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). Among compact disc recordings of Mendelssohn’s sacred choral music, here are three of my favorites (all still available for purchase).

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Harmonia Mundi HMC 90 1704

Marcus Creed, conductor [released 2000] _______________________________________

Felix Mendelssohn: Motets

Hyperion CDA 67558

Felix Mendelssohn: Sacred Choral Music David Hill, conductor [released 2006]

Includes a lovely performance of “Verleih’ uns Frieden,” the basis of LSB 777, “Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord” _______________________________________ Chandos CHAN 10353

Felix Mendelssohn: Sacred Choral Works

Richard Marlow, conductor [released 2006] _______________________________________ Chandos www.chandos.net cpo www.cpo.de

Harmonia Mundi www.harmoniamundi.com

Hyperion www.hyperion-records.co.uk Loft www.gothicrecords.com

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