His Voice - Volume 6, Number 1

Volume 6 - Number 1

April 2011

HIS

VOICE From Co-Director

Arthur A. Just Jr.

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fter the 2010 Good Shepherd Institute conference on death and funerals, which drew more people than the 2009 Bach conference, we weren’t sure which way to go with the conference for 2011: weddings, which naturally go with funerals, or Baptism, the beginning of life in Christ, in contrast to funerals, the end of life. For the first time in GSI history we surveyed about two dozen of our most faithful attendees and the overwhelming response was weddings—so weddings it is!

Why such a hardy response to follow funerals with weddings? Well, they do go together, and, even more, you’ve heard the oft-cited opinion of many pastors and musicians: we’d rather do a funeral than a wedding. Weddings are fraught with all kinds of pastoral and musical issues, from what to do if couples are living together before the wedding to the request I received for my first wedding in Middletown, Connecticut in 1980: “Can we sing Roberta Flack’s ‘First Time Ever I Saw Her Face’ for the processional song?” So a coming together around what a Christian wedding and marriage look like was warmly embraced by those we surveyed.

Our conference title is “What God Has Joined Together: The Theology and Practice of Christian Marriage in Rite and Song.” Our own Dr. James Bushur will deliver the major keynote address on a theology of marriage, particularly what it means to be male and female in biblical and church tradition. We invited some pastors who regularly do weddings to share with us their understanding and experience of a Christian marriage.

Dr. Scott Bruzek, of St. John Lutheran Church, Wheaton, Illinois, will approach marriage as holy ground. Jesus’ presence at our weddings changes everything, as did His presence at that wedding in Cana of Galilee. You can be sure that from both Doctors Bushur and Bruzek we’ll hear how those married in Christ are “icons of the Gospel.”

We’ve also invited Pastor David Fleming, of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to approach the more difficult pastoral problems. Kantors Resch and Hildebrand will address the music of weddings and the often bizarre challenges encountered in choosing appropriate music. I’ll do for weddings what I did for funerals last year, considering our marriage process as a rite of passage. Dr. Paul Grime will take us through the wedding rites of Lutheran Service Book. All of our speakers will serve on a panel at the end of the conference to join our collective wisdom to yours as we help each other come to see what makes a marriage Christian, an act of God joining together a man and a woman in holy matrimony. continued on next page

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Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church

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continued from previous page As always, the music will be sublime, featuring Dr. Craig Cramer as our organ recitalist, and our own amazing Kantor Kevin Hildebrand leading us in a Hymn Festival. The Schola Cantorum will sing Bach cantata movements that sing of the bride and the Bridegroom.

Please put on your calendars November 6–8, 2011 for another memorable Good Shepherd Institute conference.

Organist Workshops 2011 Concordia Theological Seminary is pleased to announce we will once again offer a series of organist workshops in the summer of 2011. For additional information concerning the workshops, fees, or registration, visit www.ctsfw.edu/Organist, e-mail OrganWorkshops@ctsfw.edu, or phone 260-452-2224.

Organist Primer: June 20–24, 2011

Instructors:

Organ Instructor: Kantor Kevin Hildebrand Theology Instructor: Kantor Richard Resch

Paul J. Grime, M.M., M.Div., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions Dean of the Chapel Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana

This beginning workshop is designed for organists who do not use pedals, who use only one foot, or who wish to learn more of the basics of service playing. It will include instruction about fundamental music understanding and organ vocabulary. Kantor Hildebrand will demonstrate appropriate and easy service music for the Lutheran organist. A daily study of Lutheran theology will be taught by Kantor Resch.

Level I: June 27–July 1, 2011 Organ Instructor: Kantor Richard Resch Theology Instructor: Dr. Paul Grime Each day participants will have a one-hour session with Dr. Grime on Theology of Worship. Kantor Resch will teach service playing, hymnody, the church year, music for weddings and funerals, and the pastor/musician relationship. He will work with the individual organist at his or her current skill level. This workshop is designed for organists who have taken the Organist Primer workshop or are using both feet in their playing.

Kevin J. Hildebrand, M.M., M.A. Associate Kantor Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana Richard C. Resch, M.Mus., M.Div. Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions Kantor Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Financial Assistance A limited number of tuition grants are available through The Good Shepherd Institute. Applicants should ask their pastor to send a letter of recommendation to be considered for a grant. Send the request and the letter to Concordia Theological Seminary, ATTN.: Organist Workshops, 6600 N. Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46825.

Attendees who are members of congregations in the Indiana and Ohio Districts of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod may be eligible for financial assistance through their districts. Visit www.ctsfw.edu/Organist or call 260-452-2224 for more information.

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PASTORAL RESOURCES

by JOHN PLESS

Matthias Flacius Illyricus, How to Understand the Sacred Scriptures: From Clavis Scripturae Sacrae, trans. Wade Johnston (Magdeburg Press, 2011), 120 pp. ISBN 978-0-9821-5862-3. [$9.99] The Croatian disciple of Martin Luther, Matthias Flacius Illyricus (1520–1575), known for his feisty opposition to Philipp Melanchthon’s compromises, provided Lutherans with their first hermeneutics, Clavis Scripturae Sacrae. Now English-speaking Lutherans are given access to this book, which was standard fare throughout the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy. Jack Kilcrease provides a fine introduction to Flacius’s life and his theology. _______________________________________

Erika Geiger, The Life, Work, and Influence of Wilhelm Löhe: 1808–1872,

Lutheran Spirituality: Life as God’s Child, ed. Robert C. Baker (Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 304 pp. ISBN 978-0-7586-2734-6. [$14.99] With chapters on God’s Word (John Pless), Prayer (John Kleinig), Confession/Absolution (John Pless), Cross and Suffering (Holger Sonntag), Witness (Detlev Schulz), Vocation (Chad Hoover), Community (Naomichi Masaki), and Promise (William Cwirla), readers are given an introduction to essential dimensions of Lutheran theology as it relates to life in God’s Word and within His world.

Each chapter includes both extensive citations from the Lutheran Confessions and a set of “Spiritual Exercises,” making the volume useful for an adult Bible class. _______________________________________

trans. Wolf Dietrich Knappe (Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 296 pp. ISBN 978-0-7586-2666-0. [$39.99] Erika Geiger narrates Pastor Wilhelm Löhe’s story with accuracy, sympathy, and vigor. Avoiding hagiographic impulses, she paints a picture of Löhe that allows readers to see his humanity in the multiple scenes of his life: a boy saddened by the premature death of his father, a struggling student of theology, a disenchanted pastor wondering if he had a place in the church, a grieving widower, an energetic preacher, a caring shepherd, a determined organizer of missions, and an aging and somewhat broken old man yet living in Christian hope. This first, full-length biography, in English, of a key player in Lutheran history is accessible to lay audiences and will be appreciated by scholars. The volume includes an extensive bibliography of English-language works on Löhe. _______________________________________

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PASTORAL RESOURCES Bo Giertz, Christ’s Church: Her Biblical Roots, Her Dramatic History, Her Saving Presence, Her Glorious Future, trans. Hans Andrae (Resource Publications [Wipf and Stock], 2010), 208 pp. ISBN 978-1-60899-703-9. [$23.00] Christ’s Church demonstrates the resilient vigor of Bo Giertz’s literary work. First published under the dark clouds of an erupting world war in 1939, Christ’s Church has not lost its power to convict and comfort. If anything, the vitality of Giertz’s book is even more potent in our day of pluralism, doctrinal indifference, and inbred suspicion of all religious institutions. Confident of the church’s oneness in Christ, built secure on the foundation of the apostolic Word, Giertz sees the church as a living legacy of God’s faithfulness. This is a book that speaks with clarity and conviction to seasoned Christians at home in the Father’s house as well as to those who stand outside but peep in the window, seeking a glimpse of life lived in God’s family. _______________________________________

A Hammer for God: Bo Giertz, ed. Eric Andrae (Lutheran Legacy Press, 2011), 344 pp. [$19.95] Essays on various aspects of Bo Giertz’s life, ministry, and theology given at symposia in St. Louis and Ft. Wayne in celebration of the centennial of Bo Giertz’s birth in 2006 comprise the first part of this book. The second part of the book contains devotional addresses, sermons, and short articles by Bishop Giertz on a variety of pastoral themes.

Those unfamiliar with Bo Giertz will find this volume a helpful introduction to his work. Pastors will especially appreciate Giertz’s suggestions for the deepening of their devotional life. _______________________________________

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Wilhelm Löhe, Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians, trans. H. A. Weller and Benjamin T. G. Mayes (Emmanuel Press, 2010), 228 pp. ISBN 978-1934328-02-6. [$15.00] This prayer book by the Bavarian pastor Wilhelm Löhe was written in 1854 and first appeared in English translation in 1912. This attractive, new edition of a Lutheran devotional classic will be a sturdy resource for the prayer life of both pastors and laity. _______________________________________

Lutheran Ecclesiastical Culture, 1550–1675, ed. Robert Kolb (Brill, 2008), 531 pp. ISBN 97890-04-16641-7. [$182.00] “

The chapters in this collection cover a variety of topics ranging from political aspects of the period of confessionalization, devotional practices, education, and church life. Irene Dingel provides an excellent historical introduction to the years leading up to the publication of the Book of Concord in an essay entitled “The Culture of Conflict in the Controversies Leading to the Formula of Concord (1548–1580).” Mary Jane Haemig and Robert Kolb co-author an article on Lutheran preaching in this period. Gerhard Bode contributes an article on catechetical instruction after Luther’s death.

Christopher Boyd Brown offers a discussion of the “Devotional Life in Hymns, Liturgy, Music, and Prayer.” Robert Christman examines the connection between pulpit and pew in the formation of late Reformation piety. These and other chapters, all written by notable scholars, will provide pastors and church musicians with well-researched and insightful investigations into a Lutheran past that carries much promise for contemporary church life. _______________________________________

Seed-Grains S eed-Grain nss ooff Prayer Prayer AM Manual anual for for E Evangelical vangelical C Christians hristians Byy W B Wilhelm ilhelm L Loehe oehe L Lutheran utheran Pastor Pastor

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PASTORAL RESOURCES Dorothea Wendebourg, “Traveled the Full Extent of Rome’s Erroneous Path?”

continued

Oswald Bayer, “The Ethics of Gift,” Lutheran Quarterly 24 (Winter 2010): 447–68.

Lutheran Forum 44 (Winter 2010): 18–33.

Dorothea Wendebourg is professor of Reformation church history at Humboldt University in Berlin and is a notable voice in ecumenical discussions in Germany and beyond. In this article, originally published in German in 1977 with the subtitle, “On the Current Discussion of Martin Luther’s Liturgical Reform,” Wendebourg challenges many late twentieth-century ecumenical and liturgical proposals critical of Luther’s reform of the Mass.

Over and against the ecumenical abandonment of the distinction between “sacrament” and “sacrifice,” Wendebourg offers a strong and welldocumented argument for the theological necessity of Luther’s basic insight that Christ’s testament is not to be confused with the eucharistic action of the congregation. _______________________________________

Luther’s Works: Sermons V, ed. Christopher Boyd Brown, Luther’s Works, American Edition, vol. 58 (Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 489 pp. ISBN 978-0-7586-1387-5. [$49.99] This most recent addition to the American Edition of Luther’s Works contains the Reformer’s later sermons preached between 1539 up through just days before his death. The last sermon is from February 7, 1546. The sermons cover a variety of texts and occasions including Epiphany, Easter, Lent, Christmas, and the Sundays after Trinity. There is a sermon on St. Michael and All Angels. These sermons allow us to hear Luther preach on Baptism and on the rededication of a church in Leipzig. _______________________________________

Retired from a rich and productive teaching career at Tübingen, Oswald Bayer continues to teach through his many books and articles now being translated into English. His latest contribution, “Ethics of Gift,” is the culmination of thirty years of thinking about the nature of the Christian life as gift. In contrast to Kant’s categorical imperative, Bayer develops “the categorical gift” as foundational for a Lutheran understanding of both ethics and liturgy, especially the Lord’s Supper. _______________________________________

Kim A. Truebenbach, “Luther’s Two Kingdoms in the Third and Fourth Petitions,” Lutheran Quarterly 24 (Winter 2010): 469–73.

Noting that there has been great scholarly investment with both Luther’s understanding of the two kingdoms and his theology of the Lord’s Prayer, but a failure to see a reflection of the twokingdom teaching in the third and fourth petitions, Truebenbach shows how Luther’s catechetical exposition of the third petition sets out basic themes in his understanding of the kingdom of God’s right hand while the exposition of the fourth petition clarifies God’s sustaining and guarding human life through His left-handed work. _______________________________________ Brill www.brill.nl Concordia Publishing House www.cph.org Emmanuel Press www.emmanuelpress.us Lutheran Legacy Press www.lutheranlegacy.org Magdeburg Press www.magdeburgpress.com Resource Publications www.wipfandstock.com/resource_publications

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CHORAL MUSIC FOR LENT, EASTER, AND BEYOND

by KEVIN HILDEBRAND

Behold the Lamb of God

The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done

Paul Bouman Unison/Two-part Voices and Keyboard CPH 98-1088, $1.25

Michael D. Costello SATB, Brass Quartet, Timpani, and Organ, opt.

Congregation MorningStar 60-4015, $1.70

This piece is a classic in many ways, and choirs not yet familiar with this piece should strongly consider using it during Lent. Although it was originally written for children’s choir and works very well with children’s voices, it could also be used with men’s or mixed voices, alternating phrases between high and low voices. It concludes with a two-part setting of a stanza of “O Perfect Life of Love” (LSB 452). _______________________________________

God So Loved the World Donald Petering TTBB CPH 98-3815, $1.25 The homophonic, rich harmonies of this setting of a familiar text have made this composition extremely useful for the Chapel Choir at Concordia Theological Seminary. Written in F Major, it provides the second basses with some good low Fs to begin the piece, and gently lifts the first tenors to a high A (use your head voice, please, and that note is no problem). If you have a regular or occasional men’s choir in your congregation, this is highly recommended. If you don’t have a men’s ensemble, use this piece as an opportunity to form one for a Sunday or midweek service in Lent. _______________________________________

Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds John A. Behnke SATB, Congregation, Handbells, Brass Quintet, Timpani, and Organ MorningStar 60-4020, $1.85 This is an interesting and accessible setting of this hymn, based on LASST UNS ERFREUEN. The brass writing is within the range of most volunteer brass ensembles; likewise, the choral requirements are mild—imitative two-part writing and homophonic four-part writing, as well as descants that do not go above the staff (except for one optional high G at the final chord). It’s refreshing to have a big setting that even churches with limited resources can do well. _______________________________________ HIS Voice • April 2011

This is another big setting of a powerful Easter hymn (tune: VICTORY) that won’t require a great deal of rehearsal. Brass parts are within the reach of most moderate-ability players, with hints of “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” in the introduction. The SATB stanza takes liberty with the hymn tune and rhythm, yet results in an accessible twelve-measure setting. The translation used is common to most hymnals, including Lutheran Service Book, save for a couple of revisions that would need to be made to correspond to the hymnal. _______________________________________

Rejoice, Praises Render Johann Ludwig Bach, ed. Michael Burkhardt Unison with Keyboard or Instruments Choristers Guild CGA902, $1.85 This aria from BWV 15 (formerly attributed to J. S. Bach, but actually composed by cousin Johann Ludwig) is delightfully edited by Michael Burkhardt in a variety of performance options: accompanied by keyboard, by keyboard and two treble instruments, or by keyboard and string ensemble (separate keyboard/continuo parts are provided for each option). A challenging—and enjoyable—distinguishing feature of this aria is a long melismatic passage that requires breathing in the middle of a sustained vowel. The sequential passages in the second half of the piece add to the energy as the pitches ascend. The original German text is given, along with two English texts (the first English stanza is quite good; the second is provided by the publisher as a less specific and generic text and would best be avoided). This setting is useful throughout the Easter season. _______________________________________

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CHORAL MUSIC FOR LENT, EASTER, AND BEYOND continued

Our Father

I Will at All Times Praise the Lord

Maurice Duruflé Unison and Keyboard Durand 50600003 (distributed by Hal Leonard), $1.60

Deborah Holden-Holloway Unison and Keyboard Selah 422-901, $1.50

This is a delightful unison arrangement of Duruflé’s rich SATB setting of the Lord’s Prayer.

Rhythmically straightforward, and melodically pleasing, it would be useful for children’s voices, adult unison singing, or as a solo. The English translation is that of the “traditional” Lord’s Prayer (i.e., “Our Father who art in heaven . . . forgives us our trespasses,” etc.), so there are no textual acrobatics necessary. Duruflé’s setting incorporates the text only through “but deliver us from evil” and does not include the conclusion (“for thine is the kingdom . . .”). _______________________________________

This unison setting of Psalm 34 is melodically pleasing, and it teaches a number of good vocal techniques: breath control in long phrases and maneuvering a glorious octave leap. The composer fittingly writes these techniques into the paraphrased text “the praise of God expands my breath.” It would work best for children’s voices or as a solo, rather than for a mixed choir sing in unison, as the range extends to high F. The ABA form makes learning the piece easier, as the last two pages simply repeat the opening, with minor modifications at the conclusion. _______________________________________

Grant Us Your Peace Laudate Dominum Jacques Berthier SATB and Unison, Keyboard, Optional Instruments GIA G-3374, $1.40 The format of this Taizé arrangement makes it useful as a choral psalm selection. Verses from Psalms 117 and/or 100 can be sung either simultaneously or in alternation with the choral ostinato. At Concordia Theological Seminary, the choirs have used this as the Gradual for Epiphany in the Divine Service. In addition to its liturgical usefulness, the eight-measure format of the ostinato makes it ideal for teaching part singing to beginning choirs, especially junior high choirs with maturing voices—not to mention a very basic introduction to singing in Latin (only four words: “Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes”), although an English alternative is also provided. As is typical with Taizé, optional instrumental accompaniments are included to layer on top of the ostinato. Keep rehearsing this during Lent, and use it again as a quick choral psalm setting in the summer. _______________________________________

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Felix Mendelssohn, ed. Carlton Young SATB, opt. Strings MorningStar 50-9095, $1.75 Mendelssohn’s arrangement of Luther’s text “Verleih uns Frieden” has found its way to many congregations as hymn 777 in Lutheran Service Book. Mendelssohn’s work can also be found in various publications and editions (e.g., a very good edition is found in Augsburg’s Chantry Choirbook), but this stand-alone publication is both well edited and affordable. Mendelssohn sets this strophic prayer in three stanzas: first, by unison men (a performance option could include children’s voices here); second, by two-part mixed choir; and third, SATB. _______________________________________

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CHORAL MUSIC FOR LENT, EASTER, AND BEYOND continued

Sanctus Franz Schubert, arr. David Weck SAT and Keyboard Hope Publishing SP 767, $1.90 This arrangement from Schubert’s German Mass in F is very good for junior high choirs, with a wellarranged tenor part spanning a diminished fifth (G below middle C to D-flat above). The homophonic writing makes it ideal for teaching part singing, but it is just as useful for experienced choirs, which could easily sight-read this arrangement. Other factors make this setting easy to learn: the second stanza is musically identical to the first, and a good English translation is provided in addition to the original German. _______________________________________

Jerusalem, My Happy Home arr. Russell Schulz-Widmar SAB and 3 Handbells Hope Publishing C 5681, $1.90

Choristers Guild www.choristersguild.org Concordia Publishing House www.cph.org GIA Publications www.giamusic.com Hope Publishing Company www.hopepublishing.com Hal Leonard www.halleonard.com MorningStar Music Publishers www.morningstarmusic.com Selah Publishing Company www.selahpub.com

This gentle setting of a familiar hymn can be learned quickly by most choirs. The choral requirements in this arrangement are minimal, although some intervals in the SAB stanza will require adequate preparation. Although there are only three handbells utilized, they are used in creative rhythmic variations. A challenge may be for choirs to maintain proper intonation with the bells throughout the piece. The translation of the last stanza in this arrangement varies from some hymnals, but a choir (singing in unison, incidentally) could easily switch over to their hymnals for the last few measures if desired. _______________________________________

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READING AND LISTENING

by DANIEL ZAGER

READING

David Mennicke, “Heinrich Schütz: Composer for the Word,”

Frederick K. Gable, “The Other Praetorius: Hieronymus Praetorius of Hamburg,”

Lutheran Forum 44 (Fall 2010): 26–28.

Cross Accent: Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians 18, no. 2 (2010): 36–49.

Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) was one of the most prolific composers in the history of Lutheran church music. Unrelated to Michael was Hieronymus Praetorius (1560–1629)—“the other Praetorius,” who was one of the leading church musicians in the north German city of Hamburg.

Frederick Gable has devoted his scholarly life to editing the music of Hieronymus Praetorius and to studying the history of music and liturgy in late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Hamburg. This very readable article, intended for the Lutheran church musician of the twenty-first century, provides an overview of the Hamburg Praetorius family, music in the Hamburg liturgies, the Latin vocal music composed by Hieronymus Praetorius (polychoral motets, settings of the Mass and the Magnificat), as well as organ music. Where Michael Praetorius focused primarily on setting German chorale texts, Hieronymus Praetorius focused his compositional work on Latin texts, Luther having made clear his love for both Latin and German polyphony. Gable closes his article by offering a series of practical suggestions for using this music in twenty-first-century Lutheran liturgies. Among his very helpful appendices are lists of modern editions, compact disc recordings, and selected works by Hieronymus Praetorius categorized according to the church year calendar. _______________________________________

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In the first half of this article David Mennicke (Concordia University, St. Paul) very skillfully provides a concise introduction to the life and works of Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), one of the most important composers to have contributed to the rich heritage of Lutheran church music. Having sketched Schütz’s career, his published compositions, and the effects of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), Mennicke turns in the second half of the article to Schütz’s word-based, rhetorical approach to setting biblical texts to music. Mennicke conceptualizes Schütz as a “dramatic lector,” in contrast to J. S. Bach, “who frequently injects theological interpretation into his music,” Bach being, in Mennicke’s view, more of a preacher. Turning to our twenty-first-century music making in the church, Mennicke contends that “Schütz’s predilection for setting pure biblical texts makes his music more applicable for modern-day worship.”

By way of concluding, Mennicke remarks: “We should sing the music of Schütz not because it is old and historic but because it is beautiful and proclaims the word in ways that other music does not. Indeed, Schütz provides us with a cross-cultural experience . . . the music of the past connects us with cultures across time” (p. 28). You will not find a better three-page introduction to the church music of Heinrich Schütz. _______________________________________

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READING AND LISTENING Evangeline Rimbach, “Johann Kuhnau,” Cross Accent: Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians 18, no. 1 (2010): 17–22.

Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722) was Johann Sebastian Bach’s predecessor at the Leipzig Thomaskirche and a highly regarded musician and composer (no mere “minor master”) in his time. Beginning with her 1966 doctoral dissertation at the Eastman School of Music, “The Church Cantatas of Johann Kuhnau,” Evangeline Rimbach has devoted her scholarly career to editing many of Kuhnau’s vocal works and to writing about this Lutheran cantor.

This article provides a welcome introduction to Kuhnau’s life and work and complements Rimbach’s chapter “The Sacred Vocal Music of Johann Kuhnau” in Thine the Amen: Essays on Lutheran Church Music in Honor of Carl Schalk, ed. Carlos R. Messerli (Minneapolis: Lutheran University Press, 2005), 83–110. (For a taste of Kuhnau’s vocal music in a superb recorded performance, see the 1998 compact disc Hyperion CDA 67059, Sacred Music by Johann Kuhnau, The King’s Consort, Robert King.) _______________________________________

James L. Brauer, “An Interview with Robert Bergt,”

continued

Barry L. Bobb, “A Model Theological Conference: ‘Toward a Theology of Worship That Is . . .’”

Cross Accent: Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians 18, no. 2 (2010): 5–11.

In January 2010 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod held a theological conference on the topic of worship. Barry Bobb attended that conference and in this article offers a report and some observations.

(The full substance of the various papers and responses is available at: http:// www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=16698.)

Bobb’s reporting on the five themes of the conference is substantive and goes beyond mere summarizing so as to draw the reader into the issues that were the focus of this conference. His “Observations and Reflections” are even better, for example: “Over the past forty years our connectedness to the church catholic has been diminished. Our practice does not match our doctrine of the church. There is too much in the current state of affairs which is non-denominational in character, which jettisons anything and everything from our western catholic tradition from the current life of the church. That was not Luther’s approach; it should not be that of any Lutheran church” (p. 10). _______________________________________

Cross Accent: Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians 18, no. 2 (2010): 12–22.

One of the featured speakers at the 2009 conference of The Good Shepherd Institute was Robert Bergt.

A graduate of Concordia Seminary and faculty member there for fourteen years, he now leads their concert series “Bach at the Sem.” This extensive interview by James L. Brauer, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Chapel at Concordia Seminary, provides a welcome overview of a figure who has played a significant role for a half century in the teaching and performance of Lutheran church music in this country. _______________________________________

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READING AND LISTENING Carl Schalk, “Proclamation and Praise: Some Thoughts on Music and the Church’s Song,” in Jubilate, Amen! A Festschrift in Honor of Donald Paul Hustad, ed. Paul A. Richardson and Tim Sharp, Festschrift Series, no. 27 (Hillsdale, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 2010), 385–400. ISBN 978-1576471388. [$60.00] Drawing on the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the early church, Carl Schalk clarifies the concepts of praise and proclamation. Citing numerous psalms, Schalk demonstrates that praising God meant recounting His saving deeds: “It was in the telling, again and again, and in the calling to remembrance of God’s promise and covenant made to his people Israel, that God was praised. . . . The good news for God’s people in the Old Testament was not who God was, but what he had done to rescue them; the good news was not to be found in God’s attributes but in his actions” (p. 389).

Similarly, Schalk shows through the New Testament and through the hymnody of the early church that the praise of God always centered on retelling the specific story of salvation—of God’s rescue of His fallen world through the incarnation, perfect life, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. We live in an age of enormous confusion regarding the church’s praise of God. This chapter by Carl Schalk provides a necessary corrective and should be required reading for all Lutheran pastors and church musicians, indeed for all who “Sing praise to God, the highest good, The author of creation, The God of love who understood Our need for His salvation” (LSB 819).

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LISTENING Baroque Christmas in Hamburg (Bremer Barock Consort, Manfred Cordes) [2010, cpo 777 553-2] This recording provides vocal and organ music from early seventeenth-century Hamburg, including Latin polychoral music by Hieronymus Praetorius (1560–1629) and organ music by his son Jacob (1586–1651). Organ settings by Heinrich Scheidemann (1596–1663), on VOM HIMMEL HOCH, and Samuel Scheidt (1587–1654), on GELOBET SEIST DU, JESU CHRIST, are also included, as well as Latin and German vocal music by Thomas Selle (1599–1663), Matthias Weckmann (1619–1674), and Christoph Bernhard (1627–1692). The Bremer Barock Consort is comprised largely of students from the Hochschule für Kunste Bremen, and, under the direction of Manfred Cordes, they acquit themselves very well indeed. _______________________________________

Samuel Scheidt, Sacrae Cantiones (Vox Luminis, Lionel Meunier) [2010, Ricercar RIC 301] This recording presents a welcome cross-section of Samuel Scheidt’s Latin and German compositions for the church, from his Cantiones Sacrae (1620) and Geistlicher Concerten . . . dritter Theil (1635), including an extended (twenty-one minute) setting of the nine verses of “Vater unser im Himmelreich” (LSB 766). _______________________________________

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READING AND LISTENING “Ich will in Friede fahren”: Geistliche Musik für Countertenor und Gambenconsort/Sacred Music for Contertenor and Viol Consort in 17thCentury Germany (Franz Vitzthum, countertenor; Les Escapades) [2009, Christophorus CHR 77305] A particular highlight of this recording is Johann Philipp Krieger’s (1649–1725) setting of the Nunc dimittis, “Ich will in Friede fahren.”

Krieger spent the bulk of his career as Kapellmeister in Weissenfels, where he is known to have composed over two thousand church cantatas, though fewer than one hundred survive.

That fact is lamentable given the sheer beauty of this Nunc dimittis setting, exquisitely sung and played in this recorded performance. _______________________________________

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Max Reger, OrganWorks, vol. 10 (Martin Welzel) [2010, Naxos 8.570960] Together with some of Max Reger’s larger, virtuosic organ works, organist Martin Welzel also includes on this recording fourteen of the “52 Easy Chorale Preludes,” op. 67. Among the settings included here are those on such well-known chorales as VATER UNSER, VOM HIMMEL HOCH, WACHET AUF, and WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET. The settings average two to three minutes in duration and are expertly registered and played by Welzel on the 1974 Johannes Klais organ at Trier Cathedral in Germany. Sample Reger’s setting of JESUS IST KOMMEN (“Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure” LSB 533), about a minute-and-ahalf in length and eminently usable as a prelude to the singing of this hymn! _______________________________________ Pendragon Press www.pendragonpress.com Christophorus www.christophorus-records.de cpo www.cpo.de Naxos www.naxos.com Ricercar www.outhere-music.com/ricercar

HIS Voice • April 2011

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