Music for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year B: April 14, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY This Joyful Eastertide (Vruechten)

setting, Ronald A. Nelson

I often like to choose opening voluntaries that act as a preview of something later in the service. In this case, it's the melody of the Sending Hymn, This Joyful Eastertide.

Here is a reminder that we are in an Easter tide. Easter is not just a day, but a season of 50 days that includes Ascension of Our Lord and finds its culmination in Pentecost. 

This hymn is sometimes called an Easter carol - and why not? It has a danceable tune (courtesy of the Dutch people) and even a melisma at the end - a series of notes sung under a single syllable.  How do you sing it without thinking of Angels We Have Heard on High and its "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ria!"

The refrain is a joyful reminder that Jesus has risen. It's a perfect way to begin, and finish, a worship service in Eastertide.

GATHERING HYMN As We Gather at Your Table (In Babilone) ELW 522

Jesus' disciples share a piece of broiled fish with him, and he eats it in their presence.

This gathering hymn reminds us how we are fed through God's word and the Lord's supper. It ends with the words "repeat the sounding joy." Carl P. Daw, the author, intentionally quoted the famous Christmas hymn on purpose. (It's not really a Christmas hymn - but that's not the focus of today's post.) The people of Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church (Virginia Beach, Virginia) asked him to include these words that echoed the theme of their celebration commemorating the 300th year of their founding.

HYMN OF THE DAY Around You, O Lord Jesus (O Jesu, än de dina) ELW 468

Sweden's national church, Lutheran in its identity, adopted the Augsburg Confession in 1593. Some 50 years later, the Diocese of Härnösand was formed, and that is where this hymn came from. The author is Frans Michael Franzén, who was bishop of the diocese from 1832 - 1847.

Frans Michael Franzén
by Johan Gustaf Sandberg (1823)
via Wikipedia

Franzén's hymn reminds us that Jesus is still present with his people, and in the context of a communion hymn reminds us of the unique way we experience Christ's true presence in the Lord's supper. Indeed, the opening words, "Around YOU, O Lord, Jesus. . ." depict our gathering at the table, and not simply gathering for corporate worship or for a memorial.

MUSICAL OFFERING Ancient Words Lynn DeShazo, arr. Mary McDonald
This arrangement of a contemporary praise song (1999) has become one of our choir's favorites.

I chose it after reading Jesus' words in today's gospel reading. These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you - that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." 

COMMUNION HYMNS
Hallelujah! We Sing Your Praises (Haleluya! Pelo tsa rona) ELW 535

Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia (Mfurahine, haleluya) ELW 364

Both of our communion hymns have their origins in Africa - South Africa and Tanzania, respectively.
The first focuses on communion themes and the second on the Easter message, but both have a strong "sending theme" that sends US to spread the gospel of Jesus' resurrection.

SENDING HYMN This Joyful Eastertide (Vruechten) ELW 391

CLOSING VOLUNTARY At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing (Sonne der Gerechtigkeit) 

setting, Jeffrey Blersch

Sources:

Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Wikipedia
The Resurrection of Christ, an Icon of the Eastern Orthodox Church is believed to be in the public domain.z

Praising the Lamb graphic from SundaysandSeasons.com

Music for Sunday of the Passion / Palm Sunday, Year B: March 24, 2024

GATHERING HYMN All Glory, Laud, and Honor (Valet will ich dir geben) ELW 344

Bishop Theodulph of Orleans is credited with writing this hymn some time in the 8th century. The story goes that Charlemagne had brought him to France and installed him as Bishop of Orleans. After Charlemagne's death, Theodulph was accused of traitorous acts against the new king, Louis the Pious. This, naturally, landed Theodulph in jail.
The story continues that on Palm Sunday, Louis was on his way to church when he heard Theodulph singing from his cell. Theodulph's hymn, which he wrote, so moved the king that he freed Theodulph from prison, restored his bishopric, and declared that the hymn, "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" should always be sung during Palm Sunday processions.
It's just a story though, however nice. There is no evidence that Louis was in the same city where Theodulph was imprisoned, and no historical evidence that Theodulph's position was ever restored. In fact, it's likely he died in jail.

It's a great hymn for Palm Sunday, but there is no rule that it always be sung for the Palm Sunday procession. Even at St. Mark's we have occasionally used "Fling Wide the Door."

HYMN OF THE DAY There in God's Garden (Shades Mountain) ELW 342

MUSICAL OFFERING My Dying Lord David Lantz III

The text of this anthem is a suitable poem to follow the passion reading. Jesus is compared to a dying lamb, a rose, and the rain.

COMMUNION HYMN My Song Is Love Unknown (Love Unknown) ELW 343

SENDING HYMN Go to Dark Gethsemane (Gethsemane) ELW 347

 CLOSING VOLUNTARY All Glory, Laud, and Honor setting, Kenneth T. Kosche

Music for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year B: March 17, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY Lift High the Cross arr. Sondra K. Tucker

In today's gospel reading, Jesus tells us, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." This hymn bids us to look forward to Good Friday where, on the cross, Jesus will wear a crown of thorns and be lifted up. Jesus dies on the cross and we receive new life.

Tucker's arrangement of this well-known hymn is bold, but no bolder than the hymn itself:
So shall our song of triumph ever be:
praise to the Crucified for victory!

GATHERING HYMN Now the Green Blade Rises (Noël nouvelet) ELW 379

Jesus tells us the seed that dies is the one that will bear fruit - and this is a theme well will hear in today's music many times.
Worshipers might notice that this hymn falls under the "Easter" heading in ELW, but it is equally at home with the readings for today's lectionary.

The tune goes back to at least the 15th century and was originally the tune for a French Christmas carol - hence the tune name, Noël nouvelet.

HYMN OF THE DAY Seed That in Earth Is Dying (Såkorn som dør i jorden)

ELW 330

You've heard me say the assembly is the most important choir in the church. Today's accompaniment of the hymn doesn't come from the hymnal, but from an arrangement for choir by Bradley Ellingboe.
Don't worry. The Festival Choir will keep you on track and you will know when to sing!

MUSICAL OFFERING Rich in Promise Mark Sedio

Susan Palo Cherwien wrote this text specifically for the Fifth Sunday of Lent in Year B (today). It's no wonder then, that her poetic text seems to paraphrase Jesus.

Jesus: . . .unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Susan Palo Cherwien: Behold, God does a new thing, Through death God brings new life.

Combined with Mark Sedio's gentle music, this musical offering provides a suitable meditation on the gospel reading for today. It finishes with a metaphor for us as the body of Christ: Letting go of what has been, We embody God's great promise: Behold, God does a new thing, Through death God brings new life.

COMMUNION HYMNS
As the Sun with Longer Journey (Nagel) ELW 329

As the Winter Days Grow Longer (Suo Gân) ACS 924

Paired with a tune whose name means "lullaby" in Welsh, this hymn by Mary Louise Bringle is full of sensory imagery. Lengthening days in springtime reminds us of the light of Christ. A vine with sweet-smelling blossoms lifts our spirits as we pray. As thirsty pilgrims, we ask for living water and God's guidance on our journey toward Easter. The melody goes higher in the third line of each stanza, enhancing the feelings of yearning, seeking, and wandering we experience during Lent. The return of the original melody in the last line mirrors God's enduring faithfulness to us. (from Sundays and Seasons)

SENDING HYMN A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth (An Wasseflüssen Babylon) ELW 340

El Greco - Christ Carrying the Cross, 1580

There are beautiful things on the internet.

As Covid was gripping the land, I became interested in this hymn from Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676), Germany's most famous hymnwriter. (Yes, he's even better known than our beloved Martin Luther!) During research, I found Bálint Karosi's Hymn of the Day series. It includes a treatment of this hymn - and I highly commend it as a meditation/devotion during Holy Week.

If features the crystal clear voice of Addy Sterrett, Karosi's brilliant improvisations, and the marvelous Richards, Fowkes and Co. organ at St. John's Lutheran Church in Stamfort, CT.

After watching and listening about a hundred times, I knew this was a hymn we'd be singing at St. Mark's and slowly introduced it into our repertoire in 2022.

https://youtu.be/pFsE3KWifVI?si=xW5GwB8qlJlI_ROT

Taking up a page and a half, long verses, and some pretty emotional language, this hymn is a lot of work - but it's well worth the effort.  Sort of like Lent.

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Prelude and Chorale on "Christ, the Life of All the Living" Chorale, Donald Busarow
See the text and tune at ELW 339.

Sources:

The Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress)

O Blessed Spring, Hymns of Susan Palo Cherwien (Augsburg Fortress)

By El Greco - Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=594530

Music for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B: March 10, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound
Setting, Robert A. Hobby
The organ's oboe stop opens quietly. The drone of an open fifth under a lightly ornamented melody sounds like a distant bag piper who moves toward us. As they pass the village church, the organist picks up the theme and lends a dramatic crescendo. The piper continues on their way, and we stand watching and listening as they fade from our sight and our hearing.  

GATHERING HYMN O Christ, Our Hope (Lobt Gott, ihr Christen) ELW 604

The original version of this hymn dates to the seventh or eighth century where it was sung for Ascension. Evangelical Lutheran Worship classifies it under "Confession and Forgiveness," so it's easy to see why we might sing it during Lent.

The first stanza hails Christ as the Lord of creation and the redeemer. The second stanza goes on to tell us that Jesus died willingly. Stanza three tells of Christ being raised and being seated at God's right hand - hence the Ascension theme of the original hymn. The fourth stanza comes around to tell us, having been purified by mercy, we can approach Christ's throne. Stanza five is doxological and moves us to look forward to Ascension.

HYMN OF THE DAY Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound (New Britain) ELW 779

MUSICAL OFFERING God So Loved the World John Stainer

The English composer, John Stainer (1840-1901), wrote The Crucifixion in 1887. There was a time when this oratorio was performed by church choirs regularly - I have found it in the choral library of every church I have ever served. It is rarely performed in its entirety today, but the central motet, God So Loved the World, is beloved by church choirs. Its structure is mostly chordal, but there is enough polyphony to keep it interesting and to move the piece forward.
The text is pulled directly from today's gospel reading.

COMMUNION HYMN God So Loved the World (Rockingham Old) ELW 323

SENDING HYMN What Wondrous Love Is This ELW 666

CLOSING VOLUNTARY O Lord, We Praise You  setting, Kenneth T. Kosche

Music for the Third Sunday in Lent, Year B: March 3, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY Jesus, Lover of My Soul (Aberystwyth) Gordon Young

This hymn text by Charles Wesley doesn't appear in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, but the tune is there with the Ash Wednesday text Savior, When in Dust to You. Both texts are suitable for worship during Lent. It's worth noting that Charles included Jesus, Lover of My Soul under a heading titled "In Temptation."

Charles was the younger brother of John Wesley who is credited as the founder of the Methodist movement. In 1780, John compiled "A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists." Jesus, Lover of My Soul was not included because John Wesley felt the "lover" reference would be overly intimate for many people - and the intimate language doesn't end there! Since Charles wrote over 6,500 hymns, it's not surprising his brother would have to set more than a few aside. (Charles has 10 entries in ELW - and they are all pretty popular.

Our Prayer of the Day says "Keep us steadfast in your grace, and teach us the wisdom that comes only through Jesus Christ. . ." In his hymn, Charles confirms "Plenteous grace in thee (Jesus) is found, grace to cover all my sin . . ."

The texts of the first and third stanzas:

Jesus, lover of my soul,

let me to thy bosom fly, 

while the nearer waters roll,

while the tempest still is high;

hide me, O my Savior, hide,

till the storm of life is past; 

safe into the haven guide,

O receive my soul at last!

Plenteous grace with thee is found,

grace to cover all my sin;

let the healing streams abound;

make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the fountain art;

freely let me take of thee;

spring thou up within my heart,

rise to all eternity.

Gordon Young's arrangement comes in five sections, starting with a gentle intimacy and ending with a majestic fortissimo (loud!). Young (1919-1998) was a prolific composer of organ and choral music for use in the church.

GATHERING HYMN Built on a Rock (Kirken den er et gammelt hus) ELW 652

Church bells have long been used to call the faithful to worship, and if to worship, then also to observance of the sacraments. ELW's version is shorter than the original nine stanzas (which the author later revised to seven). One of the missing stanzas highlights the role of the sacraments in Lutheran worship and also lifts up the importance of preaching:

Here stands the font before our eyes

telling how God did receive us;

Th' altar recalls God's sacrifice

and what his table does give us;

Here sounds the word that doth proclaim
Christ yesterday, today the same

Yea, and for aye our Redeemer.

It's too bad this stanza is missing from our version. It would have made a great center!

Church bells at one of the Spanish missions near San Diego, California

At St. Mark's we have a courtyard bell that rings during the Lord's Prayer. Read more about this St. Mark's tradition at https://smljax.blogspot.com/2019/03/every-sunday-bell-rings-but-why.html

HYMN OF THE DAY Christ Is the Life (Coe Fen) ACS 927

Crafted in 1989, Christ Is the Life is one of the earlier texts by prolific hymnwriter Susan Palo Cherwien (1953-2021). She was reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship and was affected by Bonhoeffer's statement that "when Christ calls a person, he bids that person to come and die." Also drawing from Romans 6:3-9 and 14:8, the text embodies the essential form of the spiritual journey from life, to letting go, to transformation, to new life.   (From Sundays and Seasons)

MUSICAL OFFERING Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days Linda Cable Shute

COMMUNION HYMN When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Hamburg) ELW 803

Isaac Watts (1674-1748), the "Godfather of English hymnody" has 10 entries in ELW, the same as Charles Wesley. He based this text on Galatians 6:14: May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (NRSV)

ELW, and many other hymnals, pair this text with the unassuming, only five notes, hymn tune Hamburg. Coupled with a staid rhythm, worshipers can focus on the text, sometimes described as "the finest hymn in the English language."

SENDING HYMN Lord Christ, When First You Came to Earth (Mit Freuden zart) ELW 727

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Earth and All Stars

setting, Michael Burkhardt
Sometimes it hard to choose the closing voluntary for a service. This text came to mind from after I read the opening line of today's psalm: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims its maker's handiwork.

Sources:

Hymnal Companion: Evangelical Lutheran Worship: Paul Westermeyer, editor. Pub. Augsburg Fortress
Hymn Notes for Church Bulletins, Austin Lovelace. Pub. GIA Publications
Sundays and Seasons
Wikipedia (including the portraits of Wesley and Watts)

 

Music for the Second Sunday in Lent, Year B: February 25, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY Come, Follow Me, the Savior Spake

setting, Wayne Barlow

Based on the Hymn of the Day, this voluntary is in the style of a chorale prelude. It alternates phrases of the tune with original interludes that feature our organ's clarinet stop. (This is one of the "new" sounds that R. A. Colby and Associates added to the organ in 2013.)

GATHERING HYMN Eternal Lord of Love, Behold Your Church (Old 124th)

ELW 321

In today's gospel reading, Jesus says the only way to save our life is to lose it. Singing this hymn, we affirm that dying in Christ is the way we also rise in him - a direct reference to baptism! In his small catechism, Martin Luther points us to the words of Paul in Romans 6: Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

One interesting thing about this hymn is its meter: 10 10 10 10 10 - each phrase has ten syllables. It's the only hymn of its kind in ELW, and perhaps the only one anywhere!

HYMN OF THE DAY Come, Follow Me, the Savior Spake (Macks mit mir, Gott) ELW 799

MUSICAL OFFERING O Sacred Head setting, Mary McDonald

At the beginning of today's gospel reading, Jesus tells of the suffering he will endure, that he will die, and be raised again. The much-loved text of this hymn reminds us of that suffering and reminds us that, through the lectionary, we will soon recount our Lord's suffering and meditate on his passion.

Instead of the tune we love so well (Herzlich tut mich verlangen), the composer has chosen Promised Land, a rather jaunty American hymn tune; however, she has cleverly disguised it by presenting it in a minor key that is more aligned with the text.

The piano accompaniment gives hints of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, undergirding the choir with a pathos that never seems to resolve - until the very end when a wisp Herzlich slips in.

This is one of the most thoughtful and moving church choral arrangements I have encountered. It has been a joy to prepare and it's a welcome addition to the Festival Choir's repertoire.

COMMUNION HYMN I Want Jesus to Walk with Me

SENDING HYMN Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus (Lasset uns mit Jesu ziehen) ELW 802

CLOSING VOLUNTARY If You But Trust in God to Guide You (Wer nur den lieben Gott)
See the text and tune at ELW 769.

Music for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year B: February 4, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY On Eagle's Wings setting, Marilyn Biery 
The Starry Night, by Vincent Van Gogh, is one of our planet's most famous paintings. It's not very realistic, is it? If you wanted to explain to someone in outer space what the night looks like on earth, you probably wouldn't point to Van Gogh's work.

It's unfinished. The colors aren't realistic and neither are the shapes. The bold splashes of color and languorous brush strokes aren't meant to imitate the real world, but to give an impression of the real world.

It's the same with Marilyn Biery's setting of the beloved "On Eagle's Wings." Don't try to sing along because you rarely get a full piece of the melody. Rather, we get hints of the tune we all know. Harmonic progressions, sans melody, are still intact and you can almost see an eagle as it glides from one thermal to another.

"The Starry Night" Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

GATHERING HYMN Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness (Nettleton) ELW 843

HYMN OF THE DAY Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Lobe den Herren) ELW 858

The choir loves to laugh at me because I often say a hymn is my "favorite," but this hymn is not only one that I love. It also has one of my favorite lines in the entire body of hymnody. I don't often sing with the assembly when I accompany hymns, but you'll likely see me give it all I've got when we get to the line "Let the Amen sound from his people again!" (The exclamation point is mine.) Musically and textually, this is an engaging moment for me!

MUSICAL OFFERING Be Thou My Vision (Slane) arr. Marie Pooler

COMMUNION HYMNS
Precious Lord, Take My Hand  (Precious Lord) ELW 773
I'm So Glad Jesus Lifted Me (Jesus Lifted Me) ELW 860

SENDING HYMN Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good (Lobt Gott den Herren, ihr) ELW 871

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good setting, Wayne Barlow

The hymn itself has a dance quality to it. Harlow's approach is different - harmonically adventurous and majestic!

Sources: By Vincent van Gogh - Transferred from the English Wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4603625