Music for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost (Lectionary 25): September 24, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY Be Still My Soul (Finlandia)

setting, Franklin D. Ashdown

Few hymns have a more comforting text, or a gentler melody, than this beloved hymn by Catherina Amalia von Schlegel (1697 - 1768), with music by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).

Be still my soul, the Lord is on your side. . .

The Holy Spirit gathers us for worship and does not bid us to leave our cares behind or to "give them to Jesus." Rather, we bring them with us knowing that

. . .in every change he faithful will remain.

The hymn does not appear in Lutheran Book of Worship or Evangelical Lutheran Worship. It can be found in Lutheran Service Book, the hymnal of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

GATHERING HYMN As Saints of Old (Forest Green) ELW 695

HYMN OF THE DAY God's Work, Our Hands (Earth and All Stars) ACS 1000

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held a contest inviting hymn writers to submit a new hymn for "God's Work. Our Hands" Sunday, September 13, 2019. Wayne Wold wrote the winning hymn, developing the denomination's tagline with other parts of the person God uses, listing concrete ways of manifesting God's presence for the world, confessing God's activity beyond the church's work, and inviting blessing on the church's work on behalf of the gospel. (From Sundays and Seasons)

MUSICAL OFFERING Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me 

K. Lee Scott

COMMUNION HYMN God Be the Love to Search and Keep Me ACS 1084

Richard Bruxvoort Colligan wrote this hymn as a modern day lorica - a Celtic hymn/prayer for protection sung while putting on armor or clothing. Be Thou My Vision (ELW 793) is the best-known example of this form. The stanzas ask for Christ to be known in what animates life and faith, in the saints, in the elements, in physical space (as in another lorica I Bind Unto Myself This Day ELW 450), and in the people around the singer.
(From Sundays and Seasons)

SENDING HYMN Glorious Things of You Are Spoken (Blaenwern)  ELW 647

CLOSING VOLUNTARY What Is This Place 

setting, Wayne L. Wold  

Sources:

Wikipedia

Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns
Sundays and Seasons

Music for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost (Lectionary 24): September 17, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY: Herzlich tut mich verlangen

setting, Jerry Westenkuehler

In many churches this tune goes by the name Passion Chorale worshipers will quickly recognize it as "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." The harmonization is possibly one of J. S. Bach's best-loved works. It comes back later in the service as the Hymn of the Day, paired with Kevin Nichols' text "Our Father, we have wandered."

Nichols, who died in 2006, was a Roman Catholic priest who studied at Cambridge under C. S. Lewis.

The hymn alludes to one of Jesus' best-known parables - The Prodigal Son. It's not only a prayer for forgiveness, but one where we ask God to bring an end to our faithlessness. 

GATHERING HYMN Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death (Azmon) ELW 452

HYMN OF THE DAY Our Father, We Have Wandered (Herzlich tut mich verlangen) ELW 606

MUSICAL OFFERING There's a Wideness in God's Mercy

The author of the text, Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) wrote 150 hymns, in imitation of the 150 psalms. Eight of his texts appear in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. 

The original tune and arrangement of this setting is by Jacksonville composer Bob Moore.

COMMUNION HYMN I Come with Joy (Dove of Peace) ELW 482

SENDING HYMN Go, My Children, With My Blessing (Ar hyd y nos) ELW 543

At the end of the Hymn of the Day, we asked for God's hand to be stretched out to us in blessing, specifically that we may have forgiveness and peace. In the second stanza of our sending hymn, we receive that blessing through these words: Go, my children, sins forgiven, at peace and pure.

This underscores the point that hymns in Christian worship are rarely selected because they are "favorites" or because they are "fun." Hymn are chosen to complement the lectionary readings and to support the themes of the day. The texts from the Hymn of the Day and the Sending Hymn complement each other really well!

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Now Thank We All Our God (Nun danket all Gott) 

setting, Robert A. Hobby

I chose a setting based on this tune to remind us of the psalm for the day - also based on this tune.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: BACH VESPERS RETURNS TO ST. MARK'S - CALLING ALL SINGERS!
Read more here:

Sources:
Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship
Evangelical Lutheran Worship

Music for the 15th Sunday After Pentecost (Lectionary 23): September 10, 2023

The Festival Choir of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Always looking for new singers!

OPENING VOLUNTARY Four Variations on "Salvation unto Us Has Come"
 Jacob B. Weber

There are two reasons I chose this piece to begin today's worship service:
1. It's one of my favorite tunes.
2. It jumped into my mind when I read in today's second reading "For salvation is nearer to us now. . ."

The first variation, which has a fanfare feel to it, calls for a "Fagott" stop. We don't have one, so I'm using the Petite Trompette which is a pipe stop from when the organ was first built in 1984.

The second variation is a bicinium - or a piece with two separate voices.

Variation 3 brings the Petite Trompette back with an interlude that plays between ornamented phrases of the tune.

The fourth variation is a chorale treatment with slightly altered harmonies.

LITURGY: Holy Communion Setting Nine

We aren't at an official season change, but the Time after Pentecost can be thought of has having some divisions: summer, autumn and November. It's our custom to change settings at the beginning of Autumn, or close to when the academic year starts.

The composer of Setting Nine is Joel Martinson, Director of Music Ministries and Organist at The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, Texas. This 

GATHERING HYMN Draw Us in the Spirit's Tether (Union Seminary) ELW 470

PSALM Psalm 119:33-40

The musical setting, by Thomas Pavlechko, is from the St. Martin Psalter. The tone is based on two phrases of the hymntune Nun danket alle Gott (Now Thank We All Our God).

HYMN OF THE DAY Come Now, O Prince of Peace (Ososŏ) ELW 247

This hymn was written for a 1988 world conference of peace for the reunification of the Korean peninsula. Its texture is thin and innocent of complicated harmonies that might give us the feeling that the unity we pray and long for is not yet achieved.

The quarter note pulsing in the accompaniment (and the free introduction by Jeremy Bankson) may be symbolic of our constant prayer.

MUSICAL OFFERING O Bread of Life from Heaven David Ashely White

COMMUNION HYMN In All Our Grief (Fredericktown) ELW 615

Today's gospel reading shows that even in the church we will have interpersonal conflicts. Sylvia Dunstan's hymn give us a sung prayer that amounts to confession and asks God to help us repent. Its refrain at the end of each stanza borrows language from the liturgy: first "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy (from the Kyrie), then "grant us peace" (from the Agnus Dei).

SENDING HYMN Salvation unto Us Has Come (Es ist das heil) ELW 590

How the hymn appeared
in its early printing

This hymn has been with us since the early days of Luther's Reformation. It was written, from prison, by Paul Speratus who had been jailed for his "evangelical preaching." Speratus wrote 14 stanzas and the hymn, first printed in 1524, came with a list of scriptural supports that the singer could use as a sort of study guide.

Wikipedia tells the story that Speratus was to be executed by fire, but was released due to the work of his friends.

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Trumpet Tune in D David N. Johnson

Come back to St. Mark's on Sunday night for another world-class concert by the San Marco Chamber Music Society! It's free and all are welcome!

Sources:
Hymnal Companion: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Wikipedia
Image of "Es ist das heil" By Martin Luther und andere - Scan vom Reprint Spyer, 2008, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8932987

Music for the Second Sunday in Lent, Year A: March 5, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY My Song Is Love Unknown

arr. Cathy Moklebust

Samuel Crossman's (1624-1683) text is paired with the tune Love Unknown in Evangelical Lutheran Worship; but it has long been associated with the tune Rhosymedre. That is how it appeared in Lutheran Book of Worship. 

Well-suited for Lent, the poetry talks of a Savior who, out of love, becomes incarnate knowing that he will die. Scenes from Palm Sunday and Jesus' passion inhabit the hymn's stanzas.

Cathy Moklebust infused her arrangement with all the drama the words imply. A comforting and lyrical melody leads us into the first statement of the tune. As we approach the passion rendering, the music becomes stark before it turns to a hair-raising cacophony that reminds us of the crowd yelling "Crucify him!" A quiet period follows, as if the world has stopped to mourn. Then the original melody, now in a minor key, reappears and slowly transforms, leading us into a final triumphant statement of the hymn. The end brings back the original melody, it's resolute tone signifying a faith that is sure.

GATHERING HYMN Wash, O God, Our Sons and Daughters (Beach Spring)

ELW 445
The Prayer of the Day initiates a theme of baptism - and being Lutherans our hymnals are filled with hymns that celebrate the sacrament. This hymn's many references ("Wash, O God". . ."cleansing waters". . ."one with Christ in living, dying". . ."water-washed" - the images abound!) help us to remember our baptism and to trust in God's power to transform our lives.

HYMN OF THE DAY All Who Believe and Are Baptized (Es ist das Heil)
ELW 442
Here's a challenge: Try to find a hymn that more clearly expresses the Lutheran understanding of baptism than this one. I bet you can't! 

Thomas Kingo (1634-1703), a Lutheran pastor and eventual bishop, began writing poetry shortly after his ordination. This text was included in his self-published book of hymns that he proposed for a new Lutheran hymnal in 1689. A new hymnal was adopted about 10 years later that included this text. Originally published in Danish, then translated into English as "He That Believes and Is Baptized, " it has served us well ever since. LBW brought us the inclusive version we sing today, "All Who Believe and Are Baptized."

The Lutheran church I grew up in didn't sing a lot of the standard Lutheran chorales, but this is one we knew. I still love singing it today.

Read more about the Lutheran church where I was baptized and confirmed here:
http://smljax.blogspot.com/search?q=what+kind+of+lutheran

MUSICAL OFFERING There's a Wideness in God's Mercy

Brenda Portman

Periodically I receive preview packs of music from publishers - including Augsburg Fortress, the publisher of "There's a Wideness." I liked it instantly and considered ordering it for our Festival Choir. I encountered it two more times that summer - first in a reading session at Lutheridge's Music Week, then again at an ALCM conference at Valparaiso University. I ordered it, then did something I rarely do. I sent an email to the composer, congratulating her on writing this beautiful new music set to one of my favorite hymn texts.

Then I got a surprise - a reply with a touching backstory that I never could have learned from the notes on the page. Ms. Portman told me how she wrote the piece in memory of a man, Bill, whose wife sings in the choir at her church. She included elements in the music that directly relate to him. Micah 6:8 was his favorite verse. It's not part of Faber's text, but she included it between stanzas.

Here's more of what she told me:

. . .as I learned from reading his memoir of his time in Vietnam, he was on track before the war to become a concert pianist, and because of his severe shoulder injuries in Vietnam, that dream never took shape - but I tried to make the piano interludes a little more special in honor of his gift at the piano. And then, his immediate group of soldiers was called Delta Company, so I put the piece in the Key of D throughout. . . his brothers in Delta Company were so much a part of his life for many decades, always there for him, even if those of us who knew him at church weren't aware of that.

These special details add even more to the experience of singing There's a Wideness.

COMMUNION HYMN We Are Baptized in Christ Jesus (Ouimette)
ELW 451

COMMUNION HYMN Born, Reborn (Born, Reborn) ACS 956

Justin Rimbo was commissioned to write a hymn either of praise or of baptismal remembrance for the 2013 Assembly of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod. He wrote a song that is both. The refrain proclaims and celebrates what God has done for the church in baptism while the stanzas ask for God's work in baptism to be enacted in the assembly. This mix of completed and anticipated action in baptism reflects Luther's understanding of it as daily dying to sin and being raised in Christ. 

(From Sunday and Seasons © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.)

SENDING HYMN O Living Breath of God (Vårindar Friska) ELW 407

There is some debate on the origins of the tune - it may be Norwegian OR Swedish.

There is no doubt about the text. It was written by Osvaldo Catena (1920-1986), a Roman Catholic priest and musician whose ministry focused on people living in the slums of Argentina.

Andy Chopra

Today, extra accompaniment comes from a djembe (an African drum), maracas, and claves. The djembe and claves are recent additions to our instruments at St. Mark's. They were purchased with memorials for Andy Chopra, a gifted musician who grew up in this community.

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Lift High the Cross (Crucifer)
setting, John Leavitt

Sources:
Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns
Wikipedia
Crucifixion Image: Crivelli, Carlo, 15th cent.. Crucifixion, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46786 [retrieved March 3, 2023]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carlo_Crivelli_003.jpg.
Thomas Kingo portrait: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=139188

 

Music for the First Sunday in Lent, Year A: February 26, 2023

"Friends in Christ, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus' passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed."

So began the Invitation to Lent that Pastor Daniel delivered to us on Ash Wednesday - the official beginning of Lent. On that day day/evening we admitted that we are sinners who need God's mercy if we are to live in the peace and joy that God desires for us - not just as individuals, but as a community of believers.

There are a variety of Lenten disciplines we can employ: "self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving, and works of love. 

On Sunday morning we do all these things in a more communal way, through our traditional service of gathering, word, meal, sending. 

May the hymns and other music we encounter in this season help us to see God more clearly, love God more dearly, and follow God more nearly on our Lenten journey.

You might be humming "Godspell" as you read this. But the text is actually
by a thirteenth-century bishop who is known as the patron saint of Sussex.

OPENING VOLUNTARY Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word (Erhalt uns, Herr) 
I could just have easily gone with the title "The Glory of the These Forty Days" since it is our gathering hymn. That would obviously tie this musical selection to the rest of the service. But I chose to go with a less obvious reference and connect the voluntary to the Prayer of the Day where we petition God to "Keep us steadfast in your word. . ."

GATHERING HYMN The Glory of These Forty Days (Erhalt uns, Herr) 

ELW 320

Officially we don't know who wrote this hymn, but some have credited Gregory the Great who was Bishop of Rome 540-604. If that's true, Christians have been singing this hymn since the 6th century. The evidence suggests it actually originated later by an unknown 10th century author - still a long time for a hymn to be sung!

Lent can often be perceived as a gloomy season, but whoever wrote this text declares it a celebration!

HYMN OF THE DAY A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein feste Burg)
ELW 503
Today we sing the rhythmic version that is close to the one Martin Luther wrote. (Don't worry, we'll sing the isometric version again soon enough.) If you're not as familiar with the rhythmic version, listen to the melody-focused introduction so you can get the "feel." As you look at the page, be aware the clear notes are longer than the ones that are colored in.

A published version of this most famous Lutheran hymn (at least for Americans)
1531

MUSICAL OFFERING I Want Jesus to Walk with Me arr. Richard Billingham

This lament comes from the African American spiritual tradition. In the early church, Lent was a time that new believers began a journey of instruction in the faith, preparing to be baptized at the Easter vigil.

Our pilgrimage has not been completed. We still walk a path. How reassuring it is to know that Jesus walks beside us.

COMMUNION HYMN Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery (Thomas)
ELW 334

SENDING HYMN Jesus, Still Lead On (Seelenbräutigam) 
ELW 624

CLOSING VOLUNTARY A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein feste Burg)

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) was one of the celebrated composers of his day. He was also a Lutheran. This composition is a fughetta based on the opening phrase of the hymn. Fughetta is short for fugue - a music form that employs imitative and contrapuntal devices. Each voice enters in succession (like a round), sometimes in a different key. Then the voices play off each other, often interjecting bits of the opening theme. 

Sources: Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Wikipedia (including photo of "A Mighty Fortress.")

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Year A: February 12, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY Our Great Redeemer's Praise 

Arnold Sherman

Portrait of Charles Wesley
by John Russell

Sherman starts off with a Baroque sounding introduction that is punctuated by a percussive technique called martellato. This technique involves holding the bell horizontally and close to the table, then striking the full body of the bell against the padded table. 
The introduction leads into a final rendering of the tune Azmon, usually sung to the text of "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" - an appropriate 

One of verse of the hymn, perhaps Charles Wesley's best known, includes these lines:

He speaks, and listening to his voice new life the dead receive;

the mournful, broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe.

We've been listening to his voice for a few weeks now as we've heard and dwelled on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Truly, he has the words of eternal life!

GATHERING HYMN Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling (In Babilone) ELW 582

HYMN OF THE DAY God, When Human Bonds Are Broken (Merton) ELW 603

MUSICAL OFFERING Ancient Words Lynn DeShazo, arr. Mary McDonald

In today's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, Moses tells the people that if they live in the ways of the Lord - by obeying the commandments, decrees, and ordinances - that they will be blessed. DeShazo's lyrics make a similar statement and encourage us to also heed the words of God.

Holy words, long preserved

for our walk in this world,
They resound with God's own heart

Oh, let the ancient words impart.

COMMUNION HYMN Spirit, Open My Heart ACS 1043

Ruth Duck's heartfelt text paired with this lyrical Irish tune gives us an opportunity to sing our prayer both as individuals and as a community. The combination of text and tune is not only a prayer but also a confession and a proclamation. The hymn draws on Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26 in stanza one and the prophet Jeremiah 31:33 in stanza two. As we sing we open our hearts to the divine and to one another.
(From Sundays and Seasons)

COMMUNION HYMN Eat This Bread (Eat This Bread) ELW 472

SENDING HYMN Blest Be the Tie That Binds (Dennis) ELW 656

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Hymn to Joy setting, May Schwarz

Some of the St. Mark's Ringers at a recent rehearsal.

Portrait of Charles Wesley from Wikipedia: By User Magnus Manske on en.wikipedia - Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is (was) here14:56, 19 March 2004 Magnus Manske 162x218 (14,939 bytes) (In the [[:en:public domain]] by age), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=802193

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year A: February 5, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright

Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Last week's opening voluntary had the same title, but the two versions by two different composers couldn't show more contrast. Last's week's version was staid and dignified. Paul Manz' version features dancing, twinkling stars.

GATHERING HYMN Gather Us In (Gather Us In) ELW 532

"The Holy Spirit Calls Us Together As the People of God"

Glass art
Dale Chihuly

PSALM 112:1-10

Light shines in the darkness for the upright is the appointed refrain for today's psalm. I couldn't resist crafting accompanying music from Mark Sedio's capricious tune Lux in tenebris. It even closes with a bit of Delores Dufner's original text. See "Light Shone in Darkness," the source for this refrain, at ELW 307.

HYMN OF THE DAY In Christ Called to Baptize (St. Denio) ELW 575

Our courtyard fountain

MUSICAL OFFERING Our Comforter and Guide Daniel C. Meyer
The work of the Holy Spirit is an important piece of today's second reading. This piece borrows texts from two historic hymn writers, Isaac Watts (1674-1748) and Mary Jane Walker (1816-1878). The texts remind us that we do not walk alone, for we have the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us.

COMMUNION HYMN O Christ, Surround Me (Green Tyler) ACS 1084

COMMUNION HYMN The Lord Is My Light

Our second communion hymn is an ostinato refrain from the Taizé tradition. An ostinato is a short phrase that is repeated throughout a piece of music. We'll sing this several times. Memorize this sung prayer so that you can sing without looking at the music.

SENDING HYMN Lord of Light (Abbot's Leigh) ELW 688

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Fughetta on "To Be Your Presence" (Engelberg)

Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

See the text and tune at ELW 546.