Music for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year B: December 17, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

setting, Michael D. Costello

GATHERING HYMN Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn (Rejoice, Rejoice) ELW 242

Marty Haugen's first version of this song was as a Christmas hymn. In a year when his family decided not to give material gifts, he wrote it for his aunt.  As you might guess, the opening words were, "Rejoice, rejoice!"

Feeling there was already an adequate supply of Christmas hymns, he later changed its focus to Advent.

HYMN OF THE DAY O Lord, How Shall I Meet You (Wie soll ich dich empfangen) ELW 241

In today's gospel reading, a group of priests and Levites (sent from the Pharisees) confront John the Baptist. They want to know if he is the Messiah. He tells them he is not, but that he has been sent to prepare the way for someone greater than himself. 

It can seem strange when assemblies sing songs with "I" language. Of course we understand that we are singing of a shared experience and that "I" can really be a communal "we." But I appreciate that after three stanzas of "how shall I meet you," "you came to set me free," and "Your thirst for my salvation set me free," the focus turns outward and we call upon the sad hearted to rejoice. The Lord's appearing isn't just for me, but for all. We call on all people to hail Christ's appearing and ask him to guide us safely home.

MUSICAL OFFERING Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain

Carolyn Jennings

In this season of Advent, 3 of our readings from the Hebrew scriptures come from the book called Isaiah. While scholars believe this book may be a compilation of writings from at least three prophets, their message is unfied - God's people will be redeemed and comforted.

This musical offering is an echo of last week's reading from Isaiah 40. God will care for the people like a shepherd, carrying them in loving arms and keeping them safe from harm.

Not only is Mount Hermon the highest point in Israel, it's home to a ski resort!

COMMUNION HYMN As the Dark Awaits the Dawn (Lucent) ELW 261

SENDING HYMN Joy to the World (Antioch) ELW 267

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Fugue in E minor

J. S. Bach

The subject (opening theme) of this fugue resembles a trumpet call, earning it "The Night Watchman's Fugue" as a nickname. 
"Keep Awake!" is our constant Advent cry, something to ponder as we hear the music played.

We welcome Jane Daugherty to the organ bench for today's closing voluntary.

Sources: Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Mount Hermon photo: By Almog - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2181987

Music for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B: December 10, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

arr. Sandra Eithun
St. Mark's Ringers

In this season of Advent, three of four readings from the Hebrew Scriptures are from the Book of Isaiah. Christians have long seen prophecies of Jesus in his writings. (I say "his," but many scholars believe this book is a compilation of writings from at least THREE "Isaiahs.") You'll find "Lo, How a Rose," in the Christmas section of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, but the line "Isaiah 'twas foretold it, this rose I have in mind. . ." makes it a suitable Advent hymn as well. (Yes, I used one of the more poetic versions of the text.)

Eithun's arrangement begins with the melody high in the handbell range. She augments (stretches) the rhythms, so the melody seems to hang suspended in time with an ethereal quality.

Our Three Kings recently enjoyed a loving makeover from member Darby Brown. They look amazing and sit a respectable distance from the creche.

GATHERING HYMN Prepare the Royal Highway 

(Bereden väg för Herran) ELW 264

Compare the text of this hymn to today's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, especially Isaiah 40: 3-5. "Prepare the royal highway" is another way of saying "make straight in the desert a highway."

The second stanza looks forward to Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but stanzas three and four seem to be about the second coming when he comes to rule in "peace and freedom and justice, truth, and love."

HYMN OF THE DAY Comfort, Comfort Now My People 

(Freu dich sehr) ELW 256

MUSICAL OFFERING My Lord, What a Morning David von Kampen

See the text and tune at ELW 438

This classic African American spiritual and Advent hymn gives a vivid picture of the End Times, an important theme in the season of Advent. 
The gentle, almost gospel accompaniment with selected chords from the jazz genre is a suitable homage to the gospel style.
Interestingly, the stanzas that speak of the sinner's cry and the Christian's shout are notated to be sung softly by the arranger. Why? I can't be certain, but I think it's because the morning also comes with mourning. Christians should never take glee in the notion that someone perishes, whatever their sins may be. God certainly does not.

COMMUNION HYMN All Earth is Hopeful (Toda la tierra) ELW 266

When St. Francis photobombs your "We're having a baby" announcement.

SENDING HYMN Hark, the Glad Sound (Chesterfield)  ELW 239

CLOSING VOLUNTARY On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry
(Puer nobis)

See the text and tune at ELW 249.

Music for the First Sunday of Advent, Year B: December 3, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY Comfort, Comfort Now My People

setting, Egil Hovland

Based on the hymntune Freu dich sehr, a light flute gives glimpses of the melody with lots of little flourishes. Another, darker flute, plays the melody. All this happens over a light pedal point - a bass note that sounds continuously throughout this dance-like chorale prelude.
It's a reminder that Advent is a time of joyful expectation, setting the tone not only for this service, but for the entire season.

See the text and tune at ELW 256.

GATHERING HYMN Fling Wide the Door (Macht hoch die Tür)

ELW 259

This hymn implores us to "Fling wide the door, unbar the gate. . ." But it isn't just a gate we open. We also open our hearts, not to receive salvation, but to welcome his rule. The feel of this hymn is both grand and celebratory with its image of the King of glory arriving in state.

In this Advent season of hope and expectation, the whole world awaits the coming of the Savior. We hear the words of the prophets. We sing of God's promises. We place our hope in God. The carols and hymns in this service draw from a variety of countries. Other parts of the service are based on passages from Isaiah. (Adapted from Sundays and Seasons)

Come Now, O Prince of Peace (ELW 247)

The text and music are by a Korean composer with an introduction and accompaniment by Anne Krentz Organ.

Comfort, Comfort Now My People
This is not the same text and tune as found in ELW. The text is a paraphrase of the Isaiah reading by Mark Sedio. He has paired the words with the exquisite Welsh tune Suo Gan. The comforting text and lilting melody give the hymn a lullaby quality.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (ELW 254)
Charles Wesley's text Advent text is paired with Jefferson, a tune that may have originated in the southern states of the USA. We only know it was first published in 1835 in a hymn collection titled Southern Harmony. It was part of the American "singing schools" tradition that found its beginning in colonial times.

Lost in the Night (sung by the Festival Choir)

setting, Kyle Haugen

Olav Lee, though credited with the text, is not the original author. Lee was born in Norway and arrived in the US in 1877. The original text was by Olga Maria Virginia Kullgren (1849 - 1909), a Swedish hymn writer. 

The tune is from Finland.

He Came Down (ELW 253)

This is a traditional song from Cameroon.

The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (ELW 265)

The Basque region gave us this carol of the annunciation. The Basque people share a common language, heritage, and culture even though parts of this region are in France and parts are in Spain.

Drawn to the Light (ELW 593)

This hymn and tune come from John C. Ylvisaker (1937-2017) who is probably best known for the hymn Borning Cry.
The tune La Crosse, is name for La Crosse, Wisconsin where the hymn was first sung in 1987 by the three groups who would later be known as Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

MUSICAL OFFERING Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

piano setting, John Carter

COMMUNION HYMN O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel) ELW 257

SENDING HYMN O Come, Divine Messiah
This final hymn is not found in ELW. I learned it a few years ago while performing it with RareSong, an early music group that I sing with. We sang a concert of music that French and Spanish colonists might have sung on the first coast when Fort Caroline was established and the city of St. Augustine was founded. in published form, this French carol dates to at the least the 1600s.
Determined to add it to our modern repertoire, I was delighted to find that our Roman Catholic siblings in faith have been singing it all along!

RareSong

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Comfort, Comfort Now My People

This book-end rendering of Freu dich sehr couldn't be more different than the opening version. This setting is an exhuberant trumpet tune with full organ!

Music for All Saints Sunday: November 4, 2023

All Saints celebrates the baptized people of God, living and dead, who are the body of Christ. As November heralds the dying of the landscape in many northern regions, the readings and liturgy call us to remember all who have died in Christ and whose baptism is complete. At the Lord's table we gather with the faithful of every time and place, trusting that the promises of God will be fulfilled and that all tears will be wiped away in the new Jerusalem. (From Sundays and Seasons)

OPENING VOLUNTARY Shall We Gather at the River

setting, Gordon Young

GATHERING HYMN For All the Saints (Sine nomine) ELW 422

Is it any wonder this hymn is practically REQUIRED for All Saints Day? Its images are quite in line with the vision in the first reading. (Interestingly, this a day when the first reading doesn't come from the Hebrew Scriptures, but from the book of Revelation.) The text gives us an image of the saints at rest, but also of their rising in glory - a reflection of the commendation in our funeral service.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive them into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of all the saints in light.

To put it succinctly, may they rest in peace and rise in glory.

HYMN OF THE DAY Sing with All the Saints in Glory (Hymn to Joy)

This hymn appears in ELW with a different tune. Today I elected to sing it with Hymn to Joy as it appears in the United Methodist hymnal.

white azaleas blooming at St. Mark's in 2021

MUSICAL OFFERING Blessed Paul Weber

The text is drawn from today's gospel reading. 
The term melisma describes a compositional device of singing several notes over a single syllable. In this case, Weber highlights the word "blessed" by creating a gently turning melody, evoking an ethereal quality that we often associate with heaven.

COMMUNION HYMN Behold the Host Arrayed in White
(Den store hvide flok) ELW 425

SENDING HYMN Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In ACS 950

This beloved spiritual has been part of the musical fabric of the American civil rights movement, funerals, and popular culture since the early twentieth century. It comes out of the oral tradition of African American song where tune, harmony, and text are shared an adapted from one community to another. The text presented here is one of many variants in widespread use, and the harmony is but one of numerous possibilities. (From Sundays and Seasons)

window at Christ Lutheran Church in Bexley, OH

Music for Reformation Sunday: October 29, 2023

INTRODUCTION TO THE DAY (From Sundays and Seasons)
Rooted in the past and growing into the future, the church must always be reformed in order to live out the love of Christ in an ever-changing world. We celebrate the good news of God's grace, that Jesus Christ sets us free every day to do this life-transforming work. Trusting in the freedom given to us in baptism, we pray for the church, that Christians will unite more fully in worship and mission.

OPENING VOLUNTARY Prelude and Chorale on "Nun bitten wir"

Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 - 1707)

The text and tune can be found at ELW 743.

In our day it's quite easy to learn from somebody who is miles away. We can buy books, send emails, and even attend internet master classes. It was not so easy in the days of J. S. Bach. His desire to learn from the Danish master of his day, Dieterich Buxtehude, included a walking journey of about 250 miles! 

The young J. S. Bach asked his employer for a one month leave of absence, but instead spent something more like four months learning from Buxtehude and writing out copies of his music by hand.

The hymn grew out of a medieval form called the leise. Each of these hymns featured a single verse and ended with some form of a Kyrie eleison.  Experts believe the name leise came out of eleison. 

The first stanza dates from about the thirteenth century. Martin Luther added three stanzas and it has appeared in Lutheran hymnals ever since.

Each Sunday, the Holy Spirit gathers us as the people of God, so it's appropriate that our time together begins with a hymn that honors the Spirit's work.

GATHERING HYMN Making Their Way (Komt nu met zang) ACS 979

Delores Dufner, OSB

This beautiful text by Sister Delores Dufner makes it clear that everyone - from all times and places and all facets of society - is called to gather and hear God's word, offer thanks, and share in the eucharistic feast. Dufner, a prolific hymn writer, was born and raised on a farm in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and is now a member of St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota. The text is set to a sturdy Dutch tune that many have learned in Evangelical Lutheran Worship with the text "What Is This Place?" (ELW 524). 

(From Sundays and Seasons)

HYMN OF THE DAY Built on a Rock (Kirken den er et gammelt hus) ELW 652

MUSICAL OFFERING Rise, Shine! arr. Dale Wood

The text and tune can be found at ELW 665.

Martin Luther gave us a great gift in his Small Catechism. In it we find Luther's answers to many questions that have guided generations of Lutherans whose faith has been formed by his words.

But the church's hymns are equally formational - and their metrical nature makes them easier to remember than the prose narratives many of us had to memorize to pass the examinations that led to confirmation.

That's why Ronald A. Klug's text, written with Epiphany in mind, encourages us to hurl our songs and prayers against the world's darkness and against our "old evil foe, sent to work us woe." Our arsenal is a rich one that we perhaps began using with "Jesus Loves Me." 

Pay attention to today's hymns and see what truths you can find that are worthy of hurling against the darkness. You might even want to jot them down on the "notes" page of your bulletin.

COMMUNION HYMN In the Midst of Earthly Life (Mitten wir im Leben sind) 

ACS 1026
Martin Luther was deeply aware of the brevity of human life. This hymn makes plain what

we so often work to deny: death is a part of life. Each stanza names this difficult truth, then makes a turn toward God in faith and praise, using a paraphrase of the Greek hymn Trisagion, or "thrice-holy." Luther modeled this hymn on an eleventh century antiphon, and it has been sung at countless deathbeds and gravesides, offering comfort to those yearning for the hope of God's eternal embrace. (From Sundays and Seasons)

This will be a new hymn to many singers at St. Mark's. The stanzas are longer than we are used to, but the stepwise motion of the melody will make its singing intuitive for many. 

A one-stanza version of this hymn appeared as "Even as we live each day" in Lutheran Book of Worship. All Creation Sings favors a new translation by Susan Palo Cherwien and adds two additional stanzas. It is among the first of the 36 or so hymns that Luther wrote.

SENDING HYMN A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein fest Burg) ELW 503

This year we sing the rhythmic version, the one that Luther wrote!

A commonly mistold story is that the melody of this song originated in taverns as a popular song of the day.
This legend began when someone read that the tune was a bar song, meaning that it was written in bar form - a form of musical writing that was common in Luther's time. 

CLOSING VOLUNTARY A Mighty Fortress Is Our God Johann Pachelbel

Sources:
Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship
Sundays and Season (some texts, and the funeral clip art)

https://bachtrack.com/feature-at-home-guide-bach-buxtehude-lubeck-arnstadt-august-2017
Wikipedia
Delores Dufner photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S_Delores_Dufner_300px.jpg#/media/File:S_Delores_Dufner_300px.jpg
Assembly Song Companion to All Creation Sings

Music for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost (Lectionary 29): October 22, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY Mit Freuden zart setting, Benjamin M. Culli

Broadway musicals and operas open with an overture - a musical introduction that contains musical themes from the show to follow. Similarly, this piece previews the music that our Festival Choir will sing during the musical offering.

GATHERING HYMN God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda) ELW 705

It's an easy trap to trust in our earthy assets. Once we break that bond, we can readily "Give. . .to God the things that are God's." In stanza three we ask God to "shame our wanton, selfish gladness" in order to do just that.

But this hymn doesn't only have ties to our gospel reading, it relates to our world situation as the Abrahamic traditions war with each other in the Middle East. Last week's intercessory prayers included this petition: 

We pray for our Jewish, Christian, and Muslim siblings in the Middle East, for those who have died and for those who mourn. Bring an end to war and hatred so that all may live peaceful lives and be reconciled with their neighbors. 

We ended the prayer with "God of grace, hear our prayer," but we could also take a cue from this well-known hymn and say, "God of Grace and God of Glory, hear our prayer."

HYMN OF THE DAY O God of Every Nation (Llangloffan) ELW 713

MUSICAL OFFERING Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above

Mit Freuden zart is the tune for this hymn. It's slightly altered from the ELW version. The melody has some extra notes and it has a different metre - instead of dividing the larger beat into two equal parts, it's divided into three. (This means you can sway back and forth as you sing!)

When we render unto God what is God's, we can't forget to include all praise and glory!

COMMUNION HYMN Around You, O Lord Jesus (O Jesu, än de dina) ELW 468

SENDING HYMN You Servants of God (Lyons) ELW 825

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Jesus Shall Reign (Duke Street) setting, Gerhard Krapf

 

Music for the Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost (Lectionary) 28: October 15, 2023

OPENING VOLUNTARY Laudation Arnold Sherman

Today's gospel reading recounts events around a wedding. Is there any greater cause for celebration than a wedding? Today's "Laudation" is a celebratory piece that is rhythmically exciting with chords that double, then triple in size. The introspective middle section might even accompany a wedding procession.

GATHERING HYMN Now We Join in Celebration (Schmücke dich)

ELW 462

The celebratory theme continues. As the guests for the wedding in Matthew's gospel put on their wedding robes, so we come "dressed no more in spirit somber" but "clothed instead in joy and wonder."

The tune, with its alternation between long and short notes, feels like an elegant dance. Is there a better way to enter into worship than with singing and dancing?

HYMN OF THE DAY At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing (Sonne der Gerechtigkeit) ELW 362

Jan Hus preaching

The music for this hymn is deeply associated with reformers who predate Martin Luther! Jan Hus (1369-1415) was an important voice in the Bohemian Reformation. (The Moravians were spiritual descendants of the Bohemians.) This tune, fashioned from a 15th century folk song, comes from a Bohemian hymnal published in 1566. 

This is a hymn of praise to Christ. In the Prayer of the Day, we ask God to transform us into a people of righteousness and peace. We echo that prayer in the 7th stanza with the words "From sin's pow'r, Lord set us free, newborn souls in you to be."

MUSICAL OFFERING Jesus Calls Us K. Lee Scott

K. Lee Scott borrowed the text from a well-known hymn and paired it with a tune from from New Harp Columbia, a shape-note tune book that was published in Knoxville, TN in 1867. It's easy to hear the tune as a piece of Americana, but I could not determine if it was newly composed for this book or arranged from other sources.

COMMUNION HYMN Look Who Gathers at Christ's Table (Copeland) ACS 977

This hymn imagines the assembly gathered for worship, bringing their whole lives with them - their joy and their pain. The text was commissioned by the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee, Florida, to honor its pastor, Brant S. Copeland, and was first sung there in October, 2000. The tune was created specifically for this text. (From Sundays and Seasons)

SENDING HYMN Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart (Vineyard Haven) ELW 874

There are two uses of this hymn in ELW. The other one is on the facing page. Today we sing Vineyard Haven, a much more somber tone than Marion.
There is another difference between the two versions, one that changes the intention. Instead of a refrain of "Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice, give thanks and sing!" we find ourselves singing "Hosanna! Hosanna! Rejoice, give thanks and sing. "Hosanna!" is often translated as "Save us!" As we learn more of the unfolding drama in the Middle East, of atrocities and lives that have been lost, "Save us!" may be an important cry as we are sent into the world. 

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Partita on "At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing" Kenneth T. Kosche

The postlude is two settings from Kosche's partita: Scherzo and Fanfare and Chorale

from a window at Christ Lutheran Church in Bexley, OH

Sources:
Wikipedia

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hus_na_kazatelne.jpg#/media/File:Hus_na_kazatelne.jpg
Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship