Music for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year C: December 8, 2024

HOLY COMMUNION SETTING

St. Mark's expresses a change of seasons through color and music. You may have noticed last Sunday that all our hymns were Advent themed - to support the "propers" of the day. (Propers are the texts that change daily. Most notable are the readings and the Prayer of the Day.)

Last Sunday, our musical changes included a change to the sung setting of Holy Communion. This setting comes from "This Far by Faith," an African American worship resource published by Augsburg Fortress. "This Far by Faith is celebrating its 25-year anniversary this year!

We're using Setting One, also called "River of Life." Tilis Butler wrote this musical setting. I have not been able to learn much about him except that he worked for the Detroit Board of Education for 35 years, as well as being a composer.

This setting features lush chords that support the texts, rather than allowing the style to overshadow them.

OPENING VOLUNTARY An Advent Meditation David Lasky

This musical meditation includes three Advent Hymns: "Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus" (Hyfrydol) ELW 254; "Savior of the Nations, Come" (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) ELW 263; and "Come Now, O Prince of Peace" (Ososo) ELW 247

Last Sunday I found a package in the choir room with a note that included the words "Perhaps your office could use an Advent wreath." Well, not my office, but it's sitting on the piano in the choir room and we will light it at the end of each rehearsal when we say our closing prayer.
Thanks to Gregg and Linda K. for this thoughtful gift!

GATHERING HYMN Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

ELW pairs this Charles Wesley text with the tune "Jefferson," but today we sing it to the Welsh tune "Hyfrydol." This is one of Wesley's 9,000+ hymns! Ordained in 1735 as an Anglican priest, he and his brother, John, were the founders of the Methodist Church.

The hymn speaks of the Messiah as "Israel's strength and consolation," but reminds us he is also the "dear desire of every nation." This second phrase calls to mind the voice of the prophet Haggai in Haggai 2:7.

I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come. . . (NIV)

PSALM

Occasionally, the psalm isn't from the book of Psalms. Today's psalm comes from Luke's gospel. Often called the "Benedictus" or "Canticle of Zachariah," it's also part of ELW's Morning Prayer service - which is where the setting we sing this morning can be found.

HYMN OF THE DAY On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry (Puer nobis) ELW 249

This hymn echoes much of the gospel reading. In the first two stanzas, we sing of John the Baptist and his proclamation that the one who brings salvation is near. Our response to his call is to be cleansed from sin so that we can better be prepared to receive Christ.

The next two stanzas are addressed to Christ. We hail him as Savior, acknowledge our need for grace. We ask him to bring healing - not just to our bodies, but to our souls. Our response to the favor he shows us is to live lives that fills the world with divine love - the love of God.

The doxological stanza that ends the hymn is one of thanksgiving to Christ, who wins freedom for us by his coming.

MUSICAL OFFERING Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates David von Kampen

The text is from Psalm 24:7. A Christian read of the psalm recalls Jesus' triumphal coming into Jerusalem. This reminds us of a future coming, when "he shall come to judge the living and the dead." Thus, it's well-suited to the season of Advent.

Von Kampen's setting makes use of a fun, baroque-styled interlude that lends a joyful moment to our worship.

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

How do we welcome Christ? The meaning is two-fold when we sing this hymn in the context of communion. First, we have the Advent element of welcoming Jesus, but then at communion we acknowledge his true presence in the elements, another way he comes to us.

Stanzas 2 and 3 take on very personal language. "Love brought you down to ME. . . Your thirst for MY salvation procured MY liberty."

The fourth stanza (Paul Gerhardt originally wrote 10 stanzas) is an invitation to all who are living in a sinful state to join in our rejoicing at our Lord's appearing. Christian hymnody often speaks of heaven as "home," and this stanza ends with a prayer that Jesus would guide us there. 

SENDING HYMN All Earth Is Hopeful (Toda la tierra) ELW 266

CLOSING VOLUNTARY He Came Down setting, David Lasky
How do you take and African folk song and translate into an organ postlude? David Lasky adds rhythmic flourishes that result in a sort of theme and variations where the tune is straightforward in each iteration, but the accompanying flourishes add some playful pizazz.

He has little to do with Advent, but this fella lives 20 steps from St. Mark's.
I thought he deserved a little love!

Sources:

Wikipedia!
Hymnal Companion: Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress)
Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns (Concordia Publishing House)

Music for the First Sunday of Advent, Year C: December 1, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY The King Shall Come Thomas Keesecker

(See the text and tune at ELW 260.)

We often like to think of Advent as a time to prepare for Christmas and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; but this hymn (along with today's gospel reading) is focused on the Lord's second coming.
The gospel reading tells that people will "faint from fear and foreboding." Perhaps these feelings of terror are what caused the composer to interweave the African American Spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" into this arrangement. The spiritual dates back to the time of slavery, recalling a time when children were taken from their parents and sold to new masters, often ones who lived far away.
Thankfully, God's children will come through the terror and find their redemption.

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

PSALM 25 
This metrical setting is sung to one of my favorite tunes - Bred dina vida vingar - a Swedish tune that has the feel of a lullaby. It's a good match for a psalm about trust in God.

HYMN OF THE DAY Prepare the Royal Highway (Bereden väg för Herran) ELW 264

While the second stanza of this hymn recalls Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the next stanzas are about his second coming. "His rule is. . .justice" has an echo of the Prayer of the Day. 

MUSICAL OFFERING Rejoice! Rejoice! Aaron David Miller

COMMUNION HYMN Comfort, Comfort Now My People (Freu dich sehr) ELW 256

SENDING HYMN Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding (Merton) ELW 246

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Trumpet Tune on "Freu dich sehr"
Jerry Westenkuehler
The comforting, dancing tune that we sang during communion is reimagined as a trumpet tune! The melody is carried by the Festival Trumpet, one of the stops that was added to the organ during its expansion in 2013.

Music for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B: April 28, 2024

OPENING VOLUNTARY Ubi caritas et amor  setting, Gerald Near

It is the Holy Spirit's work to gather us together as God's people in a community of faith. This ancient hymn from the ninth century celebrates our communal worship. It is also a prayer that we have no division and that we be on guard against the ways in which we might harm each other.

Finally, it reminds us of the day when we shall see Jesus "face to face in glory and light." And it won't just be our community, but we'll be surrounded by the "blest saints" with whom we will join in worship.

It's a suitable text for meditation as worship begins.

GATHERING HYMN We Know That Christ Is Raised (Engelberg)

ELW 449
The author of the text, John B. Geyer wrote this hymn in 1967. He was a tutor at Chestnut College, Cambridge, U.K. At the time, experiments were being done around producing living cells in the laboratory. Geyer says, "The hymn attempted to illustrate the Christian doctrine of baptism in relation to those experiments." 

Evangelical Lutheran Worship groups We Know That Christ is Raised with baptism hymns - as Geyer intended. But it's easy to see why we also sing it during Easter.

HYMN OF THE DAY Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen! (Earth and All Stars)
ELW 377

Easter lilies in my home garden, 2019
They all came from the Easter celebrations at St. Mark's

Like the gathering hymn, the Hymn of the Day begins with a proclamation of Jesus' resurrection. It reminds us (as if we needed reminding) that we are still in the Easter season.

Herbert Brokering (1926-2009), one of our time's most noteworthy Lutheran hymnwriters, wrote this SECOND text to be used with the same tune as his Earth and All Stars. The text was specifically written to be included in With One Voice. Both texts appear in ELW, and we used them at St. Mark's frequently.

Since ELW's release in 2006, we have sung Earth and All Stars nine times.  We have sung Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen! fifteen times. This means David N. Johnson's tune gets significant play at St. Mark's - 24 times!

The third verse of Alleluia! will especially catch our eyes this morning as Brokering reminds us of what Jesus said - that he is the vine. We are the branches.

MUSICAL OFFERING A Vineyard Grows K. Lee Scott

close-up of the fruit and vine
motif from the organ at St. Mark's

Scott wrote a melody based on an English folk tune to accompany Jaroslav J. Vajda's (1919-2008) text. Like Brokering, he is another celebrated Lutheran hymn writer of our time.

The text appeared with Richard Hillert's tune Granton in Lutheran Book of Worship.

The full text closely aligns with today's gospel reading.

COMMUNION HYMNS
Like the Murmur of the Dove's Song (Bridegroom) ELW 403
Where Charity and Love Prevail (Twenty-Fourth) ELW 359

SENDING HYMN Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death (Azmon)

ELW 452

Is there a more stalwart tune than Azmon? This hymn also carries reminders that we are still in Easter. It also offers us advice on how to live in community, that we should walk in love and forgive each other as Christ forgave us.
It's a suitable text to carry with us as the Spirt who gathered us, now sends us witnesses to the good news of Jesus Christ. 
Awake! Arise! Go forth in faith!

Ruth V. took this photo of choir members and worship assistants
preparing for this year's Easter vigil

CLOSING VOLUNTARY Now the Green Blade Rises (Noël Nouvelet)

setting, Wayne L. Wold

Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymn Notes for Church Bulletins, Austin C. Lovelace, GIA Publications, Inc.
The Hymnal Companion: Evangelical Lutheran Worship

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