We're finally in September, but as I'm writing this, the temperature is about 90 degrees and still climbing! It brings back memories of my move-in day here in Waverly.
This week in our semi-continuous reading, we hear the story of the Passover. God orders Moses and Aaron that they should report to their people to take a year old lamb, slaughter it, and coat the doors of their houses with the fresh blood of the lamb. For when God passes over that evening, those with blood on their door will be spared the plague that is coming to Egypt.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus shares some simple principles about life and how the church should gather together and show individuals why they need to repent. Jesus promises that whenever two or three gather in his name, he will be there among them. It was and still is a very powerful, hopeful promise.
HYMNS AND SONGS
We Sing To You, O God (Opening hymn: 5:30 PM, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
This hymn is a bit of a recollection of the lessons we have been hearing the previous weeks. Stanza one briefly makes reference to God as the "Rock who gave us birth" (see Deuteronomy 32:18, and Exodus 4:22). Stanza two describes our journey's of faith from the perspectives of the Israelites who were on a pilgrimage through the desert for years and years. God sheltered them and protected them on their journey, and he does the same for us today. The closing two stanzas are both statements of praise, in which God is referred to as an eagle, guiding us toward the sun, enabling us to bring good to the world.
The tune, LOVE UNKNOWN, composed by John Ireland, is sadly underused in our repertoire. It alternates between a 3 and 2 meter, but the melodic contours are very singable and fit this wonderful text extremely well.
Christ Jesus Lay In Death's Strong Bands (Hymn of the Day: 5:30 PM, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
You may be wondering why we are using what is traditionally an Easter hymn here on the first week of September. The answer is contained in stanza three, which makes a strong reference to the passover in the third line... "See, his blood now marks our door; faith points to it; death passes o'er, and Satan cannot harm us." While this hymn describes the death and resurrection of Christ, it doesn't necessarily dwell on it. The main focus is more on the goodness we receive from Christ as he sits at God's right hand in heaven. As a Lutheran church, we also have a duty to keep this hymn in our repertoire. We may still do A Mighty Fortress yearly, but other hymns by the great reformer Martin Luther are in a bit of danger. These Lutheran chorale tunes are the stronghold of the Lutheran musical heritage, and it is critical that they continue to be sung regularly.
With rare exceptions, these chorale tunes should be sung briskly and strongly, in unison. Hymnals at the time of Martin Luther all the way to the 19th century rarely contained harmonization. It was customary for the congregation to rise up and with one voice sing the praises of God. I'm very glad that the ELW hymnal committee elected to not include harmonizations for most of these chorale tunes.
My Faith Looks Up To Thee (Communion hymn: 5:30 PM, 7:45 AM)
In stark contrast to our hymn of the day tune, the tune to this hymn, titled OLIVET, almost requires harmonization for it to be a moving experience. The trend in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was for more hymn tunes to be set homophonically, with more straightforward harmonies, to lend themselves to four part singing. There is not much to this melody by itself, but when harmonized, it becomes something truly beautiful.
The text of this hymn asks for redemption, grace, and guidance. Connecting with the hymn of the day, Jesus is at the right hand of God, and this is our prayer to him to continue watching over us, as we see in the final line, "O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!"
God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again (Closing Hymn: 5:30 PM)
This lovely benediction has been loved by congregations across all denominations for over a century. As is the previous hymn, it lends itself extremely well to harmonization, to the point of almost requiring it. The verses contain numerous references to God's protection of us, such as "the shepherd's care," "holy wings," and "unfailing arms." If you attend this service and are reading this, please note that we will only be singing the refrain on the final time, after the three verses.
Evening and Morning (Closing Hymn: 9:00 AM)
And... we're back to the Germans!! Though Paul Gerhardt is known for many great Lutheran hymns such as "O Sacred Head Now Wounded," and "If God, My Lord, Be For Me," Evening and Morning is a hymn that is rarely sung. The final two stanzas hearken towards our Gospel reading today. As Jesus said, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven," this hymn makes the same promise, such as at the conclusion of stanza three, "Joys e'er increasing and peace never ceasing: these shall I treasure and share in full measure when in your mansions you grant me a place." The tune, which in English means, "The Golden Sun," is in a dance-like double meter, filled with sequences, joyful rhythms, and despite several tonal forays into the dominant key, remains very singable.
Better Is One Day (Opening Song: 10:30 AM)
The majority of our songs at the 10:30 AM service actually correspond with our Gospel reading. Where Jesus gives us instructions and advice on what we should do to enter the Kingdom of heaven, this song is all about the glories and wonders contained within, and how we would rather spend just one day in the house of God than thousands elsewhere. This song, written by Matt Redman, is also the title track of his album, "Better Is One Day."
Gather Us In (Praise Song: 10:30 AM)
The scriptural references in this song are too many to count. Overall though, this bouncy tune and text by Marty Haugen captures the essence of our Gospel reading this morning. As we all come together to worship, young and old, blind and lame, rich and haughty, proud and strong, we call come together to do God's work in the world.
Under The Blood (Scripture Song: 10:30 AM)
Martin J. Nystrom is a name that a lot of people who study worship and praise music have heard before. Unfortunately, before I found this song, I was not one of those people. This is the first song (that I know of) that I have ever found by Mr. Nystrom, and I certainly hope I find more in the future. The poem is simple, yet very profound, and sums up the spirit of the festival of Passover extremely well. As he says in the second line, "No power of darkness could ever withstand the force of the blood sacrifice." The similarities between this tune and Marty Haugen's tune for Gather Us In are actually quite shocking. Both in 6/8 time, they are both in A-major, and they both travel harmonically to C major for the second line of text! Both tunes capture the spirits of their relative texts very well.
Take My Life and Let It Be (Offering song: 10:30 AM)
What a wonderful musical update to this beautiful 19th century text! Set in a Latin-american samba style by Mark Sedio, this version of "Take My Life..." is an absolute blast to sing. The text is slightly altered so it fits in a verse-refrain style (the worship team will be singing the verses), and all of the musical syncopations that look rather confusing on paper actually roll off the tongue very naturally. It's very difficult to sing this incorrectly! The poem is actually a response to the Gospel reading, in that when Jesus calls the church to assist wrongdoers in finding the way, this text almost flips it around, and we say that we are open and willing to be directed by God in any way he wishes to do so.
One Bread, One Body (Communion song: 10:30 AM)
The theme of John Foley's rather simple text and tune is that of unity. Whether we are jews, gentiles, servants, free, women, men, anything... we become one body through the body and blood of Christ.
Soon and Very Soon (Closing song: 10:30 AM)
The great gospel musician Andrae Crouch (b. 1945) gives us this rousing tune to close our worship this week. Jesus instructs us to do the mission of the church... go out and make disciples of all the world. Warn people that they should repent. For when we do so, we will all have a seat in the Kingdom of heaven. This gospel song is our response to that. It won't be long now, because soon and very soon, we are goin' to see the King!
Gospel music can often be misinterpreted and downright butchered by some musicians that may not be familiar with the performance practice. Nine times out of ten, you'll hear this gospel song performed too quickly. If it is rushed through, the syncopations lose all of their power and effectiveness. So don't be in a hurry on this one. Sit back on the beat, and let each word take its time coming out. I know we want to hurry to the Kingdom, but we'll all get there eventually anyway, so we might as well enjoy our time here as long as we have it. No rush!
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Improvisation on LOVE UNKNOWN (Prelude: 5:30 PM, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
John Ireland (1879-1962), while not necessarily belonging to the mainstream of 20th century English composers (ie. Vaughan Williams, Britten), was certainly a successful composer. He wrote many works for both the church and concert stage, but unfortunately, this was his only hymn tune. I say unfortunately, because it is such a good one! It was originally written for the hymn "My Song is Love Unknown," (see ELW 343), but has been adapted for the text we are singing today. This improvisatory prelude is simply to introduce the tune before the service and give everyone a chance to hear it, so it will hopefully be very familiar when it comes time to sing it.
Chorale Prelude on "Christ Lag in Todesbanden"- Marcel Dupre (Offering: 5:30 PM, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
French composer Marcel Dupre seems to be an odd choice to set nearly 80 German chorale tunes, but he did just that. Dupre's settings, while not on the scale of Bach or Buxtehude, are straightforward and very profound in nature. This arrangement features the tune in one manual with a staggered eighth note accompaniment alternating between the left hand and pedal.
"Christ Lag in Todesbanden"- Johann Pachelbel (Postlude: 5:30 PM, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM)
Yes, Pachelbel again! I was originally going to play Bach's famous setting of this chorale, but after checking out Pachelbel's on a whim, I decided to switch. Where Bach's setting is rather straightforward with the chorale in the soprano, Pachelbel's setting is broader and grander. It is set in two parts, the first consisting of a fughetta-like arrangement of the tune which connects right into the second part, a strong declaration of the full tune in the pedal with 16th note figurations in the hands.
MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Greater love hath no man (feat. John Ireland)
from "The English Anthem Collection, vol. II"This is John Ireland's great choral anthem, Greater Love Hath No Man, featuring biblical references including Canticles 8, St John 15, I Peter 2, I Corinthians 6; and Romans 12. This piece itself, set for SATB choir and organ, is brilliant enough, but this entire album contains two discs of some of the greatest music to come out of the British Isles in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is one that is not to be missed.
2. Pachelbel: Organ Works Vol.1
I thought I'd finally include a CD of Pachelbel organ music. While this particular album doesn't include the setting of Christ Lag I'm playing this week, it does have the Prelude in D-minor that I played as the postlude last week.
3. Bach: Cantatas, BWV 4-6
- Helmuth RillingAs we may all know, J.S. Bach wrote a full cantata for nearly every week of the church year while he was cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. His Cantata, BWV 4, Christ Lag In Todesbanden, is based on the chorale that was our hymn of the day today. The Stuttgart Bach Ensemble is led masterfully by Helmuth Rilling, who is arguably the premier interpreter of Bach today.
3. Definitive Greatest Hits
- Andrae Crouch This three disc set contains all of Crouch's greatest hits, including Soon and Very Soon, which can be found on disc 3. This set is a veritable time capsule of one of the first mainstream Gospel artists.
As always, feedback is appreciated on all of my writings! I appreciate you all taking time to read, and it's great to hear your comments on Sunday morning!
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