Music Notes: August 26th, 2012

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

We are in a time of transition in the Lectionary this week.  While Jesus is finishing his lessons on being the Bread Of Life and the ramifications of that, he then turns to his followers to embrace this ideology.  When his disciples ask a question, he balks.  Jesus is truly challenging them here; he's almost giving them an ultimatum.  Follow me, eat this bread, drink this cup, or leave.

Simon Peter then steps up and says those immortal words that now permeate our Gospel Acclamations throughout our liturgies.  When Jesus asks them where they would go instead, Simon Peter says, "Lord, where else would we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe that you are the Holy one of God."

This statement ushers us into a Lectionary segment on discipleship, which will carry us through to the end of September, all the way to the 140th Anniversary of St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

PRELUDE

4 Preludes- Johann Pachelbel

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you should be familiar with my affinity for the "other" great German composer of the late 17th century (there are several others, actually).  Pachelbel's output for organ is extensive, ranging from works of large scope and grandeur (such as his Prelude in D minor and several of his chorale settings), to these brief little sketches which encapsulate his style into sometimes as little as 8 measures.  You will hear several motives and progressions throughout these small preludes that you will also hear in the Toccata that is the postlude.

OPENING HYMN

For The Beauty Of The Earth

People with a choral background have probably sung John Rutter's arrangement of this late 19th century pastoral text.  Rutter's treatment of this text is so different that sometimes people have to take a second look before they even realize it is the same text, especially since Rutter alters the refrain (changing the word "sacrifice" to "joyful hymn")

This is, at once, a hymn of discipleship and thanksgiving.  The verses mention all the things that we are thankful for, whether it is nature, time, space, our senses, music, love, family, friends, and the divine countenance we have thanks to the presence of Jesus.  Thankfully, the tune DIX lends itself beautifully to being sung in four part harmony, which is certainly appropriate on the line "for the mystic harmony  linking sense to sound and sight."  While it is referring more to the harmony of our senses rather than musical harmony, it is still an appropriate time to paint the text.

HYMN OF THE DAY

The Son Of God, Our Christ

Without closer inspection, it would be easy to mistake this tune SURSUM CORDA (Latin for "Hearts lifted" or "Lift up your hearts"), as an adapted Gregorian chant, such as PUER NOBIS (see ELW 399), it was actually composed in the early 20th Century.  Its four square phrases have a very singable melodic contour.

This hymn tells the story of how the disciples were selected, their early trials, witnessing Jesus' miracles and teachings, and finally the formation of the Christian church.  The hymn then makes a fabulous transition (which will be reflected in the organ) to present day, where Christ dares us to continue the work of these original disciples by traveling the world and spreading the good news to all near and far.

OFFERING

Gospel Medley- Don and Kris Meyer

I know very little of what Don and Kris are planning for the offering this week, but I do know that it involves a vocal duet and guitar.  Knowing Don and Kris, they'll probably throw a lot of classic, much-loved hymnody together in a way that will likely put smiles on all of our faces. 

COMMUNION HYMNS

O Jesus, I Have Promised

This fine example of 19th century hymnody is a favorite of the 5:30 PM Saturday evening service congregation.  This hymn can be best described as a commitment to pick up our crosses and follow Christ.  It is human nature though for fear and doubt to creep into our minds. 

Set in the first person, this hymn, while demonstrating commitment and dedication, also exhibits the fear and doubt that exists in our own minds.  In stanza two, our foes are near us, so we pray for Jesus to come closer and shield our souls.  We yearn to hear the reassuring words of Jesus in stanza three.  Yet as the hymn closes, we remember why we are embarking on this journey.  At the end of the road, we remember the promise of God that we will one day rise up to heaven, just as Jesus did.

Note that the final two lines of this hymn are a paraphrase of the first two lines, which creates a cyclical structure that ties the entire hymn together.

Father, We Thank You

"Father, we thank you that you planted your holy name within our hearts."

This pretty much sums it up.  One could almost look at Jesus as being a nag.  He repeated his messages to his disciples over and over and over... and over again... but at the time, only he knew his endgame.  Once these teachings were embraced, we were left with nothing but an overwhelming sense of thanks.

This hymn is in two stanzas, and is structured that the first half of each stanza is more general thanks, where the second half focuses more on thanksgiving for communion; the idea of "bread eternal" is exactly what Jesus wanted his disciples to take from his teachings, and that idea has survived for over two centuries now.

Jesus, The Very Thought Of You

Once again here, this hymn is a case study in 19th century hymnody, particularly the tune.  ST. AGNES, while not as well known in the Lutheran church (it is more of a Methodist tune which came from an Episcopalian origin), is one of the many tunes by John Dykes that have stood the test of time.  MELITA (Eternal Father, Strong to Save) and NICAEA (Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty), are among his many other famous tunes.

What binds this tune together is its rhythmic structure.  Through its four short phrases (or two phrases split in half), it has a consistent rhythmic pattern of "short-short-short-long-short-long-short-long."  It comes SO close to being ideal for the text.  If it weren't for the unfortunate line, "a sweeter sound than your blest name," where "your" is on a strong beat and "blest" is on a weak beat, the text and tune would be an absolute perfect match.  That is the challenge of hymn tune writing.  Generally, a tune is adapted to a text, and when it spans multiple stanzas, it can be very difficult to match the oeuvre of a text throughout all of its stanzas.

POSTLUDE

Toccata in E minor- Johann Pachelbel

Pachelbel wrote about 20 toccatas that are still widely published, and this one is unlike many of the others.  A typical Pachelbel toccata consists of a rarely moving pedal point with rapid scalar figurations in the hands, going through thirds, sixths, tenths, and multiple sequences along the way.

This toccata begins with a long flourish from the top of the organ down, and then settles into what seems like a typical form with an E pedal point.  However, it doesn't take long for Pachelbel to expand out into a fantasia-like period of imitative counterpoint, culminating in a circle of fifths sequence in a dialog between two of the organ manuals.  Eventually the manuals combine together, and the piece concludes in the parallel major of where it began.