Music Notes: April 7th, 2013

Second Sunday of Easter

From now until Pentecost, not only are we celebrating the Sundays after Easter, but the next phase of the Building Vision - Sparking Mission is also beginning.  There are a large number of committees and groups who have already planned several wonderful presentations and worship ideas for the coming weeks.

This week, we will hear how a parallel forms with God's covenant with Noah and the Gospel of John this week.  God regrets creating humanity and decides to start over.  He leaves a sign of a rainbow that God will follow the option of love and forgiveness, which is manifest in Jesus' death and resurrection.

PRELUDE

Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen- Keith Kolander

Traveling through many key areas, this dance-like interpretation of David Johnson's tune (that I will discuss later) exudes the joy and triumph of this wonderful Brokering text.

The piece is in three parts, cast in ABA format (ie. the first and final parts are similar).  Fragments of the tune are heard in the pedal with a syncopated ostinato rhythm in the hands.  The B section is relegated to a solo reed with the tune heard in a more straightforward fashion.  The piece concludes as it began, concluding with a glorious poly-tonal chord.

OPENING HYMN

Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen

Until his death in 2009, Dr. Herbert Brokering was a much loved, active contributor to both theological studies and the music ministry of the church.  A graduate of Wartburg College, he established a memorial fund at the college that still exists today.

The story behind this hymn "Alleluia! Jesus Is Risen" is both interesting and extremely simple.  Dr. Brokering and St. Olaf graduate David Johnson were asked to collaborate on a hymn for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of St. Olaf College.  Their result was "Earth and All Stars," an exciting, joyful hymn with ties to Psalms 98 and 150, while inculding tips of the cap to academia.

The results of this collaboration were obviously meaningful to the St. Olaf community, but there was a question of the widespread use and acceptance of this hymn in the future.  To counter this, Dr. Brokering created an original, Easter-based text that could be used with Johnson's excellent tune and be more suitable for church-wide use.  As is evident by the text, it is a joyful expression and reaction to the Easter story, focusing mainly on the celebration and pleasant consequences of the action itself.

HYMN OF THE DAY

O Christ Our Hope

The original version of this hymn traces all the way back to the 8th century.  It was translated and brought into wider use in the mid 19th century, set to an early German chorale.

The bulk of the message comes in stanza four.  As a result of Jesus breaking the bonds of death and ascending to heaven, our love should then be permeated by the love of God and serve the world for all of eternity.

OFFERING

Three Songs sung by the Cherub Choir

Our Cherub Choir director, Heidi Harms has prepared the young voices to sing three songs for us this weekend.  Don't be surprised if the congregation is asked to sing along on one of them as well!

COMMUNION HYMN

That Easter Day With Joy Was Bright

Stanza one of this ancient 5th century text summarizes the events of Easter morning within one tiny sentence. The great thing about the tune PUER NOBIS is that its succinct nature allows for a text which is equally succinct and understandable.

Stanza two, for example, is a brief statement of faith and commitment that Christians all over the world could pray every day.  One can imagine that the disciples said the same thing once they saw their resurrected Lord.  Stanza three is a similar statement of faith.

Something interesting happens in the rhyme scheme of stanza four.  In the first three stanzas, the rhyme scheme is a simple AABB.  If you attempt to apply this formula to stanza four, you'll end up rhyming the word "give" with the word "alive."  Obviously give and live rhyme when pronounced a certain way, but with a long "I" sound, it clearly ruins the scheme.  This happens a lot when 19th century Englishmen either compose or translate a given hymn.  Perhaps the word "alive" was pronounced differently in that time.

I already mentioned the tune, PUER NOBIS.  It was adapted as a hymn by Michael Praetorius, who was a prolific composer of renaissance dance music.  As such, I envision this tune much as a renaissance dance, with a joyful, lilting rhythm.

CLOSING HYMN

Christ Is Alive, Let Christians Sing

Personally, this happens to be my favorite Easter hymn (also appropriate for Advent).  This was written in the late 1960's by Brian Wren, author of hundreds of hymns and one of the most powerful voices in 20th century hymnody.  Unlike some of our previous hymns in this Easter season, Christ Is Alive takes the peril and triumph of Jesus and puts it in a context of our world today.  For example, in stanza two we see that Christ is no longer bound to the stories of ancient years, but by the power of resurrection, we see him among us here and now, touching every place and time.

Other examples are in stanzas three and four, where we see that despite factors like wealth and race divide us, Christ reaches through hatred and turmoil and shows us the way to love and peace.

This extraordinary text is suitable only for the greatest of tunes, and the tune TRURO fits that bill very well.  Set in four distinct parts, this tune is majrestic, triumphant, and most importantly, singable.  It is symmetrical in nature, with the first phrase rising a whole octave and ending with the octave going down.

POSTLUDE

Christ Is Alive - J. Wayne Kerr

This arrangement of the TRURO tune is in the style of a Baroque march.  This style is characterized most notably by a dotted eighth-sixteenth rhythm, a circle of fifths harmonic structure, and a moving, active bass line.

The tune presents itself in a solo trumpet in its entirety, and also fragments of it are within in the ritornello itself.  Like most marches arranged for the organ, it grows to a large conclusion with one final statement of the tune for the finish.