O Day Full of Grace

This Sunday will feature some of the greatest hymns in the ELW: "If You But Trust in God to Guide You," "This is My Father's World," and "Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow."  The choir will also be singing a great piece by Mozart titled "To God Be Joyful."  It has the distinctly Mozart-ian sound that makes you sit up straighter in your seat and walk with a bounce in your step.  I hope it conjures images from Amadeus, the costumes and the wigs and the dances, all so much more formal and elegant than everyday life.

 But the song that I know will be my favorite is our opening hymn, "O Day Full of Grace."  Whenever I hear the text, I always hear the St. Olaf Choir singing the incredible arrangement by F. Melius Christiansen.  It's among the best vocal tone painting ever written.  The music beautifully depicts the sunrise.  The text of the first verse describes the day just appearing on earth's horizon, while the second verse takes us from the "gracious midnight hour" through dawn and the rising sun, driving gloom from our hearts.  Later verses continue the swell of activity and joy as the day continues, and it all ends with a nod toward the future and our trip to the eternal promised land.

With the amazingly beautiful fall weather in Ohio lately, it's easy to understand where the inspiration for this hymn came from.  Thanks to the end of Daylight Saving Time, we can drive to church in the early morning sunshine shining through the newly bare trees.  For me, it also brings to mind November deer hunting weekends, sitting in a tree stand as dawn came slowly to the landscape and birds began to sing.  Such beauty slips by us unnoticed so often, but tomorrow we will sing and remind ourselves that we are enjoying a day full of grace.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

We're singing another of my all-time favorite hymns this Sunday.  The tune "Lobe Den Herren" is among the most familiar and singable hymn tunes ever composed.  It rolls along like a pleasant folk song, meandering up and down the scale in a lilting triplet rhythm and ending each phrase with a lengthened cadence that gives it a sense of finality and arrival.  It's an absolute pleasure just to hum the tune, and I defy you not to smile when you do.

The text mirrors that joyful praise.  Many people can sing the first verse easily from memory:
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Let all who hear now to his temple draw near,
Joining in glad adoration!

Maybe you learned it with a different word or two along the way.  To me, the only proper text is the one sung by the St. Olaf choir in their rousing rendition.  I prefer the last line of the hymn to be "Join me in glad adoration."  The tune is so simple and pure that to me it makes sense for it to be in the first person, a call to join and share in celebration.  The final verse switches to the plural pronoun "we," which reinforces the sense of welcome to a community of believers.

The prelude this week will be an arrangement of the tune by Paul Manz, with the melody in a strong bass line, beneath a faster ritornello in the upper voices.  As with the text and the hymn itself, the entire piece builds to the joyful close:

Let the amen sound from his people again.
Gladly forever adore him!

St. Olaf Review, Part 3 (and last)

My last thought about the concert is really a series of question for my readers regarding repertoire. The St. Olaf choir sang Charles Forsberg's setting of "Prayer of St. Francis." Of all the music they sang, it was the piece that had the least impact on me, personally. In thinking about it, I wonder if it was because I know the text so well and have heard it sung (and recited) so many times. Has repetition simply dulled its effect?

The question brings to mind a segment I once heard on "This American Life." Ira Glass told the story of a school teacher who took his students to Washington D.C. and played Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech for them on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Of course, we'd expect anyone to be awed by the history, the emotion, and the power of that place and those words. Instead, many of the students shrugged and said they had heard it plenty of times before and it still hadn't seemed to change the world. Is that just general cynicism or the inevitable effect of repetition?

Obviously it would be difficult to argue with the message of the text of the Prayer of St. Francis - "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace." On the other hand, a perfectly obvious result is often considered boring or elementary in other disciplines. A mathematical tautology doesn't need further study, after all.

So my experience has brought three questions to my mind:

1. Is the Prayer of St. Francis in particular still a meaningful text?
2. If not, has it been dulled by repetition, its "obviousness," or something else?
3. In any case, what are the implications for weekly repetition of the liturgy or hymns? Does such repetition ultimately reinforce or undermine the message?

St. Olaf Review, Part 2

Last week's concert is still on my mind in many ways. I'm still humming the tunes and thinking about the concert. It's one sign of a superior performance, in my opinion, that it benefits from further reflection over time.

I think Dr. Armstrong summed up the mission of the St. Olaf Choir (and church music in general) when he talked about his decision not to become a minister. He said that the choir and his work as a musician do more to spread the Gospel message than any words he could preach. Their section titled "Global expressions of peace" was especially poignant in its expression of the universality of faith.

I know that the choir's movement annoys some people visually because it's unexpected. However, it's just the physical manifestation of their commitment to the music and the text. We'd never ask a solo performer to stand perfectly still; in fact, today we seem much to prefer that they dance! Does the choir move too much? I'll admit that they push the envelope, but I don't need them to stand perfectly still either.

Finally, the choir's precision always amazes me, while singing in five different languages and in styles that ranged from Bach and Tallis to Abbie Betinis, who was in my class at St. Olaf. They sang chorales and spirituals, chant and siren sound effects - an amazing level of variety and always with commitment and excellence.

Ultimately, the music was all about communication, as all the best music is.

St. Olaf Review, Part 1

The St. Olaf Choir concert at Severance Hall last night was an evening of beautiful and meaningful music. I hope that some of the people who were there will join me in sharing some thoughts about the concert for the next few days.

My first comment is a bit of a confession. Despite all my praise of Bach here lately and the recent discussion on the blog, my least favorite piece of the whole concert would have to be the Bach cantata. It's not that it wasn't beautiful. It simply couldn't compare to the rest of the music, in my opinion. It reminded me that not every piece of music can reach every person.

At the other extreme, one of the high moments of the night, I felt, was the composition by Jeffrey Ames titled "For the Sake of Our Children." Because I had watched part of the Grammy Awards ceremony the night before, I immediately noticed the stark contrast between this piece and Michael Jackson's "Earth Song," despite their similar themes. It's like comparing Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga National Park to Niagara Falls - they are both beautiful, but one holds only a fraction of the power and depth of the other.

The choir sang the beautiful lyrics of this intercessory prayer so bravely that the music is still in mind today:

O Lord, we pray for Your justice and peace.
People rise up, pour out your hearts unto the Lord.
May He send His wondrous love o'er all the earth,
And grant us peace that this world cannot give.
Let there be peace, never-ending peace.

O God, save the children.
Shelter them with Your loving arms.
May Your angels guard and protect them we pray.
O Lord, we pray!

Overall, the most wonderful thing about the group in general is their deep musicality and unity. Their consonants are crisp, their vowels perfectly formed, and their dynamic contrasts and phrasing give amazing vitality to the music. That total commitment to quality and to their message is what elevates the choir's music to the sublime level of beautiful prayer that we experienced last night.

Concert reminder

I think that fellowship, participation, and a sense of community are vital aspects of a thriving church congregation. Clearly, my particular passion is to get people excited about Lutheran church music. I hope that every month there is something in the music that is a memorable highlight for every member - whether it's the chance to sing a favorite hymn, a prelude or postlude that stands out, or a choir anthem that you find yourself humming all week long.

For the same reasons, I'm really hoping that people will be interested in attending the St. Olaf Choir concert on Monday, Feb. 1st. Tickets are $25, and there is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board at church. The concert is sure to include plenty of great sacred music in a variety of styles. The night should provide spiritual refreshment as well as the fellowship of attending with members of our church. Please consider joining us. Check your calendar, and you can contact me with any questions.

The Oles are coming

I received my copy of the Bethany News a few days ago, so I know the word is now out there about the St. Olaf Choir's performance at Severance Hall at 7:30 on Feb 1st, 2010. I really want to encourage people to attend that performance, and I'll post a sign up sheet on the bulletin board to purchase group tickets at $25 each. It should be a night of great music and fellowship.

You might have heard the choir perform around the holidays. In fact, the Christmas Festival concert was this past weekend, and there will be more opportunities to hear them on the radio and see them on public television. You might also be familiar with their recording of Great Hymns of Faith, but of course it's even better to hear them perform live! This is a unique opportunity to hear a fantastic group at a reasonable price.

It also has never ceased to amaze me how many of the people I have met in the greater Cleveland area have never been to Severance Hall or haven't been there for a concert in years. We're so fortunate to have not only an incredibly beautiful building but also one of the world's great orchestras and other performances so nearby. It should be a fun night, so please join us for what should be an incredible concert, and be in touch with me if you want any more information.

Rousing hymns for Rally Day

This Sunday, we get to sing some of my favorite hymns, great rousing tunes from the ELW. The opening hymn will be "Rise Up, O Saints of God." I can think of no better way to start the "new season." I always think of back-to-school season as a second opportunity for resolutions. For students especially, it's a chance to set new goals and make big changes.

At communion, we'll sing "Around You, O Lord Jesus." Its text is a beautiful statement of coming together as a community, and it's tune is a third waltz - in addition to the new hymn of praise and the choir anthem.

The closing hymn is "Earth and All Stars," the St. Olaf hymn. I've heard some people say the text is not focused enough on faith, but I think it's great that it lists so many of the mundane aspects of life that can all celebrate and praise God. Even our classrooms and labs, even loud crashing cymbals, everything, every person, and every sound is part of the symphony of creation.

I also want to mention the prelude (Andantino by David Wehr), because of its metrical contrast with the waltzes and marches that constitute so much of the service. It's a modern piece with mixed meter, but the predominant meter has seven beats to the measure. That unique chocie by the composer will make it feel almost like there is no meter - just a constant flowing chant. It has a laid back, relaxed feeling that should provide a meditative environment before the service. I hope you enjoy.

Praise to the Lord (and a bit of Latin)

This Sunday we continued our way through the creed, reaching the Latin word omnipotentem. It's such a great word: omni, meaning all, and potent, meaning power or ability. Compare it with stem cells that are called pluripotent (having many powers/abilities) or ambassadors who are said to be plenipotent (full of power/abilities - at least we hope the best ones are). Only God is described as all-powerful, a semantic distinction that I think is both meaningful and purposeful. Isn't it fun seeing your vocabulary grow at church? And now we can all confidently recognize the opening words of the Creed: Credo in unum deum, pater omnipotentem.

In less geeky matters, I've been humming "Prase to the Lord, the Almighty" to myself all day. It's such a lyrical, singable hymn that can brighten an entire day. You may have noticed a moment in verse 4 where I played unison melody for the text "Let the Amen, sound from his people again." It's one of my favorite moments because it reminds me of the St. Olaf Choir singing F. Melius Christiansen's arrangement of the hymn.

I found a YouTube video of a very good high school choir singing that arrangement. (Apparently St. Olaf has taken down some videos due to copyright, so I couldn't find one of them.) It's about 4 minutes long, and I guarantee it will lift your spirits to hear it - and maybe even sing along.

St. Olaf Sunday - Part 2

This Sunday's prelude will kick off the St. Olaf theme in a big way for anyone familiar with the choir's classic repertoire. I'll be playing "O Day Full of Grace," trying my hardest to replicate the sound and phrasing of 80 voices.

On Sunday morning, I encourage you to open your hymnals to ELW 627 to follow along. The verses are 1, then the alternate versions of 2 and 3 on the facing page, and ending with verse 5, and the arrangement provides a beautiful tone painting of that text.

The first two verses are an extended sunrise - the perfect music for a beautiful spring morning. The first verse starts in the bass voice and grows to the soprano entrance with the familiar tune, which grows to a mini-climax. It grows in both pitch and intensity out of the opening mist to the line "Children of earth in every clime may prove that the night is ended."

The second verse continues with a hushed, reverent tone. A four-part men's chorus reminds us of Christ's birth at a figurative midnight. Half-way through the verse, the women join in, providing the rays of sunshine that lead to the climax: "Then rose o'er the world that sun divine, which gloom from our hearts hath driven."

That leads to the boisterous celebration of nature in verse three. "Every tree and leaflet" sings praise to God. The melody is transferred to the men/pedal line, and the higher voices provide the glittering excitement. This is the most frantic verse, as the text depicts the soul bubbling over with joy.

Finally, the chorus of heaven takes over and the closing verse describes our final journey where we join in an endless song of praise and enjoy perpetual sunlight. The hymn has a big finish, and I will always be able to picture Dr. Anton Armstrong conducting the piece as he asked for even more intensity in the closing measures. This is a hymn of rebirth, a new day, joy, praise, and love. I hope you enjoy it and all of the mini-St. Olaf festival this weekend!

St. Olaf Sunday - Part 1

As far as I know, I'm the only Ole at Bethany (though certainly not the only one in Cleveland, since Jayce Ogren with the Cleveland Orchestra was one of my classmates). This Sunday, though, we'll be celebrating the choral and musical influence of the St. Olaf Choir with our music.

Our opening hymn is ELW 377 "Alleluia! Jesus is Risen." The tune was composed by David Johnson, one time chair of the St. Olaf music department. (You might link the tune more directly with the text "Earth and All Stars," which is said to be a depiction of the whole campus and its activities in praise of God.)

Johnson was a prolific composer, and I often use his hymn arrangements as alternative harmonies. My accompaniment for the hymn "Son of God, Eternal Savior" will include a descant from one of his collections.

We'll also be singing "Beautiful Savior," which the St. Olaf Choir famously performs as its encore piece at Christmas Festival every year. Having sung in that event all four of my years, I never cease to be moved by the beauty of the hymn. Musically, it is a total contrast to the opening hymn - not showy and flashy musicianship, but a simple chorale and confident statement of faith. Textually, however, the hymns share much in common. Just one example is the way that nature is used as a metaphor to praise God.

I particularly appreciate the contrast between these two hymns of praise. Sometimes our praise is celebratory, youthful, and energetic. Sometimes our praise is quietly confident. But in both, we raise our voices together in beautiful music of faith.