Reviving the Introit

Raise your hand if you know what the Introit is? The point of the question is not to encourage a self righteousness for those liturgically or musically aware folk, but instead to get us thinking about the people in the pews each Sunday. Does the average parishioner know (or care) about the Introit (or the rest of the Propers)? Should they?

I started thinking about this after I received a recent eBay purchase - “The Concordia Liturgical Series for Church Choirs: The Introits for the Church Year” from Concordia Publishing House (1942) - now long out of print. I ordered the book because of the introductory essay by Walter Buszin - one of the prominent leaders in the restoration and renewal of Lutheran church music in the mid 20th century. Here’s a link to a previous blog post on Buszin.

The introductory essay by Buszin is alone worth having this collection in my library. A side benefit is having the Introits for the one-year lectionary set to Gregorian chant tones. Here are several excerpts regarding liturgy in general and the Introit in particular

The revival of interest in matters liturgical which is found in many sections of the Christian Church today is largely responsible for the restoration of liturgical practices which had been abolished during eras in which, unfortunately, the Church was largely insensible to the beauty and import of her liturgical heritage.

. . .

The Introit was among the first elements of the liturgy dropped in the eras dominated by an antiliturgical spirit. In the era of Pietism it was regarded as superfluous and the Rationalists of the 18th and 19th centuries saw as little need for Introits as they did for other constituent parts of the Christian Liturgy.

. . .

The Introit marks the beginning of the church service proper. The word Introit means entrance, so called because it was chanted while the officiating clergyman entered the chancel and took his place before the altar.

. . .

The Introit consists of three parts: the Antiphon, a Psalm verse, and the Gloria Patri. From a liturgical point of view, the Antiphon is the most important part of the Introit, since from it sounds forth the keynote of the day. Friedrich Lochner, a trustworthy and well-informed authority said: “The Introit should be regarded as the herald of the day of divine worship, who announces to the assembled congregation from the very beginning of the service proper the import and significance of the Sunday, the festival, and the festival season. Its most important part is the Antiphon, which in a short passage from the scriptures proclaims not only the significance of the day, but also the cardinal truth concerning eternal salvation which is to be stressed on that particular day of worship.”

Now back to my initial set of questions. Does the Introit have a place in weekly worship? Yes — it heralds the significance of the day. In the case of today, the Introit’s Antiphon for the 4th Sunday of Easter was “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” That is quite the message to open a service with — succinct, yet so much to learn.

It is the responsibility of pastors and church musicians to introduce and reinforce why we do what we do as Lutherans. We are not being arbitrary or capricious, but walking in the footsteps of the past; not for the sake of history, but because it is beneficial, has worth, and assists in the proclamation of the Word (in the case of the Introit, it IS the Word).

Back to Blogging

I received an e-mail today from one of my friends and blog readers asking if I was still blogging. Yes . . . it has been over a month since my last post and it does seem like blogs come and go. Yes . . . I plan on carrying on with the blog.

For the last month I have stepped back from this blog to focus on Lenten, Holy Week, and Easter preparations. Musically it has been a busy time of planning and practicing.

It has been surprising to see that even in the past month with no new posts, this blog is still getting a fair number of hits from visitors. For those regular visitors, I would be interested in hearing what causes you to drop by the Lutheran Kantor blog. If you feel so inclined, please either add a comment to this post or click the “Contact Me” button in the top blog navigation bar.

Thanks for reading.

Sacred Music on the Web

Over the last few years it has become a habit of mine to listen to two weekly sacred music programs on the Internet. I thought these might be of interest to some of the blog readers.

Sing for Joy - created by St Olaf College in Northfield, MN. It is a weekly 30 minute show that highlights choral music based on the scripture readings for Sunday. You can listen to the current program and archives at their website. The scripture lessons, as best as I can determine, are from the 3-year Revised Common Lectionary. What that means is that sometimes the readings for the given Sunday will not match those used in Lutheran Service Book in LCMS congregations. Despite this, you still get to hear some excellent music.

Joy - produced by KFUO in St. Louis, MO is a weekly 60-minute show of sacred choral and orchestral music. The music for Joy is more “seasonal” (e.g., Advent, Christmas) than Sing for Joy (which is produced to reflect the texts for Sunday). The current program is available for streaming on the KFUO website. I normally listen to Joy while I row on my Concept2 Indoor Rower.

And while this next link is not technically sacred music oriented, if you are looking for a classical radio station on the internet, look no further than All Classical 89.9 KBPS out of Portland, OR. They are probably one of the best classical radio stations in the United States, if not the world. This station streams their broadcast live over the web in several formats.

Happy Listening!

So What Does a Kantor Do?

When I did a Google search to see how others defined a “Kantor” or “Cantor”, I didn’t find too much. I found the obvious — who were Kantors, but not what they did. Johann Walther was the first Lutheran Kantor. J.S. Bach is a familiar name.

One resource that was enlightening was from the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians in their Employment Guide on the Placement portion of their website. This Guide offers job descriptions of various church musician positions, but it also begins with a page in calligraphy entitled “Role of the Cantor.” This is what the ALCM has to say:

The Role of the Cantor

• The Cantor - the historical term among Lutherans - is the leader of the people’s song.
• The Cantor is responsible for leading the musical expression of the people — the assembly, choral groups, solo singers, and instrumentalists. Among whom organists have been especially important for Lutherans.
• The Cantor uses whatever musical resources are available, using them in a manner appropriate to the talents of those serving and the needs of the people who are served.
• The Cantor leads the earthly assembly in a foretaste of John’s vision of the heavenly in which all creatures give praise, honor, glory, and power to the Lamb.
• The Cantor’s work is a worthy service to God, God’s people, and the world.
• It is a high and holy calling.

This gives a bit of insight into the vocation of a Kantor.

Prelude to a Blog

Greetings and welcome to the inaugural post at the “Lutheran Kantor” blog. You may wearily say, “Another blog?” I have often asked myself this same question before I started this endeavor. What will make this blog unique? Will anyone actually read what I write?

I write as a confessional Lutheran church musician who has a passion for Lutheran worship and theology. While not a full time church musician, I spend much of my free time studying, preparing, composing, and practicing music and theology. God graciously gives me musical gifts, the inclination, and countless opportunities to serve my neighbors in Christ through my musical vocation.

My prayer is that these posts might be an edifying resource for church musicians, pastors, and others who have an interest in Lutheran worship and theology. Come along on the journey and see what transpires.