Singing Advice from Luther

I have just started reading Luther’s Liturgical Music by Robin Leaver. While I’ve only finished the second chapter, I sense this will be a very in depth but readable study of Luther and music. Chapter Two focused on how music was a central part of Luther’s life from a very young age until his death and how he was surrounded by accomplished musicians. Leaver “sought to demonstrate that Luther’s musicianship was anything but superficial and is the essential starting-point for any discussion of his musical understanding of theology or of his liturgical use of music” (pg. 63)

And after reading this chapter, what do I remember? This practical bit of advice from Luther regarding the starting pitch of a song: “No one should try to sing such a song in a higher key, for he will surely become hoarse and make a botch of it before he reaches five notes.” Thus saith Luther.

Te Deum at Kramer Chapel

While reviewing some discussion threads over at Wittenberg Trail, a comment by Susan reminded me of my first experience singing Stephen Starke’s paraphrase of the Te Deum - “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God” (LSB 941). Susan wrote, “Go to Kramer Chapel and hear those men singing Starke’s Te Deum. When you can breathe again, you’ll want to sing it to.” That is exactly where I first sang it — at Kramer Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary during Matins at morning Chapel — along with Susan, a number of other organists, and the seminary community.

Starke’s paraphrase of this early hymn of praise, with its rich language, and coupled with Gustav Holst’s tune Thaxted is a joy to sing. Granted, Thaxted is best known as the theme from Jupiter in The Planets. However, now when I hear Jupiter on KBPS 89.9, I start singing the Te Deum — I dare say not necessarily a negative association.

If you have never heard (or even if you have) Starke’s paraphrase, I have two audio recommendations for your listening enjoyment:

• Concordia Publishing House has released a festival setting for choir and organ (with optional orchestra) by Mark Bender. CPH has a complete performance with orchestra for listening on their product page. Even if your choir does not sing this setting, I would recommend your organist have a copy of the choral score since the opening organ introduction is alone worth the $1.75 and would be a fitting hymn introduction.
• The Kantorei of Concordia Theological Seminary concludes their CD titled “Te Deum” with a mostly a capella (last verse with organ and brass) setting by Thomas Lock. Full length audio is available for streaming at the Kantorei site. While the Bender setting pulls out all the stops, I would characterize the Kantorei’s performance of the Lock setting as “reverently triumphant”.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’m still fond of the Anglican chant setting of the Te Deum from TLH and will continue to sing it. Yet, Starke’s Te Deum is a worthy inclusion in Lutheran Service Book and I hope congregation’s will take the opportunity to learn and use it.

His Voice - Newsletter of Good Shepherd Institute

I’ve been waiting for some to write this blog post, but was waiting for the new semi-annual installment of His Voice to be published by the Good Shepherd Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary. I knew it had to be coming in either March or April and it was posted on the GSI website today. Definitely visit their website and download the latest version (in PDF). For that matter, why not download all five issues (current and the last two years)?

His Voice is a wonderful resource for those interested in the current events of the Good Shepherd Institute and provides:

• Recommended Pastoral Resouces - Reviews by John Pless
• Recommended Choral and Organ Music - Reviews by Kevin Hildebrand
• Recommended Reading and Listening Resources - Reviews by Daniel Zager

I have a great amount of respect for the GSI and take their recommendations seriously. My personal library is a reflection of this.

Highlights from the April 2008 edition include the topic of the 2008 Annual Conference, notification of the release of the “Singing the Faith: Living the Lutheran Music Heritage” DVD, and comprehensive music suggestions for Pentecost and Trinity 2008 by Kevin Hildebrand.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church, it is “dedicated to hearing and discerning the clear voice of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, through preaching, historic liturgies, substantive catechesis, and hymns that communicate faith in Christ in the church’s trinitarian teaching and worship.” You can learn more about their mission and vision by going here.

They have a number of resources available including published journals from their annual conferences and a book on the life of Walter Buszin.

The Good Shepherd Institute is a blessing to the church. Thank You!

Hymn of the Day & the Chorale

Today many LCMS churches using the three-year lectionary probably sang “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart” (LSB 708) as the Hymn of the Day. What a marvelous hymn.

The second verse of the hymn echoes the petition in the Collect of the Day: ” . . . You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul . . . “

Yea, Lord, ’twas Thy rich bounty gave
My body, soul, and all I have
In this poor life of labor.
Lord, grant that I in every place
May glorify Thy lavish grace
And serve and help my neighbor.
Let no false doctrine me beguile,
Let Satan not my soul defile.
Give strength and patience unto me
To bear my cross and follow Thee.
Lord Jesus Christ,
My God and Lord, my God and Lord,
In death Thy comfort still afford. (LSB 708, vs 2)

During the offering today, I played a relatively simple 4-part harmonization of this chorale by J.S. Bach. This reminded me of the simple beauty and effectiveness of a chorale harmonization. Service music does not have to be complex or elaborate to be effective.

Take for example the Concordia Theological Seminary Kantorei singing verse 3 set to a harmonization by J.S. Bach. You can listen to this track from their CD “O Sing Unto the Lord” by visiting the Kramer Chapel website. The unaccompanied voices are breathtaking and calming.

There are plenty of opportunities for a church choir to learn a chorale setting from the hymnal or from a collection like 101 Chorales Harmonized by J.S. Bach (edited by Walter Buszin). Wouldn’t this be a beautiful and simple alternative to a choral anthem while teaching and proclaiming some wonderful words?

Walter E. Buszin - Wise Counsel for Today

I was unfamiliar with the name Walter Buszin until the summer of 2007 when I discovered that one of the most enduring choral collections of the 20th century - 101 Chorales Harmonized by Johann Sebastian Bach - was edited by Buszin. Prior to this, I had a dear friend from church who had told me on a number of occasions about a treasured book from her younger choral years - a book of Bach chorales. She evidently was talking of the Buszin edition.

Over the last two weeks I have been reading “Music for the Church: The Life and Work of Walter E. Buszin” by Kirby L. Koriath with 10 essays by Walter E. Buszin. As a brief summary, Buszin (1899-1973) was a Lutheran theologian, church musician, music editor, hymnologist, teacher, and liturgical scholar whose scholarly output is quite amazing. In some respects his work was more widely known outside of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) despite being a professor at Concordia Seminary, music editor at Concordia Publishing House, and being on the Synod’s Commission on Worship, Liturgics, and Hymnology for 26 years.

This book presents today’s generation of pastors and church musicians with wise counsel on church music and liturgy. Buszin’s life shows a “mission of restoration and renewal in Lutheran church music and worship” (pg 27). He was deeply concerned that his church, the Lutheran church, had abandoned its fine heritage and replaced it with an unworthy and substandard successor. His life and words are still timely because he dealt with many of the same issues we encounter today - quality of hymnody, liturgy, choral and instrumental music.

As I read the book, I realized how I, as a church musician, have been shaped by Buszin without really knowing it. Buszin promoted the use of the chorale in hymnody, choral music, and organ music and seemed to be instrumental in bringing the sacred works of the “Golden Age of Lutheran Music” (16th - 18th centuries) to light. Besides relying extensively on this era of music for my weekly service playing, I have been shaped by my favorite modern Lutheran composers who write music on the chorales — Benjamin Culli, Kevin Hildebrand, Jeffrey Blersch, Kenneth Kosche, John Behnke, Michael Burkhardt, and Paul Manz. And finally, the Organist Workshops and Good Shepherd Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary introduced me to the thoughts of Buszin and helped me better understand and live my vocation as a church musician.

I hope that I might reflect, if only a glimmer, the passion that Buszin had for Lutheran church music and worship.

Dare to Be A Lutheran Choir

What are the characteristics of a Lutheran choir? Find out in this article Kantor Richard Resch wrote for Higher Things entitled Encouraging Your Choir . . . Dare to Be Lutheran.

The Lutheran Choir

What is the mission and responsibility of the Lutheran choir? Oftentimes we think the role of the choir is to sing choral anthems. Does the choir have some “higher” purpose?

Awhile back I came across the following quote in a book entitled Conduct of the Service by Rev. Dr. Arthur Carl Piepkorn which sparked my thinking.

The primary function of the Choir is to lead the Congregation in the singing of the Liturgy and the Hymns, and to sing the Propers when they are beyond the capacity of the Congregation. The singing of optional anthems and other compositions apart from the Ordinary, the Propers and Hymns is at best a secondary function of the Choir and should not be allowed to become its primary function or reason for existing.

How many of us have this understanding of the choir? The Lutheran choir is a Liturgical choir. I have a dear friend who reminds me several times each year that when she sang in the choir many years ago, they would chant the introit and gradual each Sunday (and that they sang lots of Bach chorales).

For the last month, my church’s choir has been learning Divine Service Setting Four from Lutheran Service Book and several new hymns. They have been teaching the congregation by example and supporting the singing in a way that I cannot do on the organ by myself. I can lead on the organ by my articulation, phrasing, tempo, and registrations, but the addition of the choir lends another helpful dimension.

There are a number of resources available to help the average choir director, with an average choir, and an average accompanist/organist to sing and lead the Propers.

• Acclamation is a new weekly resource from Concordia Publishing House which contains settings of the Introit, Psalm of the Day, Gradual, Gospel Acclamation, and Hymn of the Day. It is available to match the historic one-year lectionary or the three-year lectionary from Lutheran Service Book.
• Liturgy Solutions offers a number of helpful resources for the weekly singing of the Propers based on the one-year and three-year lectionaries.
• Concordia Publishing House will also be releasing Lutheran Service Book: Propers of the Day in January 2008. This resource will contain the Propers from the LSB Altar Book for each Sunday and festival in a convenient form for chanting and worship preparation/study. After some practice it becomes quite easy to learn how to chant with a LSB or similar chant tone.

Learning to sing the Propers, the Ordinary, and the hymns can be a rewarding way for the choir to proclaim the Word and the theme of the day to the congregation. Why not devote a portion of your choral time to practicing what may be the most important role of the Choir?