Gottesdienst is what the German's refer to as "The Divine Service" or simply "worship." Literally, it means, "God's Service."
The journal Gottesdienst delves into all things liturgical.
Lest they take themselves too seriously, the Gottesdienst blog is running a caption contest for a picture of Elvis superimposed in front of a priest at the altar and ahead of a congregation. Check it out here. They promise a fabulous prize to the contest winner.
LATIN ALERT:
Non sum dignus.
I am not worthy.
Tu dignus est?
Are you worthy?
Showing posts with label definitions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label definitions. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Kantor/Cantor, what is a Kantor, Cantor? Part II
Southern Lutheran Kantor adds this to the conversation about kantors.
Lest I forget this important distinction! A kantor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod usually studies at an institution of the Concordia University System and/or one of two seminaries. A music class with a theological bend might focus on what liturgy and music teach us about our faith.
To paraphrase Carl Schalk, topics are covered from the perspective of liturgical theology because most dogmatics books don't touch on these things. If they do, it is way in the back of the book, right after The Last Things.
Of course, not all kantors come through the Concordia system. These kantors might attend workshops and lectures sponsored at the local, district, synod or university/seminary level. Another option is a masters program in church music through one of the Concordias.
...If I could add one thing: Kantors also tend to have theological training, in addition to musical training. As Bach said (and I paraphrase), "A church musician music be a theologian first." In fact, there is a growing trend of kantors being ordained pastors, as well as trained musicians. Both seminaries have one (Kantors Resch and Gerike), as well as church such as Hope Lutheran in St. Louis.
Lest I forget this important distinction! A kantor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod usually studies at an institution of the Concordia University System and/or one of two seminaries. A music class with a theological bend might focus on what liturgy and music teach us about our faith.
To paraphrase Carl Schalk, topics are covered from the perspective of liturgical theology because most dogmatics books don't touch on these things. If they do, it is way in the back of the book, right after The Last Things.
Of course, not all kantors come through the Concordia system. These kantors might attend workshops and lectures sponsored at the local, district, synod or university/seminary level. Another option is a masters program in church music through one of the Concordias.
Kantor/Cantor, what is a Kantor, Cantor? Part I
Kantors/Cantors have a long tradition in the church. The term is derived from the Latin (canto means "to sing").
The spelling is interchangeable. Kantor with a "k" is a German spelling, while cantor with a "c" is an English spelling.
Kantors such as Southern Lutheran Kantor, Chris at Lutheran Kantor and Cantor Magness at Fine Tuning, not to mention Kantor Henry Gerike at the St. Louis Sem act as overseers for the music life of the church.
You might find your kantor conducting the choir, worship planning with the pastor, playing the organ, teaching a new song before service, organizing instrumentalist for Easter Sunday, teaching music in a church's grade school, or composing music for a worship service.
There is another type of kantor/cantor, though, and this one is normally spelled with a "c". A church may have a cantor just to lead in the singing of the psalms, hymns with a verse and refrain, gospel acclamations, and other selections. Generally, you might find this type of cantor singing from the front of the church, either at the lectern or perhaps off to the side.
This kind of cantor most likely wears just one hat. This cantor's participation in a given psalm might look like this:
For the purposes of this blog, "kantor" with a "k" will refer to the person who oversees the music in a parish or educational institution, and "cantor" with a "c" will refer to the person who leads the congregation in singing.
Kantors and cantors have held parish positions going all the way back to ancient Israel. For a five minute preview of cantoral contributions at the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, click here.
One famous Kantor was Johann Sebastian Bach. During one of his tenures, he composed one cantata per week for the Sunday service.
Like I always say, "If it ain't baroque, fix it!"
The spelling is interchangeable. Kantor with a "k" is a German spelling, while cantor with a "c" is an English spelling.
Kantors such as Southern Lutheran Kantor, Chris at Lutheran Kantor and Cantor Magness at Fine Tuning, not to mention Kantor Henry Gerike at the St. Louis Sem act as overseers for the music life of the church.
You might find your kantor conducting the choir, worship planning with the pastor, playing the organ, teaching a new song before service, organizing instrumentalist for Easter Sunday, teaching music in a church's grade school, or composing music for a worship service.
There is another type of kantor/cantor, though, and this one is normally spelled with a "c". A church may have a cantor just to lead in the singing of the psalms, hymns with a verse and refrain, gospel acclamations, and other selections. Generally, you might find this type of cantor singing from the front of the church, either at the lectern or perhaps off to the side.
This kind of cantor most likely wears just one hat. This cantor's participation in a given psalm might look like this:
Cantor introduces the antphon: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Congregation repeats: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Cantor chants verses 1-3 of psalm 23.
Congregation repeats: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Cantor chants verses 4-6 of Psalm 23.
Congregation chants the Gloria Patri (if a psalm tone is used) and repeats the Antiphon
For the purposes of this blog, "kantor" with a "k" will refer to the person who oversees the music in a parish or educational institution, and "cantor" with a "c" will refer to the person who leads the congregation in singing.
Kantors and cantors have held parish positions going all the way back to ancient Israel. For a five minute preview of cantoral contributions at the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days, click here.
One famous Kantor was Johann Sebastian Bach. During one of his tenures, he composed one cantata per week for the Sunday service.
Like I always say, "If it ain't baroque, fix it!"
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
A Multitude of Mighty Fortresses: Definitions, Part III: bulwark?!
BULWARK: I have no idea what this means.
In the Lutheran tradition we have a ton of words that we use that we assume people know, especially in the liturgy. Words like Salutary, Nunc Dimittis, Absolution and Collect (this has nothing to do with the gathering offerings, and you place the emphasis on the first syllable).
For example, The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) contains the phrase, "It is truly meet, right and salutary..."
Lutheran Worship (1982) and Lutheran Service Book (2006) changed it up a little to read, "It is truly good, right and salutary..."
On Sunday, someone asked me what salutary meant. After a brief brainstorm I came up with "beneficial - it's good for us!"
"Are you sure?" I was asked.
I bring all this up because we who have retained lots of big words over the years have not used "bulwark" in our hymnal.
I will leave it up to the readers to explain it. This may take awhile, because I have all of two readers, and they belong to my tradition!
What I do have, though, is some TABLE TALK RADIO points that I have accumulated. Yes, this is the Table Talk Radio ... everyone's favorite Lutheran radio program featuring theology within a game show format.
Yes, folks, that's Table Talk Radio ... where the points are like papal primacy to a Lutheran ... they are both good things for him to write about but he has to question the authority of both the points and the pope.
I will give 10 Table Talk Radio points to the person who can tell us all what a "bulwark" is in plain, simple terms. Please use your own words and not something you found on wikipedia.
There are 10 bonus points on the line if you can provide a link to a photo of one.
I only have around 700 points total, so I must ration them out carefully.
In the Lutheran tradition we have a ton of words that we use that we assume people know, especially in the liturgy. Words like Salutary, Nunc Dimittis, Absolution and Collect (this has nothing to do with the gathering offerings, and you place the emphasis on the first syllable).
For example, The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) contains the phrase, "It is truly meet, right and salutary..."
Lutheran Worship (1982) and Lutheran Service Book (2006) changed it up a little to read, "It is truly good, right and salutary..."
On Sunday, someone asked me what salutary meant. After a brief brainstorm I came up with "beneficial - it's good for us!"
"Are you sure?" I was asked.
I bring all this up because we who have retained lots of big words over the years have not used "bulwark" in our hymnal.
I will leave it up to the readers to explain it. This may take awhile, because I have all of two readers, and they belong to my tradition!
What I do have, though, is some TABLE TALK RADIO points that I have accumulated. Yes, this is the Table Talk Radio ... everyone's favorite Lutheran radio program featuring theology within a game show format.
Yes, folks, that's Table Talk Radio ... where the points are like papal primacy to a Lutheran ... they are both good things for him to write about but he has to question the authority of both the points and the pope.
I will give 10 Table Talk Radio points to the person who can tell us all what a "bulwark" is in plain, simple terms. Please use your own words and not something you found on wikipedia.
There are 10 bonus points on the line if you can provide a link to a photo of one.
I only have around 700 points total, so I must ration them out carefully.
Monday, October 5, 2009
A Multitude of Mighty Fortresses: Definitions, Part II: rhythmic
The rhythmic tune probably predates the isorhythmic tune. It does not fit very nicely into a 3/4 or 4/4 time signature, and even The Lutheran Hymnal (1941, aka TLH) didn't try. You find a mix of half- and quarter notes, and even a dotted rhythm or two. Also, as you sing it, you feel like you are going from duple to triple meter.
For Lutheran Service Book (aka LSB) #656, you get an example right off the bat!
duple meter: A mighty
triple meter: fortress is
duple meter: our God
Another good example is Jesus, I Will Ponder Now. Here it is in an organ arrangement (.mp3 format), just scroll down to the first track. Here it is with a rock beat (.mid format), just scroll down to rk140. Both versions cite TLH as their source. Both are arranged by Rev. Richard Jordan. I do not know him, but we thank him for these examples.
triple meter: Jesus, I will
duple meter: ponder now
triple meter: on Thy holy
duple meter: passion
Sloppy playing (or singing) does not capture the duple-triple nature of these rhythmic tunes, so again we thank Rev. Richard Jordan for posting his fine examples to the internet. It is especially tricky going from one phrase to the other. The temptation is to hold out the last note longer than necessary before beginning the next phrase. This does make it easier to sing, because it interrupts the rhythmic nature of the tune. For you church musicians out there, if you must hold onto that last note a little longer, make it a really short hold, catch a short breath, and move on to the next phrase.
For the modern-classic version of the Rhythmic Mighty Fortress, check this out. LSB is cited. Lutheran Service Book restored the TLH accompaniment, and I believe the text is the same as well.
For the Hans Leo Hassler's classic-classic version of the Rhythmic Mighty Fortress, check this out. The group does not use the TLH/LSB text. We are going to come back to this recording when we talk more in-depth about meter.
For Rev. Richard's Rockin' Rhythmic Mighty Fortress inspired by TLH, click here and scroll down to rk262.
There are far fewer recordings of the rhythmic, mostly because we Lutherans might be the only ones who have sought to preserve it, and most hymnals only feature the isorhythmic.
While you can recognize the isorhythmic text when you see the word "bulwark," look for "a trusty shield" in the first few lines of the rhythmic text.
FYI: Luther's German version works best with the rhythmic text. You can find it over at hymntime.
For Lutheran Service Book (aka LSB) #656, you get an example right off the bat!
duple meter: A mighty
triple meter: fortress is
duple meter: our God
Another good example is Jesus, I Will Ponder Now. Here it is in an organ arrangement (.mp3 format), just scroll down to the first track. Here it is with a rock beat (.mid format), just scroll down to rk140. Both versions cite TLH as their source. Both are arranged by Rev. Richard Jordan. I do not know him, but we thank him for these examples.
triple meter: Jesus, I will
duple meter: ponder now
triple meter: on Thy holy
duple meter: passion
Sloppy playing (or singing) does not capture the duple-triple nature of these rhythmic tunes, so again we thank Rev. Richard Jordan for posting his fine examples to the internet. It is especially tricky going from one phrase to the other. The temptation is to hold out the last note longer than necessary before beginning the next phrase. This does make it easier to sing, because it interrupts the rhythmic nature of the tune. For you church musicians out there, if you must hold onto that last note a little longer, make it a really short hold, catch a short breath, and move on to the next phrase.
For the modern-classic version of the Rhythmic Mighty Fortress, check this out. LSB is cited. Lutheran Service Book restored the TLH accompaniment, and I believe the text is the same as well.
For the Hans Leo Hassler's classic-classic version of the Rhythmic Mighty Fortress, check this out. The group does not use the TLH/LSB text. We are going to come back to this recording when we talk more in-depth about meter.
For Rev. Richard's Rockin' Rhythmic Mighty Fortress inspired by TLH, click here and scroll down to rk262.
There are far fewer recordings of the rhythmic, mostly because we Lutherans might be the only ones who have sought to preserve it, and most hymnals only feature the isorhythmic.
While you can recognize the isorhythmic text when you see the word "bulwark," look for "a trusty shield" in the first few lines of the rhythmic text.
FYI: Luther's German version works best with the rhythmic text. You can find it over at hymntime.
A Multitude of Mighty Fortresses: Definitions, Part I: isorhythmic
Isorhythmic: This refers to the beat of the tune. An isorhythmic tune is very consistent. The notes tend to fall on the beat, and the rhythm tends to fit nicely in to a 4/4 or a 3/4 time signature. A straight-up isorhythmic tune might be Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus (LSB 685, for those of you who want to follow along).
You can find an organ-only version of the isorhythmic Fortress here, complete with a humorous beginning from Hi-Fi Hymn Book. And to mix in a little irony, this one is played at St. Mary's Cathedral in Dayton, OH.
There are a multitude of vocal arrangements featuring the isorhythmic version
The isorhythmic text is found in most hymnals. It is the first text over at hymntime and cyberhymnal. You can easily recognize it by the word "bulwark" in the first line or two. We'll save that word for another post. For those of you using LBW, LW or LSB, you will find, "a sword and shield" in the first line or two.
You can find an organ-only version of the isorhythmic Fortress here, complete with a humorous beginning from Hi-Fi Hymn Book. And to mix in a little irony, this one is played at St. Mary's Cathedral in Dayton, OH.
There are a multitude of vocal arrangements featuring the isorhythmic version
- this one from Pacific Lutheran University
- this one from Salem Academy (in Salem, Oregon?)
- this one in a classic gospel style featuring Mahalia Jackson
- this one in a modern gospel style, featuring Albert S. Hadley with New Orleans Gospel Soul Children. Now THAT is an AMEN!!!
The isorhythmic text is found in most hymnals. It is the first text over at hymntime and cyberhymnal. You can easily recognize it by the word "bulwark" in the first line or two. We'll save that word for another post. For those of you using LBW, LW or LSB, you will find, "a sword and shield" in the first line or two.
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