A Multitude of Mighty Fortresses: Let's Compare! Part I

Translating poetry into another language is one of the most challenging linguistic tasks.

Just determining a literal meaning from a form that isn't always literal can be an issue, then squeezing the literal meaning back into the meter of the original so it can be sung creates another bag of worms.

Those who endeavor to do such things are to be commended.

The base text in German is as follows:

Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott,

Ein gute Wehr und Waffen;

Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,

Die uns jetzt hat betroffen.

Der alt’ böse Feind,

Mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint,

Gross’ Macht und viel List

Sein’ grausam’ Ruestung ist,

Auf Erd’ ist nicht seingleichen.

Thanks to the assistance Dr. George C. Adams, we have the following literal translation:

A mighty fortress is our God,

A good defense and weapon;

He helps us free from every need

That has now befallen us.

The old wicked Foe,

He really is in ernest (Literally, "he really means it")

Great power and much craftiness

Are his fearful armaments.

His equal is not on earth.

Lutheran Service Book #656 (rhythmic):

A mighty fortress is our God,

A trusty shield and weapon;

He helps us free from every need

That hath us now overtaken.

The old evil foe

Now means deadly woe;

Deep guile and great might

Are his dread arms in fight;

On earth is not his equal.

Lutheran Service Book #657 (isorhythmic):

A mighty fortress is our God,

A sword and shield victorious;

He breaks the cruel oppressor's rod

And wins salvation glorious.

The old satanic foe

Has sworn to work us woe.

With craft and dreadful might

He arms himself to fight.

On Earth he has no equal.

Hymntime.com (isorhythmic):

A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing:

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great,

And, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

Omar Westendorf (isorhythmic):

A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing;

Protecting us with staff and rod,

And power all prevailing.

What if the nations rage

And surging seas rampage;

What though the mountains fall,

The Lord is God of all;

The Lord of hosts is with us.

In future posts, a line-by-line comparison of Stanza 1.

Hominem Predicant: They Preach Man

"They preach man..."

This is the beginning of the 27th thesis of Luther's 95 Theses.  The entire thesis reads:

They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out.

To put it in a more familiar form, Luther was speaking against Johann Tetzel's slogan, "When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs."

It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door at the Castle Church in Wittenberg.  It sounds kind of radical or odd that someone would nail anything to the door of a church, but this door kind of served as a community bulletin board.  Much like you might see notices for garage sales as you enter your grocery store, the church door served as a place where you could post something of interest.

It wasn't the act of nailing something to the door of a church that set things spinning, but the content of the theses that thrust the Protestant Reformation to the forefront of society.

Luther challenged the sale of indulgences, the church's teaching on justification, and the authority of the pope in these theses.  Many of the issues are still taught by Rome today.

That being said, even though Rome still sells indulgences, its docrine of justification remains in tact, and the pope still claims to be the "Vicar of Christ on Earth," these issue hardly plagues the Church Universal the way it once did.

What does? Pastor Peters has an excellent post on The New Reformation.

While Johann Tetzel is no longer "preaching man" instead of "preaching Christ crucified," many others are.  These are the voices of the prosperity gospel, new age philosophy, eastern mysticism, popular television hosts, and all those books about how you need a "purpose".  Wherever a person's individual actions are used in lieu of Jesus' saving work, whether inside the church or outside the church, this is where "they preach man."

Sound of Majesty: Highlights from 10/29

Here are some highlights from this week's Sound of Majesty.

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009:

Once again we hear Dr. Martin Jean at the organ of the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus, on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.  Dr. Jean plays J.S. Bach's Organ Fugue in G Major.

Other highlights include a stirring a capella arrangement of "Were You There" by Jessye Norman and the Ralph Vaughn Williams arrangement of "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name" to the tune Miles Lane.  If you've not heard this arrangement and this tune, your ears might tell you it sounds kind of familiar until you get to "... and crown Him .... crown Him ... crown Him ... crown Him Lord of all."  You need a good organist, a fairly large choir (who can count) and a decent worship space to pull this one off.  Those "crown Him" phrases are really stretched out.

Rounding out the broadcast is the whistling St. Olaf Cantorei singing, "In Thee Is Gladness."

You can catch this broadcast and others in the audio archive here.  There are about 4 weeks of archives in the sight.  The direct link to the broadcast is here and the direct link to the playlist is here.

More on Paul Manz

A post over at Composing My Thoughts has a fairly complete biography of Paul Manz.

Dale Witte hosts this blog.  He is at music teacher at Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and a composer.  Dale's work includes liturgical music that is used throughout the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

+Paul Manz+ 1919-2009

Composer and organist Paul Manz passed away Wednesday Evening.  Southern Lutheran Kantor has some details here.

Perhaps his most well-known piece was E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.  You can learn the chilling background of this anthem here.

As stated in a previous post, this is an appropriate piece for this time of year, as we turn our focus to the end times.

Here it is, done by a small choir in an Episcopal Church.

Here is another version, adapted for an a-capella mens group.

Rejoice in heaven,
all ye that dwell therein
Rejoice on earth, ye saints below
For Christ is coming,
Is coming soon
For Christ is coming soon.

Time Out #37: Guess Which Hymn?

This week on Lutheran Time Out, three guesses on the hymn, and the first two don't count.

There are no Table Talk Radio points on the line for guessing it either.

There are 8 clues right in this blog (make that nine now).

That's right, the hymn this week is A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

Tune in to hear the rhythmic version with the golden tones of Layman Dan and the talented Southern Lutheran Kantor improvising at the mighty organ.

You can sing along in Lutheran Service Book, Hymn 656.  Please stand if you do ;)

Table Talk Radio: Show 67

The latest and greatest episode of Table Talk Radio is now available. 

Show #67: Christian or Secular?
Brand new game on Table Talk Radio. Its where a song is played and the contestant has to figure out whether the song preformed by a Christian band or a secular band. 

That's right, folks, the Table Talk Radio, everyone's favorite Lutheran radio program with a game show format and highly coveted Table Talk Radio points!

Yes, Table Talk Radio, where the points are as valuable as Tetzel's indulgences.  Well, actually, an authenticated indulgence from Tetzel might be worth something on ebay.  Never mind.

BTW, don't forget the forum!  Discuss the show's topics post other comments here.