Wachet auf! Wake up!

"Wake, awake, for night is flying,"

The watchmen on the heights are crying;

"Awake, Jerusalem, arise!"

Midnight hears the welcome voices

And at the thrilling cry rejoices;

"Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?

The Bridegroom comes, awake!

Your lamps with gladness take!

Alleluia!
With bridal care
Yourselves prepare

To meet the Bridegroom who is near."

Exploring Music: Rachmaninoff Vespers

Last week on Exploring Music the topic was Sergei Rachmaninoff.  There's something about Russian choral music of this time that is lush and thick.  It might be that while my favorite hymns are in 4-part harmony, Russian liturgical music of this time often had 8 or more parts.

For his setting of "Joyous Light of Glory" in Vespers, Rachmaninoff starts off simply enough, with the tenor part alone, then adding in layers and layers and layers.  In the embed below, you can see how he splits the different voices in different places, sometimes the Soprano isn't singing at all, and the 2nd soprano is split into 3.  You can follow the music in the video.  For an English translation, see page 244 in Lutheran Service Book (Phos Hilarion - Hymn of Light).

Another surprise in this Vespers is the use of the Gloria in the Great Doxology (also called "Greater Doxology").  While Christians of the Western Rite probably think of the Gloria for our mass and the Doxology as something sung to Old Hundredth, it appears that Christians of the Eastern Rite sing a longer version of the Gloria during daily prayer services as well.  You can catch the entire text here.  There is a curious placement of the phrase, "And the Holy Spirit" in this version.

O Lord, Heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty,
O Lord the Only-begotten Son,
Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Spirit,
O Lord God,
Lamb of God,
Son of the Father,

The Western Gloria places the phrase later in the text, near the end.

For Thou only art holy;
Thou only art the Lord,
Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost [Spirit],
art most high in glory of God the Father. Amen.

Here is the complete text from the Eastern Rite, set to music by Rachmaninoff.

If this is the Greater Doxology, what is the Lesser Doxology? This one is closer in length to the "Common" Doxology sung to Old Hundredth. It is also known as the Minor Doxology.  Here it is in Latin and English, plus the Common Doxology.

Lesser Doxology

Gloria Patri,
et Filio,
et Spiritui Sancto
Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc, et semper,
et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Glory to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit [Old English: Ghost]
as it was in the beginning,
and now and always and in the ages of ages.* Amen.

*world without end
*from age to age
*forever [and ever]

Common Doxology

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Now, I do not come from the Eastern Tradition, so if those of you who do have any corrections OR your Latin is better than mine, feel free to drop any updates into the comment section.

WORD ALERT: The term "doxology" literally means "praise word".  In Christian circles it usually involves a praising the Triune God, The one-God-in-three-persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Time Out Twofer: #'s 39 and 40

Meanwhile, back at LutheranTimeOut.org, two episodes have posted I last reported on the broadcasts.

Episode 39 features the hymn "Abide, O Dearest Jesus" (LSB 919).  Southern Lutheran Kantor uses the organ's strings and chimes to showcase the melody.

I am not sure how this one ended up in the "Close of Service" section of the hymnal.  If I had to pick a section, probably it would be "Prayer" or "Evening."

Abide with heavenly brightness

Among us, precious Light;

Your truth direct and keep us

From errors gloomy night.

Then again, the hymn on the opposite page is also in the "Close of Service" section and it contains the line, "Open now the crystal fountain whence the healing stream doth flow..."  When this hymn comes up as a closing, I wonder why we would ask this of our Lord after receiving Absolution, the Word and the Eucharist.  In the words of Arsenio Hall, it kind of makes you go... hmmmm...

On a more serious note, Episode 40 features the hymn "In God My Faithful God" (LSB 745).  I would like to highlight Rev. Todd Peperkorn's book I Trust When Dark the Road. The title is drawn from the second line of this hymn.  For those who are struggling with depression (sometimes you don't even know that you are, but your life is just a mess and you can't figure out why), this book offers help.  Pastor Peperkorn has pulled through his own bout with depression, and offers scriptural insights.

Another beautiful thing about this book is that it is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD here.

In God, my faithful God,

I trust when dark the road;

Great woes may overtake me,

Yet He will not forsake me.

My troubles He can alter;

His hand lets nothing falter.

Peters on Preaching: How NOT to use a Prooftext

Anyone who has had to do a research paper knows you have to prove your point. Cite your sources. Don't forget your footnotes, endnotes, add in that little number at the end of your thought, and document everything.

When I look back on my own papers, it was really easy to string together citations from various resources in an attempt to make my point. They call this "prooftexting" and it is often used in preaching as well.

This will get you an OK grade, but it doesn't make a great paper, and it doesn't make for good preaching, either. Pastor Peters tackled this topic in a recent post.  Here is an excerpt:

When I was in Seminary, one of my homiletical professors told us that every point in your sermon must be supported by a proof text. Suffice it to say that this resulted in either sermons with few points to supported or long sermons that ended up stringing Bible passage after Bible passage. Once, in another homiletics class, I was crunched for time and fudged by turning in a sermon written for this above mentioned professor. The second professor called me aside and said that while there was nothing "wrong" with the sermon, I was to promise him that I would never preach that way in the parish.

I encourage laity and clergy alike to read this post and the excellent comments by Rev. Eric Brown. For clergy, it may help shape your message in a different way. For laity, it may help open you understand to your pastor's style.  For students of any age, it may give you ideas for improving your next term paper.

By the way, if you watch EWTN's Journey Home, you may have heard from a guest or two that Luther practiced prooftexting.  This is NOT the case and Pastor Peters spends a few sentences on Luther's style in his post.

A Kantor, a Pastor, and a High School Teacher Walk into a Bar...

Composer Dale Witte over at Composing My Thoughts cites a CNN article rating church musicians as one of the most stressful jobs.  Also on the list were pastors and high school teachers.  Check out his post here.

I don't know Dale personally, but I do know that he is both a high school teacher at Winnebago Lutheran Academy as well as a composer in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

I will share here what I posted in his comment section.  Do the math, it all adds up!

According to the article...

* 71% of ministers say their job is stressful.

* 67% of church musicians say their job is stressful.

* 65% of high school teachers say their job is stressful.

By correlation, would 132% of church musicians who are also high school teachers say their job is stressful? ;)

138% of church musicians who also serve a pastorate might say their job is stressful (this pastor is usually in a congregation with 2 or more pastors, but the he is a pastor none-the-less).

Then we have the old-school pastor who serves as sole pastor of a parish and teaches in a school at the same time. 136%.

Rare, but possible, a pastor could serve all three positions. Most definitely 203% of these people would say their job is stressful.

As you can see, math was one of my fortes back in the day! hehe

While we are at it, can anyone complete the joke that is started in the subject line?  I will give away ten of my personal Table Talk Radio points to the person who comes up with the best ending to the joke.  The contest ends at 11:59pm CT on Friday evening.  The winner will be announced by Monday morning.

BTW, I would like to know how CNN came up with the median pay of $40,800 per year for church musicians.  Apparently they did not consider those who are paid only a part-time salary or those who make no money at all but still serve this role.

+Herb Brokering+ 1926-2009: No More Dying, Only Light

Hymn writer Herb Brokering entered eternal glory this past Thursday.

In Lutheran Service Book, he authored the following hymns:

• 474: Alleluia! Jesus is Risen!
• 680: Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise
• 817: Earth and All Stars
• 879: Stay With Us

His texts are paired with tunes written by his contemporaries, such as Walter Pelz, Carl Schalk and David N. Johnson.  This provides a unique combination, in that the tunes are usually written to reflect the texts.

One text and tune that has grown on me over the years is "Stay With Us."  My ear had to get used to descending down the scale by three notes and turning around and heading up before the dropping to the D.

Normally when the descent is G-F#-E, the next note is automatically a D.  With this tune, our ear is put on hold, since the D doesn't show up until the next measure.  I like it now, but for years it was outside of my aural comfort zone.

Speaking of comfort zones, "Earth and All Stars" is often outside the comfort zone of pastors and musicians.  This will not be the place to lash out on this hymn.  I will say one thing, though.  If "loud, boiling test tubes" are not your thing, review the Psalms 146 through 150 and a few others, then choose the verses that best reflect Scripture.  Also, remember that which we confess in the Te Deum, "All creation worships You, the Father everlasting."

Thinking outside the box, here, but you could change out the lyrics and keep the repetition.

Mother and son,

Father and daughter,

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Uncle and aunt,

Cousin and neighbor,

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Another option is to pair the refrain of this hymn with a psalm tone.  Have a cantor chant the prose text from the psalmody and the congregation respond with "He has done marvelous things.  I, too, will praise Him with a new song."

It's good to struggle with hymnody.  Like all of God's creation here on earth, it isn't perfect.  It takes good knowledge of Scripture, theology, and liturgy to prepare a worship service and to draw on the vast resources of your hymnal.

Check out hymn writer Stephen Starke's retrospective on his blog starke Kirchenlieder.

Recordings of Brokering's texts are fairly scarce on youtube.  This one commemorates the anniversary of Messiah Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Lindsborg, Kansas.

Contemporary LSB: Before the Throne of God Above

Once in awhile an old text picks up a new tune, thrusting it into pop Evangelicalism. If you listen to Christian radio , sometimes you might know the contemporary song before you have the chance to explore it in a new hymnal. Such is the case with Hymn 574 in Lutheran Service Book.

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea.

A great High Priest whose name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart.

I know that while in Heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Saviour died

My sinful soul is counted free.

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,

My perfect spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I AM,

The King of glory and of grace,

One in Himself I cannot die.

My soul is purchased by His blood,

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ my Saviour and my God!

The words are by Charitie Lees De Chenez (aka Charitie Lees Bancroft, né Smith) (1841-1923). Not much is known about Charitie. Her father was an Anglican priest in Ireland. She was probably widowed twice (hence all her surnames) and died here in the US, in Oakland, California.

One of the more common tunes associated with this text is BRESLAU. The tune is soloed out the second time.

The Lutheran Hymnal Project chose a newer tune, DUNEDIN, for Lutheran Service Book. I couldn't find the tune recorded anywhere, but you might try substituting O WALY WALY. If you grew up in a Lutheran grade school in the late 70's or 80's, you probably know this tune from Hal Hopson's "The Gift of Love." The tunes have a similar arc (they rise and fall in a similar fashion) and overall rhythm, although they are different styles. The tune O WALY WALY can be found in Lutheran Service Book, Hymn 595.

Your local megachurch might be singing this very text. They use a tune written by Steve and Vikki Cook. While LSB breaks the text up into 6 short verses, the Cooks combined the verses to make three long ones. A preview copy of the sheet music has the notation "Celtic feel" just above the time signature.  This setting is by the group Selah.  The sign you see in the video is from the historic Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago.

A word about Pacific Garden Mission: they still produce the radio drama Unshackled.  For an interactive map to see if it broadcasts in your area, click here.  If you'd just like to hear an episode via mp3, click here.

Historic Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago's South Loop

Current location, still in Chicago, but a little further south