All For Hymn - a blog featuring everybody's favorite topic - HYMNS! Discussions about hymns, their use in the Divine Service, translation issues, etc. will be the focus. Lutheran Service Book will be a primary source. Other traditions may pop up from time to time.
The Eighth Day of a boy's life in ancient Jewish life was marked by his circumcision and naming. The Church celebrates this event in Jesus life on January 1 (eight days after she celebrates His birth).
"How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" was written by John Newton. You might know him as the man who wrote Amazing Grace. Lutheran Service Book and its predecessor hymnals pair this text with the tune "Saint Peter." A quick youtube search reveals other tunes have been paired to this text throughout the years.
Tune: St. Peter
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
Tune: St. Peter
It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.
Tune: St. Peter
Dear Name, the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding Place,
My never failing treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace!
Tune: Shape Note Melody
By Thee my prayers acceptance gain,
Although with sin defiled;
Satan accuses me in vain,
And I am owned a child.
Tune: Edelweiss
[Yes, that "Edelweiss"]
Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
O Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.
Tune: St. Peter
Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.
Tune: Shape Note Melody
Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath,
And may the music of Thy Name
Refresh my soul in death!
Jesaia, dem Propheten, das geschah,
Dass er im Geist den Herren sitzen sah
Auf einem hohen Thron, in hellem Glanz,
Seines Kleides Saum den Chor füllet ganz.
Es stunden zween Seraph bei ihm daran,
Sechs Fluegel sah er eineu jeden han;
Mit zween verbargen sie ihr Antlitz klar,
Mit zween bedeckten sie die Füsse gar,
Und mit den andern zween sie flogen frei;
Gen ander ruften sie mit grossem G’schrei:
“Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth!
Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth!
Heilig ist Gott, der Herre Zebaoth!
Sein’ Ehr’ die ganze Welt erfüllet hat!”
Von dem G’schrei zittert Schwell’ und Balken gar,
Das Haus auch ganz voll Rauch und Nebel war.
~~~
Isaiah, mighty seer, in days of old
The Lord of all in spirit did behold
High on a lofty throne, in splendor bright,
With flowing train that filled the temple quite.
Above the throne were stately seraphim;
Six wings had they, these messengers of Him.
With twain they veiled their faces, as was meet,
With twain in reverent awe they hid their feet,
And with the other twain aloft they soared,
One to the other called and praised the Lord:
"Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Behold, His glory filleth all the earth!"
The beams and lintels trembled at the cry,
And clouds of smoke enwrapped the throne on high.
~~~~~
Praetorius: Mass for Christmas Morning Jesaia Dem Propheten with Puer Nobis nascitur
~~~~~
Puer nobis nascitur
Rector angelorum;
In hoc mundo pascitur
Dominus dominorum.
In præsepe ponitur
Sub fœno asinorum.
Cognoverunt dominum
Christum regem cœlorum.
Hinc Herodes timuit -
Magno cum dolore,
Et pueros occidit,
Infantes cum livore.
Qui natus est ex Marie -
Die hodierna
Ducat nos cum gratia
Ad gaudia superna.
O et A et A et O
Cum cantibus in choro,
Cum canticis et organo,
Benedicamus domino.
~~~
Unto us a Child is born,
Christians, hear the story;
In this world our flesh is worn,
By Christ, the Lord of glory.
In a manger He is laid,
Where the kine are sleeping;
Angels recognize their Lord,
And o'er Him watch are keeping,
Haughty Herod trembles now,
Great his fear and sorrow;
Bethl'em's Infants he will slay
Before the dawn to-morrow.
Jesu, born of Virgin Maid,
In Thy visitation
Shew Thy mercy, Lord, on us,
And grand us Thy salvation.
Alpha and Omega, Thine
Be this day our chorus;
King of kings, and Lord of lords,
Now let Thy grace be o'er us.
With the release of Lutheran Service Book came new commemorations. Patterned after the Eastern Orthodox, although not celebrated on the same day, Lutherans now commemorate persons from the Old Testament. The Commemoration of David falls on December 29th on the new calendar.
David's Lamentation is an early American composition by William Billings (1746-1800). Billings was self-taught, and some of his music sounds to me like it was written on horseback! That said, Billings had his own style, and I can appreciate that.
The work is about David's reaction to the death of his son Absolem. A PDF file of this song may be found here.
~~~~~
William Billings: David's Lamentation Camerata ad Libitum Workshop Choir
David the king was grieved and wounded,
he went to his chamber, his chamber and wept.
And as he went, he wept and said,
O my son!
O my son!
Would to God I had died,
Would to God I had died,
Would to God I had died for thee,
O Absolem, my son, my son!
Not all of our carols are joyful or heart-warming. A number of commemorations fall during Christmastide, and those are not all warm and fuzzy. Stephen was the first martyr. The Holy innocents were the children Herod killed after the visit of the Magi.
Where Good King Wenceslas mentions the Feast of Stephen, The Coventry Carol is all about the Holy Innocents. Where "Away in a Manger" is heart-warming, the Coventry Carol is mournful. Where "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" is exuberant, the Coventry Carol is disconsolate. It is a lullaby that tries to comfort the boy Jesus during a tumultuous time.
One might call it Mary's Lamentation. The third video below states, "The Coventry Carol depicts Mary's lament over the impending doom of her infant son, Jesus, in the wake of King Herod's order that all infant boys in Bethlehem be put to death."
Most of the settings below use the same tune. Guitar, lute and other stringed instruments seem to be fitting for this carol. The second-last setting is a unique composition for choir. Listen for the soprano solo near towards the end of the setting.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor Youngling for whom we sing
By, by, lully, lullay?
Herod the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.
That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever morn and day
For Thy parting neither say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
St. John is the author of the Gospel account bearing his name, plus 1st, 2nd and 3rd John and the Revelation.
He never mentions himself by name in his Gospel. He is always the "beloved" or "the one whom Jesus loved."
Lots of great music comes from John's writings.
Probably the most well-known is JS Bach's Passion According to St. John.
Bach used the text from Scripture as well as hymn verses to convey the message of Jesus' crucifixion. The final hymn verse is Ach Herr, lass' dein lieb' Engelein, or "Lord, Let at Last Thine Angels Come." You can find the texts for both the German and the English here. The first setting of this text is in German and taken directly from Bach's Passion. The second setting is Hans Leo Hasler's setting for double chorus in English. You can check out the conductor's blog by clicking "Composing My Thoughts" over on the sidebar. As a bonus, the spiritual, "I Can Tell the World" follows the video. The students are from Winnebego Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
JS Bach: Ach Herr, lass' dein lieb' Engelein
~~~
"Lord, Let at Last Thine Angels Come" with "I Can Tell the World"
~~~~~
From John's Epistles comes the praise chorus, "Behold What Manner Of Love." The text is from 1 John 3:1 and is quoted pretty much word-for-word. This simple song is taught to children and adults alike. Here's a piano arrangement followed by a setting for two guitars and solo voice.
"Behold What Manner of Love" for piano
~~~
"Behold What Manner of Love" for guitars and solo voice
~~~~~
The Book of Revelation lends itself to hymn writing. Popularly known as "This is the Feast," the song "Festival Canticle: Worthy is Christ" is sometimes sung in the place of "Glory to God in the Highest" during the Divine Service. Here's the original setting featuring a male chorus.
"Festival Canticle: Worthy is Christ"
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia!
Worthy is Christ the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia!
Power, riches, wisdom and strength,
and honor and blessing and glory are His.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia!
Sing with all the people of God
and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing, honor, glory and might
be to God and the Lamb forever, Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia!
For the Lamb who was slain
has begun his reign. Alleluia!
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
~~~~~
Similar themes run through the final sections of Handel's Messiah. Here is a dramatized version of "Worthy Is the Lamb" and the Great "Amen." They use hand motions inspired by American Sign Language. German subtitles are included!
GF Handel: Worthy is the Lamb and Amen
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
and hath redeemed us to God by His blood,
to receive power,
and riches,
and wisdom,
and strength,
and honour,
and glory,
and blessing.
Blessing,
and honour,
glory
and power
be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb,
for ever and ever.
Amen
Revelation 5:12-13
~~~~~
Perhaps the most famous of all of John's writings is from his Gospel account, John 3:16. To read this passage in multiple languages click here. To listen to the text sung in various musical settings, click here.
Too busy for that? Here's John Stainer's classic setting of John 3:16 (and 17).
John Stainer: God So Loved the World
God so loved the world,
God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son
that whoso believeth, believeth in Him
should not perish,
should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God sent not His Son
into the world to condemn the world,
God sent not His Son
into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world might be saved.
God so loved the world,
God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son
that whoso believeth, believeth in Him
should not perish,
should not perish but have everlasting life,
everlasting life,
everlasting, everlasting life.
God so loved the world,
God so loved the world,
God so loved the world.
St. Stephen was the first martyr. He was killed for his faith. Today's festival provides a unique contrast to the manger scene (which is romanticized in our hymnody and liturgical decoration). For more on the placement of the Feast of St. Stephen, you can check out last year's post.
St. Stephen finds himself in the first line of the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas."
This carol is rooted in folklore and tells the legend of a Christian king and his page helping a homeless person and the miracle of how the page was kept warm on their walk. The final stanza offers a moral lesson that can be learned from the story. As the hymn is rooted in folk legend and has no mention of Jesus, it is not found in many hymnals. The carol lends itself more to moral teaching than a proclamation of the Gospel.
Still, this is an outstanding arrangement of this carol! The text provides a dialog between the king and the page which otherwise can go unnoticed if all verses are sung by a choir or congregation. This setting singles those lines out as solo parts.
"Good King Wenceslas"
Choir:
Good King Wenceslas looked out
on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night,
though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
gathering winter fuel.
King:
"Hither, page, and stand by me,
if thou knowst it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
Page:
"Sire, he lives a good league hence,
underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence,
by Saint Agnes’ fountain."
King:
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine,
bring me pine logs hither,
Thou and I will see him dine,
when we bear them thither."
Choir:
Page and monarch forth they went,
forth they went together,
Through the cold wind’s wild lament
and the bitter weather.
Page:
"Sire, the night is darker now,
and the wind blows stronger,
Fails my heart, I know not how;
I can go no longer."
King:
"Mark my footsteps good, my page,
tread now in them boldly,
Thou will find the winter’s rage
freeze your blood less coldly."
Choir:
In his master’s steps he trod,
where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
wealth or rank possessing,
You who now will bless the poor
shall yourselves find blessing.
