Difficult Hymns That Are Not Difficult
As I was reading the Blessings of Weekly Communion today, I had a flashback to the Organist Workshop I attended last summer at Concordia Theological Seminary. One of the sessions we had with Kantor Resch was on the hymnody of Luther. During that hour we discussed a number of Luther’s hymns and ranked the relative difficulty of the hymn.
Not surprisingly, many of Luther’s hymns are not the easiest to sing. However, one of the hymns that should be moderately difficult to sing because of its rhythmic pattern turns out to be one that many congregations can sing quite well — Luther’s communion hymn “O Lord, We Praise Thee”. Because of it’s familiarity, some might even say that it is one of Luther’s easy hymns.
Why does it seem so easy? One clear reason is that it is sung frequently and is hence reinforced throughout the years and generations. The young and new people to the Lutheran faith learn from the leading of those around them.
Difficult hymns don’t have to remain difficult. By a careful and deliberate plan, difficult hymns can become beloved and familiar.
Are there any “difficult” hymns that your congregation does not find difficult? How do you introduce new hymns?
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Our congregation traditionally sings May God Bestow on Us His Grace (LSB 823). We introduced it as a choral piece, years ago.
That’s how we introduce challenging or simply unfamiliar hymns: through the choir. It usually only takes a few times. Generally, even the first time it’s used as a congregational hymn, the choir sings the first few verses before the congregation joins in.
It would be next to impossible to introduce and to successfully incorporate such hymns into regular usage without the choir, in my opinion. No amount of organ-playing can substitute hearing the words and the music together. It takes little courage to just listen; it takes differing amounts of courage for people to open their mouths and sing something ‘new’. I’ve tried it a time or two while the choir was on its summer break, and crickets chirped louder than people sang. Humiliating.
We also try to be judicious as to how often we bring in a challenging hymn (as opposed to one that’s simply unfamiliar but not challenging). Of course, the congregation might disagree :O) But we’ve been ‘introducing’ in overtime, since the LSB has been our sole hymnal.
Fortunately, the organ I play has the capacity to do what I cannot: transpose. So some hymns are made easier by transposing down a half- or whole-step.
New hymns are always sung in unison, even when they’re harmonized nicely, such as the rhythmic setting of A Mighty Fortress (which the choir actually prefers), and From Depths of Woe I Cry. Unison singing is easier to hear, and it has a power that’s hard to resist.