Church musicians are often in a quandary when selecting sheet music to add to their libraries: a finite budget and seemingly infinite choices from music publishers.  The musician needs a discerning eye to determine what will be useful at their skill level and worship context.  Random selection might yield a few gems, but also result in a bloated collection.  A quality library doesn’t necessarily have to be large.  It does, however, have to be well chosen. (Organ Music: Chorale Preludes)

Concordia Publishing House is one of the few publishers that I routinely use that has substantial sales on some of their music products.  Vendors like SheetMusicPlus will often have rotating 20% sales on different publishers or types of music (e.g., choral), but CPH usually has a limited selection of choral, handbell, organ, and piano music at significant savings (50% – 75% off). If your congregation subscribes to Creative Worship from CPH, you can also work directly with their Music Department to order “suggested” products at 20% off.  I know this sounds like an advertisement for CPH, but it’s more of an FYI of how to make a music budget stretch further (assuming you have a need for their products).

One word of caution: just because something is on sale does not mean you need it!

As I scanned through the latest CPH Music Warehouse Sale, I’ve listed a handful of organ music items that are frequently on my music rack (and a book about handbells) with the thought that someone might also find them useful. If you’re looking for other recommendations, Kevin Hildebrand normally has organ and choral music reviews in each edition of His Voice from the Good Shepherd Institute.

Organ Music

• Chorale Preludes of Dietrich Buxtehude ($8.75 – editor Scott Hyslop) – This collection is a selection of some of Buxtehude’s chorale preludes. While I don’t own this particular edition (I have the Barenreiter series), I’ve enjoyed learning and playing Buxtehude throughout the church year.  In the March 2007 edition of His Voice, Kevin Hildebrand offers suggestions based on several levels of difficulty and includes the BuxWV number.
• Hymnal Supplement 98 Prelude Editions (Vol 3, 4, and 5 – $4.50 each) – Useful especially for some of the newer hymn tunes in Lutheran Service Book. I think CPH may be letting these go out of print.
• Introductions, Harmonizations, Accompaniments, Interpretations (Vol 3 – $4.00, Vol 4 – $4.25 – Jeffrey Blersch) –  The introductions are sometimes longer than I would normally play, but could also work as a prelude.  The usefulness of the harmonizations in your worship setting will depend on your musical resources.  Some of the harmonizations interweave the melody amongst the different voices and work best if there is a choir to support the singing (and know what you’re up to).
• Master Organ Works of Jan Bender (Vol 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 – $7.50 each) – Let’s just say I paid a lot more than $7.50 for each of these volumes when they first came out. Volumes 1-4 have been particularly useful over the years (based on hymn tunes) and I’ve learned to like the sound and writing of Bender. Volume 1 is primarily for manuals. Volumes 2 & 3 are for manuals and pedals.  Volume 4 has some very nice longer pieces (I often use Ein Feste Berg and Wie schon leuchtet). Volume 5 are non-hymn based triptychs which I haven’t used much. Kevin Hildebrand provides a review of this collection in the February 2006 edition of His Voice.
• Six Hymn Improvisations (Vol 1 – $2.75, Vol 2 – $2.75, Vol 4 – $3.00 – Kevin Hildebrand) – I frequently use Kantor Hildebrand’s improvisations and will occasionally tweak/shorten them to use as a hymn introduction. Volume 1 has a few gems with great settings of Ebenezer (Thy Strong Word) and In Dir Ist Freude (used as the hymn introduction to In Thee Is Gladness on the Heirs of the Reformation CD set). And the renaissance dance setting of O Lord, We Praise You is just fun to play.
• Songs of the Gospel (Vol 1, Vol 2 – $22.50 each) – These two volumes have been really helpful to collect a variety of older and newer settings on the hymns of Martin Luther (Volume 1) and Paul Gerhardt (Volume 2).  For the amount of music you get for the price, these are bargains.

Books

• Handbells in the Liturgy ($8.00) – Practical ideas on how to use handbells in the worship service. Surprise , surprise – handbells can be used in more ways than just playing an instrumental piece.

Thanks for reading CPH Spring 2011 Music Sale.

Each year around the All Saints Sunday weekend the Good Shepherd Institute hosts their annual conference which features fellowship, recitals, a hymn festival, and a number of presentations for pastors and musicians.  The conference that is presently underway is entitled “Sing With All the Saints in Glory.”  In March 2010, Dr. Just remarked in their newsletter how the staff determined the conference theme.

After last year’s well-received and well-attended conference on Johann Sebastian Bach, we wondered how we could sustain this momentum. In a meeting with Kantors Resch and Hildebrand and Dean Grime about how we can top Bach, someone blurted out: “Let’s do death. We’ve never done death. Let’s do death.” I looked over at the Kantors, and I could see the musical wheels spinning with requiems, hymns, and all sorts of other possibilities. What is more vital for pastors, musicians, and deaconesses than how we proclaim to the saints what we believe about death? We all agreed that there was no more perfect topic to follow Bach than how we celebrate life in the midst of death, especially at a Good Shepherd Institute conference held during All Saints weekend. Yes, we all agreed, it is time for us to “do death.”

While I haven’t attended one of the conferences, my thoughts and prayers are with them as I see what they’re doing a few time zones away.  A highlight for me, while not a substitute for being there, is the eventual publication of their annual journal that features the presentations from the conference.  These journals provide some good reading (and lifelong re-reading) material.  My personal favorite is Volume 2 – Christ’s Gift’s in Liturgy.  Normally the journals are about $20.00 apiece, but since Volume 2 is out of print, they have kindly made it available for download (no charge) as a PDF.  If you are a church musician with a love for sacred music, hymnody, worship, and theology, you definitely will want this.  While you’re at it, take a look at their semi-annual newsletter with some great recommendations on articles/books, sheet music (organ and choir), and recordings.  Yes, your pocketbook will be a little lighter, but you will have some worthwhile additions to your library.  Kantor Hildebrand’s recommendation of Partita on Lord, Thee I Love With All My Heart by J. Wayne Kerr, was a great addition to both of my All Saints Sunday services.

If you’re not familiar with the resources for church musicians from Concordia Theological Seminary, do check them out.  They have been a blessing to me.  Perhaps they will be for you as well.

Thanks for reading Church Musicians & Concordia Theological Seminary.

Of making many books there is no end . . . Ecclesiastes 12:12

And so goes the publishing industry.  Now don’t get me wrong: I love books.  I’m eagerly anticipating the FedEx delivery truck dropping off a box from CPH on Friday with the new edition of Walther’s Law and Gospel, a volume of Sasse, and two volumes of essays by Robert Preus.

As a church musician I get excited (or at least a bit interested) when music publishers, primarily CPH and MorningStar Music, release their new music (which CPH has been doing over the last few weeks).  Is there a new treasure waiting to be found?  A new (or old) text just waiting to burst in song?  Did any of the composers on my short list compose anything new?

For those of you who have watched and studied Singing the Faith: Living the Lutheran Music Heritage from the Good Shepherd Institute, you may remember Kantor Kevin Hildebrand’s presentation in Section 4.  In his segment he answers the question “Why is there a need for new compositions when there are already so many well written pieces to draw from?“  His answer:  Composers, influenced by the past, have an inner compulsion to create well crafted expressions of the church’s song to nurture the faithful.  It is a privilege for the composer to hand down these texts and tunes to the next generation.

We shouldn’t toss out or turn our backs on the treasures of the past.  But neither should we ignore the quality treasures being created now.  But with all the publishing houses, it is overwhelming to digest, let alone skim, their frequent musical output.  And so out of necessity, both for the wallet and sanity, I focus on a limited number of publishers and composers UNLESS someone I know/respect makes a compelling case for something else.

In the ideal world, all sacred music would be of high quality (both musically and theologically) and every musician could play and/or sing it.  In the real world, the musical and theological quality is inconsistent and musicians vary widely in their skill set.  Looking at publisher’s websites can be mind numbing with so many choices and limited preview options.  But I’m glad to discover that both CPH and MorningStar Music are becoming more “musician friendly”.

• Most music publishers offer partial PDF previews of their newer musical pieces and books.  CPH has recently gone a step further with their new choral and handbell resources.  You can download the complete score to preview as a PDF, BUT it is not printable.  That seems like a reasonable compromise to protect their copyright interests, while allowing an ample opportunity to preview the piece.  For the organists out there, we are still limited to a PDF with a few pages from the music book.  As usual, most items have an accompanying MP3 recording.

• The ability to do a music search on a music publisher’s website is often hit and miss.  For the life of me, I can’t find the “old” music search form on the CPH website.  However, kudos to MorningStar Music on their advanced search functionality for organ and choral music with drop down menus.  Their search criteria is slick and easy to follow.  This is how I’d like to catalog my own music library.
  • Composer, tune name, difficulty, and liturgical season for organ music
  • Composer, voicing, instrument, scripture search. liturgical season, special service/occasion, and topics for choral music

With all the published music available, it can be a daunting task for the church musician to sort through and select quality music on a limited budget.  Each musician and parish have unique circumstances, but it seems that publishers, musicians, and worship commissions could band together to create suggested repertoire lists to build from.  A few organists had a foray into this last summer.

I’ll end this post with one final thought: Thank you to all the composers who create those well crafted expressions of the church’s song.  Your music enriches the lives of our congregations.

Thanks for reading On New Music.

Over the last few summers I’ve had the opportunity to attend the Organist Workshops at Concordia Theological Seminary.  It’s frankly amazing to see how a group of strangers from across the country, young and old, newbies and experienced, quickly become friends.  The sheet music starts coming out.  Music recommendations are bantered back and forth.  Stories are told.  Advice is sought.  We find that we are not alone.

To a certain extent, I think church musicians can get isolated in the parish.  Yes, the musician is usually well integrated in the life of the church, but he sometimes yearns for the collegiality of the fellow musician that understands things only another musician can fully understand.

There are a number of groups that helps foster these relationships like the American Guild of Organists and Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.  I think it would be great if the LCMS local Circuits and Districts would intentionally bring their musicians together to study, to sing, and to fellowship on a regular basis.  Some may already be doing this, but it isn’t widespread.

For me, this blog is a way to share my thoughts and experiences on my journey as a church musician.  Perhaps some of these things might resonate with you.  I’d welcome any thoughts and suggestions you might have in your journey.  God’s richest blessings to you.

This post was partly inspired by my reminiscing about the past workshops and also an e-mail from Steve, a fellow reader and musician with an organ music recommendation for Ascension.  I’ll leave you with Steve’s recommendation – Festival Alleluia by Dan Miller based on Lasst Uns Erfreuen.  Happy Ascension Day.

Thanks for reading Fellowship & Church Musicians.

That such unmerited free grace
(Which God from love for all our race
Had promised in His Word) might be
Kept fresh in human memory
And move the heart to high delight
In praising God both day and night—

This is the weightiest reason why
God music did at once supply.
Then too, since sin acquired at birth
Would bring to Adam’s seed on earth
Much woe and—earth itself now spoiled—
Small joy in all for which they toiled,
As antidote against that blight,
To keep man’s life from wilting quite,
And also to rejoice the heart,
God soon supplied sweet music’s art.
——
I have just named two reasons why
God gave us music from on high.
These reasons teach us we must use
The gift from heaven as God would choose:
By it let God be glorified;
Then let it be our help and guide.

Thanks for reading Johann Walter – Composer and Poet.

The tunes are clearly brought out with interesting harmonies and rhythms that don’t tonally stray too far from what is expected while still providing the necessary support for congregational singing.  One of my favorite harmonizations is Manz’s adaptation of his prelude on Jesus Christ is Risen Today for hymn singing with initial accents on the 2nd and 4th beats.

Morningstar Music is offering these at bargain prices of $8.00 and $7.50 respectively.   They are valuable resources that can add some variety to your hymn playing while not provoking your congregation to cast stones at you.  Yes, metaphorical stones can be cast if the harmonization ceases to support the singing.

Thanks for reading Manz Harmonizations for Lent & Easter.

Mark Lawson, president of MorningStar Music, reflects on the importance of congregational song to Richard Proulx and Richard Hillert in the March edition of their e-newsletter.  Special thanks to MorningStar Music for granting permission to post this article.

The recent passing of Richard Proulx and Richard Hillert has caused me to reflect on the extraordinary gifts that these two great men have given to us. Even though both wrote widely in many genres, I firmly believe that their greatest inspiration came in providing wonderful settings of liturgical materials for the congregation. Both of these men believed strongly that average, everyday people should sing the liturgy and that it shouldn’t just be left to the professionals. It makes me think of the way Paul Manz used to talk about inspiring the congregation to sing and how thrilling it is to sing with full voiced gusto on the great hymns of faith.

In many churches, I think we have shortchanged the congregation and have given more of our attention to the choirs. Educating the congregation and teaching them how to sing is no easy matter, but is certainly worth every minute we can give to helping them fully engage in the church’s song.

Some helpful suggestions include:

· Print brief histories of hymns and tunes used in the service on an insert in the worship folder.

· Look for concertatos and descants that engage both the choir and the congregation.

· Vary the accompaniments from full organ to a cappella singing, and incorporate various instruments for introductions or descants.

· Use readings such as those in From Glory Into Glory to set up the hymn and give added thought.

These are just a few suggestions. There are obviously many more, but the important thing is to give congregational singing added attention and priority. If we follow the model of those who have recently gone before us, it is worth our very best gifts.

Mark W. Lawson,

President

Thanks for reading Helping Your Congregation Sing.

I won’t go into all the details, since they are amply noted in other blog posts.

1. 2007 – Kantor School (aka Organist Workshop)
2. 2008 - Organist Workshops
3. 2009 – Church Music Workshops @ CTSFW

However, in a past post I referenced something that Kantor Resch wrote that bears repeating once again.

Thanks for reading 2010 Summer Organist Workshops.

“What Would Bach Do Today?” by Paul Grime

Dr. Grime (Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary) has a clever alternate title for his paper: WWJD: What Would Johann Do? It is a provocative question to consider and Dr. Grime explores the possibilities for today’s church musicians.  If I had to summarize it one sentence, it would be: Don’t operate with your blinders on.  Bach worked within and had an understanding of both the church and culture and sacred and secular.  While we now experience different circumstances from Bach, Grime doesn’t impose artificial limitations on the musician, but encourages exploration and freedom.

But it will only be through trial and error that we will be able to press on to that next fresh expression of the grace of God, using His incredible gift of music to awaken faith in our generation and the next. Bach would expect nothing less!

“The Global Importance of Bach Today” by Uwe Siemon-Netto

Given Uwe Siemon-Netto’s background as a reporter, it is not surprising that his paper reads like a feature article – an engaging article.  He shows how Bach’s music transcends cultures and social classes and “speaks” to all sorts of people.  Even Bach’s instrumental music, he contends, can bring people to Christianity.  But he also laments the apathy of the theological/musical heirs of Bach toward this musical tradition (specifically in reference to the sale of a certain radio station owned by a certain church body in a certain mid-western city).  Another enlightening reading opportunity.

Thanks for reading Bach in Today’s Parish: Still the Evangelist.

So where does a musician find resources to sift through all the choices?  I have usually received the best advice from my mentors and friends who are Lutheran musicians.  (Organists and Choir Directors: The Good Shepherd Institute’s bi-annual newsletter His Voice normally has music recommendations from Kantor Kevin Hildebrand).

To that end, I would like to share with you a recent acquisition to my organ music library which I think will be quite valuable: the six volume series “Choralvorspiele Zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch.”  The journey to this collection began in the summer of 2007 while I was at an Organist Workshop at Concordia Theological Seminary with Kantor Resch.  He had a volume of this series on the organ console and this gave me a hint to consider adding it to the library.  I recently inquired with Kantor Resch about the series and he highly recommended it.

Don’t expect to find this series in your local music store.  I worked with the Organ Historical Society to import the series from Germany and they now carry it as an in-stock item ($36.95/volume).  This is frankly a bargain – each volume is 100-160 pages with between 70-140 pieces.

I suspect the Choralvorspiele Zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch is virtually unknown in the United States.  If you Google it, you will find lots of German retail sites, but only a handful of items in English — one of which is a review by Daniel Zager (Associate Professor/Dean at the Eastman School of Music).  If you have any inkling of interest, you should read Zager’s review.

The series is published by Barenreiter, the text is completely in German, and is intended as an organ prelude supplement to the German hymnal “Evangelischen Gesangbuch.”  In certain respects it is similar to the Concordia Hymn Prelude Series from CPH (now slowly going out of print) – it provides chorale preludes (and sometimes an intonation) on many, but not all, of the hymns in the German hymnal.

Since the text is all in German, you either need to know German, know your chorale tunes via name, or be willing to do some sight reading to determine the tune.  Just as a disclaimer: not all of the tunes in this series will be familiar and some will not be in our American hymnals (like Lutheran Service Book).  You can get a feel for the tunes used by looking at the “table of contents” at the Organ Historical Society site.  However, even though you might not find all the tunes in the LSB tune index, some of these tunes are still familiar.  “Den die Hirten lobeten sehre” AND “Kommt und laßt uns Christus ehren”?  We know them as Quem Pastores.  “Nun singet und seid froh”?  We know it as “In dulci jubilo”.  Why the difference?  My guess is that the text at the top of each prelude is the hymnal number and hymn name — and like our own hymnals, multiple hymns can use the same tune.  The particular prelude/intonation may be written/associated with the given text.  The volumes are ordered based on the hymn numbers in the German hymnal and are generally divided seasonally/topically.

The contents of these volumes are not “new” in the strictest sense of the term.  Barenreiter has previously published most all of the pieces in other books.  This series could then be thought of as an anthology.  The pieces represent a broad spectrum of primarily German composers from 1600′s – mid/late 1900′s.  Walther, Kauffmann, Reger, and Jan Bender (to name a few).  J.S. Bach and Buxtehude appear occasionally, but certainly don’t predominate (I assume the editor believed these works are already in the organist’s library).  There is some redundancy in pieces that overlap Keller’s 80 Chorales & Preludes, Reger preludes, the Organist’s Golden Treasury, etc.  But there is plenty of content that will be “new” to the American organist.

The preludes vary in difficulty from moderately easy to medium difficulty.  There are a wide variety of presentations — manuals only, cantus firmus in the pedal or tenor line, bicinium, 4-part settings, toccata, etc..  Each tune will have at least one, but often more, preludes and/or intonations (Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott has 10 pieces).  Most are short (one or two pages long) and don’t require any page turning.  Some of the preludes have been transposed into a different key to match the German hymnal — which many times will also match those of modern Lutheran hymnals.  However, as I have lamented in the past, these books, like many others, do not lie flat on the music rack and I have had them rebound with coil binding at the local Office Depot ($3/volume).

Just a brief anecdote:  If you have either of the Concordia Theological Seminary Kantorei CD’s – “Infant Holy” or “With Angels and Archangels”, the prelude to Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure Eternal is written by Jan Bender and is in volume 1.

Part of the appeal of this series is that it “fits” with the recent resurgence in the interest in the Lutheran music heritage.  CPH has released two comprehensive CD sets – Luther’s hymns and Heirs of the Reformation.  The Good Shepherd Institute has released the excellent Singing the Faith DVD.  Musicians can help to encourage and reinforce this heritage by the music we play.

Choralvorspiele Zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch is a practical and valuable collection for the average Lutheran organist of tried and tested chorale preludes.  It is a collection that can grow with you — whether you are a newbie or experienced organist.  While this series doesn’t have strictly “new” content, I think it will still be convenient to have so many chorale preludes under one “roof.”  Definitely consider it.

Have questions?  Ask away.  I’m still exploring it and finding new treasures.

Thanks for reading Organ Music: Chorale Preludes.