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.

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.

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.

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.

In 1948 CPH published an “Anthology of Sacred Music – Chorale Preludes by Masters of the XVII and XVIII Centuries” selected and edited by Buszin.  It is the Foreword of this volume that I’d like to share with you.  First, it provides insight into what CPH was publishing at that time.  Second, it gives some guidance for parish musicians today.  Third, it will provide a segue into another piece I’ll be posting in a few days.

——-

The music world today is making wide use of the chorale preludes written by the Lutheran masters of the 17th and 18th centuries. We are convinced that this is not merely a passing fad, but rather an indication of the rapid rise of musical standards in America and a recognition of the superiority of this music for worship purposes. From a purely musical point of view one may rightfully refer to the chorale preludes of the Lutheran masters as tone poems in miniature; from a liturgical and ecclesiastical point of view, however, they are more than tone poems, for their real purpose, as intended by their composers, was to incite people to worship and to create an atmosphere of worship in services of worship.

On the whole, a more uplifting atmosphere has been maintained in the services of worship conducted by church bodies which recognize the values of a well-ordered and dignified liturgical service of worship. Nevertheless, while the music used in these churches may have been churchly, it was often not the best worship music available. Thus in the Lutheran Church it was soon discovered that not the compositions of the great Lutheran masters, but the works of the rather inferior nineteenth and twentieth century composers were used. This music did not militate at all times against good taste; it was, on the whole, churchly, but it was at the same time quite uninspiring; it was not written by composers who possessed the genius, skill, talents, and spirit of men like Walther, Pachelbel, Buxtehude, Zachow, various members of the Bach family, and others. In fact, the music of the really great Lutheran masters was quite unknown to Lutheran church musicians until recent times, and there are still many serving as organists who are not acquainted with their real great heritage.

The present collection has been prepared and published not only to acquaint organists with works by the Lutheran masters, but also to encourage organists to use music of this type in services of worship. Since it is the intention of the editor to prepare for this series a volume which will include only works by Johann Sebastian Bach, compositions by this great master have not been included in the present volume. It is hopes that thereby attention will be called to the undeniable and important fact that the musical heritage of the Lutheran Church in particular, and of the Christian Church in general, is great even without the works of the greatest composer of organ music the world has ever known.

. . .

It is important, of course, that these preludes be played in the spirit in which they were written and in the spirit of a beautiful and dignified service of worship. This spirit, however, I am unable to communicate to others through the medium of words, numbers, or other signs. The spirit of music is intangible and will come to those who wholeheartedly dedicate themselves, their ability, and their musical talent to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. From Him will come the spirit of consecration and genuine musical understanding.

– Walter E. Buszin

Thanks for reading Walter Buszin on the Lutheran Masters.

Organists take note: you might be envious of this practice organ.  He’s playing a 4 manual digital organ running Hauptwerk (a robust software program that “runs” the virtual pipe organ) with touch screen stop jams.  A very versatile instrument.   I’ll remain content with my 2-manual Allen practice organ.

Thanks for reading A Bach Gem From YouTube.

A poor organist will make of hymn playing a commonplace thing.  A good organist will challenge the intelligent interest of the congregation and charge its hymn singing with thought and feeling.

I know I sometimes rush through the practicing of the hymns and liturgy so I can get to practicing the preludes and postludes (that’s the most important thing, right?).  But those of us who are organists should remember that our most important function is leading the congregations song — and we can only do that effectively through practice.  That means we occasionally search out alternate hymn accompaniments and introductions/intonations.  Perhaps that means spending some time to “prepare” an improvised introduction or playing around with pedal points and registrations.  Sometimes that means spending extra time on the hymns rather than the prelude or postlude.

See a previous blog post entitled Invitation to Sing for more reflections.

Let God’s people sing! — and you can help them sing out by being a good leader of the congregations song.

Thanks for reading Hymn Playing for Organists.

Jan Bender, in his book “Organ Improvisation for Beginners” offers the following on the benefits of learning how to improvise:

What is improvisation good for? There are many answers, and I will try to name some of them. The first one is very practical: One does not need to handle so many books. . . . Second: Improvisation is an outstanding discipline to develop and train memory as well as intelligence. . . Third, again a very practical reason: It is fun and very satisfying. Last but not least: When it is done well, improvisation contributes to the dignity of the worship service and to the praise of God.

Bender’s book, while good, requires a working understanding of music theory and harmony.

A resource I received as a Christmas present is “Off the Page: Tips & Techniques for Creating Hymn-Based Organ Settings” ($38.00) by Donald Rotermund and published by MorningStar Music Publishers. If you can play a hymn from the hymnal, you can improvise. Rotermund shows you step by step a number of different techniques (e.g., Echo Phrases) that you can practice and use together to create things like a hymn introduction, prelude, or partita. There is even a CD that gives an audio demonstration of each technique. This is an extremely accessible and useful resource for the church organist.

What I find particularly satisfying about this book is how the musician is just using the music in front of them in the hymnal. The book assumes the reader has a limited background in music theory and keyboard harmony and little improvisational background, BUT the willingness and desire to spend some time practicing and becoming comfortable with the techniques. Rotermund also shows you how to mark your hymnal so you can recall your plan of action while at the organ console.

If you are really interested in learning to improvise, another resource is the Improvisation Organist Workshop at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by Kantor Kevin Hildebrand. His workshop covers many of the same techniques as in “Off the Page” — some of the material from “Off the Page” was field tested in Hildebrand’s workshops. If you have the opportunity to attend the Improvisation or another workshop, take advantage of it. You will learn a lot and meet some great people. Each summer has a different selection of workshops – you will need to check with the Seminary to see what workshops will be offered in 2008. You can read my “testimonial” here.

Best wishes as you serve God’s people through your service playing.

Thanks for reading Improvisation for Organists.

As I recall, Kantor Resch referred to the hymn introduction as an “Invitation to Sing.” If the introduction is “blah”, the singing will be “blah” as well. The “invitation” by the organist gives a foretaste of what is to come. One of the primary responsibilities of the organist is to engage God’s people in song.

Sometimes the introduction will be playing the entire hymn through once. Sometimes it will be the first and last music phrases. For me this can get a bit repetitive and rather uncreative. More often than not I will either improvise an introduction, use an introduction from one of the organ books in my library, or repurpose a portion of an organ piece from another composer.

The idea for this blog post came after a number of people from church over the last week complimented me on the introductions and accompaniments for a number of the hymns. I was told they were creative, engaging, and reflective of the texts. I can’t take credit for them all — some of them were my own improvisations, but a number of them came from the works of Carl Schalk, Jeffrey Blersch, and Kevin Hildebrand. If any of you organist’s out there do not have Hildebrand’s newest organ collection, Bethlehem’s Rose – 12 Easy Chorale Preludes, get it for the 2008 Christmas season.

P.S. I do not work for or get any commissions from Concordia Publishing House. I just happen to use a lot of the organ music that they publish.

Thanks for reading Invitation to Sing.