Lutheran Kantor » Resources

March Resources

Chris — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:53:25 +0000

Today’s post is a mixed bag of several resource items that have caught my eye over the last few weeks.

HIS VOICE

The Good Shepherd Institute has recently published the bi-annual edition of their newsletter “His Voice” that focus on resources for pastoral theology and sacred music. In it you’ll find information on the next GSI conference (and the creative way they came up with the topic), book/article recommendations from John Pless, choral recommendations from Kantor Kevin Hildebrand, and music/article recommendations from Daniel Zager.

For those of you who enjoy the writings of Bo Giertz (e.g., Hammer of God and To Live With Christ), John Pless recommends The Knights of Rhodes, a novel by Giertz recently translated into English by Bror Erickson. If you are interested in it, just a hint — buy directly from the publisher (Wipf and Stock) and the price is $21.60 + shipping rather than $27.00 + shipping.

GATHERED GUESTS

CPH is having a 60% off sale on selected items and Gathered Guests (2nd Edition) by Timothy Maschke is on sale for $10.00 (normally $24.99). The subtitle to the book is “A Guide to Worship in the Lutheran Church.” It is a revision of the 1st Edition to reflect updated practices and reference the services in Lutheran Service Book. At 600 pages, the book provides an overview of Lutheran worship and the church year, the liturgy and the services in LSB, the arts — vestments, music, and architecture, and planning resources.

The commentary on the LSB services (Divine Services, Daily Office, and the Occasional Services) are especially useful for the pastor and musician in worship planning. One resource that I have found particularly helpful is Appendix B – Seasonal Suggestions for the Divine Service. It is an expansion of a table in the Manual on the Liturgy for LBW (which is also a useful resource for service planning and the “how” of the service). For each season of the church year there are suggestions of when and/or what “options” to use in the service like the Kyrie, Hymn of Praise, and Post-Communion Canticle and Collect. This appendix provides an intentional usage of the options throughout the settings of the Divine Service.

Enjoy the exploration. If you happen to come across any worship and/or music related resources that you find useful or would recommend, feel free to leave a comment.

Organ Music: Chorale Preludes

Chris — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:13:51 +0000

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. (I previously wrote about The Other Essential Lutheran Library – Musician Edition which included some of my “core” organ books.)

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.

LSB Resources: Additional Indexes

Chris — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:46 +0000

For a number of years I’ve had lofty goals to catalog my music library — not just the books, but also the individual pieces within the book, associated hymn tunes, composers, when I used a piece, etc. While I haven’t made much progress on the cataloging, awhile back I did create the underlying structure that would link everything back to Lutheran Service Book and the associated hymn tunes. Through that project I had the data to create several indexes that had more detail than those provided in the back of the LSB editions — primarily around the hymn tunes used in LSB.
All of the information in these indexes is already in LSB — these indexes will just minimize some page flipping going back and forth to cross reference hymn numbers. They answer two primary questions: What tune does a hymn use? What hymns use this tune? Who knows, some of you might find these useful. If you do, I’d be interested to know – please leave a comment.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival

Chris — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:29:05 +0000

One of my Christmas season traditions (OK. . . it is technically an Advent tradition) is to listen to the St. Olaf Christmas Festival. While I haven’t actually been to Northfield, MN, Minnesota Public Radio will be broadcasting the concert live on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009 at 3:30 PM (Central Time). You can learn more about the Festival, link to the live broadcast, and download a service program by visiting the Festival site. Each year there is some fine choral and orchestral music. As with many other Christmas festivals and concerts this year, they will be singing Paul Manz’s “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”

As a sampling, here’s one of my favorite pieces from the 2007 Festival entitled Glories Ring. This is included in the PBS television special that has aired the past few years.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPkT-nhqC1Q

LSB 334: O, Lord, How Shall I Meet You

Chris — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:47:40 +0000

NOTE: The following blog post was previously published on 11/30/08, but it is timely given that Advent is fast approaching and your congregation may be singing LSB 334 this coming Sunday.

Some of you may have already discovered this, but I’ll pass it along for those that don’t know.

The stanza numbering for O, Lord, How Shall I Meet You (LSB 334) is incorrect in the LSB pew edition (or at least the copies I have seen). The six stanzas are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7, but omit 5. The Hymn Accompaniment edition and the Guitar Chord edition have the stanzas numbered as 1-6.

If you ever choose to sing selected stanzas of this hymn, you should verify the stanza numbers in your editions to minimize confusion during singing.

11/24/09 UPDATE: I have been informed that some pew editions don’t have this stanza numbering issue. Perhaps later print runs fixed it. My editions are probably from the initial print run.

Good Shepherd Institute

Chris — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:32:33 +0000

This past week I discovered that the Good Shepherd Institute has released the latest edition of His Voice, a newsletter of GSI that has a number of recommended resources for pastors, laity, and musicians. I’d encourage you to download and scan through it (only 9 pages).

Of particular note are 3 pages devoted to the published resources of GSI, most of which are part of my own library. These resources have been formative and valuable in my growth and continuing education as a parish musician. I return again and again to the timeless essays of Walter Buszin. The journals provide opportunities for personal study in worship, hymnody, and liturgy. The Singing the Faith DVD is the closest thing you’ll get to a confessional Lutheran music video. My favorite video selections are Lord, Let at Last Thine Angels Come with the mural and Wide Open Stand the Gates from a hymn festival.

It has been a blessing to be part of the continuing “conversation”, if only through the words of the essays, journals, and DVD. So, I say thank you to Kantor Resch and Dr. Just for their vision and making these resources available for the church at large, and in particular pastors and parish musicians.

Coil Binding! The Musician’s Friend

Chris — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:02:17 +0000

This morning I took four music books (Augsburg Organ Library) and my LSB Propers of the Day down to Office Depot to have their binding cut off and replaced with coil binding. Only $3.00 a book – not bad.

I’ve written about this in a previous post, but I think it bears repeating. Why do music publishers publish a book that will be put on a music rack that will not stay open on its own? It seems ridiculous to have to rebind the books before you can even use them.

P.S. I had my LSB Propers of the Day rebound just as a matter of convenience — so I’m not “unhappy” with CPH on that item. On the other hand, CPH could look at how they bind their Songs of the Gospel (preludes on Luther and Paul Gerhardt hymns) — those books were rebound as soon as I got them a few years back.

Pipe Organs: Q&A with Grime and Hildebrand

Chris — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:24:02 +0000

So how does the pipe organ work? Paul Grime, Kevin Hildebrand, and the multimedia crew at Concordia Theological Seminary have put together an introductory YouTube video on the pipe organ and answer 5 or so common questions. The content is geared for both organists and non-organists. Listen closely and you can hear the nice reverberation in Kramer Chapel.

So what did I learn from the video? That I should pull out the ladder to the organ chamber and go blow on some pipes! (The video did not explicitly suggest this, but I extrapolated it as a reasonable experience to get to know my organ better.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fApDo2z8IaU

Church, Children, and Autism

Chris — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:18:33 +0000

Dan at Necessary Roughness has written an informative post on “How Churches Should Handle Autism”. He offers practical suggestions to help congregations understand and help these families affected by autism during the worship service.

And what is Dan’s number 1 suggestion? “The real world has no Gospel and has no forgiveness. The best thing a church can do is preach the Word.” Thanks Dan!

The Concordia Organist

Chris — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:47:02 +0000

I received an e-mail today from CPH that startled me even though I “knew” their new product would be coming eventually.

Wanted: One Outstanding Church Organist.
Music adds much to our worship, but musicians can be hard to find. Well, look no further.

The reality is that many churches have a difficult time finding an organist or even someone who can play the piano for worship services. Enter CPH. They have created Concordia Organist, a 31-CD set of all the hymns in LSB which can be used to accompany hymn singing. CPH is having an “essay” contest (though the Official Rules say it will be a random drawing) to give away a free copy of the Concordia Organist (retail value: $699 with an introductory price of $499) to a LCMS or LCC congregation.

On the plus side, the hymns are played by the very capable Paul Grime, Kevin Hildebrand, and Richard Resch of Concordia Theological Seminary on the wonderful Schlicker organ in Kramer Chapel. Any congregation would be blessed to have either of these organists and/or the Kramer Chapel pipe organ. (As an aside: I have to remind myself to not covet my neighbor’s pipe organ.)

However, I’m a little unsettled on the use of a CD as a hymn accompaniment in congregational worship. I understand that for some churches the Concordia Organist may be the only way that they can have a “church musician” for worship. Singing to a recording, though, lacks the vibrancy of the relationship between the musician and the congregation. On some Sundays, my own hymn playing will take on a new dimension as a result of the energy of the hymn singing. And conversely, the congregation’s hymn singing can be energized by skillful hymn playing. I would hope that these CDs are a last resort and not a substitute for a “live” church musician if one is available.

And we need not forget the possibility of a capella singing. You never know when the organ might “blow up” just before the service begins and “Let my prayer rise before You as incense” takes on an entirely new meaning as electrical parts are burning. Singing without accompaniment can add a new dimension to worship that is often hidden when there is always background music.

I suppose, though, that the moral of the story is to encourage our young people to pursue church music – either as a profession or avocation. Our churches are always in need of faithful musicians with a passion for the church’s song. If we had sufficient numbers of church musicians, a product like Concordia Organist wouldn’t have much of a market.