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.

I recently discovered Southern Lutheran Kantor who has some thoughtful and extensive commentaries on a number of hymnic treasures – Including “Lord, Thee Will I Love With All My Heart.” This is a wonderful hymn to be sung at a funeral (particularly stanza 3). At most any funeral I will without doubt play an organ chorale prelude on it even if it is not sung.

Another blogger I follow is Vicar Josh Osbun at Holy Holy Hymnody. He has reviewed a number of Stephen Starke hymns. Josh has also tackled the questionable, bad, and ugly of hymnody — past and present. By the looks of it, he has an extensive hymnal collection.

If your church uses Lutheran Service Book or Hymnal Supplement 98, it’s likely you have become acquainted with some of the hymn texts of Stephen Starke. He has his own blog starke Kirchenlieder where he provides occasional brief commentaries, but generally just posts of some great hymn texts by himself and others.

Thanks for reading Diving into Hymnody.

This evening I copied the CDs over to my iPod and have been listening to them as I walked the dog and did other evening tasks.  The music is glorious – a melding of instrumental and vocal settings – some old and some new – some on period instruments and some on the organ.  This set is truly a feast for the ears; a proclamation of the Word through some great texts and music.

One thing I appreciate about this set, the Martin Luther set, and the Hymns for All Saints series is the clear diction of the singers.  The singing is clear and the listener does not have to strain to listen.  This set and the Martin Luther set come with a booklet with complete hymn texts and also commentaries of each text. Both of these booklets are available on the CPH product page at the above links.

And if you’re a music director, organist, or choir director, the booklet has the CPH item numbers for most of the settings.  You might get some ideas for your own use.  I’ve already rediscovered some organ settings that I use (Kevin Hildebrand’s organ setting of In Thee Is Gladness and Mark Sedio’s organ setting of Jesus Thy Boundless Love).

The Heirs of the Reformation set and Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth would both be excellent resources that complement the Good Shepherd Institute’s Singing the Faith DVD.

Just as the title says, these are “Treasures of the Singing Church.”  We are the heirs of these treasures, just as the composers and poets were the heirs of what came before them.  Moreover, though, we are all heirs of Christ through the gracious gifts God richly gives us through Word and Sacrament.

Now I’m just awaiting the arrival of the Treasury of Daily Prayer.  Can we all say, “CPH, ship that book!”?

Thanks for reading Heirs of the Reformation CD Set.

Take for example this last Sunday – The Baptism of Our Lord. The “official” Hymn of the Day from Lutheran Service Book was Luther’s wonderful baptism / catechism hymn “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord” (LSB 406/407). How many of our Lutheran congregations sang this hymn? My congregation didn’t, but they did get to hear an organ prelude by Zachau.

Lutheran Service Book has made an attempt to make some of these unsung hymns more accessible. In addition to the tune Christ, Unser Herr typically associated with “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord,” LSB also has a new tune Elvet Banks. This last tune also happens to be paired with another of Luther’s hymns “May God Bestow on Us His Grace” (which happened to be the Office Hymn for Morning Prayer at Concordia Theological Seminary on 1/16/08). There are a number of other hymn texts in LSB that have been paired with “new” tunes in hopes they get sung more frequently.

Here’s my plea:

Dear Choir Directors and Choirs – Take the time to learn unfamiliar hymns and gradually share and teach them to your congregation. See my previous post on The Lutheran Choir.

Dear Organists and Instrumentalists – Take the time to learn chorale preludes on unfamiliar hymn tunes and introduce the tune over several weeks or months in different parts of the service. You are preparing the people.

Dear Pastors – Take the time to talk to your parish musicians about choosing hymns. Don’t shy away from a hymn because it is difficult or unfamiliar. Your musicians are valuable assets in introducing and leading the people’s song.

Dear People in the Pews (and Choir Directors, Choir, Parish Musicians, and Pastors) – Take the time to read and meditate on the hymns in the hymnal – at home and church. Deepen your familiarity with the church’s song by listening to CD’s that focus on this hymnody. For example:

• Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth
• Concordia Theological Seminary Kantorei
• St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Children’s Choir
• Hymns for All Saints
• Paul Manz Hymn Improvisations

All of these resources should be available by contacting the Concordia Theological Seminary Bookstore at CPHBookstore@ctsfw.edu. Many are available by contacting Concordia Publishing House.

Blessings as you grow in your understanding of our rich hymnic heritage.

Thanks for reading Singing Difficult Hymns.