Tag Archives: CPH

The Lutheran Study Bible: ESV++

After much anticipation, my copy of The Lutheran Study Bible arrived about two weeks ago and I’ve spent some time getting to know it.  The ESV has been my translation of choice since CPH released their hardback ESV Reference Bible a few years ago and I have appreciated the readable and rhythmic translation.

When I initially made my pre-order 8 months ago, I ordered a standard genuine leather edition for myself and a larger genuine leather edition for my mother.  I thought I had fairly decent eyesight — no glasses and pretty sharp vision.  Fortunately, CPH phased the release of the different editions and sent out the standard hardback edition weeks before the leather editions.  My church library received a hardback edition and I eagerly opened it and found that even for my eyes the study notes and footnotes were kind of small and densely situated on the page — readable, but small.  The font size for the Bible text wasn’t bad.  Hmm.  What should I do?   At just about the same time, Pastor McCain had a blog post about the larger print edition he got for his son.  Maybe the larger print edition would work for me.  Next step:  Called CPH to change my order BEFORE the leather editions shipped AND added two ribbon sets and Gerhard’s A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and Lord’s Supper for good measure.

Then it was just a matter of waiting for CPH to ship and FedEx to deliver.

My initial reaction:

This is a BIG Bible (and that is not necessarily bad – keep reading).  8 1/8″ wide x 10 3/8″ long x 2 1/2″ deep and about 5.3 pounds (according to the kitchen scale).   It’s larger than my college dictionary which I thought was big.  BUT, I like it (referring to the Bible, not the dictionary).  There’s something to be said for having an imposing Bible like this in your life.

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The Concordia Organist

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.

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New Music from CPH

This is just a heads up that CPH recently released their new choral, handbell, and organ books/pieces for 2009. As always, CPH has MP3s and PDF samples of the pieces to view before purchasing. On the organ side, at least, there were a few items that got my attention early on and I have since purchased.

CPH is continuing its series “Musica Sacra” with Volume 7 by Donald Busarow. The Musica Sacra series is a great way to get some easier and quick pieces to prepare that are interesting. I have all 7 volumes and I consistently use all of them, but especially the volumes by Hildebrand, Kosche, and Culli. Just to be aware, I’d guess that roughly half of the compositions in Volume 7 are reprints of previously published pieces. I’m thinking that by the copyright date they are from the Concordia Hymn Prelude series which CPH is now slowly retiring.

The other selection I ordered was Kevin Hildebrand’s “Five Easy Easter Hymn Settings for Organ” . I know Easter is over and I won’t be able to use this set for another year — BUT it has a lovely setting of Duke Street which is appropriate for funerals throughout the year.

If you’re in the market for some sacred music, give the folks at CPH a try. They have an abundance of resources — especially for the Lutheran musician. But if you want Paul Manz, Michael Burkhardt, or some of Robert Hobby’s pieces, you’ll need to head over to MorningStar Music.

CPH Goes MP3

Just a quick note — it looks like CPH has finally got into the 21st century with selling some of their CD’s as MP3′s.  According to a CPH press release (no longer available), you can now buy selected CPH audio products from Amazon and iTunes.  Both “Heirs of the Reformation” and “Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, and Chants” are available for download.  The interesting thing is that the price on Amazon is $17.98 and $15.98 respectively, but the iTunes prices are $24.99 and $34.99.  Hmm .  .  .

Both are excellent CD compilations of some of the finest Lutheran hymnody and a worthy addition to your audio library.

Joy to the Heart

On today’s Issues, Etc program Todd Wilken had Pastor Will Weedon on the show to discuss a great Easter hymn – Joy to the Heart (link to the MP3 of the show).  It is well worth the listen.

If you’ve never heard the hymn, here is a video of a setting written by K. Lee Scott.  The setting is available from CPH and performance scores are available for the optional instrumentation.  Enjoy!