One of my Sunday afternoon rituals is to listen to Sing for Joy produced by St. Olaf College. It is a half hour weekly program of sacred music based on the three-year Revised Common Lectionary which usually, though not always, meshes with the Lutheran Service Book 3-year lectionary.
I was caught off guard when “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” was introduced on the program. At church this morning we sang this hymn (LSB 398) with the usual tune (FREUT EUCH, IHR LIEBEN) that has been used in at least 4 generations of LCMS hymnals. The setting on Sing for Joy was set to ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVOGELEING (the tune used for the Gloria in Excelsis, LSB Setting 4). And it was the Gloria that came to my mind when the hymn began.
Hymn texts and tunes are often intimately connected in a worshiping community. The tune helps to carry and reinforce the text and make the text more memorable. Moreover, singing helps us to inwardly digest the hymn text.