Tag Archives: YouTube

A Bach Gem From YouTube

As many of you know, you can find virtually anything on YouTube — some of excellent quality and some that is mediocre.  One particular organist that I enjoy listening to (and watching) is Rob Stefanussen.  His most recent video is of Bach’s Wachet Auf — an obligatory favorite of organists and non-organists alike.  Take a few minutes and enjoy this great piece.  The videography is detailed and covers the finger and pedal work.

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.

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Pipe Organs: Q&A with Grime and Hildebrand

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.)

J.S. Bach: Kantor for Today

Today the church commemorates Kantor Johann Sebastian Bach, a gifted musician and servant of the church. Because of his combined musical creativity and fidelity to Christ, he has become known as the Fifth Evangelist.

Kantor Resch, in an essay in the first journal of the Good Shepherd Institute (which by the way is available as a complimentary download), mentions that Bach’s “unbelievable source of faithful confession, of teaching and admonishing, of prayer, of praise and thanksgiving, and of healing and comfort–has become a hidden treasure.” He goes on to write,

It is time for a sacred music reformation. It is time for coming home to a practice that is just waiting for pastors, kantors, church musicians, choirs, instrumentalists to pick up, learn well, teach lovingly to their people, and begin using again. We need to wake up to what we have! (The Gift of the Church’s Song: Sacred Music as Healing and Comfort, 96).

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A Liturgical and Outreach Oriented Church? Yes!

Floating across the Lutheran blogosphere the last few weeks have been several professional YouTube videos focusing on Grace Lutheran Church in Tulsa, OK – what appears to be a vibrant confessional Lutheran church.  I’d encourage you to spend a few minutes watching and learning.

One thing I found very striking in the videos was how people from non-Lutheran backgrounds were drawn to a traditional and liturgical church and their understanding of Lutheran worship.  Pastor Beecroft acknowledges that the church has its own language, is formed by it, and wrestles to understand it.  We constantly hear that the church growth paradigm says this traditional approach should be a “turn off” for “seekers”.  While the people interviewed expressed their initial culture shock, after a time of learning and understanding they had a deeper  appreciation for the traditions and confessional Lutheran faith.  These people seem to have a better grasp on Lutheran worship than many who have been Lutherans all their life.  Catechesis at work!

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!