From Co-Director Richard C. Resch T here is great anticipation and excitement about the fourteenth annual Good Shepherd Institute conference scheduled for November 3–5, 2013. I hope that you have already received a conference brochure with topics, presenters, and the schedule. If you have not and wish to receive one, please contact Annette Gard at 260-452-2224. There is indication already that many are eager finally to have this open conversation about musical choices and discernment in the church. The format for this conference will be somewhat different from past years. We will begin by hearing our four presenters give their perspectives based on their expertise. After hearing those statements, the conference participants will be encouraged to submit their questions to be discussed on Tuesday by the presenters. Dr. Just and I will choose questions to be addressed by all four, and those questions will allow the conversation to begin. In the final session, Dr. Grime, Kantor Hildebrand, Dr. Just, and I will join the presenters, and we will invite your questions from the floor as the open conversation continues. Other conference news . . . The All Saints Choral Vespers will help celebrate Paul Bouman’s 95th birthday (August 26), with the Schola Cantorum singing his sublime SATB setting of “Kyrie! God Father in Heav’n Above.” They will also sing J. S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 8, “Gracious God, When Wilt Thou Call Me?,” with chamber orchestra, as well as Edgar Bainton’s (1880–1956) “And I Saw Another Heaven,” with its glorious organ accompaniment. The powerful Begrӓbnisgesang, op. 13, the 1858 burial hymn setting by Johannes Brahms, will also be sung. This is truly an amazing work that gives hints throughout of his later Ein Deutsches Requiem, op. 45 (1869). The new director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, Jonathan Busarow, grandson of Donald, will bring his high school women’s choir to lead our Monday afternoon Choral Evening Prayer. A highlight of our annual conference is the Monday evening Hymn Festival with Kantor Kevin Hildebrand at the Kramer Chapel organ. This year’s theme is “Through the Church the Song Goes On,” drawn from the hymn, “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.” The Seminary Kantorei will sing, and this year we add the Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran High School Chamber Choir under the direction of Tavis Schlicker. continued on next page Volume 8 - Number 2 September 2013 HIS VOICE THE GOOD SHEPHERD I N S T I T U T E Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church
Transcript
From Co-Director Richard C. Resch
There is great anticipation and excitement about the fourteenth annual Good Shepherd Institute conference scheduled for November
3–5, 2013. I hope that you have already received a conference brochure with topics, presenters, and the schedule. If you have not and wish to receive one, please contact Annette Gard at 260-452-2224. There is indication already that many are eager finally to have this open conversation about musical choices and discernment in the church.
The format for this conference will be somewhat different from past years. We will begin by hearing our four presenters give their perspectives based on their expertise. After hearing those statements, the conference participants will be encouraged to submit their questions to be discussed on Tuesday by the presenters. Dr. Just and I will choose questions to be addressed by all four, and those questions will allow the conversation to begin. In the final session, Dr. Grime, Kantor Hildebrand, Dr. Just, and I will join the presenters, and we will invite your questions from the floor as the open conversation continues.
Other conference news . . . The All Saints Choral Vespers will help celebrate Paul Bouman’s 95th
birthday (August 26), with the Schola Cantorum singing his sublime SATB setting of “Kyrie! God Father in Heav’n Above.” They will also sing J. S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 8, “Gracious God, When Wilt Thou Call Me?,” with chamber orchestra, as well as Edgar Bainton’s (1880–1956) “And I Saw Another Heaven,” with its glorious organ accompaniment. The powerful Begrӓbnisgesang, op. 13, the 1858 burial hymn setting by Johannes Brahms, will also be sung. This is truly
an amazing work that gives hints throughout of his later Ein Deutsches Requiem, op. 45 (1869).The new director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, Jonathan Busarow, grandson of Donald,
will bring his high school women’s choir to lead our Monday afternoon Choral Evening Prayer. A highlight of our annual conference is the Monday evening Hymn Festival with Kantor
Kevin Hildebrand at the Kramer Chapel organ. This year’s theme is “Through the Church the Song Goes On,” drawn from the hymn, “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.” The Seminary Kantorei will sing, and this year we add the Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran High School Chamber Choir under the direction of Tavis Schlicker.
continued on next page
Volume 8 - Number 2 September 2013
H I S
VOICE
THE GOOD SHEPHERDI N S T I T U T E
Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church
An Open Conversation on Music in the Church A Look at the Elephant in the Room
Kent J. Burreson is Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and professor in the Department of Systematic Theology. His role in planning and supervising the worship life on the Concordia Seminary campus gives him a unique perspective on the aesthetics of our worship life. Although Kent’s primary research is on the history of Reformation and post-Reformation worship, he also engages
in research on worship and culture, on worship as ritual performance, and on the theology of worship. Kent served on the Liturgy Committee of the Lutheran Hymnal Project that prepared Lutheran Service Book. His doctoral studies were done at the University of Notre Dame.
Craig J. Cramer is Professor of Organ at the University of Notre Dame. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance. The Eastman School also awarded him the prestigious Performer’s Certificate in Organ. Dr. Cramer has studied with Russell Saunders, William Hays, James
Drake, David Boe, and André Marchal (Paris). He maintains an active recital career across the country and in Europe. He has performed in 44 of the United States as well as in Canada. Dr. Cramer’s performances are frequently heard on the nationally-syndicated program “Pipedreams” (American Public Radio). He has 15 CD recordings to his credit.
Stephen R. Johnson is music instructor at Monsignor Scanlan High School in New York City and co-founder of Liturgy Solutions, Inc. As a concert pianist, composer, and choral director, Stephen brings his considerable experience to the task of making music for today’s church. He holds a graduate degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music. He has studied composition with
Alice Parker and is a Melodious Accord Fellow. Stephen participated in the Lutheran Hymnal Project of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and four of his hymn tunes can be found in Lutheran Service Book. As musician/theologian, Stephen frequently presents lectures and classes on church worship practice and culture.
Barbara J. Resch is Chairman of the Music Department at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Her research interests include teenagers’ contextual decisions about music, implications for music education of brain-based learning, and curriculum development in music education. She is Past President of Indiana Music Educators Association and in this role participates in music education policy and
organizational discussions on state, regional, and national levels. Barbara’s doctoral studies were completed at Indiana University.
Thomas M. Winger is President, Professor, and Dean of Chapel at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario. His work on the Liturgy Committee of Lutheran Service Book, as well as his writings, demonstrates a theological, philosophical, and pastoral approach to the issues facing our church. Thomas is writing the prolegomenon for the forthcoming commentary on Lutheran
Service Book, which addresses many of the questions we are asking at this conference. His doctoral studies were completed at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
THE PRESENTERS
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THE GOOD SHEPHERD INSTITUTEFourteenth Annual Conference
November 3–5, 2013
Concordia Theological Seminary @ Fort Wayne, Indiana
2013 Advent Preaching Workshop
“Making the Tree Good”
This workshop will offer an in-depth study of Matthew’s Gospel with special attention to the image of the tree. First, the tree is given a genealogical
character in Matthew 3. In his baptismal ministry, John, the Forerunner of Jesus, likens the Pharisees to a dead tree that is about to be cut down at the roots. Second, the image of the tree has a place in Jesus’ own preaching as He describes His mission in terms of “making the tree good” (Matt. 12:33). Finally, the image of the tree comes to its fulfillment in Jesus’ cross where the good tree bears its good fruit.
Tuesday, November 51:30 – 5:00 p.m.7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Other GSI news . . . We are very pleased to report that our latest publication, The Gospel Preached Through
Music: The Purpose and Practice of Lutheran Church Music, by Dr. Daniel Zager, has received glowing reviews in several publications. Writing in the summer 2013 issue of Concordia Journal, Dr. James L. Brauer notes that “The best way to use music in worship is to let it complement (proclaim) the lessons of the day by which the Spirit strengthens faith and produces fruits of faith. This book invites readers to catch this guiding principle once again and practice it. It is recommended to pastors, musicians, worship planners, and anyone who wants to reflect on why the Lutheran heritage of music has been a powerful spiritual force.” Dr. Carlos Messerli, writing in the July 2013 Cross Accent: Journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, says: “Many books about the nature and purpose of Lutheran music have been written in recent years. None are more clearly written or more forcefully argued than this little jewel. What sets it apart from others is the emphasis on the ‘tight connection’ with the gospel that the author believes music ought to have in worship. The Gospel Preached Through Music is a ‘must have’ for all Lutheran church musicians and pastors.” Concordia Publishing House is now promoting this book, which will appear in their new catalog. Congratulations and hearty thanks to our good friend at the Eastman School of Music for giving such a fine gift to the church.
The Good Shepherd Institute and ecclesiastical art . . . On September 29, the co-directors, Kantor Hildebrand, and Dr. Grime
will be meeting with some local professional artists who are already serving the church with their talent but would like to bring their expertise under the umbrella of The Good Shepherd Institute. From the beginning The Good Shepherd Institute had art and architecture as one of its long-term goals. We do not yet know where this will lead, but we are truly excited about exploring and developing this aspect of the Institute. We invite your vision, ideas, and suggestions for what this could add to the pastoral and musical offerings already in place. Please send your ideas to me at [email protected].
The Gospel Preached Through Music:
THE GOOD SHEPHERDI N S T I T U T E
Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church
Co-Directors: Arthur A. Just Jr. and Richard C. Resch
ISBN 978-0-9615927-2-1
For many, evangelism has usurped theology and has become the litmus test for all thinking and action in the church. Thus, worship and its music have to be overtly evangelistic to be considered authentic, rather than being understood as the outcome of faith and theology and therefore bearing an inherent and genuine evangelistic thrust. Is there something seriously wrong with the theology of the church when two distinct congregations are created that meet in the same building, each identified mostly by its music, one labeled “traditional” and the other “contemporary”? Such questions are often left unconsidered. Here Daniel Zager addresses them squarely and encourages us to examine and think through the consequences of our practices of music in church, to see how they can and should evoke marvelous unitive experiences rather than the divisions that seem to be all too common.
Robin A. LeAveR
Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University
Drawing upon the seminal principles of music for Lutheran worship established by Martin Luther, Daniel Zager demonstrates through examples the manner in which these were practiced
during the Reformation and in succeeding generations—all to proclaim the Gospel. Bringing these principles and practices into our present day, he challenges us to assess our choices of music for use in Lutheran worship relative to its role of Gospel proclamation. This book is a valuable resource for Lutheran pastors and church musicians as together they make choices for music in their parishes.
MARk bendeR
Minister of MusicSt. Paul’s Lutheran Church and SchoolDes Peres, Missouri
The Purpose and Practice of Lutheran Church Music
By Daniel Zager
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ood Shepherd Institute
Is there something seriously wrong with the theology of the church when two distinct congregations are created that meet in the same building, each identified mostly by its music, one labeled “traditional” and the other “contemporary”?
cover(F).indd 1 11/11/12 9:36 PM
HIS Voice • September 2013 3
Pastoral resourcesby JOHN PLESS
Naomichi Masaki, He Alone Is Worthy! The Vitality of the Lord’s Supper in Theodor Kliefoth and the Swedish Liturgy of the Nineteenth Century (Församlingsförlaget, 2013), 479 pp. ISBN 9789172710665.[SEK 359; approximately $55.00]
Theodor Kliefoth (1810–1895) was arguably the greatest Lutheran liturgical theologian of the nineteenth century. Drawn away from his early fascination with Hegel and Schleiermacher, he would be involved in the reorganization of the church in Mecklenburg, and would revive a confessional understanding of the pastoral office. His liturgical work would also reach into the Church of Sweden. Naomichi Masaki masterfully introduces English-speaking readers to Kliefoth’s theological and liturgical legacy while mapping his influence on liturgical revisions in Sweden.__________________________________________
John T. Pless, Mercy at Life’s End: A Guide for Laity and Their Pastors (The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 2013), 24 pp. [$2.00]
Written to provide spiritual guidance for Christians faced with decisions regarding care and treatment when death appears imminent, this booklet lays out a biblical understanding in light of God’s Law and Gospel. Critique is provided of trends toward euthanasia and assisted suicide as ways of attempting to assert human autonomy and evade the last enemy. Questions are offered to provide clarification and make crucial distinctions when family members must make decisions on behalf of a dying loved one. This booklet could be used in Bible class settings as well as in situations where the pastor is helping his people work toward God-pleasing decisions when death draws near.__________________________________________
Klaus Detlev Schulz, “‘Baptizing Them . . .’: Testing the Scope of Baptism in the Catechisms,” Logia 22 (Holy Trinity 2013): 29–35.
Baptism is included in the Lord’s mandate of Matthew 28:18–20. Even as the Lord’s mandate is universal in scope, so is Baptism; it is for all nations. In this essay Schulz examines the significance of Luther’s confession of Baptism in both catechisms for the church’s missionary endeavor, noting its Christological, eschatological, and communal dimensions.__________________________________________
C. F. W. Walther, Gospel Sermons (Volume I), trans. Donald E. Heck (Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 320 pp. ISBN 9780758638892.[$49.99]
These sermons, originally published in German in 1870–1871, are now available in English translation. In them readers see Walther the preacher at work expounding biblical texts, and distinguishing God’s condemning Law from His consoling Gospel for the comfort of broken sinners. The sermons in this volume span the festival half of the church year from Advent to Pentecost Sunday. All of the sermons are based on the Gospel pericopes. Christoph Barnbrock provides a concise and insightful introduction to Walther’s homiletical approach.__________________________________________
Recommended
HIS Voice • September 2013 4
Pastoral resources continued
Albrecht Peters, Commentary on Luther’s Catechisms: Confession and Christian Life, trans. Thomas H. Trapp (Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 304 pp. ISBN 9780758611529.[$42.99]
The fifth and final volume in Albrecht Peters’s magisterial work on Luther’s catechisms is now available in English thanks to translator Thomas Trapp and Concordia Publishing House. This volume covers the fifth chief part of the Small Catechism, “Confession and Absolution,” as well as the table of duties, the marriage and baptismal booklets, and daily prayer. As is the case with the previous volumes, Peters provides a generous store of material from the catholic tradition that preceded Luther, and sheds light on his work with a treasure house of Luther citations accompanied by secondary sources. Careful textual study is joined with theological analysis to make this volume an essential tool for the study of confession/absolution, vocation, and piety in the Lutheran Reformation. This volume along with the earlier volumes in the series should be in the working library of every serious Lutheran pastor.__________________________________________
Rolf A. Jacobson and Karl N. Jacobson, Invitation to the Psalms: A Reader’s Guide for Discovery and Engagement (Baker Academic, 2013), 192 pp. ISBN 9780801036446.[$17.99]
Written by brothers Rolf (Luther Seminary) and Karl (Augsburg College), this brief volume provides a concise introduction to the poetry, genres, historical context, imagery/symbolism/metaphors, and theology of the Psalms. Making use of current scholarship, the authors offer an uncomplicated introduction to the Book of Psalms that will prove useful for pastors who might teach the Psalms in Bible class. While one wishes that the authors would have pursued a deeper Christological reading of the Psalter, as did Dietrich Bonhoeffer, this book will nevertheless assist students in understanding literary and historical features of the Psalms.__________________________________________
Robert H. Bennett, I Am Not Afraid: Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare—True Accounts from the Lutheran Church of Madagascar (Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 240 pp. ISBN 9780758641984.[$24.99]
Pastor Robert Bennett devoted his PhD research to the phenomenon of exorcism in the Malagasy Lutheran Church. Yet there is much more to Bennett’s work that will benefit not only missionaries but theologians and pastors. North American pastors are also confronted with circumstances that give evidence of demonic activity and are often uncertain how to respond. Lutheran Service Book: Pastoral Care Companion, issued by The Lutheran Church —Missouri Synod in 2006, contains a section of resources under the heading “Occult Practices and Demonic Affliction” providing pastoral guidance, biblical readings, psalms, hymn stanzas, and prayers for pastors to use in situations such as these. These resources were not available in previous agendas and pastoral companions of the Missouri Synod or other North American Lutheran bodies. Bennett’s biblical and theological treatment of the demonic will assist pastors seeking to minister to people who experience satanic attack. I Am Not Afraid: Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare fills a void in Lutheran pastoral theology; it will be practically helpful to pastors confronting this dark albeit often disguised spiritual condition in our culture.__________________________________________
Recommended
HIS Voice • September 2013 5
Pastoral resources continued
Evoking Lament, ed. Eva Harasta and Brian Brock (T & T Clark, 2009), 240 pp. ISBN 9780567033901.[$49.95]
Oswald Bayer has especially accented the biblical genre of lament as an essential category for systematic and pastoral theology. The essays in this volume, written mainly by European scholars, engage a variety of aspects of lament: exegetical, dogmatic, and philosophical. Pastors will benefit from this book particularly in sharpening their approach to questions of theodicy and the use of the psalms of lament in pastoral care. __________________________________________
Oswald Bayer, “Being in the Image of God,” Lutheran Quarterly 27 (Spring 2013): 76–88.
How one understands anthropology is critical for pastoral care. In this carefully constructed essay Oswald Bayer demonstrates that Luther offers a doctrine of the human being based on the theology of justification in which the imago Dei is no inherent quality of the human being but a relational reality bestowed by God’s address to His creature. __________________________________________
Periodically organists or their families will donate or bequeath collections of organ music to The Good Shepherd Institute. We
use this music to supplement the music used daily in Kramer Chapel, and Kantor Hildebrand also provides some of these gift materials to organ students or participants at the organist workshops as a welcome source of free repertoire. In this way individual organist’s legacies are continued as their generous donations continue to be played by musicians far and wide. A recent donation included several volumes providing new repertoire discoveries, a few of which are noted here.
Choralvorspiele für Dorforganisten, Max DrischnerC. L. Schultheiss CLS 202 [distributed by Thomi-Berg Musikverlag][EUR 18]
This collection provides delightfully brief organ variations on chorales. Written for manuals only, the settings would be equally effective on piano. Most of the settings are in the style of an ornamented chorale, with ample sixteenth notes hinting at the tune, surrounded by a supportive harmonic structure. A steady diet of these might wear thin, but used occasionally with other contrasting styles Drischner’s settings will provide another good way of playing—and listening to—the church’s chorales.__________________________________________
Abide with Me: Hymns of the Faith, Lynn PetersenAugsburg Fortress ED004033[$10.00]
A variety of compositional styles are employed in this collection, from a sparkling toccata on darwalls 148th, to a partita on toplady. Arguably the best setting is the one of eventide, drawn from the title of the collection. Here a neo-baroque trio texture works well (think “Ich ruf zu dir” from J. S. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein). Some modern modulations are woven into the setting, with even a couple measures of G-flat major before returning seamlessly to a more comfortable three flats!__________________________________________
All Things Are Thine: An Organ Collection, Keith KolanderAugsburg Fortress ED003891[$16.00]
Keith Kolander’s writing is enjoyable both for the novice and the experienced organist. This collection contains individual compositions on several hymn tunes, as well as a couple sets of variations. A gem of the volume is the Partita on “Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise,” a relatively modern tune with few organ settings. A partita is always delightful, as every organist can find something just right for his or her use. The ethereal “Reflection” movement and active “Toccata” were this reviewer’s favorites. Who knew you could have neo-French Romantic harmonies with a Carl Schalk tune?__________________________________________
HIS Voice • September 2013 6
New Discoveries from Not-so-New collectioNsby KEVIN HILDEBRAND
Organ Music Reviews
New Discoveries continuedOrgan Music Reviews
HIS Voice • September 2013 7
Crucified and Risen Lord, David MaxwellCPH 97-7281[$20.00]
David Maxwell’s writing is expressive and often includes lush harmonies (there are accidentals aplenty in many measures). This collection of Lent and Easter hymn settings is especially useful during Holy Week and Easter Sunday, but also includes a nice setting of st. columba (“The King of Love My Shepherd Is”) for the Easter season and beyond. Curiously, the composer writes this setting in the key of D major, instead of E-flat major as it is found in most Lutheran hymnals. However, since the melody is set in the pedal, this makes the melody a bit easier to maneuver with one less black key in the scale. Save this setting to play at the offering or during communion, not as a hymn introduction.__________________________________________
Light of Christ: Preludes on Six Epiphany Hymns, Benjamin M. CulliCPH 97-7247[$4.00]
Ben Culli doesn’t fail to find creative ways of setting organ hymn preludes in this collection, from borrowing a ritornello from Jeremiah Clarke in one composition, to the adventurous one-octave pedal glissandi in another (a technique this organist has never even attempted!). But beyond musical creativity, this collection is exceedingly valuable for the hymns included, many of which lack an abundance of organ settings: “Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure,” “’Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here,” “Jesus on the Mountain Peak,” and “Rise, Shine, You People.” These organ preludes will be heard in Kramer Chapel this Epiphany season.__________________________________________
Lift High the Cross: Partita on Crucifer, William H. BatesCPH 97-7223[$7.50]
A partita can always be useful for any player, given its number of variations, styles, and ability levels. Many of the variations here are brief (two pages) in length, and most are moderate in ability levels. The contrast of including some quiet, reflective settings is welcome for a tune that is usually quite vigorous.__________________________________________
Variations on Slane, John EggertCPH 97-7157[$7.50]
This collection also fills a void for a popular tune with a surprisingly low number of organ settings. Fair warning: these variations are a bit more technically demanding than some others. Three-against-two sections, quintuplets, and active scale passages alternating between hands are among the more demanding requirements. Organists looking for something to stretch their abilities beyond the great classic setting of the tune by Paul Manz should consider Eggert’s composition.__________________________________________
Partita on Le P’ing (“Greet the Rising Sun”), J. Wayne KerrCPH 97-7177[$8.00]
As a new hymn in Lutheran Service Book with a Chinese folk tune, organ settings of the tune are few (at least before the appropriate volume of the CPH Hymn Prelude Library is released). Wayne Kerr’s three-movement partita (Prelude, Air, Dance) is a delight to play and to hear. The pentatonic nature of the melody provides ample opportunity for the composer to work with open harmonies. The writing is well within the grasp of most Sunday-morning organists.__________________________________________
New Discoveries continuedOrgan Music Reviews
HIS Voice • September 2013 8
Six General Hymn Improvisations, Set 3, Michael BurkhardtMorningStar MSM-10-539[$14.00]
This volume in Michael Burkhardt’s series continues to provide creative treatments of several hymns. The most interesting is a setting of “O Day Full of Grace” (den signede dag). The composer notes that it is an interpretation of the second stanza of the hymn, which has accents of Christ’s incarnation. Appropriately, portions of two Christmas hymns (“Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Of the Father’s Love Begotten”) are woven into the composition. One curious aspect of this publication is the relatively small scale of the notation on the page in comparison to other organ publications, even from the same publisher. Get your bifocals ready.__________________________________________
3 Hymns of Praise, Set 8, Robert A. HobbyMorningStar MSM-10-543[$12.00]
Fellow Fort Wayne musician Bob Hobby’s Hymns of Praise series continues with settings of foundation; st. george’s, windsor; and westminster abbey. An ostinato and pedal point at the beginning of foundation morphs into a chorale-like section with a new pedal note on every quarter note. The enjoyable setting of “Come, You Thankful People, Come” alternates between 6/4 and 5/4 sections. The work you put into this for Thanksgiving Day won’t be wasted if you play it again during Epiphany (“Songs of Thankfulness and Praise”). Finally, a neo-baroque trio on westminster abbey provides a lighter touch to an often ponderous hymn.__________________________________________
Four Organ Preludes for Advent, Kenneth T. KoscheMorningStar MSM-10-020[$11.00]
Ken Kosche is well known for his direction of Concordia University Wisconsin’s Kammerchor prior to his retirement, as well as his well-crafted organ settings, which, fortunately for us, continue to be composed during his retirement from teaching! This collection of Advent hymns can stay on the organ console all four Sundays of the season, as the four hymns were originally intended to be played on successive Sundays. One of the most delightful is the setting of freu dich sehr, which begins very similarly to Paul Manz’s classic setting with the dotted rhythms, but Dr. Kosche expands and revises that idea into his own enjoyable composition.__________________________________________
Augsburg Fortresswww.augsburgfortress.org
Concordia Publishing House www.cph.org
MorningStar Music Publisherswww.morningstarmusic.com
Thomi-Berg Musikverlagwww.thomi-berg.de
HIS Voice • September 2013 9
reaDiNg aND listeNiNgby DANIEL ZAGER
ReadingA Heinrich Schütz Reader: Letters and Documents in Translation, ed. Gregory S. Johnston (Oxford University Press, 2013), 283 pp. ISBN 9780199812202.[$74.00]
Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), who spent most of his career in Dresden as Kapellmeister at the electoral court of Saxony, was one of the very finest composers of sacred Latin and German music for the church. The documents and letters translated by Gregory Johnston permit us to follow the career of Schütz, the volume being arranged according to these chronological categories: “Youth and Early Manhood (1611–27),” “Middle Age (1628–44),” “Old Age (1645–56),” and “Last Years (1657–72).” To have translations of title pages, dedications, and prefaces of Schütz’s published works readily available is a great advantage to anyone who studies and listens to Schütz’s music. See, for example, the title page and dedication, preface, and “Memoranda to the Reader” for the 1628 publication of Schütz’s Becker Psalter (pp. 62–66). This new book is a foundational work for all who love the music of Schütz but may not have adequate facility with seventeenth-century German.__________________________________________
Walther’s Hymnal: Church Hymnbook for Evangelical Lutheran Congregations of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, trans. and ed. Matthew Carver (Concordia Publishing House, 2012), 440 pp. ISBN 9780758641175.[$39.99]
Jon Vieker’s “Historical Introduction” (pp. xi–xiii) provides an important contextual framework for this volume, an English translation of “the first hymnal of the Missouri Synod” (p. xii), and also the “only German hymnal the Missouri Synod would ever have” (p. xiii). C. F. W. Walther provided theological and editorial leadership for the volume, which was published in 1847. In his hymnal Walther deliberately returned to old German hymns, intentionally turning away from the hymnody of Rationalism in order to provide confessional, orthodox Lutheran hymnody—437 hymn texts in all. Editor and translator Matthew Carver has assembled the content of “Walther’s hymnal” and provided English translations where needed. He has also included a musical appendix with “settings for tunes that could not be found in current hymnals” (p. xvi). This volume is a wonderful contribution to the history of Lutheran hymnody in America, documenting as well an important part of the nineteenth-century Confessional Lutheran Revival.__________________________________________
Recommended
ListeningWhile the demise of the compact disc recording continues to be assumed, even “predicted,” the fact is that new and interesting CD recordings continue to be released at a steady pace, with no decline in sight. Among recent releases are some that document interesting and somewhat specialized parts of the Lutheran musical heritage.
Andreas Hammerschmidt, Machet die Tore weit (Gli Scarlattisti, Jochen Arnold)[2012, Carus 83.375]
Andreas Hammerschmidt, Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt (Gli Scarlattisti, Jochen Arnold)[2013, Carus 83.377]
Andreas Hammerschmidt, born in Bohemia ca. 1611/1612, spent his career as a Lutheran church musician first in Freiberg and subsequently in Zittau, where he died in 1675. Most of his compositions are sacred vocal works, both Latin and German, with concertos for voices and instruments predominating. These two recordings were released to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of Hammerschmidt’s birth. Machet die Tore weit presents a selection of Hammerschmidt’s music for the Advent and Christmas seasons, while Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt presents works for Passiontide, Easter, and Pentecost. Performances are excellent; sample Hammerschmidt’s rhythmically vital setting of the Christmas/New Year chorale “Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle” (track 10 of Machet die Tore weit; hymn 897 in Lutheran Service Book [LSB]).__________________________________________
Matthias Weckmann, Conjuratio (Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot)[2013, Mirare MIR 204]
Matthias Weckmann (ca. 1616–1674), a nearly exact contemporary of Andreas Hammerschmidt, studied with Heinrich Schütz in Dresden and subsequently with Jacob Praetorius and Heinrich Scheidemannn in Hamburg. In 1655 he won the audition to be organist at the Jacobikirche in Hamburg, and for the rest of his life worked in that important musical center as organist and director of a civic collegium musicum. Weckmann’s sensitivity to text setting is evident in the concerto for bass voice and strings on the biblical text “Kommet her zu mir” (track 9), which sets Christ’s words in Matthew 11:28–29 (“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . .”). Among Weckmann’s organ works included on this compact disc are his verses on “Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein” (“Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice,” LSB 556), giving us a sense of the elaborate organ art of North Germany in the seventeenth century.__________________________________________
Matthias Weckmann, Conjuratio (Ricercar Consort, Philippe Pierlot)[2013, Mirare MIR 204]
Matthias Weckmann (ca. 1616–1674), a nearly exact contemporary of Andreas Hammerschmidt, studied with Heinrich Schütz in Dresden and subsequently with Jacob Praetorius and Heinrich Scheidemann in Hamburg. In 1655 he won the audition to be organist at the Jacobikirche in Hamburg, and for the rest of his life worked in that important musical center as organist and director of a civic collegium musicum. Weckmann’s sensitivity to text setting is evident in the concerto for bass voice and strings on the biblical text “Kommet her zu mir” (track 9), which sets Christ’s words in Matthew 11:28–29 (“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . .”). Among Weckmann’s organ works included on this compact disc are his verses on “Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein” (“Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice,” LSB 556), giving us a sense of the elaborate organ art of North Germany in the seventeenth century.__________________________________________
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Johann Sebastian Bach, John Passion: Johannes-Passion Sung within a Reconstruction of Bach’s Passion Liturgy (Dunedin Consort, John Butt)[2013, Linn CKD 419]
In the September 2010 issue of this newsletter I noted John Butt’s superb recorded performance of the Mass in B Minor. He and his Dunedin Consort are no less persuasive in this performance of the St. John Passion. But there is a second reward for the listener on this recording, namely that Butt provides a recorded reconstruction of the Leipzig Service of Vespers for Good Friday. Thus, the St. John Passion is placed within its larger liturgical and theological context, including sung congregational chorales (apart from Bach’s Passion setting) and even a portion of a sermon (taken from a 1720 published collection of sermons by Erdmann Neumeister, pastor of Hamburg’s Jacobikirche from 1715 to 1755). This recording allows us to experience not only Bach’s music but also the Good Friday liturgy of which it was a part.__________________________________________
Georg Philipp Telemann, Telemannisches Gesangbuch (Klaus Mertens, bass-baritone; Vincent Frisch, boy soprano; continuo musicians)[2013, Carus 83.340]
This recording provides solo vocal renditions of selected chorale harmonizations from Georg Philipp Telemann’s Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch (Hamburg, 1730). From 1721 Telemann was responsible for church music in the five principal Lutheran churches of Hamburg, which provided the impetus for this ambitious publication project: over 2,000 hymn texts and more than 500 chorale melodies, Telemann adding a figured bass line for each melody. The book would have been useful not only in churches but also in schools and in homes. This recording utilizes two solo singers—a bass-baritone and a boy soprano—who sometimes alternate in singing stanzas of a chorale, for example “Puer natus in Bethlehem/Ein Kind gebor’n zu Bethlehem” (with alternating harpsichord and lute accompaniment as well). At other times the singing falls entirely to Klaus Mertens, for example “Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle” (with organ accompaniment). In all, this recording provides insight to the Lutheran chorale in Hamburg in the early eighteenth century, reminding us as well of the possibility for domestic singing of chorales.__________________________________________
Helmut Walcha, Chorale Preludes, 3 (Delbert Disselhorst)[2013, Naxos 8.572912]
In the April 2013 issue of this newsletter I noted Wolfgang Rübsam’s initial recording in a four-volume traversal of Helmut Walcha’s organ chorale preludes. Volumes two and three are now available, and volume four is to be released in late August 2013. While the instrument remains constant over the four recorded volumes—John Brombaugh’s op. 35 at First Presbyterian in Springfield, Illinois—organist Delbert Disselhorst (Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa) recorded volumes three and four.__________________________________________
