The prelude for this 3rd Sunday in Lent is based on hymn 641, "Lord Jesus, Think on Me", and is a setting by J.Burt Carlson (1937-2017) who, along with having been a successful published composer, was a popular Lutheran pastor for 50 years. Our processional hymn is a well known favorite of the season; it's "The glory of these forty days", 143. You might note how old the melody is-- the 16th century; the text even older--the 6th century.
Read MoreThe prelude is a simple sort of wandering and quiet meditation on the well known and loved hymn. "Fairest Lord Jesus" (383 in our hymnal), by Franklin D. Ashdown (1942-2023), the American composer whose music I play from time to time. You might remember that he was both a prolific composer of church music and a physician.
Read MoreThere are at least 2 tunes used for Samuel Crossman's wonderful text, "My song is love unknown", and they are both beautiful melodies. The one in our hymnal with that text is 458, the tune by John Ireland (1879-1962). The prelude I will be playing uses the tune known as "Rhosymedre", by John Edwards (1806-1885). It is equally beautiful, and does exist in our hymnal (587) but with a different text, one that we don't sing very often. The setting that I'll play is one I sometimes play during communion, and is by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), who is very familiar to many of you.
Read MoreBoth the prelude and anthem for the day are by the prolific and talented American composer, Dale Wood (1934-2003), whose music is a staple in the repertoire of so many church musicians. The prelude is based on the familiar "When morning gilds the skies", 427 in our hymnal. The tune, known as "Laudes Domini", by Joseph Barnby, probably has remained consistently popular since it was composed in the 19th century.
Read MoreThe prelude is based on the familiar Irish tune, "The King of Love My Shepherd Is", hymn 645. The setting is by the American contemporary, Edwin T Childs (b. 1945), PHD from the Eastman School of Music; he resides in the Chicago area, where he teaches and composes. Our opening hymn, 391, is a paraphrase of Psalm 100, "Before the Lord's eternal throne", and relates to the reading from Genesis.
Read MoreThe prelude, "Chorale in E", is by Gordon Young, 1919-1998, a prominent American organist and composer from the Midwest, who, among other studies, had been a scholarship student at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and a student of Alexander McCurdy. A "chorale" is simply a hymn-like composition. Though the title states "E" (E Major), the chorale, after a brief interlude, is also presented in E Flat before it returns to E Major.
Read MoreThe prelude is another set of variations, this time based on the well known hymn, "Christ is made the sure foundation" (518), music by the famous Henry Purcell. The variations are by Richard Proulx (1937-2010), the American who wrote several of our hymns, harmonized others, and wrote a number of descants in our hymnal. The variations actually are named for the organ stops he was thinking of using for each, but on our organ they do need to be modified a bit.
Read MoreThe prelude is a set of 4 short variations (or "reflections" as the composer calls them), based on another hymn not in our hymnal-- "O Radiant Light, O Sun Divine". They are a very quiet and generally meditative set of "reflections" on the hymn, by the American contemporary, David Lasky, a most active composer of sacred choral and organ music, who resides in Vermont but plays for a Catholic church in Leominster, Mass.
Read MoreThe prelude is based on a beautiful hymn tune not in our hymnal: "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown", a traditional Scottish melody. The setting is by the California native and prolific composer, Dale Wood (1934-2003). Our processional hymn is the well known "The spacious firmament on high", from "Creation", by Franz Joseph Haydn, hymn 409. The Gospel hymn is 632, "O Christ the Word Incarnate", harmonized by Felix Mendelssohn, as you may note; the melody of course, dates back to the 17th century.
Read MoreSince we were not able to hold services last Sunday, the prelude, choir anthem, and postlude will be part of this Sunday's 10:30 service; they all do fit in the season and anyone interested can reread last week's notes! The hymns will change, however, since the readings change.
Read MoreThe prelude is a set of variations I play almost every year during Epiphany, based on the hymn "Puer Nobis", 124 in our hymnal, "What star is this, with beams so bright". They are by the American contemporary, Michael Burkhardt, artist in residence at East Michigan University and popular composer and choral clinician.
Read MoreThe prelude is based on the hymn "Awake, awake, for night is flying" (tune name, "Wachet auf"), and is a set of variations by the American Lutheran composer of organ and choral music, Paul Manz (1919-2009). This is a very popular hymn from the 16th century, and we will sing it before the Gospel reading. Note this harmonization is by J. S. Bach. Depending on time, I will play 2 or all 3 of the variations by Manz as a prelude to the service.
Read MoreJ. S. Bach wrote not only a cantata (for the first Sunday of Advent) based on "Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland" (Now come, Redeemer of mankind) but also several organ settings of this hymn, 54 in our hymnal. The prelude is one of these settings; the postlude is his setting from his "Orgelbuchlein", which contains 45 chorals for the liturgical year.
Read MoreThe hymn "People, Look East" is the basis for the organ prelude; it is a setting by Robert Hobby (American, b. 1985), whose music I play quite often. The hymn, not in our hymnal, is based on a poem by Eleanor Farjeon, and of course refers to looking in the direction of the rising sun, which signifies Christ's coming. Years ago we performed a cantata based on the hymn.
Read MoreIt's been my opinion that for organ preludes what helps people meditate and prepare for worship is settings of hymns appropriate for the day. If I am wrong, please tell me! In any case this might be most true during Advent and Christmas. So....for this first Sunday of Advent the prelude will be a Wilbur Held setting of "Come, thou long-expected Jesus", 66 in our hymnal, but this is a different tune. The tune name is "Jefferson", and will probably sound familiar whether it really is or not!
Read MoreThe prelude is a Lynn L. Peterson setting of the "Shaker" tune "Holy Manna", which is used for both hymns 580 and 238 in our hymnal. Lynn Peterson, b. 1962, has her doctorate from Concordia College, and has composed organ and choral music all her life.
Read MoreThe hymn tune on which the prelude is based ("Dundee") is used 3 times in our hymnal: 125, 526, and 709. You will recognize it and may also note that it is very old, from "The Psalms of David", 1615. Stephen Gabrielsen, best known for writing "Carol of the Bells", wrote this set of short variations on the hymn tune. He was a prominent American performer and composer (1940-2013).
Read MoreMany hymn tunes are used for different texts, as is the one on which the prelude is based; that is "Kingsfold", which 480 in our hymnal is "When Jesus left his Father's throne". It is also used for 292, "O Jesus crowned with all renown". Charles Callahan (1951-2023), American, graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and prominent organist and composer, wrote a short set of variations on the tune, which I'll play.
Read MoreOne of the many hymns appropriate for "All Saints Sunday" is "Jerusalem, my happy home", and the prelude will be a Robert Hobby (b. 1962, American) set of variations on the tune. Although we are not singing the hymn, it is 620 in our hymnal-- also 304 with another text. We often sing both. I haven't played much of Hobby's music recently, but have played a lot in the past; as far as I know, he, along with composing and conducting workshops, is still music director at a large Lutheran church in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Read MoreThe prelude is a setting of a hymn tune I think everyone knows and loves, but one not in our hymnal; it is "When love is found" (tune name, "O Waly Waly"). The setting is by a female composer I had heard a lot about in my Penn State days, Emma Lou Diemer (1927-2024), who received 2 degrees from Yale and a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music. Besides hymns, she wrote chamber and orchestral music also-- a very talented woman!
Read More