"All for Christ I Have Forsaken"

I wrote a post about some small features in "All for Christ I Have Forsaken" a few years ago, but when it was the hymn in a Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service last month (on 11 September), I noticed two more.

Both occur in the third musical phrase (the tune is "Restoration"):

In the first verse, the text here is "Worldly joy, its fame and fortune" (the sense continues into the next line:  "Now I count as worthless dross").  "Joy" is sung with a melisma (B A), lending a sense of this ebullience.

In the fifth verse, the text is "Though my cross-shaped path grows steeper" (again, the sense continues into the next line:  "With the Lord, I am secure").  Here, "steeper" is sung with a melisma (G E D), emphasizing the comparative nature of this adjective (more notes for a greater degree).

"All for Christ I Have Forsaken"

Last year, I noticed a couple features in "All for Christ I Have Forsaken," sung to the tune "Restoration."  Here's the first musical phrase:

The first line of the second verse is "Who is sweeter than Christ Jesus?"  "Sweeter" is sung with a melisma (E D B D), giving a sense of the comparative nature of this adjective (more notes for a greater degree).

The third musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here is "Strong in Christ through death's dark valley."  "Valley" is sung to a group of descending notes (G E D), giving something of a sense of its depth.