Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.
Showing posts with label Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend. Show all posts

Friday, November 25, 2022

"Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend"

A couple months ago when I recorded "St. Petersburg," I found a couple connections between the tune and the text "Thou Who the Night in Prayer Didst Spend" (TLH #493).

Here are the last two musical phrases:


The second verse ends with the lines "To tend Thy flock, and thus to prove / How dearly they [pastors] the Shepherd love."  "Dearly" is sung with a melisma (C B A), musically giving a sense of degree (for "how").

The fourth verse ends with the lines "With all the bright celestial host [singing], / To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."  Here, "host" is sung with a melisma (C B), giving something of a sense of the entirety of "all."