"Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice"

When I transcribed "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" last year, I found a couple instances where the text connects to the tune ("Nun freut euch").  Specifically, it's the second phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "With exultation springing."  "Springing" is sung to the last three notes, which ascend, so there's a musical sense of the word's meaning.  "Springing" is even sung with a melisma, which gives a sense of the joy of "exultation."  There's a similar feature in the ninth verse, where the text here is "From earth to heav'n ascending," and "ascending" is sung to this ascending phrase (plus the preceding note).  Like "springing," "ascending" is also sung with a melisma, which emphasizes the effect of the rising melody.

LSB #416 "Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 17:2-9, 2 Peter 1:16

Matthew 17:2-9:  "2 And he [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.  3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  4 And Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good that we are here.  If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.'  5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.'  6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.  7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, 'Rise, and have no fear.'  8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

"9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, 'Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.'"

2 Peter 1:16:  "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

+++

There isn't much to say about this one.  The hymn is about the Transfiguration, and the text from Matthew is the main Biblical source.  The text from 2 Peter is about the same event, but it has a slightly different focus.  In the hymn, this appears in the second half of the first verse and all of the second verse, which detail the response that Peter, James, and John have to the Transfiguration ("They shall gain and keep its truth").

"Valet will ich dir geben" (TLH #58a)

"O Lord, How Shall I Meet Thee" is an-other hymn for which The Lutheran Hymnal has two tunes, hence "#58a."  When I first went through the notation, I was surprised to discover that - compared to what I'm familiar with - the melody in the penultimate phrase is different.

"How Great Thou Art"

Back in August, "How Great Thou Art" was mentioned in the sermon on Worship for Shut-Ins (back when it was still called Worship for Shut-Ins), and I noticed something about the last "How great Thou art" in the refrain.  "How great Thou art" is sung twice to this phrase (from the tune "O store Gud"):

There's a cross inscription in the last four notes, so this particular "How great Thou art" seems to point to Jesus' death on the cross for the sake of all sinners as one specific example of that greatness.  This is also described in the third verse of the hymn:

But when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in -
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin;

LSB #415 "Jesus on the Mountain Peak"

Biblical citation in the hymnal:  2 Peter 1:16-19

2 Peter 1:16-19:  "16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,' 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.  19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts...."

+++

Obviously (since it's the only text cited), these verses from 2 Peter are the main Biblical source for the hymn, but it seems a bit odd to me that this is the only text cited.  The hymn is about the Transfiguration, and while this text does contain an account of the Transfiguration (verses 17-18), it's not as detailed as the Gospel accounts (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36).  For example, there's no mention of Moses or Elijah in this text, but they are named in the hymn ("Trembling at His feet we saw / Moses and Elijah speaking").

In the fourth verse, Jesus is called "First and Last and only One," which seems to be taken from Revelation 22:13, where He says, "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.'"

"Wo soll ich fliehen hin" (TLH #57)

There's supposed to be a low D note in the bass part, but since electric bass in standard tuning goes down only to an E note, I played that D an octave higher than it's written.

"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"

I sang "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in church back in August and noticed a couple things about it, but I didn't have an opportunity to write about it until now.  In the meantime, however, I sang it in church again and noticed a few more things, so at least I can put them all in the same post now.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Converse."  Here are the first two phrases:

There's a cross inscription in the second phrase, but I think the only connection this has with the text is in the first verse, where the accompanying text (for both of these phrases) is "What a friend we have in Jesus, / All our sins and griefs to bear."  The cross inscription corresponds to "sins and griefs to," and Jesus bore our sins and griefs on the cross.

In the third verse, the text here is "Are we weak and heavy laden, / Cumbered with a load of care?"  For both of these phrases, the melody descends at the end, giving a sense of sinking under the "load of care" with which we are "heavy laden."

The sixth musical phrase has a similar feature:

In the first verse, the text here is "Oh, what needless pain we bear," and again the melody descends as if to represent sinking under the weight of the "pain we bear."  There's also an-other cross inscription here, but I don't think there are any connections between it and the hymn text.

LSB #414 "'Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Luke 9:28-36, Matthew 1:22-23, Psalm 130:7, Revelation 7:13-14

Luke 9:28-36:  "28 Now about eight days after these sayings he [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.  30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.  33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good that we are here.  Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah' - not knowing what he said.  34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!'  36 And when the voice has spoken, Jesus was found alone.  And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen."

Matthew 1:22-23:  "22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  23 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)."

Psalm 130:7:  "O Israel, hope in the LORD!  For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption."

Revelation 7:13-14:  "13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?'  14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"

+++

The text is public domain:

'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.

'Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy beauty to behold
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Thy messengers of old.

Fulfiller of the past
And hope of things to be,
We hail Thy body glorified
And our redemption see.

Before we taste of death,
We see Thy kingdom come;
We long to hold the vision bright
And make this hill our home.

'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But since Thou bidst us leave the mount,
Come with us to the plain.

+++

The Luke 9 text (especially Peter's "it is good that we are here" in verse 33) is the main source for the hymn.

The verses from Matthew appear in the phrase "Fulfiller of the past" at the beginning of the third verse and possibly even the "with us" at the end of the fifth verse.  The verse from Psalm 130 - specifically "with the LORD there is... plentiful redemption" - is also in the third verse ("our redemption see").

There's not much in the hymn that seems to come directly from the Revelation text, but I think the second half of the first verse ("Thy face and garments, like the sun, / Shine with unborrowed light") and "the vision bright" in the fourth verse might have some connection with "They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

"Sieh, hier bin ich" (TLH #56)

"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name"

While singing "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" in church last year, I noticed one connection between the music and the text, but in looking it over again in order to write this post, I found many more.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Grosser Gott," and I'm going to go through it phrase by phrase.

The second musical phrase (repeated later as the fourth musical phrase):

In the first verse, the text here is "Lord of all, we bow before Thee."  The "all" is sung with a melisma (A G), giving a sense of number, and the "bow before Thee" descends, musically representing that "bow[ing]."  The "bow" is also sung with a melisma (C Bb), emphasizing this.

In the second verse, the text here is "Angel choirs above are raising."  The "above" is sung to an ascending interval (a minor third: A to C)(plus the following Bb), directing attention upwards.  There's a similar feature in the fourth line of the first verse ("All in heav'n above adore Thee"), where "above" is again sung to these same notes.  Usually, I probably wouldn't bother pointing out something this small, but - within each musical phrase - this minor third is the largest interval in the entire hymn.  Everything else is extremely conjunct, with either repeated pitches or seconds upwards or downwards.

The fourth line of the second verse (also sung to this same phrase) is "In unceasing chorus praising."  "Unceasing" is sung with a melisma (A A G A), and since the word is drawn out, there's something of a musical sense of its meaning.

The third musical phrase (a repetition of the first musical phrase):

In the third verse, the text here is "Prophets swell the glad refrain."  "Swell" is sung with a melisma (F E), so - as with "unceasing" above - since the word is drawn out, there's a musical sense of its meaning.

The fifth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Infinite Thy vast domain."  "Infinite" is sung with a melisma (G A Bb A), musically giving a sense of that great expanse.

In the fourth verse, the text here describes how Jesus was "First to break the bars of death."  "Break" is sung with a melisma now (Bb A).  It's "broken" between two pitches, which musically illustrates the "break[ing]" in the text.

The sixth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Everlasting is Thy reign."  As with "Infinite" above, "Everlasting" is sung to a melisma (D D C Bb A), musically giving a sense of a long period of time.

In the third verse, the text here is "Through the Church the song goes on," with "song" sung to a melisma (Bb A).  Since "song" is not limited to just one pitch, there's something of a musical representation of this "go[ing] on."

LSB #413 "O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair"

Biblical citations in the hymnal: Luke 9:28-36; John 1:14, 17:24

Luke 9:28-36:  "28 Now about eight days after these sayings he [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.  30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.  33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good that we are here.  Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah' - not knowing what he said.  34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!'  36 And when the voice has spoken, Jesus was found alone.  And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen."

John 1:14:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 17:24:  "'Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.'"

+++

The text is public domain:

O wondrous type! O vision fair
Of glory that the Church may share,
Which Christ upon the mountain shows,
Where brighter than the sun He glows!

With Moses and Elijah nigh
The incarnate Lord holds converse high;
And from the cloud the Holy One
Bears record to the only Son.

With shining face and bright array
Christ deigns to manifest today
What glory shall be theirs above
Who joy in God with perfect love.

And faithful hearts are raised on high
By this great vision's mystery,
For which in joyful strains we raise
The voice of prayer, the hymn of praise.

O Father, with the eternal Son
And Holy Spirit ever one,
We pray Thee, bring us by Thy grace
To see Thy glory face to face.

+++

There's not very much to say about this one.  The text from Luke is the main source; both it and the hymn describe the Transfiguration.  The other verses from John seem to be cited because they both mention seeing Christ's glory.  The last verse of the hymn has the same object as John 17:24, just looking at it from a different direction.  The hymn has "We pray... To see Thy glory face to face" where Jesus prays, "I desire that they also... may... see my glory."  The description of "the incarnate Lord" in the second verse might also come specifically from John 1:14 ("the Word became flesh and dwelt among us").

"Meinen Jesum lass' ich nicht" (TLH #55)

I've started the section of the hymnal that has season-specific hymns (this is for Advent).

"God, Whose Almighty Word"

I'm still (slowly) working through my back-log of hymn features to write about.  I don't remember the context for this one, but what I noticed about "God, Whose Almighty Word" (Lutheran Worship #317) is fitting for this week, since Sunday was Trinity Sunday.

The tune for the hymn is "Italian Hymn," and this is the second phrase:

In the fourth verse, the text here is "Glorious Trinity," and "Trinity" is sung with a melisma.  The first syllable is sung to three notes, which - to some degree - represents the Trinity.  There are three notes for one syllable, in a similar manner to how the Trinity is "three distinct persons in one divine being" (to quote Luther's Small Catechism).

I'm a bit out of my depth with the theology, though, hence the "to some degree" and "similar."  I don't think this is a perfect representation, but it's something of an illustration.