"Puer nobis nascitur" (TLH #103)

Last time I recorded this, I transposed it from Eb major to D major; this time, I kept it in Eb major.

"O Day of Rest and Gladness"

I think I've actually run out of things to write about in Lenten hymns (excepting those specifically for Holy Week), so here are some things I noticed about "O Day of Rest and Gladness" back in June.

Because I found so many little things, I'm going to go through the hymn in sections of two phrases each.  The tune is "Ellacombe."

The first two phrases:

In the fourth verse, the text here is "That light our hope sustaining / We walk the pilgrim way."  "Walk" is sung with a melisma (E F#), musically giving a sense of movement.  As a whole, the second phrase here is completely conjunct (it doesn't skip any notes in the scale), which gives a sense of walking step by step.

The second two phrases:

In the second verse, the text is "This day for our salvation / Christ rose from depths of earth."  The "rose" is sung with an ascending melisma (E F#), musically giving a sense of the word's meaning.

In the fourth verse, the text is "At length our rest attaining, / Our endless Sabbath day."  Here, "endless" is sung with a melisma (E F# G), for a musical sense of duration.

The third two phrases:

In the first verse, the text is "This day the high and lowly / Through ages joined to bless."  One of the notes to which "lowly" is sung (F#) is the lowest in the phrase, musically giving a sense of the word's meaning.  Incidentally, "high and lowly" is an instance of a merism.

The fourth two phrases:

In the first verse, the text is "Sing, 'Holy, holy, holy,' / The triune God confess," and in the second verse, the text is "And thus this day more glorious / A threefold light was giv'n."  "Triune" and "threefold" are both sung to three notes (E F# G), so there's a musical picture of that number.

In the fourth verse, the text is "The Church her voice upraises / To Thee, blest Three in One."  "Upraises" is sung to a (generally) ascending group of notes (G B C D), musically giving a sense of that "uprais[ing]."

LSB #457 "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Luke 24:6-7, 1 Corinthians 15:20, Revelation 1:18, Psalm 98

Luke 24:6-7:  "6 'He is not here, but has risen.  Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.'"

1 Corinthians 15:20:  "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

Revelation 1:18:  "'Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one.  I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.'"

Psalm 98:  "1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  2 The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.  3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.  All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

"4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!  5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!  6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!

"7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!  8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together 9 before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity."

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The text is public domain:

Jesus Christ is ris'n today,
Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day,
Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross,
Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss.
Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing,
Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heav'nly king,
Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave,
Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save.
Alleluia!

But the pains which He endured,
Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured;
Alleluia!
Now above the sky He's king,
Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing.
Alleluia!

Sing we to our God above,
Alleluia!
Praise eternal as His love;
Alleluia!
Praise Him, all ye heav'nly host,
Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia!

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The texts from Luke, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation all seem to be combined into the line "Jesus Christ is ris'n today."  The only specific thing I can pick out is the mention of the crucifixion in Luke 24:7, which appears in the hymn's first two verses:  "Who did once upon the cross... Suffer to redeem our loss" and "Who endured the cross and grave."

"Sing to the LORD a new song" from Psalm 98:1 appears in the first line of the hymn's last verse: "Sing we to our God above."  The interspersed "Alleluia"s in the hymn match the mood of the psalm, even if they're not specifically taken from it.

"Adeste fideles" (TLH #102)

The melody in this arrangement is slightly different from ones I'm familiar with.

"In Silent Pain the Eternal Son"

Back in October when I wrote a post about the Biblical sources for "In Silent Pain the Eternal Son," I noticed a small musical feature in the hymn.

The fifth line of the first verse is "Uplifted for the word to see," sung to this phrase from the tune "Reality":

"Uplifted" is sung with an ascending melisma (Bb C D D), which musically gives a sense of the word's meaning.

When I lookt at the hymn again in order to write this post, I noticed something else.

The third line of the first verse is "In darkened day His work is done," and "His work is done" is sung to a cross inscription:

Together, this text and the musical image of the cross recall John 19:30:  "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

There's a similar effect in the seventh line of the second verse (sung to the same melody): "He loved us to the uttermost."  Here, "the uttermost" combined with the musical image of the cross echoes Philippians 2:8:  "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

LSB #456 "Were You There"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 28:6; Luke 22:33, 53; Romans 6:3-4

Matthew 28:6:  "'He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.  Come, see the place where he lay.'"

Luke 22:33:  "Peter said to him, 'Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.'"

Luke 22:53:  "'When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.'"

Romans 6:3-4:  "3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

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I think there's an error in the citations because Luke 23:33, 53 fit the hymn much better:

Luke 23:33:  "And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left."

Luke 23:53:  "Then he [Joseph of Arimathea] took it [Jesus' body] down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid."

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The text is public domain:

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh...
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh...
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh...
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb?
Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb?
Oh...
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when God raised Him from the tomb?

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The Biblical sources for this are very straightforward.  The first two verses ("when they crucified my Lord" and "when they nailed Him to the tree") are from Luke 23:33.  The third verse ("when they laid Him in the tomb") is from Luke 23:53.  The fourth ("when God raised Him from the tomb") is from Matthew 28:6 and Romans 6:3-4.

I think Romans 6:3-4 might also be cited in order to give a bit more context for the hymn.  They explain the significance that Jesus' death and resurrection have for us, and the hymn alone doesn't.

"Nunc dimittis" (TLH #101)

"Come to Calvary's Holy Mountain"

Back in September when I was looking up the Bible verses cited for "Come to Calvary's Holy Mountain,"  I noticed a small feature at the beginning of the fourth verse.

The first line is "They that drink shall live forever," sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Naar mit öie":

The "forever" is sung with a melisma (F# E F# D); since it's drawn out, there's a musical sense of duration.

In writing this post, I noticed that those particular notes form a cross inscription, which is also repeated in the third phrase of the tune.  I think the only connection between it and the text appears in the third phrase of the third verse:  "Here the guilty [may find] free remission."  "Remission" is sung to this cross inscription, and it is Jesus' death on the cross that provides us this "remission."

LSB #455 "The Royal Banners Forward Go"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Isaiah 11:10, 12; 1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 20:28

Isaiah 11:10:  "In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples - of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious."

Isaiah 11:12:  "He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

1 Peter 2:24:  "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed."

Matthew 20:28:  "'even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'"

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The text is public domain:

The royal banners forward go;
The cross shows forth redemption's flow,
Where He, by whom our flesh was made,
Our ransom in His flesh has paid:

Where deep for us the spear was dyed,
Life's torrent rushing from His side,
To wash us in the precious flood
Where flowed the water and the blood.

Fulfilled is all that David told
In sure prophetic song of old,
That God the nations' king should be
And reign in triumph from the tree,

On whose hard arms, so widely flung,
The weight of this world's ransom hung,
The price of humankind to pay
And spoil the spoiler of his prey.

O tree of beauty, tree most fair,
Ordained those holy limbs to bear:
Gone is thy shame, each crimsoned bough
Proclaims the King of Glory now.

To Thee, eternal Three in One,
Let homage meet by all be done;
As by the cross Thou dost restore,
So guide and keep us evermore.
Amen.

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The two verses from Isaiah 11 both seem to appear in the third verse.  Jesus "stand[s] as a signal for the peoples" as "the nations' king," and He's also literally "raise[d as] a signal for the nations" on the cross.

1 Peter 2:24 appears in the fourth verse:  "On whose hard arms, so widely flung, / The weight of this world's ransom hung...."  The next line ("The price of humankind to pay") also seems to draw from "'giv[ing] his life as a ransom for many'" from Matthew 20:28.

The second verse draws from John 19:34: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water."

"Navarre" (TLH #100)

"Blessed Jesus, at Your Word"

Back in June, one of the hymns I sang in church was "Blessed Jesus, at Your Word."  I noticed a small thing in the second verse.  The first two lines are "All our knowledge, sense, and sight / Lie in deepest darkness shrouded," sung to these phrases from the tune "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier":

The first syllable of "deepest" is sung to that E note.  Because it's the lowest note in the phrase, there's a musical sense of that (metaphorical) depth.

LSB #454 "Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 98:1-2, Isaiah 52:9-10, Galatians 4:4, John 19:30

Psalm 98:1-2:  "1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!  His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.  2 The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations."

Isaiah 52:9-10:  "9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.  10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."

Galatians 4:4:  "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law"

John 19:30:  "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

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The text is public domain:

Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle;
Sing the ending of the fray.
Now above the cross, the trophy,
Sound the loud triumphant lay;
Tell how Christ, the world's redeemer,
As a victim won the day.

Tell how, when at length the fullness
Of the appointed time was come,
He, the Word, was born of woman,
Left for us His Father's home,
Blazed the path of true obedience,
Shone as light amidst the gloom.

Thus, with thirty years accomplished,
He went forth from Nazareth,
Destined, dedicated, willing,
Did His work, and met His death;
Like a lamb He humbly yielded
On the cross His dying breath.

Faithful cross, true sign of triumph,
Be for all the noblest tree;
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thine equal be;
Symbol of the world's redemption,
For the weight that hung on thee!

Unto God be praise and glory;
To the Father and the Son,
To the eternal Spirit honor
Now and evermore be done;
Praise and glory in the highest
While the timeless ages run.

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The first two lines ("Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; / Sing the ending of the fray.") seem to combine the singing mentioned in Psalm 98:1 and Isaiah 52:9.  The redemption and salvation mentioned in these texts appear as "Christ, the world's redeemer, / As a victim won the day."

In the second verse, the lines "when at length the fullness / Of the appointed time was come, / He, the Word, was born of woman" paraphrase Galatians 4:4, although "the Word... born of woman" also incorporates the first half of John 1:14:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...."

John 19:30 appears at the end of the third verse:  "Did His work, and met His death; / Like a lamb He humbly yielded / On the cross His dying breath."

"Was frag' ich nach der Welt" (TLH #99)

This tune is used for a number of hymns (and I think it's also in some Bach cantatas), but I never realized that it's "Was frag' ich" (LSB leaves out the apostrophe).

"Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"

Back in May last year, one of the hymns on Worship Anew (for the Sixth Sunday after Easter) was "Come, Ye Thankful People Come."  I noticed a small feature about it.

The hymn is sung to the tune "St. George's, Windsor."  Here's the last phrase:

The first verse ends with the line "Raise the song of harvest home," and the fourth verse (and the hymn as a whole) ends with the line "Raise the glorious harvest home."  For both of these, "home" is sung to the tonic note (F), and since the tonic note is the musical "home" of the tune, there's a musical representation of those "home"s.