Unless stated otherwise, my source for hymn texts and tunes is The Lutheran Service Book.

Friday, March 22, 2019

"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."