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

Friday, February 7, 2020

"In His Temple Now Behold Him"

In church on Sunday, one of the hymns was "In His Temple Now Behold Him," and I noticed a small feature in the first verse.  The second line is "See the long-expected Lord," sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Westminster Abbey":


"Long" is sung with a melisma (B A), and since it's drawn out, there's a musical sense of its meaning.