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

Friday, February 21, 2020

"Sanctus" (LSB #961)

When I wrote about "Our Father Who Art in Heaven" (LSB #957) a little over a year ago, I flipt through the "Liturgical Music" section of the hymnal and noticed a couple things in "Sanctus" (LSB #961).

The phrase "heav'n and earth are full of Your glory" is sung to this melody (no title is listed for the tune):


"Heav'n" is sung to a higher pitch than "earth" (both are D notes, but they're an octave apart), which musically illustrates their relative positions ("heav'n" above "earth").

In looking at this phrase again, I also noticed that "glory" is sung with a melisma (A F# E), musically giving something of a sense of being "full."

At the end, "Hosanna in the highest" is sung to this phrase:


"Highest" is sung to two D notes, and - appropriately - this is the highest pitch in the tune.