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

Friday, May 21, 2021

"Look, Ye Saints, the Sight Is Glorious"

Apparently, the videos from One LSB Hymn a Week are no longer available on Concordia Publishing House's YouTube channel, but when I watched the one for "Look, Ye Saints, the Sight Is Glorious" a few years ago, I noticed a handful of features to note.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Bryn Calfaria."  Here's the third phrase:


In the fourth verse, the text here is "Jesus takes the highest station."  "Highest" (and the first syllable of "station") is sung to the highest pitches in this phrase (Bbs), so there's a musical representation of the word's meaning.

Here's the next musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "Ev'ry knee to Him shall bow" (from Philippians 2:10).  The melody generally descends, illustrating this "bow[ing]."

The sixth musical phrase:


In the third verse, the text here is "Spread abroad the victor's fame."  The words "spread abroad" are sung with melismas (Eb D | C D C), giving a sense of that breadth.