"Erschienen ist" (TLH #223)

I went through this three times.

"Lord of All Good"

When I recorded a version of "Farley Castle" with recorders a couple months ago, I used the arrangement from The Lutheran Service Book #786 "Lord of All Good."  While going through the tune, I noticed a connection between it and the text.  The second phrase has a number of cross inscriptions.  It would be cumbersome to indicate them all; aside from the first C, any four sequential notes form this figure.

These cross inscriptions connect to the text in the second verse.  The line here is "Christ, by whose willing sacrifice we live."  Part of that "willing sacrifice" was the crucifixion.

LSB #600 "Mark How the Lamb of God's Self-Offering"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 3:13-16, 1 Peter 2:9

Matthew 3:13-16: "13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.  14 John would have prevented him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?'  15 But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for this it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'  Then he consented.  16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him"

1 Peter 2:9:  "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

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The text from Matthew is the basis for the first verse.  Matthew 3:17 should also be included:  "and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"  In the hymn, this is rendered as "Hear how the voice from heaven thunders, / 'Lo, this is My beloved Son.'"  The first part of Matthew 4 is also summarized in the beginning of the second verse:  "From this assurance of God's favor / Jesus goes to the wilderness, / There to endure a time of testing."

1 Peter 2:9 appears in the third verse, specifically in the lines "Christ's royal priesthood help us share" and "Raise up in us a chosen people."

"St. Anatolius"

I had planned to record the tunes named after saints in alphabetical order, but I accidentally skipt this one.  Last time I did one, I lookt in the index of The Lutheran Service Book, not remembering that there are a number of tunes named after saints in The Lutheran Hymnal that aren't in The Lutheran Service Book.  This is TLH #555.

I transposed this from Eb major to F major.  The alto part is so high that it was easier to play it on soprano recorder than on alto recorder.  This is two soprano recorders, a tenor recorder, and electric bass.

"Coronae" (TLH #222)

I don't know if this is a really a shorter tune or not, but I went through it three times anyway.  The first two measures of the alto part are the same as "Frère Jacques."

"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"

Last year and then again a couple months ago, I found a handful of features in "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."  It's sung to the tune "Hyfrydol."  Here's the third musical phrase:

In the second verse, the text here is "Let us all in Thee inherit."  "All" is sung with a melisma (F G), musically giving a sense of entirety.

The fifth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Jesus, Thou art all compassion."  "Compassion" is sung with a melisma (Bb Bb A G), musically illustrating that "all."  In the second verse, the text is "Take away the love of sinning."  Here, "away" is sung with a melisma (C C Bb), giving a sense of (metaphorical) movement.  In the third verse, the text is "Thee we would be always blessing."  "Blessing" is sung with a melisma (Bb A G), providing a sense of the duration of "always."

The sixth musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Pure, unbounded love Thou art."  The words "unbounded love" are sung with melismas (A A Bb C | C Bb), and since the words aren't limited to their usual amount of syllables, there's a sense of the meaning of "unbounded."

The last (eighth) musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Enter ev'ry trembling heart."  "Ev'ry" is sung with a melisma (D C Bb), and each syllable is sung to a different pitch.  Both of these features indicate that breadth.

LSB #599 "O Gracious Lord, with Love Draw Near"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Titus 3:5-8, Romans 6:4

Matthew 28:19:  "'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'"

Mark 16:16:  "'Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.'"

Titus 3:5-8:  "5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.  These things are excellent and profitable for people."

Romans 6:4:  "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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Titus 3:5-8 could be cited for the end of the second verse ("For in that pure baptismal flood / They have been cleansed by Jesus' blood") and part of the fifth verse ("With fruits of faith their lives now bless").  Matthew 28:19 and Romans 6:4 could also be cited for the line about "fruits of faith."  For the most part, though, the cited verses (especially Mark 16:16) seem to be merely background for the hymn text.

The third verse, which begins with the line "Deliver them from ev'ry wile," expands upon part of the Lord's Prayer:  "'And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil'" (Matthew 6:13).  The last line of that verse ("That they may not Your Word despise") echoes the explanation of the Third Commandment from Luther's Small Catechism:  "We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it."

The line "And make them strong, each cross to bear" at the end of the fourth verse could be cited from a few places:  Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24, or Luke 9:23.

The last verse, particularly the line "Then robed in white before Your throne," is drawn from Revelation 7.

"Neander" (TLH #221)

Because this is a shorter tune, I went through it three times.

"The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us"

When I wrote the post about the Biblical sources for "The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us," I also noticed some musical features.  The hymn is sung to the tune "Ach Gott vom Himmelreiche."  In Lutheran Worship, it's in 6/4, but in The Lutheran Service Book, it's in 6/8 (both are in G major).  I'm going to use the notation in 6/4, although I found features to note in both hymnals (it seems that LSB has a different translation for verses two through four).

Here's the first phrase:

In Lutheran Worship, the second verse begins with the line "Then, oh, what jubilation."  "Jubilation" is sung with a melisma (A C B A B A), musically giving a sense of that ebullience.  The third verse begins with the line "Then Christ, his glory sharing."  Here, "sharing" is sung with a melisma (B A B A), and because the word is spread across multiple notes, there's a sense of its meaning.

Here's the third musical phrase:

In Lutheran Worship, the text here in the fourth verse is "New song will fill the ocean."  "Ocean" is sung with a melisma (F# E F# D), giving a sense of the abundance of being "fill[ed]."

In The Lutheran Service Book, the text here in the fourth verse is "With hearts and lips forever" (the sentiment is continued into the next line:  "We shall in God rejoice").  "Forever" is sung with a melisma (A F# E F# D), giving a sense of duration.

LSB #598 "Once in the Blest Baptismal Waters"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Galatians 3:26-27, Romans 6:3, Luke 2:29-32

Galatians 3:26-27:  "26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

Romans 6:3:  "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?"

Luke 2:29-32:  "29 'Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.'"

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The passage from Galatians appears at the beginning of the first verse:  "Once in the blest baptismal waters / I put on Christ and made Him mine."

Romans 6:3 seems to be the basis for the lines "And thus I live in God contented / And die without a thought of fear" at the beginning of the third verse.

The hymn's refrain ("O God, for Jesus' sake I pray / Your peace may bless my dying day.") is drawn from Luke 2:29-32.

"Bevan" (TLH #220)

I transposed this from Eb major to F major, and because it's a shorter tune, I went through it three times.

"From God Can Nothing Move Me"

Last year, I noticed two small features in "From God Can Nothing Move Me," sung to the tune "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen."

The first line is, of course, "From God can nothing move me," sung to this phrase:

"From God" is sung to two G notes.  The tune is in G minor, so this is the tonic note.  In the same way that God is the anchor, the very phrase "from God" is sung to the foundational pitch of the hymn's tune.

The first verse ends with the lines "My life with grace adorning / Wherever I may stand," sung to these phrases:

There are two accidentals in the phrase to which "Wherever I may stand" is sung (E natural and F#), and the syllables of "wherever" are each sung to a different pitch (E D G).  Both of these features indicate the breadth of that "wherever."

LSB #597 "Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  1 John 5:5-8, John 10:10

1 John 5:5-8:  "5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

"6 This is he who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood.  And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  7 For there are three that testify:  8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree."

John 10:10:  "'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.'"

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The passage from 1 John 5 is the basis for the hymn and appears most clearly in the first and fifth verses.  John 10:10 appears in the line "Life has come, with life for all," which occurs at the end of both of these verses.

The third verse ends with the lines "[Christ] spreads a table where He feeds us / With His body and His blood."  While this clearly refers to the Lord's Supper, the language recalls Psalm 23:5:  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."

Part of the fourth verse ("God, His two-edged sword unsheathing, / By His Spirit life is breathing / Through the living, active Word.") comes Hebrews 4:12 ("For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.") and possible also Ephesians 6:17 ("and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God").