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

Friday, November 5, 2021

"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."