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

Friday, January 27, 2023

"Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten"

Two years ago, I noticed some small features in a line in "Light of Light, O Sole-Begotten," sung to the tune "Westminster Abbey."

About halfway through the first verse, there's the line "Full of truth and full of grace" (from John 1:14), sung to this musical phrase:


"Truth" and the second "full" are both sung with melismas (A B and G F#, respectively), and these articulations provide a sense of that abundance.