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

Friday, March 10, 2023

"The Savior Calls; Let Every Ear"

After I recorded "Azmon" (TLH #281) a few weeks ago, I found a couple of small connections between the tune and "The Savior Calls; Let Every Ear."

The first two lines of the hymn are "The Savior calls; let ev'ry ear / Attend the heav'nly sound," sung to this musical phrase:


The words "ev'ry ear" are sung to notes of all different pitches (B A G), and this provides a sense of the breadth of "ev'ry."

This feature is also in the third verse, which begins:  "Here springs of sacred pleasures rise / To ease your ev'ry pain."  At the end of the second phrase, "ev'ry pain" is sung to the pitches C B A.

I also noticed polysyndeton (the repeated "and") in the second verse:  "Here streams of bounty flow / And life and health and bliss impart."  This repetition gives a sense of that abundance.