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

Friday, July 21, 2023

"Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing"

A couple years ago, I found a number of features in "Gracious Savior, Grant Your Blessing," sung to the tune "Hyfrydol."  Here's the sixth musical phrase:


In the first verse, the text here is "And [defend them] from all that would destroy."  "All" is sung with a melisma (A Bb), giving something of a sense of entirety.

The seventh musical phrase:


In the second verse, the text here is "There You fill the empty vessels."  "Fill" is sung with a melisma (Bb G), providing something of a sense of the abundance that the word implies.

The eighth musical phrase:


In the last (fifth) verse, the text here is "[Bring us] To the endless wedding feast."  "Endless" is sung with a melisma (D C Bb), and since it's stretched out, there's a sense of duration.

In the fourth verse, the text is "Without wrinkle, spot, or stain," with "wrinkle" sung to the same melisma.  This may give a sense of the word's meaning (despite the sort of negation of "without"), but I'm not as convinced of this as I am of the others.