"St. Bride" (TLH #322)

Transposed from G minor to A minor

"Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "Only-Begotten, Word of God Eternal," sung to the tune "Iste confessor."  Here's the first musical phrase:

In the first verse, the text here is "Only-begotten, Word of God eternal," and in the fourth verse, the text is "God in three persons, Father everlasting."  "Eternal" and "everlasting" are both sung with a melisma (G F E D and F G F E D, respectively), and since the words are drawn out, there's a sense of duration.

Here's the second musical phrase:

In the third verse, the text here is "By Your past blessings, by your present bounty."  Here, "bounty" is sung with a melisma (C B A), providing a sense of that abundance.

The fourth verse ends with the lines "To You be praises, thanks, and adoration, / Glory forever," and the last line is sung to this musical phrase:

As with "eternal" and "everlasting" above, "forever" is sung with a melisma (E F E D), giving a sense of duration.

LSB #701 "Draw Us to Thee"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:44-45, 1 Peter 2:21, Colossians 1:12-14, Romans 8:17

John 6:44-45:  "44 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day.  45 It is written in the Prophets, "And they will all be taught by God."  Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me'"

1 Peter 2:21:  "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."

Colossians 1:12-14:  "12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Romans 8:17:  "and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

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The text is public domain:

1 Draw us to Thee,

For then shall we

Walk in Thy steps forever

And hasten on

Where Thou art gone

To be with Thee, dear Savior.

2 Draw us to Thee,

Lord, lovingly;

Let us depart with gladness

That we may be

Forever free

From sorrow, grief, and sadness.

3 Draw us to Thee;

O grant that we

May walk the road to heaven!

Direct our way

Lest we should stray

And from Thy paths be driven.

4 Draw us to Thee

That also we

Thy heav'nly bliss inherit

And ever dwell

Where sin and hell

No more can vex our spirit.

5 Draw us to Thee

Unceasingly,

Into Thy kingdom take us;

Let us fore'er

Thy glory share,

Thy saints and joint heirs make us.

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The text from John 6 (specifically verse 44) appears at the beginning of each verse ("Draw us to Thee").  This repetition at the beginning is a rhetorical device called anaphora.

"Follow[ing] in his steps" from 1 Peter 2:21 appears in the lines "For then shall we / Walk in Thy steps forever" in the first verse and also in the majority of the third verse.

Colossians 1:12-14 and Romans 8:17 could overlap a bit, but for the most part, the passage from Colossians appears at the beginning of the fourth verse ("Draw us to Thee / That also we / Thy heav'nly bliss inherit.") and the passage from Romans appears at the end of the fifth ("Thy saints and joint heirs make us.").

The lines "That we may be / Forever free / From sorrow, grief, and sadness" in the second verse may come from part of Revelation 21:4:  "neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

"Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten" (TLH #321)

"In Peace and Joy I Now Depart"

A couple years ago, I noticed some features in "In Peace and Joy I Now Depart" (LSB #938), sung to the tune "Mit Fried' und Freud'."  Here are the third and fourth musical phrases:

In the first verse, the text here is "Serene and confident my heart; / Stillness fills it."  "Fills" is sung with a melisma (F D), giving a sense of the abundance that the word implies.

In the third verse, the text is "Your invitation summons forth / Ev'ry nation."  Here, "nation" is sung with a melisma, giving a sense of the breadth or entirety of "ev'ry."  Additionally, the words "ev'ry nation" are sung to notes of all different pitches (spanning a sixth:  A G F D C), compounding this effect.

Here are the fifth and sixth musical phrases:

In the third verse, the text here is "By Your holy, precious Word, / In ev'ry place resounding."  The notes to which the words "ev'ry place" are sung are all different pitches (F D C), again giving a sense of the breadth or entirety of "ev'ry."  "Resounding" is sung with a melisma (F E D E D), which provides something of a sense of the word's meaning, like the multiplicity of an echo.

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I also referenced the version in Lutheran Worship (#185).  The translations are different (although the first verse is mostly the same), so there are some elements in the LW version that the LSB version lacks.  The last two lines of the fourth verse are "All God's people find in you / Their treasure, joy and glory," sung to the fifth and sixth musical phrases shown above.  "All" and "people" are both sung with melismas (A G and C Bb A, respectively), giving a sense of this multitude.  The notes are almost all different pitches, providing an additional sense of breadth, and the accidental Bb highlights this sense of entirety in that it incorporates a pitch outside of the key.

LSB #700 "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Psalm 85:7-8, 1 John 4:10, Revelation 7:9-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Psalm 85:7-8:  "7 Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

"8 Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly."

1 John 4:10:  "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Revelation 7:9-17:  "9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'  11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'

"13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, 'Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?'  14 I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  And he said to me, 'These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

"15 'Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

2 Corinthians 5:17:  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

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The text is public domain:

1 Love divine, all loves excelling,

Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!

Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,

All Thy faithful mercies crown.

Jesus, Thou art all compassion,

Pure, unbounded love Thou art;

Visit us with Thy salvation,

Enter ev'ry trembling heart.

2 Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit

Into ev'ry troubled breast;

Let us all in Thee inherit;

Let us find Thy promised rest.

Take away the love of sinning;

Alpha and Omega be;

End of faith, as its beginning,

Set our hearts at liberty.

3 Come, Almighty, to deliver;

Let us all Thy life receive;

Suddenly return, and never,

Nevermore Thy temples leave.

Thee we would be always blessing,

Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,

Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,

Glory in Thy perfect love.

4 Finish then Thy new creation,

Pure and spotless let us be;

Let us see Thy great salvation

Perfectly restored in Thee,

Changed from glory into glory,

Till in heav'n we take our place,

Till we cast our crowns before Thee,

Lost in wonder, love, and praise!

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Psalm 85:7-8 and 1 John 4:10 both seem to appear in the first verse, especially in the title line ("Love divine, all loves excelling").  "God is love" from 1 John 4:16 could also be cited, particularly for the lines "Jesus, Thou art all compassion, / Pure, unbounded love Thou art."

The other two cited passages appear in the fourth verse.  2 Corinthians 5:17 is referred to at the beginning, in the line "Finish then Thy new creation."  The passage from Revelation 7 is summarized at the end of the verse, although the line "Till we cast our crowns before Thee" refers to Revelation 4:9-11 (particularly verse 10):  "9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.  They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.'"

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The line "Let us find Thy promised rest" in the second verse seems to refer to Matthew 11:28:  "'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'"

The title "Alpha and Omega" in the second verse comes from Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13).

"Southwell" (TLH #320)

"Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star"

Earlier this year, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 6 February.  The hymn was "Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star," and I noticed a few features in it.

The second line of the second verse is "Falling soft on barren places" (it describes "Thy grace" in the previous line).  It's sung to this musical phrase from the tune "Morgenglanz der Ewigkeit":

The phrase generally descends, musically illustrating that "falling."

The second verse ends with the lines "Bless Thy flock from Thy rich store / Evermore," sung to these phrases:

"Evermore" is sung to notes with a total of eight beats, and this musical length mirrors that duration.

In the third verse, the text here is "Let us truly rise ere yet / Life has set."  The line "Life has set" is sung to a descending phrase (E D C), giving something of a sense of that "set[ting]," although it's used more metaphorically here.

LSB #699 "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  John 6:35; Matthew 11:28-29; John 7:37; 8:12

John 6:35:  "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"

Matthew 11:28-29:  "28 'Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'"

John 7:37:  "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.'"

John 8:12:  "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"

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The text is public domain:

1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"Come unto Me and rest;

Lay down, thou weary one, lay down

They head upon My breast."

I came to Jesus, as I was,

So weary, worn, and sad;

I found in Him a resting place,

And He has made me glad.

2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"Behold, I freely give

The living water; thirsty one,

Stoop down and drink and live."

I came to Jesus, and I drank

Of that life-giving stream;

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,

And now I live in Him.

3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,

"I am this dark world's light.

Look unto Me; thy morn shall rise

And all thy day be bright."

I looked to Jesus, and I found

In Him my star, my sun;

And in that light of life I'll walk

Till trav'ling days are done.

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The hymn's first verse is drawn from Matthew 11:28-29, and the third verse is drawn from John 8:12.  John 6:35 and 7:37 could be cited for the second verse, but the phrase "living water" seems to indicate John 4 as the source, specifically verses 10 and 14:  "10 Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink," you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. ... 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"

"Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow"

Because this is a doxology, I went through it only once.  Also, this is the last tune in the book, so now I've completed this project.

Registration:

Upper:  42 8875 543

Lower:  00 5645 322

Pedal:  44

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals

"Allein zu dir" (TLH #319)

Transposed from F# minor to A minor

"Thy Table I Approach"

A couple months ago, I recorded The Lutheran Hymnal's arrangement of "St. Michael" (#310), the tune to which "Thy Table I Approach" is sung.  The text is basically the same as it appears in the more recent Lutheran Service Book (as "Your Table I Approach" #628), but there are a few differences.  I noticed a significant one.

The first verse ends with the lines "Oh, let no unrepented sin / Prove hurtful to me there!," sung to these phrases:

(In LSB, the text here is "Let not an unrepentant heart / Prove hurtful to me there.")

In the alto part, there's an accidental (D#) corresponding to "sin," musically giving something of a sense of its meaning.  Significantly, this is the only accidental in the entire arrangement.

Because this accidental occurs in the alto part, there may even be a sense of the speaker's ignorance of his sin.  The accidental is below the principal, soprano part in the same way that this particular sin is below the speaker's conscious level.  Taken in this way, it recalls Psalm 19:12:  "Who can discern his errors?  Declare me innocent from hidden faults."

For what it's worth:  in the Lutheran Worship version ("Your Table I Approach" #249), the lines "Oh, let no unrepented sin / Prove hurtful to me there" are retained, but the arrangement doesn't include an accidental here.

LSB #698 "May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill"

Biblical citations in the hymnal:  Matthew 6:10, Exodus 20:3-17

Matthew 6:10:  "'Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Exodus 20:3-17:  "3 'You shall have no other gods before me.

"4 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"7 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

"8 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.  On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

"12 'Honor our father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

"13 'You shall not murder.

"14 'You shall not commit adultery.

"15 'You shall not steal.

"16 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

"17 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.'"

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The text is public domain:

1 May we Thy precepts, Lord, fulfill

And do on earth our Father's will

As angels do above;

Still walk in Christ, the living way,

With all Thy children and obey

The law of Christian love.

2 So may we join Thy name to bless,

Thy grace adore, Thy pow'r confess,

From sin and strife to flee.

One is our calling, one our name,

The end of all our hopes the same,

A crown of life with Thee.

3 Spirit of life, of love and peace,

Unite our hearts, our joy increase,

Thy gracious help supply.

To each of us the blessing give

In Christian fellowship to live,

In joyful hope to die.

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The passage from Exodus (the Ten Commandments) is cited apparently just to define "Thy precepts" in the first line.

Matthew 6:10 is referred to in the second line:  "And do on earth our Father's will."

The line "A crown of life with Thee" at the end of the second verse could come from either James 1:12 or Revelation 2:10.

The end of the second verse and the beginning of the third verse seem to come from part of Ephesians 4.  The line "One is our calling, one our name" in the hymn's second verse is similar to verses 4-6 ("4 There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."), and the lines "Spirit of life, of love and peace, / Unite our hearts" at the beginning of the hymn's third verse bear some resemblance to verse 3 ("eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.").

"Christ the Lord Is Risen Today"

In Bastien's book, this hymn has the title "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," but in The Lutheran Service Book, the text accompanying this tune ("Easter Hymn") is "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today" (#457).  The two hymns in LSB that do begin with "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" (#463 and #469) have different tunes.

Registration:

Upper:  74 8745 325

Lower:  00 6543 322

Pedal:  55

Played with the "mellow" drawbar organ sound on my Hammond SKX, with the Hammond XPK-130G pedals

"Vater unser" (TLH #318)

I transposed this up a whole step, but I'm not sure what key it's in.