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

Friday, November 15, 2024

"Seek Where You May to Find a Way"

Last month, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from the 15th.  The hymn was "Seek Where You May to Find a Way," and I found a few instances where groups of words including "all" or "ev'ry" are sung to all different pitches, resulting in a sense of entirety or breadth.

The hymn is sung to the tune "Such, wer da will."  Here are the fourth and fifth musical phrases:


In the second verse, the text here is "All helpers failed / This man prevailed," with "all helpers" sung to all different pitches (A F# G).

The seventh and eighth musical phrases:


In the third verse, the text here is "In ev'ry need / Seek Him indeed," with "ev'ry need" sung to all different pitches (F# G A).

The ninth and tenth musical phrases:


In the third verse, the text here is "To ev'ry heart / He will impart" (the sense continues into the next line:  "His blessings without measure"), with "ev'ry heart" sung to all different pitches (G A B).