Hymn Selections: Trinity XVIII, XIX, XX, and XXI

Hymn numbers are from The Hymnal 1982.

Trinity XVIII:

397 Now Thank We All Our God 
324 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
542 Christ Is The World's True Light
450 All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

Trinity XIX:

523 Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken

404 We Will Extol You

427 When Morning Gilds the Skies

401 The God of Abraham Praise

Trinity XX:

390 Praise to the Lord

527 Singing Songs of Expectation

544 Jesus Shall Reign

495 Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus

Trinity XXI:

460 Alleluia, Sing to Jesus

699 Jesus, Lover of My Soul

321 My God, Thy Table Now Is Spread

665 All My Hope on God Is Founded

Hymn Selections: Trinity XIV, XV, XVI, and XVII

Hymn numbers are from The Hymnal 1982.

Trinity XIV:

397 Now Thank We All Our God
488 Be Thou My Vision
135 Songs of Thankfulness and Praise
556 Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart

Hymn Selections: Trinity XIV, XV, XVI, and XVII

Hymn numbers are from The Hymnal 1982.

Trinity XIV:

397 Now Thank We All Our God
488 Be Thou My Vision
135 Songs of Thankfulness and Praise
556 Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart

Hymn Selections: Trinity X, XI, XII,and XIII

Hymn numbers are from The Hymnal 1982.

Trinity X:

523 Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
516 Come Down, O Love Divine
609 Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
450 All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

Hymn Selections: Trinity V, VI, VII, VIII, and IX

Hymn numbers are from The Hymnal 1982.

Trinity V:

388 O Worship the King
408 Sing Praise to God, Who Reigns Above
550 Jesus Calls Us, O'er the Tumult
437 Tell Out, My Soul

The tune for hymn #550 is Restoration, from The Southern Harmony. It's a personal favorite of mine. I prefer the "alternative accompaniment for unison singing" that is on the opposite page in the spiral bound accompanist copy of the hymnal. The version on the left page, with the text, is designed for 4-part vocals, and has a more open harmonic feel (some of the thirds of chords are left out). The version on the right fills in the thirds, and doesn't have so many moving parallel intervals and large stretches, which is more comfortable to play.

Dear Modern Protestant Pastor

I've recently been reading The Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influence by Jane Stuart Smith and Betty Carlson. This book is a collection of short biographies (really, biographical essays) on the lives and works of many of Western classical music's greatest composers. The spiritual lives of the composers are a large focus of the book. In the chapter on Bach, Smith makes the statement (as have many others) that "if there had not been a Luther, there would not have been a Bach." This started me thinking: if modern protestant pastors love Luther so much, and enjoy sharing that love with others who are like-minded, why are they ignoring the music of Bach, who (like they) found his spiritual heritage in the Reformation?

New Territory: Organ Offertories

During my recent trip to the state music teachers' conference, I picked up a couple of organ books by Gordon Young: Organ Voluntaries: Eleven Short Solos for Church or Recital, and Eight Organ Voluntaries on Familiar Hymn Tunes, both published by Theodore Presser Company. They are clearly a different style from what I usually play for the service (which would be Baroque-esque preludes or hymn arrangements), but majestic and perfect for Sunday mornings. From the first volume above, I recently played "Antiphon," a two-page selection with simple pedal points, modified by yours truly to be played with the left hand, since our church "organ" is actually a keyboard--no pedals available. Whether you have pedals or not, this is a lovely piece; and its form is conducive to repeats as needed, which makes it perfect for an offertory. I'm looking forward to checking out other pieces by Young in the coming weeks!