Livestream Links for Conference Celebrating 500 Years of the First Lutheran Hymnals
Livestream links for a Reformation Hymn Festival and conference celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first Lutheran hymnals.
Tag Archives: Chorale
“And Take They Our Life” – More Thoughts on “A Mighty Fortress”
The short phrase “and take they our life” is the fifth line of the fourth and final stanza of one of the greatest Christian hymns in all of sacred music, “A Mighty Fortress” (EIN FESTE BURG) by Martin Luther (1483-1546). This phrase consists of five words in English and only four in the original German, “nehmen sie den… Read More »
Praise and Honor: Hymn-Inspired Devotions
Those of you familiar with this blog know that it offers reflections and insights into sacred music and Christian hymns. This week I would like to share with you a new book that does the same. The author is Timothy Shoup, a parish pastor from Bonduel, Wisconsin and a former classmate of mine. With his book Praise and… Read More »
“Now No Condemnation”
On July 28, 1750 the great man of faith and church musician Johann Sebastian Bach entered eternal glory. His music reveals to us that he was not afraid of death, but rather welcomed it because he knew it was the door to eternal life with his Savior, Jesus Christ. The Lutheran church pauses on July 28 to commemorate… Read More »
Observe Good Friday with the Peoria Bach Festival
Observe Good Friday this year by watching the Peoria Bach Festival 2010 performance of the St. Matthew Passion. You can find it on the Peoria Bach Festival YouTube page by clicking here or following the link below. Although the performance is in German, English subtitles are provided making the story easy to understand and follow. The translation is a… Read More »
Prelude for Divided Viola (String Orchestra)
Are you looking for a work to challenge your viola section? You might want to consider this Prelude for Divided Viola. It is an arrangement for strings of my chorale prelude on the hymn “Jesus, Priceless Treasure,” a tune made famous by the J. S. Bach motet. The violas are busy from beginning to end and use the… Read More »
JESU, MEINE FREUDE (Organ – Chorale Prelude)
Here is a setting for organ of the great German pietistic hymn “Jesus, Priceless Treasure” that I composed back in my college days. The text of the hymn is by Johann Franck and first appeared as a six stanza hymn in Johann Crüger’s Praxis Pietatis Melica (1653) to a tune presumably by Crüger. The hymn was made famous by… Read More »