As I mentioned in the last post, the need for LSB to unite LCMS congregations using different hymnals limited the number of new tunes in the book. Certainly as a musician I was more "jazzed" about Hymnal Supplement 98 (HS98) when it came out. So many new tunes! And the fact that the majority of those songs found acceptance into LSB demonstrates the high quality of music HS98 brought to the Missouri Synod.
And yet, as important as music is, I think LSB is making an even stronger contribution, because the LSB has brought so many good texts to our synod. And, of course, the texts ARE the hymns, and given that LSB is a generational hymnal, not a supplement, I think we should all celebrate the hymns that are serving the church so well in the LSB.
So, in the first post I focused on new hymns with new tunes. Now lets focus on the new hymns that are sung to familiar (or, at least, pre-existing tunes). What would you nominate in the following categories?
1 - Personal Favorite
2 - Most Beneficial for Your Congregation's Piety
3 - Hymn that Most Effectively Catechizes
4 - Best Fit for an Old Tune
5 - Text that Helped You Use an Older Tune - (here I would concure with Christina, and nominate "Christ Sits at God's Right Hand". Now we really sing YIGDAL at Bethany. "The God of Abraham Praise" is a FINE hymn, but is less useful liturgically.)
6 - Congregational Favorite - Have the people in your parish embraced a new text to the point where they associate an old tune now primarily with a new LSB text?
I'm at home sick today, so I'm going to ask our readers to kick off this discussion. (I promise I'll make my nominations as we go along...)
p.s. May all our friends have a wonderful Lutheran celebration this Reformation Sunday!
3 comments:
1) LSB 521: Christ, the Lord of Hosts, Unshaken. As I mentioned in the last post, the choir is not warming up to the tune, so I may have to choose another tune if we use the text. I'd still like to introduce a new tune with the text, so perhaps "Song of Praise" will go over better. My problem here is that "Fortunatus New" really is the best tune for the text!
2) LSB 827: Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling (with Starke texts for stanzas 2-4). We still use 826, but the Starke stanzas give a different focus to the hymn.
3) LSB 629: What is this Bread. This is not an old tune, but, speaking of catechetical, each verse is in question-and-answer form!
For the old tune with catechesis, LSB 602, The Gifts Christ Freely Gives. The only thing missing is the triangle next to the final stanza.
4) LSB 829: Christ, the Eternal Lord.
5) LSB 345: Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding. This is not a new text, but the change to the tune "Merton" has helped the congregation embrace the text.
6) Haven't found this one yet. I would say overtime, though, LSB 477, "Alleluia, Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven" might overtake "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee." Since we use "Alleluia" mostly at Easter, it will take more time to sink in. Perhaps next year we can add it into the Sundays after Pentecost.
Iggy:
I have a setting of that text that you might enjoy. When you are interested in using it, let me know and I'll inquire of Pastor Prange to see if he will let us use it here on the Liturgy Solutions website.
Stephen R. Johnson
Thanks, Stephen.
I would say I would try to work it in for Easter and it's season. Sometime after January 1 would be a good time to look at it.
Iggy
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