Palm Sunday

Time for an odds and ends post.

Today was Evan's last official day to sing in the children's choir. His voice is changing. He still has soprano notes, although not as high as in the past, but he is developing his lower range and struggling with his mid-range. He will continue attending Schola Cantorum rehearsals through the end of the year, helping out our novice program (welcoming new young singers), but we have told him he doesn't have to sing with the choir any more after today. Seeing as how I don't have anyone waiting in the wings to take his place, it would seem my choir mom days are over (sigh).

Here are a couple of pics, serious and silly, of our group today. We sure do love them.

We were hoping one of the above pictured choristers would agree to sing the solo stanza of "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" at the Good Friday service, but there have been no takers. Today when I told Evan that it is looking like his dad or I might have to do it, he was quite alarmed. But it's supposed to be a child's voice! Yes, son, I know. Evan is thinking he might just have to step up to the plate one more time.

In other news, we had some hail the other day.

The storm chasers were around the very next day leaving flyers on doorknobs.

College kids will not be home for Easter. Silly academic calendars. But four weeks from today I will drive to Missouri to pick up Caitlin, and a few days after that we'll all go to Fort Worth to see Trevor receive his Master's degree in music! Speaking of Trevor, he has accepted an invitation to pursue his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Iowa. He is receiving a full tuition scholarship plus a teaching and accompanying stipend. We are very, very happy!

This past week I wrote an article on the Benedict Option which got a little traction. Then yesterday I posted something seemingly unrelated on Facebook. And yet as I think more about the previous link, which is about the shortage of organists in the Church, I am starting to connect it to the Benedict Option. The basic idea of the Benedict Option is that many who would claim the name "Christian" are losing touch with what that actually means. In other words, we call ourselves Christian, but we aren't living and worshiping so as to preserve and pass on the faith to future generations. While the Church in other parts of the world is growing, here in America (and other parts of the Western world) it is shrinking. The Benedict Option calls for Christians to see the gravity of this situation and take steps to turn it around. Author Rod Dreher argues that before we can share our Christian faith with others, we need to reclaim it for ourselves.

So how does that connect to an article about the shortage of organists? As I think about my own church body, which is often called the singing church because of the emphasis it puts on music, it seems to me that we are in many quarters losing touch with that part of our identity. After I posted the above article on Facebook there was much discussion about the difficulty of finding musicians, paying for musicians, and supporting congregational song. Many churches are giving up and going to recorded tracks. This is a terrible, terrible development. The more we rely on such measures the more likely it is that there will be even fewer church musicians in the future.

I am starting to think that, while it's great that we send missionaries to foreign lands (and my husband is one who goes), we might need to give some thought to what we can do to shore up our own churches and our own worship. It doesn't appear to me that we are doing what needs to be done to preserve our musical and liturgical heritage. It's not something that is just magically going to survive because we want it to. In the same way we need to be intentional about living out our Christian faith, we need to be intentional about passing on the gift of music and liturgy. There is so much more we could be doing, and it deeply frustrates me how as a church body we give lip service to it but don't really do anything about it.

Enough of that for now. The hour has come. A blessed Holy Week to you and yours.


Palm Sunday Verse/Hymn of the Day from Cheryl on Vimeo.

Some of the Music from the Week

"A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth" (LSB 438) from Cheryl on Vimeo.



"His Love Is Everlasting" (Psalm 136) - Setting by Marty Haugen from Cheryl on Vimeo.


(There is no picture for this one, just audio.)
"O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" from Cheryl on Vimeo.



Easter Vigil Procession, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Broken Arrow, OK from Cheryl on Vimeo.



"Come All Ye Thirsty" from Cheryl on Vimeo.


Click here for "Jesus Christ is Ris'n Today." (I could not get it to embed.)



"This Is the Day" (Psalm 118) from Cheryl on Vimeo.



 
Be Ye Glad from Paul-Andrew Cromer on Vimeo.

"No Tramp" Past and Present

I find it interesting to compare last year's Palm Sunday singing of this hymn with this year's. There are things I appreciate about both. Last year's version includes Phillip singing the verse (John 12:23) as a lead-in. I love that, not just because of my husband's beautiful singing, but because of the chill-inducing drama of moving from the quiet observance that "The hour has come" to the ominous opening notes of the hymn. Those notes text-paint the marching not of soldiers in a celebratory parade, announcing the arrival of the king, but instead that of guards escorting a condemned prisoner to his death.



Palm Sunday Verse/Hymn of the Day from Cheryl on Vimeo.

This year's version includes not just Phillip's organ setting (sounding even more powerful than before) but a new choir stanza he recently composed. Listen halfway through the stanza as the choir represents the cacophonous mocking and jeering of the crowd.



"No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet" (Lutheran Service Book 444) from Cheryl on Vimeo.

This is a new hymn for Trinity. The choir sang the first stanza in unison to model the melody. You may notice that our new church has projection screens mounted in the front of the church (as well as at the rear). This post is not about that topic, but I would like to note that while I can at times appreciate certain benefits of the screens, overall I think they are a detriment to robust congregational singing, as well as to the learning of new songs. Phillip has a rule for his younger choirs: unless they know the hymn tune so well that they can sing it perfectly while looking only at the words, they must sing out of their hymnals. Unfortunately he can't make a similar rule for the congregation. ;-) But even people who don't read music can benefit from seeing the layout of the notes on a page and observing which notes are long, which are short, which ones go up, and which ones go down!

I was very proud of our choir Sunday. There is always a lot for both musicians and director to learn in the first year of working together, but I think this choir and their cantor are making some beautiful music together. I can't wait for the rest of this week!

Oh, All Right

If you listened to the video of "No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet" in my previous post, here's a little story to go with it. The first note of the hymn introduction--that big, low trombone that leads into a marching motif--used to be even bigger and lower. Yesterday after church I remarked to my husband that as powerful as it is, it doesn't quite sound like it did the first few years he did it. He proceeded to remind me that when we first came to our current congregation the organ had several 32-foot pipes. Such massive pipes are really too large for even our sanctuary, and so they were squeezed into a space that is too small for them. Ultimately they became a hazard--loose, rattling, and in danger of collapsing on the rest of the organ--and the decision was made to have them removed. They were replaced a few years ago by several new 16-foot pipes. Phillip told me that to get that old sound back we would have to go out and find some aging, bent 32-foot pipes and improperly mount them in our organ loft, resulting in a nice, rattling effect when they were played.

I told him I could learn to live with the 16-foot.

Palm Sunday Music

A couple of today's musical highlights. First, a sequence including the Verse and Hymn of the Day. The verse is John 12:23: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." This leads into the hymn: "No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet" (LSB 444). For me this is the moment when Holy Week seems to begin. The soldiers march not to celebrate the Lord with a festive parade but to capture and lead him to his torture, crucifixion, and death. Listen to the organ as it communicates the ominousness of what is coming and reflects the words of the hymn, particularly as Pilate's voice in stanza three is replaced by that of the ransomed host in stanza four.

Palm Sunday Verse/Hymn of the Day from Cheryl on Vimeo.

The second video is our resident lyric soprano--we are blessed by so much talent in our midst!--accompanied by my husband on a Palm Sunday favorite.

"Les Rameaux" (The Palms) - Jean-Baptiste Faure from Cheryl on Vimeo.

Stay tuned. I will try to post several more selections as the week progresses.

Random

Sometimes my daughter and her friend like to be "random." Seeing as how I still seem to be experiencing major blogger's block, I've decided to take a page out of their playbook and post some random life stuff.

It has been a rather disjointed week for us as a family. My husband spent it at Kitsap Naval Base in Washington (state), leading the music (again) for a Doxology retreat. This one, as well as one at Shaw Air Force Base in North Carolina the week before, was especially for Lutheran chaplains. One of the highlights of the week for this naval officer's son was touring the USS John C. Stennis. Phillip is on the right in the burnt orange shirt.

He was also given an official Navy compass and coin as keepsakes. I am so glad he was able to be a part of this week.

While Phillip was in Washington, the children and I also headed west, although not quite so far! After a wonderful spring break with Trevor home, it was time for him to get back to the books. This time I took Caitlin and Evan with me and we spent an extra day visiting friends: two long 12-hour days of driving (thank goodness for cruise control, satellite radio, and mp3/DVD players!), but it was worth it. The drive there was especially challenging as I had terrible insomnia the night before (I seem to be experiencing another one of my periodic insomnia phases these days). I managed to keep myself going with extra coffee and, when things really got rough, a shot of Five Hour Energy. It is a vitamin/amino acid/caffeine drink that promises "no crash" (the fine print guarantees "no sugar crash" but says nothing about caffeine crashes). One shot has the equivalent of only one cup of coffee, but I suppose the caffeine hits your system much faster than with a cup of coffee since the drink can be downed in several swallows. The bottle says a "niacin rush" is normal due to increased blood flow near the skin. The only thing I noticed was a a little pressure in my ears, but who knows, maybe that was allergies or a cold coming on. Otherwise, I tolerated it well and had no jitters (but I have a pretty high caffeine tolerance) and no trouble getting to sleep that night. I was exhausted!

Unfortunately, I did return from the trip with a nasty cold and spent a couple of days in bed. Haven't been that sick in quite a while. I am feeling better now but wishing I could get those two lost days back! On the other hand, it was a good excuse to watch a couple of movies with Caitlin: Pirates of the Caribbean (first time ever) and Stranger Than Fiction (two completely different viewing experiences, both recommended, the second one particularly if you are a writer or avid reader).

In a couple of weeks I will be playing in the pit orchestra for a school production of Bye, Bye, Birdie. I have done a cursory read through the score but need to get to seriously practicing on it. It is technically not that hard but some of the numbers are in some tricky keys. Also need to file the personal taxes (at least the corporate ones are done--must have something to do with that March 15 deadline!). Yikes!

After several years of going without a lawn service, we have decided to enlist one this year. Our do-it-yourself approach is not eliciting the desired result. The construction project that tore up half of our back yard did not help matters. I expect this will be a "rebuilding" year where our lawn is concerned. I am also hoping to revisit a number of house projects this spring. Since making some major dining room progress a few months back, I have stalled where the house is concerned. Next up: finishing painting the kitchen. Wish me luck.

Nothing in the garden yet except for the chives that come back no matter what we do. :-) I am amazed by my friends who plant early enough that they are already harvesting by this time. We do well to get one round of growing done a year.

School has been hit-and-miss for the last few months. I guess Caitlin's studies have not suffered too much--she attends a homeschool geometry class and has regularly scheduled times for piano, voice, choir, and Tae Kwon Do. And her dad stays on top of the French instruction. She is also quite self-directed and is making her way through Apologia Physical Science. But her history/literature teacher (who shall remain nameless) has been AWOL for the past month. Meanwhile, Evan has been unschooled by default this winter. There has been some reading aloud and geography (via Highlights' Top Secret Adventures) and the occasional math or handwriting page, but it's all been rather intermittent, including the piano instruction (the piano teacher seems to have disappeared about the same time as that aforementioned literature teacher--no doubt, they are off somewhere together, probably up to no good).

Speaking of Tae Kwon Do, Caitlin passed her most recent test! Here she is breaking her board:

Test for High Brown Belt from Cheryl on Vimeo.

I finally finished The Hobbit! Yay, reading success! Now I have moved on to The Hunger Games. It is going much faster than Tolkien. Maybe I am learning to concentrate again or maybe it's just a much easier read. Or maybe both.

I mentioned in my last post my newly discovered passion for sushi. In recent weeks I have had some "cadillac" sushi and some mediocre sushi. The former is some of the best eating I have ever done in my life. Tomorrow we are going to take Caitlin and Evan here after Palm Sunday worship. I think Caitlin will love it--she has a very sophisticated palate. Evan, probably not so much (we did make sure they have a children's menu). Who knows, maybe sushi on Palm Sunday will become a new family tradition! :-)

I am feeling rather resigned about this election year. Not that I am resigned to losing. But whereas I did lots of blogging about the 2008 election, I have not felt motivated to do much this time around. Maybe that will change. But maybe not. I figure most of my readers already know what they think and probably don't need to hear my sophomoric political ramblings. And I am just also feeling rather fatalistic--as if what's going to happen is going to happen and my worrying and thinking and obsessing about it is not going to make any difference. Ora et labora.

This type of blog post doesn't need a conclusion, right?

Palm Sunday

A sequence from our Palm Sunday service that features the children's choir singing a setting of the Verse of the Day by Bruce Backer and continues with the organ introduction to the hymn, "No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet" played by the Cantor (who also composed said introduction). I love the contrast between the childen's sweet voices singing "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified" and the first stunning, unsettling note from the organ. For me, it starkly conveys the turning of our eyes from the celebration of Jesus' triumphant, palm-laden entrance into Jerusalem to the ominous and grim contemplation of His journey to the Cross. The hour has come.

Palm Sunday 2011 from Cheryl on Vimeo.

Palm Sunday

Two videos from today's Palm Sunday liturgy:

1) The processional with cross, acolytes, pastors, and children's choir waving palm branches as the congregation sings "All Glory, Laud and Honor" (Lutheran Service Book 442). I wish I had panned around the church a bit more--we have a beautiful sanctuary--but I was so enthralled with the children that I focused on them the whole time. It took a little while for them to synchronize the palm choreography they had planned, but I think most of them eventually figured it out! Listen for the children's robust singing on the refrain. They loved this!

Palm Sunday Procession, Bethany Lutheran Church, March 28, 2010 from Cheryl on Vimeo.

2) A musical sequence featuring the Verse of the Day ("The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified"--John 12:23, setting by Bruce Backer, sung beautifully by our associate cantor and her mother) and leading into the Cantor's organ introduction to the Hymn of the Day--Lutheran Service Book 444, "No Tramp of Soldiers' Marching Feet" (listen for the en chamade).

The words of the hymn are below the video. I think the Cantor's interpretation dramatically communicates the irony therein: while the hymn notes that Jesus's entry into Jerusalem lacks the martial pomp and circumstance that would normally accompany an earthly king, the martial element is there in the hymn nonetheless, ominously foreshadowing Jesus's arrest, trial, and execution only a few days later.

Palm Sunday, Bethany Lutheran Church, March 28, 2010 from Cheryl on Vimeo.

No tramp of soldiers' marching feet With banners and with drums.
No sound of music's martial beat: 'The King of glory comes!'
To greet what pomp of kingly pride No bells in triumph ring.
No city gates swing open wide: 'Behold, behold your King!

And yet He comes. The children cheer; With palms His path is strown.
With ev'ry step the cross draws near: The King of glory's throne.
Astride a colt he passes by As loud hosannas ring.
Or else the very stones would cry 'Behold, behold your King!'

What fading flow'rs His road adorn; The palms, how soon laid down!
No bloom or leaf but only thorn The King of glory's crown.
The soldiers mock, the rabble cries, The streets with tumult ring.
As Pilate to the mob replies, 'Behold, behold your King!'

Now He who bore for mortals' sake The cross and all its pains
And chose a servant's form to take, The King of glory reigns.
Hosanna to the Savior's name Till heaven's rafters ring,
And all the ransomed host proclaim, 'Behold, behold your King!

St. Matthew Passion

Yesterday the Church celebrated Palm Sunday, the occasion of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding upon a donkey amidst people shouting "hosanna" and waving palm branches. Within days those very same people would nail him to a cross.

Among liturgical churches, Palm Sunday is often also known as Passion Sunday because it begins the week of observances recounting the trial, suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus. This year for Passion Sunday, following many weeks of rehearsal dating back to last fall, the adult choir at my LCMS congregation presented Henrich Schutz's St. Matthew Passion in its entirety.

One of our choir members, who is an alto extraordinaire and unpaid choir librarian and organizer (as well as mom to this cool chick), wrote some excellent program notes to enhance the congregation's appreciation of this musical event. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I will simply reproduce some of her enlightening observations below (hope you don't mind, Mrs. G.).

"Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672) is generally regarded as the most important German composer before J. S. Bach and is considered to be one of the most notable of the 17th century. He brought new musical ideas to Germany from Italy, exerting a large influence on the German music which was to follow. These musical ideas brought new depth to the liturgical practice of 'text painting,' and listeners today still delight in how effectively Schutz brings words alive through the art of music. His expressive and lyric style extended into his organ music, making him one of the most influential composers of the famed north German organ school--a genre that was to culminate 100 years later in the work of another Lutheran cantor, J.S. Bach.

"The time in which Schutz lived was marked politically by the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). In the context of Lutheranism, the 17th century is known as the Orthodox Period of Lutheran Scholasticism. In this period, congregations maintained the fullness of historic Christian rituals in their normal worship, especially in the cities and universities. Holy Communion was celebrated on each Sunday and the traditional parts of the service were retained. Church music flourished, and this era is considered as a 'golden age' of Lutheran music and hymnody. Besides Schutz, prominent church musicians and composers of the era included Michael Praetorius, Johann Cruger, and Dietrich Buxtehude.

"Schutz's best known works are sacred pieces, including his three books of Symphoniae sacrae, the Psalms of David, and his three Passion settings--St. Luke (1664), St. John (1665), and St. Matthew (1666). Schutz's early music demonstrated the most progressive styles, but grew eventually into a simple and almost austere style, culminating with his Passion settings, written when he was an elderly man. Responsibility for this return to austerity can be partially laid to the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War: the music infrastructure was devastated, making it difficult, if not impossible, to put on the gigantic, Venetian style works of his earlier period. Additionally, Schutz may have been maintaining the tradition of no instrumental activity in Holy Week.

"The Passion is the theological term for the suffering of Jesus in the hours prior to and including His trial and crucifixion. Musically, the Passion is the setting of the Crucifixion story as recorded in the Gospels. The reading of the Passion during Holy Week dates back to the fourth century. It began to be chanted or sung by the eighth century. By the 1200's different singers were used for different characters in the narrative, and by the fifteenth century, polyphonic settings of the turba passages (crowd parts) began to appear.

"The three Passions of Schutz look back to the much earlier tradition of the dramatic Passion in which three singers and choir presented the Gospel narrative during the solemn ceremonies of Holy Week. In that tradition, the Evangelist (middle voice range), Christus (low voice range), and the Synogoga (Peter, Pilate, Caiphas, et. al.) together with the Turba recounted the story of the suffering and death of Christ. Schutz's Passions are 'oratorio passions,' having the entire text sung, with no additional arias.

"We are singing the English edition of Schutz's St. Matthew Passion by Stephen Rosolack. It is interesting to note that, except for the opening and closing choruses, the choir generally does not portray very likable people. Most choruses express anger, impatience and fear. Directions to the choir include words like 'arrogantly,' 'pompously,' 'derisively,' and 'mockingly.' Noteworthy as well is the concluding chorus. It begins majestically then takes on the regal nature of a fanfare. The chorus concludes prayerfully with the Kyrie Eleison: Lord, have mercy."

The text of the Passion, which was printed in the program for listeners to follow, can be found here. (Thank you, Hannah!) Because of the length of the Passion, the usual order of service was somewhat abbreviated and consisted of the following:

Prelude: "Herzlich tut mich verlangen" (Anton Wilhelm Leupold)

Venite and Gloria Patri

Office Hymn: "Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle"

The Passion

Offering and Voluntary

Offertory: "On My Heart Imprint Your Image"

Prayers

Benedicamus and Benediction

Recessional: "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth"

Dismissal

Postlude: "O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" (J.S. Bach)

As mentioned, our choir (named Proclaim) began its preparations for this undertaking last fall. As we were laying the foundation for this piece throughout the year, there was still much other music to be learned (including a Bach cantata during Advent!). But due to a phenomenal cantor/choir director (truly, in my biased opinion, the best in our synod) and the committed, hard work of a dedicated choir, it all came together. The day before the performance, we gathered for a final Saturday-morning run-through. Here are a few photos (you may recognize that handsome choir director, who also sang the part of the narrator, from my previous post):


(Please note the three high school students in the front row of the above photo. They represent just a fraction of the youth that sing in our adult choir. Who says young people today don't appreciate good music?)

Here is a wide shot, providing a better view of our sanctuary and altar. Seated in the middle and dressed in white is our school band director, who portrayed and sang the part of Jesus.

Now, a few photos from warm-up on Sunday morning. Seated from left to right are "Judas," "Pontius Pilate," "Pilate's Wife," and "Peter." If I may say so, the young man who sang the part of Peter has a beautiful tenor voice and carried off his part with a conviction and passion quite noteworthy in one so young. (By the way, "Peter" lives in my house.)

There was minimal staging, but when a particular soloist's character became an element in the narrative, he or she stood up, as did the choir. In addition to the four pictured above, various choir members sang the parts of Caiaphas, the false witnesses, and the maids. For me one of the most riveting moments was Peter's denial of Jesus, when the two altos playing the parts of the maids stood up at their seats and pointed their fingers at Peter, identifying him as a follower of Jesus and meeting with his denunciation: "I do not know the man."

At the point of the story when Jesus is crucified, an acolyte bearing the processional cross came to stand behind Jesus at the center of the chancel; when Jesus died, the soloist portraying him departed the chancel.

One of the best things about this performance was I was actually able to enjoy it purely as a listener! (As choir accompanist I am usually playing along on the piano, but although I accompanied the many rehearsals of this work, the performance itself was a cappella--no instruments.) One of the disappointing aspects of the day was that my daughter, who loves Palm Sunday and who was very much looking forward to this service, ended up sick at home with strep throat. :-( Luckily, I videotaped the entire performance, so once she is feeling better she will get to see the whole thing on tape. In addition, an audio recording was made with the goal of eventually making it available for online listening. I will keep you posted!