Please understand the following three "types" of comments for which I'm interested in singling out hymns for special mention. "Type 1" means I wish the editors had shown better taste than to include such-and-such in the book, because it clashes with the decor (i.e. doctrine and spiritual culture) of an intentionally Lutheran church body. "Type 2" is just a point of trivia that I want to raise, like "what an interesting choice of a tune to go with this hymn," etc.; not necessarily an example of tackiness, as such. "Type 3" is the reverse of tackiness: a hymn so marvelous that its appearance in CWH shows up other hymnals that don't include it. (Also, let's assume references are "Type 3" unless otherwise specified, and "tacks" are awarded on a five-tack scale of tackiness.)
833 (Type 1) is "I run to Christ," words by Chris Anderson and music by Greg Habegger, both my contemporaries give or take a year, and while we're on the subject of contemporary, it's a nice CoWo tune – in the sense of "nice" by which I mean that I appreciate the editors for including the accompaniment in the pew book, so I can play it through. And it's truly a nice sounding piece, lacking the slightest tint of originality, like any other Christian soft-pop piano ballad and, really, the word "Christian" isn't even necessary. The text is also nice, and has real merit in its application of Christ to the individual believer's fears, grief, temptations, afflictions, etc. – though, perhaps, each issue seems to be resolved so quickly and easily that the thought of what Christ promises seems only half-formed. It's all so very nice that I feel like a big meanie for giving it 2 tacks, but I don't consider it a virtue to be bland, facile and derivative.
834 (Type 1) is "Still, my soul, be still" by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend, because apparently turning Finlandia into a sentimental religious song ("Be still, my soul") isn't tacky enough and a thing having been done before is no bar to doing it again. Oh, look! The pew book includes the accompaniment! Now that I've played through it, I can honestly say that I detect a certain influence of Sibelius's chorale theme on the rhythmic structure, at least, of the CCM mavens' original tune. Unfortunately, I've never thought that rhythmic structure was particularly favorable to actually singing the old hymn as a congregation, and the new has the same drawbacks: awkwardly long musical phrases, prolonged still more by long-held notes that could obscure the tempo, making it hard for a group to stay together rhythmically without somebody in front, waving his or her arms to the beat. For once, the piano part doesn't feature pop-music arpeggios to keep the pulse in people's ears. It could turn out like that time my parents' congregation sang "Oh, Holy Night" with no rolling accompaniment; there was no fighting the tempo (or, for that matter, the key) chosen by the hardest-of-hearing parishioner with the loudest voice. The lyrics, meanwhile, not only don't add to "Be still, my soul," but in fact take a good deal away, the better to make room for an unnecessary refrain. 3 tacks.
835 (Type 1) is "Precious Lord, take my hand," about which I've already expressed myself sufficiently. 4 tacks.
837 is "When will I walk" by Michael Schultz, who also composed the tune. The music alternates, phrase by phrase, between the type of hymn-tune writing that I respect and try to practice, and something jarringly derivative of contemporary pop; there's even a phrase that starts like a brilliant development of earlier material and ends by cribbing the most maudlin phrase from the Londonderry Air. I'd like to see him start over to continue the tune in the vein in which it began. As far as the text goes, it's a lovely expression of longing for the apostle John's vision of the New Jerusalem. I think it could be improved by a stanza that answers its own searching with direct, declarative promises from the Lord.
840 (Type 2) is "All men living are but mortal" by J.G. Albinus, set to JESU, MEINES LEBENS LEBEN ("Christ, the life of all the living"). The hymn actually has its own chorale tune, ALLE MENSCHEN MÜSSEN STERBEN (cf. ELHB, ALH, TLH and ELHy), to which I'm used to singing and playing it, and it would be a pity to let it slip away.
841 (Type 2) is "Entrust your fear and doubting" by Paul Gerhardt, a fresh translation of the hymn that TLH gives as "Commit whatever grieves thee." It's set to its own tune, BEFIEHL DU DEINE WEGE, which I think is good, even though I've always heard the hymn sung to HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN. I'm all for reclaiming text-tune marriages from our heritage of hymnody. And besides, HERZLICH TUT MICH is overplayed. See? I'm not completely stuck on the way things were in hymnal I grew up with.
842 (Type 2) is "Jesus, still lead on" by Nicholas von Zinzendorf; some may remember the translation that begins "Jesus, lead Thou on."
844-845 (Type 2) are both "What God ordains is always good" by Samuel Rodigast. The first tune is WAS GOTT TUT, a very nice, well-known chorale that I think sings well and isn't hard to learn; the second is a new piece by Josh Bauder called RODIGAST NEW. I'd like to praise the young man's effort, which resulted in a quite respectable piece of music, but I wish he had planned it to go with an original hymn or one that isn't already so firmly wedded to an existing tune. Because, to be brutally frank, RODIGAST NEW suffers in the comparison between the two.
850 (Type 1) is "It is well with my soul," which I've abused before. 2 tacks.
852 is "When aimless violence takes those we love," which I've criticized before – not so much because it's a bad hymn, as that it omits a side of its subject matter that I believe it should have covered. I'm letting it off with 1/2 tack.
853 (Type 1) is "I'm but a stranger here," which I've covered here and here. 3 tacks.
854 (Type 2) is "Church of God, elect and glorious" by James Seddon, set to Cyril V. Taylor's magnificent tune ABBOTT'S LEIGH – which, in case I didn't mention it before, would be a smashing tune choice for "Glorious things of thee are spoken" as a benign alternative to either Beethoven's HYMN OF JOY (please stop crapping on Beethoven's 9th) or Haydn's AUSTRIAN HYMN (a.k.a. "Deutschland über alles"). Just sayin'. Of course, every time you sing this tune, you do become slightly more likely to convert to high church Anglicanism, but in these dangerous times, you do what you must.
855 (Type 1) is "The Church's one foundation," which I'm going to stick with 1 tack just because of the unnecessary Spanish translation included on the facing page, for no apparent reason other than to fill space unless it be, perhaps, to glory in our church's multicultural outreach while not really doing anything really useful for Spanish-speaking Lutherans.
And lo, 857 (Type 1) is "Glorious things of you are spoken" with Haydn's AUSTRIAN HYMN (or AUSTRIA as this book names it). A theme that I genuinely like and recognize to have been written ages before the Third Reich, but that I still think should be handled with care as long as anyone still living remembers goose-stepping Nazis. 1 tack.
858 (Type 1) is "God is here! As we your people" by Fred Pratt Green, also set to ABBOTT'S LEIGH. FPG is sometimes on target and sometimes off in this hymn about worship and all its trappings and symbols. For example, stanza 2 seems to think the Holy Spirit comes "in silence as in speech," which strikes me as more of a Quaker idea than a Lutheran one, although he also draws attention to the "table, font, and pulpit." Stanza 3 describes the Lord's supper as where "as bread and wine are taken, Christ sustains us as of old" – which you could read as either a confession without-saying-it-in-so-many-words that we receive Christ's body and blood by mouth, a denial without-saying-it-in-so-many-words of exactly the same thing, or a canny phrasing designed to take no position on the matter while making everybody happy – which in no way upsets my understanding of Fred Pratt Green as a church character, based on previous encounters with his work. 2 tacks.
859 (Type 1) is "Your kingdom, O God, is my glorious treasure," about which I've already commented. 2 tacks.
860 is "In Christ there is no east or west," by not only John Oxenham but two other hymn-writers, and I've given it the treatment before. On this occasion, I'll withdraw my objection to the weird word "Christly," which this book seems to have smoothed over; however, despite the song's admirable intentions (and the tune MCKEE has grown on me), I still have reservations about whether it smacks, just a little bit, of unionism.
862 is "Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word," attributed to Martin Luther, and I'm only singling it out because a casual glance revealed that Catherine Winkworth's translation is altered from the version(s) I've previously sung, and it continues to bother me that you can't move from one hymnal to another without stumbling over pointless variants of hymns that you might actually know by heart. I'm not dinging the hymnal for this, because I'd probably then have to go back through every single hymn carried over from TLH or whatever and compare their translations, and that's not what I'm about. But there are instances where a hymn is so central, so frequently sung, so easy to learn, that you could actually memorize it without a lot of work ... but even that small effort proves to be wasted when you stumble into a church that uses a different book, or try to sing it with people from a variety of different churches. Maybe WELS doesn't think that's a problem because you're not meant to sing hymns with people who aren't in your fellowship. Whatever.
865 (Type 2) is "O Lord, take pity once you've seen," another hymn by Luther, in a fresh translation. I think TLH had it as "O Lord, look down from heaven, behold" and set it to its own chorale tune from the 1524 Erfurt Enchiridion. The editors of CWH saw fit to chuck ACH GOTT VOM HIMMEL and set the hymn to the robust 1524 chorale ES IST DAS HEIL, about which I wouldn't complain except that I think ACH GOTT VOM HIMMEL better suits the note of lament in Luther's paraphrase of Psalm 12.
866 (Type 2) is "If God had not been on our side," also by Luther. Again, CWH jettisons the hymn's own chorale tune, WÄR GOTT NICHT MIT UNS, in favor of Christian Egenolff's († 1555) WÄCTHERLIED. It's a fine enough tune, but again, I think the previous tune has a seriousness and strength better suited to the text.
867 (Type 1) is John Fawcett's "Afflicted saint, to Christ draw near" with an unnecessary refrain tacked on by Constance Dever, who also wrote the original tune AFFLICTED SAINT for it. It's a simple piece but bland as well, and the decision to stick in a first and second ending (before the refrain), with score text directing us to go directly to stanza 2 after stanza 1, seems like an unnecessary complication. For my dollar, I'd rather see Fawcett's entire hymn confined to a single page, which could be done with no refrain; and there are plenty of tunes that would serve the purpose, many of them to more memorable effect. 2 tacks.
868 (Type 1) is "By faith" by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend – a loose paraphrase of portions of Hebrews 11, with stanzas that emphasize the free gifts that God delivers through faith and a refrain that, in response, declares our intent to "walk by faith and not by sight." It all has merit, but I like the stanzas more than the refrain, which seems a little incongruous and, I feel, sends praise in the wrong direction. Also, I bet if a hymn writer of real skill, and not just a committee of contemporary worship music mavens, set out to write a paraphrase of Hebrews 11, they'd manage to make it rhyme once in a while. The tune is rhythmically tricky and derivative of all the other CWM ditties in this book, and between the stanzas and the refrain are another first and second ending with score text alternately sending you directly to the next stanza or onto the refrain; another complication that, joined to the style of the music, means it will probably be performed at the congregation. 3 tacks.
869 is "Onward, Christian soldiers," about which I've snarked here and there. I have my doubts about it, but I'm not going to stick any tacks into it, so I can save my meanness for a more deserving target.
870 (Type 1) is "O Church, arise (and put your armor on)" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. It's almost funny to see a couple of CWM mavens adopting the pose implied by the first line of this song, when there's hardly ever in the history of Christianity been a movement more destructive of believers' incorporation into the church than contemporary worship music. Another irony is that, despite the individualistic appeal of the music, it is once again the same old tune warmed over, as almost all of them are. And again, it partakes of the pop music lyricist's freedom from any expectation to exhibit poetic skill. Content-wise, it's pretty blameless, confessing some profound truths and tugging quite effectively at the emotions. In terms of objective quality, the church can do so much better, and has, quite often. 2 tacks.
875 is "What threat of harm can hinder me" by Lisa Clark, set to Kenneth Kosche's hymn-tune-like hymn-tune, VICTORY COMPLETE. This, class, is a present-day example of the type of musical composition uniquely designed to support a congregation of laypeople singing a hymn. Are you taking notes?
877 (Type 1) is "Reformation Song," first line "Your Word alone is solid ground," by Tim Chester and Bob Kauflin. The music is interesting-ish as CWM ditties go, thanks to a rhythm that alternates between triplet and duplet divisions of the beat (i.e., 8ths and dotted 8ths within the same phrase of 9/8 time). It might have been wiser to notate it as 3/4 and have triplet 8ths in the pickup to each line; that way Mrs. Schmeckpepper, of Wurlitzer home organ fame, won't lose her head and play the dotted half-notes in the refrain as three beats when they're only supposed to be two. Your eyes just glazed over, didn't they? Let's make it easy. This is gonna be sung at the congregation, not by the congregation, by a rehearsed person or persons who can negotiate the tune's rhythmic niceties, to say nothing of the (apparently obligatory) first-and-second-ending thing with the roadmapping directing you from the end of stanza 1 to stanza 2 instead of jumping to the refrain. How much ink would have been saved if, every time the hymnal did this, CWH scotched the first-and-second-ending thing and just waved you through to the refrain every time? But you see, that would be missing the point. Because, apparently, what we want now is worshp songs to be sung at us, not by us. Next hymnal, why don't we fix it so the praise team takes the sacrament for us, while they're standing up? Oh, and by the way, I don't think you should call it a "Reformation Song" if it doesn't have the aspect of lamentation inherent in the idea of the Reformation; this song doesn't. Indeed, 6 out of 12 words in its refrain are either "gloria" or "glory."
878 is "Christ alone the world's Redeemer" by Steven Mueller, set to the tune IN BABILONE ("Son of God, eternal Savior"). It's a very solus Christus hymn. And then sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide in stanzas 2, 3 and 4 respectively. I don't know about those CWM mavens, but this guy writes like a Lutheran.
879 is "Though all our life is like a scroll" by Wilfred Karsten, set to Jeffrey Blersch's tune SOLA, which regrettably does not include accompaniment in the pew book. It was the same with IN BABILONE on the facing page, but I know how it goes and where to find it in other books; not so with the Blersch tune, which I'd really like to hear with its harmony. Boo, CWH. Despite the boo, I don't dare give it a tack because it's also a sound hymn about the "solas." It's also beautifully written, with phrases like "fig leaves of self-righteousness," and "bells of doom" and "scalpels of suspicion."
881 is "Sing with all the saints in glory" by William Irons († 1883), unfortunately set to Beethoven's HYMN OF JOY on which I commented above. I rather like the tune LSB used with this hymn, MISSISSIPPI by William Roberts.
882 is "What joy to join the chorus" by Johann Walter († 1570), who put out one of the first Lutheran hymnals. The English version is, in part, a fresh translation by Michael Schultz and, in part, translated by Matthias Loy, whom I have heard described by someone whose judgment I deeply respect as the best Lutheran hymn writer in the English language. It's all set to the lovely chorale ACH GOTT VOM HIMMELREICHE ("The Bridegroom soon will call us"). It's one of those "sing them into paradise" type hymns, full of consolation for people who miss departed loved ones. Altogether a glowingly beautiful piece.
884 is "Lord, when your glory I shall see" by Paul Gerhardt, "alt." from TLH's version of the last stanza of "A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth," taken out of its original Passion hymn context to serve as a one-stanza sing-them-into-paradise hymn. And instead of keeping the original tune, EIN LÄMMLEIN GEHT, it takes on a more recent composition by Kurt Eggert († 1993) called WEDDING GLORY. It's a nice tune, but I wonder how people will learn it in one go-through.
885 (Type 1) is "There is a higher throne" by Keith and Kristyn Getty. The lyrics are more impressive than the music, pairing phrases like "their thund'rous anthem rings through em'rald courts and sapphire skies" to bland, beige music of a Christian Adult Contemporary persuasion. Maybe I'd appreciate it better if I heard the version where the full orchestra comes in. 1 tack.
888 is "Here from all nations" by Christopher Idle, set to the lovely French melody O QUANTA QUALIA ("Oh, what their joy," which is on the facing page). It's a John's Revelation-based vision of the multitude in heaven. And in contrast to, like, Hymn 885, it's a piece in which the words and music work together harmoniously to create an impressive picture that really earns your emotional response.
889 (Types 1-2) is "Jerusalem the golden" by Bernard of Cluny by way of J.M. Neale, set to (arrgh) THAXTED by Gustav Holst. Why? It was more than perfectly lovely set to EWING. But now, here's another occasion for me to get into an argument with people who'll stick at a theme from Lohengrin (an Arthurian opera) or A Midsummer Night's Dream (incidental music for a Shakespearean fairy tale) being played at church weddings, but they're OK with a tune from an orchestral suite based on pagan astrology. In other words, another pointless battle with "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like." I may be just an observer here, but I've observed a lot more interest in Holst's masterpiece these last few decades than in Wagner (too intellectual) or Mendelssohn (too bland). The argument "nobody knows this piece, so the associations won't trouble them" is hogwash. But lest I go away and pout in the outer darkness, on the next page is 890, which is the same hymn set once again to EWING. 1 tack.
891 is "In our day of thanksgiving" by William Draper († 1933), set to an 18th century chorale called WAS LEBET WAS SCHWEBET, which sounds a little like a knockoff of KREMSER ("We praise Thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator"). For once, CWH handles irregular text underlay well, using tiny ossia notes for the rhythmic variants. This particular thanksgiving hymn gives thanks for departed saints, whom "his love, at the font and the altar, had clothed ... with grace."
892 is "By all your saints still striving," a hymn started by Horatio Bolton Nelson († 1913; not the admiral) and continued by several other authors, and set to the Finnish tune KUORTANE that, in LSB's Divine Service 4, goes with a paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis. It's one of those "insert the stanza appropriate for the day" hymns, with stanzas for All Saints and enough individual saints to fill four pages.
893 is "For all the faithful women," Herman Stuempfle's similar hymn, set to the same tune as 892, but requiring only two pages to cover its topic.
894 is "We praise the Christ for martyred saints" by Laurie Gauger, set to Kenneth Kosche's original tune, MARTYRED SAINTS. Again, Kosche delivers the kind of hymn tune that sounds like a hymn tune to me – I think we'd get along pretty well, if we had to work side by side in a hymn-tune-composing sweat shop. This is the kind of thought that starts crossing my mind when I spend this amount of time looking at a book like this. Enough gushing about Kosche, it's time to gush about Gauger, whose text refers to itself as a "hymn of blood and blessing." It just gets stronger and stronger, from stanza 2's "See the vict'ry in their death," through Stanza 3's "No grave can bury saving faith," all the way through stanza 5's "Then greet us in the dying light, your wounded hands extending." When a body of believers is grown up enough to talk about martyrdom, here's your song.
895 is Martin Franzmann's "Preach you the Word," which CWH sets to the lovely chorale ACH BLEIB BEI UNS ("Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide"). I just wish they had stuck with the LW-LSB tune, O HEILAND, REISS DIE HIMMEL AUF, which is much more extroverted and confident sounding than the gentle, hesitant ACH BLEIB.
899 is "Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior-King" by Johnold Strey, set to Henry Oliver's († 1885) tune FEDERAL STREET ("Jesus! and shall it ever be"). It's a simple but profound hymn about Word and Sacrament ministry.
900 (Type 1) is "Lift high the cross," a stupendously overrated ditty by George Kitchin, Michael Newbolt and Sydney Nicholson of which I have previously delivered myself. CWH cuts out some of the stanzas (including the one with the magnetic cross in it) but doesn't add anything new to alter my impression that is authors didn't really know the theology of the cross. 3 tacks.
OK, that's a nice round number for me to quit at, in the midst of the "Missions" section and all. The last little bit, 58 more hymns, won't take much of a push to review. So what's the butcher's bill for today? 36-1/2 new tacks, bringing the total for the first 600 hymns to 210 tacks, or 35 percent. Yowch! I don't think the patient is going to make it, doc.
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