Music for October 29, 2017 + The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

Cantique de Jean Racine – Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
The Lord Bless You and Keep You – Giles Brightwell (b. 1970)

Instrumental Music

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, BWV 720 – Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694)
Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness, BWV 654 – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 547 - J. S. Bach

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.)

Hymn 688 - A mighty fortress is our God (EIN FESTE BURG IS UNSER GOTT)
Hymn 609 - Where cross the crowded ways of life (GARDINER)
Hymn 707 - Take my life and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE)
Hymn R145 - Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart (LORD I WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN)
Hymn 610 - Lord, whose love through humble service (BLAENHAFREN)
Psalm 1 - Tone VIIIa

Luther nailing his 95 Theses on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg

500 years ago, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther published 95 criticisms of the Catholic Church practice of selling Indulgences. Although he intended to reform Catholicism, not break it apart, he accomplished both. Reformed congregations (such as Lutherans and Presbyterians) celebrate the tradition that grounds their faith on Reformation Sunday, which is always the last Sunday in October. Anglicans are not technically reformed, but we will honor this historic occasion by sing the most famous hymn of the Reformation, as well as hearing organ music by the most famous of all Lutheran musicians, J. S. Bach.

Martin Luther's hymn, Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) is often referred to as “the battle hymn” of the Reformation. Many stories have been relayed about its use. Louis Benson writes,

It was, as Heine said, the Marseillaise of the Reformation…It was sung in the streets…It was sung by poor Protestant emigres on their way to exile, and by martyrs at their death…Gustavus Adolphus ordered it sung by his army before the battle of Leipzig in 1631…Again it was the battle hymn of his army at Lutzen in 1632…It has had a part in countless celebrations commemorating the men and events of the Reformation; and its first line is engraved on the base of Luther’s monument at Wittenberg…An imperishable hymn! Not polished and artistically wrought but rugged and strong like Luther himself, whose very words seem like deeds (1). 

As you can see, this is a hymn close to the hearts of Protestants and Lutherans, a source of assurance in times of duress and persecution. The text is not restricted, however, to times of actual physical battles. In any time of need, when we do battle with the forces of evil, God is our fortress to hide us and protect us, and the Word that endures forever will fight for us. (2)

The opening voluntary, Ein feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress) can best be described as a chorale fantasia. This type of piece differs from other chorale preludes by its free treatment of the tune, often obscuring it with ornaments and improvisatory gestures.

For many years, it was believed that Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott was one of the miscellaneous chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach that was transmitted by Bach's students. It is known in four extant manuscripts, and at one time was known in two others; thankfully the latter of these lost items was microfilmed before the original disappeared. The main manuscript version known to Bach's editors in the nineteenth century was compiled before 1740 by Johann Gottfried Walther, Johann Ludwig Krebs and the latter's two brothers. There it appears as an unattributed work among a number of pieces known to have been written by Johann Sebastian Bach, and so it was included without comment in the 1893 collection of Bach's collected organ works as BWV 720.

The piece also appears in a manuscript collection compiled by F. A. Grasnick around 1800, seemingly with no attribution. But recent examination of that manuscript revealed that in this case the author's name was placed at the end - Johann Michael Bach, Johann Sebastian's uncle, who died in 1694. Checking against the little known microfilm of the lost source, which was copied by Johann Gottfried Walther, it was confirmed that Walther did indeed indicate that Johann Michael Bach was the composer of this little setting of Ein feste Burg. (3)

This being the case, I find it strange that the most famous hymn of the Reformation was never set for organ by the most famous Lutheran organist! (He did use the tune in a cantata and in two four-part settings.)

However, according to one of Bach's biographers, this setting of the hymn was played by Bach at the 1709 Reformation Festival at the St. Blasiuskirche in Muhlhausen. The organ had been rebuilt under Bach's (who was now stationed in Weimar) direction, and he was the first to demonstrate the "new" instrument.

The registration calls for the "Oberwerk Fagtto 16' " (bassoon) in the left hand and the "Sesquialtera" of the Brustpositif in the right. It also directs parts to be played on the Ruckpositif. Bach called the new Fagotto a "beautiful and wonderful reed," and described the Sesquialtera as being "sharp and lovely." It may have been Johann Walter who noted the registrations that Bach used. (4)

The communion voluntary is Bach's lovely ornamented setting of the great communion hymn, Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele. The ornamented chorale form was invented and popularized in Northern Germany by Heinrich Scheidemann, with the chorale melody taken by one voice in an elaborate and highly embellished form. Here we find the melismatic, ornamented chorale in the soprano, alternating with the dance-like ritornellos of the two intertwining lower parts above the bass line in the pedal; "the unearthly counterpoint between the four different parts creates an air of great serenity, a 'rapturous meditation' on the rite of communion. The adornment in the title is illustrated by the French-style ornamentation of the upper parts." (5)

The closing voluntary is the prelude from the Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 547. The 9/8 meter of the prelude is unusual, as are the repeated notes in the midst of the rising scale that begins the theme, allowing Bach to cover the range of an octave while playing ten notes. Its tame, pastoral atmosphere continues throughout, supported by masterful polyphony. The quasi-ostinato pedal part gives a constant reminder of the 9/8 meter and derives from the soprano voice in the second measure of the prelude.

Our offertory is the beautiful Cantique de Jean Racine by the French Composer Gabriel Fauré. We last sang this anthem in 2015, and you can read what I wrote about it here.

The communion anthem comes from the music of the 2017 Texas Diocesan Choir Festival, held last week at St. James Episcopal, Houston. The director, Giles Brightwell, wrote this short choral blessing for his mother, and was sung at the end of Evensong. In spite of its straight-forward setting, it is deceptively challenging, with its shifting tonal centers and four to six part harmonies sung unaccompanied (we hope.) Giles is the director of music and organist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church and School in Houston.

1. Benson, Louis, Studies in Familiar Hymns, First Series, pp. 159-60, 1903.

2. "A Mighty Fortress," [Web article] retrieved Oct 26, 2017 from Hymnary.org
3. Staff, Rovi, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, chorale prelude for organ (by Johann Michael Bach, not JSB)" [Web entry] retrieved Oct. 24, 2017 from https://www.allmusic.com

4. "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 730 [web blog post] retrieved Oct 24, 2017 from http://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/6518
5. Scott, John, Progam notes to Eighteen Leipzig Chorales, June 14, 2014 retrieved from https://www.saintthomaschurch.org/uploads/calendar/20140614_Leipzig_Chorales_Program.pdf