Music for January 7, 2018 + The First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Vocal Music

• The Holly and the Ivy – Richard Shephard (b. 1949)

Instrumental Music

• When Jesus Went to Jordan’s Stream – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
• O Lamb of God, Most Holy – Johann Pachelbel
• Toccata in C – Johann Pachelbel

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

• Hymn 398 - I sing the almighty power of God (FOREST GREEN)
• Hymn 381 - Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (TON-Y-BOTEL)
• Hymn 135 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn R248 - O let the Son of God enfold you (SPIRIT SONG)
• Hymn R90 - Spirit of the Living God (IVERSON)
• Hymn 616 - Hail to the Lord’s anointed (ES FLOG EIN KLEINES WALDVÖGELEIN)
• Psalm 29  Afferte Domino – Tone Vc, antiphon by James E. Barrett

This Sunday we remember the Baptism of Christ. The first Sunday after the Epiphany is always focused on Christ's baptism, and often we include an anthem setting of "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day" which we may have just sung at Christmas. But this year we are serving up another Christmas left-over, the old English Carol "The Holly and the Ivy." The carol itself is a curiosity, for what is particularly sacred about Holly and Ivy? What is inherently Christmas about the two, either, other than the hardiness of the evergreen? In any case, we are singing it on this first Sunday of the new year, relishing in the reminder that " Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ To be our sweet Saviour."  (An interesting article about this carol is found on the gardening website TheSpruce.com. You can read it here.

The organ music is much more connected to the day's readings. The main Lutheran chorale dealing with the Baptism of Christ is the old hymn CHRIST UNSER HERR ZUM JORDAN KAM, which is found in our hymnal at number 139, albeit to a new translation of the text originally by Martin Luther. Both J. S. Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude wrote beautiful organ settings of the chorale, but today I am playing one by Johann Pachelbel, the greatest organist of the South German organ school of the baroque period. (Both Bach and Buxtehude were North German.) The melody of this setting is in the pedal, played on an 8' trumpet stop.

The communion voluntary is Pachelbel's setting of the Lenten chorale O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (Lamb of God, Most Holy). Why would I schedule a Lenten piece for the first Sunday of January? Because in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" when he saw Jesus walking toward him.

This short setting of the chorale is in the form of a fughetta. Did you fughetta 'bout fughettas? I wrote about them in my Christmas post. (Fughetta: a short fugue that has the same characteristics as a fugue. Often the contrapuntal writing is not strict, and the setting less formal.) Just be glad there is no test.