Absolutely beautiful setting sung at the Lutheran Church in Riga, Latvia (I'm not sure it is the Cathedral; doesn't look exactly right for that, but I may be wrong. Anyone know?). Wonderful, right up to the applause...
No, it's not in the cathedral. If you watch to the end you can see it is in a parish church. I believe this is/was a performance by the Cantorum. You can see other YouTube clips from them in addition to this one.
These performances are beautiful. I especially like the harmonization here.
However, this music is definitely liturgical, and it always makes me cringe when sacred/liturgical pieces aren't prayerfully sung in the liturgy but are performed for an audience for their enjoyment and applause. Do you think there really is a place for Latin-language music like this in a Lutheran liturgical celebration?
I love singing sacred music, and I love the breadth and depth of the Western canon of sacred music, but I struggle with whether most of it is permissible according to the standards of us present-day confessional Lutherans (the language being an important issue, but not the only one: the tension between having the beauty of a choral setting of the Ordinary vs. the congregational participation of the hymnal settings). It seems that Bach was able to do much of this, but is it reasonable to hope for the same today?
Oh, Lutherans sang Latin for years. Mixed language services were quite the norm. I think it does a parish good to hear the old Latin songs and to appreciate that this is part of OUR liturgical heritage.
Guntars Prānis is the founder and artistic director of the group, "Schola Cantorum Riga", which gives concerts in Latvia and throughout Europe. Prānis is also the Music Director of Riga Dom Cathedral and Assistant professor of Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music.
However, the interior is not from Riga Dom Cathedral, in which I attended an organ concert a number of years ago. It is also not St. Peter's, where I attended another concert (a way of raising money for repairs from WWII damage). And it is not St. John's in Riga.
I know it was done in the past for a long time. I just wonder whether it can be done today, or if not, what should be done in its place. Should we sing Bach's cantatas and his Passion settings in church? Maybe, maybe not. But if we don't sing Bach's St. Matthew Passion, I think we ought to be singing the same thing in an equal or better setting (as if one existed, heh). Too many of the new hymns that went into LSB seem to have reasonably good texts but tunes that are either mired in the Haugen/Haas sound or else are rather effeminate.
Regardless, hearing sacred music in a concert is kind of like seeing a lion in a zoo.
Thanks, Dr. Strickert. I envy you having been there!
Phil, couldn't agree more. It is far, far more natural to receive the beautiful music in its true setting. I love it when a Bach Vespers or some such is offered at the seminary. It's not "performance" - it is worship!
I believe it's a confirmation/first communion liturgy, and it appears to be at St. John's, mentioned above.
I can't understand Latvian, but the Eucharistic liturgy begins around 62:00. The hymns are quite haunting, and you'll note that everyone kneels at the Sanctus (according to what I've heard from relatives who have visited, this is a fairly common custom there). It's also interesting to see that while they use the black gowns, more of the service is chanted there than what you'd expect in the typical American Lutheran churche that vests in black only.
Thanks, Phil. That was beautiful. I'd dearly love to know the words to the prayer that the pastor prayed after the Sanctus and before the Verba. I though at first that was the Our Father, but figured that must be what the people all prayed together after the Verba?
The internet is an amazing thing. It's the Swedish Prayer - the one we used to have in LW prior to the Verba.
Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on us children of men and given Your only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life. We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Send your Spirit, so that he light a living faith in us through this bread and wine, which the land grows and man's working provides, the gifts which we are not worthy to offer. We thank you that through them we are given the flesh and blood of Christ.
Or at least something like that - going from an internet translation!
Yeah, that's what it looks like. I've been poking around with Google Translate. Not susprisingly, the part after the Verba appears to be something like:
P: The mystery of faith. C: We proclaim your death, O Lord, and confess your resurrection, until you come.
P: Heavenly Father, we celebrate this feast to commemorate your [Son's] sufferings and death, resurrection, and [ascension]. From the bread of life and the blessings of the cup you give us to eat and drink until the day when he will [come in?] glory. We [pray that] [???]. Put us to the Holy Spirit [???] complete and one connected to the flesh of live sacrifice of Christ. Through him, with him and his for you, God, Almighty Father Holy Ghost [together] is all honor and glory [forever and ever]. Congregation: Amen.
The church in which the "Schola Cantorum Riga" had their 2008 "Vigilia" concert shown on the YouTube videos is Tukuma luterāņu baznīca (Tukums Lutheran Church) in Tukums, Latvia, about 40 miles west of Riga. Tukums has a population of about 55,000.
Click on "Galerija" along the left side for more pictures, including interior shots, like this one or this one.
Or you can copy the link onto Google and do a search, then click on "Translate this page" to get a rough English translation of the text. It seems that Google translates "draudzes priekšniece" as "Church boss." ;-)
13 comments:
No, it's not in the cathedral. If you watch to the end you can see it is in a parish church. I believe this is/was a performance by the Cantorum. You can see other YouTube clips from them in addition to this one.
The applause at the end was a tad jarring.
These performances are beautiful. I especially like the harmonization here.
However, this music is definitely liturgical, and it always makes me cringe when sacred/liturgical pieces aren't prayerfully sung in the liturgy but are performed for an audience for their enjoyment and applause. Do you think there really is a place for Latin-language music like this in a Lutheran liturgical celebration?
I love singing sacred music, and I love the breadth and depth of the Western canon of sacred music, but I struggle with whether most of it is permissible according to the standards of us present-day confessional Lutherans (the language being an important issue, but not the only one: the tension between having the beauty of a choral setting of the Ordinary vs. the congregational participation of the hymnal settings). It seems that Bach was able to do much of this, but is it reasonable to hope for the same today?
Oh, Lutherans sang Latin for years. Mixed language services were quite the norm. I think it does a parish good to hear the old Latin songs and to appreciate that this is part of OUR liturgical heritage.
Guntars Prānis is the founder and artistic director of the group, "Schola Cantorum Riga", which gives concerts in Latvia and throughout Europe. Prānis is also the Music Director of Riga Dom Cathedral and Assistant professor of Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music.
However, the interior is not from Riga Dom Cathedral, in which I attended an organ concert a number of years ago. It is also not St. Peter's, where I attended another concert (a way of raising money for repairs from WWII damage). And it is not St. John's in Riga.
If the concert video is from the same concert as shown in the video of Schola Cantorum Riga (Latvia) - Cantabo Domino (processionale), it is a smaller church in Latvia (This video version clearly shows the Latvian flag next to the altar).
I know it was done in the past for a long time. I just wonder whether it can be done today, or if not, what should be done in its place. Should we sing Bach's cantatas and his Passion settings in church? Maybe, maybe not. But if we don't sing Bach's St. Matthew Passion, I think we ought to be singing the same thing in an equal or better setting (as if one existed, heh). Too many of the new hymns that went into LSB seem to have reasonably good texts but tunes that are either mired in the Haugen/Haas sound or else are rather effeminate.
Regardless, hearing sacred music in a concert is kind of like seeing a lion in a zoo.
Thanks, Dr. Strickert. I envy you having been there!
Phil, couldn't agree more. It is far, far more natural to receive the beautiful music in its true setting. I love it when a Bach Vespers or some such is offered at the seminary. It's not "performance" - it is worship!
Since you are already posting Latvian videos, here's one I ran into a while ago:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3796774161366874924&ei=cgMkS4eoKcq5lQfAnuGCAQ&q=dievkalpojums#
I believe it's a confirmation/first communion liturgy, and it appears to be at St. John's, mentioned above.
I can't understand Latvian, but the Eucharistic liturgy begins around 62:00. The hymns are quite haunting, and you'll note that everyone kneels at the Sanctus (according to what I've heard from relatives who have visited, this is a fairly common custom there). It's also interesting to see that while they use the black gowns, more of the service is chanted there than what you'd expect in the typical American Lutheran churche that vests in black only.
Thanks, Phil. That was beautiful. I'd dearly love to know the words to the prayer that the pastor prayed after the Sanctus and before the Verba. I though at first that was the Our Father, but figured that must be what the people all prayed together after the Verba?
The LELB posts its liturgical texts here:
http://www.lelb.lv/lv/?ct=dievkalpojumu_teksti
The link with the liturgy is
"Rokasgrāmata dievkalpošanai LELB un LELBāL draudzēs (pdf 1,05Mb)"
which apparently contains the current rite as well as a facsimile of something from 1928 (their agenda or their rubrics, perhaps?).
Now all you need to do is find someone who speaks Latvian...
The internet is an amazing thing. It's the Swedish Prayer - the one we used to have in LW prior to the Verba.
Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on us children of men and given Your only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life. We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Send your Spirit, so that he light a living faith in us through this bread and wine, which the land grows and man's working provides, the gifts which we are not worthy to offer. We thank you that through them we are given the flesh and blood of Christ.
Or at least something like that - going from an internet translation!
Yeah, that's what it looks like. I've been poking around with Google Translate. Not susprisingly, the part after the Verba appears to be something like:
P: The mystery of faith.
C: We proclaim your death, O Lord, and confess your resurrection, until you come.
P: Heavenly Father, we celebrate this feast to commemorate your [Son's] sufferings and death, resurrection, and [ascension]. From the bread of life and the blessings of the cup you give us to eat and drink until the day when he will [come in?] glory. We [pray that] [???]. Put us to the Holy Spirit [???] complete and one connected to the flesh of live sacrifice of Christ. Through him, with him and his for you, God, Almighty Father Holy Ghost [together] is all honor and glory [forever and ever].
Congregation: Amen.
The church in which the "Schola Cantorum Riga" had their 2008 "Vigilia" concert shown on the YouTube videos is Tukuma luterāņu baznīca (Tukums Lutheran Church) in Tukums, Latvia, about 40 miles west of Riga. Tukums has a population of about 55,000.
The homepage link for Tukuma luterāņu baznīca is: http://www.tukumabaznica.lv/
Click on "Galerija" along the left side for more pictures, including interior shots, like this one or this one.
Or you can copy the link onto Google and do a search, then click on "Translate this page" to get a rough English translation of the text. It seems that Google translates "draudzes priekšniece" as "Church boss." ;-)
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