So the lively Pr. Cwirla to the youth in San Antonio and Grand Rapids. It occurred to me as I thought back to the great singing that we should come up with t-shirts along the lines:
Real Lutherans Stand to Sing
"Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice!"
...with no stanzas cut.
7 comments:
Could some one bring me up to date on the "standing" thing. I recently found out from older members of my congregation that we are always to stand up for "A Mighty Fortress", and now here I find we stand also for "Dear Christians one and all rejoice"
What are the traditional "standing hymns" and where did the tradition/s come from.
Thanks!
Ryan,
No tradition there that I know about at all - it's just that we stood to sing it at Higher Things. If you ask me, NO HYMN or part of the liturgy should EVER be sung sitting unless you are physically disabled. Here we still sit for Hymn of the Day (unless A Mighty Fortress) and for distribution hymns. But how can anyone get their breath and produce a decent sound on their keester???
Judas H, aren't there about ten stanzas to the whole thing?
Now that's catechesis and worship all rolled into one.
The only downside is, Lutheran organists of a certain ability often take to freer accompanyments during middle stanzas, which to a challenged basso grosso can be a trial as I'll be double dag dog dipped if I'm singing tenor or just the melody like a damn Catholic who can't part sing either to save his soul or because his soul is saved. But they usually pull out all the stops, literally, for the last one and there's my guide to blow the dust off the rafters and put my tonsils on the wall by the crucifix if the committee for seeker sensitivity hasn't gotten rid of it.
LOL.
I feel Past Elder's pain. I do want to sing that tenor line, and you do get those prodigious organists from time to time who want to take ATB away from everyone just to make it interesting.
Maybe you should have two organists, one for SATB and one for those special instances, like Cantor Hoffman who likes to go crazy on A Mighty Fortress and make it sound cacophonous at "this world's prince may still, scowl fierce as he will."
And I'm with Pr. Weedon. Sitting for hymns sucks, though to do it right pews would have music stands!
I don't think there is one set pattern when it comes to sitting or standing during hymns. In my life time I have had ministers who have the congregation stand for each hymn, stand for opening hymn and closing hymn, stand for opening hymn only, stand for closing hymn only - allows for a faster get away :), and stay seated for all hymns. So go figure.
As for standing for "A Mighty Fortress" that is just TRADITION.
Enough of that four part funeral music Give me Chris Loemker the mad HT organist, any day of the week, double of Sundays. If we had more Loemkers around we wouldn't have praise bands.
Impromptu Hymneoke on Thursday night was a vocal chord blowout. The music in heaven better be at least this good!
Hmm. Came the Revolution, er, Vatican II, we were told that organs essentially have nothing to do with church, but were added from the secular culture of Rome to make the services more attractive, so in using guitars etc we are actually right in step with the tradition rather than just fixing on one point of it and insisting it remain so forever.
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