get excited planning the music for Advent/Christmas? Each time I review it, I'm wanting to sing it all. I LOVE the hymns for these two seasons of the Church Year.
Prepare the royal highway;
The King of kings is near!
Let ev'ry hill and valley
A level road appear!
Then greet the King of glory
Foretold in sacred story:
Hosanna to the Lord!
For He fulfills God's Word! LSB 343:1
I have been doing the same thing this past week. I couldn't help but sing each hymn as I went along!
ReplyDeleteI really wish I could find more albums recorded in English with only Advent songs on them.
ReplyDeleteThey're out there. E.g.:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jmmccluney1
Between Easter, Advent/Christmas, and Reformation....no one has better music than Lutherans
ReplyDeleteMacht hoch die Tuer!
ReplyDeleteOne just looks for doors to open and raise after singng this....
Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
ReplyDeleteShould doom to death a universe,
Hast found the healing, full of grace,
To cure and save our ruined race.
Love the Advent Season and its hymnody. Personally find it to be my favorite season. Its hymns are a 1B to Easter's 1A.
ReplyDeleteAs for recordings in English with only Advent songs, I'd recommend the following:
(a) "From Darkness to Light: An Advent Procession" (Wellington Cathedral Choir)
(b) "From Darkness to Light: The Salisbury Advent Service"
(c) "An Advent Procession based on The Great 'O' Antiphons" (St. Mark's Cathedral Choir, Seattle)
(d) "Advent in Winchester"
The first three are great Advent Services of the Anglican/Episcopalian tradition. With the right parish, they could be replicated among us Lutherans.
And though it might rile many and be tantamount to institutional heresy, I do prefer the English translation "Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth" to "Savior of the Nations, Come." (We'll see if our host wants to touch that!)
LTZ
Pastors have to do it )planning etc) but as a butt in the pew, I don't want to see or hear a thing about Christmas until we've at least had Thanksgiving.
ReplyDelete