From Co-DirectorRichard C. Resch

THE GOOD SHEPHERDI N S T I T U T E

Pastoral Theology andSacred Music for the Church

September 2010Volume 5 - Number 2

VOICEH I S

Kantor Goetz has stipulated that the annual interest be used to sponsor lectures, recitals,hymn festivals, and even the purchase of large choral works. Soon you will see lecturesand recitals sponsored by The Rev. Kantor Roger M. Goetz Endowment at musicalevents throughout the year.

The Good Shepherd Institute could not be happier about this significant, wonderfullygenerous gift that supports the heart of what the Institute is about. Kantor Hildebrandand I are especially heartened by this extraordinary support for the ongoing work of theOffice of Kantor to which we have been called.

There will be a full article concerning this donation and the endowment, together withan interview with Kantor Goetz, in an upcoming issue of For the Life of the World.That is when it will be announced to all, but I wanted those of you who look to TheGood Shepherd Institute for support and assistance in your pastoral and musical workto have a preview here.

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We have four news items to report from The GoodShepherd Institute in this issue. First is the trulywonderful announcement that the Rev. Kantor Roger

M. Goetz of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas hasestablished an endowment that will eventually fund a KantorChair at Concordia Theological Seminary. Kantor Goetz hasgiven a substantial amount to start this fund and will continue tocontribute every year until the amount for the chair has beenreached. Anyone wishing to contribute toward the Kantor Chair iswelcome to do so at any time. You may send contributions to The Rev.Kantor Roger M. Goetz Endowment at Concordia Theological Seminary,Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Goetz

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Second, it is good to report a great summer of training organists on our campus. A total offorty-four organists from all over the country attended three different levels of church musicand theology instruction. We were honored to host Dr. Donald Rotermund for our newimprovisation week, and he was, of course, extremely well received.

An Organist Workshop Grant has been established by theRev. Walter and Ruth Otten. Ten of this year’s studentsreceived partial or full tuition grants from this fund. Suchfinancial aid made all the difference for some churchesand their organists, who simply could not afford the wholepackage. We are happy to report that the grants will beavailable again next summer. Contact Yohko Masaki,masakiy@ctsfw.edu, for more information. Contributionsto this fund are also welcome.

Third, we wanted to let you know that the journal for our2001 conference, “Christ’s Gifts in Liturgy: The Theologyand Music of the Divine Service,” has sold out, and wehave decided to make this resource available on The GoodShepherd Institute website free of charge.

Fourth, everyone attending our November conference, Sing with All the Saints in Glory: TheTheology of the Christian’s Death in Rite and Song, will receive at registration a copy of anew resource that has been produced by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, togetherwith The Good Shepherd Institute. This resource will be a laminated trifold filled withresources (readings, hymns, collects) for families to read, pray, and sing together in the lastdays and hours with their loved one. It is meant to be given by a pastor to a family togetherwith a copy of the CD, Hymns of Comfort and Peace: Hearing God’s Promises in Times ofNeed. This hot-off-the-press resource is just one of many that will be made available fromour presenters and our bookstore in November as we gather around this timeless topic, onethat touches all of us at some point. We look forward to seeing you in November.

Hughes Oliphant Old, The Readingand Preaching of the Scriptures inthe Worship of the Church, Volume 7:Our Own Time(Eerdmans, 2010), 714 pp. ISBN 978-0-8028-1771-6.[$45.00]

With this volume, Hughes Oliphant Old, the notedPresbyterian scholar of theology and worship,brings his monumental history of preaching to aconclusion. Dealing with still living or recentlydeceased preachers, Old chronicles the work ofmainline denominational preachers such as WilliamSloane Coffin Jr., Fred Craddock, and WilliamWillimon. Notably absent are Eugene Peterson,Thomas Long, and David Buttrick. Chapters areincluded on African and Asian preaching. BillyGraham is appropriately allotted a chapter of hisown. The “New Breed” Presbyterian preachers(Calvin Thielman, Earl Palmer, John Huffman, etc.)get a chapter. Lacking is a treatment of significantcontemporary American Lutheran preachers such asRichard Lischer, Gerhard Forde, HermanStuempfle, or Oswald Hoffmann. Chapters aredevoted to the preachers of liberation theology,American Catholic preaching since Vatican II,Black preaching, charismatic preaching,megachurch preaching, and contemporary Britishpreaching. Absent is a consideration of continentalEuropean preaching such as that of Ernst Käsemannor the homiletics of Rudolf Bohren. While hishistory is selective, Old has listened to, read, andthoughtfully and sympathetically commented on agreat array of sermons and preachers._______________________________________

Urbanus Rhegius, Preaching theReformation: The HomileticalHandbook of Urbanus Rhegius,trans. and ed. Scott Hendrix (Marquette UniversityPress, 2003), 120 pp. ISBN 0-87462-707-9.[$15.00]

Urbanus Rhegius (1489–1541) was a Lutheranpastor first in Augsburg and then superintendent inLüneburg, where he wrote this handbook onpreaching for young pastors so that they might“learn to speak carefully” about various articles ofthe Christian faith. Rhegius is a model for coherentand precise evangelical speaking._______________________________________

Johann Spangenberg, ABookletof Comfort for the Sick, & On theChristian Knight,trans. and ed. Robert Kolb (Marquette UniversityPress, 2007), 149 pp. ISBN 978-0-87462-710-7.[$20.00]

Published in the late 1540s by Luther’s friend andcoworker Johann Spangenberg, this populardevotional piece portrays the believer as a“Christian knight” struggling against the devil,human desires, and the world. In this work theconsolation of the forgiveness of sins in Christ isfront and center. Here we see how the Wittenbergtheology was lived out in life and death. This is anexcellent example of Reformation pastoral care forthe sick and the dying._______________________________________

PASTORAL RESOURCESby JOHN PLESS

Recommended

HIS Voice • September 2010 3

William W. Schumacher,Who Do ISay That You Are? Anthropology andthe Theology of Theosis in the FinnishSchool of Tuomo Mannermaa(Wipf and Stock, 2010), 203 pp.ISBN 978-1-60608-320-8.[$24.00]

William W. Schumacher examines key writingsproduced by Tuomo Mannermaa and his colleaguesat the University of Helsinki, who propose thattraditional interpretations of Luther’s teaching ofjustification as a forensic declaration are inadequate.Instead the Finns argue that Luther taught that theChrist who is present in faith dwells in the believerjoining him/her to the essential righteousness ofGod. Thus, Luther is said to express anunderstanding of salvation that parallels EasternOrthodoxy’s concept of theosis. Schumacherprovides a careful description of the basic tenets ofthe approach along with insightful and balancedcritique. The major aim of Schumacher’s work is toexamine and assess the place of anthropology inthis school of Luther research. Given thefoundational character of anthropology to pastoralcare, Who Do I Say That You Are? will be helpfulfor pastors in thinking about how thebiblical/Lutheran teaching of the doctrine of manshapes our approach to preaching, liturgy, and thecare of souls._______________________________________

Oliver K. Olson, “Adiaphora,Mandata, Damnabilia,”Lutheran Forum 44 (Spring 2010): 22–25.

Tracing the history of the slippery term adiaphora,Oliver K. Olson demonstrates that a discussion ofadiaphora cannot be divorced from mandata anddamnabilia, that which the Lord mandates orinstitutes and that which is condemned. Mandated isreceiving the Lord’s forgiveness in the way that Hegives it. Condemned is turning His testament into awork that we do. Olson points to ways in whichcontemporary Lutherans have neglected thisdistinction._______________________________________

Thomas M. Winger, “TheMandated Element of Wine,”Lutheran Theological Review 21 (2008–2009):9–14.

This is an article I will be using in my PastoralTheology course, as the practice of substitutinggrape juice for dominically mandated wine hasbecome all too common among some Lutherans.Written at the request of the East District PastoralConference of the Lutheran Church-Canada, thisshort essay provides an exegetical confessionalrationale for not altering the institution of Christ andthus losing the certainty of His promise._______________________________________

John T. Pless, “Can We ParticipateLiturgically in the Atonement?”Logia 19 (Eastertide 2010): 39–47.

Presented in June 2008 at a conference on thetheology of Christian worship at Luther Seminary,Saint Paul, this article assesses the language ofparticipation and representation in contemporaryliturgical and ecumenical theology, concluding thatthis conceptuality does not do justice to Luther’srich exposition of the Lord’s Supper as testament._______________________________________

PASTORAL RESOURCES continued

Recommended

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Hermann Sasse, “Mary and the Pope:Remarks on the Dogma of theAssumption of Mary,”trans. Matthew Harrison, Logia 19 (Holy Trinity,2010): 5–13.

Originally written as one of his “letters to Lutheranpastors” in February 1951, Hermann Sasserehearses the dogmatic and liturgical history that ledto the papal decision of 1 November 1950 to assertthe bodily assumption of Mary. Along the way,Sasse has much to say about a proper evangelicalunderstanding of Mary._______________________________________

Reinhard Slenczka, Ziel undEnde: Einweisung in die christlicheEndzeiterwartung: “Der Herr ist nahe!”(Freimund-Verlag, 2008), 520 pp. ISBN 978-3-86540-054-3.[EUR 39,80]

This is a carefully executed presentation ofeschatology drawing together exegeticalinvestigations, historical sensitivity, systematicpresentation, and profound insights for pastoral careof the dying and grieving. Receiving Holy Scriptureas the Word of the Triune God, Reinhard Slenczkapresents the biblical teaching of the last things—death, judgment, heaven and hell, demonstrating awide-ranging familiarity with other theologiansancient and modern. Philosophical theories of time,history, death, and eternity are engaged. Substantialspace is given to sermons from Luther on death.Liturgical and doxological treatments ofeschatology are included. A chapter is devoted tothe examination and critique of significantcontemporary theologians who have contributed tothe discussion of eschatology: Ulrich Asendorf,Peter Brunner, Paul Althaus, Jürgen Moltmann,Hans Schwarz, and Gerhard Sauter, to name a few.Alternative approaches to eschatology such asoccultism, reincarnation, and spiritualism aretreated. Slenczka demonstrates how the Christianhope of the resurrection of the body gives form andcontent to the care of souls. This is a systematictheology that doubles as a handbook for pastoralcare. It should be translated into English._______________________________________

Austra Reinis, Reforming the Artof Dying: The ars moriendi in theGerman Reformation (1519–1528)(Ashgate, 2007), 290 pp. ISBN 978-0-7546-5439-1.[$114.95]

If modern North American Christianity has itsbooks with titles like The Purpose Driven Life, thenmedieval Christians had a genre of literature thatmight be entitled “the purpose driven death.” AustraReinis, a professor of religious studies at MissouriState University, shows how the Reformation alsoreformed the image of death and practices ofpreparation for dying. The ars moriendi literature isreplaced by preaching and handbooks of Christianconsolation. The uncertainty of salvation in the faceof death is replaced with a confident Christian hopegrounded in the Gospel._______________________________________

Martin Lohrman, “Bugenhagen’sPastoral Care of Martin Luther,”Lutheran Quarterly 24 (Summer 2010): 125–36.

Johannes Bugenhagen, also called Dr. Pomeranus,was Luther’s pastor at Wittenberg. He used theevangelical theology he had learned from Luther toadmonish and comfort the reformer himself.Bugenhagen was with Luther when he died in 1546,but he was also at his bedside in the summer of1527 when Luther experienced severe illnesscoupled with spiritual affliction. It appeared thatLuther would soon die, leaving behind a pregnantwife and an unfinished Reformation. This articlerehearses the pastoral care given by PastorBugenhagen, drawing on his letters from thesummer and autumn of 1527, which also recountLuther’s personal confession and prayers._______________________________________

PASTORAL RESOURCES continued

Recommended

HIS Voice • September 2010 5

PASTORAL RESOURCES continued

Recommended

HIS Voice • September 2010 6

Oswald Bayer, “Theology asAskesis: On Struggling Faith,”in Gudstankens aktualitet,ed. Else Marie Wiberg Pedersen, Bo Kristian Holm,and Anders-Christian Jacobsen (Forlaget ANIS,2010), 35–44.

Askesis means “exercise.” Oswald Bayer uses theword to denote the exercise of faith that happens intheology taken as “a first order of language.”Askesis then has to do with what Luther identifiedas “the right way to study theology,” based onPsalm 119 as oratio, meditatio, tentatio. In contrastto Friedrich Schleiermacher, who viewed prayer aspure submission and resignation, Luther sees theprayer of the true theologian as the voice of faiththat is evoked when the work of God is suffered inone’s life. Along the way, Bayer points out howsome contemporary forms of Protestant spirituality(i.e., Taizé) have embraced the basic patternabandoned by Luther. For Bayer, the radicalpassivity of faith does not stand in contradiction tothe fact that faith is to be exercised, trained, andpracticed. Unlike Schleiermacher, who conceivedof the Bible as “a mausoleum of religion,” Bayersees the Holy Scripture as the “breathing space” ofthe Holy Spirit. “The exegesis of the HolyScripture cannot want to contradict theirinspiration” (49). Hence Bayer is critical ofattempts to pit the living Word of preaching againstthe written Word of Holy Scripture. This chapter isan excellent supplement to Bayer’s Theology theLutheran Way, a book read by our first-yearseminarians. I will use this chapter as a substantialintroduction to the pastor’s devotional life._______________________________________

Ashgatewww.ashgate.com

Eerdmanswww.eerdmans.com

Forlaget ANISwww.anis.dk

Freimund-Verlagwww.freimund-verlag.de

Marquette University Presswww.marquette.edu/mupress/

Wipf and Stockwww.wipfandstock.com

ORGAN MUSICby KEVIN HILDEBRAND

Recommended

Partita on “Lord, Thee I Lovewith All My Heart”J. Wayne KerrCPH 97-7373, $12.00

This is a welcome—and needed—collection ofsettings for a hymn that should be known and sungby every congregation. The appropriately titled“Reflection” and the “Trio” movements areappropriate for organists of at least moderate ability.The more active “Toccata” is idiomatic, with brokenchords in the manuals accompanying the broadcantus firmus in the pedal. The accompaniment fitswell within most players’ hands, although somelisteners may wish for more harmonic variety in the“Toccata.” Most organists could work up at leastone movement for this fall’s observance of AllSaints’ Day, and then continue to use this collectionfor funerals as well._______________________________________

Hymn Inventions: 9 Chorale Preludesfor the Church Year, Volume 3Sam EathertonCPH 97-7365, $17.00

Sam Eatherton, minister of music at Zion Lutheran,Dallas, also includes a setting of HERZLICH LIEB inhis third volume of Hymn Inventions. Eatherton’swriting includes a good deal of harmonic andrhythmic interest, often with useful and engagingchord progressions and meter changes. His settingof “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart” placesthe hymn tune in the tenor range, with a rhythmiccountermelody above and a walking pedal linebeneath. Each setting in the collection is uniqueand well-crafted, especially “Sing with All theSaints in Glory,” which is given a refreshinglytender treatment._______________________________________

Awake, My Heart, with Gladness:Three Variants for Organ and TrumpetRaymond H. HaanCPH 97-7357, $9.00

This collection includes three different treatments ofthis Johann Crüger tune: a stately, joyfulintroduction, a reflective meditation, and a gracefulconclusion (with ample dotted rhythms and triplets).Both organ and trumpet parts are distinct and well-crafted. The musical texture is mostly a trio stylerather than a chordal accompaniment. A solidtrumpeter is a must, although the range isaccessible, with few notes above the staff._______________________________________

Treasures of the Singing Church:Organ Literature for the LiturgicalYear, Volumes 1 and 2Edited by Henry V. GerikeCPH 97-7338 and 97-7395, $40.00 each volume

This two-volume set is a compendium of twenty-oneLutheran chorales, in a variety of compositionalstyles, similar to the classic collection 80 ChoralePreludes: German Masters of the 17th and 18thCenturies, edited by Hermann Keller and publishedby C. F. Peters. Some are historic settings from theeighteenth century (Johann Michael Bach, GeorgFriedrich Kauffmann, Johann Pachelbel, GeorgPhilipp Telemann, Johann Gottfried Walther),nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (MaxReger), and some are newly composed settings bytwenty-first-century composers, written expressly forthis collection: Jeffrey Blersch, Kevin Hildebrand,Stephen P. Johnson, Christopher Loemker, MatthewMachemer, Donald Rotermund, Ralph Schultz, andDennis Zimmer. Even if you have some of thesesettings in other volumes, it is useful to have a widevariety of well-written compositions under one cover(or in this case, two covers)._______________________________________

Be Still My Soul:

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ORGAN MUSIC continued

Recommended

11 Hymn Tune PreludesJonathan KohrsCPH 97-7362, $18.00

Jonathan Kohrs, assistant professor of music atConcordia University, Chicago, provides interestingand accessible writing in his collection Be Still MySoul. A couple of notable items about thiscollection: First, most of the settings are formanuals only, or with very limited pedal, makingthis collection ideal for novice organists. Second,many of the tunes represented in this collectionhave few—if any—settings in print (e.g.,FINLANDIA, MOVILLE, MÜDE BIN ICH, WEIL ICH JESUSCHÄFLEIN BIN). Kohrs shows that simple writingneed not be simplistic. The setting of MÜDE BIN ICHis illustrative: an exceedingly simple tune is placedin the alto voice, with an interesting counterpointabove it, and rich harmony supporting it. Note toorgan instructors: consider this volume for yourbeginning students._______________________________________

Six Hymn Preludes for Lentand Holy WeekPhilip GehringCPH 97-7359, $13.00

A wealth of variety is found in Philip Gehring’s SixHymn Preludes for Lent and Holy Week. From themasterful combination of CHRISTE, DU LAMMGOTTES set on top of the motive from the “AgnusDei” of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, to the wonderfullydissonant “Jesus, I Will Ponder Now,” to the fourvariations on NEW MALDEN (a new tune to many,found at Lutheran Service Book 446 and 511), thiscollection is expertly crafted and eminentlypractical._______________________________________

Notes of Praise for Organand Optional InstrumentBenjamin CulliCPH 97-7356, $17.00

Benjamin Culli’s Notes of Praise serves a dualpurpose: these festive hymn settings can be playedby organ only (with a solo trumpet stop), or withorgan accompanying a solo instrument (parts for Cand B-flat instruments are included). Well-knowntunes, such as ENGELBERG (with a sparkling triomovement), LOBE DEN HERREN, NUN DANKET ALLEGOTT, OLD HUNDREDTH, and THE ASH GROVE areincluded. Organ parts are of moderate difficulty, andinstrumental parts are ideal for a skilled student._______________________________________

Five Liturgical Pieces for OrganLynn TrappMorningStar Music MSM-10-641, $11.00

This collection sets historic plainsong melodies touseful and interesting harmonizations. Of particularinterest are the settings of DIVINUM MYSTERIUM (“Ofthe Father’s Love Begotten”) and O FILII ET FILLIAE(“O Sons and Daughters of the King”). Both ofthese settings place the chant melody primarily inthe pedal. However, most of the writing has thehands holding a chord or chord cluster above thebusier pedal line, making the work easier for theplayer. Organists can prepare “Of the Father’sLove” for Christmas, and then return to the book forthe Second Sunday of Easter, when “O Sons andDaughters” is the hymn of the day. Of course, otherplainsong tunes are also included and would beuseful as seasonal service music._______________________________________

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ORGAN MUSIC continued

Recommended

Marilyn Mason Music Library,Volume 5MorningStar Music MSM-10-994, $26.00

This ongoing series of pieces commissioned by therenowned University of Michigan organ teacherincludes the Triptych on Sine Nomine by Alfred V.Fedak and a set of Canonic Variations on Slane byLarry Visser, both of which would be useful formost organists. The setting of SINE NOMINE includesan elegiac “Prelude,” a solemn “Cortege,” and adelightful “Finale” (set in the style of a jig fugue).Fair warning: the variations on SLANE are bestsuited to organists of moderate ability or better.Some aggressive and active settings, andadventurous keys (E-flat minor!) are included. Theclosing “Toccata” is a tour de force with a brilliantconclusion._______________________________________

Light on Your Feet, Volume 3:A Collection for Organ withMinimal PedalWayne L. WoldAugsburg Fortress 9780806698021, $25.00

A recurring inquiry at our beginning organistworkshops at Concordia Theological Seminary isfor accessible repertoire, especially for organistswho are just starting to use pedals. Light on YourFeet, Volume 3, by Wayne L. Wold, is a goodexample of such repertoire. This collection includestunes from throughout the church year, so organistswill find it useful in any season._______________________________________

Augsburg Fortresswww.augsburgfortress.org

Concordia Publishing Housewww.cph.org

MorningStar Music Publisherswww.morningstarmusic.com

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HIS Voice • September 2010 10

READINGPaul Westermeyer, “Paul Manz andthe Promised Life,”Lutheran Forum 44 (Spring 2010): 27–28.

As Paul Westermeyer reflects on the life and workof Paul Manz (May 10, 1919–October 28, 2009), heprovides much food for thought concerning thevocation of the Lutheran Kantor. Borrowing aphrase from the pastor who preached at Manz’sfuneral, Westermeyer reminds us that the Kantor isto be about “helping us see [the] promised life inChrist.” He expands on this point in the followingway: “Manz challenges us to use our talents,whatever they may be. If we are about the promisedlife in Christ, there is no place for shoddy craft andill-prepared trivia. There is no reason that anychurch, small or large, should put up with it. Thepromise will not allow it. Our talents everywhereare ample enough to do what they can do. Manz’slife does not suggest we do what he did. It beckonsto us to do what we are called to do, with our owntalents and abilities in the places where we live andwork” (28). Don’t miss this succinct reflection onwhat it means for the Lutheran Kantor to pursue hisor her vocation._______________________________________

William Weedon, “The ForgottenChurch Liturgy of 1881,”Lutheran Forum 44 (Summer 2010): 20–21.

William Weedon, Pastor of St. Paul LutheranChurch (LCMS) in Hamel, Illinois, explores an1881 volume entitled: Church Liturgy forEvangelical Lutheran Congregations of theUnaltered Augsburg Confession, Published by theGerman Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri,Ohio, and Other States. Translated from theGerman. This volume “was the work of AugustCrull (1845–1923), whom C. F. W. Walther hadcharged to bring the core German hymns andliturgical treasures of the Lutheran church into theEnglish language” (20). Walther served as presidentof the LCMS from 1847–1850 and from1864–1878. Still today we sometimes read themistaken notion that Walther had no use for theEnglish language in Lutheran worship of his time.Pointing to this 1881 published English-languageliturgy, Weedon observes: “This explodes the myththat the early Synod had no interest in work amongEnglish speakers. Quite the contrary!” (20).Moreover, Weedon points out that “The pedigree ofChurch Liturgy is largely that of the HerzogHeinrich Agenda of Ducal Saxony (1539).” Thus,not only did the LCMS provide for Englishspeakers, it did so by returning to the roots of therich Lutheran liturgical heritage, thereby retaining adistinctly Lutheran identity even when reaching outto those who might have been unfamiliar withLutheran worship—surely a pattern worthemulating today as the church continues its work ofpreaching the Gospel in various languages, topeople in varied circumstances._______________________________________

READING AND LISTENINGby DANIEL ZAGER

Recommended

HIS Voice • September 2010 11

Kate Hope Kennedy, “The AngelicHymn as Prophetic Vision in Luther’sGerman Sanctus,”Lutheran Forum 44 (Summer 2010): 22–24.

Kate Hope Kennedy, a doctoral candidate inmusicology at Princeton University, providesinsightful commentary on Luther’s German Sanctus,the hymn we sing as “Isaiah, Mighty Seer, in Daysof Old” (LSB 960). Published in the DeutscheMesse of 1526, Luther’s German Sanctus waswritten not for a choir but for congregationalsinging. Kennedy points out how very innovativewas Luther’s setting of the Sanctus, being syllabic,metrical, and rhymed. Read this brief article andrecall again the enormous skill of Luther as heprovided well-crafted poetry and music for theearliest congregational hymns of the youngLutheran church._______________________________________

LISTENINGHeinrich Schütz,MusikalischeExequien; Buβpsalmen(Weser-Renaissance Bremen, Manfred Cordes)[2010, cpo 777 410-2]

In a fortuitous connection with the theme of thisyear’s GSI conference, this recent recording, by theBremen-based early music ensemble Weser-Renaissance, presents one of the great monuments ofLutheran funeral music, Heinrich Schütz’sMusikalische Exequien (1636). The word “Exequien”refers to funeral rites (“exequies”; exsequi = “toaccompany out”). This work was composed bySchütz for the funeral of Heinrich Posthumus vonReuβ, a Thuringian ruler who had carefully chosenbiblical verses and chorale texts that he stipulatedwere to be set to music for his funeral (these verseswere also engraved on his casket). His widowcommissioned Schütz to compose the music. Fromthe standpoint of orthodox Lutheran theology, thetext is a rich repository of Christian hope. Thechallenge for the composer was to transform whatcould be a miscellany of brief scriptural passages andselected chorale verses into a coherent whole. ThatSchütz succeeded brilliantly is no surprise; indeed, hethrived on such textual challenges.

The Musikalische Exequien is a lengthy work (aboutthirty minutes long in performance) in three sections.The first, and by far the longest, consists in thisalternation of biblical passages and chorale verses.The second section is an eight-part setting of the text“Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe” (Ps 73:25–26). Theconcluding section is particularly fascinating—asetting of the German Nunc dimittis sung by onechoir, overlaid by a second choir (SSB trio) “placedat a distance” and singing the text “Blessed are thedead who die in the Lord” (Rv 14:13).

This music is Schütz at his best, gloriouslyperformed by Manfred Cordes and his Bremenmusicians. But mostly it is a superb example ofLutheran music at its best—preaching andproclaiming the Gospel. If you don’t know themusic of this Lutheran Kantor, there is no betterplace to start than with his Musikalische Exequien._______________________________________

READING AND LISTENING continued

Recommended

HIS Voice • September 2010 12

Johann Sebastian Bach,Mass in B Minor(Dunedin Consort and Players, John Butt)[2010, Linn Records CKD 354]

Yet another recording of the monumental Mass in BMinor, this one is distinguished not only by thesheer musicality and skill of the performers, but alsoby the fact that they are the first to record this workfrom Joshua Rifkin’s 2006 edition (published byBreitkopf und Härtel). Rifkin rocked the musicalestablishment in 1981 by his hypothesis that thechoruses in this work would have been performedwith only the principal singer (“concertist”) on eachpart. Vocal doubling by additional singers(“ripienists”) is occasionally specified by Bach insurviving parts or demanded by the scoring, andvocal doubling certainly might have been morewidely employed based on individual performancecircumstances. But Rifkin’s revolutionaryhypothesis, supported by a thorough study ofexisting sources, pointed to the very real historicalpossibility of one-singer-to-a-part for some ofBach’s choruses.

Butt’s performance of the Mass dispels anypreconceived notions that a performance withdiminished vocal resources will somehow soundanemic. This is a superb performance with plenty ofvocal sound, with enormous vitality and energy. Ithas become my favorite of the currently availablerecorded performances of the B-Minor Mass. (Thebest explication of Rifkin’s one-singer-to-a-parttheory is to be found in Andrew Parrott, TheEssential Bach Choir [Boydell Press, 2000]. For abrief, more recent assessment, see Robert L.Marshall, “Belated Thoughts on Bach’s Chorus,”Early Music America 15 [Winter 2009]: 24–28)._______________________________________

Johann Sebastian Bach,Motets(Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki)[2009, BIS SACD-1841]

Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japanprovide engaging performances of Bach’s motets(BWV 225–229), plus three additional works, onlyone of which (BWV 118) is securely attributed toBach. While the term “motet” is normally used todesignate a polyphonic vocal work withoutindependent instrumental parts, i.e., a work that canbe performed by a choir a cappella, during theeighteenth century motets were often performedwith instruments and voices, and that is theapproach taken by Suzuki in this recordedperformance._______________________________________

BISwww.bis.se

cpowww.cpo.de

Linn Recordswww.linnrecords.com

READING AND LISTENING continued

Recommended