Videos

Jubilee: A Celebration of God’s People and Their Song

Dori Erwin Collins  
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 257
After a simple introduction with a drum beating a slow steady beat, handbells ringing in random (E, B, F#, D), and the refrain of the hymn played on a flute, the assembly sang the entire hymn in unison and without accompaniment. At times, the assembly needed visual help from the leader to ensure the unison and to propel the vocal line. It was important to establish at the beginning of this celebration that hymns can be sung without accompaniment.

Carl Schalk and Susan Briehl 
Lost in the Night
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 243
Stanza 1 – choir
Stanza 2 & 3 – all, in harmony
Stanza 4 – all, in unison
The choir introduced the hymn by singing a canonical ostinato: the melody of the last two musical phrases of the first stanza (“Will not day come soon? Will not day come soon?) was sung, first by the women, then followed a measure later by the men. A soprano soloist sang the first stanza above this choral ostinato; then all joined, in harmony, for stanzas three and four; a short organ interlude led to the full assembly singing the final stanza in unison; finally, the choral canonical ostinato returned at the end, using the final words of the hymn: “come and save us soon!”

Eugenia Oi Yan Yau 
Midnight Stars Make Bright the Skies
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 280
Stanza 1 in Mandarin – solo
Stanza 1 in English – all
Stanza 2 in Mandarin – solo
Stanza 2 in English - all
Light piano with Japanese bells, ching, and gong accompanied all of the stanzas of this delicate Christmas hymn. The leader must be careful to lead, but listen to the assembly as they negotiate the passages with continuous eighth notes. If possible, use the video of Eugenia singing stanza 1 in Mandarin to teach a soloist the correct pronunciation of the text and style of the music. If you don't have someone in your community who can do this, you can play the video of Eugenia singing stanza 1 before the assembly sings stanzas 1 and 2 in English. Video 3B – Stanza 1 sung in Mandarin

All My Heart Again Rejoices
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 273
All sing in harmony
Because the Mandarin carol ends on a “c,” we were able to bridge nicely to the German chorale with an introduction scored for flute, oboe, and violin. It was important here that the full hymn be sung in harmony, allowing the assembly to use its harmonized voice. Stanzas 2 and 3 were sung unaccompanied. When accompanied, we used organ, oboe, violin, and flute, scored specifically for the Jubilee.

John Ylvisåker 
Drawn to the Light
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 593
Stanza 1 – choir
Stanzas 2-3 – all
When accompanied by piano, guitars, bass, flute, and drum kit, this hymn sparkles. It was important that the folk character of this hymn was clear, allowing the assembly to sway and swing a bit.

O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 308
Stanza 1 – all
Stanza 2 – women
Stanza 3 – men
Stanza 4 – choir
Stanzas 5 & 6 – all
We created a musical bridge from “Drawn to the Light” to this queen of chorales with a modulation from G major to D major for the brass quintet. This short bridge also allowed the leader to move from piano to organ! The arrangement for brass and organ for the assembly stanzas was the S. Drummond Wolff concertato from Concordia Publishing House. The chorale stanza was the Michael Praetorius setting from the Chantry Choirbook, transposed to G major.

Susan Palo Cherwien 
O Blessed Spring
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 447
Stanza 1 – all
Stanza 2 – men
Stanza 3 – women
Stanza 4 – choir
Stanza 5 – all
We used the choral anthem of this hymn by Robert Buckley Farlee from Augsburg Fortress Publishers, adding the full assembly on stanza one, all men on stanza two, and all women on stanza three. We added trumpet to the instrumental obbligato on the final stanza to cut through the full singing assembly.

Dori Erwin Collins 
Lamb of God
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 336
Verses – solo
Refrains – all
This song from the pop contemporary repertoire is most faithfully rendered with a soulful soloist singing the verses accompanied by piano, guitars, bass and drum kit. As an added texture, the choir could improvise harmonic accompaniments while humming (or “oooing”) during the verses. When the refrains are sung, if the choir has the accompaniment before them, they could also add harmonies to this refrain. It will be hard for anyone who has heard Twila Paris sing this song not to add the additional notes and ornaments during the refrain.

James Capers 
Jesus Is a Rock
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 333
Verses – solo
Refrains – all
A soulful sax playing the melody of the refrain with piano, bass guitar, and stylized percussion (high hat, light cymbal, brushes on snare) served as the introduction to this spiritual. The verses were sung by Deborah Ford, an uncommonly moving interpreter of African-American spirituals. She felt free to adjust the rhythm and melody of the verses, improvising as was needed. She also added improvised calls and descants above the assembly singing the refrain. There was literally dancing in the aisles! Be very careful not to sing this spiritual too quickly.

Susan Briehl 
Holy God, Holy and Glorious
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 637
Stanza 1 – all
Stanza 2 – women
Stanza 3 – choir
Stanza 4 – men
Stanza 5 – all
We sang this hymn using the choral anthem composed by Robert Buckley Farlee from Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Again, we added the assembly on stanzas one, two, four, and five using the octavo – it works perfectly. We needed an extended introduction for this hymn, so we had the oboe to play the melody, without accompaniment, once through before we started the octavo.

Antonio Machado 
¡Aleluya! Cristo resucito
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 375
Refrains – all, in Spanish
Verses – all, in English
This hymn comes to life with piano, guitar, congas, claves, shakers, bass, and mariachi-style trumpet accompaniment. At our celebration, all of these instruments were improvising! The Spanish may need rehearsal ahead of time. It was important that the jubilant character of this hymn was heard and felt.

Thom Pavlechko 
Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 383
Stanza 1 – all
Stanza 2 – choir
Stanza 3 – all
We used the choral anthem by Thomas Pavlechko published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers. This setting uses full brass, timpani, handbells, and full divided chorus.

James Capers 
Gracious Spirit, Heed Our Pleading
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 401
Verse 1 and refrain – choir
All remaining verses in English, in harmony
All remaining refrains in Swahili, in harmony
A variety of African drums and flute accompanied this lively prayer. The introduction began with the drums, establishing a firm but multi-accented beat. The flute entered, playing the melody of the refrain. The choir entered in harmony, singing the verse in English and the refrain in Swahili.

Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr.
Regretfully, we were unable to video Herman before his death in March 2007. In place of a video we projected his photograph and read excerpts from additional hymns. His other hymns in Evangelical Lutheran Worship are: “As the Deer Runs to the River” (331), “For All the Faithful Women” (419), “We Come to You for Healing, Lord” (617), “How Small Our Span of Life” (636), “Bring Peace to Earth Again” (700), “O Christ, Your Heart, Compassionate” (722), and “Voices Raised to You” (845).

God of Tempest, God of Whirlwind
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 400
Stanza 1 – all in unison
Stanzas 2 & 3 – all in harmony
Stanza 4 – all in unison
The organ was used with this classic tune, with an improvised introduction, simulating a “tempest.” The organ continued to accompany the singing on three of the four stanzas, dropping out on stanza three.

Carl Schalk 
Soli Deo Gloria
Evangelical Lutheran Worship 878
Stanza 1 – all
Stanza 2 – women
Stanza 3 – choir
Stanza 4 – men
Stanza 5 – all
We used the choral anthem of this hymn by Marty Haugen published by GIA Publications, Inc. The concertato must be adapted to match the stanzas included in ELW. The octavo arrangement is for brass, organ, timpani, and mixed choir. The text of the hymn was the perfect conclusion to the festival celebrating the church’s people and their song.