Music for the Second Sunday in Lent - March 17, 2019

Prelude Be Thou My Vision (Slane) setting Paul Manz

Today is also the day the church commemorates St. Patrick who, legend has it, built the first Easter Vigil fire on Mount Slane in Ireland. This drew ire from the pagan leaders who declared that if the fire were not put out, it would burn in Ireland forever. Try as they might (water, dirt, everything else) the fire could not be extinguished. Today there are 3.7 million Roman Catholics in Ireland. I guess the pagans were right!

Gathering Hymn The God of Abraham Praise (Yigdal) ELW 831

Not many of our hymns have roots in Jewish music, but this one does! If you already know the tune you may enjoy hearing it sung by some cantorial students with organ and choir accompaniment. This rendition is quite stirring! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k038sbWEmRo

Hymn of the Day Lord Christ, When First You Came to Earth

The text appears in Evangelical Lutheran Worship with the tune Mit Freuden zart, but we will be singing it to Kirken den er et gammelt hus. I’ve written about my reasoning for this on a previous blog post which you can read here: http://smljax.blogspot.com/2018/02/dear-tune-that-text-just-isnt-that-into.html

Musical Offering Jesus, Refuge of the Weary arr. Tony Cruz (Festival Choir)

The text is old – from the 15th century and I’ve paired it with a tune from the 19^th century – Trust in Jesus. I learned this tune while working with the Methodists. (Shout out to all my friends from Faith United Methodist in Jacksonville, FL!)

The azaleas are in bloom at St. Mark's.

Communion Hymns

The Holy One Wills Good for Us

I wanted a hymn that used the image of the hen with her chicks from today’s gospel lesson. I came across this text by Ruth Duck who is one of today’s prolific hymn writers – but I wanted to use a different melody. I think the Irish folk tune Salley Gardens is a nice match. Just one or two slight alterations and it works beautifully. (Another nod to St. Patrick.) It may be worth noting that some sources claim the tune is English.

If you don’t know the tune, here is a link to a recording by the incredible Irish singer, Maura O’Connell. You’ll enjoy this recording. I promise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=027ZJX5XVjs

By Your Hand You Feed Your People (Camrose)  ELW 469
Words by Susan Briehl and music by Marty Haugen. This is the post-communion canticle from the communion liturgy Beneath the Tree of Life.

Sending Hymn Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer (Cwm Rhondda) ELW 618

Postlude Prelude in D Major J. K. F. Fischer (ca. 1655-ca.1738)