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a practical resource

for Lutheran

church musicians

Association of Lutheran 2018, No. 1 Church Musicians l alcm.org

in tempo

a b c e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

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by Kevin Barger

in the wee hours between the last of my five services on Christmas Eve day and the joy of Christmas

morning, my 14-year-old son took a picture of me sitting on the sofa. Pictures don’t lie: I looked exhausted. I looked burned out. He posted the picture on social media, and I enjoyed some of the quips and comments that came over the next few hours. I was tired, but I realized something else in that experience, and that was while I may have been tired, I wasn’t burnt out. I already had a shimmering light in my head; that light was thinking ahead to next year’s Christmas and the opportu-nities that would bring. Along that journey, however, I also realized that Lent was merely about six weeks away.

Now, as you read this issue of In Tempo, Lent is upon us, and those six weeks are gone. So how in church music ministry do we avoid burnout or at least minimize it taking us down? I share some thoughts with you that help me keep on top of things. These ideas may work for you, or you may have your own tricks to avoid exhaustion and to avoid for-getting the wonderful glory that we experience in our roles in the church.

Subsisting through the Lenten Season: 9 Tips for the Church Musician

n1 Plan ahead. By simply taking the time each week to think

ahead, to prepare for rehearsal, to make the most of each and every minute, we can significantly reduce the stress load that is on us. It is much easier to pick up a plan and alter it as needed through changes, enhance-ments, and careful consideration.

n2 Don’t be afraid to change. Assuming you made the

plan suggested above, don’t be married to it and feel like you must do everything on that plan. Evaluate how rehearsals are going as you work on the music for weeks ahead. If you

In church music ministry, how do we avoid burnout or at least minimize it taking us down?

In this issue of In Tempo:

Subsisting through the Lenten Season: 9 Tips for the Church Musician 1

The Exegetical Organist

Music for Ascension 4

A Covenant: Stewardship of Self during the Seasons of Lent and Easter 5

Selecting and Arranging Handbell Music for Upcoming Festivals 7

A Reformation Recap

Reformation 500: One Church’s Retrospective 10

Looking Forward from the 500th Anniversary of Luther’s Reformation 11

A Different Perspective: Observations from Cambridge 13

On Volunteer Management

Setting Expectations 15

The Liturgy Is the Heart; May the Culture Be Its Beat 16

Interview with a Church Musician

Paul Westermeyer 17

Making Use of Student Instrumentalists 20

Pew Perspective

The WELS Hymnal Project 22

A Bach Cantata Suggestion for Wedding Ceremony Use 23

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2 ALCM in tempo 2018, No. 1

In Tempo is published three times a year by the association of lutheran church Musicians, 810 Freeman St., Valparaiso, in 46383.

800-624-2526 l www.alcm.org

[email protected]

Subscription is included with membership in alcM.

Editor: allison Schweitzer

Editorial Support: anne-Marie Bogdan

Designer: kathryn hillert Brewer

ALCM Business Manager: cheryl dieter

Contributors to this issue: kevin Barger, lorraine Brugh, Beth ann Edwards, Rick Erickson, chad Fothergill, Bill kuhn, Monica naumann, Jennifer ollikainen, Jim Rindelaub, Stephen Rosebrock, allison Schweitzer, Jennifer Wolf

Featured Interview: paul Westermeyer

Hymnal Abbreviations: ElW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship lSB: Lutheran Service Book cW: Christian Worship

need to swap out a piece that was perhaps a bit ambitious, don’t be afraid to make that call—and make it earlier rather than later.

n3 Lower your expecta-tions. This one is hard.

So often we have grandiose plans for what we want to see happen in our ministry. Sometimes those grand-scale plans proceed as calculated and result in glorious moments. However, how many times have you had the experience where you do what you think is basic, simple, or unoriginal and either your musicians or your parishioners end up liking it better than those things that were so intricate? I am always humbled and surprised by those who are touched by simplicity well done. And that is grandiose satisfaction in our work.

n4 Be fair to yourself. Take time for you. What

do you like to do that is not related to your church music responsibilities? Is it a hobby? Is it singing or playing with a musi-cal ensemble in which you are not responsible for everything and can instead focus on the music solely? I run; I take time each week to get out there and do something totally unrelated to my music life, and it helps refresh me every time.

n5 Find work-life balance. As church

musicians, we are terrible at leaving the job at the office—at least I am. It is so easy to bring work home: music to sort through or to rehearse. As part of your planning (see above), allow time as needed so that when you are home with your family or friends, that is where you can be and not worry about anything else. Precious time with family and friends is rejuvenating, refreshing, and important.

n6 Use your resources. I don’t mean books and

academic resources—of which there are plenty, and yes, you should use them because they make our job easier—but what I am really talking about is using discussion boards and ALCM!

I am always humbled and surprised by those who are touched by simplicity well done. And that is grandiose satisfaction in our work.

… asking for help …does not make us any less of a person; it only serves to strengthen us as individuals and make us better at what we do.

Get out there and do something totally unrelated to your music life.

3ALCM in tempo 2018, No. 1

We have conversation boards on Facebook that provide input from people all over the country: people who are just like us, people who do the same thing as we do, people who have the same troubles that we do!

We have conversation boards on Facebook that provide input (some you may like and some you may not) from people all over the country: people who are just like us, people who do the same thing as we do, people who have the same troubles that we do! Enjoy the fellowship and use the wealth of information and support you can receive from such a group.

n7 Ask for help. Be it from pride or from just not

being comfortable admitting we need it, we aren’t always very good about asking for help. It does not make us any less of a person; it only serves to strengthen us as individuals and make us better at what we do. Use the discussion vehicles noted above or reach out for advice to members whom you respect.

n8 Just say no. I’m terrible at this, as are

many church staff. It’s so simple, so obvious, though: we need to do a better job at when we say yes, and we need to not feel bad saying no. Make the yes count.

n9 Look to God for strength. Although

this is listed last, it’s probably the most important! Sometimes I forget that I have the best support system already built in, with the power of prayer and reflection in conversation with God. If I am stressed, or need help, or have had a bad rehearsal, or no one shows up, or just need to think about things, I turn to God to ask for

guidance and to talk things through. I find there is almost always an answer there that makes things better. I just need to take the time to find it.

These nine tips are not com-plicated. I hope you already employ one or more of these in your daily activities as you make your way through the entire church year, not just during Lent and Easter, which are upon us now. One of the tips above centers on the idea of keeping it simple. For me, seeing these simple tips written down serves as a good reminder of what to do as I embark on these busy times. We are all so busy it is

I turn to God to ask for guidance and to talk things through. I find there is almost always an answer there that makes things better. I just need to take the time to find it.

easy to overlook the simplistic, or maybe even obvious, things.

With any luck, I can employ the simple tips, and I can end each event or season already looking forward to what I want to do next year or at the next event. And if I actually remember all the tips, maybe next year when my son takes a picture of me I will look a whole lot better!

kevin Barger, alcM’s presi-dent-elect, is director of music

ministry at Epiphany Evangelical lutheran church in Richmond, Va.


0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0Music for Ascensionthe exegetical organist by Chad Fothergill

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t he feast day known as the Ascension of Our Lord emerged in the late fourth

century as a chronological marker of Jesus’s appearances “during forty days” (Acts 1:3; NRSV) after his resurrection. Today, many congregations mark this fortieth day of the Easter season with readings from Acts, Ephesians, and Luke. These readings and related hymns not only describe Jesus’s ascent and his role as head of the church but remind us that we are recipients of a great commission to live as “witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48) to all “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The complexity of the day and its contrasting images—of power and prayer, of witness and wonder, of directing our gaze both heavenward and out-ward toward our neighbor—is wonderfully held together in Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension suite, a four-movement work originally composed for orchestra. Though its middle movements make virtuosic technical demands, the outer movements are more approach-able and offer a rewarding study of legato technique, finger substitution, and subtleties of phrasing. The serene fourth movement also draws upon the gospel reading from John used for the following Sunday, the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Dual use—this time for Ascension and Pentecost—is also prescribed in Au cénacle (“In the Upper Room”), a work with minimal pedal by

Benedictine composer Paul Benoit published in his Esquisses litur-giques (“Liturgical Sketches”).

Advocates of lesser- known works may find appeal in Aeterne Rex Altissime (“Eternal King Most High”) by English composer Francis Routh, an extended three-move-ment fantasy on an Ascension plainsong, as well as in a set of short versets for man-uals by 17th-century Franciscan organist Giovanni Battista Fasolo on the Ascen-sion hymn Jesu nostra redemptio (“Jesus, Our Redemption”).

In addition, Lutheran and other denominational hymnals share many texts and tunes that can also find expression in service music selections. Look in your library or in publisher catalogs for works that set such tunes as Ach Gott und herr; Ascended triumph; Bryn cAlfAriA; deo GrAciAs; diAdemAtA; Gen himmel AufGefAhren ist; hyfrydol; hymn to Joy; in BABilone; iste confessor; KinG’s Weston; lAsst uns erfreuen; nun freut euch; picArdy; rex GloriAe; sAlve festA dies; st. mAGnus; and yiGdAl, also known as leoni.

As well as familiar tune-based settings by, among others, Dietrich Buxtehude, David Cherwien, Paul Manz, Flor Peeters, Ernst Pepping, Max

Reger, and Mark Sedio, one may also consider Michael Burkhardt’s subtle, flowing interpretation of KinG’s Weston or his ornamented chorale and toccata on yiGdAl; a colorful and imaginative diAdemAtA by Emma Lou Diemer; Aaron David Miller’s vigorous deo GrA-ciAs in Augsburg Organ Library: Epiphany; Charles Ore’s ethereal lAsst uns erfreuen; a “Toccata Festiva” on in BABilone by Rich-ard Purvis; Baroque-inspired treatments of Bryn cAlfAriA and in BABilone by Wolfgang Rübsam; and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s majestic Bryn cAlfAriA. Those familiar with

The Women at Christ’s Tomb and the Ascension, ivory relief, Rome, ca. 400. Bayerischen nationalmuseum, Munich.


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J. S. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein may be interested to learn that the Eas-ter chorales christ ist erstAnden (ELW 372, LSB 459, CW 144) and heut’ triumphieret Gottes sohn were commonly used at Ascension services in Bach’s Leipzig, as was nun freut euch (ELW 594, LSB 556, CW 377), a tune also paired with the hymn “On Christ’s Ascension I Now Build” (LSB 492, CW 173 ).

As with any service, choose what works best for the confluence of all that a thoughtful organist must consider, including tech-nique, instrument and acous-tics, the day’s hymns, themes and images in the day’s read-ings, and preaching emphases. May your study, practice, and service give glory to Christ the Lord, who is “above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (Ephesians 1:21).

Select EditionsSome of the pieces and col-lections mentioned above are listed here with their original publication information. Note that some may now be available in reprints under new publish-ers, while others may be out of print.

A Covenant: Stewardship of Selfduring the Seasons of Lent and Easterby Jennifer Ollikainen

the Year B lectionary for the season of Lent this year cen-ters on the Old Testament

covenants between God and God’s people, promises made new in Jesus Christ in whom we are baptized. Our covenants with God in Christ help us to live into the grace and love God provides and shape our response to that great gift. The promises begin with God but they do not end with God. We actively live in the covenant as beloved ones entrusted with the gift of life. Fur-thermore, as leaders in the church, we actively steward the covenant of God in Christ by our proclamation of God’s covenant in song, praise, and prayer. The covenant holds us all to account as children of God, blessed by the grace of God and living as good stewards of all the gifts with which we are entrusted.

Our stewardship of the cove-nant of God in Christ is both personal and communal for the sake of the community. While we care for and lead the community in worship through the busy seasons of Lent and Easter, we must care for our-selves as well. When the church schedule fills to overflowing with midweek Lenten services,

Augsburg Organ Library: Epiphany. Augsburg Fortress (978-0-8006-5934-9), 2001.

Paul Benoit, Esquisses liturgiques. Fisher (9517), 1963.

Michael Burkhardt, Praise and Thanksgiving: Hymn Improvi-sations, Set 3. MorningStar (MSM-10-753), 1990.

Emma Lou Diemer, Preludes to the Past, vol. 2. Sacred Music Press (KK 475), 1991.

Giovanni Battista Fasolo, Jesu nostra redemptio, in Faber Early Organ Series, vol. 18, Italy, 1615–c. 1700, ed. J. Dalton. Faber (0571507883), 1986.

Olivier Messiaen, L’Ascension. Leduc (18826), 1934.

Charles Ore, 11 Compositions for Organ, Set 1. Concordia (97-5019), 1971.

Richard Purvis, 7 Chorale Preludes on Tunes Found in American Hymnals. Carl Fischer (3450), 1949.

Francis Routh, Aeterne Rex Altissime: A Meditation on the Festival of Ascension. Boosey & Hawkes (BH 20077), 1973.

Wolfgang Rübsam, Fourteen Cho-rale Preludes: A Guide to Liturgical Improvisation. Augsburg Fortress (978-0-8066-9803-8), 2010.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 3 Preludes Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes. Stainer & Bell (2155), 1920.

chad Fathergill is a doctoral student in musicology at temple University

in philadelphia, pa, researching the office of kantor in the late Renaissance and Baroque periods.

These readings and related hymns not only describe Jesus’s ascent and his role as head of the church but remind us that we are recipients of a great commission to live as “witnesses of these things” to all “ends of the earth.”

Our covenants with God in Christ help us to live into the grace and love God provides and shape our response to that great gift.


spring pro-gramming, and preparations for the Easter cele-bration, how are you a steward of the gifts of your health, rela-tionships, and wellbeing? How do you live into the covenant

God made with you as a child of God, beloved and worthy of care? How do you encounter life along the busy journey of this season of the church?

Perhaps it begins with a cove-nant in our place of ministry. While planning worship themes and services in your ministry context, consider creating a covenant that describes how you will lead the community, work together, and care for yourselves during this busy season. The covenant could include the following.

Steward your faith: Schedule times each week for retreat, reflection, and renewal as individuals and as a group. Also, schedule time each week to reflect together on the expe-riences. These do not have to be large blocks of time nor do they

need to have rigid content or structure.

Steward your work together: Agree on reasonable expec-tations for worship services. Sometimes it is better to plan more simply in order to leave room for the Spirit’s movement and delight. Mutually agree on deadlines for worship content to avoid last-minute crises among staff to copy and prepare worship folders. (And to make room for the inevitable copier malfunctions!)

Steward your communi-cations: Agree on the best communication styles for the group. What is the best way for others to communicate with you? How do others wish to be communicated with?

Steward your re-creation time: Intentionally name time off or away for every staff mem-ber. Respect those times and refrain from infringing on that time off.

Steward appreciation: Plan ahead how you will mark the end of the busy season and cele-brate as a group. Schedule now for a luncheon during the first or second week of Easter as a

time to take a breath, celebrate the Resurrection, affirm the high points, and identify the growing edges of your congre-gation’s worship.

The prophet Isaiah invites, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters!” (Isaiah 55:1). This invitation embodies the covenant God makes with us in Christ through the waters of baptism. In the water of life, we drink deeply of the grace and hope of God intended for God’s people throughout the ages. As we embark on a long journey through the busy seasons of Lent and Easter, heed the call of the prophet to quench the thirst of our souls. Intentionally drink of the water of life by the stewardship of your faith, by your work together in a congregation, and by the care of your body. In so doing, our covenants will bear the fruit of the proclamation of the grace of God in Christ for the sake of the world.

Jennifer phelps ollikainen, editor of alcM’s Cross-Accent journal, is pastor at trinity

Evangelical lutheran church in perkasie, pa.

As we embark on a long journey through the busy seasons of Lent and Easter, heed the call of the prophet to quench the thirst of our souls.

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0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0by Beth Ann Edwards

s undays that follow Easter provide exciting oppor-tunities for including

handbells in worship. Handbells can be added to liturgical ser-vice music with random ringing, accompaniment chords, and melodic doublings. Handbell anthems range from hymn tune arrangements to original pieces that depict the mood and theme of the festival, across a variety of worship styles.

The following anthem titles, appropriate for Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity, might also generate ideas for pieces you already have in your library. For more titles, search a favorite publisher or handbell music distributor such as Jeffers (handbellworld.com) and use such key words as Ascension, Pentecost, or Trinity. Previews and listening options are often available for score study and to determine whether or not the anthem will fit with a particular worship style.

Ascension of Our Lord Thursday, May 10, 2018

Blessing and Honor by kevin

Mcchesney (Map21854; level 2)

Bell Peal on Lasst Uns Erfreuen by linda lamb (MSphp5453;

level 1)

I have programmed this piece many times. It’s one of the fullest, richest Level 1 pieces I have run across, and it’s also perfect for massed ringing. By the performance date, even my elementary choir ringers were

ringing this piece from start to finish.

Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 2018

Breathe on Me, Breath of God by

Michael Mazzatenta (MaG35308;

level 2)

Spirit Wind by John t. Bartsch

(MFBBG0858; level 4+)

One of my all-time favorites, Spirit Wind is perfect for Pente-cost. It’s challenging, but I have not come across a choir that doesn’t love to ring it.

The Holy Trinity Sunday, May 27, 2018

Abba Father by Jason W. krug

(Mlc201707l; level 2+)

Trinity Fanfare by alex Guebert

(MaG35369; level 2-)

Alex Geubert is a young composer, and his pieces are brilliant. He composes for all levels. Trinity Fanfare is accessi-ble with minimum bell changes, and it’s short (33 measures). The first four or eight bars can be memorized and used as part of a processional. The B6/C7 ringer does not ring during the first eight bars. This ringer could add a C7 shake the final

Selecting and Arranging Handbell Music for Upcoming Festivals

An Ascension hymn is ideal for a soaring handbell descant countermelody.

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time the measures are rung or during a selection of measures, such as measures 1 through 4 or 5 through 8. Ringers could walk down the aisle repeating the first four (or eight) bars until they arrive at the bell tables and then proceed with the rest of the piece. Another option is to ring the processional at the beginning of the service and then ring the entire piece as written during the offering or communion.

All Three Festivals:

Hymn Descants for Ringers and Singers, vol. 3, arr. anna laura

page (Map16057; level 2+)

This publication includes hymn arrangements for Ascension, Pentecost, and Holy Trinity Sunday. The introduction to this book notes a variety of uses for the hymns that are included. The music is scored for three octaves. I highly recommend using as many 6s and 7s as you have available, doubling up the treble chords, or (at a min-imum) doubling the melody, at least one octave higher. The high notes will cut through congregational singing, organ, brass, or other instruments involved in the hymn setting. The lowest note in the bass clef chord can be doubled down an octave as well, to enhance a rich, resonant sound.

Additional Season-Specific MusicLook at books of handbell music that focus on the church season. Most are reproducible, which means directors can pur-chase one book, and photocopy the number of copies that are needed. Difficulty levels range from 1 to about 3+, depending on the book. These books can be money savers if directors choose more than one piece from the book. I often mark music for ringers, and the marked copies can be tossed or filed with the others, at the director’s discretion. If music is lost or misfiled, it’s easy to make copies on demand.

Worship guides published by your denomination will often list music appropriate for each Sunday. I work in an ELCA church, and we refer to the Sundays and Seasons publications from Augsburg Fortress as often as we can. Suggested music, including handbell pieces, is listed for each Sunday and festival. Once I look through all of the suggested music, I can narrow down my selections. If I don’t have a specific handbell piece that is listed, I might have a piece based on one of the hymns that is listed or a piece that fits in with the overall theme of the lectionary.

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If you can’t find a published piece that fits the bill, score your own handbell accompa-niments for hymns or service music. I often score three options for hymns: a simple chord accompaniment with chords on beats 1 and 3 (or just beat 1); the melody for all handbell octaves that are available; and a simple descant melody, predominantly in half notes. An Ascension hymn is ideal for a soaring handbell descant countermelody. To write the descant, I usually start by looking at the tenor line and adjusting as necessary. Once the three options are scored, I consult with the music director or the organist, or both, to see how the options might fit in. If the last verse has an alternative harmonization, use the straight melody. On one occasion, our organist modulated on the last verse of a hymn and I wasn’t informed. I cut off the ringers before the verse started, and we all had a good laugh. I learned to always ask about modulations! On another festival Sunday, when we knew about a modulation, the bell choir was able to put down their bells, pick up bells one half-step higher, and ring the music as written with the “wrong” bells in hand. When you try this, avoid assignments that require accidentals.

Hal Hopson has written a series of books for using handbells in worship. The Creative Use of Handbells in Worship (Hope) details the step-by-step process of adding peals, tolls, chords, and more to worship music

and hymns. Also included are arrangements, descants, and accompaniments for several hymn tunes. William Mathis has written a series of books that follow the lectionary, After the Prelude (Choristers Guild), for all three years, A, B, and C. This resource provides guidance for handbell directors in using handbells with each week’s lectionary readings and hymns, and it includes arrangements for calls to worship, processions, Scripture readings, fanfares, and more.

Talk to other handbell directors and church music directors in your city or area. Attend

meetings sponsored by ALCM or Handbell Musicians of Amer-ica and find out what other musicians are contributing to worship with handbells. If their suggestions are successful, they’ve already perfected the technique. I was talking to a fellow handbell choir director several months ago, and he said, “I’m totally stealing your idea!” I was flattered but also sur-prised. My idea was something our ringers provide on a regular basis and I didn’t think it was “special.” Be willing to share your best (and worst) stories, try something new, and see what happens!

Beth ann Edwards is director of arts, handbells, and youth choirs at St. John’s

lutheran church in des Moines, ia.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

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0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0by Stephen Rosebrock

at Mount Olive in Mil-waukee (WI) we invited Nicole Keller to be our

Reformation artist in residence for our commemoration of the Lutheran Reformation’s 500th anniversary. Keller conducted our choir and played the prelude and postlude. Keller is the associate organist at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, OH; lecturer in organ at Baldwin Wallace University Conserva-tory of Music in Berea, OH; and co-director of Festival of Liturgical Arts of the Western Reserve. Keller has extensive experience performing as a conductor, recitalist, and continuo player. This was a won-derful opportunity for us here at Mount Olive. I appreciated sharing the leadership with a friend and colleague, and the choir thoroughly enjoyed work-ing with a guest conductor.

Our service was planned so as to draw from different chapters of liturgical and musical practices throughout the past 500 years of the Lutheran church. We never set out to repristinate a so-called “golden era” of practice but rather to highlight different ways the church has “done church” over the cen-turies. The service itself drew upon Luther’s Formula Missae (Latin Mass) and Deutsche Messe (German Mass).

Keller performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s setting of the creedal hymn Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott (BWV 680) as the pre-lude. The entrance hymn was Luther’s most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” A

choral stanza was interspersed, arranged by Wayne Bisbee. The Kyrie, sung by the choir, was a medieval chant (from the Liber Usualis, a Kyrie for ordinary time). This particular chant was probably known and used by Luther. The Gloria in excelsis was a German hymn by Nicolaus Decius. It could have been sung where Luther’s Deutsche Messe was used, although most likely the Gloria would have been All Ehr und Lob, which was written by Luther himself. The Gradual used verses from Psalm 48, sung to a fauxbourdon harmoniza-tion by Johann Walter (Luther’s kantor and musical advisor). The Alleluia was sung to a medi-eval chant, too. The Hymn of the Day was Paul Speratus’ tour de force hymn, “Salvation unto Us Has Come.” This hymn, clearly stating law and gos-pel, is one of the gems of the Lutheran tradition.

During the offering, the choir sang three movements from Bach’s cantata Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (BWV 80). The Service of the Sacrament used “Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old” for the Sanctus (as in Luther’s Deutsche Messe) and Nicolaus Decius’ “Lamb of God, Pure and Holy” as the Agnus Dei. During the distribution,

the choir sang Felix Mendels-sohn’s “Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord.” Distribution continued with the hymns “O Lord, We Praise Thee,” penned by Luther, and “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness” by Johann Franck and Johann Crüger—both are

continued on page 12

Reformation 500One Church’s Retrospective

Reformation was an opportunity to highlight a long tradition of different practices, something we often fail to recognize.


0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0by Jim Rindelaub

the Reformation began 25 years after Columbus discov-ered America. That makes

me wonder if when we celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the Reformation we will do so on the moon, on which we landed nearly 50 years ago.

Where will Lutheran musicians be in just 50 years? In 100 years?

Change often is slow in the church, but it feels like my generation has seen astounding changes in the last 30 years.

In the mid ’80s I don’t recall talk of the popular ’90s

phrase “worship wars” at

all. Our

Looking Forward from the 500th Anniversary of Luther’s Reformation

Lutheran churches typically had two or three Sunday morning liturgies that were all identical with identical hymns and all organ-led. There might have been a different choir at each service, but otherwise the morning services were the same.

Over the years a major shift occurred as each service became labeled with a different sound and different liturgies/songs were led by different musi-cal forces, including a “pop/rock” (contemporary) service. That was a shocking change that seemed to follow cultural realities and was promoted as attracting more young people to the church. Yet most of our churches have declined in numbers.

For a while in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I thought more full-time Lutheran music positions were developing as churches sought a single musi-cian to coordinate the widely differing service types offered each Sunday morning. When the recession hit, the money for those positions seemed to dry up, and now there seem to be fewer full-time positions.

In the coming years, for most of us, I believe that means broadening our skills or combining other positions with our church work. With the explosion of information technology (IT), I often wonder if more full-time church music positions could develop

with such responsibility combi-nations as “directors of music and IT services.”

In spite of the obvious cultural decline in church attendance, I feel great optimism regarding ALCM’s role in the church. The Lutheran church continues to have passionate musical leaders who are looking for help in administering their programs. I don’t see that fact changing, and there are still a lot of musicians who would be interested in ALCM but have not yet found us.

It appears musicians will be navigating smaller budgets, based on the reality of the cultural decline in attendance, but that is simply a challenge to be overcome.

I am encouraged by the tremendous support people feel for ALCM’s mission, and I believe we can offer services to meet the needs of the church’s musicians of the future. In 2018, ACLM is providing local day-long conferences rather than multiple regional events and is also providing hour-long webinar sessions. Both cut down on travel expense and point toward a new way of supporting musicians. I see ALCM in the future increasing the number of specialty educational offerings

continued on page 12

Reformation 500One Church’s Retrospective

The Lutheran church continues to have passionate musical leaders.

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pillar hymns in the Lutheran tradition. The service con-cluded with Luther’s “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word.” The Postlude was Sigfrid Karg-Elert’s “Now Thank We All Our God.”

A pastiche of a liturgy is not my preference for our weekly Sunday-to-Sunday routine. Generally I prefer a service that is planned as part of an overarching liturgical and musical routine over a liturgical season. This draws people into the hymnbook. But occasionally (about once every 500 years) I feel it is beneficial to depart from this principle and plan a service that is printed out in a large service folder that has elements from a variety of sources. Reformation was an opportunity to highlight a long tradition of different practices, something we often fail to rec-ognize. (What’s that cliché joke about Lutherans and change?)The service was planned to broaden everyone’s experience, ensure that the congregation was comfortable with what they were asked to participate in, and challenge the choir in a particular way. In retrospect, the service did all of these. The choir learned a Bach cantata, the congregation heard some music that is not part of our every Sunday repertoire (but might slowly make its way in more often), and the Reforma-tion hymns were rendered with vitality and sincerity.

Stephen Rose-brock is kantor at Mount olive lutheran church and christian day

School in Milwaukee, Wi.

to match more closely the tasks our musicians are increasingly required to cover.

I believe we have a population within our membership who would enjoy international Lutheran music experiences and that ALCM can provide those opportunities. Although with fits and starts, I do believe our world is becoming more globalized, and in 50 to 100 years there will be more oppor-tunities to connect with our international colleagues.

In 50 to 100 years we will continue to have Lutheran churches needing musical leadership. Together through ALCM, even more than ever, I believe we will be in a position to provide positive influence

and support to the future of Lutheran church music. Martin Luther’s influence continues to live on through us, even as our world moves forward in its unstoppable “progress.” Thanks to you for being a partner in proclaiming the good news through God’s gift of music!

Jim Rindelaub is executive director of alcM and music director at ascension

lutheran church, indian harbour Beach, Fl.

Join internationally renowned St. Olaf College faculty and distinguished guest leaders for this special event, which provides professional development, spiritual

nourishment, and networking opportunities for persons engaged in all facets of congregational ministry.

The conference offers ideas and practices that pastors, church musicians, artists, and lay leaders from all denominations and any size congregation can readily incorporate into their own worship experiences.

learn more at stolaf.edu/cwta

Reformation Retrospective, continued from page 10

Looking Forward, continued from page 11

... in 50 to 100 years there will be more opportunities to connect with our international colleagues.


0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0by Lorraine S. Brugh

w e church musicians rarely have the opportunity to see one

another in action, whether it’s directing a choir, playing the organ, or lending other musical leadership in church. At ALCM conferences I have sometimes lamented, “I wish I could hear you on Sunday, but I have to be at my church.” Perhaps that is one of the reasons we love to meet each other at ALCM con-ferences. It’s a time to kick back and enjoy the collegiality we miss during the rest of the year. I know it’s one of the things I cherish.

Since July 1 I have been the resident director for Valparaiso University’s study abroad pro-gram in Cambridge, England. We are located on the seminary grounds of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in England, a mission church of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. As a faculty member, I assist with their daily prayer services, playing organ once or twice a week and occasionally on Sunday. On most Sundays, though, I am free to be a worshipper, sampling the many varieties of the Church of England in the area.

This is actually quite a new experience for me. I’ve been playing on Sunday mornings since I was 16 and barely know how to be a good congregant. On one Sunday morning, I went up to the rail to receive com-munion, taking and eating the

A DIFFeRenT PeRSPecTIve:

Observations from Cambridge

bread when it was offered to me. I hadn’t noticed, though, that they practice intinction, and everyone else was waiting to dip their bread in the chalice. The attentive presider noticed my ineptness and doubled back to give me another piece of bread, smiling.

It is mostly a privilege to visit other chapels and parishes, allowing myself to enter into the worship experience someone else leads. I can appreciate anew the importance of a prelude for setting the tone for the day. At King’s College and St. John’s College, most people are present for the prelude and stay seated for the postlude. I notice that most of the college chapels publish all the choral and organ music for the whole semester in a little book at each seat. I find that such careful planning points to the importance music holds in those places, and I want to model the same practice in worship planning for myself and my students.

Reformation 2017Celebrating Reformation 2017 in Cambridge gave us quite a jolt! In fact, celebration would be the wrong word. Our first taste of the 500th anniversary came when we attended Evensong at St. John’s early in the Michaelmas term (roughly equivalent to the fall semester). Richard Rex was the first of a series of guest speakers sched-uled throughout the term at St. John’s. He is a Reformation history professor at the Univer-sity of Cambridge and spoke

of both the merits of and the damage done by the Reforma-tion. My husband and I were quite puzzled by his remarks and chalked them up to his own Roman Catholic bias.

Next, though, we attended a Sunday morning eucharist at St. John’s in which the chaplain, the Rev. Carol Barrett Ford, preached. She gave a wonderful and warm sermon, inclusive of the adults in the room but also aware that the boys in the choir comprised a significant number of the congregants. Following the service she greeted us and welcomed us to St. John’s. We told her about our curious reac-tion to the speaker at Evensong the previous week, and she gave us a thoughtful response.

She noted that St. John’s was deliberately asking special speakers who offered myriad opinions and ideas about the Reformation. That’s something worth considering for our own planning. She went on to point

The Church of England bears the marks of their Reformation in ways hard for us to understand.

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out that these college chapels (St. John’s and King’s) were founded around the time of the Reformation. As such they hold in themselves the divisions England went through, first banning and burning the books of the English Reformers, killing many, then embracing Protestantism during the reign of Henry VIII, then returning again to Roman Catholicism under Queen Mary before returning and remaining the Church of England as it is today. In fact, she said, one can still see some blood from those killed during that time in the corners of a wall in St. Michael House, just across the street from St. John’s. It was a parish during the Reformation and is now a coffee house and museum of sorts. So, indeed, the Church of England bears the marks of their Reformation in ways hard for us to understand. (We did have to check it out for

ourselves, and sure enough, we found some blood stains in the corners of the upper walls!)

Even so, it came as a surprise that, on Reformation Day, the commemoration for Evensong at King’s was the Vigil of All Saints. The only mention of the Reformation was in one of the prayers, which was beautifully crafted and spoke of the church as ever-reforming. On a personal note, we attended the service with a friend who had lost her husband in the past year. This focus on All Saints gave her an opportunity to grieve and pray, and it was a moving worship experience for her and become so for us as well.

Choral TraditionsI am coming to appreciate a church that has a very different history than any US church could. I have heard more than a few finely crafted sermons, and … the music! The men and boys

choir tradition is still amazingly strong here, and St. John’s and King’s are two of the finest examples. The commitment of the choristers to live in a board-ing school away from home, along with the hours of rehears-als and services, is impressive. It takes a commitment from the whole college—as well as finan-cial resources—to continue this unique tradition, and that, too, is impressive.

There are other choral tradi-tions, growing up alongside the men and boys choirs, that are equally compelling. We heard the men and girls choir at York Minster, and there was no diminishment of quality there. In addition, at York, the choris-ters have the choice of boarding or living at home, which makes it easier for children and their families to consider. We have heard mixed men and women’s choirs of equal beauty, both at some of the other colleges and in local parishes.

There are differences I could critique, and things that I believe we do better as US church musicians, but that is for another time. For now I am content to observe a tradition that predates me and my coun-try, yet still draws on the same biblical and music sources that have nourished and continue to nourish me. Satis est.

lorraine S. Brugh, an Elca deacon, is professor of music at Valparaiso University (in).

There are other choral traditions, growing up alongside the men and boys choirs, that are equally compelling.

Members of the girls’ choir at york Minster

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i am the new editor of this publication and am so grateful to be working

with ALCM in this role! As I was considering what sort of article I might best be suited to write, I recalled a bit about my background.

I have never been a full-time church musician. Until I was able to make a living solely from music, I filled in the gaps by doing part-time nonprofit work. The combination of being a church music director and, for instance, house manager at the Ronald McDonald House in Milwaukee provided me an immense appreciation and respect for volunteers—while also learning some manage-ment skills.

As church musicians, we work with volunteers constantly. Granted, a church volunteer is different from your average nonprofit volunteer. Our choirs are comprised of people who often have an extremely personal relationship with the church. The council that we may need to report to is made up of passionate Christians who wish to give much time and energy to the church but may not know much about music or what our needs are.

In the church, we are all dedicated in an emotional, sometimes familial-driven way. Managing volunteers in such a scenario becomes all that much more sensitive and important. In the next few issues of In Tempo I will offer some thoughts that may be useful for you in

your situation. Such things can only strengthen relationships and retention and, ultimately, recruitment.

I certainly am not perfect in my own work with my bell choirs (I’ve got five: two that are volun-tary and three that are built into the school day for middle school students—they play for grades). But I’m willing to learn from my mistakes and to try anything to ensure that the group dynamic is a happy one, for volunteers and director alike.

Great ExpectationsIt’s important to set expecta-tions. Have a “ job description” put together, available to print off and talk through at the start of a new choir term. It can be a brief list of rehearsal and service expectations: timeliness, attendance, when and how to communicate with you, how to treat instruments (i.e., handbells), how to work with others in the group, what to do and what not to do when you’re rehearsing with a section and there is downtime for others, etc. Include a schedule for the year and your contact information.

This sets the tone for your group. When you are organized and serious about what you do, you provide an example for your volunteers to follow. It takes a little time to assemble this document, but once finalized it is done for good (only minor tweaking will be needed for the future).

With new choir members, meet with them personally and talk through expectations. Things feel especially important when you’re given a handout of guide-lines. Enforcing the rules is a separate issue and may need to be done situationally. But laying out clear expectations will make it easier to enforce rules, when the time comes. Everyone will be clear about what is happen-ing in your ensemble.

It is not always a fun thing to lead off with rules and expecta-tions. However, it is much easier to loosen up after setting the stage than the reverse!

allison M. Schweitzer, editor of In Tempo, is director of hand-bell choirs at

Mt. olive lutheran church and School in Milwaukee, Wi.

A church volunteer is different from your average nonprofit volunteer. Our choirs are comprised of people who often have an extremely personal relationship with the church.

Setting Expectationson volunteer management by Allison M. Schweitzer

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by Monica Naumann

o ne sultry Sunday morn-ing, in a jet-lagged stupor, I set foot in Immanuel

Lutheran Church, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Some days earlier my family and I had landed on this tropical island just south of India, the paradise that was to be our new home. My hus-band and I had spent months preparing for our deployment as career missionaries, but nothing quite prepares you for

the sensory overload of a new country. My recollection of our first few days and weeks in Sri Lanka is a dizzying array of new sights, smells, and sounds.

Sitting in church my first Sri Lankan Sunday morning I was completely lost, confused by the Tamil language, my bare feet covered in dirt and my head covered by a shawl. Was I really (a) in church, and (b) in Sri Lanka? But one thing quickly affirmed my place: the music. The familiar melodies of the Lutheran liturgy transcended our language barrier. Instantly I recognized the Gloria in excelsis, Sanctus, and Nunc dimittis. The liturgical music was unaccompanied, simply the strong voices of a congregation full of confident singers. Yes, I was certainly in a Lutheran church.

But the thing that rescued me from my confusion and con-vinced me I was most certainly in South Asia was the tabla. The tabla is the iconic pair of South Asian drums that provide both a pulsating metronome beat played with the right hand and a pitched kettledrum sound played with the left hand. Each of the Tamil hymns was accom-panied by tabla, and voices sang with ornamental ragas equally unique to South Asia. Yes, I was certainly in Sri Lanka.

Months after our arrival, after the jet-lag and cultural fogginess lifted, my pastor approached me. He understood that I played piano and asked if I was willing to accompany the Tamil services every Sunday. The task was daunting: while the Tamil liturgy was familiar, it was not exactly the same. Many minor rhythm changes had to be made to accommodate the differences in language, a language I am not fluent in. I reluctantly agreed to help.

The first several months were a disaster. I quickly learned that music is generally not taught in Sri Lankan schools; subsequently, music illiteracy is the norm. The Tamil hymnal comprises hundreds of hymn stanzas but almost no musical notation. Almost all music is learned by ear; trying to adjust the congregants to sing exactly as the music is written would be next to impossible. Much of the time in those first few months I

was simply lost in the service or playing in a different key than the congregation was singing.

Not wanting to admit defeat, I continued to show up Sunday mornings knowing that things could not possibly get worse. With some practice, especially one-on-one with the pastor, I learned to make slight alter-ations to the rhythm in the necessary places to ensure the congregation and accompanist would stay together. In other small places, entire melodies had changed, and I simply learned to mirror what the con-gregation was already singing.

The Liturgy Is the Heart; May the Culture Be Its Beat

The familiar melodies of the Lutheran liturgy transcended our language barrier.

Not wanting to admit defeat, I continued to show up Sunday mornings knowing that things could not possibly get worse.

The tabla is the iconic pair of South Asian drums that provide both a pulsating metronome beat played with the right hand and a pitched kettledrum sound played with the left hand.

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paul Westermeyer is dean of the twin cities chapter, american Guild of organists, and emeritus pro-fessor of church music at luther Seminary in St. paul, Mn, where he was also cantor and director of the MSM program there with the musical staff provided by St. olaf college in northfield, Mn.

In Tempo: How did you get your start in church music?

Paul Westermeyer: I took piano lessons from my mom when I was a little kid; my dad borrowed recordings from the public library every week and had our hymnal and its companion on our piano all the time; and I started studying violin when I was nine years old. I conned my church organist, John Weissrock, into giving me organ lessons when I was in high school. Realizing I could read and hear a score, I got interested in conducting. I worked through Max Rudolf’s The Grammar of Conducting, watched conductors like a hawk, and organized a choir of my high school friends for worship services in a veterans’ hospital chapel.

I started visiting various churches, curious about what was going on musically, and discovered, “This is more complicated than I thought.” My best friend in high school was Byrne Camp, a pianist who later studied at Juilliard. He was black. I visited his church. He visited mine. When I went

to his church I realized that the first person singular pronoun “I” meant “we” and was not sentimental, as it could be in my white church. I had no musico-logical, liturgical, theological, or historical knowledge, but it was clear that something more was going on than just musical notes or styles. I learned that context was important: black folks had to face police brutality when they left worship while white folks did not—and that unified them to sing “I” as “we.”

Also when I was about nine, I felt called to be a pastor. As I got older I started asking questions. The musicians said, “Keep studying music, and you’ll get over theology.” The pastors said, “Keep studying theology, and you’ll get over music.” That was not very helpful. I began

Paul Westermeyer (interviewed by allson Schweitzer, december 2017)

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And the Tamil Sri Lankan Lutherans continue to sing beautifully what is unmistakably the Lutheran liturgy.

And the Tamil Sri Lankan Lutherans continue to sing beautifully what is unmistakably the Lutheran liturgy.

The tabla has not disappeared from our services. Tablas are used during each hymn, often the only accompaniment. Continuing to incorporate the tabla into the weekly service adds beauty and interest, and it honors the culture where I have been appointed to serve. Main-taining this Sri Lankan musical tradition is as important as preserving the rich musical her-itage of the Lutheran liturgy.

Monica naumann is a family nurse practitioner by training and an appointed mis-

sionary of the lutheran church—Missouri Synod to South asia. She currently resides in colombo, Sri lanka, with her hus-band and five children.


to see that pastors and church musicians were trained in separate tracks with little or no understanding of the other’s discipline and vocation.

In college I had a remarkable music theory teacher, T. Howard Krueger. Though not a theologian, he was the first person to take my questions seriously. He told me about the workshops and seminars that I’d ultimately attend. It became clear to me through his help that I wasn’t crazy, that there was a discipline of church music to be studied. I majored in music in college, went on to seminary and music school, then did more study—at the Schola Cantorum at Concordia Seminary (St. Louis, MO) with Robert Bergt and at the Liturgical Studies program at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN) with Aidan Kavanagh. These were both wonderful programs, but I realized I needed to find a more interdisciplinary doctoral degree.

The University of Chicago provided it. I took a course with Martin Marty and realized that, with his wide and wise understanding, he could help me. He became my doctoral advisor. James Gustafson was my theological reader who helped me get at musical and liturgical matters theologically. I was able to have a musical reader outside the University, Carl Schalk. He provided exactly what I needed. When I met with him in a classroom at Concordia (River Forest, IL), it became clear that he had read every word of the dissertation I was working on and did musically what Dr. Gus-tafson did theologically. The splendid resources and brain

power the University of Chicago and the adjacent Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago offered made it possible for me to do this work.

IT: Who were some of your greatest influences?

PW: They form a long list. Besides the teachers already mentioned, the list includes Eugene Wehrli, Bard Thomp-son, Cyril Richardson, Gabriel Fackre, Elizabeth Achtemeier, John Tietjen, and Katherine Crozier. Others who weren’t classroom and private teachers include Irenaeus, Ambrose, Augustine, Luther, Bernard of Clairvaux, Hildegard, Palestrina, J. S. Bach, John Williamson Nevin, Philip Schaff, Harriet Krauth Spaeth, Paul Manz, Robert Shaw, Joseph Sittler, Martin Luther King, Jr., plus many, many fellow students and colleagues.

IT: You really preferred the holistic approach of study, covering theology and music. Would you encourage this of other church musicians?

PW: Spending my life as a musicological, liturgical, or theological expert was not my calling. My vocation was to learn what I could about those disciplines, rely on their schol-ars for help, and figure out the interdisciplinary mix church music requires as best I could.

Our job as baptized Christians is to do what we are each called to do. I’m not called to do what Bach or Manz were called to do, and my students are not neces-sarily called to do what I’ve been called to do. They’re called to figure out what their abilities and talents are, in connection

with where they are living and working. This has to be done with God and the whole church catholic, past and present. You can’t do it on your own.

IT: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve come across along the way?

PW: Our separate tracks for music and theology are a challenge for the church—all churches. Musicians tend to be shut out of the theological dialogue, and seminaries tend to shut pastors out of learning what church music is about.This division is challenging and disheartening.

Also, in our particular culture, the market controls everything. Music is a means to sell things. If music is a means to sell Christianity, the church and its message become products to be sold. Church musicians know in their guts that this is wrong. Music is for the glory of God and the good of humanity. The church tends to get sucked into the culture’s lure. We cannot use music as a sales technique to save the church; God takes care of the church. It’s our job to care for our neighbors and do our vocations. This is a very seri-ous dilemma for us now, made worse by the two tracks we’re on. Those who know nothing about church music tend to use

My students are not necessarily called to do what I’ve been called to do. They’re called to figure out what their abilities and talents are, in connection with where they are living and working.

Westermeyer, continued from page 17


it as a sales tool for their partic-ular agenda. Church musicians get abused in this system. The number of musicians I know who have been fired unjustly and treated badly—often by pastors who, though they’re good people, don’t know what they’re doing—is legion. I’ve tried to explain this in a book that I just finished proofing and is now at the press, A High and Holy Calling: Essays of Encour-agement for the Church and Its Musicians (MorningStar).

IT: Do you have any particular accomplishment that you’re most proud of?

PW: I have been a church musician and a pastor, but my central responsibility has been to be a teacher about church music. I was told by one of my deans that I owe it to my institutions to keep a record of my publications (see www .paulwestermeyer.com). I hope

the books and articles I have written are of some lasting value.

IT: What advice would you give to someone new to, or consider-ing, the field of church music?

PW: The first thing I have told prospective church music stu-dents is, “If you want to get rich, don’t be a church musician. If, however, you can’t help it, go for it.” This has to do with a sense of vocation and determining one’s own talents and responsi-bilities. We each have to figure out who we are and what we are called to do, then do it. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. I would strongly encourage those who are called to be church musicians, however, to listen to their sense of call in spite of the discouragement some churches and seminaries supply. There are oases of support.

IT: What is some of your favorite music?

PW: It’s very hard not to be drawn to Bach, who continually provides insights for me. Every time I go back to a Bach piece, I find something else. There’s just so much you don’t notice in the first go-round. Schütz is import-ant to me as well. His Matthew Passion was my Master of Sacred Music project at the School of Sacred Music at Union Semi-nary (New York). “If You But Trust in God to Guide You” is a hymn that’s been important for my life. None of this shuts out many other pieces of music and hymns.

IT: Is there anything else you’d like to mention to church musicians reading this?

PW: What I would like to say mostly is, “Thanks.” I’m profoundly grateful, and the church needs to be profoundly grateful, for church musicians and what they do.

paciFic lUthERan UniVERSity photo/John FRoSchaUER


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by William F. Kuhn

as church musicians we are always on the lookout for ways to enhance the

music in our worship services. Additionally we look for ways to engage our youth in church activities. One way to do both is to give student musicians the opportunity to play in church. These budding instrumentalists can be used in a wide variety of ways depending on their skill level. What follows are some suggestions of various ways that these musicians can be used. I am also including some things to keep in mind when choosing music for them to perform.

Students often begin the study of an orchestral instrument at a young age. String players in particular begin in the early years of elementary school because of the different sizes of instruments available for them to learn on as they continue to grow. That is not the case for wind instruments.

One way to use very young players is to have them play the melody of a hymn with organ or piano accompaniment. Some things to keep in mind when choosing a hymn include the key, the range, and the tessitura of the hymn. String players tend to play, especially in their nascent years, in sharp keys (concert key), while wind players tend to play in flat keys (concert key). This is very important to consider when choosing even the simplest hymn for them to play. It is quite possible that the players

Making Use of Student Instrumentalists

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C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8Middle C

Octave Numbering System

C Bb Eb F instruments instruments instruments instruments

Bb/BASS FLUTE CLARINET A/B SAX FRENCH OBOE TRUMPET ALTO HORN BASSOON S/T SAX CLARINET ENGLISH TROMBONE BARITONE HORN C TUBA B/BbTUBA

concert 1 step 1.5 steps 2.5 steps pitch up down down (c.p.) from c.p. from c.p. from c.p.

C D A G B CI GI FI Bb (AI) C G F A B FI E Ab (GI) B b F E b G A E D Gb (FI) A b E b D b F G D C E FI CI B Eb (DI) F C B b D E B A Db (CI) E b B b A b

Wind InstrumentTranspositions

… budding instrumentalists can be used in a wide variety of ways depending on their skill level.

haven’t yet been introduced to particular notes if you choose incorrectly. It is also important, especially again for wind instruments, that the range be rather narrow. Beginning clarinet players are probably not equipped to go over their instrument’s break, anything above their written B♭ (B♭4; concert A♭4). Trumpet players should probably not go above their written C (C5; concert B♭4). Bass clef trombone or euphonium players should not go above top-of-the-staff B♭ (B♭3). Most of the other wind instruments will not have as much range issue as these.

This also brings up the issue of transposing instruments. With string players the only thing to keep in mind is that the viola reads in alto clef. Wind instru-ments are another story. Treble clef instruments that don’t need to transpose are the flute and oboe: the note they play is the note they sound. The other treble clef wind instruments are transposing: the note they play is not the note that sounds. The most common B♭ instruments

include the trumpet, clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone (both of which additionally sound one octave lower). Occasionally you may have a treble clef euphonium/baritone player, which transposes sim-ilarly to the tenor saxophone. B♭ instruments sound a major second lower than the note that they play. To write their part you must change the key to a major second higher and write every note a major second higher. If the original key is E♭, the new key is F; if the written note is F, the note in the new key is G.

Another common transposition is F instruments (French horns), which sound a perfect fifth lower. Their music needs to be written in the key a perfect fifth higher and the notes also written a perfect fifth higher. If the original key is E♭, the new key is B♭; if the written note is F, the note in the new key is C


a fifth higher. E♭ instruments include the alto saxophone and baritone saxophone (both of which additionally sound one octave lower) and the alto horn also known as the mellophone. E♭ instruments sound a major sixth lower, so both the key and the notes need to be written a major sixth higher. If the orig-inal key is E♭, the new key is C; if the written note is F, the note in the new key is D. Of course, if you are fortunate enough to have the computer music program Finale or a similar program, it will do all the trans-position work for you.

One other thing to keep in mind, particularly with younger students but also with older students, depending on their school program: most young instrumentalists are not used to playing by themselves but typ-ically play in a section. This is the case for almost every instru-ment no matter what part they play (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) within a section. This needs to be kept in mind and may require extra encouragement or help to develop the independence

necessary to play a solo or in a small group with everyone playing a different part.

I would also recommend having a fingering book handy, just in case there is a note or two that a student may not have been introduced to yet. One of the easiest to have available is the Handy Manual Fingering Charts for Instrumentalists published by Carl Fischer. It seems like this book has been around forever, and there are probably better books available now. What I like about this one, though, is that it has charts for all of the stan-dard instruments you will likely have in your ensemble, and it is small enough that you can easily keep it on your stand or in another convenient location.

Hymns are not the only things that beginning students are capable of playing. It is even possible that the method book they are using in school will have a solo that would be appropriate to use in church, complete with piano accompaniment. There are also arrangements available for beginning musicians from solos to duets, trios, and so on. A good source for music at this level would be pieces published by J. W. Pepper at jwpepper .com. For larger groups, some of the series available are FlexBand, published by Hal Leonard; Build-A-Band,

published by Barnhouse (both of these available at jwpepper); and Band Expansion, published by Band Expansion and avail-able directly from the publisher. These are especially helpful if your group has nonstandard instrumentation, because parts can be distributed according to your resources.

As the students progress on their instruments, there is a much wider selection of music available to use in a church service. There is not room in this article to expand beyond your youngest instrumentalists; that will need to wait for a future article.

One other word of advice before I close: introduce yourself to your local music teachers, both those in schools and those teaching privately. Let them know who you are, tell them which of their students attend your church, and let them know that you would like to use these students to enhance the music in your church. I am certain that they will be happy to help you in any way they can, because this will only help to reinforce what they are already doing with their students.

What a great way to involve our young people in worship! What a positive addition to your congregation’s worship! I ask God to bless your efforts, as you begin this exciting adventure.

William F. kuhn, alcM board member and Region 4 presi-dent, is professor

of instrumental music at concordia University, portland, oR.

It is even possible that the method book they are us-ing in school will have a solo that would be appro-priate to use in church, complete with piano accompaniment.

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C5 B5 C6 B6 C7 B7 C8

C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8Middle C

Octave Numbering System

C Bb Eb F instruments instruments instruments instruments

Bb/BASS FLUTE CLARINET A/B SAX FRENCH OBOE TRUMPET ALTO HORN BASSOON S/T SAX CLARINET ENGLISH TROMBONE BARITONE HORN C TUBA B/BbTUBA

concert 1 step 1.5 steps 2.5 steps pitch up down down (c.p.) from c.p. from c.p. from c.p.

C D A G B CI GI FI Bb (AI) C G F A B FI E Ab (GI) B b F E b G A E D Gb (FI) A b E b D b F G D C E FI CI B Eb (DI) F C B b D E B A Db (CI) E b B b A b

Wind InstrumentTranspositions


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w hen I was in third grade at my parochial grade school, something

major happened. A new Wis-consin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) hymnal was introduced: Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal. Suddenly, the hymn I was memorizing wasn’t hymn 84 anymore. The num-bers changed. The liturgy at the front of the book was updated. There were (gasp) new words to the Lord’s Prayer!

Although this changed my memorization homework, my life wasn’t affected much by the introduction of a new hymnal. In fact, I didn’t think about it beyond those assignments. However, my parents and grand-parents had mixed feelings. There was some outrage, some uncomfortable feelings, some elation and some sadness. I had no idea the depth of feeling that they and many others had about the hymnal that sat in our pews.

Now I have a new perspective. I’m the mother of two small children who can’t read yet. They, like my nine-year-old self, aren’t too concerned about the new hymnal that the WELS Hymnal Project Committee is currently working on with a publishing goal year of 2021. What they don’t know is that they already have a connection to Jesus and his saving word

through the words printed in the current hymnal.

■■ The words spoken at their baptisms? Printed on page 12.

■■ The liturgy we use every Sunday they are hearing while using the toddler scribble cards or relaxing in our laps during service? They make up the first third of the book.

■■ The hymns my husband and I sing to them as lul-labies? There are over 600 of them from which we can choose.

■■ The hymns that connect them and future gen-erations to the past generations of Lutherans worshipping God? Over 400 of them were retained from the previous hymnal and may remain the same in this upcoming hymnal.

There is a steering committee of 13 individuals working on this project, with about 80 total individuals working on various committees under the direction of Pr. Michael Schultz. In addition to a new hymnal in the pews and in the hands of parishioners, there are plans for releasing handbooks, worship planning resources, digital music resources, and more.

“The digital tools of the hymnal project are those which will noticeably distinguish the new hymnal from its predecessor,”

explains Pr. Schultz. “There are no drastic changes to orders of worship. … What will be a little different, as is always the case with a new hymnal, will be some new sounds added to old sounds, some new words added to words we already know, as psalms and hymns and rites are expanded, and, prayerfully, improved as we hone existing materials and as we find and make use of gifts that come in

The WELS Hymnal Project

pew perspective by Jennifer Wolf

I had no idea the depth of feeling that

they and many others had about the

hymnal that sat in our pews.

“What will be a little

different, as is always

the case with a new

hymnal, will be some

new sounds added to

old sounds, some new

words added to words

we already know, as

psalms and hymns

and rites are expand-

ed, and, prayerfully,

improved.”

0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0the form of new worship materi-als which the Spirit continues to pour out on his church.”

“It is our hope that the average parishioner will continue to take an interest in the project and be willing to stay informed as updates are given,” Schultz said. In addition to following the project blog, people have been participating through national surveys and by field testing materials.

Another way for parishioners to participate in the new hymnal is by voting during the selection process on which hymns will be retained in the future hymnal. This arduous process is being tackled in nine segments. As of publication of this article, seven segments have been reviewed. Pr. Schultz said the “text and music committees are working toward a goal of approximately 650 hymns in the next hymnal.”

Individuals can vote to “save” up to 10 cut hymns in each segment. I have to admit that I’m shocked by some of the cut hymns, but others I’m not famil-iar with at all. I’ve put my votes in, and we’ll see how it turns out. In the meantime, please stay tuned, as I hope to provide you with more information from my pew perspective.

For more information on the WElS hymnal project, please visit www.welshymnal.com.

Jennifer Wolf is a pR specialist who has taught at Wisconsin lutheran college

in Milwaukee, Wi. She is a layper-son in the pew at St. John’s Evangelical lutheran church in Wauwatosa, Wi.

The third movement is a duet for tenor and bass on the text “May the Lord bless you more and more, you and your children.” This may work well as the psalm or could also be a response after the wedding blessing.

The final movement, set for all the singers and play-ers, certainly works as a recessional piece, and is perhaps most effective after the blessing, as it reads, “You are the blessed of the Lord.”

Music for weddings is often prosaic and unremarkable. Using a piece by Bach may be a marvelous way to raise the bar!

Rick Erickson is director of the Bach Society in houston, tX, and cantor at christ

the king lutheran church, also in houston.

A Bach Cantata Suggestion for Wedding Ceremony Use

Raise the bar!

WELS hymnal, continued

0-25-100-0 100-22-22-0 0-80-100-0by Rick Erickson

johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata Der Herr denket an uns (BWV 196) is an early

work of his, set for SATB voices and strings. Probably written for a wedding and set to Psalm 115:12–15, in my experience this piece works well for use in a wedding.

Der Herr denket an uns may be sung by four solo voices as well as a larger choral ensemble. The strings may be simply one on a part or could be enlarged. The choral workout itself is modest, with rich rewards.

It seems that this cantata lends itself well to various parts of a service, rather than being presented all at once. Of course, that would never be a problem either! But let me suggest an integrated order where BWV 196 plays an active liturgical role.

The Sinfonia (mvt. 1) would be a lovely prelude.

The second movement, a choral setting of “The Lord thinks of us and blesses us,” could be the processional. This movement is a perfect length for a modest procession.


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association of lutheran church Musicians

810 Freeman St.

Valparaiso, in 46383

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDValparaiso, INPermit. No. 105

in tempo

a b c e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

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New Choral Releases for 2018

| Augsburg Music is the music imprint of Augsburg Fortress | augsburgfortress.org

Augsburg MusicLEADING THE CHURCH’S SONGaugsburgfortress.org/Choral2018

2018 ALCM EventsMultiple Opportunities • Multiple Locations

For details on locations and programs or to register, go to www.ALCM.org.

Upcoming Spring EventsFebruary 24 – Silver Spring, MDApril 14 – Gettysburg, PAApril 28 – North Hollywood, CAMay 5 – Amherst, MA

Summer IntensiveJuly 23-26 – Valparaiso, IN

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