[Magdalen] Here We Go Again.

[Jay Weigel]

Someone definitely messed with the harmonies in the new one. Fortunately
most of them don't clash with the ones I learned singing in Episcopal
choirs and know by heart, so I just sing mine. And some of the cr** that's
in there.....well, let's just say I will NOT sing anything to the tune of
"Barbara Allen". I just can't.

On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 10:38 AM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 9:26 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I hope they don't muck up the hymnal as badly as the ELCA has theirs.
>
> I used to attend the annual Institute of Liturgical Studies at
> Valparaiso U...a fine conference of mostly (but not exclusively) ELCA
> liturgists, musicians, pastors, and lay people. I remember a lot of
> talk about how the ELCA would probably adopt not a new hymnal as a
> single book but a "directory of resources." This would include hymns,
> various liturgical items, books on liturgical spirituality, etc. One
> presenter was skeptical about this idea and turned out to be right: at
> some point it was announced there would be a "core resource": a new
> hymnal. One must realize the "hymnal" in the Lutheran world is
> basically a BCP+book of hymns and service music. Some of the
> less-often-used liturgical material (such as for ordinations) is in a
> separate Minister's Edition that lacks the hymns section. So this
> project was basically to replace both the liturgical and musical
> resources.
>
> Some complained back in 1978 that the Lutheran Book of Worship adopted
> odd (or even bizarre) harmonizations for many hymns. The more recent
> Evangelical Lutheran Worship brought further complaints about text
> changes and hymn choices. But there are 10, count 'em, 10 settings for
> the Holy Eucharist rite!
>
> Scott, who remembers some deeply moving worship experiences with the
> 1978 LBW, including a series of Anglican-style Evensongs at Zion
> Lutheran in Ann Arbor. Somehow it was very English-cathedral yet made
> full use of the LBW resources. Helped that they had a fantastic choir
> and director.
>
> --
> Scott R. Knitter
> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
>