[Magdalen] Psalm - Whither Goeth Thou?

[Scott Knitter]

On Sat, Mar 14, 2015 at 11:43 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> I will admit that I am having my troubles with the Lutheran service music,
> which isn't chant but is something else entirely. Some of it doesn't seem
> to make a lot of musical sense. I was relieved when Lent got here and we
> retreated to the "Land of Rest" setting. Whew!

I got very familiar with the Lutheran Book of Worship settings during
my two years as a member of the Lutheran Church in America, one of the
three bodies that merged to form the ELCA. I think what sounds odd
(and I'm thinking of Setting 1 in the LBW) is that the music is in a
mode (such as Dorian) rather than strictly in a key. So as the people
answer "Lord have mercy" and "Christ have mercy" in the Kyrie litany,
for example, the organ hits what sound like clunkers, but they're
correct within the mode, even if the ear wants to hear a raised
seventh tone or whatever. It's relatively recently composed chant with
organ accompaniment and a bit of rhythm and meter thrown in.

I've heard Lutheran-church organists complain sometimes about the
LBW's accompaniments as being a bit off, and some used an older book
when accompanying the hymns they didn't like.


-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA