—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

​​The reader may recall from the April 2018 issue of “Lifted Voice” that we explored music inspired by the Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s last Sunday (April 7, 1945) before his martyrdom in the death camp at Flossenbürg. Two days later Bonhoeffer was hung from the gallows for his alleged involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill Hitler. The disposition of his remains is still unknown. Two weeks later the Allies liberated the camp. In another week Hitler committed suicide and the war in Europe was over. His twin sister, Sabine, did not hear about his death until May 31. As late as July 23, Bonhoeffer’s parents, Karl and Paula, had only heard the rumor of Dietrich’s death, although they were aware of the death of their son Klaus. Meanwhile, two pastors and Dietrich’s dear friend, Bishop George Bell, organized a memorial service for brothers Dietrich and Klaus, which was held on July 27 at London’s Holy Trinity Brompton Church (please see the image above). Bishop Bell arranged for it to be “livestreamed” in Germany, which served as confirmation for Bonhoeffer’s extended family that he was dead. Three sacred choral works from this memorial service will serve as the focus of this issue of “Lifted Voice”.
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— St. John 7:38
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​From the rivers of salvation in the Old Testament to the Jordan River in the New Testament, Psalm 42 points the thirsting soul toward the waters of salvation. The picturesque images in the first 3 of the Psalm’s 11 verses have especially inspired composers through the centuries:

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Confirmation Sermon, March 13, 1932
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On Sunday, April 8, 1945, in an abandoned schoolhouse in the village of Schönberg, the Lutheran pastor and prisoner, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), celebrated the first Sunday after Easter (hereafter “Easter I”) with a short service of preaching, prayer, and praise. Bonhoeffer had been imprisoned since April 5, 1943, charged with collaboration in a failed plot to assassinate Hitler. Hitler, whose army was reduced to young boys and old men, was handing out death sentences aplenty. On this solemn occasion, Bonhoeffer read from a devotional book known in German as the Losungen (“watchword”), which appointed Isaiah 53:3 as the Old Testament watchword for the day and I Peter 1:3 as the New Testament counterpart (Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy, pp. 527-529). The traditional Communion propers for this Sunday, especially the Introit and the Gospel Lesson, were certainly on his mind, if not included in his sermon. Inspired by these events, and in part because April 8th is Easter I this year, this issue of “Lifted Voice” will focus on musical settings of the aforementioned devotional readings and appointed propers for Easter I. 
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Chant + Motet + Hymn
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For behold, by the wood of Your cross joy has come into all the world!

— The Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday

In the sixth century, the Queen of France founded a nunnery in Poitiers. Before the formal consecration of the nunnery, she was kind enough to present various relics to it, including a supposed piece of the true cross of Christ, which she obtained from Emperor Justin II. As the story goes, the Bishop of Tours, escorted by numerous clergy and laymen, with torches and incense, joined in the procession and the solemn dedication of the nunnery on 19 November in the year 569. It was on this occasion that the hymn “The Royal Banners Forward Go” by Venantius Honorus Fortunatus (c. 530-609), known in Latin as Vexilla Regis, was heard for the first time:

With this Ash Wednesday installment of “Lifted Voice,” I am pleased to introduce my occasional series, “On Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs” (from Col. 3:16), which will explore the church’s vast treasury of Psalm settings for choir and congregation. We begin our journey with one of the most famous works in the a cappella repertoire, Miserere (“Have mercy,” i.e., Psalm 51) by the Italian composer, Gregorio Allegri.
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— from The Litany

​On the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, many of the Faithful hear the following Introit: “Drop down, ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.” As Advent turns to Christmas and expectation to fulfillment, many of us will hopefully take time to sing, pray, and meditate on the following ancient responsory for Matins on Christmas Day:

+ In all time of our tribulation . . . in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
​Help us, good Lord.  +

— From The Litany

Faithful readers of “Lifted Voice” may recall that I recently began an occasional series entitled “Rescuing the Requiem,” which explores musical settings of selected texts from the historic Mass for the Dead (the Requiem) that are fitting in a Lutheran context, especially the Kyrie and the Sanctus. In the present issue, I wish to share with the good reader two settings of the Sanctus that are accessible to the capable parish choir and organist, both from prominent French composers, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986).

— Martin Luther to Philip Melanchthon
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Last year in this column (October 2016), we examined the contents of the first Lutheran hymnal, “The Eight-Song Book.” As Lutherans (and many others) now celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (31 October 2017), it seems fitting to conduct a brief historical survey of the best known hymn of Martin Luther (1483-1546), “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”
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— from The Litany

The traditional title of the ancient Mass for the Dead is “Requiem,” which hails from the first word of the Introit for this occasional Mass, “Rest (requiem) eternal grant to them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them.” Readers who are not of the Roman Catholic faith may be a bit surprised to encounter a column on a musical setting of the Requiem from a Lutheran writer, but we must be cautious not to throw out the “Lutheran baby” with the “Medieval bath water.” The text of the Requiem omits the Gloria and the Creed, alters the Agnus Dei to include prayers for the dead, and includes numerous texts on the final judgment that are curiously devoid of the Gospel. Two sacred texts remain intact, however, which overlap with the traditional “Sunday” text of the Mass: the Kyrie (“Lord, have mercy”) and the Sanctus (“Holy, holy, holy”). These texts have inspired composers through the centuries, leaving a veritable treasure trove in our ecclesiastical back yard. Welcome to the first installment of our occasional “Rescuing the Requiem” series, which seeks to extract and explore excerpts from the Requiem repertoire, beginning with the Kyrie of the Requiem of Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986).

​Mozart shows us the kind of music we might hope to hear in heaven.
But it is Bach, making music in the Castle of Heaven, who gives us the voice of God—in human form.

— John Eliot Gardiner
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 In the final movements of The Mass in B-Minor by J. S. Bach (1685-1750), the composer intentionally contrasts large choruses with more intimate arias, with a miniature chiasm around the Benedictus:
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​Only the last two movements remain to be considered in this, our final installment of “B Minor Basics”: the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) aria and the Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) chorus.