Church Musicians

Develop a deeper appreciation of church music and learn the history of the Church's hymnody with these articles from CPH Music.

  • Music of the Month: An American Hymn Tune Sampler

    Music of the Month: An American Hymn Tune Sampler

    Kevin Hildebrand’s collection of organ preludes on American hymn tunes is a timely publication in 2026 as the United States celebrates its semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of its...

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  • The Rich History of Three Pentecost Hymns

    The Rich History of Three Pentecost Hymns

    Following the season of Easter is the Day of Pentecost, celebrating the narrative recorded in Acts 2 of the Holy Spirit descending onto followers of Christ and allowing them to speak in...

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  • The Rich History of Three Pentecost Hymns

    The Rich History of Three Pentecost Hymns

    Following the season of Easter is the Day of Pentecost, celebrating the narrative recorded in Acts 2 of the Holy Spirit descending onto followers of Christ and allowing them to speak in...

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  • How We Can Practice Listening like Christ

    How We Can Practice Listening like Christ

    Often, listening to music is a passive activity. Parents absentmindedly turn on music playlists while cleaning, or drivers may flip to the local music station while on their commute. In...

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  • Music of the Month: Offertory Mosaics

    Music of the Month: Offertory Mosaics

    Accent the Offertory with grace and joy using Offertory Mosaics, the latest addition to the long-standing Mosaics series by Jacob B. Weber. Six organ preludes provide fresh settings, with...

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  • The History of Three Popular Hymns for Confirmation Services

    The History of Three Popular Hymns for Confirmation Services

    Confirmation comes around each year as students confirm the faith into which they were baptized and promise to cling to that faith by God's grace until death. This celebration is filled...

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  • Music of the Month: Ten Interpretations Set 1

    Music of the Month: Ten Interpretations Set 1

    A trusted craftsman at leading engaging congregational singing, Jeffrey Blersch is at it again with a brand-new series of hymn introductions and harmonizations. In this series, ten hymns...

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  • Four Hymn Concertatos That Celebrate Christ’s Resurrection

    Four Hymn Concertatos That Celebrate Christ’s Resurrection

    We mark the celebratory Easter season with sparkling white paraments, blooming lilies, the long-awaited liturgical return to alleluias, and especially the exuberance of Resurrection Day...

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  • Music of the Month: All You Works of the Lord

    Music of the Month: All You Works of the Lord

    Call on all of creation to bless the Lord with “All You Works of the Lord” by John A. Behnke. A memorable refrain, joyful piano accompaniment, and verses with great back-and-forth...

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  • How to Prepare the Church Sanctuary for Lent and Holy Week

    How to Prepare the Church Sanctuary for Lent and Holy Week

    Lent [and Holy Week] begins the second great division of the Church Year. Lent is a time of preparation for Easter. In the Early Church it was a period of preparation for the Sacrament of...

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  • Introducing Wake, Awake Hymn VBS

    Introducing Wake, Awake Hymn VBS

    Concordia Publishing House is excited to announce a brand-new Vacation Bible School option that emphasizes hymnody and catechesis as it teaches children about our Savior, Jesus. At Wake,...

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  • Music of the Month: O Darkest Woe

    Music of the Month: O Darkest Woe

    “O Darkest Woe” is a gorgeous, albeit plaintive setting of the classic Good Friday hymn for SATB choir, two treble instruments, continuo, and optional violoncello. This piece is taken...

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  • Music of the Month: Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine

    Music of the Month: Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mine

    This new take on the German Christmas carol uses the ancient Resonet in Laudibus melody but places it in an entirely different setting for SATB choir, piano, and alto saxophone. The...

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  • Top String Music Settings for the Church Year

    Top String Music Settings for the Church Year

    String instruments bring a rich depth and emotional beauty to worship. Whether supporting congregational singing, accompanying the choir, or offering reflective meditations, strings can...

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  • Music of the Month: Word Made Flesh to Dwell Among Us

    Music of the Month: Word Made Flesh to Dwell Among Us

    “Word made flesh,” “barn made palace,” and “sky made song” are just a few of the wonderful poetic phrases in this charming Christmas anthem by Carl F. Schalk (1929–2021) with text by...

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  • Why Do We Have One- and Three-Year Lectionaries?

    Why Do We Have One- and Three-Year Lectionaries?

    Yes, what we look forward to this coming Sunday morning really does come down to us through millennia. This blog post, adapted from Carl C. Fickenscher II’s book Looking Forward to Sunday...

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  • Music of the Month: Three Reformation Motets

    Music of the Month: Three Reformation Motets

    In commemoration of the five hundredth anniversary of Johann Walter’s collection Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn (1524), these three motets were edited and selected for their usefulness for...

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  • Edward Rechlin: Paving the Way for Lutheran Organists

    Edward Rechlin: Paving the Way for Lutheran Organists

    This blog post is adapted from Portraits in American Lutheran Sacred Music, 1847–1947, by Benjamin Kolodziej.

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  • Music of the Month: Sojourn: Four Chorale Preludes from Childhood to Resurrection

    Music of the Month: Sojourn: Four Chorale Preludes from Childhood to Resurrection

    Take a journey through the seasons of life with this set of four chorale preludes by German composer Bernard Wayne Sanders. The preludes can be played individually or as a set of hymns...

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  • Sacred Music That Reminds Us of Our Baptism

    Sacred Music That Reminds Us of Our Baptism

    Baptism is much more than just a moment. It is a second birth and a transformation of identity. In the waters of Baptism, God claims us as His own, washing away our sin and marking us...

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