Music of the Month: Notes of Gladness
This collection by Benjamin Kolodziej features Easter organ settings of moderate difficulty. Each employs various musical textures to convey the spirit of the hymn texts to the...
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Sharing God’s Work through the Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) with Rehema Kavugha
From graduation at Concordia Nebraska, to teaching music in Lutherans schools, to returning to the students at CUNE, to her role at Lutheran Church Extension Fund, with a few stops along the way like
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How Music Affects Its Listeners
During our recent spring break vacation at the beach, my husband and I encountered several people walking along the sidewalks, beach, and paths carrying speakers playing loud music,...
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Understanding Worship: Service of the Word
Have you ever wondered why there are so many aspects of Lutheran worship? What about the style of music, the order of service, or even the weekly lectionary readings? Lutheran worship...
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Music of the Month: Go to Dark Gethsemane
Mitchell Eithun provides a plaintive arrangement of the tune GETHSEMANE. Based on the first three stanzas of the hymn, Eithun’s portrayal of the hymn’s narrative includes phrases of the...
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The Beautiful Routine of the Liturgy
A day or two before Ash Wednesday, I remarked to my husband, “I can’t wait for Lent.” In a dreary year of isolation, anxiety, moral quandaries, political polarization, disease, and...
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Themes in the Season of Lent
To mark the first day of Lent, we’re sharing an excerpt from Heaven on Earth in which Arthur Just describes the theological accents in the season of Lent.
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Music of the Month: Good Friday Suite
Good Friday Suite features four hymns: “O Perfect Life of Love”; “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle”; “The Royal Banners Forward Go”; and “O Darkest Woe.” The suite may be played...
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In Memoriam: Dr. Carl Flentge Schalk
The life of Dr. Carl F. Schalk (1929–2021) is certainly one of the clearest and longest proclamations of the Gospel ever heard in the world of Lutheran church music.
He was a beloved...
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Composer of the Month: Robert Powell
Robert J. Powell (b. 1932) began writing music when he was in high school and, since then, has had more than three hundred compositions published by sacred music publishers. His works...
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Live Out Your Love for Traditional Church Music
How horribly unfair movies are toward Christianity.
I am speaking generally, of course. But Hollywood is not a hotbed of orthodox Christian thought and practice. Movies often show the...
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Music of the Month: Cross of Jesus: Six Preludes for Lent
Robert J. Powell has composed a well-crafted and accessible organ collection for Lent, Cross of Jesus: Six Preludes for Lent. This book offers settings that are appropriate to the...
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God Always Has Room for You
This post is from Praise and Honor: Hymn Inspired Devotions.
“Where Shepherds Lately Knelt” is a remarkable gift, but it is easily missed because it is placed a third of the way into...
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Teach Children to Play Beautiful Music through Stories
I’m a rule follower.
I hate making decisions, and rules tell me exactly what I should do. They are easy to follow because I don’t need to think about anything. If it’s a rule, I follow...
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A Celebration of Hymn to Joy
During the Christmas season, many songs resonate with people around the world. One of those immediately recognizable hymns is “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” found in Lutheran Service...
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Music of the Month: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came
“The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came” is a brand-new choral setting composed by the late Philip Gehring (1925–2020). Using the text and tune of Lutheran Service Book 356, this two-part...
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Composer of the Month: Johann Crüger
Johann Crüger (1598–1662) was a seventeenth-century German Lutheran composer whose influence dwells richly in Lutheran Church music even today. He studied music across Europe as a...
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The Scriptural Depth of the Great “O” Antiphons
The hymnody of Advent is exceedingly rich. Among this richness is the classic “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” As you open your Lutheran Service Book to this hymn (357), you will also find...
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Develop a Music-Making Culture at Home
Music-making doesn’t have to be serious. It can also be hilarious.
If you teach music in any capacity, think about the times it has most brought a smile to your students’ faces. For...
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Composer of the Month: Sandra Eithun
Sandra Eithun has composed dozens of handbell and piano compositions for CPH Music, most recently “Four Communion Hymns for Twelve Bells.” This collection continues a series of handbell...
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