My Ten Favorite Hymns
Part II: Numbers 6 through 10
Lo, How A Rose [tune- Es ist ein Ros]
By far, this is the most solemn and expressive of the Advent/Christmas carols.
It is found in an exquisite 4-part setting by Praetorius and a delicate canon setting by Vulpius.
The carol conjures images of a peaceful German Christmas celebration on a starlit night amid the pure, white snow.
That's a lot of feeling in one song.
Victimae paschali laudes
This is the Easter sequence in its chant form - a truly liturgical hymn (its use being called for in the liturgy of Easter Sunday).
For conveying a prayerful mood there is no music finer than chant.
Victimae paschali laudes is a great piece of chant, having inspired early German chorale composers who adapted its melody to produce Christ lag in Todesbanden, which further inspired J.S. Bach to compose one of his greatest cantatas on the chorale melody and text.
Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying [tune- Wachet auf]
Bach wrote another great cantata based on this tune.
Music from the cantata, in which the tenors sing the melody and the strings play a countermelody, has been arranged for organ, piano, and even synthesizer (see the "Switched-On Bach" recording - I'm certainly showing my age here!).
This piece thus became very popular. The chance to sing one of Bach's greatest "hits" as a congregation is exciting indeed.
What Wondrous Love [tune- Wondrous Love]
This haunting modal melody comes from Southern Harmony, an early hymnal in the South.
This is truly an American hymn, whose plaintive melodic contours capture the Lenten mood so admirably.
Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones [tune- Lasst uns erfreuen]
For sheer power, strength and vitality, few hymns surpass this one.
Its solid melody is rich with musical motives, and variety and repetition are perfectly balanced.
The cries of "Alleluia" mark a fitting climax for one of the greatest hymns of the Church.
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