We Bless the Name of Christ the Lord, Janet Lanier

Piece: We Bless the Name of Christ the Lord

Composer: Janet Lanier (2003)

Hymn Tune: RETREAT, Thomas Hastings (1842)

Instrumentation: Oboe and Piano (opt. flute, English horn, or Bb clarinet)

Purchase

Performance 

Oboe and Piano performance by Alana Laufman. As this blog progresses, I will learn how to hook up my recording devices to my computer and how to edit videos to create a higher quality product!

About

Janet Lanier has a many hymn arrangements that are lovely for oboe and English horn, primarily because she is an oboist and English hornist. The oboe/English horn parts fall into a comfortable register and play easily. The piano part is straight forward and does not require a professional (notice that I recorded my own piano part). The music relies on an eighth note pulse, so the parts line-up naturally, which lends itself to minimal rehearsal. Lanier does a lovely job developing from the basic melody into an exploratory development section in the parallel minor, which creates an interesting interpretation that is still accessible to congregants. 

Text

The text for "We Bless the Name of Christ the Lord" refers to the textual setting by Samuel F. Coffman, which is a Baptism hymn. Note that the specific hymn tune is "Retreat" by Thomas Hastings (we should be aware of both the melody and the text that accompanies the melody). Whenever we have a text for Baptism, we can schedule it on a Baptism Sunday, during Epiphany when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, on Trinity Sunday (because we Baptize into the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and also may be used generally because worship opens with an invocation of the Trinity; "We worship in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

1. We bless the name of Christ the Lord,

We bless Him for His holy Word,

Who loved to do His Father's will,

And all His righteousness fulfill.

2. We follow Him with pure delight

To sanctify His sacred rite:

And thus our faith with water seal,

To prove obedience that we feel.

3. Baptized in God the Father, Son,

And Holy Spirit--Three in One,

With conscience free, we rest in God,

In love and peace thro' Jesus' blood.

4. By grace we "Abba, Father" cry;

By grace the Comforter comes nigh;

And for Thy grace our love shall be

Forever, only, Lord, for Thee.

Lutheran Application

I love this melody and find that it will fit well in the liturgical church year however, neither the hymn text nor the melody "Retreat" is in Christian Worship (the hymnal of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, of which I am affiliated). The question is, why is it not in the hymnal? The text of the second verse comes from a Reformed background because it implies choice theology and promotes "feeling" saved ("For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23). However, it is standard practice in hymnals to modify hymns by removing verses for either doctrinal reasons or length, so other than the two lines in the second verse, the rest of the hymn is doctrinally sound according to confessional Lutheranism.

We can still use unfamiliar music like this in worship services to glorify God and to help parishioners meditate on God's word. The oboist should prepare the congregation with printed program notes. I would provide the text for verses 1, 3, and 4 and notes regarding the connection between the Trinity and the pertinent Biblical text of the day. These program notes will help the congregants use the music of which they are unfamiliar to meditate on the scripture reading of the day. Hymns are historically used as prayer books, so providing  the text for a new hymn is indeed beneficial.

The performance time of 4:28 makes the piece more suitable for a prelude than an offertory (unless your church is very, very large). The timing also makes for a nice filler piece for a recital. 

A Tutorial for Music and Worship

How do we plan music for worship?

I believe that music should bring focus to the Gospel message. In my church traditions, we follow the liturgical church year with prescribed Biblical readings (Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament, and Gospel) that tie the inspiration of the Bible together. (John 20:21 "These words are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.") One reading is chosen to be the topic for the sermon. The hymns chosen reiterate scriptural messages for the day. This creates order for the service and order for the church year. (1 Corinthians 14:4 "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.")

Thus, the musicians should choose music that brings congregational focus to the daily scripture readings. The most obvious way to do this is by choosing music based on the hymn tune. You can find the hymn tune in your hymnals in both the index and on the hymn page. For example, "Amazing Grace" will have the words "New Britain" somewhere (oftentimes on the bottom right hand side). "New Britain" is the name of the particular melody while "Amazing Grace" is the name of the poetry text. Choosing a special piece based on hymn tunes help guide congregation members to open their hymnals and meditate on the text of what they will be singing that day, which is based on the scripture passages for the day. 

Musicians also need to be cognizant of the purpose of special music within worship. What is the focus of the service? An Easter service is a joyous occasion that warrants loud exciting music throughout. Good Friday is somber event which benefits from slower paced hymns, quiet preludes (if any), and minimal musical additions. Is your offertory on a communion Sunday? How can you use music to encourage parishioners to self-examine in preparation for the sacrament? Was there a Baptism or confirmation where you could place a special piece to commemorate the event?

A church musician should strive to play music that focuses on Christ, not themselves. This should hopefully encourage you to NOT play Six Metamorphoses after Ovid by Benjamin Britten simply because it is "classical music" that people will like. In this blog, we will examine how to use different types of oboe music in a church service. 

• Pieces based on hymn tunes
• Programmatic works based on scripture text
• Melodies from other faith backgrounds that can still be edifying in your worship services
• Pieces written for religious purposes that are not programmatic or hymn tunes
• Classical works
• Improvisation

I was first inspired on how to plan music for worship from a lecture by organist Dan Zager in 2008. He has also published a book on music in worship that I highly recommend to anyone involved in church music. 

The Sacred Oboe

Psalm 150

"Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
 Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord."

I am on a quest to find and catalog music written for oboe and English horn that is appropriate for praising God in Christian worship, but written in a way that is acceptable for the concert stage. Historically, organ has dominated as the lead instrument in worship and there is a plethora of professional repertoire for organists SPECIFICALLY written for the glory of God.

It is challenging to find good music for oboe written for the edification of worship and in praise of God. I believe this is because while organists and pianists in church are often expected to perform at a high level to accompany worship, it is accepted practice that instrumentalists are "extras" and only need to be at the level of a decent high school freshman. We see this in music written for "piano and instrument". One can either read from the generic "C instrument" (limited range flute) or "Bb instrument" (limited range trumpet) or go online and print an automatically transposed part for the "strange instruments" (key of F, tuba, etc). I do own many of these books because the pieces are easy to play and wonderful on the ears. It is easy to find a hymn tune in the proper season using these styles of worship materials. However, as a trained musician, I do not feel I am giving glory to God because very little thought and preparation are needed. 

Classical music is complex. It weaves melodies, nuance, musical pictures, complex harmonies, and various textures to achieve an intellectual goal. I believe that good classical music when properly presented to a congregation can emphasize God's word and bring ultimate praise to Him.

In this blog I aim to:

1. Catalog works for oboe or English horn specifically for use in Christian worship
2. Perform these works
3. Provide information regarding the appropriate season of the church year, Biblical texts, hymn tunes, and other pertinent information regarding using a specific work in a worship setting
4. Discover new works that meet this criteria

"When in our music God is glorified,

And adoration leaves no room for pride,

It is as though the whole creation cried:

Alleluia!

Let every instrument be tuned for praise;

Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise,

And may God give us faith to sing always;

Alleluia!"

-Fred Pratt Green, b. 1903 (CW 248 verses 1 and 5)