With One Voice--Northlake Lutheran Church Choir

Last month I wrote about the Advent hymn Wachet auf by Lutheran pastor Phillip Nicolai (1556-1608). If you recall, Wachet auf is often called the “King of Chorales.” The hymn Wie schön leuchtet, also by Nicolai, is known as “The Queen of Chorales.” Both hymns first appeared in Nicolai’s 1599 book of meditations in the time of the Plague titled Frewden-Spiegel dess ewigen Lebens (Joyful Mirror of the Eternal Life). Also like Wachet auf, the first words of each of the original text form an acrostic for one of Nicolai’s students who died of the plague. Wie schön leuchtet quickly became a popular hymn and soon was considered essential at both weddings and funerals.

The text, based on Psalm 45, describes Jesus as the bright morning star. It is a hymn that reflects on our joy at the birth of Jesus while asking for salvation. The stanzas that are most appropriate to weddings are lost in our hymnal today. A quick reading of the psalm can give you an idea of what these stanzas might have been like.

The tune appears twice in the Lutheran Book of Worship. At #76, the original rhythm (with one small change) is paired with a translation of the original text by Catherine Winkworth. A version of the tune with a simplified rhythm and Christmas text by Birgitte Katerine is found at #43.

During this Advent season of preparation, I thought it would be fun to explore the stories of some of our most beloved Advent and Christmas Carols.

O Come, o come Emmanuel (Veni, Emmanuel) LBW #34
Believe it or not, the Latin antiphons that are the basis for this hymn date from the 9th century or before. One of the 7 “O antiphons” (so called because each begins with the word “O”) was sung each day before and after the Magnificat between Dec. 17 and 23 at the monastic evening office of Vespers. Each antiphon addresses Jesus with one of his Biblical titles, for example, “O Dayspring” (Malachi 4:2), “O Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:10), “O Emmanuel, our king” (Isaiah 7:14).

The tune has been traced to a 15th century prayer book that belonged to a French community of Franciscan nuns. John Mason Neale, the translator of the text and probably the person who paired it with this tune, is said to have copied it while visiting the National Library in Lisbon, Portugal. In the prayer book, the tune was used as part of the funeral responsory “Libera me.”

Joy to the world (Antioch) LBW #39
The tune Antioch is based on two beloved movements from the Christmas section of G. F. Handel’s Oratorio, Messiah. The first half of the tune came from the chorus, “Glory to God” and the second half comes from the solo “Comfort Ye My People.” Lowell Mason adapted the tunes and wrote the tune we sing every Christmas. The tune first appeared in Mason’s 1839 collection of hymns. Antioch is the New Testament city where the disciples were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26).

Isaac Watts, an English pastor, preacher and author of over 500 hymns, wrote the text “Joy to the World” to paraphrase selected verses of Psalm 98.

Silent Night (Stille nacht) LBW #65
The story of Silent Night is perhaps one of the most well-known hymn stories of all time. On Christmas Eve of 1818, the church of St. Nikolaus Church in Oberndorf in the Austrian Alps was without a working organ. Father Joseph Mohr, assistant parish priest, decided to write a new hymn text to be sung that evening. He took his text to the parish organist, Franz Gruber who wrote the tune. The two sang the new hymn for worship that night. Gruber accompanied on the guitar and the choir repeated the last two lines of each verse in four part harmony. Even though it was not published for another twenty years, the hymn quickly spread throughout the world. It has become one of the most requested and most performed hymns of the Christmas season.

Join the choir and congregation of Northlake Lutheran Church for Christmas Caroling on Sunday, December 17th immediately following worship.

Don't sing? Don't worry! You can still come along and ring bells. No previous musical experience needed!