Come Now with Praises: Introductions and Final Stanzas includes seven sets on a wide variety of hymns. This collection features dynamic and practical introductions and final stanzas to invigorate your hymn playing. Several sets are loud and rousing, such as “For All the Saints” and “The Day of Resurrection,” while others are graceful and light, such as “The Day Thou Gavest.” Some of the tunes are ones that are not treated as often, such as LLANGLOFFAN and REPTON. The final stanzas are exciting, with just the right balance between independent writing and congregational support.
SINE NOMINE (For All the Saints)
Lee Afdahl’s first of two introductions on SINE NOMINE, the beloved tune for “For All the Saints” (LSB 677), features the hymn’s melody in the tenor octave, while the treble octave features a fanfare of sixteenth and eighth notes that add sparkle and jubilance to the tune. The pedal features a walking bass line.
This introduction features the hymn’s entire melody, with two additional measures of fanfare at the beginning and end. In terms of organ registration, a principal chorus with a mixture would suit the treble voices well, and the pedal should balance with the fanfare in the treble clef. A strong solo reed would ennoble the melody in the tenor octave.
Good hymn introductions set the tone for the character of a hymn and galvanize the congregation as it readies to sing, and this introduction does just that. “For All the Saints” is a hymn for All Saints’ Day, when the church militant sings with confidence of the church triumphant, who, although “from their labors rest,” are the saints who on the Last Day will “rise in bright array.”
The second introduction is a brief six-measure intonation. If the circumstances in a service warrant a short intonation before singing the hymn, this introduction will serve that purpose. It features the melody of the final “Alleluia! Alleluia!” at the end of the hymn’s tune. This introduction could also function as a brief interlude in between the penultimate and final stanzas of the hymn.
Afdahl’s arrangement for the final stanza of the hymn strikes an excellent balance between not wandering too far from the familiar spirit and harmonic structure of the hymn while lifting it to an invigorating conclusion. The first four chords of the treble octave ascend in motion from the melody’s first pitch—D—to the G that’s an octave above the melody in the second measure.
This contrary motion—where the hymn’s melody descends while the accompaniment ascends—is an effective technique to grab the attention of hymn-singers that something slightly different is going on as they sing. Another technique in this arrangement is the use of ascending quarter and eighth notes while the melody dwells on a half or whole note. This pushes the momentum of the stanza ever forward, which is something the organist ought to do as such a stately hymn reaches its conclusion.
ST. CLEMENT (The Day Thou Gavest / O Light, Whose Splendor)
ST. CLEMENT is a lush and soothing evening tune. In Lutheran Service Book, it accompanies the hymns “The Day Thou Gavest” (LSB 886) and “O Light, Whose Splendor” (LSB 891). It features soaring, broad phrases that—in my mind—remind me of the sun gently setting over the horizon as the night falls.Afdahl’s introduction features the hymn’s melody an octave above where it is sung, giving it a delicate character. The melody isn’t written as a solo line, however, but as the top voice in each chord. Most of the introduction, aside from the pedal line, dwells exclusively in the treble clef.
At the beginning of the introduction, the bottom voice in the manuals is syncopated—it falls on each off-beat—as it descends from the top of the treble clef to the bottom. This creates rhythmic interest throughout the first phrase. The syncopation returns at different times throughout the introduction, and it’s featured in the alto voice in the final phrase.
The arrangement of the final stanza again employs contrary motion: the accompaniment ascends as the melody descends. The melody itself is mostly contained in the alto voice, while the soprano voice above it functions as a lovely descant above the singing.
The bass line uses a pedal-point technique in two different places. A pedal point is when the lowest note is sustained for a series of measures as the upper voices move from chord to chord in harmony. This also pushes the momentum of a hymn’s phrase forward, since in this case the pedal point is on the tune’s dominant note (C) before resolving to F major’s relative minor key (D).
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