Music of the Month: Three SAB Anthems of Adoration

Three SAB Anthems of Adoration is a little collection of satisfying SAB praise anthems written by David von Kampen. Each piece is two pages with multiple stanzas. It includes a joyous, metrical setting of the Gloria in Excelsis, a rich and tender “Fair Are the Meadows,” and a winsome “Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens Adore Him” that begins in canon before holding forth to laud and magnify the Creator.

“All Glory Be to God on High”

“All Glory Be to God on High” is a metrical version of the Gloria in Excelsis, the canticle that comes from the Christmas narrative in Luke 2, where the angels proclaim in the Bethlehem skies: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” (v. 14).

For centuries, the Gloria in Excelsis has found its home in the Divine Service as part of the Ordinary: those portions of the service (usually liturgical songs) that remain constant each week (think: the Kyrie, the Creed, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei).

One of the distinctive features of the Lutheran Reformation was a blossoming of textual and musical arrangements of these liturgical texts. Martin Luther himself wrote paraphrases of the service’s Ordinary. “All Glory Be to God on High” was written by Nicolaus Decius only a few years into the Lutheran Reformation.

In Lutheran Service Book 947, the text is paired with a tune also attributed to Decius, who likely drew from an earlier Easter chant tone for the Gloria in Excelsis. This was another aspect of writing expanded paraphrases of the liturgical texts: Metrical tunes for them were needed, since the texts were previously chanted to appointed formulas.

David von Kampen’s three-part arrangement of this Gloria in Excelsis features two of Decius’s stanzas—the two addressed to the first two persons of the Trinity: God the Father and Jesus Christ. Both stanzas conclude with the second half of Decius’s first stanza, generating a refrain of sorts: “God showeth His goodwill to men, And peace shall reign on earth again; Oh, thank Him for His goodness!”

Since the Gloria in Excelsis is one of five parts of the Ordinary of the Divine Service, this arrangement could be employed by the choir on any given Sunday. However, its festive yet meditative nature could make it especially fitting during the Christmas season: on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day, or throughout the twelve days of Christmas. The Gloria in Excelsis, after all, does owe its beginning to the nativity of our Lord!

“Fair Are the Meadows”

“Fair Are the Meadows” is an arrangement of the second, third, and fourth stanzas of the beloved hymn “Beautiful Savior” (LSB 537). Set in D-flat major, this setting is a soothing and refreshing take on a text synonymous with its tune found in hymnals.

Nevertheless, the contrary motion in the vocal parts, harmonic suspensions, and opportunities for dynamic contrast from stanza to stanza should make this a satisfying piece both for choirs to sing and congregants to hear.

“Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens Adore Him”

“Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens Adore Him” is a three-stanza English hymn based on Psalm 148. Set in 6/8 meter, von Kampen’s arrangement is exuberant and joyous. The melody begins with a descending fifth (G-C) before leaping an octave and returning to the original pitch.

Throughout the piece, the melodic line ascends and descends along the C-major scale, adding momentum and motion to the continual invitation of all creation to praise the Lord and “laud and magnify His name.”

Use this collection of praise anthems during the year at your church.