Our product of the month for January is Enter His Gates with Praise: Eight Organ Preludes for the Church Year. Read about the preludes and the composer, and download a free excerpt to use at your church!
Meet Matt
Enter His Gates with Praise is composed by Matthew Machemer, associate kantor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Matt has composed a variety of works for CPH Music, including choral settings of “We All Believe in One True God” and “The Day of Resurrection.” You may recognize him from an interview we hosted with him and fellow kantor and composer Kevin Hildebrand last year.
About Enter His Gates with Praise
Most of the eight arrangements in the collection are not tied to a specific season, so the collection offers versatility throughout the entire Church Year. The pieces can be matched to sermon themes, such as hope, comfort, redemption, and sanctification.
All the pieces are based on hymns in Lutheran Service Book, so it is easy to use the pieces as preludes, postludes, or offertories to match the hymns being sung during the service. In the table of contents, the pieces are organized by both hymn title and tune name so you can quickly find the music you need.
In the collection, you’ll find pieces for the following tunes and hymns:
- AUF MEINEN LIEBEN GOTT (“In God, My Faithful God,” LSB 745)
- GRAFTON (“Christ, Our Human Likeness Sharing,” LSB 847)
- LOBT GOTT, IHR CHRISTEN (“Let All Together Praise Our God,” LSB 389; “The People That in Darkness Sat,” LSB 412)
- LORD OF LIFE (“O Christ, Who Shared Our Mortal Life,” LSB 552)
- MOVILLE (“Christ Is the World’s Redeemer,” LSB 539)
- OLD HUNDREDTH (“All People That on Earth Do Dwell,” LSB 791)
- OLIVET (“My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” LSB 702)
- THAXTED (“We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God,” LSB 941)
Notable Pieces
“Christ Is the World’s Redeemer”: This piece is an exciting and grand take on the Irish tune MOVILLE. Plenty of notes and a fast tempo sweep listeners along. The time-signature switches between 4/4 and 5/8 will keep organists on their toes. With a full-bellied sound and epic feel, this arrangement truly shows off the sound of the organ.
“Christ, Our Human Likeness Sharing”: This arrangement of the tune GRAFTON is warm, relaxing, and comfortable, but it moves along at a nice walking tempo. Plenty of pedal action will make this an interesting piece for organists to play. The piece could be well placed in a calm part of the worship service, like the offering.
Download a free excerpt from Enter His Gates with Praise.
Use this piece in an upcoming service at your church!
