The next time you think of rock style music and casual Christianity and think this is youth ministry, come back here and watch again. . . and again. . . and again.
All the youtube hymn videos from that Higher Things conference (Mequon) are excellent and inspiring. More recently added is this beautiful version of The Magnificat from Evening Prayer [link below], and if you do a little digging amongst the videos you will see our mustached Synod President among the congregation for the opening hymn of the opening service.
This is one of the WORST Te Deums ever composed. It is basically a praise tune with violins instead of guitars. Doesn't even begin to compare with great settings by Haydn, Mozart, Bruckner or even Berlioz. And the text translation from the Latin is horrendous at times, too. You Lutherans would be wise to discard it.--Chris
I do not find this tune or text all that distinctive. What is eloquent to one may be noise to another.
Scripture Psalm 100 (KJV) states:
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
The KJV uses "joyful noise" not melodious sound. The most important aspect seems to be the position of the heart as in "joyful;" and "thankful as mentioned later in Psalm 100.
I dislike it because it is a horrible tune and the translation leaves much to be desired. When in doubt, always go with the Latin original. Speaking of good Te Deums in English, the Utrecht Te Deum by Purcell is very good as well as the Dettingen Te Deum by Handel.
You may dislike it but there are any number of Te Deums paraphrased or loosely translated (think Holy God We Praise Thy Name) and, while perhaps less than literal, it means people are still singing the Te Deum. For what it is worth, I bet LCMSers sing the Te Deum (either in hymnic or Cranmer translation) more than just about any other church.
So "as long as people are singing" even if the hymn is less desirable from not only aesthetics, but also meaning, then the ends justify the means? Thanks for making a good case why the Latin original should always be preferred to the barbarism that is the English language.--Chris
But Chris, the practical effect of preferring only the Latin original or a choral setting of the Te Deum is to remove this important hymn from the life of most parishes. Is that a better outcome?
Several years ago, I wrote four parts (soprano,alto,tenor,bass) into this LSB hymn so that our choir could sing it (don't get me started about some LSB hymns & its predecessor LW not having the traditional 4-parts!) We sing it in November on "end of the church year" Sundays. Acapella, yet. A member who is a happy clappy praise band lover caught me after early service and with tears in her eyes, said "That was BEAUTIFUL! It made me cry to think of those loved ones who have died before me singing this in heaven."
I say, LSB isn't perfect but it's a heckuva lot better than LW. My big complaint is that certain TLH hymns vanished---some of which were my favorites. Such as "Jesus and Shall It Ever Be," "Sun of My Soul," and "Jesus Lover of My Soul."
LW was produced in 18 months with hardly any money during a period of intense conflict in our church. In contrast, LSB was produced over a decade with plenty of upfront money at a time of relative peace and harmony. Hate LW all you want but we would never had had LSB without it.
All the youtube hymn videos from that Higher Things conference (Mequon) are excellent and inspiring. More recently added is this beautiful version of The Magnificat from Evening Prayer [link below], and if you do a little digging amongst the videos you will see our mustached Synod President among the congregation for the opening hymn of the opening service.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/fGLMX-du4_Y?list=PL0nxuIzYhU8HpRa7gdjfWTKpNSC10pCZm
This is one of the WORST Te Deums ever composed. It is basically a praise tune with violins instead of guitars. Doesn't even begin to compare with great settings by Haydn, Mozart, Bruckner or even Berlioz. And the text translation from the Latin is horrendous at times, too. You Lutherans would be wise to discard it.--Chris
ReplyDeleteChris, do you dislike this Te Deum primarily because of the text or the tune?
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteHolst's piece is a praise song???? If you really want to dis this, just remind us the piece is part of several 'praising' our planets!
I am humbled and encouraged by the numbers of youth in the video! And this is only one of three conferences filled with youth who love Truth!
Sure wish we'd get a HT Conference here in the NWD. It ought to go without saying why. :(
ReplyDeleteThank God for their efforts! :)
I do not find this tune or text all that distinctive. What is eloquent to one may be noise to another.
ReplyDeleteScripture Psalm 100 (KJV) states:
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
The KJV uses "joyful noise" not melodious sound. The most important aspect seems to be the position of the heart as in "joyful;" and "thankful as mentioned later in Psalm 100.
I dislike it because it is a horrible tune and the translation leaves much to be desired. When in doubt, always go with the Latin original. Speaking of good Te Deums in English, the Utrecht Te Deum by Purcell is very good as well as the Dettingen Te Deum by Handel.
ReplyDeleteYou may dislike it but there are any number of Te Deums paraphrased or loosely translated (think Holy God We Praise Thy Name) and, while perhaps less than literal, it means people are still singing the Te Deum. For what it is worth, I bet LCMSers sing the Te Deum (either in hymnic or Cranmer translation) more than just about any other church.
ReplyDeletePr Peters,
ReplyDeleteSo "as long as people are singing" even if the hymn is less desirable from not only aesthetics, but also meaning, then the ends justify the means? Thanks for making a good case why the Latin original should always be preferred to the barbarism that is the English language.--Chris
But Chris, the practical effect of preferring only the Latin original or a choral setting of the Te Deum is to remove this important hymn from the life of most parishes. Is that a better outcome?
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteInteresting you are using 'barbaric' English to make your point...
Several years ago, I wrote four parts (soprano,alto,tenor,bass) into this LSB hymn so that our choir could sing it (don't get me started about some LSB hymns & its predecessor LW not having the traditional 4-parts!) We sing it in November on "end of the church year" Sundays. Acapella, yet. A member who is a happy clappy praise band lover caught me after early service and with tears in her eyes, said "That was BEAUTIFUL! It made me cry to think of those loved ones who have died before me singing this in heaven."
ReplyDeleteI say, LSB isn't perfect but it's a heckuva lot better than LW. My big complaint is that certain TLH hymns vanished---some of which were my favorites. Such as "Jesus and Shall It Ever Be," "Sun of My Soul," and "Jesus Lover of My Soul."
Renee,
ReplyDeleteLW was produced in 18 months with hardly any money during a period of intense conflict in our church. In contrast, LSB was produced over a decade with plenty of upfront money at a time of relative peace and harmony. Hate LW all you want but we would never had had LSB without it.