“Does your choir sing Moravian anthems?”

“Are you kidding? They’re too high – AND too hard! We haven’t done those for years.”

“Yeah. Same here. Wish we could.”

Yes, we’ve heard that concern at the Moravian Music Foundation, and we’ve been listening. In response, we’ve launched a new sub-series in the Moravian Star Anthem Series. In this new series (printed with green covers, in contrast with the red and blue covers – see below!), anthems from the 18^th or 19^th century are arranged to be accessible to a smaller choir. We transpose the piece down a whole step or more, recognizing that today’s standard pitch (A=440) is about a half-step (or more) higher than the pitch standard of 200 years ago, and acknowledging that the singers in Moravian settlement congregations 200 years ago received, in general, more vocal training than our church choir members do now.

Transposing the pitch down isn’t the only arranging that’s done, however. When you lower the pitch for the sopranos, you also lower it for the basses – and our basses can only go so low … So often some re-writing of the bass line is needed. And many congregations don’t have enough singers to have a four-part choir; so we have arranged these anthems for a three-part choir – soprano, alto, and baritone (in a mid-range, singable by both tenors and basses). In these anthems we print only the English translation, in slightly larger type size as well. (In the “blue series” we print both English and German texts.)

Two of these “green series” pieces are in print now: O the Blessedness Is Great was originally in F major, so that the soprano part went to the high F quite frequently, and was originally written for two soprano, alto, and bass parts. (In an early 1950s publication it was arranged for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts.) The new arrangement is in D major for three-part choir.

The Fruit of the Spirit was also originally for four-part choir with flute, in the key of A major, where the soprano “hovers” in the high E-F#-G# range. The new “green series” publication is in the key of F, so the soprano hovers in the C-D-E range, and again, the piece is arranged for SAB choir.

Several other three-part “green series” pieces are in the pipeline for publication now. Do you have old favorite Moravian anthems you wish your choir could sing? Let us know, and we’ll see if we can make it work!

Arranging musical compositions for smaller forces is an effective way of making the music more widely accessible. Do you remember learning and singing classical masterpieces in more accessible arrangements in high school and college, pieces we would never have been able to sing or play in their original versions? This new “green series” has just that goal – to make this body of music, written by our forebears in the Moravian faith, written for Moravian worship, available to as many of our congregations as we can.

Moravian Star anthems already have been published with blue and red covers. Those with blue covers are editions from the old manuscripts in our care; most of these anthems were written in the later 18^th and 19^th centuries, and we’ve pulled out those manuscripts, transcribed them into modern notation, translated the German texts into English, and (where needed) created a part for piano or organ from the original string orchestration. Those with red covers were written by living Moravian composers – people like Brian Henkelmann, Jill Bruckart, Dirk French, Jonathan Sidden, Zach Bailey. These anthems carry a fresh new sound, using today’s musical language to express and deepen our faith.

Launched by the Moravian Music Foundation in 2007, the Moravian Star Anthem Series seeks to publish Moravian sacred choral music of all eras. Over 80 anthems have been published in the series to date, about one-fourth of which are by living Moravian composers. Most of these publications have been funded through sponsorships, with the sponsor dedicating the publication in honor or in memory of someone or of an organization or event. To inquire about sponsoring a publication, please contact the Moravian Music Foundation: info@dev.thesignalcompany.com/foundation; 336-725-0651.

Next time: The Moravian Music Festival – T Minus Two Years and Counting!

The Moravian Music Foundation preserves, shares, and celebrates Moravian musical culture.

Yes, ‘tis the season – it’s almost Advent now, which means the stores have only had their Christmas items out for over a month already … But I know you’re thinking about Christmas – as are all the musicians, dieners, ushers, coffee-makers, and everyone who shares responsibility for our lovely Christmas celebrations.

A favorite Moravian Christmas tradition is the singing of Morning Star, that wonderful antiphonal hymn sung by a soloist or small group and congregation – often featuring children or youth as the soloists. So what do we know about this beloved song?

Using the imagery of the Morning Star found in Revelation 22:16, this text presents the claim of the Savior to bring light into the theological and moral darkness of humanity.

The original text was penned by Johann Scheffler (1624-1677), a Silesian physician influenced by the mystical writings of Jacob Böhme. Scheffler, also known as Angelus Silesius, joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1653, was ordained priest and became a leader of the Counter Reformation. N. L. von Zinzendorf included 79 of his hymns in a 1727 collection. The text has disappeared from German Lutheran hymnals today and has come to be seen as a “Moravian hymn” by our virtual monopoly of usage.

The translation was done by Bennet Harvey, Jr. (1829-1894), a Moravian missionary in the West Indies and one of the revisers of the British Moravian Hymnbook of 1886. An earlier translation by Martin Hauser (1799-1875) appears in the Moravian Book of Worship at hymn 323 where the Epiphany is more strongly emphasized.

The tune was composed by Moravian minister and composer Francis Florentine Hagen (1815-1907), in 1836 when he was teaching at the Boys’ School in Salem. It was published as sheet music with Hauser’s translation and probably used by choirs until its appearance in the Offices of Worship (1891). A 1705 tune by Johann Freylinghausen (1670-1739) is still used in many other provinces of the Moravian Church.

Hagen was born and grew up in Salem, North Carolina, and received theological training at the Moravian Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. Though he was always devoted to music, he, like so many other Moravian composers, spent his professional life first as a teacher and then as pastor of several congregations. His musical style reflects eighteenth-century Moravian roots blended with influences of later Romanticism. His compositions include anthems, an orchestral overture, solo songs, solo piano works, and both original compositions and arrangements for organ, many of which were published during his lifetime. He died at Lititz, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1907.

Note: This writeup was “lifted” from Moravian Advent and Christmas Hymns by the Rev. Albert H. Frank, a publication which features the music and information about 39 hymns for Advent and Christmas. The publication also includes a recording and is available from our offices and online – see https://moravianmusic.org/product/moravian-advent-and-christmas-hymns/ to order yours!

Next time … Who are the Moravian Music Foundation’s “constituents”?

The Moravian Music Foundation preserves, shares, and celebrates Moravian musical culture.

We’ve all been there. There’s this amazing song with words that are just perfect for the occasion you’re planning, but the tune isn’t one everybody knows, and you know how THAT goes. You don’t want your people so focused on the notes that they can’t take in those marvelous words! So what do you do?

You teach it!

How? It’s not that there are ready opportunities in most worship services where you can go over and over and over a song until everyone knows it. So you must prepare, and introduce that new music over time – maybe even over weeks.

Your goal is to have that music played enough so that when your congregation tries to sing it, they already have it somewhat in their ears; they already, to some extent, know how it goes. Here is one way of making that happen.

Use it as the “hymn of the month”, in these ways:

Week 1. Have the organist/pianist play it, as is. If they can find one, have them play the setting to be sung, and then an organ/piano prelude based on it. If they can’t find such, just have them play the tune as a prelude or interlude. Perhaps they can play it through 3 times, with different registrations (or in a different octave on the piano), or with an instrument playing the melody, for the prelude. Perhaps they can play it softly as an interlude following the offering or at another quiet time during the service. If you have a band or instrumental ensemble, have them play it.

Week 2. Call attention to it in the announcements, and let the congregation know that this is a song they will want to know. Then have someone sing it as a solo, perhaps as a call to worship or as the offertory. Continue to use it as a quiet interlude or response to prayer or the benediction.

Week 3. IF AND ONLY IF you have copyright permission, print the words in the bulletin. Invite the congregation to take these words home and reflect on the meaning. Continue having the pianist/organist play the tune at various times. If you have a midweek program, use this song as part of the program – talk about the words, what it is that makes you want them to know the song, perhaps the scripture references in the text, how it fits in with what you’ll be doing in worship. Invite the participants to sing through the song a couple of times, letting them know it will be a part of Sunday worship the next week.

Week 4. Have the congregation sing it in worship! If it has several verses, have the choir or a soloist sing at least the first one. On later verses, have an instrumentalist play along on the melody to reinforce the congregation’s singing.

After that – don’t let them forget it! Sing it every so often just to keep it fresh in their minds. And start over with a new song next month. With planning, over a couple of years, you can add many new songs to your congregation’s memory bank, and they won’t remember not knowing them! Do you remember that “Join We All with One Accord” was new to the American Moravian church with the 1969 hymnal? Now it feels as though we’ve always known it!

You’ll note the one essential element of this procedure – planning. You can’t decide on Thursday that you’re going to introduce a new song on Sunday and expect them to know it and like it. So you, as the worship planner, must plan ahead. Take some time to look at the hymnal or whatever worship resource you use, and choose several new songs to introduce over the next few months, and make your plans.

Sing to the Lord a new song! Sing, all the earth!

Next time … the Star-Spangled Banner in our holdings!

To search original manuscripts in the archived collections, please go to GEMEINKAT

Searchable Database for Anthems:

Notes from Nola … Adapting an Anthem for a Smaller Choir

The Moravian Music Foundation preserves, shares, and celebrates Moravian musical culture.

You have this anthem … this piece you’ve loved for years, or that you just found … but your choir isn’t very large, and you’re short on sopranos with a high range, or basses with a low range. Maybe your numbers are way down. Maybe its text makes it absolutely perfect for a particular Sunday, one where a lot of your folks are going to be away.

What do you do? Give up and wish you were somewhere with a choir of 45, all of whom have a good full voice range and are demon sight-readers? Not a chance! There may be ways to make it work … here are a few ideas.

Voice ranges too wide? I’ll talk about the soprano part, because that’s often where the challenges are. Especially many early Moravian anthems seem to require sopranos with high G’s and A’s to spare! (Remember that the overall pitch was about a half step lower 200 years ago, and an F# really is a lot lower than a G for many singers!) Take a look at all the other notes in the chords (voice parts and accompaniment) below that high note or series of notes. Often you can substitute a lower note, or even a set of notes lower, for the one(s) in the written part. You can then leave the higher notes in the accompaniment; or bring in an instrumentalist to play the higher part; or if the higher notes are somewhere else in the lower voices or accompaniment, simply leave them out. Don’t be afraid to re-write a line or so to make it work for you! (Just don’t do it in ink in copies from the Lending Library.)

Don’t have all the parts? Many anthems have most or all of the vocal parts covered in the accompaniment. If that’s the case, simply leave out the parts you don’t have. Many anthems originally written for 4 parts can be very effective with two or three parts or even in unison. Again, don’t be afraid to add a few notes to the accompaniment if you need to! We can tell by looking at early manuscripts that our predecessors in church music did rewrite parts or add notes when they needed to.

Is it too long? Leave out a section! Pick somewhere in the middle, and make sure that the words make sense without the section you’re omitting; also make sure the accompaniment makes a smooth transition – or write your own.

Is it too short? Don’t hesitate to add a repeat where you need to. If the anthem has an introduction, will it work to repeat from the end of the anthem (or almost at the end) back to right after the introduction, where the choir enters? If the anthem has an “amen” at the end, though, see if you can skip back before that “amen”, and then it’ll be clear when you’re really done with the piece.

All these ideas add up to one thing: The music on the page is the starting point for you. You can feel free to adapt as you need to make the music work for your choir. You’ll know when you’ve adapted to the point that it doesn’t sound like the piece you wanted, but you’ll also know when you’ve made it into something your choir will be proud of having sung. And – as always! – never hesitate to contact our offices with specific questions, and we’ll do our best!

And there’s one more caution for you here: Don’t make this kind of changes in your final rehearsal before you plan to use the piece! Think this out ahead of time, and introduce your proposed changes to the choir the first time they see the piece. Not only will this make it less fearful to them, they’ll be really impressed with your planning and your expertise in making a piece work just for them! (And have them make all their notations in pencil. Someday you may really have the choir that can sing it as it was printed!)

Next time? Adapting an anthem for a smaller choir – some practical hints.

Musically yours,

– Nola

Newly-composed and newly-edited Moravian anthems available from MMF.

The Moravian Star Anthem Series lists have been updated and are posted HERE and organized by “Title” or by “Catalog#” (chronological)

https://moravianmusic.org/moravian-star-anthem-series/