Es woll uns Gott genädig sein
I have been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. It was a big topic with my mom, and I still have a number of her books of poetry and readings on the topic. These proved useful in the past weeks as I have selected and written materials for our 2021-22 season brochure. As I've mentioned before, the season is entitled 'The Flowering of the Spirit' (borrowed from a Stephen Spender poem), and gratitude is one of the sub-themes of our season.
About 13 years ago my brother James was feeling crappy after working out and drove home to lie down. His wife said, 'You look terrible, we need to get you to a doctor'. She took him to the firehouse in the little village near their home, and the EMTs sent him in an ambulance straight to the hospital an hour away.
In the ambulance, James's heart stopped. The EMT jolted him back to life, and James said, 'WHAT HAPPENED?' The EMT said, 'YOU DIED! I BROUGHT YOU BACK' So James said, 'THANK YOU!' And the EMT replied, 'NO, THANK YOU, I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE AND IT WORKED!'
James describes the rest of the ride, during which he had no idea if he was going to survive or not, as a continuous, spontaneous rendering-up of gratitude. He gave thanks for his family, for his life, for all the variegated experiences he has had, for love and friends, for good times and bad, and above all for the chance to be here, to have been part of it all. And, praise be to whoever's in charge, he did survive, and is still very much alive and kicking.
I love this story, not just because it ends well, but because of James's impulse, even in extremis, not to focus on fear, but rather to focus upon all the things for which to be grateful. I think this can be one model for us, even now. This might sound strange. We're supposed to be grateful for what just happened? Well, I'm not grateful for the pandemic, but I am grateful for the heroism which has been all around us. I'm grateful that our community has been able to stay together and even thrive in some ways. I'm grateful for the music that binds us together.
Lord knows I'm grateful for the vaccine.
This doesn't make it all better; but it can prompt a radical shift in our internal experience, from a sort of hunched-over-in-fear mentality to a wholly different outlook, an open-hearted acknowledgement of both good and bad, a recognition that we're so lucky to have our lives, no matter what befalls us. I try to achieve this attitude, though I fail so many times. But even the conscious intent to persist in offering thanks for whatever hand we're dealt can be transformative.
While thinking through all this, I naturally turned some of the research I've been doing towards songs of gratitude, and discovered a chorale which is new to me. It's called 'Es woll uns Gott genädig sein', with a three-verse text by Martin Luther paraphrasing Psalm 67, a psalm of thanks and praise. The very interesting free-form Phrygian melody is probably by Matthias Greiter (c1495-1550).
I am attaching scores for a number of arrangements of the tune; you will find links to good recordings below.
1. Benedict Ducis' setting, with the melody in the soprano, accompanied by three freely imitative voices below.
2. The final chorale of Bach's Cantata 69: Lobe den Herren. Here a four-part harmonization is enriched by three trumpets and timpani.
3. The final chorale of Bach's Cantata 76: Die Himmel erzählen, an elegant arrangement in which the choir's statements of the chorale phrases are preceded and separated by orchestral interludes. The instrumental bass consists of the same active little motive, repeated throughout at different pitch levels.
4. Bach's 'independent' setting (not traceable to any known larger work) BWV 311.
5. Bach's independent setting BWV 312.
Well, that's a whole lot of musical gratitude! Let me add a final note on something for which I am profoundly grateful: The opportunity to research and write and send out these messages thrice weekly for over a year now. In the absence of much of my usual work, it has been a lifeline for me, a way to stay connected both to great music and to you all.
Thanks for reading and for listening--lots of love--
I have been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. It was a big topic with my mom, and I still have a number of her books of poetry and readings on the topic. These proved useful in the past weeks as I have selected and written materials for our 2021-22 season brochure. As I've mentioned before, the season is entitled 'The Flowering of the Spirit' (borrowed from a Stephen Spender poem), and gratitude is one of the sub-themes of our season.
About 13 years ago my brother James was feeling crappy after working out and drove home to lie down. His wife said, 'You look terrible, we need to get you to a doctor'. She took him to the firehouse in the little village near their home, and the EMTs sent him in an ambulance straight to the hospital an hour away.
In the ambulance, James's heart stopped. The EMT jolted him back to life, and James said, 'WHAT HAPPENED?' The EMT said, 'YOU DIED! I BROUGHT YOU BACK' So James said, 'THANK YOU!' And the EMT replied, 'NO, THANK YOU, I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE AND IT WORKED!'
James describes the rest of the ride, during which he had no idea if he was going to survive or not, as a continuous, spontaneous rendering-up of gratitude. He gave thanks for his family, for his life, for all the variegated experiences he has had, for love and friends, for good times and bad, and above all for the chance to be here, to have been part of it all. And, praise be to whoever's in charge, he did survive, and is still very much alive and kicking.
I love this story, not just because it ends well, but because of James's impulse, even in extremis, not to focus on fear, but rather to focus upon all the things for which to be grateful. I think this can be one model for us, even now. This might sound strange. We're supposed to be grateful for what just happened? Well, I'm not grateful for the pandemic, but I am grateful for the heroism which has been all around us. I'm grateful that our community has been able to stay together and even thrive in some ways. I'm grateful for the music that binds us together.
Lord knows I'm grateful for the vaccine.
This doesn't make it all better; but it can prompt a radical shift in our internal experience, from a sort of hunched-over-in-fear mentality to a wholly different outlook, an open-hearted acknowledgement of both good and bad, a recognition that we're so lucky to have our lives, no matter what befalls us. I try to achieve this attitude, though I fail so many times. But even the conscious intent to persist in offering thanks for whatever hand we're dealt can be transformative.
While thinking through all this, I naturally turned some of the research I've been doing towards songs of gratitude, and discovered a chorale which is new to me. It's called 'Es woll uns Gott genädig sein', with a three-verse text by Martin Luther paraphrasing Psalm 67, a psalm of thanks and praise. The very interesting free-form Phrygian melody is probably by Matthias Greiter (c1495-1550).
I am attaching scores for a number of arrangements of the tune; you will find links to good recordings below.
1. Benedict Ducis' setting, with the melody in the soprano, accompanied by three freely imitative voices below.
2. The final chorale of Bach's Cantata 69: Lobe den Herren. Here a four-part harmonization is enriched by three trumpets and timpani.
3. The final chorale of Bach's Cantata 76: Die Himmel erzählen, an elegant arrangement in which the choir's statements of the chorale phrases are preceded and separated by orchestral interludes. The instrumental bass consists of the same active little motive, repeated throughout at different pitch levels.
4. Bach's 'independent' setting (not traceable to any known larger work) BWV 311.
5. Bach's independent setting BWV 312.
Well, that's a whole lot of musical gratitude! Let me add a final note on something for which I am profoundly grateful: The opportunity to research and write and send out these messages thrice weekly for over a year now. In the absence of much of my usual work, it has been a lifeline for me, a way to stay connected both to great music and to you all.
Thanks for reading and for listening--lots of love--