'Peace Activists' always seem to demonstrate where it's safe and ineffective to do so: in America. Why don't we see peace activists demonstrating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, and North Korea; in the places in the world that really need peace activism the most?
‹Raymond Kraft›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
31Jan
2007
Wed
17:20
author: Stingray
category: Hymns
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Surely God is My Salvation

Isaiah 12:2-6

Many will recognize this as The First Song of Isaiah. I was planning the mid-week Lenten services for this year, based upon the Service of Prayer and Preaching, and it called for a canticle based on Isaiah 12:2-6. None of the readily available sources in my congregations had a hymn based on this text except for one with a difficult tune out of a hymnal supplement that only one of my congregations had; and this one was even copyrighted, so it couldn't easily be copied for use at the other congregation. So, I sought to write a hymn myself based on this text for use in the services.

How did I settle on those tunes? Well, as I wrote the first phrase, I wrote it singing it to the first tune, without realizing what tune I was using. So, I scrambled to find the tune, writing the second and third phrases and getting the meter, then searching a hymnal index for the tunes that matched that meter. While looking at all the tunes in that meter in the index (a grand whopping total of 4), I thought that the second tune also matched the words well enough.

7Jan
2004
Wed
16:51
author: Stingray
category: Hymns
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Hymn of Light (Phos Hilaron)

various scripture references

I was putting together a liturgical Evening Prayer service—following the designs of what are in Hymnal Supplement 98 (ISBN 0-570-01212-0) and Lutheran Worship (ISBN 0-570-04221-6)—for use during mid-week Lenten services at both of my churches, and I needed a Hymn of Light. Now, my churches have The Lutheran Hymnal (ISBN 0-570-01001-2) in the pews, and there is hymn number 101 (which is a Phos Hilaron), but I knew I could do something different.

I started writing the first version thinking that 8.7.8.7. was Common Meter. I really like what I ended up writing, but as I started looking at Common Meter tunes, I quickly (like with the first tune) realized that I had one too many syllables in the second and fourth phrases. So, I looked for 8.7.8.7. tunes, and there weren't many that worked well with this text; most of them were Trochaic and this hymn is Iambic. Anyway, I found a couple then proceeded to write a Common Meter version of the hymn and found a large number of tunes that worked with it. I have supplied to two best tunes.

I guess these hymns could use a tune of their own. If you know the story of the Phos Hilaron and can write hymn tunes, please take a crack at writing a tune for these hymns. Let me know if you come up with anything, and let me post it!

11Nov
2003
Tue
16:32
author: Stingray
category: Hymns
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Christ is Risen From the Darkness

Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-18

Well, I thought it about time to release this hymn as it has been sitting on my hard drive "collecting dust;" no changes have been made to it. So, almost two years after I first wrote it, I release it to the public.

And it's kind of an interesting release, too. This is the first hymn (that I know of) to be written to the East German National Anthem. Hymns have been written to the tune Austria, the West German/German National Anthem (such as Glorious Things of You are Spoken), but I am unaware of any being written to its counterpart, so to speak. It's a beautiful melody, despite it being written to honor godlessness and fascism. Ironic, then, that I would write a hymn to it, I think. And, to be honest, I'm not sure what I was doing that I ran across the anthem in the first place; I know simply that I found it at Wiki and fell in love with the sound. I guess it's also ironic that the national anthem entitle "Risen from the Ruins" would be used in writing an Easter hymn.

And there's a bit of an interesting fact with the tune, too. I haven't arranged it. Well, I tried once, but my knowledge of music theory is lacking, to put it kindly. So, if anyone would like to try, you are more than free to do so. If you want to submit something to me to consider, do so in MIDI format. I would only consider an arrangement done in a traditional hymn format (4 part harmony, maybe some dissonances, not too much syncopation...you know, the kind of stuff you would find in The Lutheran Hymnal). One change you would have to make to the melody to fit these words is the meter for the last two phrases: the DDR National Anthem is written in 8.7.8.7.8.7.8.7.5.5., this hymn is written in 8.7.8.7.8.7.8.7.6.6. (I envision changing the second half note to which the syllable "-land" of the word "Deutschland" is sung into two quarter notes to which the syllables "-sen to-" of the phrase "risen today" are sung). You may submit any "entries" to me at my email address. I am also considering consulting with some connections I have in the music field.

6Jun
2002
Thu
15:05
author: Stingray
category: Hymns
read/add comments: 6
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With These Two Words

various scripture references

It began as a request to have an I AM hymn to accompany some chancel dramas at my vicarage congregation (*groan*). Nothing existed short of a few differing hymns that may have mentioned one of the various I AMs Jesus spoke. It developed into the first place winning entry in the Pamela Anne Prevalet Memorial Fund hymn writing competition for vicars.