"Difficult" hymns

My congregation has no regular choir - though we have some outstanding musical resources including a gifted organist and a dedicated music teacher with an angelic singing voice. Our music teacher has several choirs of school children that sing in the Divine Service from time to time, but we have had no luck in getting an adult choir started.

Musically, we tend to sing nearly the entire hymnal. And for not having a choir, our congregation does remarkably well.

Still, we are hobbled by not being able to make full use of some "difficult" hymns. Of course, all hymns cease being difficult when they become familiar - but getting over the hump without a choir is not an easy task.

I thought of three hymns that are difficult, and yet are magnificent hymns that I wish we could make better use of (and I'm sure I will come up with more upon further reflection):

1) O Kingly Love (LW 346) by Martin Franzmann.

Dr. Franzmann was a seminary professor who was not just a wordsmith, but one of the Missouri Synod's great poetic and prophetic voices. O Kingly Love calls to mind the Parable of the Wedding Feast - and is placed in the section of hymns labeled "The Gospel Call" - though I would have pegged it as a Eucharistic hymn.

The tune by Richard Hillert is haunting, but its chant-like qualities and the length of the hymn make it tough to sing. Though it was part of Lutheran Worship (LW), the hymn was not included in the Lutheran Service Book (LSB).

You can find a recording of it in November Feasts by the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter the Apostle - which is a fine collection of music that also includes Healy Willan's Te Deum.

We tried singing this occasionally when our congregation used LW. Since going to LSB, we haven't attempted it.

Here are the words to this hymn:

O Kingly Love, that faithfully
Didst keep thine ancient promises,
Didst bid the bidden come to thee,
The people thou didst choose to bless,

Refrain:
This day we raise
Our song of praise ,
Adoring thee,
That in the days
When alien sound
Had all but drowned
Thine ancient, true, and constant melody,
Thy mighty hand did make
A trumpet none could silence or mistake;
Thy living breath did blow for all the world to hear,
Living and clear
The feast is ready.
Come to the feast,
The good and the bad.
Come and be glad!
Greatest and least, Come to the feast!

O lavish Love, that didst prepare
A table bounteous as thy heart,
That men might leave their puny care
And taste and see how good thou Art

Refrain

O seeking Love, thy hurrying feet
Go searching still to urge and call
The bad and good on ev'ry street
To fill thy boundless banquet hall.

Refrain

O holy Love, thou canst not brook,
Man's cool and careless enmity;
O ruthless Love, thou wilt not look
On man robed in contempt of thee.

Final Refrain:
Thine echoes die;
Our deeds deny
Thy summoning;:
Our darkling cry,
Our meddling sound
Have all but drowned
That song that once made ev'ry echo ring.
Take up again, oh, take
The trumpet none can silence or mistake,
And blow once more for us and all the world to hear,
Living and clear
The feast is ready.
Come to the feast,
The good and the bad.
Come and be glad!
Greatest and least, Come to the feast!


2) I Bind Unto Myself This Day (a.k.a. St. Patrick's Breastplate) (LSB 604) att. St. Patrick.

This hymn is also long and has an unusual tune that is difficult for Lutherans both because of its Celtic rhythm and irregular meter. St. Patrick's Breastplate is a powerful rebuke of the forces of darkness, and is employed by the Pastoral Care Companion (p. 361) as a resource for pastors in dealing with "Occult Practices and Demonic Affliction" (p. 354ff). In these dark times, this is a beautiful hymn that both calls to mind for the faithful Lord's protection, and reminds the demons of their defeat and subjugation.

Although this hymn is in our hymnal, we haven't attempted it to my memory since I've been here.

Here are the words as they appear in our hymnals:

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever,
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
His baptism in the Jordan River,
His cross of death for my salvation,
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my god to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three,
Of whom all nature has creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

3) Thee We Adore, O Hidden Savior (LSB 640) by St. Thomas Aquinas.

This is a hymn rich in poetry, imagery, and Eucharistic theology written by the great doctor of the Church, St. Thomas. It has been sung by Christians for eight centuries, and was originally written in exquisite Latin verse. It is traditionally chanted according to plainsong mode five (based on ancient Gregorian chant).

The plainsong tune is haunting and other-worldly - but Gregorian Chant is not well known in most of our churches, and the natural way that Latin (whose words have repetitive endings owing to Latin's inflected grammatical structure) fits the chant is not quite as natural in Germanic languages (which includes English).

This hymn features the ancient Christian imagery of the self-sacrifice of the mother pelican, a symbol of Christ and His sacrifice for His beloved - a symbol found on the state flag of Louisiana.

We do use this hymn as part of the rotation of communion distribution hymns - although the congregation typically struggles with it.

Here are the words according to the translation that appears in our hymnals:

Thee we adore, O hidden Savior Thee,
Who in Thy Sacrament art pleased to be;
Both flesh and spirit in Thy presence fail,
Yet here Thy presence we devoutly hail.

In this memorial of Thy death, O Lord,
Thou dost Thy body and Thy blood afford:
Oh, may our souls forever feed on Thee,
And Thou, O Christ, forever precious be.

Thou, like the pelican to feed her brood,
Didst pierce Thyself to give us living food;
Thy blood, O Lord, one drop has pow'r to win
Forgiveness for our world and all its sin.

Fountain of goodness, Jesus, Lord and God:
Cleanse us, unclean, with Thy most cleansing blood;
Increase our faith and love, that we may know
The hope and peace which from Thy presence flow.

O Christ, whom now beneath a veil we see,
May what we thirst for soon our portion be:
To gaze on Thee unveiled and see Thy face,
The vision of Thy glory, and Thy grace. Amen.