Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal Hymn number 8, Second Version, aka “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates!” arranged for Soprano and Bass Clarinets.
MACHT HOCH DIE TUR
8 8, 8 8, 8 8, 6 6.
Joyfully
Freylinghausen’s Gesangbuch, 1704
Georg Weissel, 1590-1635
Tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1829-78 a.
This is kind of a more interesting arrangement, more 4ths used as intervals. Very fragile harmonies. I really tried to play delicately, yet concentratedly as I could, and be as close in intonation as possible. Tricky on the bass clarinet while playing so quietly! I recorded the Soprano vocal part twice on soprano clarinet, and the rest of the parts once. As usual processed it with the “Large Room” Reverb effect in Audacity.
Hymn No 8 (First Version) from the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal, aka “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates!”, arranged for Soprano and Bass Clarinets.
TRURO. L.M.
With Spirit
Thomas Williams
Psalmodia Evangelica, 1789
Georg Weissel, 1590-1635
Tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1829-78
My clarinet teacher frequently tells me that I need to concentrate my sound and use dynamics in my playing. So, for this one, I tried to concentrate on my playing and sound as much as possible and keep it under control. I also played further from the microphone.
“Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, calls the voice to us), BWV 140, also known as Sleepers Wake, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, regarded as one of his most mature and popular sacred cantatas. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for the 27th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 November 1731.”
My wife was reading the lyrics I had posted with the previous version of the hymn, (007.ServiceBookAndHymnal) and said, “This sounds scary! What is it about?”
I have to say, I hadn’t given it much thought, as I am pretty shallow. To me it was more about the idea that during different parts of our lives we are often “asleep” and it takes some thought, or an event, to “wake” us out of the slumber of everyday events.
Philipp Nicolai lived in Germany during the Plague years. He had seen friends and colleagues fall victim to it. It was a pretty terrible time to be alive. It probably seemed to him like the end of the world wasn’t too far off.
The Hymn references several things, first what is called, “The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins“, which comes from the New Testament of the Christian Bible, (Matthew 25:1–13,) which is usually interpreted to be about being prepared for Christ’s return to earth. It also references some scary bits from the book of Revelation. My favorite line, (“eye hath not seen, nor ear heard”,) comes from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2:9), which, ostensibly is about the amazing stuff that the true believer will see in Heaven, but to me is more about how art, including music, can transcend our ordinary lives.
For this one, with all of J.S. Bach’s eighth notes and syncopation, I kept the overdubbing down to 2 soprano and 2 bass clarinets. It’s actually a pretty challenging piece, by hymn standards.
Hymn No 7 from the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal, aka “Wake, Awake!”, arranged for Soprano and Bass Clarinets.
Wachet Auf.
Irregular.
Jubilantly
Philipp Nicolai, 1556-1608
Tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1829-78
Wake, awake, for night is flying,
The watchmen on the heights are crying,
Awake, Jerusalem, at last!
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices:
Come forth, ye virgins, night is past!
The Bridegroom comes, awake,
Your lamps with gladness take;
Aleluia!
And for his marriage feast prepare,
For you must go to meet him there. Amen.
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
And all her heart with joy is springing,
She wakes, she rises from her gloom;
For her Lord comes down all glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious,
Her Star is risen, her Light is come.
Ah come, thou blessed One,
God’s own beloved Son,
Alleluia!
We follow till the halls we see
Where thou has bid us sup with thee.
Now let all the heavens adore thee,
And men and angels sing before thee,
With harp and cymbal’s clearest tone;
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where we are with the choir immortal
Of angels round thy dazzling throne;
Nor eye hath seen, nor ear
Hath yet attained to hear
What there is ours;
But we rejoice, and sing to thee
Our hymn of joy eternally. Amen.
Overdubbed 4 clarinets for each part, again playing soprano clarinet on the soprano and alto voice parts and bass clarinet on the tenor and bass voice parts, for a total of 16. I then applied the Audacity “Large Room” Reverb effect. There’s a “Church” and “Cathedral” effect, but they end up kind of quiet and very echo-ey.
Overdubbed 4 clarinets for each part, again playing soprano clarinet on the soprano and alto parts and bass clarinet on the tenor and bass parts, for a total of 16. I then applied the Audacity “Large Room” Reverb effect. There’s a “Church” and “Cathedral” effect, but they end up kind of quiet and very echo-ey. I finally remembered to mute the metronome track.
“Let every heart prepare a throne, And every voice a song.” is a fine sentiment, whether you are religious or not.
