As far as hymnals go, Christian Worship (2021) is not drastically different than its predecessor. It was meant, however, to be noticeably different in a few ways. The fact that there would be an entire suite of products released rather than just a pew edition hymnal is part of what led to the philosophy of seeking to make the hymnal a singer’s book. The result, as you may well have already deduced, is that not everything is in the pew edition.

Rationale for a Singer’s Book

In terms of the music printed for the hymns, the pew edition of CW93 could rightly be viewed as all-inclusive. All of the hymns included the full accompaniment. Found at the bottom of many hymn pages was a cross reference to “alternate settings,” other instances of the same hymn tune with a different accompaniment. (In CW93, hymn 410 indicated that Luther’s VATER UNSER tune could also be played with three other settings at 306, 407, and 479.) Virtually all of the hymns in CW93 could be played, as written, on the organ. Of course, they could also be played on piano, but few if any were actually written in a genuinely pianistic style.

Christian Worship: Supplement (2008) was a bridge, of sorts. The pew edition still had the complete accompaniment for every hymn, but a separate accompaniment volume provided both the primary setting and also a number of alternate accompaniments. Additionally, a number of modern hymns written specifically for piano were included in the CWS collection. In CW21, there would be considerably more hymns originally written for piano.

The rationale for a singer’s book, however, goes beyond the various types of keyboard arrangements that would be included in the new book. By an overwhelming margin, most worshipers are not trained musicians. Most have no need for all the various items that musicians need. Coupled with the fact that there would be multiple volumes/resources in the CW suite of materials dedicated specifically to musicians (multiple accompaniment volumes and the digital Musician’s Resource), the CW21 pew edition hymnal was designed not exclusively but primarily as a singer’s book.

Some Key Features of a Singer’s Book

[Bulleted lists are not exhaustive, only exemplary.]

A reinfusion of settings from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941)

Still loved and well known by a significant number of Lutherans, the four-part hymn settings of The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) lend themselves well to part-singing. This was certainly a consideration for a singer’s book, with the result that there are 185 TLH settings in CW: Hymnal, 28% of the total of 657 hymns printed in the book. Lists of these TLH settings appear both in the source index of CW: Hymnal, p. 968, and the source index of CW: Planning Guide, p. 374.

Tune-only (accompaniment not meant to be sung in parts)

There are multiple reasons for a fair number of hymns being printed in a tune-only format. Space savings is certainly one of the reasons. In some cases, the full setting is printed with a different hymn that has the same tune. In terms of a singer’s book, however, there are a number of instances when the song or hymn is not intended to be sung in parts. Most of these are hymns written with a pianistic arrangement. Presenting some of them as tune-only significantly assists the singer (see especially 615 and 802 below). Musicians, of course, have the full setting in the accompaniment edition.

• 579 His Mercy Is More
• 615 Jesus, Thank You
• 802 All Is Well

Tune-only (chant-style hymns/canticles)

By their very nature (chant), many of these hymns/canticles were not intended to be sung in parts. In some cases, presenting them as tune-only is also an effort to overcome unfamiliarity and return them to more frequent use, so that even singers who don’t read music can still be guided by the contour of the melody indicated by the notation.

• 358 Of the Father’s Love Begotten
• 482 Triune God, O Be Our Stay
• 843 In the Midst of Earthly Life
• 906 May God Bestow on Us His Grace
• 934 Kyrie! God, Father
• 941 We All Believe in One True God
• 943 Isaiah, Mighty Seer

Combination of tune-only verses and harmonized refrain

Hymns presented in this way generally (not always) reflect the fact that the verses were not written to be sung in parts. Especially when verses are more melodically complex and the refrain less so, having cantors or choir sing the verses and the congregation sing the refrain is both advisable and effective. Of course, with a hymn such as “He Will Hold Me Fast” (813) where the tune-only verses/harmonized refrain arrangement seems to work especially well, the verses may also be accessible to all. Congregations where the assembly can also learn to sing the harmonized refrain in parts will likely come to love such arrangements. (CW: Psalter 46E and 104B are additional examples arranged in this way.)

• 544 I Am the Bread of Life
• 662 Draw Near
• 676 Take and Eat
• 813 He Will Hold Me Fast
• 828 Where Your Treasure Is
• 937 God’s Right Hand and Holy Arm

Page layout (full harmony duplicated on facing pages)

In three instances, page layout allowed for longer hymns to be printed on facing pages with the full accompaniment duplicated. These are hymns where part-singing could be fostered across all the stanzas.

• 429 O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
• 667 Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared
• 670 I Come, O Savior, to Your Table

Page layout (singers in mind)

Two somewhat subtle instances are also examples of having singers in mind. While “On My Heart Imprint Your Image” (405) is presented as tune-only, it appears on the page facing “Jesus, Grant That Balm and Healing” (404), where the full accompaniment of the same tune appears. Some singers may make use of the full accompaniment of 404 when singing 405. “Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed” (447) is one of only a handful of hymns with first and second endings and repeat symbols (see “Complex musical details avoided” below). The visual cues of extra spacing between verses are meant to help singers see which verses are grouped/sung together.

Pianistic hymns presented with part-singing arrangements (SATB/block chord)

Since expansive resources for musicians are available in the accompaniment volumes, some modern hymns written for piano were nonetheless presented in the pew edition in a part-singing arrangement. In these cases, steps were taken so that the arrangements would match—keyboardists can still play the pianistic arrangement in the accompaniment volume, while singers can sing the parts available in the pew edition.

• 523 How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
• 535 Come, Behold the Wondrous Mystery
• 561 Before the Throne of God Above
• 812 Christ, the Sure and Steady Anchor
• 867 Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near

Pianistic hymns presented with original pianistic arrangement

For hymns written in a pianistic style, there was not an all-or-nothing approach, as if all pianistic hymns would be presented tune-only for the benefit of singers. There was also the realization that some hymnal owners would certainly want to play the keyboard music on their own. There were obviously some judgment calls made as to which pianistic hymns would appear in the pew edition with the full pianistic setting.

• 385 Christ Begins
• 510 In Christ Alone
• 536 Jesus, Ever-Abiding Friend
• 550 Lamb of God
• 818 My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone
• 833 I Run to Christ
• 870 O Church, Arise
• 929 May the Peace of God

Original choral arrangement (choir teaching the congregation)

Several hymns in the pew edition were originally choral anthems. The Close of Service hymn, “Lead Me, Lord” (926), is originally a choral arrangement. When a choir or small singing group has learned to sing this lovely arrangement in parts, singing it with the congregation could easily become a cherished way to close the service, allowing congregation members who can sing in parts but are not able to actually join the choir to nonetheless sing this hymn in parts.

• 326 O Jesus, Grant me Hope and Comfort
• 403 Lamb of God
• 681 Christ Is with Me
• 926 Lead Me, Lord

Resolving differences across stanzas/verses

Some songs and hymns have texts with a different number of syllables in various stanzas/verses. While this was not true of the version of “On Eagle’s Wings” that appeared in CW93 (441), copyright requirements made it necessary to present that hymn with three unique verses in CW21 (812). Singers were held in mind when those verses were each laid out individually.

• 690 Blest Are They
• 821 On Eagle’s Wings

Complex musical details avoided

Singers, especially those who do not read music or have no musical training, do not benefit from any amount of musical complexity on the page. A minimalist approach was taken in laying out the hymn pages of the pew edition. Musical features such as introductions, turnarounds (which provide a musical bridge between stanzas), first and second endings, repeat signs—all of which are necessary for the proper execution of various hymns but can be very confusing and frustrating for non-musicians—are reserved for the accompaniment editions.

Time Signatures

The hymnal pew edition globally omitted time signatures from hymns. This followed the practice of the vast majority of Lutheran hymnals published in the past century. The meter of the text allows singers to keep correct time with the music of the hymn. Time signatures appear in the accompaniment editions.

A Closing Remark

To see a group of Christians holding Christian Worship: Hymnal in their hands during worship is itself a blessing. It speaks to the fact that there is something bigger going on in our services, that we are part of a larger group of Christians who also use this book to sing the praises and proclaim the works and wonder of the Lord. May the hymnal pew edition’s design as a singer’s book serve to foster such praise and proclamation.

This article in Devote Yourself was contributed by the team that previously created and distributed Worship the Lord. View past worship-related articles at worship.welsrc.net/downloads-worship/worship-the-lord.