More Veni Redemptor...

After digging into my small collection of hymn books (with music) I discovered that the tune "Nun komm..." is given in Songs of Praise (a), my edition is from 1931. It is also given in "Koralbok for den norske kirke" (b), a Norwegian hymnbook first time published in 1926. The Norwegian tune that I was referring to in my previous post is given in "Norsk koralbok" from 1985 (c).

(a) This version is a copy of a German baroque style harmonisation, very much in the style of the Bach chorales, but not attributed to him. The performance note above the music says "slowly", and indeed the way the music is arranged invites you to play it slowly. The best part is that it sound really superb! What on earth is it that church musicians do when they throw away these really good hymn arrangements? The Anglicans are far more eager to preserve the hymn material from the time of the reformation up until Bach than the Lutherans are. Why is this? Another great hymn tune known as "Luthers hymn" is totally unknown in Norway, but in many Anglican congregations this is among the most frequent hymns sung. Why? I am tempted to say that they have a great taste in music, which is true, but that is not the reason.

(b) Then you have this retired Norwegian arrangement, harmonies corresponding in most parts to that of (a), but without the tension and fascinating bass lines. The tune is somewhat altered, according to the Norwegian tradition of ruining a perfectly good hymn.

(c) Then this later version really drags this great tune down in the mud, and runs it over with a steamroller. Now the tune has lost it's dignity, and is better played like a ridiculous dance tune. Just as well as the Church of Norway is about to formally introduce liturgical dance in their order of service (fools...).

After all this malicious damage, both to the hymn tune and to peoples minds, I am really glad that I composed this new hymn tune to my new translation. However, personally I prefer (a) for common singing. My hymn tune (and the translation) can instead be sung as an anthem.

Veni Redemptor Gentium

The famous Ambrosian hymn, better known to the Lutherans as "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland". In Norway this is the first hymn in the offical hymn book "Norsk salmebok". What most people seem to have missed, is that Luther has ommitted a couple of verses, and the Norwegeians have even further changed this hymn in their translation, bearing little resemblance to the original Ambrosian words. Therefore I have now made a new Norwegian translation. I am not the only one who has been concerned with this hymn. Take a look at this Dutch site:

Veni Redemptor Gentium / Nun komm der Heiden Heiland

Here's an English site with a literal translation (which indicates that my own translation to Norwegian seems fairly accurate):

Cantata BWV 61 - English Translation [interlinear format]

I have tried to be faithful to the Latin original in my translation. Some of the lines may differ for the sake of rhyme, but I believe that I have managed to express the bigger picture. It is difficult to show this in English, so I'll leave the analysis out. In Norway, the traditional Gregorian tune (the same as the German tune) is somewhat stuck with the Norwegian translation given in "Norsk salmebok". A radical change (i.e. a new translation) of the words would thus call for a new tune to indicate that the words now means something different than before. This is what I have done.

As far as the tune is concerned, I was determined to compose something that is totally different from the traditional tune to show that this is not an adaption of the already existing Norwegian translation. The traditional tune may be interpreted in different ways depending on which harmonies that are used. The harmonies used in "Norsk Koralbok" lends itself to either a somewhat lively or a marcato way of playing the organ, and you get an immediate impression that the hymn is old. Too bad, since translation does not reveal the old hymn. So I have done opposite by giving my new more faithful translation a very legato style tune, and harmonies that belong to our time. The whole experience of singing 8 verses fairly slowly and legato, not letting your lungs relax at any time, singing with an intensity that stretches all the way back to the 4th century... should underline the power that lies in the message of the chaste virgin giving birth to Son of God, the Redeemer of all people.

You'll find my translation and the new hymn tune at the Organ Amateur Page by clicking "Music" and "Music by me". You can also access the words here and the tune here.

Reed organ pictures

I took some pictures for the Robert Gellermann's reed organ database. I had to tidy the space around the organ i order to get a good view. Take a look:

You can find my reed organ in the reed organ database (go via http://www.reedorgan.info) with reg.no. 5224.

My beloved reed organ...

Every day I discover new details about my reed organ. When I pull out all the shutter stops together with Echo Horn and Dulcet (stops no. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) the colour of the tone is surprisingly similar to a real pipe principal sound, with the characteristic whistling sound. I believe that the reed cells are made this way to create wind "noise" when the shutters are opened. When the shutters are closed, the sound is nothing like a principal, but a clean, round, pleasant-to-the-ear sound.

Another thing I've noticed is that the organ needs to be "warmed up" to be in tune. That means I have to let all the reeds sound for a few seconds, or play it with all the stops out for a couple of minutes, before everything is in tune. It seems like the reeds go stiff after not being used for a while and need some stretching and bending to get back in shape. (added later: The organ stays in tune if I leave all the stops out when it is not in use, so that air can circulate inside the instrument).

The only down-side to this reed organ (not that much of a down-side, but still) is that the 16' stop does not go deeper than the usual pipe organ, even though it has got 7 extra keys in the bass region compared to a standard pipe organ. The positive side is that these 7 tones does not borrow from the octave above or another stop, but are 7 uniqe reeds with a pitch that is one octave above of what you would expect. Thus, the power of the sound does not get that much degraded because the F1 adds to the F2 creating a louder sound (having the same pitch). Anyway, the C2 is so deep that the sound board together with the organ case have a hard time giving enough resonant support to the low frequency of approx. 32 Hz that is the fundamental frequency of C2.

I had no idea that a reed organ like this would be so much fun to play. When I play with all the stops out the sound is almost unpleasantly loud, even though I intend to play loudly. When I play with only Dulcet and Echo Horn pedalling gently, the sound is so soft and quiet. It is amazing that this instrument sounds and plays so well after 106 years of playing, Norwegian temperature and humidity fluctuations, children growing up, moved from one room to another, from one house to another.

Since no music I've got is written for split keyboard, I have to compensate by playing e.g. an octave lower in the bass, ommiting some tones, playing some tones an octave higher and so on. In this way some music does not sound so well, while other music sounds perfectly OK. I admit that I miss the possibility to play with my feet, because most of the music I have played on the pipe organ is totally dependant on the pedals. This music is not possible to play on the reed organ without transcribing it. I doubt it is worth the effort. A much better idea is to write completely new music for this specific instrument. In fact, I am half way finished with my first piece of music which will demontrate the variety of the instrument.

Blogthings quizes say a great deal about a person's personality, or not? Anyway, here's my verdict:

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world.Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them.When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well.But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's" Your Beer Personality?

You Are 18% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm.Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?