This vast Hutterian literary production included chronicles, correspondence, theological treatises, prison epistles,
hymnody, and sermons.
His creative work spans a wide variety of genres and styles, including jazz, choral music,
hymnody and liturgy, solo voice, chamber music and musical theater.
Both operas are catchily tuneful, Poulenc's in the frothy manner of French music hall, Ullmann's in the punchier mode of Kurt Weill's twists on Berlin cabaret and Lutheran
hymnody. And then there's that Therese/Theresienstadt link, the latter having been named for the 18th-century empress whose 40-year reign encompassed two exceedingly long and bloody wars.
While there are essays on the Psalms (for example, "The Case of the Psalms and George Herbert") and on
hymnody ("The Sacred Poetry of Watts and Wesley"), sadly, there are no essays on music because, according to the editor, "music is not best conveyed by words on the printed page" (7).
These folks, after all, love to sing "The Old Rugged Cross." I had to agree that much of the
hymnody we call on, and a lot of the music chosen for choirs determined to sing cantatas, reflects just one theology of atonement.
The cultured atmosphere of the older universities floods every corner of the building, and even when the organ is silent, the air seems to vibrate with the simple, sterling
hymnody of educated English voices.' To Basil Clarke, writing in the 1930s, 'his work is always charming; perhaps it may be found rather too much so.' More recently, Mordaunt Crook has echoed Webb: Bodley suffered from 'loss of nerve'.
In the history of German
hymnody one could name Martin Luther (1483-1546) or the Harmonist Society under the leadership of George Rapp (1757-1847); (16) and John Calvin (1509-1564) for the Reformed tradition, as hymn writers who have left a legacy of distinctive theology in their texts.
Music of the old Czech masters and that of Antonin Dvoiik became our first publications, along with our arrangements of the Czech
hymnody. The encouragement of the composer Vaclav Nelhybel, who became a mutual friend, was most affirming.
If I am in a hurry I say "No" but truth to tell there are two things that occasionally cause a pang: first, the splendid tradition of Anglican
hymnody, albeit by the time I left the Anglicans had so degraded their musical heritage (dropping hymns like "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" because someone somewhere might take offence and rewriting almost all other hymns to conform to the prevailing demands of political correctness) that in reality the musical loss was minimal.
The result is an eclectic collection of essays that explores topics as diverse as the changing repertory of the Anglican choral anthem, the role of British
hymnody in the colonization of Madagascar, and the impact of Darwinian thought on nineteenth-century theories about music's spiritual basis.
He is also the author of several books on Lutheran music and
hymnody. "Carl F.