On our May 26 Sing For Joy program, we will hear music for the liturgical day called Trinity Sunday. On this day, churches across the world and across traditions spend time giving thanks for and contemplating the holy mystery of the Trinity: one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is one of the few liturgical days that focuses on doctrine rather than narrative or event. The readings assigned to Trinity Sunday offer language and images to texture our understanding of the Trinity, and churches that celebrate this day will program music that does the same!
Our Trinity program includes a setting of a fourth-century canticle that is sometimes associated with Trinity Sunday, the Te Deum Laudamus. The text for this canticle is a sweeping, cosmic song of praise; it begins, “We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as the Lord; all creation worships you!” And as the canticle moves along in praise, we hear lyrical affirmations of the Trinity: “Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all praise, the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.” The sung setting we hear later this month on Sing For Joy is a poetic rendering of the text in English, “Holy God, We Praise Your Name,” set to an 18th century German tune. From it we receive this wonderful line, a favorite of mine in all of hymnody: “and from morn to set of sun, through the Church the song goes on.”
Through the Church the song goes on! Even in an age like our own, filled with uncertainty, the Church continues to sing praises to the Triune God. In folk hymns and chorales, praise choruses and African American spirituals, canticles and Psalms, anthems and chants, the Church praises Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in ways as diverse as the Church itself. What a gift!
I hope that as you continue to experience the Church’s song through Sing For Joy, you might consider sharing a gift to support the program. May is our spring funding drive, and every gift helps us to continue sharing music with audiences around the United States and beyond.
Blessings to you this May,
