Uncategorized – Joel Stoppenhagen

Vocation

This wonderful description of vocation comes from the Apology to the Augsburg Confession (1537) and was shared by Pr. Will Weedon on his blog, and I thought it fit to share here. Vocation is always a holy calling, but it doesn’t belong only to pastors, deacons, and other church workers. “If we follow this, monasticismContinue reading “Vocation”

De Organographia

Michael Praetorius, another great Lutheran musician, wrote his monumental Syntagma Musicum between 1614 and 1620. The second volume (published in 1619) of this tremendous encyclopedia of music—the first of its kind—provides us with a fascinating perspective on the history of organbuilding up to that point, not to mention the extensive explanations of early music theoryContinue reading “De Organographia”

Pointing to Christ

“Liturgical music must be like John the Baptist; always pointing to Christ, never calling attention to itself.” – brother roger of taize A few days ago, I assisted a friend of mine by writing a descant over the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”—you can find the PDF attached below. Upon finishing it, she requestedContinue reading “Pointing to Christ”

Honing Your Skill

Dem Höchsten Gott allein’ zu Ehren, Dem Nechsten, draus sich zu belehren. With this little couplet, Johann Sebastian Bach, the great Lutheran Kantor, began his collection of short hymn-based pieces titled Orgelbüchlein. This “little organ book” was quite literally a little book, for which the Kantor had lofty intentions: its pages were marked for 164Continue reading “Honing Your Skill”

Improvisation

I firmly believe that every true musician should be able to improvise. It’s an absolutely essential skill, even if you can only execute it in the most basic way. If one cannot freely speak their own musical ideas through their own instrument, how can he or she expect to perform another composer’s work with thatContinue reading “Improvisation”

First Post / Musicking

I’ve had so many profound thoughts recently, but they escape me too quickly. I’ve resolved to, at the very least, record the thoughts in my phone as soon as they come to me. Then, if I feel inspired enough by the thought later on, then I can expound upon it in a public blog. ThereforeContinue reading “First Post / Musicking”