Trinity presents J. S. Bach, Devotional Hymns, and the Lutheran Liturgy

Posted February 17, 2015 10:00 pm

Trinity International University

Trinity International University presents "J. S. Bach, Devotional Hymns, and the Lutheran Liturgy" on Monday, March 2, at 7:30 pm. This evening of lecture, demonstration and music will be held in the A.T. Olson Chapel on the Deerfield campus of Trinity, located at 2065 Half Day Road. The event is free and open to the public.

Does music shape our understanding of theology? Is how we sing (or how we are sung to) as important as what we sing (or hear)? Professor Charles King addresses these questions in a thesis exploring theology, musicology, and liturgical practice. He asks why J. S. Bach used Pietist hymns in the stronghold of scholastic Lutheran thought and liturgy and explores what Bach did to those hymns, musically, to re-frame them for his context. The lecture is presented with musical examples.

Following the lecture, various members of the Trinity music faculty and guests perform Johann Sebastian Bach's BWV 5, "Wo soll ich fliehen hin" (Where shall I flee), a Bach cantata with a thoroughly pietistic text. A time for questions and answers, as well as a reception, follows the performance.

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