Pentecost titles, 5.22.2010

Someone asked me for the title of the hymn in the prelude. That's a nice compliment. Thanks.

My preludes usually begin ten minutes before the hour. Last Sunday I played, first, a short Bach prelude in A major. Then I launched into a heavy version of "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" (blue #619). The tune is known as Austrian Hymn, composed by Franz J. Haydn in 1802. That was pretty loud. Then, to bring things down, and to signal the focus on the Holy Spirit, I play blue # 303, "Come, gracious Spirit, heav'nly dove, with light and comfort from above. Be thou our guardian and our guide; o'er every thought and step preside." The new hymnal has updated "be thou" to "come, be our."

Pentecost is the church's birthday.