Music for Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Today’s prelude is one of the most sublime of Johann Sebastian Bach’s chorale preludes: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (“Adorn yourself, dear soul”), known in English as “Deck Thyself, My Soul, with Gladness” (New English Hymnal 280).

The hymn, written by Johann Franck in 1653 to a melody by Johann Crüger, is one of the great Lutheran Communion hymns. Its opening words, “Adorn yourself, dear soul,” are an invitation to prepare worthily to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The adornment of which the hymn speaks is not outward display but the inward beauty of faith, repentance, thanksgiving, and love, as the faithful draw near to the Lord’s Table.

Bach’s musical setting is a profound meditation on this sacred text. The chorale melody, heard in the soprano voice, is richly ornamented, as though the melody itself has been clothed in beauty. Beneath it unfolds an intricate accompaniment whose flowing lines are themselves derived from the hymn tune, creating music of remarkable unity, tenderness, and serenity. The effect is one of quiet contemplation, inviting the listener to enter more deeply into the mystery and grace of the Eucharist.

During the nineteenth-century revival of Bach’s music, Schmücke dich became especially cherished. After performing it at an all-Bach organ recital in Leipzig in 1840, Felix Mendelssohn is reported to have remarked, “If life had robbed me of all hope and faith, this single chorale would restore them.” Robert Schumann likewise described it as “as priceless, deep, and full of soul as any piece of music that ever sprang from a true artist’s imagination.”

Heard before the celebration of the Holy Mass, this chorale prelude invites us into a spirit of prayerful recollection. Like the hymn on which it is based, it prepares the heart to receive with reverence and joy the Body and Blood of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

PJ Janson

Solemn Mass takes place at St. James’ Anglican Church, Vancouver at 10:30 am every Sunday.