Die Lieder des Evangelischen Gesangbuchs, Band. 1: Kirchenjahr und Gottesdienst (EG 1-269). Kommentar zu Entstehung, Text und Musik by Karl Christian Thust (review)

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Die Lieder des Evangelischen Gesangbuchs, Band 1: Kirchenjahr und Gottesdienst (EG 1-269). Kommentar zu Entstehung, Text und Musik. By Karl Christian Thust. Kassel: Barenreiter, 2012. [484 p. ISBN 9783761822456. i39.95.] Appendix, glossary, bibliography.Karl Christian Thust brings a wealth of experience as a pastor, church musician, and scholar to bear in this commentary on hymns of the Evangelisches Gesangbuch (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 1995), the principal hymnal used by the Lutheran Church in Germany. Designed as a companion volume for the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, Die Lieder des Evangelischen Gesangbuchs closely follows both the struc- ture and content of the hymnal. The com- mentary simply mirrors the numbering of the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, making for ease of use as a companion volume to the hymnal.This first commentary volume covers the first half of the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, with hymns for the church year (numbers 1-154, including sections for Advent, Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, Passion, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, spe- cial days, penitential days, and the end of the church year) and service music (num- bers 155-269, including sections for proces- sion and recession, liturgical songs, word of God, baptism and confirmation, Eucharist, confession, weddings, gathering and send- ing, and ecumenical songs). This will be followed by a second volume addressing the remaining hymns in the Evangelisches Gesangbuch, comprised of biblical songs (numbers 270-315) and other hymns un- der the title Faith-Love-Hope (num- bers 316-535).Die Lieder des Evangelischen Gesangbuchs serves well its stated principal audience of pastors, church musicians, and interested laypersons who are living with the hymns of the Evangelisches Gesangbuch week by week. Thust treats each hymn in detail, explain- ing the hymn's history, reception, and uses in the liturgy, while providing insightful analyses of poetry, music, and theological content. The volume fulfills well its stated purpose to provide a better understanding and deeper appreciation of the hymns of the church:Um sie besser verstehen und wertschatzen zu konnen, bedarf es des- halb theologischer Hintergrundinfor- mationen und hilfreicher Hinweise auf die Zeitumstande der Entstehung, auf Sprache und Melodie, auch wegen des oft problematischen Gebrauchs be- kannter Kirchenlieder eines gescharften kritischen Blickes. (p. 7)Other than a brief foreword, a glossary, and a short bibliography, the bulk of the volume consists of commentary on each hymn individually. Thust's analyses of both text and music are detailed and insightful, based on his vast knowledge of hymnody and on extensive research. Thust employs similar categories of study throughout the volume, though not all categories are ad- dressed for every hymn and he treats the order of the categories flexibly so that the flow of commentary for each hymn is clear. As expected, some hymns are treated in more detail than others, based, for exam- ple, on the length of hymn or the extent of historical detail available about it.Thust employs the following categories in his commentary:* Entstehung: This section briefly provides the basic details of the hymn's origin.* Inhalt: Often one of the longest sec- tions of the commentary, Thust here provides an overview of the theological content of the hymn, followed by a stanza-by-stanza discussion of key words and phrases and of relationships to Bible verses or theological concepts.* Sprache: In this section, Thust focuses on poetic analysis of the hymn, includ- ing treatment of structure, meter, rhyme scheme, etcetera. …