Past Programs
Lutheranism - 2008
Lutheran Hymns from Lake Wobegon
13/06/2008
Lake Wobegon is a small town in the American state of Minnesota that exists only in the mind of humorist and writer Garrison Keillor. In a rambling reminiscence that may or may not be true, Keillor explains the difficulties of keeping a music director at the nearby Holy Trinity Lutheran church.
Lutherans have a wonderful history of congregational hymn singing. And Luther himself said that "Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise".
Among the hymns this week will be an arrangement of 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God' (Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott), written by Luther himself, and a favorite of Protestant congregations everywhere, 'Now Thank We All Our God' (Nun danket).
If you're a regular listener to Radio National you might have heard the Garrison Keillor Radio Show broadcast last Summer. It's an edited version of his long-running radio show on American public radio, A Prairie Home Companion.
As well as being host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison presents The Writer's Almanac heard on public radio stations across the USA and around the world. And he's also the author of more than a dozen books, including Lake Wobegon Days. He was born in Minnesota in 1942 and while he now worships at an Episcopalian church in New York city where he lives, Garrison has in the past been a member of the Lutheran church, and was born into a family belonging to the Plymouth Brethren, a fundamentalist Christian denomination which he's since left.
Finally, to coincide with the Australian visit of the Dalai Lama this week, we hear chanting from the Gyuto Monks of Tibet, a Special Message recorded by His Holiness in 2000, and a Long Life Song for the Dalai Lama by Ama La Olo Bhuti.
1685
29/02/2008
It was a very good year for music. 1685 saw the birth of George Frideric Handel on 23 February, Johann Sebastian Bach on 21 March and Domenico Scarlatti on 26 October. Handel and Bach were German Lutherans while Scarlatti was an Italian Catholic who became maestro of the Cappella Giulia in Rome. Our music includes an excerpt from the Biblical oratorio Israel in Egypt by Handel and one of the ever-popular arias from Bach's sacred cantata BWV 82 ('Ich habe genug').
