The Good Shepherd Institute: Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church

Documentary Film Project (Online Giving Code: GSI-3)

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A Video Documentary of Lutheran Singing from Luther to the Present

Sponsoring Organization

The Good Shepherd Institute of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Music for the Church, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN

Project Executive Director

Richard C. Resch, Kantor and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN; Co-Director of The Good Shepherd Institute; Kantor, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Research, Text Writer, Study Guide Author

Daniel Zager, Head of the Sibley Music Library, Professor of Musicology, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY

Director and Film Producer

Johnathan Brouwer, independent film producer, Fort Wayne, IN; previously a filmmaker for Disney and PBS.

Art Director

Steve Blakey, owner of BB Design, art designer for: The Good Shepherd Institute, For the Life of the World, Kantorei CDs, and Higher Things magazine

Statement of Need

No part of life together in the Lutheran church has changed as radically over the past thirty years as the music of the church. As new musical styles, many of them imitative of the music of popular culture, have entered common usage in the church, centuries of significant Lutheran music have been neglected and stand in danger of being forgotten.

Ironically, no other church body has produced such an impressive list of composers. The treasure includes Schütz, Praetorius, Pachelbel, Buxtehude, J. S. Bach, Telemann, Mendelssohn, Distler, and many others spanning more than four centuries. Contemporary composers like Manz and Schalk have continued the tradition of crafting fine music that serves God’s Word. Yet today’s Lutherans are largely ignorant of their church’s rich musical legacy.

Project Executive Director Resch plans to produce a respected teaching resource that will enable pastors to present this Lutheran musical treasure to their congregations through authentic and beautiful examples, demonstrating that Lutheran musical proclamation has faithfully preached Christ throughout the history of the church.

Goals of the Project

To produce a 80-minute documentary video that presents a stunning visual and aural overview of Lutheran music from the Reformation to the present
To produce an accompanying study guide that supports and extends the video into a one-month study for parish use
To provide an educational tool for Lutheran pastors as they teach the theological, musical, and liturgical legacy of the Lutheran church. The project does not intend to be simply a history lesson, but a resource that helps to bring this treasure into Lutheran practice today.

Rationale for the Project

“Heavenly Voices,” a video produced by Barry Rose in 1998 for the BBC (Gateway Films—Vision Video, catalog number #4277) is a comparable project on the history of Anglican church music. The quality and success of that video prompted the idea for a similar project dealing with the treasures of the Lutheran musical heritage.
Lutherans may not be aware of the many historic hymn writers and composers who wrote for the Lutheran church, as Lutherans! The history of this is an amazing story.
Lutherans may also be unaware of the richness of current contributions to Lutheran church music by modern-day composers and poets.
It is hoped that an appreciation of these treasures will naturally follow exposure to the high-quality performances presented and the subsequent weeks of education.

Scope of the Project

The video will begin with the musical roots of the Reformation, showing the Lutheran connection with the church universal in sites of great beauty.
It will present these sites with sounds and commentary on the key figures that developed the Lutheran hymn: Luther, Schütz, Praetorius, Bach, Gerhardt.
It will continue to tell the fascinating story of how Lutheran music develops through the centuries to our 21st century Lutheran music-making.

Timeline

The project is set to be completed in Winter 2007.

Major Sponsors

Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO, will be the sole distributor of this film.

The Schwan Foundation of St. Louis is a major sponsor of this project.

Support Needed after Major Sponsors

An additional $20,000 from individual donors will enable The Good Shepherd Institute to complete this resource for the church.