This music goes well with the lectionary texts for Sunday, August 30, and does not require a choir: 

The following music pairs well with the lectionary texts for Sunday, August 23, and does not require a choir or other large ensemble: 

This music resonates with the lectionary texts for Sunday, August 16, and can be done without a choir or other large ensemble: 

The following music goes well with the lectionary readings for Sunday, August 9, 2020, and does not require a choir: 

During the virtual music clinic that Augsburg Fortress hosted last month, clinician Christopher Aspaas mentioned two websites. The first was this slide deck presenting preliminary findings of an aerosol study of a singer and various instrumentalists. The study examined the aerosols emitted while the singer talked and sang and while the instrumentalists played their instruments, including a clarinet, a horn, a flute, and a trumpet. Findings and recommendations included a confirmation of the need to wear a mask at all possible times, especially while speaking or singing, and the need to ensure that each musician is at least six feet away in every direction from any other person.  

This is a challenging time to work in church music. Choir plans have been scuttled as a result of public health guidelines and we are working with new methods of connecting with one another. Many are streaming music from home as part of online worship services. To assist with this, Augsburg Fortress is extending through July 31, 2020, its temporary permission for worshiping communities to include Augsburg Fortress administered liturgical text and liturgical music copyrights in a livestream or podcast. Read more about this in our landing page.

“’Twas on a Sunday Morning,” a solo from composer Evelyn Larter, is perfect for Easter Sunday or Eastertide. Augsburg Fortress will be releasing a collection of vocal solos from Larter next year, but in the meantime we have made this manuscript available for free in the hopes that churches will find it useful when many congregations are unable to assemble in person. Permission is granted by the composer and Augsburg fortress to reproduce this piece for worship through August of 2020.

As of January 1, 2017, these two principal providers of hymn and song licensing for mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic communities merged, retaining the One License name. What does this mean for Prelude Music Planner subscribers who reprint or project music covered by these licenses? Those who held only One License may have already noticed that more content is covered than before, especially from copyright holders like OCP Publications, whose works were previously only covered by LicenSing Online. Those who held both licenses will find it less complicated to report usage in one place rather than two.

Each year on July 28, the church commemorates a trio of important musicians—Bach, Schütz, and Handel—and prays for those who nurture and equip the church’s song. While Schütz (baptized October 9, 1585; died November 6, 1672) is probably the least known among the three, his music was influential in setting the stage for the mixture of national styles seen in the music of later composers such as Buxtehude, Böhm, and Bach. Today, Schütz’s works continue to appear in new editions and creative arrangements, some of which are listed below as suggestions for the 2017 anniversary year.