Hymns of the Church: O Wondrous Chords! Settings of Deo Gracias in Current Lutheran Hymnals

Abstract

Every year on the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord many of us play and/or sing John Mason Neale's "O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair" (or, a little less poetic and a little less musical, "Oh, Wondrous Image, Vision Fair"). In the twentieth century, the hymn has become associated with the tune Deo Gracias, also known as the Agincourt Hymn. It is found in 'Evangelical Lutheran Worship' (ELW) at 316; in the 'Lutheran Service Book' (LSB) at 413; and in the 'Lutheran Book of Worship' (LBW) at 80. The tune is also used for "O Love, How Deep," a translation of Thomas à Kempis's "O amor quam extaticus," found at ELW 322, LSB 544, and LBW 88. My own experience with the hymn this year inspired me to write this article about it. As has often been the case in this series, the heart of the discussion will be accompaniment settings.