Comp. of the Week: March 30-April 3 Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1 - 2. Gagliarda

Ottorino Respighi (Reh-SPEE-ghi) was a Romantic composer. Do you remember the words to the Romantic Era from our “Musical Timeline” song? “Romantic harmonies! Like those of Tchaikovsky, and Mendelssohn, Brahms, Holst, and Grieg, all shared their own stories. Ohhhhh, this is the Musical Timeline. It starts with the Early Age, then it’s Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical, Romantic, and not to forget the Modern Day!”

Ancient Airs and Dances are songs that were originally composed for the lute more than 300 years ago. The lute is an old string instrument, the ancestor of the guitar. Respighi took this ancient music and composed the songs for an entire orchestra. This is the second movement of Ancient Airs and Dances called “Gagliarda” (guy-YARD-uh). A gagliarda is an energetic dance in which the dancers leap around. Respighi starts the piece by composing a melody for strings that jumps around, just like the dancers might jump. In the middle, he introduces a much gentler, calmer section. It gives our ears—and the dancers!—time to rest. In the end, Respighi returns to his jumpy melody again. Can you tell when the first melody repeats again at the end?

Hymn of the Week: March 30-April 3 LSB 438: A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth

Written near the end of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) and in the midst of political tensions in Berlin, as leaders forsook Lutheranism for Calvinism, “A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth” details the love of God the Father in offering his Son to die for our salvation. Paul Gerhardt, a well-known Lutheran hymn writer, gives us a descriptive picture of our Savior’s suffering on Good Friday in a way that also brings to mind the sufferings of the times in which he lived. Gerhardt points to our dependence on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation.

This hymn is a Good Friday text. Notice the use of the word “Lamb” in stanza 1. We often hear Jesus called the “Lamb of God” (Agnus Dei, for all you Latin scholars out there). This first stanza, then, is detailing the suffering of Jesus. The text is taken from Isaiah 53: “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (verse 7). The most striking aspect of this stanza is the way in which Jesus suffers all of this for us willingly and “without complaint”. Notice the use of the strong word “slaughter” instead of a word like “death”. In one way, it reminds us of the comparison of Jesus to a sacrificial lamb because we slaughter animals like lambs, but it is also a word that implies violence. Jesus did not merely die, he was mocked, spit upon, beaten, scourged, slaughtered.

Comp. of the Week—March 23-27 Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Deux arabesques, No. 2 Allegretto Scherzando

Claude Debussy (DEB-you-see) was a Romantic composer. Sing with me now: “Romantic harmonies! Like those of Tchaikovsky, and Mendelssohn, Brahms, Holst, and Grieg, all shared their own stories. Ohhhhh, this is the Musical Timeline. It starts with the Early Age, then it’s Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical, Romantic, and not to forget the Modern Day!”

“Deux arabesques” simply means “Two arabesques”, and this piece is the second one. We can call it more concisely “Arabesque No. 2”. An arabesque (air-a-BESK), according to Merriam-Webster, is “an elaborate or intricate pattern”. You can find arabesques in art, architecture, and ballet! Debussy takes the definition of arabesque and applies it to music. Notice the short groups of quick sounds and the movement and energy of the piece. Debussy creates heavier or lighter sounds by moving the notes lower or higher on the piano. It is almost like he is a painter creating darker and lighter colors.

This piece is played only on piano. Can you play along on your own silent piano while you listen to “Arabesque No. 2”?

Learn at Home Encouragement

“Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.” Psalm 50:15. Comfort found in Scripture is like balm to our wounded spirits in these perplexing days. It is likely that more questions than answers are floating around in our minds, and the uncertainty of the immediate future fuels anxiety. On top of it all, schools are now closed for the remainder of the year, leaving parents to facilitate the education of their child or children, many in multiple grades.

Perhaps you find yourself asking how you will adequately teach your children and not only that but continue to manage your own work! Although I cannot provide us all with a fool proof plan that yields instant results, I can point us to certainty. Where might we find certainty and truth in an undulating world of breaking news?

We need only to look to Scripture, first and foremost, where we may hear the life giving Words of our Good Shepherd. We likely feel terribly alone right now, not only because we are not physically present with one another, but also because new tasks have been handed to us, jobs we have never attempted to do before in uncharted territory! Nevertheless, God tells us in the familiar Psalm 23:4, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” As we all continue to live our lives, we might find rest in the assurance of God’s hand over us especially now in this dark time. We are, in fact, not alone! I know that I need a daily reminder of this eternal Truth. One thing my family has implemented into our daily schedule is a morning devotion. Beginning our day with Scripture reminds us what is of utmost importance, allowing us to rest in God’s grace the remainder of the day. How marvelous His grace is for our salvation!

Hymn of the Week—March 23-27 LSB 406 – To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord

If you have your hymnal, open to LSB 406 and check out that tine little word at the top right above the hymn number. “Mrs. Greenway,” you might say if you were a student, “it says ‘Epiphany’. Why are we singing an Epiphany hymn during Lent?”

Why, indeed.

“To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord” begins by retelling the story of Jesus’ own baptism by John in the Jordan. For this reason, it is classified as an Epiphany hymn, for we hear the story of Jesus’ baptism during the season of Epiphany. It is the first time in the Gospels that we see the adult Jesus out and about.

In Your Own Words: ILS Impact

Especially in these challenging times, we remain deeply grateful for this special ILS community. While we continue to determine the best plan for our scheduled 2020 ILS Auction, we wanted to continue to share some of the videos from our Immanuel community so you can hear from current students, current and former teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day. Today, one of our 5th grade students shares some of what she loves most about ILS.

Check out our ILS 2020 Auction online today!

In Your Own Words: ILS Impact

As we count down to the 2020 ILS Auction, we have invited the community to share their stories about Immanuel. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, current and former teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day. Today, one of our ILS 6th graders shares some of what he loved about ILS.

Check out our ILS 2020 Auction online- purchase tickets and bid today!

In Your Own Words: ILS Impact

As we count down to the 2020 ILS Auction, we have invited the community to share their stories about Immanuel. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, current and former teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day. Today, Ms. Katherine Kramer, our ILS Assistant Headmaster, shares more about what makes ILS a special and unique community.

Check out our ILS 2020 Auction online- purchase tickets and bid today!

In Your Own Words: ILS Impact

As we count down to the 2020 ILS Auction, we have invited the community to share their stories about Immanuel. We will be sharing their videos so you can hear from current students, current and former teachers, parents, and alumni about the impact of ILS and how your support makes a difference every day. Today, Mrs. Melissa Amendt, one of our ILS parents, shares what brought her family to ILS and the school’s impact on her children.

What We're Reading - March 2020

As we end the second trimester of the 2019-2020 school year and enter the final third of the year, it is delightful to observe how much our students have grown and learned. We hope you will join us this Friday, March 6th, for our First Friday Coffee as we come together to discuss how we can continue to encourage and support good habits that will help our students finish the year strong.

We have also entered the season of Lent and our journey towards Easter. We invite you to join us each week for our Wednesday morning Chapel services, or on Wednesday evenings for Lenten services at ILC.

Our latest "What we're reading..." feature includes a new selection of articles that we hope will inspire and engage you in our ongoing conversation about how we shape our culture together at home and at school. Thank you for engaging with us in these ongoing conversations and for sharing items you have read that may be inspiring to others in our ILS community! Please feel free to share a link in the comments to email us any time!