Service Book and Hymnal (SBH): 41 Years later

SECOND SETTING

There is a wonderful story behind Second Setting that most people don't know about and is worth noting. In 1948, it was decided that there needed to be an additional setting for the hymnal, expressing the rich heritage of the Swedish Augustana tradition of worship. Dr. Conrad Bergendoff, president of Augustana College-Rock Island, was a committee member on the commission. He and Dr. Reed were in need of someone to research and express the heritage of the Northern European Lutheran heritage. They paid a visit to the home of Fritiof Fryxell (pronounced Fritch-off) Fryxell and his wife Regina in Rock Island on a sultry summer night in 1948. Fritiof was world famous for having named the Grand Tetons of Wyoming, and was written up in LIFE magazine for his work helping the War Department in geography during World War 2. Regina had performed a recital in Washington D.C. on the pipe organ in 1944 during their stay there. Together, the Fryxells both taught and inspired people at Augustana- he in geology and she in music, French and English. That night, Regina was asked to carry on the task of taking on this assignment to express the heritage of the Lutheran faith.

Regina was the daughter of a Swedish Lutheran pastor, had obtained two degrees simultaneously at Augustana in music and English in 1922, and had studied organ at Juilliard. She was no stranger when it came to church music, as many of her choral anthems were published, and she had studied and worked for Episcopal musician Leo Sowerby. She managed to juggle being the mother of three, teaching full time, and playing organ on Sunday at her church to jump into the work of Second Setting. This study took her into a ten-year comparative analysis of the Lutheran traditions, in which she secured hymnals from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Bohemia, and Germany. She crafted versions of liturgy that she found, and included the history on each piece to educate Lutherans on the heritage.

Regina would craft the melodies, and then guinea pig students and faculty at Augustana College to get feedback to make proper adjustments. She believed that word should be carried in the melody line to the fullest extent to make the word make an impact on people. What she crafted and later refined was glorious. Originally, the setting was written in four-part harmony, but

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