Carl Flentge Schalk (September 26, 1929 – January 24, 2021) was a noted

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

composer, author, and lecturer. Between 1965 and 2004 he taught church music at

Concordia University Chicago Concordia University Chicago is a private university in River Forest, Illinois, United States. Formerly a college exclusively for educating teachers for parochial schools, Concordia-Chicago now offers more than 100 undergraduate and postgraduat ...

.Carl Schalk
. MorningStar Music Publishers. Retrieved on August 19, 2008 During this time he guided the development of the university's Master of Church Music degree, which has since graduated more than 140 students.Dr. Carl Schalk
. The Luther Institute. Retrieved on August 19, 2008. Schalk was a member of the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship, which produced the

Lutheran Book of Worship The ''Lutheran Book of Worship'' (''LBW'') is a worship book and hymnal published in 1978 and was authorized for use by several Lutheran denominations in North America, including predecessors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and ...

in 1978. He was also the editor of the journal ''Church Music'' from 1966 to 1980.Carl F. Schalk
Selah Publishing Company. Retrieved on August 19, 2008. Additionally, he was a published composer for Choristers Guild, a member of the Music Advisory Committee of

Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly maga ...

and of the board of directors of Lutheran Music Program, the parent organization of the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival. Schalk graduated in 1952 from Concordia University Chicago (then known as Concordia Teachers College River Forest) with a B.S. in education and proceeded to earn a M.Mus. from the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

and an M.A.R. from

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, t ...

in Saint Louis. Schalk is well known for his numerous choral compositions as well as his

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s and carols, which number over one hundred. He had ongoing collaborations with poets

Jaroslav Vajda Jaroslav Vajda (April 28, 1919 – May 10, 2008) was an American hymnist. Vajda was born to a Lutheran pastor of Slovak descent in Lorain, Ohio, where his father, Rev. John Vajda, was a pastor. Vajda's father served parishes in Emporia, Virginia ...

and

Herbert Brokering Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

, producing tunes for several of their hymn texts. Schalk's hymn tunes may be found in modern Christian hymnals of various denominations. He is also the author of several books on Lutheran music and hymnody. In 2013, a critical biography of Schalk written by

Nancy Raabe Nancy Elizabeth Miller Raabe (born 1954) is a retired American clergy member, author, and composer. She served congregations in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, and was the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. Early life ...

was published, and in 2015, a collection of articles and essays about church music by Schalk was released. Schalk died on January 24, 2021, in

Melrose Park, Illinois Melrose Park is a village in Leyden Township, Cook County, Illinois, Leyden and Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, Proviso Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, at the age of 91.

References

External links

* Concordia University Chicago alumni American male composers 21st-century American composers American Lutheran hymnwriters American Lutherans 1929 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American male musicians Concordia Seminary alumni {{Lutheran-stub