February 12, 2012 - Epiphany 6

Suite No. 2 for Organ: "Lullaby" - Calvin Hampton

"Fight the Good Fight" - John Gardner

Mass in G Major: "Kyrie" - Franz Schubert

Hymns: #1 Christe Sanctorum, #734 Intercessor, #740 Wade in the Water

The gradual anthem for Sunday was written by John Gardner. It is the final movement in a set of “Five Hymns in Popular Style” Op. 54. The piece was written in 1964 and is dedicated to Malcolm Williamson, an Australian composer that was named Master of the Queen's Music in 1975.  John Gardner was born in Manchester in 1917. He was the Sir Hubert Parry Organ Scholar of Exeter College, Oxford from 1935-1939. During World War II he worked as a Bandmaster and Navigator. After the war he turned his attention to composition. In 1956 he joined the staff of the Royal Academy of Music. Despite his catalogue of 249 opus numbers, Gardner is an underappreciated composer. In 2007 in celebration of his 90^th birthday he received renewed attention including the premeire of his Op. 249, a Bassoon Concerto. Gardner died in December of 2011. The text of the hymn was written by John S.B. Monsell (1811-1875), the son of the Archdeacon of Londonderry. Monsell wrote 11 volumes of poetry - many of which have been set as hymns. Fight the Good Fight has been included in The Hymnal 1982 paired with the tunes Pentecost and Rushford (552/553).

When searching for a prelude for this week I struggled a bit to find a piece that would fit musically with the Gardner. I decided on the Lullaby from Calvin Hampton’s Suite No. 2 for organ (1976). Calvin Hampton has been on my mind since we sang his setting of There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy three weeks ago. I also thought that it might be interesting to program a piece that was written close to the time of the Gardner by another great church composer – but this one from the American tradition. Hampton studied the organ at Oberlin Conservatory with Fenner Douglas and later at Syracuse University with Arthur Poister. As a composer Hampton enjoyed bending, stretching, and breaking the traditional molds. He used synthesizers and quarter tones in some of his music but also made some of the first modern day organ transcriptions including Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Franck’s Symphony in d minor.  Hampton’s hymn settings can be found in nearly every hymnal currently on the market. Hampton was known for his Friday midnight recitals at Calvary Episcopal church in New York City from 1974-1983. Hampton died of AIDS in 1984 at age 45. The Lullaby  is a set of variations that showcases the different solo reeds of the organ against an accompaniment of strings and flutes. The tune is passed from hand to hand until it disappears all together into a string of sixteenth notes played on a 4’ flute.

The Communion Anthem is taken from the Schubert Mass in G Major No. 2 D 167. The piece opens simply with homophonic statements of the “Kyrie” followed by the Soprano soloist singing the text “Christe eleison” with more agitated throbbing strings over a pizzicato cello line (all played this week on the organ). The choir returns at the end of this section and brings the return of the opening theme of the “Kyrie” to bring the piece to its gentle close.