b minor Mass BWV 232: "Qui Tollis" - J.S. Bach
arranged by Michael Helman
O Christ, the Healer, We Have Come - Fred Pratt Green,
Richard W. Gieseke
Hymn of the Last Supper - John Brownlie, Philip Young
Hymns: #649 Dickinson College, #315 Song 1,
#329 Pange Lingua
The prelude (the only organ piece to be played in either of these services) is an arrangement of the chorus Qui Tollis from Bach’s monumental Mass in b minor BWV 232. The Qui Tollis is the sixth of nine movements from the Gloria of the mass. The movement for four part chorus (though much of the work is for SSATB choir) is a reworking of the first half of the opening of Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein Schmerz sei (Behold and see, if there be any sorrow) BWV 46. The piece has been arranged here by Michael Helman and is a dialogue between two flutes with the pedal filling out the harmonies. The registration I have chosen is reflective of Bach’s orchestral scoring of the movement for two flutes and strings. The instrumental writing is surprising light in contrast to the much darker choral writing. The arranger, Michael Helman, is the Director of Music at Faith Presbyterian Church in Cape Coral, Florida, and is the Handbell Editor for The Lorenz Corporation. He has over 125 handbell, organ and choir compositions to his credit.
I chose O Christ, the Healer, We Have Come as the gradual anthem because instead of doing a foot washing at the Maundy Thursday service we are having a time of laying on of hands and anointing with oil. The text by Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000) has been included in many hymnals since it was penned in 1969 and has been paired with numerous different hymn tunes. Green spent his life as a Methodist minister in England where he penned more than 300 hymn texts. Green believed that the church had a responsibility to involve itself in social concerns, a stance that is evident in much of his poetry. This setting by Richard W. Gieseke (b. 1952) of four of the five verses (the third verse is omitted in this setting) begins with the choir in unison. The second verse is for the ladies of the choir. The third reintroduces the men; and the final verse has the three voice parts woven together with imitation between the altos and the men while the sopranos float along on the melody.
The communion anthem, Hymn of the Last Supper, is a setting of the text “Let thy blood in mercy poured,” translated from the original Greek by the renowned translator John Brownlie, a Scottish clergyman and translator of hundreds of hymn texts. The choral setting is by Philip Young, Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Henderson, NC from 1959-2004 a position in which his wife assisted him until her death in 1998. Young has received a number of honors and upon his retirement he was named composer in residence. This simple setting of three verses with refrain features colorful harmonies that convey the beautiful peaceful images of a “gracious Lord” with “boundless love” as well as the more pained images of the “thorn crowned brow.”
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