November 11, 2012 - Proper 27

An American Sonata - Charles Callahan
How Can I Keep From Singing? - Bradley Ellingboe
Give Me Jesus - Larry L. Fleming

Hymns: #686 Nettleton, #705 Forest Green, Slane

The music through the month of November is taken from different traditions in American music. This week the prelude and postlude are taken from Charles Callahan’s American Sonata, a setting of several traditional American hymn tunes. Staying in this vein, the gradual anthem is a setting Robert Lowry’s How Can I Keep From Singing? The communion anthem is a setting of the Spiritual Give Me Jesus.

The prelude and postlude are taken from An American Sonata by Charles Callahan, one of the leading composers of organ music in the country. He is a graduate of the Curtis Institute and the American Catholic University. He is a noted expert on church music and organ buildings with two books on the latter to his record which have become standards in the field. The prelude, Canticle: Meditative, is a quiet setting of the hymn He Leadeth Me. The flute takes the melody while the organ plays sustained colorful chord underneath. The piece just kind of sits and creates a nebulas image of calm peacefulness.

The Finale: Joyful is just a fun romp. It combines the spiritual Now Let Us Sing (Robeson) with the more traditional Charlestown (All Who Love and Serve Your City). This allows the chance and the challenge to combine two disparate styles of music into a cohesive piece. For this movement I am trying to make the organ sound like a Hammond B3 and then a Victorian Era American Organ. The end of the movement combines the two sounds and ends with full on theatre organ style tremolo.

The gradual anthem is a setting of How Can I Keep From Singing? written by the Baptist minister and hymn writer Robert Lowry.  This arrangement is from the pen of Bradley Ellingboe, a singer/conductor/teacher/composer. He is known for his choral arrangements and has had a successful career in academia serving at the University of New Mexico since 1985. He has received several honors and commissions from many noted choral organizations. This arrangement creates a dialogue between the flute, organ and choir. The repeated refrain builds in confidence each time leading to the climax that then dissipates and ends with the flute and voices “singing”. This text serves as a reminder that throughout everything singing is something that provides comfort. It begs the question “What can keep me from singing?” because Love is lord of heaven and earth. This is a gentle reminder that in all things we can find joy and we can find song.

The communion anthem is a plaintive arrangement of the spiritual Give Me Jesus. The arrangement by Larry L. Fleming (1936-2003) is filled with quiet subtle detail. The dynamics within a phrase sometimes range from pianissimo to fortissimo in the span of two measures. The thick, rich writing creates a grounded supported sound that helps anchor the soring soprano line of the last verse. It also creates a smooth texture that feels very comforting. The message of the piece is simple as are the harmonies. To me this is what makes this piece so beautiful. It feels like the kind of thing that would be sung by someone alone and afraid, looking for solace and choosing to sing their prayer. Like the prelude there are parts of the piece that just sit there and create a mood. I think that is what three out of the four musical offerings this week have in common. They are simple and provide comfort because of the text but also the simple harmonies that are easy to hear and easy to follow.