December 15, 2013 - Advent 3

"Say to them that are frightened" - Godfrey Schroth
Springs in the Desert - Arthur B. Jennings
Messiah: "O Thou That Tellest" - G.F. Handel
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus - Gilbert M. Martin

The music this week takes us closer to the arrival of the birth of Christ further delving into the prophesy of Isaiah with Arthur B. Jennings’s anthem Springs in the Desert, and Handel’s alto aria O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion. The prelude is based on Charles Wesley’s text Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus which (partially) takes its text from Isaiah, and the prelude is a setting of Isaiah 35 for the third Sunday of Advent. Each of these pieces draws on the rich imagery of the Old Testament text for its inspiration and paints a solid picture with its imagery.

The gradual anthem, Springs in the Desert which was written by Arthur B. Jennings, an American organist and professor at the University of Minnesota started out as a silent movie accompanist. He is best known for this setting of Isaiah 35. This anthem is very sectional. It opens with a tenor solo speaking words of encouragement to the listener. This is followed by a flowing section sung by the sopranos and altos of the choir describing a land that is being revived. The organ bursts forth with fiery chords undergirding a tuba (a high powered reed stop, not the bass brass instrument) solo. After this episode the choir bursts in singing of the way of holiness that is there. This is followed by a short imitative section that leads us through two key changes as we move toward the cascading repetition of the word “joy.” The piece slowly fades as the text “and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” almost as though sorrow and sighing are nothing more than a memory.

The prelude is Godfrey Schroth’s (b. 1927) take on the same text that the tenor soloist sings in the Jennings anthem. “Say to those who are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is our God, He comes to save us.” The piece is in a lilting triple meter which makes it feel almost like a pastorale. The rhythm, however is a bit more intricate than that with a great deal of two against three playing back and forth between the melody and the inner voices. The middle section gets quicker and louder to illustrate the command “Be strong, fear not” before returning to the gentle feel of the opening.

The communion anthem, in preparation for our Messiah sing-along next Sunday is O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion, the lilting alto aria that leads into a powerful chorus, the only combination like this in the entire work. This aria takes its text from Isaiah 40:9, just a few chapters after the previous two pieces. It is God sending comfort to his people and in the oratorio follows the recitative announcing the birth of Christ. This dramatic piece was originally performed by Mrs. Cibber, a celebrated singer and actress who gave an emotional performance filled with drama that led directly to an exciting chorus declaring the good news. Leonard Van Camp points out that the accompaniment is shaped like the mountains the soloist sings about with the unison violin line bouncing back and forth between valleys and peaks.

The postlude is an extension of the final hymn, Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus. This setting by Gilbert M. Martin (b. 1941) enticed me because this is one of several hymns in the Hymnal 1982 that I grew up with. However, when we sang this in the Methodist church the tune was Hyfrydol rather than Stuttgart. This arrangement combines the two tunes and uses them both. I recently had the experience of playing a carol sing at the Baptist church that I served prior to my time at St. David’s and Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus was the first hymn and I found myself questioning which tune it was to the point of second guessing myself halfway through the introduction. This arrangement insures that I get the right tune because I get to use both. This piece also has ties to Isaiah. The third and fourth verses draw from chapter 61 for their thematic material.

December 8, 2013 - Advent 2

Impromptu Pastorale Op. 27 - Dudley Buck
Every Valley - Joseph M. Martin
He Shall Come Down Like Rain - Dudley Buck
Magnificat - Johann Pachelbel

Hymns: #76 Winchester New, #67 Psalm 42,
              #597 Jerusalem

The music this week is primarily American with a touch of the German Baroque thrown in at the tail end. The Pachelbel fugue hardly seems out of place alongside the gradual anthem written by Joseph Martin which, though written only thirteen years ago is written in the style of a baroque chorus. The prelude and communion anthem are written by the American born and German trained Dudley Buck. The Impromptu Pastorale could easily have been influenced by the Pastorale of J.S. Bach. The communion anthem is very much Victorian American but Buck sticks a fugue in two thirds of the way through it which shows his knowledge of counterpoint.

Dudley Buck (1839-1909) was an American organist and composer who trained at the Leipzig Conservatory and later studied in Paris. Upon returning to the United States he took a job in Hartford. However, he was not satisfied and moved to Chicago in 1869. He lost everything in the Chicago fire of 1871 and moved to Boston, accepting a post at the New England Conservatory. In 1875 he moved to New York City where he spent the remainder of his career at Holy Trinity Church. Buck was the first American organ recitalist and spent part of his career touring playing orchestral transcriptions and bringing the music of Bach and Mendelssohn to American audiences. He also wrote the first American organ sonata. This Impromptu Pastorale Op. 27 is typical of Buck’s lighter character pieces. The melody is lyrical though a bit sentimental and is passed around throughout the orchestral stops on the organ starting with the oboe and moving to flute and clarinet. The anthem He Shall Come Down Like Rain begins with a quartet followed by a soprano solo before the full choir enters. Buck then writes a short fugue before moving to thick chords at a faster tempo and finally an Amen. His choral music was quite popular during his lifetime. Some of this was due to his proximity to the Handel and Haydn Society which premiered some of his large scale works. His secular cantatas on Manifest Destiny were very successful in the United States.

Joseph Martin (b. 1953) is an American composer that started his career as a concert pianist and has since become the head of the Sacred music department at Shawnee Press. Every Valley is taken from his cantata The Winter Rose which tells the story of the Birth of Christ with the metaphor of Christ as the Rose of Sharon. This is a fun imitation of Baroque style complete with a short imitative section. This is a fresh take on the classic text from Isaiah and offers a nice alternative to the Messiah aria.

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) wrote a series of fugues on the Magnificat. Contrary to what popular culture would have us believe, he wrote more than just the Canon in D. This series of pieces features fugues for keyboard, not specifically organ, but keyboard. These were composed during his final years while he was at Nuremberg. This fugue is a peppy, light way to move forward toward Christmas.

December 1, 2013 - Advent 1

Es ist ein Ros entsprunger - Johannes Brahms
Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying - F. Melius Christiansen
There Shall a Star of Jacob Come Forth
                                                               - Felix Mendelssohn
Messiah: "Overture" - G.F. Handel

Hymns: #59 Merton, #724 Besancon Carol, #57 Helmsley

The prelude is Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) setting of the chorale tune Es ist ein Ros entsprungen Op.122 No.8. This tune was first published in Alte Catholische Geisliche Kirchengasäng in 1599. The tune’s composer is unknown, the carol we have come to know as Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming was arranged by Michael Praetorius. The chorale preludes by Brahms were written in 1896 and published posthumously in 1902. The last piece in this collection is based on O Welt, ich muss dich lassen" ("O World, I Now Must Leave Thee") which some people believe to be Brahms making peace with the end of his life. This gentle setting alternates between manuals using the soft 8’ and 4’ stops of the organ and no pedals to paint a gentle picture of the blooming rose as the lines wind gently up and back down to where they began.

The postlude is the overture to Handel’s (1685-1759) Messiah. This piece is often performed at Christmas despite being written for a secular performance during Lent. The first section of the work deals with the prophesy and birth of Christ. Many of Handel’s oratorios begin with overtures. This one begins in the French overture style with angular dotted figures with the second half being a fugue. The dark mood of this overture captures the image of a world without hope, a world awaiting a savior and sets the tone for the dark prophesies of the cleansing that the world must undergo.

Wake, Awake for Night is Flying is a setting of the chorale tune Wachet Auf by the sixteenth century composer Philipp Nicolai. This setting is by the former director of the St. Olaf Choir, F. Melius Christiansen (1871-1955). Christiansen was born in Norway and moved to the United States in 1888. He studied at Augsburg College and in 1901 was recruited to work with the St. Olaf Choir making them one of the foremost a cappella choirs in the country. This arrangement uses texture and tone painting to illustrate the text of Nicolai’s Advent poem.

Mendelssohn’s (1809-1847) There Shall a Star of Jacob Come Forth also makes use of a chorale by Nicolai, Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern, called “The Queen of Chorale tunes” (Wachet Auf being the King). This chorus is taken from the unfinished oratorio Christus Op. 97 which is an oratorio, like Messiah based on the life of Christ. The anthem opens with a simple rising figure that then moves to a very dramatic middle section telling that this “star” shall destroy princes and cities. The work ends with a lush setting of the Nicolai chorale.

November 24, 2013 - Christ the King Sunday

Trumpet Tune - Flor Peeters
I Was Glad - Charles Hubert H. Parry
Requiem: "In Paradisum" - Gabriel Faure
Elegie - Louis Vierne

Hymns: #494 Diadmeta, #382 General Seminary,
              #598 Mis Freuden zart

This week’s music transitions from the majesty and glory of Christ the King toward the more solemn attitude of Advent and a world awaiting a Savior – which makes it a world without a Savior. The music this week is all European, a Belgian trumpet tune, an English coronation anthem and a French communion anthem and postlude. Perhaps a better uniting factor for the music this week is that each piece captures a very definite mood. They are, in essence, character pieces.

Charles Hubert H. Parry’s (1848-1918) setting of Psalm 122 is the gradual anthem this week. I Was Glad was written for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 and was revised in 1911 for the coronation of King George V. The setting by Parry is different from those preceding it by Boyce and Purcell in Parry’s use of strategically placed performing groups. The opening was sung by the Abbey choir with a 430 voice “General choir” joining at “Jerusalem is builded.” “O pray for the peace of Jerusalem” is sung by a smaller semi-chorus and the “vivet”s are sung by the King’s Scholars and the king and queen pass under the rood screen. The final triumphant statement of “plenteousness” is aptly sung by the combined forces.  Though Parry is remembered for this anthem and Jerusalem another contribution is the one he made as a teacher. Vaughan Williams, Howells, and Holst are among the students that Parry taught while at the Royal College of Music. This anthem captures all of the joy and hope that comes with a new monarch – Godly or earthly. I think that it is a fitting close to the church year as we begin the new liturgical calendar.

On that same note, I thought it fitting to open the service with a festive trumpet tune. This one is by the Belgian composer, Flor Peeters(1903-1986). Peeters is primarily known for his church music and organ compositions.  Trumpet tunes are a standard part of the organ literature. They usually involve a call and response of some sort between a solo trumpet stop on the organ and the full organ sound. This piece does just that. There is a trumpet solo with accompaniment that alternates with contrasting themes played on the other keyboards. The piece is bright and festive but also has a bit of crunch to the harmonies with quick modulations The piece is joyful and declamatory, everything you need before singing Crown Him With Many Crowns.

In Paradisum is the final movement of Gabriel Faure’s (1845-1924) Requiem Op. 48. Faure states that he began work on the Requiem “for the pleasure of it” but he had lost both his parents in the two years before he began work on the piece. This Requiem, unlike the Mozart from a few weeks ago is about peace. The work is not a full liturgical mass and this movement takes its text from the Burial Service. Its text is:

“May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, once a poor man, may you have eternal rest.”

And is also included in Durufle’s setting of the Requiem. It is traditionally sung in procession from the final blessing of the corpse from the church to the graveyard where the burial takes place. This movement makes extensive use of the harp (for us a solo flute stop) to create a picture of the ranks of angels that the text references. This piece is about hope and rest.

The Elegie by Louis Vierne (1870-1937) is taken from his collection of 24 pieces in Free Style written fro organ or harmonium. The piece is dedicated to Georges Krieger (1885-1914) a colleague of Vierne’s who died at a very young age. The piece is typical of Vierne’s writing. It is very chromatic and quite expressive. I thought that this piece paired well with the hope of the Faure and served as an excellent transitionary piece to the more somber season of Advent.

November 17, 2013 - Proper 28

Aria - Dale Wood
Messiah: "Why Do the Nations?" - G.F. Handel
My Lord What a Morning - Harry Burleigh

Hymns: VF109 Earth and All Stars, #9 Morning Song,
              LEVAS #210 Riverside

Two of the pieces this week were written by American composers and the third is taken, yet again, from Handel’s Messiah.

It’s amazing to me how many times I have turned to that work for the perfect piece on a text for the day. The work covers the entire life of Christ and is familiar enough to perform on an “easy” Sunday but has enough seldom sung choruses and arias that it can add variety to the service. I can’t help but wonder where I would turn if this piece had never been written. Why Do the Nations? is what is known as a “rage aria” which is similar to his dramatic opera arias with extensive runs and tremolos in the strings. The language of the aria is somewhat antiquated. It is the story of David being established on the throne despite the efforts of his enemies. Handel, however, uses it as a commentary on Christ with the nations rebelling against his teachings. This aria is immediately followed by the chorus Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder which basically states that this whole idea is ridiculous and God will triumph. Oddly enough, the aria is generally included in performance but the chorus is not.

The prelude is an Aria by Dale Wood (1934-2003). To say that Wood was an active church musician is a huge understatement. Wood served as organist and choirmaster of several churches throughout the US and has sold more than eight million copies of his music. In addition to these duties he was also an active researcher and writer, contributing to many journals and serving as an editor of many hymnals still in use today. This piece shows Wood’s ability to craft a lovely melody and to set it in a way that is both interesting and playable. This piece is an aria, a song, for organ with the melody “sung” by the cromorne, a soft buzzy reed stop accompanied by the strings of the swell.

The communion anthem is Harry Burleigh’s (1866-1949) setting of My Lord What a Morning. Burleigh devoted his life to music. He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and attended the National Conservatory of Music. It was here that he met Antonin Dvorak, the director of the school, and became his copyist. He frequently sang spirituals for Dvorak – possibly leading to the composition of Symphony 9. After graduation Burleigh went on to serve as a soloist in the 1904 premiere of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's musical Hiawatha's Wedding Feast. He served as an arranger, lecturer, church musician, and composer for the remainder of his life elevating spirituals to the level of art song. This beautiful song is both sad and hopeful at the same time. Sad in that the world is ending but hopeful (especially considering that it originated as a song sung by slaves) because it tells of leaving this world for heaven. This is the story of someone assured in their faith and future. It is a piece of personal promotion and reassurance rather than a piece warning others of the impending end of the world.

November 10, 2013 - Proper 27

Chorale Prelude on "Stuttgart" - Lee Hastings Bristol Jr.
Messiah: "And He Shall Purify" - G.F. Handel
Requiem: "Lacrymosa" - W.A. Mozart
Concerto in g minor: "Allegro" - G. F. Handel

Hymns: #414 Stuttgart, #413 Rendez a Dieu,
              #404 Old 124th

The music this week is primarily British, with the exception of the Lacrymosa from the Mozart Requiem which is one last “leftover” of our performance last week. This week also marks the beginning of the choir’s next project, Part I of Messiah.

And He Shall Purify ends what Leonard Van Camp calls “Scene Two: The Purifying Messiah is Prophesied.” The chorus is preceded by the bass recitative, Thus Saith the Lord and the alto aria But Who May Abide which tells us that he will be “like a refiner’s fire” and that is how “he shall purify.” The text for this movement is taken from Malachi 3 which, in a rather frightening way describes the process by which the people of God will be redeemed from the wicked lives they are leading. It is hard to imagine that this movement is actually a repurposed love duet for two sopranos from an Italian opera but Handel originally composed this for the text “Life is a flower; it comes with the morning and dies with the spring of a single day. The chorus sails along alternating between light and bouncy melismatic lines and big chordal sections. This chorus, for me, has always offered a continued picture of the flames of the “refiner’s fire” purifying the “sons of Levi” (priests) and provides a fitting close to this scene and a “fiery” transition in to the much calmer and infinitely more pleasant scene to come.

The postlude is also by G.F. Handel (1685-1759) but the arrangement is from the organist William T. Best. It is the final movement of Handel’s Opus 4 No. 3 Concerto in g minor. These concerti are the most authentically Handel of the fifteen that he wrote. Their primary function was as part of an oratorio performance. The six concerti in this group were published in 1738. This concerto was probably written to be played as part of Handel’s Esther with the composer playing the solo keyboard part. The arrangement that I am playing today is for organ only and was arranged by the English organ virtuoso William T. Best(1826-1897). Best was a church organist, composer, and recitalist who was highly respected for his technical prowess and his knowledge and understanding of the literature. This arrangement is very different from the original, with its added pedal cadenza that would have hardly been possible on the limited pedal boards of an English organ. The same fire that is heard in the Messiah chorus can be found here in the winding pedal line of this dramatic finale.

The prelude is a setting of the opening hymn by Lee Hastings Bristol Jr. (1923-1979). Bristol was educated at Hamilton College and Trinity College of Music in London. He worked in public relations for the Bristol-Meyers Company and served as president of Westminster Choir College. In addition to his life as a musician, composer, and business man he was also a lay preacher in the Episcopal Church.  This Chorale Prelude on “Stuttgart” is a beautiful and contemplative piece that has a great deal of forward motion in the line without ever feeling like it is rushing. The hymn tune is attributed to Christian F. Witt because of its appearance in Psalmodia Sacra (1715), a collection compiled and edited by Witt which contained many tunes written by him. This lilting setting in 6/8 occasionally sends the listener searching for the tune as it is passed around alternating with a freely composed ritornello. It is a chance to explore some of the different “pastorale” sounds of the instrument.

The communion anthem is, as previously stated, a remnant of last Sunday’s performance. The Lacrymosa from W.A. Mozart’s (1756-1791) Requiem in d minor K626 is perhaps one of the most beautiful melodies in the Western canon. The Lacrimosa is the penultimate portion of the Dies Irae text, and in this setting combines the final two sections. Mozart brilliantly set the text for this “day of weeping” with a beautiful line that soars up and over to die away quietly. This movement is often shrouded in mystery and myth, not only is it a beautiful piece but Mozart died having completed only the first nine bars and sketches for the rest. In the 1960’s sketches for an “Amen” fugue to be placed at the end of the Sequence were found. Some scholars said that this was for another unfinished mass but recent scholarship suggests that it is likely that this fugue was meant to go at the end of this movement so that each major section of the work ended in a fugue.

November 3, 2013 - All Saint's

Requiem K626 - W. A. Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756 to Leopold, a musician and composer and Anna Maria Pertl. He demonstrated musical abilities at an early age and by the time he was six his father had taken him and his talented sister Nannerl to play in the courts of Bavaria and Vienna. 1763 was a busy year for the young prodigy. His father took him on an extended tour of Europe where he met several important musicians and composers including Johann Christoph Bach (son of Johann Sebastian). It was also the year that Mozart’s first compositions were published. In 1769 Mozart embarked on the first of three tours of Italy to learn to compose Italian opera, something which at the time was an essential skill for a composer. The final tour ended in 1773 at which point Mozart was truly beginning to flourish as a composer. He returned to Salzburg and took a position as court composer. In 1777 he decided to leave Salzburg but ultimately returned to a better post than the one he had left. In 1781 after the very successful premier of Idomeneo in Munich, Mozart was summoned to Vienna. It was here that Mozart met his wife, Constanze, a soprano and the daughter of old family friends. Though Mozart continued to compose, his concert appearances grew less frequent and despite artistic success the young family was very poor. Mozart was forced to borrow money from family and friends and began to make journeys to Dresden and Berlin in search of opportunities. 1791 brought with it the successful performance of The Magic Flute which the composer conducted just after returning from Prague. This premier was somewhat overshadowed by Mozart’s illness. The sickness progressed and Mozart died in his home on December 5, 1791 leaving the Requiem unfinished.

The Requiem K626 has long been shrouded in mystery. It was commissioned by Count Franz von Walsegg, a rather unscrupulous musician and nobleman who had a habit of anonymously commissioning works and passing them off as his own. Mozart never knew who had commissioned the work; he was approached by a stranger and in such dire financial straits that he didn’t question it. Stories that Mozart believed he was “writing his own Requiem” are just that, stories. He was very busy during his final year with two operas and his clarinet concerto and only after conducting the premier of The Magic Flute was he able to again focus on his commission. Unfortunately, Mozart died before the work was finished. He wrote the Introit and Kyrie but only the vocal parts, figured bass and sketches of the orchestration for the Sequence and Offertory. It was not, as Amadeus would suggest, completed by Salieri. Mozart’s friend Franz Xaver Sussmayr who had studied with the composer was contacted by Constanze to complete the work from Mozart’s sketches so that she could receive the money from the commission. Sussmayr completed the Lacrymosa, Sanctus and Benedictus as well as an unknown amount of the Agnus Dei. The final Communion portion is entirely by Sussmayr but is just a reworking of the opening music. The piece has gone on to occupy a very important place in the canon of choral literature and is frequently performed. Efforts have been made in recent years to find a more authentic reading of the piece, restoring a large fugal “Amen” to the Lacrymosa and completing it with bits of other works. The version presented today is the traditional version with Sussmayr’s work completing the piece. 

October 27, 2013 - Proper 25

Vater unser im Himmelreich - Samuel Scheidt
The Pharisee and the Publican - Heinrich Schutz
Memorial: "Kyrie" - Rene Clausen
Baroques: "Voluntary" - Seth Bingham

Hymns: #656 Franconia, #507 Julion,
              #679 Thomas Merton

The music this week is German and American with the Baroque period being well represented. The prelude and communion anthem are by two giants of the pre-Bach era in Germany, the postlude pays homage to E. Power Biggs and the organ reform movement and the communion anthem is a lush and haunting piece by a contemporary American composer.

The prelude is Samuel Scheidt’s (1587-1654) setting of Martin Luther’s Vater unser im Himmelreich. Samuel Scheidt was born in Halle (also the birth place of Handel) and studied in Amsterdam with the great Sweelinck. Scheidt brought much of what he learned of the style of the Netherlands to his appointment as Kappellmeister to the Margrave of Brandenburg. When the Thirty Years War broke out Scheidt was permitted to retain his employment – with no pay. In 1628 he was appointed Music Director of three churches in Halle which he served for ten years until his position as Kappellmeister was reinstated. This was after a bit of personal tragedy, when the plague of 1636 hit Germany his four children all died. This blow did not prevent him from becoming the first internationally successful organ composer of the North German School. His setting of the Lutheran version of the Lord’s Prayer is rather austere to today’s audience but is filled with delicate imitation as the piece’s rhythmic intensity waxes and wanes. The tension is also evident with a masterful use of push and pull through consonance and dissonance. This is clearly a prayer through the pen of someone who has known both sorrow and joy.

The communion anthem is also a prayer of sorts. Kyrie from René Clausen’s (b. 1953) Memorial is a haunting cry to God from a battered and broken people. This 2003 commission from the American Choral Director’s Association was written in response to the tragedy of September 11, 2003. The piece by Concordia professor, Clausen is difficult if not even painful to listen to, especially accompanied by the video footage from that day. This setting of the traditional mass text also contains echoes of the English translation “Lord have mercy” and the Hebrew name for God, “Adonai.” This setting with its lush harmonies and overlapping takes on penitence is a powerful statement even when separated from the rest of the work. As with the prelude, it is clear that the composer understood tragedy and wished to incorporate that into the piece. The major sevenths that are sung on the text “Adonai” remind me of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and I can’t help but to think that Clausen had this somewhere in his ear as he was writing the piece. Its complex thickly textured sound is a fitting outcry of a bereft nation.

The gradual anthem is a The Pharisee and the Publican, a setting of Luke 18 by the German composer, Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672). This piece tells the story of a Pharisee who loudly proclaims his “prayer” in public, extolling the fact that he is not a sinner like other men – especially not like the publican while the publican (tax collector) simply asks for mercy. These two individuals are portrayed as solos, the Pharisee, a bass and the publican, a tenor. The story of these two souls is introduced by the ladies of the choir, and all join after the duet to tell the lesson of the story: “He that exalts himself shall be humbled and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.” Schutz and Scheidt were contemporaries but took rather different paths. Schutz studied with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice and brought the Italian style of composition back to the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden where he spent the rest of his career and most of his life. Unlike Scheidt his position was unaffected by the Thirty Years War, he left for Venice and met Monteverdi while the war was going on and returned when it had ended. This piece, like the previous two is about prayer, pleading because the publican feels unworthy, a sentiment that I’m sure resonates with all of us.

Seth Bingham (1882-1972) is a composer that is little known to us today outside of his organ compositions and many of those are relegated to obscurity. Bingham studied at Yale and then in Paris with Widor, d’Indy, and Guilmant. He went on to a career as a church musician and professor teaching at Columbia, Yale, and Union Seminary while playing at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.  Baroques is a five movement suite dedicated to the organist E. Power Biggs and reflects his position in the organ reform movement. This was a movement that departed from the decadence of the American symphonic organs and returned to the more austere traditions of the Baroque period which is reflected in the piece. This movement, Voluntary is in the style of the English voluntaries of John Stanley but uses Bingham’s harmonic language. Strong, stately sections are contrasted with lighter fugal interjections. The piece builds to a rousing finish.

The first three pieces primarily reflect an attitude of prayer while the finale is offered up in thankful praise, possibly for a prayer answered, I like to think so.

October 20,2013 - Proper 24

Auf Meinen lieben Gott - Dietrich Buxtehude
Coronation Anthem No. 2: "Let Justice and Judgment"
                                                                        - G. F. Handel
I to the Hills Lift Up Mine Eyes - Jean Berger

Hymns: #372 Leoni, #586 Pleading Savior, #797 It's Me

This week’s music comes from the pens of three German composers. Two of the pieces are seldom heard gems of the Baroque period and the third is a lovely choral psalm setting. These three pieces come together to give the service a gentle and almost melancholy attitude of prayer.

The gradual anthem is the middle portion of G.F. Handel’s (1685-1759) Coronation Anthem Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened. The second (or third depending on the numbering system you use) anthem of four was written for the coronation of King George II in 1727. One of the final acts of King George I was to declare Handel, who was of German birth, a British citizen. The anthem, in three parts, takes its text from Psalm 89 and was set for the 1685 coronation of James II by John Blow. This section speaks of justice and judgment surrounding the King and mercy going before him. The somewhat antiquated (even in Handel’s day) feel of this lilting anthem complements the triumphal opening and the closing “Alleluia.” The performance of this was a huge musical event that included 47 singers and 160 musicians.

The prelude is a setting of Auf meinen lieben Gott by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) which is a dance suite for manuals only, probably intended to be used at home on harpsichord or chamber organ rather than in the context of a worship service. The chorale is set in the dance forms of the day, single and double allemande, sarabande, courante and gigue. Buxtehude draws on both the Italian and French style of writing for these intimate pieces. The text translates as “In my beloved God I trust in anxiety and trouble” a fitting text to complement Handel’s Let Justice and Judgment and, coincidentally the two pieces are in the same meter and key. Another interesting tidbit that, I must confess was in the back of mind is that Handel applied met Buxtehude toward the end of his life and was offered the position of organist at the Marienkirche in Lubeck but turned it down because one of the stipulations was that he would have to marry Buxtehude’s oldest daughter who was, apparently not much of a catch. This setting allows the organist to show off some of the quieter combinations of the organ. It helps to create an atmosphere of prayer in the quiet time before the service starts.

The communion anthem was written by Jean Berger (1909-2002) a German born composer that immigrated to France during the Nazi occupation of Germany and in 1948 to the US as he began his career in academia. This modal setting of Psalm 121 begins with a chant like melody that starts with the sopranos and adds the altos on a beautiful descending line before moving to a homophonic section filled with unsettled seventh chords that never seem to resolve. Berger’s setting uses the text from the Bay Psalm Book rather than the Book of Common Prayer which gives the piece a slightly more old-fashioned feel to the text. Again, this piece is a very calm, very intimate feeling setting of a much beloved psalm of comfort that reminds us of where we should turn for help, a sentiment that likely rang true with the Jewish Berger in occupied Germany.

The music this week is all very calm, very melancholy. It captures the nature of the penitent heart and draws on the attributes of God for comfort. It uses a harmonic language that reminds us of the human suffering from which these emotions are sometimes born but not great tragedies, more day to day sadness. These are pieces for a day when things are just not what you hoped for, not where you wanted to be. They act as words of encouragement.

October 13, 2013 - Proper 23

Lobe den Herren - Jan Bender
Elijah: "Thanks Be To God" - Felix Mendelssohn
Ego sum panis vivus - William Byrd
Cantabile Symphonique
                                   - Camille Saint-Saens/arr. Virgil Fox

Hymns: #390 Lobe den Herren, #1 Christe Sanctorum,
              # 571 Charlestown

This week’s music is really a hodgepodge of different styles and traditions ranging from an English Renaissance motet to a 20^th Century German chorale prelude with a chorus from an English oratorio written by a German composer to bridge the gap. And, if that weren’t enough variety an orchestral transcription by an American organist of a French Romantic symphonic piece. These pieces all showcase different qualities of music, from the power and majesty of Mendelssohn’s Part 1 Finale to Elijah and Bender’s setting of Lobe den Herren to the quiet reflection of Byrd’s communion motet Ego sum Panis Vivus and the beautiful colors and expressive lines of Fox’s transcription of the second movement of Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3.

The prelude leads directly into the opening hymn Lobe den Herren in a setting by the German (but Holland born) Jan Bender (1909-1994). Bender was first drawn to music upon hearing the organ in the Marienkirche in Lübeck. The sermon was delivered in German but he had only a limited knowledge of the language having just moved to Germany from Holland as a 13 year old boy. He became acquainted with the old organist and would sit in the high balcony and tell him when the sermon was done and it was time to play. He studied with Karl Straube and Hugo Distler (he was Distler’s only student). In 1934 he was appointed organist at St. Gertrudikirchie in Lubeck. In 1937 the rise of National Socialism had reached the church and when the Deutsche Christen pastor unexpectedly substituted for the other two clergy Bender refused to play the service. The previous organist came in to play the service and blew a fuse turning on the organ. He accused Bender of sabotage and Bender was arrested and interred at Sachsenhausen for four months.  In 1939 Bender served in the German army but was discharged in 1941 because of an injury, he lost his left eye to shrapnel from a Russian grenade. In 1944 he was called back to active duty and was captured two months into his service and held in a POW camp in France. It was here that he composed Opus 1, a setting of 122 SA and SAB chorales and Opus 2, a setting of 90 organ chorale preludes. Bender went on to hold several positions as organist and choirmaster and in 1959 was appointed Professor at Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska. This began his career in academia which continued until 1982. Bender published the last of his more than 2,500 compositions in 1989 and died at home in 1994 after suffering a mild stroke.  His style is part of the organ reform school and clearly shows the influence of Distler and Hindemith with compositions in familiar forms talking on a much freer rhythmic approach and more adventurous harmonic language.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was born 100 years to the day before Jan Bender in Hamburg, Germany. The son of a wealthy banker and grandson of a Jewish rabbi and philosopher, Mendelssohn was afforded many opportunities because of this cultured upbringing. In an effort to be more socially accepted Mendelssohn’s family converted from Judaism to the Lutheran church and added Bartholdy to their name. The family moved to Berlin where he received violin and piano lessons, painting lessons, and foreign language instruction. In 1846 Mendelssohn wrote Elijah for the Birmingham Festival. It presents scenes from the life of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah. Thanks Be To God is the final chorus in Part 1 of the two part oratorio. The oratorio opens with Elijah’s declaration that “As God the Lord of Israel liveth, before whom I stand: There shall not be dew nor rain these years.”  This is by two scenes where God demonstrates his power, the first by raising a widow’s son from the dead and the second by raining down fire from heaven and setting the altar of Elijah ablaze. The people kill the false prophets of Baal and Elijah prays for God to send water. This is the people’s response to answered prayer.

Ego sum panis vivus is a setting of John 6:48-51 for the feast of Corpus Christi. This motet by William Byrd (1543-1623) is a setting of the verse 51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever. Alleluia” William Byrd is considered by many to be the greatest English composer ever. This motet was published in 1607 as part of the Gradualia II and was dedicated to Byrd’s patron John, Lord Petre of Writtle. Byrd was educated by the great choral composer Thomas Tallis. The two were granted a monopoly on print music by Elizabeth I. He began his career as an organist in London but in 1577 moved to Harlington. As a devout Catholic, Byrd preferred to be a bit further away from the government that persecuted many of his Catholic brethren. Byrd’s compositional style has two very separate styles. The music that he composed for the Catholic mass is highly polyphonic and very complex where as the Anglican anthems focus on the text and are simpler having a more homophonic texture.

For the postlude I wanted something that would complement the soft nature of the Byrd motet and would contrast with the bombastic prelude and jubilant chorus from Elijah so I decided on Virgil Fox’s transcription of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3: Movement 2. This transcription by the flashy Virgil Fox shows the variety of colors that the organ offers at the player’s fingertips. The piece starts out being about color and half way through begins to grow to a strong peak before tapering back down to a good deal of color registrations again. This is the second movement of the symphony which is affectionately known as the “Organ Symphony.” Fox (1912-1980) made his career as a concert organist. Among his teachers were William Middleschulte, and Marcel Dupre. His flamboyant style on and off the stage garnered him much fame but it was fame that was easily backed up by his immense talent. This piece starts as a soft meditation to end the service and builds into a piece which is still calm while also being incredibly powerful. The music then fades back into nothingness.

October 6, 2013 - Proper22

An Wasserflussen Babylon - Johann Pachelbel
Draw Us In the Spirit's Tethers - Harold W. Friedell
Biblical Songs: By the Babylonian Waters
                                                            - Antonin Dvorak
Toccata and Fugue in d minor BWV 565: Fugue
                                                             - J.S. Bach

Hymns: #11 Morning Hymn, #704 Hereford,
              #535 Paderborn

This week’s music is varied but does all hold together. Two of the pieces are based on the psalm and other two are centered around the music program at St. Bartholomew’s in New York City.

The prelude is a setting of the Lutheran chorale tune An Wasserflüssen Babylon by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706). Pachelbel, best known for his “Canon in D” made his career as a composer, organist, and teacher who developed the South German style of organ playing and made the chorale prelude into the type of piece that we know today. Pachelbel spent his relatively short life as a church musician and composer writing numerous cantatas, solo organ works and orchestral pieces. As is characteristic of much of Pachelbel’s writing, the theme or chorale tune was presented in its original form and then varied in a contrapuntal style. The piece is not terribly adventurous but shows Pachelbel’s expert contrapuntal writing style and understanding of organ music that was written at the time.

The communion anthem is also based on the psalm for the day. Antonin Dvorak’s (1841-1941) Op. 99 Biblical Songs were written in 1894, just as the composer found out about the death of the conductor Hans von Bulow. Dvorak turned to the Psalms for comfort and wrote a collection of ten songs on psalm texts, the seventh of which is presented today. The whole set was written in only 21 days. This piece features a late but rather stark mezzo-soprano solo over a bouncy accompaniment. Today it will be presented in Czech, since we will have already sung the Psalm in English.

The gradual anthem is Harold W. Friedell’s(1905-1958) classic “Draw Us In the Sprit’s Tethers. Friedell began his career at Calvary Church NYC in 1928 and in 1931 left that job for a position at St. John’s in New Jersey. He returned to Calvary in 1931 and in 1945 began teaching at Union Theological Seminary as well. In 1946 he took over for his teacher David McK. Williams at St. Bartholomew’s. He strove to increase the credibility of the music program that had been set up by Williams but fallen into disrepair because of his sudden “dismissal.” Draw Us In the Spirit’s Tethers is a hymn anthem that was written during Friedell’s time  at Calvary as an orison (prayer). This simple piece opens with the ladies of the choir singing the hymn tune in unison followed by an a cappella verse and finally an accompanied verse with the organ providing colorful chords underneath a strong restatement of the hymn tune.

The postlude has little to do with anything but is in fact connected (in my own mind at least.) One of the former music directors at St. Bartholomew’s was the great conductor Leopold Stowkowski(1882-1977). From 1905-1908 he served as the organist and choirmaster at the church which Friedell would later serve at. Stowkowski went on to become one of the most well-known conductors in the world. His life long association with the Cincinnati Orchestra and later the Philadelphia Orchestra made him one of the most prominent American composers of his day. Among his contributions to orchestral music were his arrangements of the organ works of J. S. Bach (1685-1750.) One such arrangement was featured in the  1939 Walt Disney film Fantasia. His arrangement of the Toccata and Fugue in d minor BWV 565 has made it one of the most recognizable pieces of organ literature in the canon.  The word “toccata” (from the Italian toccare, to touch) is a piece written to try out a new organ. This composition is perhaps the best known organ composition ever written by one of the greatest organ composers. The improvisatory style of the toccata with its dramatic flourishes gives way to a stricter fugue that then erupts into another free toccata bringing the piece to a strong finish. Most importantly, it’s just a lot of fun to play.

September 29, 2013 - Proper 21

Meditation on 'Kingsfold' - Roberta Bitgood
God Is My Strong Salvation - Sue and Lionel Wood
Requiem: Prayer of St. Francis - John Leavitt
Concerto in C: "Allegro" - J.G. Walther

Hymns: #423 St. Denio, #709 Dundee,
              #625 Darwall's 148th

This week’s music is very typical American church music – Oh except for the German concerto movement for a postlude. Yes, other than that very American. Oh, and the English folk tunes that the prelude and gradual anthem are based on, and the Latin text of the solo quartet in the communion anthem and the text is a prayer by an Italian. Other than that – American.

The prelude this week is Roberta Bitgood’s (1908-2007) Meditation on ‘Kingsfold’. Roberta Bitgood was an organist and composer who was a pioneer in her field. She began her study of music with the violin at age five and by her teens was playing in churches throughout Connecticut. She attended the Connecticut College for Women majoring in Mathematics and music. She studied with William C. Carl at the Guilmant Organ School and went on to get a Master’s in Education from Columbia and a doctorate in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary. She was a trailblazer in her field which was at the time largely male dominated and in 1975 became the first woman president of the American Guild of Organists. This piece was written in 1975 to honor the Rev. Walter Funk at the installation of the new Redman Organ at First Presbyterian Church of Lafayette, LA. Interestingly enough, this piece is not well suited to that particular organ, lacking the types of stops called. The tune is a traditional English folk tune thought to date back to the Middle Ages. I must confess, I picked this piece accidentally thinking that “Kingsfold” was the tune that the gradual anthem was based on. Sadly, they are similar but not the same. It is still a good piece – we’ll call it a happy accident.

God Is My Strong Salvation is a setting of James Montgomery’s (1771-1854) setting of Psalm 27. The arrangement is simple – very much like singing a hymn. The setting is by Sue and Lionel Wood. I know NOTHING about these people aside from the fact that they are/were connected to the Salvation Army. The setting is very straight forward – much like the psalm text. It is a simple affirmation of God as the protector. I think that you will very quickly see how I could mistake this tune for “Kingsfold” with its minor key with a strong pulse; the two have much in common.

The Prayer of St. Francis is taken from the Requiem by John Leavitt (b. 1956). Leavitt’s education and career have been primarily centered in Kansas. He is a highly sought after clinician and conductor and has received commissions for new choral works from numerous organizations. In the preface to his Requiem he writes that the work is “inspired by Brahms’ German Requiem” and that like that work, this is a work that draws on the psalms and other spiritual texts rather than the traditional Mass for the Dead to comfort the living rather than pray for those that have died. This prayer (also from Psalm 27) serves as the “Credo” of the Requiem. The solo quartet prays for peace while the choir asks to be the instrument of peace. The requests combine and remind me of the text of the song by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller Let There Be Peace on Earth. This one says: “Give us peace and let me be the ‘instrument’ that brings it”

The postlude is something completely different. An arrangement by Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) of a concerto by Joseph Meck (1690-1758). These concertos were often for violin or oboe and were arranged for organ as some of the first orchestral transcriptions. This allowed Walther to share the compositional style of Meck with the listeners in Germany that would not have known the style. This bouncy melody seemed a fitting close to this service and gives the variety that I think is necessary for this Sunday. I think that the sparkling and lively solo line will brighten the rather staunch selections that precede it in the service. This selection also capitalizes on the Holtkamp stops on this organ rather than relying on the digital sounds of the Rodgers addition.

September 22, 2013 - Proper 20

Sonata in Eb: "Andante" - Horatio Parker
O Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem - John Goss
The Collection/Serenity - Charles Ives
Symphony of Spirituals: "Toccata and Fugue"
                                                                          - Joel Raney

Hymns: #375 DU LEBENSBROT, #550 RESTORATION, 
              #676 BALM IN GILEAD

The music this week is primarily American with the exception of the gradual anthem which is very British. The pieces are all centered around the idea of peace, but in some ways they are about different types of peace.

O Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem is taken from the larger work Praise the Lord by the British organist and composer John Goss (1800-1880). Goss came from a musical family and started his career as a professional musician at an early age. His father was the organist of a small parish church and at an early age Goss was appointed a chorister of the Chapel Royal. He studied the organ with the renowned Thomas Attwood, a student of Mozart and the organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral. In 1821 Goss married and was appointed organist of Stockwell Chapel where he served until 1824 when he took a similar post at St. Luke’s, Chelsea. In 1827 he was appointed to a position at the Royal Academy of Music which he held until 1874. In 1838 Attwood died and Goss was appointed organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral, a post he held until his retirement. In addition to his duties at the cathedral and the academy he also taught at St. Paul’s school where one of his students was John Stainer who later succeeded him at the Cathedral. Much of Goss’s music has been relegated to obscurity but his church music is still performed today. O Pray for the Peace opens with a mournful bass line that is passed up through the vocal parts and with a refrain that describes the fate of those that love the Lord. This back and forth continues and the anthem concludes with a quiet final chorus in major.

The prelude was written by the American composer Horatio Parker (1863-1919). Parker, like Goss, came from a musical family. His mother was an organist and his father an architect. In 1877 Parker took his first music lessons from his mother and later studied composition with George Chadwick. It was Chadwick’s recommendation in 1882 that sent Parker to Munich to study with the organist/composer Josef Rheinberger. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1885 he occupied several positions in NYC. In 1893 Parker moved his family to Boston where he assumed duties as organist at Trintiy Church, Copley Square where he stayed until 1902. In 1894 Parker was elected to the Battell Professorship of the Theory of Music at Yale. Parker was tremendously successful as a composer and teacher. Among his students were David Stanley Smith, Roger Sessions, Quincy Porter and Charles Ives. Parker’s 1908 Organ Sonata in Eb Op. 65 in four movements begins with a sonata form structure followed by two song form movements and ending with a large fugue. The second movement, Andante has a lovely singing melody played on the oboe with a flowing left hand accompaniment. This then moves to a B section on the Vox Humana, a unique stop named for the human voice. This moves to a third section which is a fugue played on the string stop of the great. The opening theme returns and again proceeds to the material played on the vox humana as the piece draws to a quiet close.

As I said in the previous section, one of Parker’s students was Charles Ives (1874-1954). For the communion anthem I have combined his 1919 composition Serenity from Seven Songs for Voice and Piano and The Collection from 114 Songs. Serenity is a peaceful song that is only 27 measures long. Of those 27 measures, 16 are the same. From a compositional standpoint this piece is very similar to Holst’s Neptune from The Planets. Ives considered this piece to be “namby-pamby” and “nice” despite the fact that this composition brought him a great deal of notoriety. The Collection is a 1920 setting of Kingsley labeled by the composer for “the organist, the soprano, and the Village Choir.” Typical of Ives’s early writing this utilizes an early hymn tune with some twisting and unusual harmonies at the outset but it is very traditional once the voice comes in. These two pieces provide an interesting contrast about God. The first focuses on praising God while the second finds serenity through the love of God.

The postlude is taken form Joel Raney’s Symphony of Spirituals. Joel Raney (b. 1956) was Artist-in-Residence at the First Presbyterian Church of River Forest, Illinois, and currently serves as Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church of Oak Park, Illinois. He studied at the University of North Alabama and Julliard and is in demand as a composer and clinician. This piece is a toccata on Swing Low, Sweet Chariot with staccato chords in the hands and the melody in the feet followed by a fugue on Promised Land which concludes with a coda on the first piece. This work for piano and organ features a number of well-known spirituals and combines them for the two instruments in a masterful way. This movement for organ only concludes the piece in a triumphant fashion and leads the listener to an image of peace at the end of life. These two pieces paint a picture of a chariot that takes the singer to the Promised Land and invites the listener to join.

These pieces cover peace from a prayerful desire for the chosen people of God to the peace that only God can grant and the notion that this peace may not be found until we reach the end of our journey. It is my hope that as we move back into the church year and the busy seasons of life that we may all find peace now and look forward to the peace that will come.

September 15, 2013 - Proper 19

Da Pacem, Domine - Melchior Franck
Followers of the Lamb - Philip R. Dietterich
Flocks in Pastures Green Abiding - J.S. Bach
The Lord Bless You and Keep You - Peter C. Lutkin

Hymns: #686 Nettleton, #761 Holy Manna, #8 Bunessan

It is always a bit of a challenge to select the music for this first service. In a lot of ways it’s the beginning of the season while at the same time it really isn’t. On top of that there is the constraint of being outside and needing to sing a cappella. This is less daunting to me now but still scary because we have not sung together consistently for three months. I also wanted pieces that would lend themselves to being sung outside. Nothing too heavy or serious. I settled on four pieces that I think work well together but are contrasting enough to be interesting.

Da Pacem, Domine is a simple six measure round by Melchior Franck (1579-1639). Da pacem, Domine in diebus nostris, is the opening line of a votive antiphon and means Give peace, O Lord, in our time. This simple but effective piece was written by a prolific composer that is often forgotten today. Franck met Hans Leo Hassler while in Nuremberg and learned from him the composition style of Lassus and the Gabrielis. Franck excelled at counterpoint and wrote more than 600 works including protestant chorale motets and early examples of fugues. Unlike some of his contemporaries Franck was able to make a living as a full time musician in spite of the 30 Years War which brought typhus to the region and decimated many towns. It’s easy to see why he would write in invocation of peace when there was this much turmoil going on. Franck was not unaffected by this, he lost his wife and two of his children to the outbreak. This prayer serves as a reminder that there is and always will be strife but we can pray for relief. Peace in OUR time.

In 1774 the Shakers, a dissenting sect of the Quaker religion, followed their leader, Mother Ann Lee to the United States settling in 1776 in Nikayuna near Albany, NY. The term “Shaker” refers to their unique style of worship which included rhythmic swaying and dancing as they felt led. The Shakers developed their own system of musical notation and received songs while in a trance like state. Instruments were not sanctioned for use until 1870. This rhythmic tune arranged by Philip R. Dietterich (b. 1931) was written down in 1847. It captures much of the style of Shaker worship. The first thing that struck me is that the men address the men and the women the women, this is a society that lived in gender specific dormitories and led a life of celibacy, it seems fitting. The singers encourage their brethren to dance and the piece builds to an explosive frenzy which is also typical of Shaker worship.

I must admit, this next piece is a bit of a stretch to do the way that we are doing it. Flocks in Pastures Green Abiding is an arrangement by Stanley Roper of Schafe können sicher weiden from J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 208. The piece loses a little without the familiar recorder obbligato alternating with the choir. The piece in its original form was written for soprano, continuo and two recorders as part of the the secular cantata “All that I love is the merry hunt” which Bach presented to Duke Christian of Saxe-Weissenfels as a part of his birthday celebration. In the original aria the singer tells us that sheep may graze safely under the care of a good ruler, in that case, the Duke. In our setting the Good Shepherd is watching over his sheep.

The final piece was written by Peter C. Lutkin (1858-1931). It is his setting of Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord Bless You and Keep You. This old chestnut of the choral literature occupies a nostalgic place in the life of many church and university choirs including Westminster Choir College. Lutkin studied organ with Clarence Eddy and then went on to study at the Royal Academy of the Arts in Berlin. When he returned to the US he served on the faculty at Northwestern and the American Conservatory of Music. He was a founding member of the American Guild of Organists. His sevenfold Amen which concludes this simple benediction is a fitting close to this first Sunday of choir for the year. It rises and falls in just ten measures from a quiet beginning to a full declaration and fades back into nothing.

June 9, 2013 - Proper 5

Sonata No. 4: "Andante Religioso" - Felix Mendelssohn
Elijah: "Blessed are the Men who Fear Him"
                                                            - Felix Mendelssohn
Requiem: "Agnus Dei" - W.A. Mozart
Fugue in g minor BWV 578 - J.S. Bach

Hymns: #390 Lobe den Herren, #586 Pleading Savior,
              #411 St. Thomas

This week’s music is a sort of “preview of things to come” next year. The two choir anthems are from the two major works that we will be performing next year. In the fall we will perform the Mozart Requiem K626, an amazing piece that makes most of us think of the film Amadeus. Although the accounts of Mozart (1756-1791) dictating the music to his “adversary” Salieri are completely fictional, the piece was not completed by Mozart but by his student. Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766-1803) served as Mozart’s copyist and a composer of primarily religious works and operas. The Agnus Dei  is thought to have been assembled from a previous mass and constructed be Sussmayr. We will only be presenting the first section of the movement before the soprano solo. Just enough to whet the appetite before diving in next fall.

The gradual anthem is from Felix Mendelssohn’s epic Elijah, which we will present as our Celebration of the Arts offering next year. Blessed are the Men Who Fear Him is taken from the first part of the oratorio and takes place after the exchange between Elijah and the Widow whose son has died and is brought back to life. This chorus is typical of Mendelssohn’s writing where two themes are stated and developed individually and then combined. This chorus leads to the end of the opening scene and transitions into the Baal theme. This is a good precursor to this scene because it extols all of the attributes of God before we go into the rather bloody Baal scene.

The prelude is the second movement of Mendelssohn’s Fourth Organ Sonata in Bb. The “Andante Religioso” is a slow chorale like piece in-between the triumphal opening and the bubbly Allegretto. Mendelssohn made a career as an organ recitalist in England where the works of Bach were unknown. In fact, the organs of England had to be rebuilt so that the works of Bach and Mendelssohn could be performed. The organs of England had pedal boards that were very short and were not really suited for playing the independent contrapuntal lines of Bach. This piece shows the lyrical side of Mendelssohn, much like the chorus being performed today. It is a meditative but solid start to the service.

The postlude is by J.S. Bach which seems fitting since Mendelssohn is credited with a huge Bach revival. This is one of Bach’s best known tunes and has become a favorite piece to be arranged for instrumental ensembles. This four voice fugue with its angular theme was arranged for orchestra by Leopld Stokowski and has been reincarnated in versions for brass quartet and even marching band.

 

June 2, 2013 - Proper 4

Slow Air for the Organ - Samuel Wesley
Zion's Walls - Aaron Copland
O Lord My God - Samuel Sebastian Wesley
Variaitions on "Holy Manna" - Charles Callahan

Hymns: #522 Austria, #321 Rockingham,
              #538 Lucerna Laudoniae

The music this week and next as the choir season ends looks ahead to summer and things to come. This week two of the selections are in the vein of Early American Folk hymns which is what the service music for summer is. The other two pieces are from a father and son, the son and grandson of one of the most prominent Methodist ministers ever.

Zion's Walls is a traditional Shaker tune that was arranged by Aaron Copland (1900-1990) (perhaps the quintessential American composer.) Copland wrote two sets of these folk songs for solo voice and piano. They were reworked for soloist and orchestra and then arranged for choir and piano or orchestra and have become standards of the choral and solo repertoire. The piece is essentially a call to worship. An invitation to the people of God to "join us in singing the praises of Zion." The lilting rhythms do not diminish the drive that this piece has throughout with its strong downbeats and interesting two against three cross-rhythms. There are also moments of sweet gentility. The second verse drops the lilting rhythms in favor of a more sustained line. One of my favorite parts of the piece is the unexpected modulation to distant keys that happens at phrase endings. The piece finishes with a big lush chord.

The postlude is Charles Callahan’s (b. 1951) setting of Holy Manna which is the fraction anthem for the next several weeks. This tune has been set to a myriad of texts. It is an old pentatonic hymn tune attributed to William Moore. This set of six variations allows for different ensemble colors to shine through. The piece opens with a simple statement of the theme while the second movement is a more subdued setting with the melody in the left hand on a buzzy reed stop. The third variation is a musette which is followed by a variation for the pedals. The fifth variation is a “meditation” with the melody in the pedal which leads into the closing finale on solo trumpet.

The prelude and the postlude are by father and son, Samuel Wesley (1766-1837) and Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). Samuel Wesley is the son of the Methodist minister and hymn writer Charles Wesley. He is credited with introducing the works of J.S. Bach to English audiences. His son, Sebastian Samuel Wesley held positions as organist at many prominent cathedrals in England and held the chair of music position at Edinburgh University. S. S. Wesley is best known for his anthems and organ music but during his lifetime was known as one of the best living organists. He had also developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. His anthem O Lord my God is a very simple prayer with colorful harmonies. It is the kind of anthem that is enjoyable for the singer and the listener. The Slow Air for the Organ is a simple piece that would have worked well on the English organs that the Wesleys knew. I have tried to imitate those sounds on the organ at St. David’s. This piece is quiet and contemplative with hints of the style of the younger Wesley. It is easy to see the progression from the writing of the father to the style of the son.

 

May 26, 2013 - Trinity Sunday/Memorial Day

Partita on "Holy, Holy, Holy" - Geoffrey Stanton
The Battle Hymn of the Republic - arr. Peter Wilhousky
Trinitarian Blessing - K. Lee Scott
Double Fugue on "My Country Tis of Thee"
                                                            - John Knowles Paine

Hymns: #362 Nicaea, #366 Grosser Gott, #608 Melita

In selecting music this week I tried to be sensitive to both observances taking place. This was Trinity Sunday according to the church year but also Memorial Day. It is my personal feeling that both are too important to ignore so the music was split evenly with the prelude and communion anthem celebrating the Trinity while the gradual anthem and postlude were selected for Memorial Day.

The prelude is an excerpt from Geoffrey Stanton’s Partita on “Holy, Holy, Holy” written as part of the Marilyn Mason music collection. Stanton is Director of Music at Bethlehem United Church of Christ in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a part time instructor at Eastern Michigan University. Stanton is an accomplished recitalist on organ and synthesizer. He is a respected authority on synthesizers and electronic music, a topic which he has written a book on and lectured on. The two movements that I chose for this service are very different. The first is a bluesy setting in 12/8 and in minor filled with grace notes and a very rhythmic pedal motif. The registration that he calls for evokes the sound of the Hammond organs of the 1960’s and 1970’s more than the classical pipe organ of today. The second partita is quiet and reflective with the pedal playing a beautiful ornamented melody while the hands sustain chords.

The communion anthem is Trinitarian Blessing by K. Lee Scott (b. 1950). Scott has served as adjunct faculty for The University of Alabama School of Music, The University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Music and Samford University School of Music. He has received numerous commissions and has over 300 works published including choral anthems and hymns. His Trinitarian Blessing opens with a gentle soprano solo and then moves into a lush four part setting. This is followed by a restatement of the opening solo for full choir with the men echoing the women before the final statements of “joy unending.”

When it comes to patriotic choral music the first piece that comes to mind for me is Peter Wilhousky’s (1902-1978) arrangement of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. This hymn written in 1862 by Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) a very well educated woman at a time when this was neither encouraged nor celebrated. Howe married in 1843 but the marriage was not a happy one. Her husband was oppressive and did not want her work to go public. In 1852 the couple separated and Howe published her work which shed light on “the intimate affairs of a ‘real’ man and women.” She became an abolitionist and was heavily involved with John Brown’s revolution. She went on to be a well-respected theologian and writer. Wilhousky’s arrangement of the Battle Hymn is one of the best loved and most widely performed settings of this hymn. In addition to this piece he also added English text to the Carol of the Bells.

The postlude is a double fugue ( a form in which there are two fugue subjects each individually developed and then combined) on My Country Tis of Thee by the American composer John Knowles Paine (1839-1906). Paine was born into a musical family and spent time in Europe as a student. Upon returning he made a name for himself as a recitalist before being appointed Harvard’s first professor of music. This piece is typical of Paine’s writing. Paine combines spritely passages for the manuals and fast pedal passages including a solo for the pedals. The work reaches a climax and the theme is played on the first restatement of the theme.

 

May 19, 2013 - Pentecost

I Will Not Leave You Comfortless - William Byrd
Credo - Jane M. Marshall

Hymns: #516 Down Ampney, #507 Julion,
              #511 Abbot's Leigh

The two anthems for this week's service both deal with Pentecost but not as the fiery rushing wind that I grew up hearing about. Instead the main idea of these anthems is the comfort that we were left with in the form of the Holy Spirit. These two pieces focus on different aspects of comfort and where we can find it.

 

William Byrd (1540-1623) was an English composer and organist that basically created the English madrigal. His organ and virginal music put England on the map with keyboard music. Byrd was educated by the great choral composer Thomas Tallis. The two were granted a monopoly on print music by Elizabeth I. He began his career as an organist in London but in 1577 moved to Harlington. As a devout Catholic, Byrd preferred to be a bit further away from the government that persecuted many of his

Catholic brethren. Byrd’s compositional style has two very separate styles. The music that he composed for the Catholic mass is highly polyphonic and very complex where as the Anglican anthems focus on the text and are simpler having a more homophonic texture. This anthem for the Proper of the Sunday after Ascension for five part choir weaves text from John 14:18 throughout a tapestry of “Alleluias” and builds to a climax on the line “And you heart shall rejoice.” The cascading Alleluias simulate the “rushing wind” that the apostles encountered on Pentecost in the upper room.

 

Jane Marshall’s (b. 1924) Credo is not the setting of the traditional creed but is instead a setting of an inscription found in a Cologne cellar where Jews hid during World War II mixed with Mark 9:24 “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” The text is beautiful for its simplicity but the source of the text adds a whole other dimension to the feel of the piece. We have all had times in our lives when “the sun is not shining” but to think of that family hiding in the cellar not knowing what would happen to them. Jane M. Marshall is one of the leaders of church music in the United States. Her anthems My Eternal King and None Other Lamb are in the repertoire of almost every choir in America. Marshall graduated from Southern Methodist University and has made her career as a composer and teacher in the Dallas area. In addition to her choral compositions, several of Marshall’s hymn tunes have made their way into congregational worship throughout the world. The anthem begins with the choir stating their beliefs in unison. This is followed by a four part a cappella section and a restatement of the opening. All of the melodies are combined at the end of the work and layered on top of one another to form a wall of sound which gets progressively softer as the piece ends.