The Spacious Firmament - Charles Hubert H. Parry
We Shall Walk Through This Valley - William Appling
Ode for the New Year - William Selby
Hymns:#536 Torah Song, 321 Pockingham, #537 Moscow
This week’s music has English roots that are carried over
into America. The prelude and gradual anthem are settings by Charles Hubert H.
Parry (1848-1918) the postlude is a short piece by William Selby (1738-1798), a
London born organist that immigrated to Boston; and the communion anthem is a
setting of a traditional spiritual by the American composer William Appling (1932-2008).
Charles Hubert H. Parry is an English Romantic composer that
has gone all but unnoticed in the canon of music history. He is perhaps best
known for his setting of William Blake’s poem Jerusalem, which is the basis for the prelude this week. Parry
began his musical studies at Eton and then Oxford. While his father always encouraged
his musical abilities, he had a different career path in mind for his son. Parry
worked as a clerk for Lloyd’s of London and pursued his musical studies on the
side. It was during this time that he began his studies with pianist Edward
Dannreuther. These studies marked a turning point in the young composer’s life.
He was introduced to the music of the piano virtuosos of the day as well as the
music of Wagner. Parry’s compositional career took off with many commissions
for oratorios and cantatas which marked a “renaissance” in English music. In
1875 he was appointed assistant editor of the Dictionary of Music and Musicians by George Grove and was given the
post of professor of music history and composition at the Royal College of
Music by the same. In 1895 he took over the directorship of the school and
served until his death. From 1900-1908 he also served as a professor at Oxford,
a post he abdicated at his doctor’s recommendation. After this “retirement”
Parry wrote most of his best-known pieces including Jerusalem and The Songs of
Farewell.
The setting of Jerusalem
that I am playing today is described as an “Elegiac Prelude,” a piece with
mournful qualities. This setting by Charles Callahan (b. 1951) begins with a
plaintive reed solo played in the tenor register with lush chordal accompaniment.
The solo ends and the accompaniment seamlessly takes over before returning to
the texture of the opening. This time, however, it’s reversed with the
accompaniment in the left hand and the melody, played on a solo flute in the
right.
The gradual anthem is a setting of Joseph Addison’s
(1672-1719) The Spacious Firmament on
High, one of several hymn texts that he contributed to The Spectator, a daily publication written by Addison from
1711-1712. The mission of this paper was "to enliven morality with wit,
and to temper wit with morality...to bring philosophy out of the closets and
libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at
tea-tables and coffeehouses” and “is introduced at the close of an essay on the
proper means of strengthening and confirming faith in the mind of man.”
(hymnary.org). The anthem, in three verses, begins with the women singing the
first half of verse one followed by the men. Verse two depicts a quieter, more
subdued view of praise which leads to the triumphal return of the opening theme
in verse three.
The postlude by William Selby is entitled Ode for the New Year. Despite the fact
that we are at the end of the first month of the New Year, I thought this piece
was well suited to the day of the Annual Meeting as the church prepares to
enter a new year of growth and leadership. Selby was born in London and served
as an organist and choirmaster there before his immigration to the United
States in 1771. While in the States he served as the organist of King’s chapel
in Boston while running a grocery store and liquor store. This short piece in
ABA form opens and closes with a trumpet tune. The B section is a dance-like
duet in 6/8 for cromorne (a stop which sounds like a very buzzy clarinet), and
flute.
The communion anthem is an arrangement of the spiritual We Shall Walk Through This Valley in Peace
by conductor, pianist, arranger, and educator, William Appling. Appling served
as Choral Director for Glenville High School. Later in life went on to hold
other prominent positions including Director of Choral Activities at Vassar
College. In 1979 he founded the William Appling Singers and Orchestra, a
professional ensemble which performs music from all periods and styles. This piece
is very straight-forward. This anthem (like the Parry) has three verses but
this one peaks in the middle and tapers to a soft smooth ending. The message is
simple. We shall walk through the valley in peace IF Jesus is our leader. It is Jesus that brings peace
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