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.