March 30, 2014 - Lent 4

Sheep May Safely Graze - J.S. Bach
Brother James' Air - Gordon Jacob
Beautiful Savior - F. Melius Christiansen
My Shepherd, Lord - Randall Debruyn

Hymns: #677 London New, #645 St. Columba,
              #490 Houston 

The music this week is all centered around the idea of Christ as the good shepherd with the beloved 23^rd psalm as one of the central texts of the day.

Sheep May Safely Graze (Schafe können sicher weiden) from J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 208. The piece in its original form was written for soprano, continuo and two recorders as part of 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. During the 1940s this piece became E. Power Biggs signature piece. He played it at the conclusion of each of his radio recitals for sixteen years. This arrangement uses solo flutes to play the recorder obligato with the softer foundation stops of the swell division taking up the soprano line.

Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) was a renowned composer and teacher. He studied with Charles V. Stanford and counted among his own pupils at the Royal College of Music the likes of Imogen Holst and Malcolm Arnold.  This a cappella setting of the Scottish hymn tune, “Marosa” treats the hymn simply but creatively. The first two verses are set with the melody in the soprano and the lower three parts singing lush harmonies. The men of the choir take the melody for the third verse while the sopranos and altos sing an ornamented line on top of it. The fourth verse reverts to a melody in the soprano this time with the lower three voices singing “Ahs” underneath. The fifth and final verse is filled with big, strong chords that lead to a strong, stirring finish.

The communion anthem is another a cappella hymn arrangement, this one by the conductor and arranger F. Melius Christiansen (1871-1955). He 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 tune was used by Franz Liszt in his oratorio “The Legend of St. Elizabeth.”  This arrangement exploits the abilities of the St. Olaf choir to sing a cappella music. The arrangement opens with lush, full eight part chords in a sustained hum. This gives way to the men of the choir continuing the hum under an alto solo. The women enter in unison on the tune for the final verse with a climactic conclusion.

The postlude is a setting of Marosa called “My Shepherd, Lord” by Randall Debruyn (b. 1947), the English language editor of missals for OCP. This piece is a grand but meandering setting of the tune commonly associated with the text “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need.” The piece wanders like a lost sheep through various keys and moves between major and minor before the entrance of the pedal that leads to the final verse played in a stately and grand fashion.