May 25, 2014 - Easter 6

Fantasy on Down Ampney - Richard T. Gore
Messiah: "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth"-G.F. Handel
Double Fugue on "My Country tis of Thee"
                                                            - John Knowles Paine

Hymns: #405 Royal Oak, #705 Forest Green,
              #516 Down Ampney

The music this week is a combination of American music and a well-loved Handel aria. This weekend we are having Morning Prayer rather than celebrating the Eucharist which allows us to scale down the number of pieces for the week.

The prelude is a pair of variations taken from the Fantasy on Down Ampney, the closing hymn for today by Richard T. Gore (1908-1994). Gore was born in Tacoma Park, Maryland and studied in Berlin and at the Eastman School of Music as well as studying later with organist and composer Seth Bingham. He later became the organist at Cornell University and in 1945 was appointed to Wooster College, a position he occupied until 1974. The first variation is an ornamented setting of the hymn tune for manuals only while the second is labeled “new tune” and is played on a reed stop with string accompaniment.

The gradual anthem is taken from Part III of G.F. Handel’s (1685-1759) Messiah. I Know That My Reedemer Liveth opens the third and final part of Messiah, which is usually thought of as the ascension portion of the oratorio. Leonard Van Camp calls this aria a prologue to part three “Thanksgiving for the defeat of death.”The piece is depicted in the statue at Handel’s tomb in Westminster Abbey. The piece depicts the Messianic anticipation from the book of Job of which perhaps should be translated as “I know that my avenger liveth.” The remainder of the text is taken from Corinthians as are many of the texts in this section of the work. Handel’s use of text painting is evident in this aria with the ascending line on “For now is Christ risen.” The unison violins also seem to depict “the worms” destroying “this body.”

The postlude is American composer, John Knowles Paine’s (1839-1906) Double Fugue on “My Coutry Tis of Thee.” Paine, one of the “Boston 6” came to the organ honestly. His grandfather built the first pipe organ in the state of Maine. He was educated in Germany and toured Europe giving organ recitals. In 1861 he returned to Boston and became organist/choirmaster at Harvard University.  Paine also is credited as the father of the American symphonic tradition and wrote “St. Peter,” the first American oratorio. Paine’s fugue which includes an extended pedal passage which is a testament to Paine’s technique on the organ, he introduced a higher standard of virtuosic playing that had since been absent on this continent.

 

May 18, 2014 - Easter 5

Peace Be Unto You - George F. McKay
With a Voice of Singing -r Martin Shaw
Five Mystical Songs:"The Call"- Ralph Vaughan Williams
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation - David Cherwien

Hymns: #518 Westminster Abbey, #51 Decatur Place,
              #455 Dunedin

This week’s music is English church music through and through. The traditional Anglican hymn tunes that pervade the prelude, postlude and even the communion anthem are pillars of church hymnody. This music captures the joy and beauty of Eastertide as well as the grand soaring lines of the English choral tradition.

The prelude is a setting of the Henry Thomas Smart (1813-1879) hymn “Lancashire.”  Smart, an English composer and organist at many prominent English churches wrote this tune which is often combined with the text “Lead on, O King External.”  This setting of “Lancashire,” entitled “Peace Be Unto You,” is taken from George Frederick McKay’s (1899-1970) “Suite of Easter Hymns: Sayings of Jesus.” McKay was born in Harrington, Washington and later moved to Spokane. He was attracted to American folk music including jazz, blues, and Native American themes. McKay was the first graduate of composition from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and was known for his support of young composers. These included his famous students John Cage and William Bolcom. This simple setting of Luke 24:36 is a simple melody and accompaniment setting of Smart’s tune played on a solo flute.

Martin Shaw (1875-1958) was born in London and made a career as a composer, conductor, and a theatre producer. The son of church music composer and organist, James Shaw and the brother of composer Geoffrey Shaw, it comes as no surprise that Martin Shaw went into music and theatre, his brother Julius was an actor. Shaw studied with Stanford at the Royal College of Music and founded the Purcell Operatic Society. Shaw toured Europe as a conductor for the dancer Isadora Duncan and Cofounded the League of Arts and the Royal School of Church Music. In addition to his work as a composer and conductor he served as the editor of “The English Carol Book” with Percy Dearmer and “Songs of Praise” and “The Oxford Book of Carols” with Ralph Vaughan Williams. With a Voice of Singing is perhaps Shaw’s best known piece, a long-time standard of the school and church canon, that is a triumphal statement of praise. The simple call, primarily unison writing and exact imitation in the fugatos makes this place accessible to choirs at every level but the solid melodic line make it appealing to choirs of all abilities.

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ (1872-1958) Five Mystical Songs were written between 1906 and 1911 and premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester in 1911 with the composer conducting. These pieces are settings of George Herbert’s (1593-1633) poems. Herbert was a Welsh-born poet, orator and Anglican priest. Herbert wrote in English, Greek and Latin and all of his English poems were collected in “The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations” in 1633. Vaughan Williams, an atheist, set this poem for baritone soloist and orchestra but the piece has since become a part of modern hymnody being included in The Hymnal 1982.

David Cherwien serves as the Director of Music at the Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was educated at Elmhurst College and Augsburg College. In addition to his studies in the US he went to the Berlin Church Music School. His teachers included Paul Manz, Ernst Pepping, and Alice Parker. Westminster Abbey is named for the post that composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695) occupied. Purcell was appointed organist at Westminster Abbey in 1679 upon the retirement of his teacher, John Blow. Purcell died at the height of his career of unknown causes, possibly tuberculosis and is buried adjacent to the organ in Westminster Abbey. Cherwien’s setting alternates between the full organ and the secondary manual. One can almost hear the large Bombarde division of the Harrison and Harrison organ in the Abbey playing this majestic setting.

 

May 11, 2014 - Easter 4

Kilgore Suite: Prelude on "Jewels" - Charles Callahan
The King of Love My Shepherd Is - Edward Bairstow
Messiah: "How Beautiful are the Feet" - G.F. Handel
How Firm a Foundation - Carolyn Hamlin

Hymns: #213 Middlebury, #664 Resignation,
              #304 Land of Rest

This week the music is (with one exception) based on folk melodies. Edward Bairstow’s setting of the Irish tune, “St. Columba,” Charles Callahan’s setting of William Cushing’s hymn tune “Jewels” and Carolyn Hamlin’s setting of “Foundation” along with the hymns “Resignation,” “Middlebury” and “Land of Rest” create a bouncy and joyous service for Good Shepherd Sunday and Mother’s Day.

Charles Callahan(b.1951) is an American organist and composer. A graduate of the Curtis institute and Catholic University, Dr. Callahan has garnered many prominent commissions during his career including works for Harvard University and music for papal visits. In 1999 he was awarded the Papal Honor of Knighthood in the Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. Prelude on “Jewels” is taken from Callahan’s Kilgore Suite, a set of four American folk songs commissioned by the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore Texas in honor of Jimmie Culp’s twenty-fifth year as organist. The piece opens with soft chords in the manuals that are simple but full of color. An oboe solo introduces Cushing’s simple hymn tune. The chords return with strings added to create a lush full texture with a solo played on the great principal. The soft calm of the beginning returns as a solo flute line draws the piece to a close. The text of this hymn is fitting for the lessons this week, the second verse talks of Jesus gathering in the jewels (his people) as bright gems for his crown; much like a shepherd with gather his sheep.

The gradual anthem is Edward C. Bairstow’s (1874-1946) setting of the Irish folk melody, St. Columba with Sir Henry W. Baker’s poetic translation of the 23^rd psalm. The anthem is broken up into six distinct verses, each corresponding to one of the verses of the psalm. The first is sung in four part harmony with almost no accompaniment. The sopranos and tenors sing the second verse in canon with the sopranos “leading” the tenors. The third verse features the basses in unison above an angular, staccato accompaniment figure. Verse four is similar to the first verse. The choir sings in four parts mostly unaccompanied trading versets with the organ.  The sopranos sing a countermelody for the fifth verse while the organ plays the hymn tune. Perhaps this is to illustrate the idea of “going astray.” The final verse begins in a broad unison and splits into parts as it progresses before the very soft conclusion is reached.

The communion anthem, the only piece that is not based on a folk tune, is taken from Handel’s Messiah. This text from Romans 10 uses an image from Isaiah 52 to illustrate the central point of Christ’s command to go unto all the world and to preach the Gospel. Leonard Van Camp places this aria and the choruses that bookend it into “Scene Four of Part II: Spreading the Gospel.”  The chorus The Lord Gave the Word is set with the “company of the preachers” flying in all directions to preach the gospel. The aria follows and then is confirmed with the chorus Their Sound is Gone Out. This text was reset by Handel in three different versions, the first for solo soprano, the more extensive alto setting which you will hear today and a duet and chorus setting which he ultimately rejected. The lilting pastorale setting is reminiscent of He Shall Feed His Flock in part one and reflects quietly on the matters sung about so exuberantly in the previous chorus.

Carolyn Hamlin has spent much of her career as the organist at First Baptist Church in Easley, South Carolina. Her hymn arrangements exploit the many colorful sounds available on the organ and always set the hymns with the text in mind. This setting of the traditional Southern Harmony hymn tune is a solid but rousing illustration of the firm foundation of faith that is the result of the Handel aria’s messengers. The arrangement opens with large colorful chords and accented (as much as the organ is capable of accents) bass notes. The second verse begins on a slightly softer sound and builds placing the left hand sixteenth notes in the pedal as the piece builds to a climax played on full organ.

Celebration of the Arts

Elijah Op. 70 - Felix Mendelssohn

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote “Elijah” Op. 70 in 1845-46 for the Birmingham Choral Festival. It was a concept that he had been considering since 1837 after the success of his first oratorio “St. Paul.” The work is a highly dramatic telling of several events in the life and ministry of Elijah. The nation had been in turmoil after King Ahab and his wife Jezebel introduced the pagan gods of Phoenicia into Israel.  Jezebel’s prophets erected a temple to Baal and established this as the religion of the land. Because of this, God sent a draught upon the land.

In the first big vignette Elijah revives the son of the Widow of Zarepheth who died of starvation because of the terrible agricultural climate caused by the draught. This is answered by the chorus singing “Blessed are the men who fear him, they ever walk in the ways of peace.” The next scene is between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. They have a contest to determine who is God by setting up altars and calling on their respective gods to set fire to them. Elijah begins mocking the prophets of Baal seeing that they should call louder, perhaps he’s sleeping.  The God of Israel lights His altar and Elijah slays the prophets of Baal. A youth then sings that the sky is darkening and the rain comes to the land.

Part two opens with a soprano aria telling the people to heed the word of God. Jezebel enters and we hear the conflict of this act. Jezebel is calling for Elijah to be killed for what he did to her prophets.  Elijah then goes into hiding in a cave. God sends angels to minister to him and to remind him that God watches over those who serve him. God comes to Elijah and takes him to heaven in a fiery chariot.

This work is one of the most performed oratorios in the canon. The orchestral writing is highly evocative of the dramatic scenes that Mendelssohn depicts.  The work was originally written in German but was translated very meticulously into English. The work features a large orchestra, chorus, a quartet of soloists that also function as part of a double quartet and a ladies trio. This dynamic piece is different from some oratorios in that the soloists truly take on the roles of Elijah, Obadiah, Jezebel, and Ahab. The chorus serves as the mob of Israelites, the prophets of Baal, and a chorus of angels. The drama carries through to the final Amen and a huge release as Elijah’s story truly closes.