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.