Freu dich sehr o meine Seele - Georg Bohm
There Shall Come Forth - Kevin Wood
Thou Shalt Know Him - Mark Sirett
Hymns: #724 Besancon Carol, #72 Richmond,
#723 Samanthra
This week the music
is filled with subtle beauty and gentle musicality. The two a cappella anthems
are both settings by American composers and the prelude and postlude are
variations on Freu dich sehr o meine
Seele which we know more commonly as the hymn tune Psalm 42 which has been
our song of praise through Advent. These pieces seem small and simple initially
but upon further examination the pieces are all very intricate with lots of
beautiful detail and intricate lines.
There Shall Come Forth is an anthem for a cappella choir that was commissioned for the
West Side Madrigalists. The piece was written by Kevin Wood and is a setting of
Isaiah 11. The piece opens with the men echoing the women in descending sixths
moving toward a stark cadence in open fifths and fourths. The tenor takes the
lead as while the ladies sail above. The next section is a series of fifths
that move in contrary motion. This breaks into a short fugue which goes back to
the opening of the piece. The beauty of
it comes from the subtlety of the dynamics and the rise and fall of the line.
The setting captures the mystery of the season as well as the starkness of life
at that time.
The communion anthem
is Thou Shalt Know Him by Mark Sirett
(b. 1952). Sirett is the founding Artistic Director of Cantabile Choirs of
Kingston, Ontario. He was educated at the University of Iowa and taught at the
Universities of Alberta, Western Ontario, and Queen’s University. In addition
to this he has received two international conducting awards. This piece opens
with only the sopranos and then repeats with the choir in four parts. This
setting of a 15th century text of Anonymous composition illustrates
both extremes of the story, the ridiculousness and the reality of the Christmas
story are exemplified not just in the text but in the setting of this piece.
The pre/postlude are
taken from Georg Böhm’s setting of Freu
dich sehr o meine Seele which is more commonly known as Psalm 42 and often
set to “Comfort, Comfort Ye my People.” This set of twelve variations by one of
J.S. Bach’s teacher’s showcases the various contrapuntal techniques that Böhm
learned during his time as a student. The Italian influence can clearly be seen
in the emphasis on manual technique as well as the florid lines. This influence
was transferred to many of the compositions for J.S. Bach keyboard. It was the
influence of Böhm’s partitas that can most clearly be seen by historians.
These pieces are part
of what makes Advent so beautiful. The music is so mysterious and meaningful when
viewed through the lens of today’s Christmas offerings because we can see the
expectancy and the anticipation that previous generations knew how to capitalize
on. We have the opportunity to remember this as well if we will allow
ourselves.
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