January 18, 2015 - Epiphany 2

Wie Schon Leuchtet - Paul O. Manz

Blessed Are All They - Johann Sorenson

Messiah: "Behold the Lamb of God" - G.F. Handel

Wie Schon Leuchtet - Johann Pachelbel

Hymns: #757 Mary Alexandra, #303 Albright, 

              #497 Wie Schon Leuchtet

The music this week is from Germany well, more or less from Germany. The prelude and the postlude are settings of the closing hymn and one of my favorite chorales, Wie Schon Leuchtet. One setting is by the American composer Paul Manz and the other by the German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. The gradual anthem is taken from the tradition of the Moravian church. The communion anthem is the opening chorus of part two of Handel’s epic oratorio Messiah.

Behold the Lamb of God is the chorus which begins part two of Messiah, the oratorio in three parts that tells the story of the life of Christ. Part two (my favorite) tells the story of Christ’s death and resurrection. The chorus is written with the same dotted rhythms as the overture but not the overly angular double dotted figure of the opening. The theme is an octave leap followed by a descending scale, a melodic figure used for the soprano and alto duet He Shall Feed His Flock but Christ has now gone from being the shepherd to being the lamb to be slaughtered.

The gradual anthem is Blessed Are All They from Johann Sorenson (1767-1824). Sorenson had a career as a doctor but continued his musical studies. This piece is from the Moravian Church music tradition and was edited by the American organist Clarence Dickinson. Music in the Moravian church is incredibly important and was typically written in SSAB voicing with tenors (if there were any) could sing the second soprano part down the octave. This music is often accompanied by string quartet (which is available for this anthem.) The piece opens with a solo for tenor or soprano and the theme is then taken up by the full choir with interjections from the soprano and tenor soloists. The piece has a text suited for All Saints but works here as well.  The piece memorializes the martyrs that died for their faith and tells of their heavenly rewards.

The prelude and postlude are settings of the closing hymn WIE SCHON LEUCHTET which has been dubbed the "Queen of chorale tunes." The tune is by Philipp Nicolai who also penned the "King of chorale tunes" WACHET AUF. Paul Manz is best known for his contributions to the world of liturgical organ music. Manz received a Fulbright Grant to study in Europe with the great organists and composers Flor Peeters and Helmut Walcha. Manz short “choral improvisations” bear a great deal of similarity to those of his teachers but have a uniquely American flare to them. Manz went on to become a tireless advocate of quality church music and creative hymn playing. He taught and served churches and universities in the Lutheran tradition for the majority of his career and was the recipient of several awards and honorary degrees. His setting of this chorale makes use of a single 4’ flute in the manuals playing florid counterpoint over the chorale tune played in the pedal on a 4’ principal. The much fuller setting by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706). Pachelbel is one of the most influential Baroque composers of the South German school. Although primarily known at this point for his Canon in D, he is the composer of a great deal of music, much of it composed for the church. Almost half of Pachelbel's existing organ music is chorale based. These chorales were primarily composed during his time as organist in Erfurt where it was expected that he would continue to develop as a composer and demonstrated this by composing chorale preludes as well as one large chorale work each year that would demonstrate personal growth. This setting makes use of several of the composer’s characteristic patterns and motives giving plenty of shine to the “Morning Star.”