February 1, 2015 - Epiphany 4

Schmucke dich o liebe Seele - J.G. Walther

Messiah: "The Lord Gave the Word" - G.F. Handel

This Sanctuary of My Soul - Charles Wood

Hymns: #533 Lyons, #339 Schmucke dich, 

              #530 Gott Sei Dank

The music this week is German and English with Handel’s Messiah bridging the cultural gap. Two of the three hymns are of German origin and the prelude and postlude are settings of the German chorale tune Schmucke Dich which is the offertory hymn. The anthems are The Lord Gave the Word written by the German born but England influenced Handel; the communion anthem is by the British composer Charles Wood.

Schmucke dich o liebe Seele is a German chorale tune written by Johann Crüger ( 1598-1662). Cruger was one of the most important composers of his time. More than twenty of his grand and stately hymn tunes remain in use. This set of three variations by the German Baroque composer, Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) exploits the delicate nature of the text as well as the grandeur of the tune. The first two variations are for manuals only. They sparkle with fluid running sixteenth notes. The third variation places the tune in the left hand with florid accompaniment in the right hand and scales in the pedal.

The gradual anthem was written by G.F. Handel (1685-1759) as part of his monumental oratorio on the life of Christ, Messiah. This chorus is from Part II of the oratorio. It is sandwiched between two arias in a section that deals with the dissemination of the gospel. The piece alternates between a declamatory unison melody which the men start the chorus with (it is later taken up by the women) and a light melismatic section that spreads out from the unison the way that the gospel was spread. The rapid but gradual movements suggest the energy with which the “company of the preachers” went out to spread the gospel. Although this piece is short, it paints an excellent image of the text that Handel is illustrating.

The communion anthem is a setting of a poem by Charles Hamilton Sorley (1895-1915) a Scottish born poet that was considered to be one of the most important poets of his time, and the greatest loss of all poets during World War I. The text for This Sanctuary of My Soul is taken from the last two stanzas of his poem Expectans Expectavi. This anthem by 

Charles Wood (1866-1926) shows the marked difference in compositional styles from the Victorian era composers to Wood and his contemporaries. Wood was a student of C.V. Stanford and C.H.H. Parry and passed his compositional knowledge on to his students Ralph Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells.  This anthem incorporates quickly changing dynamics that illustrate all the ways that we can open ourselves to God be it through meditation and prayer or acts of sacrifice large or small. This is to be sung by those that are truly open to God’s will and are ready for all that this may mean. It’s particularly poignant when the poet’s sacrifice is considered. He died in combat in World War I.

January 25, 2015 - Epiphany 3

Toccata - Girolamo Frescobaldi

Sing to the Lord a New Song - Theron Kirk

Jesu, dulcis memoria - Tomas Luis de Vittoria

Hymns:#408 Mit Freuden Zart, #549 St. Andrew

             #569 St. Helena

The music this week is very two very old pieces and one less old piece about a new song. Even the piece with about a new song comes from ancient ideas and ancient texts. One of the refreshing things about our faith is the juxtaposition of ancient ideas with the sensibilities of today. Sometimes it works easily and sometimes it is a stretch but this is what our worship is about. Seeing how the ancient and mystical is still relevant today.

The gradual anthem is a setting of several psalms. Sing to the Lord a New Song was written by the American composer Theron Kirk (1919-1999). Kirk studied at Baylor, Roosevelt, and Eastman. He taught at San Antonio College from 1955-1986. After retirement he became a museum docent and became heavily involved with the San Antonio Museum of Art. He also served as president of the ACDA. This anthem in a fast three begins with the ladies and the men echo before all joining in together. The harmonies in this piece are very interesting for what opens with such a simple straight-forward theme.  Truly a new song.

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) is one of the most important keyboard composers of the late Renaissance. He was the organist of St. Peter’s Basilica from 1608-1628 and 1634-1643. His elevation toccatas were interesting commentary on the principle of transubstantiation. The pieces seem simple but are complicated in their harmonies. The tension and resolution which can also be seen in the Vittoria show the anguish that Christ went through in order to save our souls.

Jesu, dulcis Memoria is a text written by St. Bernard of Clairvaux and has between 42 and 53 stanzas. It is used for the Liturgy of the hours of the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus for Vespers and inspired many composers including J.S. Bach whose composition Jesu, Joy of Men’s Desiring is one of the most frequently used pieces of wedding music around the world. This setting was written by Tomás Luis de Vittoria (1548-1611) one of the most important composers of the Counter-Reformation. In 1565 he went to Rome where he may have studied with Palestrina. In 1571 he became a teacher at German college.  In 1574 he was ordained as a priest and in 1587 he returned to Spain. He served as a chaplain to the Empress of for seventeen years. This piece uses a great deal of suspension to create tension with the text “to fill our hearts.” The piece is a simple representation of this text and gives the singers a chance to sing a lovely unadorned version of the text that allows the intent of the text to shine forth. 

The music all supports the theme of the service this week, that which is old is made new. This is the week of the annual meeting which draws into question everything that is happening in the church but also draws in all that is happening in the world. The juxtaposition of ancient and modern texts leaves a greater sense of weight and meaning to the lessons for the day. It reminds us that we are not all that different from our ancestors but reminds us that we can learn much from them. 

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.”

January 11, 2015 - Epiphany 1

Divinum Mysterium - Richard Purvis

Of the Father's Love Begotten - Wilbur Chenoweth

My Dancing Day - arr. Robert Shaw and Alice Parker

Lasst uns Erfreuen - Flor Peeters

Hymns: #398 Forest Green, #400 Lasst uns erfreuen, 

              #Caithness

The music this week is centered around old melodies, old texts, and old ideas. The prelude and gradual anthem are both settings of the hymn Of the Father’s Love Begotten, a combination of an ancient Latin poem and a 10^th century Sanctus trope. The communion anthem is an arrangement of the first four verses of My Dancing Day by the renowned arranging team of Robert Shaw and Alice Parker and the postlude is a setting of the 17^th century hymn tune Lasst uns erfreuen.

Of the Father’s Love Begotten is a setting of the 10^th century plainchant “Divinum Mysterium” which first appeared paired with “Corde natus” a portion of the Liber Cathemerinon by Aurelius Prudentius (348-413) in 1582 in the Finnish Piae Cantiones. The setting by Nebraska born composer and teacher Wilbur Chenoweth (1899-1980) makes use of the traditional tune along with an original countermelody introduced in the third verse by the sopranos. Chenoweth attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and taught there from 1925-1938. He then moved to California where he taught at Occidental College. This anthem switches back and forth between accompanied and a cappella allowing the freedom to take more time here and there for textual emphasis. The anthem builds to a unison doxology for the final verse which grows into a series of alleluias and amens.

The prelude is also a setting of Divinum Mysterium by Richard Purvis (1913-1994)an American born composer, organist, conductor and teacher remembered primarily for his recordings of great organ works and his impressive improvisations at a time when his Romantic style was largely falling out of favor.  Purvis was born in San Francisco and educated at the Curtis Institute. He also studied with Marcel Dupre and Edward Bairstow. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private and was assigned as bandmaster. Surprisingly, he continued composing and wrote some of his best known pieces in a foxhole. He was captured in the Battle of the Bulge. Purvis was freed after six weeks but suffered such extreme treatment that he needed to have physical therapy before returning to work. He was appointed as organist at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and served from 1947-1971. This arrangement is typical of his playing style with interesting solo colors and clever variances in the tune that allow for key changes, a change from major to minor and even incorporating a line of “Adeste Fidelis.”

The communion anthem is one of the many a cappella Christmas carols arranged by Robert Shaw (1916-1999) and Alice Parker (b. 1925) of My Dancing Day. This traditional English carol tells the story of the life of Christ in eleven verses. The story of Christ is told using Christ’s own voice and uses dance as a metaphor for life. It is thought that the text may date back to the 14^th century. Its meter suggests that it would fall into the category of “crèche dance.” There are various theories as to the line in verse one “to see the legend of my play.” Many believe that this carol, like Coventry Carol originated as part of a mystery play.  This setting only uses the first four verses of the poem stopping before the verses about the death and resurrection. The piece is Christ’s invitation to his love the church to join him in the dance of life.

The postlude is a setting of Lasst uns erfreuen by the Belgian composer Flor Peeters (1903-1986) a significant figure in church music in the 20th century. His compositional oeuvre was not limited to liturgical compositions but it was through the music of the church and for his own instrument, the organ, that he made his most important contributions. Peeters was educated at the Lemmens institute in Belgium and at the age of 20 became the youngest student to receive the Prix Lemmens-Tinel, the school’s highest honor. This setting is a fantasy. It opens with a pedal solo and then erupts in a toccata like flurry of sixteenth notes that is reminiscent of the North German fantasies of Buxtehude.  Peeters then alternates between the bright plenum sound and the fiery reeds of the swell division before combining them leading to a triumphal ending.

These pieces all have simple stepwise melodies that are governed by the text they set. These pieces tell stories and illustrate mysteries as old as the Christian faith. The techniques used by these 20^th century composers are faithful to the style and character of the music and the text. The composers are interpreting the text rather than reimagining it as a new piece. These pieces are so great because of the respect the composers had for their source material.