- John McCreary
Wake, Awake, For Night is Flying - Dale Wood
A Spotless Rose - Herbert Howells
Hymns: #59 Merton, #721 Ton-y-Botel, #66 Stuttgart
For the season of Advent we are examining the similarities
between the ancient and the modern. Much of the music over the next month has
been written within the last hundred years (with the exception of two Baroque
gems). This music is contrasted with the ancient tunes and texts that many of
the pieces draw their thematic material from. All three of the pieces for this
week were written in the last century but have texts and tunes that predate
these arrangements by hundreds of years.
The prelude and postlude are taken from Canonic Variations on “Divinum Mysterium” by John McCreary. John
McCreary was a student of Marilyn Mason, this piece is part of the “Marilyn
Mason Music Library,” a collection of works commissioned by Mason who is a
tireless advocate of contemporary music. McCreary is Organist Emeritus of St.
Andrew’s Cathedral in Honolulu, Hawaii. McCreary is known for his great sense
of humor, another of his compositions is a piece for organ, orchestra, and
chorus called Variations on Rubber Ducky.
This set of variations is an arrangement of the tune Divinum Mysterium which was first published in the 1582 collection
of Latin Songs Piae Cantiones. This
piece is usually paired with the text, Of
the Father’s Love Begotten, attributed to the 5th century poet Marcus
Aurelius Clemens Purdentius. This prelude consists of the second and fourth
variations. The second is a canon at the sixth between the right hand (played
on an 8’ reed) and the pedal (played on an 8’ flue). This is accompanied by
swirling triplets on the celeste stops (sets of pipes tuned slightly sharp so
as to cause a shimmering effect when combined with other stops tuned at pitch.)
The fourth variation again uses the celestes for accompaniment but places the
melody on a solo 4’ flute in the pedal. The canon is less clear in this
variation, it only hints at slight imitation rather than a true canon. The
postlude is a romping toccata with the canon between the top voice in the right
hand and the pedal played on full organ.
The gradual anthem is a setting of Philipp Nicolai’s (1556-1608)
text Wake, Awake, For Night is Flying.
This anthem was written by Dale Wood (1934-2003). Wood was one of the most
influential organists and composers of the last century. His hymn tunes appear
in dozens of hymnals and his music has been performed in over 60 countries.
This anthem for trumpets, organ and choir (today the trumpet part will be
played on the organ). The text is taken from the opening lines of each of the
three verses of this apocalyptic chorale tune. The piece opens with the
trumpets and choir alternating with forceful fanfare. The second verse
diminishes to a seven part a cappella choral section on the gentler text
imploring the Son of God to come. For the last verse, the trumpets return and
are joined by strong unison singing in the choir.
The communion anthem is Herbert Howell’s A Spotless Rose. Herbert Howells is
primarily remembered for his large output of Anglican Church Music. His life
was marked by many challenges and tragedies including a diagnosis of Graves
disease while studying at the Royal College of Music and the death of his
nine-year-old son Michael from polio. This latter event colored most of
Howell’s writing including his Hymnus Paradisi for the 1949 Three Choirs
Festival, and his motet Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing, commissioned for the
memorial service of John F. Kennedy. This
setting of the traditional German text Es
ist ein ros is more commonly translated as Lo How a Rose. This setting by Howells for choir with baritone
soloist is a mood piece. Like so much of Howell’s music it creates an effect
with lines that easily fit in a number of chords making the piece harmonically
ambiguous. The anthem has a lovely calming effect and is ideal for making us
stop, listen, and breathe.
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