- Olivier Messiaen
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem - R. Fisher Boyce
The Three Kings - arr. Patrick Forbes
Wie Schon Leuchtet - Dietrich Buxtehude
Hymns: #124 Puer Nobis, #128 Three Kings,
#497 Wie Schon Leuchtet
This week’s music centers on the celebration of Epiphany. The familiar elements of the star and the Magi combine to complete the story of the Birth of Christ. The music stretches across time and traditions capturing a variety of different styles. In subsequent weeks we will be singing more Gospel music and spirituals. This is a style of music that is a bit more expressive in an overt way as opposed to the more reserved music which lies ahead with the arrival of Lent. The season of Epiphany is a time to celebrate the light triumphing over darkness and the joy that results.
The prelude is taken from La Nativité du Seigneur (The
Birth of the Lord) by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992). Messiaen was the son of
an English Literature scholar and a poet. He began composing at the age of
seven and taught himself the piano. After World War I ended his family moved to
Paris where he enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire to study organ and
composition. In 1929 Messiaen was deputized as the assistant organist at Sainte
Trinite and in 1931 took over as titular organist when Charles Quef died.
Messiaen’s life was again affected by war. At the outbreak of World War II
Messiaen was enlisted as a medical auxillary and in 1940 was captured and
imprisoned. During his year at Görlitz he composed the 20th century
masterpiece Quatuor pour la fin du temps
("Quartet for the End of Time”). Upon his release he was appointed
Professor of Harmony at the Paris Conservatoire. One of Messiaen’s other
interests was birdsong. He was known for carrying around a notebook in which he
would notate the songs of various birds. He would make hundreds of notations
for each bird and then combine and create an amalgamation of the various bird
calls to create a “typical” call.
Dessieins Éternels (Eternal Purposes) is the third movement of nine
from his suite on the Birth of Christ. Each movement bears a line of text from
scripture and makes use of the composer’s “Modes of limited transposition”
which are scales that the composer devised and used which can only be
transposed a limited number of times before repeating (unlike a major or minor
scale which can start on all twelve notes.) This movement bears the text of
Ephesians 1:5-6, “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious
grace.” This piece is marked “extremely slow and tender” with a winding solo
line played above a mysterious sustained accompaniment.
The gradual anthem is taken from the Southern Gospel
tradition. It is one of the few (and perhaps the only) traditional Southern
Gospel Christmas carols. It was written by R. Fisher Boyce (1887-1968), a
Tennessee farmer. From an early age Boyce was interested in music. He sang in a
quartet and later went on to teach “singing school.” His first song Safe In His Love was published in a 1911
hymnal and Boyce went on to write more songs in this style – never receiving
royalties for them because the copyrights were held by the publishing company
not the composer. Beautiful Star first
appeared in the shape-note hymnal “Beautiful Praise” and later was reprinted in
the “James D. Vaughan Radio Favorites” a greatest hits collection of the day.
The song went on to be recorded by many country and gospel artists including
the Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris, the Judds, and even the group Chanticleer.
The text starts with the guiding star in the manger, the second verse brings
the star to the present as a guide for pilgrims and the last brings us to the
land of rest and depicts Christ (the Light of the World) as the Star.
The communion anthem is a setting of a traditional Catalan
carol. This arrangement in three verses begins and ends in a simple four part
texture. The second verse acts as a B section with the melody passed between
tenor and soprano. As with the Gradual anthem, the piece is a progression. The
first verse uses the metaphor of the rose, the second describes the scene at
the nativity and the last instructs us to bring our gift to the manger.
The postlude comes out of the final hymn Wie Schön Leuchtet. This excerpt from
the chorale partita by Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637-1707) develops the chorale
tune into a gigue like dance. This final portion of the piece again has the
organist jumping from one keyboard to the other and for the final portion I
thought it would be fun to use the Zimbelstern, or “cymbal star” a set of bells
that on some organs are mounted on a revolving wooden or metal star. The
setting as a whole is a great piece. The tune is passed throughout the range of
the organ with opportunity to exploit many colorful registrations.
This week’s Epiphany offerings go from France to the
American South, to the Catalan region of Spain and finally back in time to
North Germany. The topics range from Kings to stars and progress from the story
of the manger to its relevance in our daily lives. May you find the meaning and
relevance for Epiphany in your daily life.
No comments:
Post a Comment