October 27, 2013 - Proper 25

Vater unser im Himmelreich - Samuel Scheidt
The Pharisee and the Publican - Heinrich Schutz
Memorial: "Kyrie" - Rene Clausen
Baroques: "Voluntary" - Seth Bingham

Hymns: #656 Franconia, #507 Julion,
              #679 Thomas Merton

The music this week is German and American with the Baroque period being well represented. The prelude and communion anthem are by two giants of the pre-Bach era in Germany, the postlude pays homage to E. Power Biggs and the organ reform movement and the communion anthem is a lush and haunting piece by a contemporary American composer.

The prelude is Samuel Scheidt’s (1587-1654) setting of Martin Luther’s Vater unser im Himmelreich. Samuel Scheidt was born in Halle (also the birth place of Handel) and studied in Amsterdam with the great Sweelinck. Scheidt brought much of what he learned of the style of the Netherlands to his appointment as Kappellmeister to the Margrave of Brandenburg. When the Thirty Years War broke out Scheidt was permitted to retain his employment – with no pay. In 1628 he was appointed Music Director of three churches in Halle which he served for ten years until his position as Kappellmeister was reinstated. This was after a bit of personal tragedy, when the plague of 1636 hit Germany his four children all died. This blow did not prevent him from becoming the first internationally successful organ composer of the North German School. His setting of the Lutheran version of the Lord’s Prayer is rather austere to today’s audience but is filled with delicate imitation as the piece’s rhythmic intensity waxes and wanes. The tension is also evident with a masterful use of push and pull through consonance and dissonance. This is clearly a prayer through the pen of someone who has known both sorrow and joy.

The communion anthem is also a prayer of sorts. Kyrie from René Clausen’s (b. 1953) Memorial is a haunting cry to God from a battered and broken people. This 2003 commission from the American Choral Director’s Association was written in response to the tragedy of September 11, 2003. The piece by Concordia professor, Clausen is difficult if not even painful to listen to, especially accompanied by the video footage from that day. This setting of the traditional mass text also contains echoes of the English translation “Lord have mercy” and the Hebrew name for God, “Adonai.” This setting with its lush harmonies and overlapping takes on penitence is a powerful statement even when separated from the rest of the work. As with the prelude, it is clear that the composer understood tragedy and wished to incorporate that into the piece. The major sevenths that are sung on the text “Adonai” remind me of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and I can’t help but to think that Clausen had this somewhere in his ear as he was writing the piece. Its complex thickly textured sound is a fitting outcry of a bereft nation.

The gradual anthem is a The Pharisee and the Publican, a setting of Luke 18 by the German composer, Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672). This piece tells the story of a Pharisee who loudly proclaims his “prayer” in public, extolling the fact that he is not a sinner like other men – especially not like the publican while the publican (tax collector) simply asks for mercy. These two individuals are portrayed as solos, the Pharisee, a bass and the publican, a tenor. The story of these two souls is introduced by the ladies of the choir, and all join after the duet to tell the lesson of the story: “He that exalts himself shall be humbled and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.” Schutz and Scheidt were contemporaries but took rather different paths. Schutz studied with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice and brought the Italian style of composition back to the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden where he spent the rest of his career and most of his life. Unlike Scheidt his position was unaffected by the Thirty Years War, he left for Venice and met Monteverdi while the war was going on and returned when it had ended. This piece, like the previous two is about prayer, pleading because the publican feels unworthy, a sentiment that I’m sure resonates with all of us.

Seth Bingham (1882-1972) is a composer that is little known to us today outside of his organ compositions and many of those are relegated to obscurity. Bingham studied at Yale and then in Paris with Widor, d’Indy, and Guilmant. He went on to a career as a church musician and professor teaching at Columbia, Yale, and Union Seminary while playing at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.  Baroques is a five movement suite dedicated to the organist E. Power Biggs and reflects his position in the organ reform movement. This was a movement that departed from the decadence of the American symphonic organs and returned to the more austere traditions of the Baroque period which is reflected in the piece. This movement, Voluntary is in the style of the English voluntaries of John Stanley but uses Bingham’s harmonic language. Strong, stately sections are contrasted with lighter fugal interjections. The piece builds to a rousing finish.

The first three pieces primarily reflect an attitude of prayer while the finale is offered up in thankful praise, possibly for a prayer answered, I like to think so.

October 20,2013 - Proper 24

Auf Meinen lieben Gott - Dietrich Buxtehude
Coronation Anthem No. 2: "Let Justice and Judgment"
                                                                        - G. F. Handel
I to the Hills Lift Up Mine Eyes - Jean Berger

Hymns: #372 Leoni, #586 Pleading Savior, #797 It's Me

This week’s music comes from the pens of three German composers. Two of the pieces are seldom heard gems of the Baroque period and the third is a lovely choral psalm setting. These three pieces come together to give the service a gentle and almost melancholy attitude of prayer.

The gradual anthem is the middle portion of G.F. Handel’s (1685-1759) Coronation Anthem Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened. The second (or third depending on the numbering system you use) anthem of four was written for the coronation of King George II in 1727. One of the final acts of King George I was to declare Handel, who was of German birth, a British citizen. The anthem, in three parts, takes its text from Psalm 89 and was set for the 1685 coronation of James II by John Blow. This section speaks of justice and judgment surrounding the King and mercy going before him. The somewhat antiquated (even in Handel’s day) feel of this lilting anthem complements the triumphal opening and the closing “Alleluia.” The performance of this was a huge musical event that included 47 singers and 160 musicians.

The prelude is a setting of Auf meinen lieben Gott by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) which is a dance suite for manuals only, probably intended to be used at home on harpsichord or chamber organ rather than in the context of a worship service. The chorale is set in the dance forms of the day, single and double allemande, sarabande, courante and gigue. Buxtehude draws on both the Italian and French style of writing for these intimate pieces. The text translates as “In my beloved God I trust in anxiety and trouble” a fitting text to complement Handel’s Let Justice and Judgment and, coincidentally the two pieces are in the same meter and key. Another interesting tidbit that, I must confess was in the back of mind is that Handel applied met Buxtehude toward the end of his life and was offered the position of organist at the Marienkirche in Lubeck but turned it down because one of the stipulations was that he would have to marry Buxtehude’s oldest daughter who was, apparently not much of a catch. This setting allows the organist to show off some of the quieter combinations of the organ. It helps to create an atmosphere of prayer in the quiet time before the service starts.

The communion anthem was written by Jean Berger (1909-2002) a German born composer that immigrated to France during the Nazi occupation of Germany and in 1948 to the US as he began his career in academia. This modal setting of Psalm 121 begins with a chant like melody that starts with the sopranos and adds the altos on a beautiful descending line before moving to a homophonic section filled with unsettled seventh chords that never seem to resolve. Berger’s setting uses the text from the Bay Psalm Book rather than the Book of Common Prayer which gives the piece a slightly more old-fashioned feel to the text. Again, this piece is a very calm, very intimate feeling setting of a much beloved psalm of comfort that reminds us of where we should turn for help, a sentiment that likely rang true with the Jewish Berger in occupied Germany.

The music this week is all very calm, very melancholy. It captures the nature of the penitent heart and draws on the attributes of God for comfort. It uses a harmonic language that reminds us of the human suffering from which these emotions are sometimes born but not great tragedies, more day to day sadness. These are pieces for a day when things are just not what you hoped for, not where you wanted to be. They act as words of encouragement.

October 13, 2013 - Proper 23

Lobe den Herren - Jan Bender
Elijah: "Thanks Be To God" - Felix Mendelssohn
Ego sum panis vivus - William Byrd
Cantabile Symphonique
                                   - Camille Saint-Saens/arr. Virgil Fox

Hymns: #390 Lobe den Herren, #1 Christe Sanctorum,
              # 571 Charlestown

This week’s music is really a hodgepodge of different styles and traditions ranging from an English Renaissance motet to a 20^th Century German chorale prelude with a chorus from an English oratorio written by a German composer to bridge the gap. And, if that weren’t enough variety an orchestral transcription by an American organist of a French Romantic symphonic piece. These pieces all showcase different qualities of music, from the power and majesty of Mendelssohn’s Part 1 Finale to Elijah and Bender’s setting of Lobe den Herren to the quiet reflection of Byrd’s communion motet Ego sum Panis Vivus and the beautiful colors and expressive lines of Fox’s transcription of the second movement of Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3.

The prelude leads directly into the opening hymn Lobe den Herren in a setting by the German (but Holland born) Jan Bender (1909-1994). Bender was first drawn to music upon hearing the organ in the Marienkirche in Lübeck. The sermon was delivered in German but he had only a limited knowledge of the language having just moved to Germany from Holland as a 13 year old boy. He became acquainted with the old organist and would sit in the high balcony and tell him when the sermon was done and it was time to play. He studied with Karl Straube and Hugo Distler (he was Distler’s only student). In 1934 he was appointed organist at St. Gertrudikirchie in Lubeck. In 1937 the rise of National Socialism had reached the church and when the Deutsche Christen pastor unexpectedly substituted for the other two clergy Bender refused to play the service. The previous organist came in to play the service and blew a fuse turning on the organ. He accused Bender of sabotage and Bender was arrested and interred at Sachsenhausen for four months.  In 1939 Bender served in the German army but was discharged in 1941 because of an injury, he lost his left eye to shrapnel from a Russian grenade. In 1944 he was called back to active duty and was captured two months into his service and held in a POW camp in France. It was here that he composed Opus 1, a setting of 122 SA and SAB chorales and Opus 2, a setting of 90 organ chorale preludes. Bender went on to hold several positions as organist and choirmaster and in 1959 was appointed Professor at Concordia Teachers College in Seward, Nebraska. This began his career in academia which continued until 1982. Bender published the last of his more than 2,500 compositions in 1989 and died at home in 1994 after suffering a mild stroke.  His style is part of the organ reform school and clearly shows the influence of Distler and Hindemith with compositions in familiar forms talking on a much freer rhythmic approach and more adventurous harmonic language.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was born 100 years to the day before Jan Bender in Hamburg, Germany. The son of a wealthy banker and grandson of a Jewish rabbi and philosopher, Mendelssohn was afforded many opportunities because of this cultured upbringing. In an effort to be more socially accepted Mendelssohn’s family converted from Judaism to the Lutheran church and added Bartholdy to their name. The family moved to Berlin where he received violin and piano lessons, painting lessons, and foreign language instruction. In 1846 Mendelssohn wrote Elijah for the Birmingham Festival. It presents scenes from the life of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah. Thanks Be To God is the final chorus in Part 1 of the two part oratorio. The oratorio opens with Elijah’s declaration that “As God the Lord of Israel liveth, before whom I stand: There shall not be dew nor rain these years.”  This is by two scenes where God demonstrates his power, the first by raising a widow’s son from the dead and the second by raining down fire from heaven and setting the altar of Elijah ablaze. The people kill the false prophets of Baal and Elijah prays for God to send water. This is the people’s response to answered prayer.

Ego sum panis vivus is a setting of John 6:48-51 for the feast of Corpus Christi. This motet by William Byrd (1543-1623) is a setting of the verse 51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shall live forever. Alleluia” William Byrd is considered by many to be the greatest English composer ever. This motet was published in 1607 as part of the Gradualia II and was dedicated to Byrd’s patron John, Lord Petre of Writtle. Byrd was educated by the great choral composer Thomas Tallis. The two were granted a monopoly on print music by Elizabeth I. He began his career as an organist in London but in 1577 moved to Harlington. As a devout Catholic, Byrd preferred to be a bit further away from the government that persecuted many of his Catholic brethren. Byrd’s compositional style has two very separate styles. The music that he composed for the Catholic mass is highly polyphonic and very complex where as the Anglican anthems focus on the text and are simpler having a more homophonic texture.

For the postlude I wanted something that would complement the soft nature of the Byrd motet and would contrast with the bombastic prelude and jubilant chorus from Elijah so I decided on Virgil Fox’s transcription of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3: Movement 2. This transcription by the flashy Virgil Fox shows the variety of colors that the organ offers at the player’s fingertips. The piece starts out being about color and half way through begins to grow to a strong peak before tapering back down to a good deal of color registrations again. This is the second movement of the symphony which is affectionately known as the “Organ Symphony.” Fox (1912-1980) made his career as a concert organist. Among his teachers were William Middleschulte, and Marcel Dupre. His flamboyant style on and off the stage garnered him much fame but it was fame that was easily backed up by his immense talent. This piece starts as a soft meditation to end the service and builds into a piece which is still calm while also being incredibly powerful. The music then fades back into nothingness.

October 6, 2013 - Proper22

An Wasserflussen Babylon - Johann Pachelbel
Draw Us In the Spirit's Tethers - Harold W. Friedell
Biblical Songs: By the Babylonian Waters
                                                            - Antonin Dvorak
Toccata and Fugue in d minor BWV 565: Fugue
                                                             - J.S. Bach

Hymns: #11 Morning Hymn, #704 Hereford,
              #535 Paderborn

This week’s music is varied but does all hold together. Two of the pieces are based on the psalm and other two are centered around the music program at St. Bartholomew’s in New York City.

The prelude is a setting of the Lutheran chorale tune An Wasserflüssen Babylon by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706). Pachelbel, best known for his “Canon in D” made his career as a composer, organist, and teacher who developed the South German style of organ playing and made the chorale prelude into the type of piece that we know today. Pachelbel spent his relatively short life as a church musician and composer writing numerous cantatas, solo organ works and orchestral pieces. As is characteristic of much of Pachelbel’s writing, the theme or chorale tune was presented in its original form and then varied in a contrapuntal style. The piece is not terribly adventurous but shows Pachelbel’s expert contrapuntal writing style and understanding of organ music that was written at the time.

The communion anthem is also based on the psalm for the day. Antonin Dvorak’s (1841-1941) Op. 99 Biblical Songs were written in 1894, just as the composer found out about the death of the conductor Hans von Bulow. Dvorak turned to the Psalms for comfort and wrote a collection of ten songs on psalm texts, the seventh of which is presented today. The whole set was written in only 21 days. This piece features a late but rather stark mezzo-soprano solo over a bouncy accompaniment. Today it will be presented in Czech, since we will have already sung the Psalm in English.

The gradual anthem is Harold W. Friedell’s(1905-1958) classic “Draw Us In the Sprit’s Tethers. Friedell began his career at Calvary Church NYC in 1928 and in 1931 left that job for a position at St. John’s in New Jersey. He returned to Calvary in 1931 and in 1945 began teaching at Union Theological Seminary as well. In 1946 he took over for his teacher David McK. Williams at St. Bartholomew’s. He strove to increase the credibility of the music program that had been set up by Williams but fallen into disrepair because of his sudden “dismissal.” Draw Us In the Spirit’s Tethers is a hymn anthem that was written during Friedell’s time  at Calvary as an orison (prayer). This simple piece opens with the ladies of the choir singing the hymn tune in unison followed by an a cappella verse and finally an accompanied verse with the organ providing colorful chords underneath a strong restatement of the hymn tune.

The postlude has little to do with anything but is in fact connected (in my own mind at least.) One of the former music directors at St. Bartholomew’s was the great conductor Leopold Stowkowski(1882-1977). From 1905-1908 he served as the organist and choirmaster at the church which Friedell would later serve at. Stowkowski went on to become one of the most well-known conductors in the world. His life long association with the Cincinnati Orchestra and later the Philadelphia Orchestra made him one of the most prominent American composers of his day. Among his contributions to orchestral music were his arrangements of the organ works of J. S. Bach (1685-1750.) One such arrangement was featured in the  1939 Walt Disney film Fantasia. His arrangement of the Toccata and Fugue in d minor BWV 565 has made it one of the most recognizable pieces of organ literature in the canon.  The word “toccata” (from the Italian toccare, to touch) is a piece written to try out a new organ. This composition is perhaps the best known organ composition ever written by one of the greatest organ composers. The improvisatory style of the toccata with its dramatic flourishes gives way to a stricter fugue that then erupts into another free toccata bringing the piece to a strong finish. Most importantly, it’s just a lot of fun to play.