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 20th
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.
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