April 19, 2015 - Easter 3

Hear My Prayer - Felix Mendelssohn

Hymns: #174 Salzburg, #82 Divinum Mysterium, 

              #212 Richmond

The anthem this week is one of Felix Mendelssohn’s best known English choral works after Elijah. Hear My Prayer is a cantata for soprano, mixed choir and organ or orchestra written in 1844.The text was written by William Bartholomew (1793-1867) (who also collaborated with Mendelssohn on Elijah) an English librettist, composer and writer that made a living as a chemist. The work was premiered by Ann Mounsey, Bartholomew’s wife. The work has enjoyed a great deal of popularity because of a very successful 1927 recording by boy soprano Ernest Lough . The cantata is in two parts. The first is a recitative-esque call and response section. The second part is a lovely lyric aria filled with rolling triplets that evokes the gentle “wings of the dove” which also points toward the coming day of Pentecost.

April 12, 2015 - Easter 2

Duetto III - J.S Bach

b minor Mass: "Christe Eleison" - J.S. Bach

Messe Solennells: "Sanctus" - Charles Gounod

Grand Triumphal Chorus in A - Alexandre Guilmant 

Hymns: #210 Ellacombe, #193 Puer Nobis, 
              #209 St. Botolph

This week the music is two Bach duets and two French Romantic pieces. Both of the Bach duets are incredibly melismatic with imitation and interesting harmonic progressions. Gounod and Guilmant were both Catholic French Romantic organists skilled at improvisation. Both of these pieces are on the simpler side and geared more towards the smaller parish and the musicians that can’t improvise or didn’t write their own music for their programs.

The gradual anthem and prelude are two duets by J.S. Bach. The prelude is one of four duets from the Clavierubung III, Bach’s “Organ Mass.”  The prelude consists primarily of broken chords which makes it reminiscent of the trio sonatas and the third Brandenburg Concerto.  The gradual anthem is the “Christe Eleison” from the b Minor Mass for two sopranos. The piece is so interesting in the way that it works through harmonic progressions that are completely removed from the key that they appear to be in. This duet is very tender and beautiful piece that shows the intimate nature of the “God the son” personage of the Trinity.

The postlude is Guilmant’s “Grand Triumphal Chorus in A” from the “Practical Organist” a collection designed to teach organist not particularly inclined toward improvisation. These pieces and (overall) fairly simple pieces are in various different styles that illustrate the various portions of the Catholic Mass. The march acts as a pseudo trumpet tune that functions as a Rondo form march with the theme played on solo trumpet.

The communion anthem and postlude were written by the French composer Charles Gounod. Gounod is perhaps best known for his setting of the Ave Maria which uses the Bach C Major prelude from the Well Tempered Clavier as accompaniment. This music was introduced to him by Felix’s sister Fanny. Gounod’s music is often seen as less serious in nature than that of his contemporaries but some of that could be due to the popularity of it. Most of us recognize his Funeral March of the Marionette as the theme song of the Alfred Hitchcock Show. The anthem is taken from the Messe Solennelle for SATTBB choir and STB soli. The Sanctus alternates between a solo tenor aria and the full choir. The B section stacks dissonant parts and obscures the key before leading to a restatement of the theme, this time by the full choir. 

April 5, 2015 - Easter Sunday

Sing Ye to the Lord - Edward Bairstow

I Have Seen the Lord - Alan Hovhaness

Hymns: #207 Easter Hymn, #205 Gelobt sei Gott, 

              #199 St. Kevin

The anthems this week are both very personal statements of faith. The first is Edward C. Bairstow’s setting of Miriam’s song, Sing Ye To the Lord and the communion anthem I Have Seen the Lord by Alan Hovhaness an account of the events at the tomb after the resurrection of Christ.  Both of these detail very base very genuine accounts of the joy of Easter day.

The gradual anthem was written by the English organist Edward C. Bairstow (1874-1946). Bairstow served as the organist at York Minster from 1913 until his death. He was known for being a rather terse and blunt individual (perhaps a reason I find him appealing.)Most of Bairstow’s compositions are for the church. Having composed nearly 30 anthems for the Anglican Church he is enjoyed a successful career. The piece goes back and forth between a strong declamatory section and some slightly more meditative sections. The piece is announced with trumpets before the choir’s first entrance. The meter changes to a flowing section in three that is still full lauding the “Mighty Victim from the sky.” The dynamics drop to pianissimo with a sequence that rises in dynamics and pitches at the idea that Christ has opened Paradise and the Saints shall rise. The triple meter theme returns in unison and builds to a return of the opening fanfare for a final “Alleluia, Amen.”

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) was born in Somerville, Massachusetts. His father was an Armenian chemistry professor at Tufts College. His love of music began at an early age. He started piano lessons at age 7 and decided on a career in music by age 14. He studied at Tufts College and later at the New England Conservatory. He was greatly influenced by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius whom he visited in 1935. Later in his career he experienced some artistic disappointments which lead him to embrace the Armenian heritage his mother had tried to minimize. Over the course of his career he composed more than 500 pieces in various styles and mediums. I Have Seen the Lord is an Easter anthem for Soprano solo, mixed voices, Organ, and trumpet written in 1964. The anthem depicts the events in the garden on Easter morning. It opens with a trumpet solo which evokes images of the sun rising. The soprano soloist sings as both the angel and Mary while the choir acts as narrator. The trumpet returns this time without the organ underneath leading to the ending in 7/8 singing in the mode which the trumpet introduced during the interlude. In the final five measures the trumpet, choir and organ all join for a triumphal conclusion.

These two pieces speak in a vastly different musical language but both capture the joy and hope of the resurrection while not overlooking the mystery of the whole event. Both deal with the mystical images in the musical language (Hovhannes) and the text (Bairstow). The majesty and mystery of the day are captured in these two anthems.

March 29, 2015 - Palm/Passion Sunday

Valet will ich der geben - J.S. Bach

The Crucifixion - John Stainer

Saw Ye My Savior? - David N. Johnson

Hymns: #154 Valet will ich der geben, #147 Bourbon,

              #160 Cross of Jesus

The music this week is geared toward the life of the simple parish church. John Stainer’s The Crucifixion and David N. Johnson’s Saw ye My Savior are both examples of well written but very simple music that is easy to sing but also has a message that’s easily relatable. The prelude is a setting of Valet will ich der geben by J.S. Bach. This tune was combined with the text All Glory, Laud, and Honor, a nearly required hymn of the Palm/Passion Sunday literature.

Sir John Stainer’s  cantata was written in 1887 and dedicated to his assistant organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral, William Hodge. The work received its first performance at the Marylebone Parish Church with Stainer conducting and Hodge (who served as organist and choirmaster at this church) at the organ.  The libretto was written by Rev. William Sparrow Simpson and draws on all four gospels for the recitatives and composing the texts of the hymns and choruses himself.  The work is modeled on the much larger St. Matthew’s Passion of J.S. Bach with recitatives and arias telling the story and choruses and chorales providing dramatic commentary on the action. The design of this piece however, was to be accessible to the average parish choir.

The work was an immediate success but quickly fell subject to harsh criticism. The text was viewed as highly sentimental and the music was seen as “Victorian” in style which was quickly being cast aside in favor of the music of Stanford and Parry. The piece does what it set out to do. It is an extended setting of the passion for the average church choir. It is scored for four part choir of mixed voices, tenor and bass soloists and organ. The work was orchestrated in the 20^th century and has enjoyed great success becoming a Lenten tradition in many parishes. The tenor soloist, like in the Bach, sings the role of the Evangelist narrating the story while the bass teeters back and forth between singing as the voice of Jesus and commenting on the events of the story. The men of the choir sing the “seven last words of Christ” while the full choir sings the two large “mob scenes” at the Triumphal entry and the Crucifixion.  In addition to these arias, recitatives, and choruses there are beautiful chorales for choir and congregation included that bring the storyline to the audience of today. While the cantata is at times very sentimental and not without its shortcomings, it has moments of real beauty. God So Loved the World is an anthem that continues to be performed in churches around the world. The Victorian sensitivities do not overshadow the sincerity that is captured in the text and in the imagery shown in the music.  It is a truly heartfelt piece that is not only accessible to the average parish choir but is also accessible to the typical church congregation.

David N. Johnson(1922-1988) was educated at the Curtis Institute and earned his doctorate at Syracuse University.  He served as head of the music department at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, head of the Organ Department at Syracuse University, and professor of music at Arizona State University. Many of his compositions are based on hymn tunes and Saw Ye My Savior ? is no different. This tune taken from the rich Southern Harmony tradition is set with flute and organ in a simple and unadorned setting for soloists and choir. Johnson, as always, preserves the integrity of the tune itself. The piece opens with a verse played by the flute and organ before the sopranos come in for the first verse. This is followed by an a cappella verse for four part choir (the only verse that the choir sings). After a short organ interlude there is a solo verse for tenor which fades into a restatement of the opening verse sung by a solo soprano.

The organ prelude is Bach’s setting of Valet will ich der geben. The text is actually a funereal hymn, “I want to bid you farewell” but has since been paired with the text “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” This odd little piece in 24/16 places the tune in the pedal with florid counterpoint in the upper three voices. The piece feels a bit like a gigue with its lilting rhythms. The prelude captures the lighter more jubilant spirit of the day.

March 22, 2015 - Lent 5

An Wasserflussen Babylon - J.S. Bach
By the Waters of Babylon - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Behold the Saviour of Mankind - Frances Williams
An Wasserflussen Babylon - Sigfrid Karg-Elert

Hymns:#709 Dundee, #474 Rockingham,
             #439 Wondrous Love

The theme for this week’s music was largely taken from Psalm 137 which is not the psalm for the day but one that fits in with the themes of Lent as we approach the events of Holy Week. The other source is a text by Samuel Wesley (1662-1735) set to music by the Welsh born composer Frances Williams (1904-1978). These texts lead us directly into the highly emotional events of Holy Week and Easter.

An Wasserflüssen Babylon (By the Rivers of Babylon) was written in 1525 by Wolfgang Dachstein (1487-1553). Dachstein was a German monk that joined the Reformation cause in 1525 and was appointed organist and assistant preacher of St. Thomas’ Church. The two settings presented today are vastly different in style but use similar textures to create the effect of the flowing rivers. The setting by J.S. Bach (1685-1750) BWV 653 from the “Great Eighteen Chorales” places the chorale tune in the tenor register as an ornamented solo. The piece is a ritornello chorale prelude with a second composed theme that is presented inbetween phrases of the chorale theme. The piece is a sarabande – a slow dance in 3 with falling lines and increased chromaticism as the work progresses. This helps to draw out the mournful nature of the text. The second setting is by the German composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert and is taken from his 66 Chorale-Improvisations. This setting is also intended to be played tenderly in a lilting 3 with a solo and accompaniment structure. In this setting the accompaniment is filled with creeping chromatic lines that descend in a weeping winding manner. The final phrase changes everything with a rising line played not on the reed solo of the beginning but on a solo flute accompanied by the soft string stops of the swell.

The choir also presented a setting of Psalm 137 for the gradual anthem. This setting was written by the Afro-British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912). He was born in Holborn, London the son of Alice Hare Martin, a British woman, and Dr. Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor of Sierra Leone. The two never married because Taylor returned home to Africa unaware that Martin (herself an illegitimate child) was pregnant. Martin’s brother was a professional musician and guided Coleridge-Taylor to an education at the Royal College of Music where he studied violin as well as composition by C.V. Stanford. In 1899 he married Jessie, a former RCM student. Her parents were against the major because of Coleridge-Taylor’s mixed race heritage. The couple had two children, Hiawatha (probably named for the title character in his most famous composition) and Gwendolyn. Upon the success of his cantata Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, a setting of Longfellow’s poem, he embarked on a tour of the United States. He became very interested in the Pan-African movement and was well received by the African American community. His setting of By the Waters of Babylon starts as a very typical setting of this well-known text. The difference is that he sets the entire psalm which takes a rather grim turn toward the end. The psalm is a poignant psalm of lamentation. The text tells the story of an oppressed people held captive. Their enemies are taunting them (There is a great deal of parallel here with the trial and crucifixion of Christ) telling them to “sing one of the songs of Zion” but they refuse because they cannot sing it in a foreign land. A quartet sings verses 5 and 6 stating that they would rather be silent than to sing to these songs to the false gods of their captors. This is taken up by the full choir who remind the listener of the way that the Edomites razed Jerusalem. In the last verse we see the wrathful God of the Old Testament stating that “Blessed shall he be that taketh thy children, and throweth them against the stones.” This – although difficult to hear does capture the anger of an enslaved people. It is interesting that Coleridge-Taylor set this text in this way. I think that it is a text that may have resonated with him as he thought of his African heritage, the ending of slavery, and British imperialism.

The communion anthem is Frances Williams’ setting of Samuel Wesley’s text Behold the Saviour of Mankind. This short and simple a cappella motet is a meditation on the Crucifixion and the prophecy of what is to come after. Williams was born in Wales and emigrated to Seattle, WA with her family in 1913. She was educated at Julliard where she studied piano and composition. Throughout her career she was very devoted to her Welsh roots. The last project that she was working on when she died was editing the Jubilee Edition of the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association Hymnal. The tune by Williams embodies the many moods of this short text but this text is often paired with the hymntune “New Britain” better known as “Amazing Grace.”

 

March 15, 2015 - Lent 4

Blessed Jesu, Fount of Mercy - Antonin Dvorak

God So Loved the World - John Stainer

Aus tiefer not - Martin Luther

Hymns: #686 Nettleton, #448 Deus Tuorum Militum,

              #671 New Britain

The music this week combines the more solemn side of Lent with a message of hope and love. Dvorak’s Stabat Mater and the Lutheran chorale tune Aus tiefer not capture some of the sadness of the impending crucifixion while; ironically God So Loved the World from The Crucifixion gives a message of hope and love.

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) wrote his Op. 58 Stabat Mater in response to the death of his daughter, Josefa. The piece was written in 1877 and premiered in Prague in 1880. The gradual anthem is a translation of the third movement Eja, Mater, fons amoris (Blessed Jesu, Fount of Mercy.) The text of the Stabat Mater originated in the 13^th century and is considered one of the seven greatest Latin hymns. The piece opens with the basses singing a rising dotted figure that is echoed by the other three voices. This leads into a chorale section. This is then repeated. The actual text of this is not about Christ but about his mother: O thou Mother! fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, make my heart with thine accord. This hymn is often included in the Stations of the Cross.

God So Loved the World is probably Sir John Stainer’s (1840-1901) best known work. It is taken from the Lenten work The Crucifixion and is the piece’s central movement. Stainer was an English organist and composer who was very popular during his own lifetime, but whose works have largely fallen out of favor today. They are frequently criticized as being too overtly emotional and romantic and lacking in real substance. Stainer began his career as a choir boy at St. Paul’s Cathedral and at age 16 was appointed organist of St. Michael’s college. He went on to hold similar posts at Magdalen College and St. Paul’s Cathedral. He was also made a professor at Oxford. In addition to his compositions, Stainer made contributions to music by writing treatises on harmony, composition and the organ. He was also a notable musicologist who rediscovered the works fifteenth century composers including Guillaume Dufay. God So Loved the World remains a staple in most church libraries because of its simple beauty and flexibility. Despite being quite simple a good degree of musicality is necessary on the part of the singers to realize the piece’s potential.

Aus tiefer not is a German chorale tune written by the theologian Martin Luther (1483-1546) usually associated with the text of Psalm 130 (Out of the depths I cry to thee.) This translation of the Latin hymn De Profundis is one of eight hymns contained in the first Lutheran hymnal published in 1523. This piece has inspired choral composers and composers of organ music for centuries including Bach, Pachelbel, Reger, and Mendelssohn. 

March 8, 2015 - Lent 3

I Will Arise - Gwyneth Walker

Ave Verum - Charles Huerter

Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit - J.S. Bach

Prelude au Kyrie - Jean Langlais

Hymns: #574 St. Petersburg, #51 Decatur Place, 

              #518 Westminster Abbey

This week’s music was written by two American composers. One piece is a setting of a Southern Harmony hymn and the other a setting of a 14^th century Eucharistic hymn. Both pieces are personal statements of faith that play into the introspective nature of the Lenten season.

I Will Arise is a setting of a Southern Harmony tune arranged by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947). Walker was born in New Canaan, Connecticut and holds degrees from Brown University and the Hartt School of Music. In 1982 she resigned from her position at Oberlin to focus on composition full-time.  Walker wrote Three Folk Hymns in response to attending worship services at several small protestant churches. The pieces were premiered by the North Guilford Congregational Church Choirs in 2006. 

The pieces are simple in nature and were written to be easy enough for the average small church choir. I Will Arise is arranged so that it can be sung in many different combinations. The hymn tune “Restoration” was first paired with text by Joseph Hart (1712-1768) in William Walker’s 1835 Southern Harmony. Walker preserves the style and tradition of the hymn by adding a harmony above the melody rather than below it and by adding heavy accents. In this presentation I have broken up who has the melody and the harmony in different verse. The piece ends by adding a soprano descant.

There are so many settings of Ave Verum, perhaps the best known is the Mozart. This setting was written by Charles Huerter (1885-1974) a Brooklyn born composer and teacher. He studied piano and composition at Syracuse University. Ave Verum was written for the Syracuse Festival Chorus and their director Howard Lyman. The piece is simple and homophonic with a lot of similarities to the setting by W.A. Mozart’s. It’s gentle, prayerful nature has some endearing qualities.  

Continuing with my Lenten exploration of the music of J.S. Bach (1685-1750) this week I am playing Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit from the Clavierubung III often called the “German Organ Mass. This monumental piece is a collection contains a prelude and fugue, 21 chorale preludes and 4 duets. The chorales are settings of the parts of the Lutheran mass and catechism. The piece is bookended by the “St. Anne” prelude and fugue in Eb. This Kyrie is the first of six settings of the Kyrie, three for manuals and pedals and three for manuals only. They set the tree separate verses of the Kyrie that reflect prayers to each person of the trinity. This setting is of the text:

O Lord the Father for evermore!

We Thy wondrous grace adore;

We confess Thy power, all worlds upholding.

Have mercy, Lord.

by Martin Luther. The piece is written in stile antico form with long note values and strict counterpoint. This collection reflects some of Bach’s most complex writing for the organ. The chorale tune is placed in the soprano in long notes while the lower two voices and pedal play florid counterpoint based on the first phrase of the chorale tune. 

The prelude was written by Jean Langlais (1907-1991), a blind organist and composer. The piece is taken from his Hommage à Frescobaldi, op.70. This eight movement work written in 1951 is his second organ mass. Langlais added three movements to the five movement mass. The final movement, Épilogue, uses the opening theme of Messa della Madonna from Frescobaldi’s Fiori musicali. Anne Labounsky writes: “Although each movement is short, several of them demonstrate his ideal of mysticism: to draw the listener into a state of contemplation…through the suspension of time.” This simple Kyrie places the plainchant melody in the pedal played on a 4’ stop.  The manuals play on soft 16’ and 8’ string stops.  This simple prayer opens this piece in a soft and rather mystical way.

February 15, 2015 - Last Sunday of Epiphany

Sonata No. 4: "Andante Religioso" - Felix Mendelssohn

Elijah: "Then Did Elijah" - Felix Mendelssohn

Messe Solennelle: "Sanctus" - Charles Gounod

Marche Solennelle - Charles Gounod

Hymns: #427 Laudes Domini, #129 Mowsley, 

              #123 Tibi, Christe, splendor Patris

The music this week is from two great composers, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and Charles Gounod (1818-1893). The music is firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition and sounds more like large opera arias and choruses than the typical liturgical fare.

The prelude and gradual anthem are both from the pen of the German born Felix Mendelssohn. Despite Mendelssohn’s German heritage, like Handel and Haydn he found much of his success in England; and a fair bit of it through his oratorios. Then Did Elijah from the oratorio Elijah makes extensive use of text painting to show the fantastical nature of this part of the story. The piece begins with active accompaniment supporting the voices who are singing large chords (many of them diminished) and moving through several keys. After two short fugal sections the basses proclaim a break out of the previous idea to start the second half of the piece a cappella. The strings begin to play swirling triplets as the choir describes the “fiery chariot and horses” in a Gilbert and Sullivanesque fashion. The basses again take us to the next section, this time with an ascending line to illustrate the “whirlwind” which would “take him away to heaven.” The piece ends a bit abruptly because it goes directly into the tenor aria Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth.

The prelude is taken from Mendelssohn’s fourth organ sonata. These “sonatas” are sonatas in name only.  The pieces were assembled by Mendelssohn’s London publisher Coventry and Hollier who asked for “a set of voluntaries.” This second movement of the Sonata in Bb is marked “andante religioso” and sounds like a hymn. Its simple harmonies and delicate beauty make it a fitting start to this service on Transfiguration Sunday as we look toward the child like faith of the disciples and the mystery and majesty of the events of the day.

The communion anthem and postlude were written by the French composer Charles Gounod. Gounod is perhaps best known for his setting of the Ave Maria which uses the Bach C Major prelude from the Well Tempered Clavier as accompaniment. This music was introduced to him by Felix’s sister Fanny. Gounod’s music is often seen as less serious in nature than that of his contemporaries but some of that could be due to the popularity of it. Most of us recognize his Funeral March of the Marionette as the theme song of the Alfred Hitchcock Show. The anthem is taken from the Messe Solennelle for SATTBB choir and STB soli. The Sanctus alternates between a solo tenor aria and the full choir. The B section stacks dissonant parts and obscures the key before leading to a restatement of the theme, this time by the full choir.

The postlude is the Marche Solennelle by Gounod. This march was originally written for full organ but is more often heard in its arrangement for organ solo. As with most of Gounod’s works, there is a memorable melody that is present throughout. It is accompanied by florid arpeggios at times and stately block chords at other times. The “solemnity” of the piece has more to do with the weightiness of the piece. It is interesting that he gave both the march and the mass the distinction of “solennelle” when they are so different in nature. A common thread that is easily is the highly sing able melody that can be found in both pieces. The music is still very dramatic in nature, building to a fortissimo climax and resolving the tension that he so carefully built throughout the earlier portions of the pieces. 

February 8, 2015 - Epiphany 5

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem - J.H. Maunder

You Shall Have a Song - Eugene Butler

Hymns: #423 St. Denio, #318 Nyack, #529 McKee

The music this week really doesn’t have much connection to each other but both are excellently thoughtful meditations on scripture that are well crafted and simple.  The gradual anthem is J.H. Maunder’s Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem. The communion anthem is You Shall Have a Song by the renowned American composer Eugene Butler.

John Henry Maunder (1858-1920) was born in Chelsea and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. Maunder spent his entire career in the church serving at several parishes. In addition to this work he also wrote operettas and trained choirs for theatrical productions (Hmm…sounds familiar.) Maunder wrote many church cantatas but is probably best known for his Lenten cantata, “Olivet to Calvary.” The primary appeal of this music is that it is well written and easy for a parish choir to sing. One critic wrote that the music was popular with church choirs but not with Maunder’s peers. The Victorian sensibilities of his writing led to a fall from favor as composers like Wood, Parry and Stanford rose to popularity. This rather lengthy piece opens with a large declamation that leads to a sort of call and response section between fortissimo unisons and pianissimo harmonies. The opening material returns but is cut short by a solo verse outlining the softer side of God. This is followed by a romping ¾ section that builds but then pulls back to a flowing melody about the harvest. This builds and builds as the opening material returns and finishes in a huge “amen.”

Eugene Butler (b. 1935) was educated at Oklahoma University, Union Theological Seminary, and University of Missouri – Kansas City. Butler has spent his life, like Maunder, as a church musician and teacher. He retired from both to work as a clinician. Butler has over 650 published works and has been the recipient of numerous awards. You Shall Have a Song is a setting of a text from Isaiah that is paired with a beautiful lyrical melody first introduced by a soprano solo and then taken up by the whole choir. A more chordal B section increases the intensity and drive before broadening to the final statement with a luxurious final statement of the melody and a thick lush ending.

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.

December 24, 2014 - Christmas Eve

A Noel Proclamation - Joseph M. Martin

O Magnum Mysterium - Tomas Luis Victoria

Hymns: #83 Adeste Fidelis, #96 Gloria, #87 Mendelssohn

              #107 in Dulci Jubilo, #111 Stille Nacht, 

The music for the Christmas Eve service mixes old and new which seems applicable given the nature of the season. Christmas for many people is about tradition and familiarity but it is also often a time of new beginnings. One week after this service we will find ourselves sitting around waiting to welcome in a new year. The new year which will bring its own challenges and adventures but will still bear resemblance to the years that have gone before. It will share the same seasons, holidays, births, deaths joys and tears but will have its own character.

For me that about sums up the gradual anthem. It is a collection of familiar carols arranged by Joseph M. Martin (b. 1959) taken from his 2009 cantata “The Mystery and Majesty.” The cantata is a lovely blend of familiar and some less familiar Christmas carols and original compositions that tell the story of the nativity through the lens of the mystery that was the birth of Christ. This large carol fantasy concludes the cantata. It opens with Angels From the Realms of Glory set in unison to an accompaniment that sounds like a Baroque chorale prelude. This segues into the 19^th century hymn Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne, a hymn that goes through the life of Christ but is most commonly (like Handel’s Messiah) sung during Advent and Christmas.  This flows into Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s text of the same year, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  This poem was written in response to the death of Longfellow’s wife in a fire and the severe injury of his son Charles in battle. After a refrain of Adeste Fidelis we move to the final hymn, The First Noel. This builds to a in the last verse of the hymn “Then let us all with one accord.” The accompaniment explodes as though every church bell in town were pealing together for the coda proclaiming that “Christ the Lord is born.”

The communion is a setting of an ancient Latin text that has captivated composers for centuries.  O Magnum Mysterium is a chant for Matins at Christmas. This setting by Tomas Luis Victoria (c.1548-1611) is a standard of the choral cannon that occupies a prominent place in the repertoire of most school, college, and church choirs. The opening contrapuntal section captures the mystery of that the text describes. The counterpoint stops as the text celebrating the virgin is set in quiet homophonic chords. This moves ahead to an exuberant triple meter “alleluia” that then breaks into cascading “alleluias” back in duple meter with an ebb and flow of consonance and dissonance against the soprano’s sustained tonic.

December 21, 2014 - Advent 4

Magnificat - Heinrich Scheidemann

Magnificat - John Rutter

Ave Maria - Robert Parsons

Magnificat - Scott M. Hyslop

Hymns: #56 Veni, Veni Emmanuel, 

              #265 Gabriel's Message, #66 Stuttgart

The music this week is all based on Mary. With the exception of the communion anthem they pieces are settings of Canticle 15 which is taken from Luke 1:46-55. Throughout history composers have taken inspiration from the “Magnificat.” It is one of the most frequently set liturgical texts and continues to inspire today. This hymn is one of the eight most ancient hymns and perhaps one of the oldest Marian hymns. It typically finds a place in evening liturgies.

The prelude is a setting of the Magnificat by Heinrich Scheidemann (1595-1663) an important predecessor of Dietrich Buxtehude and a student of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. Scheidemann developed a composition style that brought the variation techniques of Sweelinck to the massive North German organs that would come to shape the music of Buxtehude and later Bach. He served as organist of the Catharinenkirche in Hamburg until his death during a plague outbreak. The piece is composed to alternate with sung verses, a practice more commonly used in the French Romantic period.

The postlude is also a set of variations on the Magnificat by Scott M. Hyslop (b. 1961). Hyslop has studied with Marilyn Mason and Alice Parker. In 2007 Dr. Hyslop wrote a biography on the American composer Paul Manz. He continues an active career as a church musician and composer.  This piece shows off many of the interesting small ensemble sounds available on the organ as well as various techniques that organists have at their disposal to shake up service playing. The piece alternates sung verses with instrumental verses. The organ verses follow traditional forms including chorale, canon, pastorale, moto perpetua, scherzo, and toccata.

John Rutter (b. 1945) is perhaps one of the biggest names in church music now. He was educated at Clare College and taught there from 1975-1979. He left this post to devote more time to composition. He formed the Cambridge Singers, a professional choir which he still conducts. Many critics have mixed feelings regarding Rutter’s compositions finding it sentimental and superficial. His large works and carols have become standard repertoire. Many of his compositions make up the “greatest hits” of modern choral music. The Magnificat was written in 1990 and received its first performance at Carnegie Hall on May 26, 1990 under the direction of the composer. The piece is heavily influenced by the celebrations of Marian feasts in Hispanic culture. In addition to the traditional text of the canticle Rutter added the English poem Of a Rose and the prayer Sancta Maria. This piece has a great deal of rhythmic interest in it with many hemiolas and meter changes. The melody is very Rutter. It’s very catchy but also very repetitive. The piece certainly captures the joy and pent up energy of the coming celebration of Christmas.

The communion anthem is Robert Parson’s (1535-1570-2?) Ave Maria. Little is written or known about this 16^th century master and much of the music that has survived is incomplete. This may be because after his untimely death his music stopped being performed. Parsons “fell” into the swollen Trent River. The suspicions surrounding this was so upsetting to his colleagues that they stopped performing his compositions. He was succeeded by William Byrd. 

December 14, 2014 - Advent 3

Freu dich sehr o meine Seele - Georg Bohm

There Shall Come Forth - Kevin Wood

Thou Shalt Know Him - Mark Sirett

Hymns: #724 Besancon Carol, #72 Richmond, 

              #723 Samanthra

This week the music is filled with subtle beauty and gentle musicality. The two a cappella anthems are both settings by American composers and the prelude and postlude are variations on Freu dich sehr o meine Seele which we know more commonly as the hymn tune Psalm 42 which has been our song of praise through Advent. These pieces seem small and simple initially but upon further examination the pieces are all very intricate with lots of beautiful detail and intricate lines.

There Shall Come Forth is an anthem for a cappella choir that was commissioned for the West Side Madrigalists. The piece was written by Kevin Wood and is a setting of Isaiah 11. The piece opens with the men echoing the women in descending sixths moving toward a stark cadence in open fifths and fourths. The tenor takes the lead as while the ladies sail above. The next section is a series of fifths that move in contrary motion. This breaks into a short fugue which goes back to the opening of the piece.  The beauty of it comes from the subtlety of the dynamics and the rise and fall of the line. The setting captures the mystery of the season as well as the starkness of life at that time.

The communion anthem is Thou Shalt Know Him by Mark Sirett (b. 1952). Sirett is the founding Artistic Director of Cantabile Choirs of Kingston, Ontario. He was educated at the University of Iowa and taught at the Universities of Alberta, Western Ontario, and Queen’s University. In addition to this he has received two international conducting awards. This piece opens with only the sopranos and then repeats with the choir in four parts. This setting of a 15^th century text of Anonymous composition illustrates both extremes of the story, the ridiculousness and the reality of the Christmas story are exemplified not just in the text but in the setting of this piece.

The pre/postlude are taken from Georg Böhm’s setting of Freu dich sehr o meine Seele which is more commonly known as Psalm 42 and often set to “Comfort, Comfort Ye my People.” This set of twelve variations by one of J.S. Bach’s teacher’s showcases the various contrapuntal techniques that Böhm learned during his time as a student. The Italian influence can clearly be seen in the emphasis on manual technique as well as the florid lines. This influence was transferred to many of the compositions for J.S. Bach keyboard. It was the influence of Böhm’s partitas that can most clearly be seen by historians.

These pieces are part of what makes Advent so beautiful. The music is so mysterious and meaningful when viewed through the lens of today’s Christmas offerings because we can see the expectancy and the anticipation that previous generations knew how to capitalize on. We have the opportunity to remember this as well if we will allow ourselves. 

December 7, 2014 - Advent 2

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen - Johannes Brahms

Requiem: "All Flesh is Grass" - Johannes Brahms

Comfort Ye - Katherine K. Davis

Symphonie VI: "Intermezzo" - Charles Marie Widor

Hymns: #65 Berden vag for Herran, #76 Winchester New,

              #59 Merton

The music this week sits on the line between comfort and devastation. The anthem All Flesh is Grass and the postlude are pretty apocalyptic in nature with bright moments of serenity. The prelude and communion anthem focus on the comforting aspects of the Isaiah passage this week.

The gradual anthem is taken from the German Requiem by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). The German Requiem was premiered at Bremen Cathedral on Good Friday 1868 and was an enormous success which marked a turning point in Brahms’s career. Brahms added the fifth movement in memory of his mother and the piece received its first complete performance in 1869. As with his first symphony, Brahms was very deliberate about the composition of the Requiem. The piece makes use of thematic material that he composed as early as 1854. The second movement begins with an instrumental funeral march the lower three voices of the choir enter in unison. The march returns and builds to a forte unison entrance of the full choir that dies away to a new section with text from the book of James in a gentle homophonic (initially) section. The funeral march resumes with an exact repeat of the first two sections of the movement. Brahms moves to the parallel major key of Bb with a verse from 1 Peter that leads to a joyous statement started in the basses then joined by the full choir. This leads to a back and forth section between the tears and sighing that will flee and the joy of the redeemed.  The piece ends with the individual sections stating “joy everlasting.” They then join and build to one final climax before the final decrescendo to the end.

The prelude is also by Brahms. His Es ist ein Ros entsprungen from the Op. 122 set of Eleven Chorale Preludes.  These intimate pieces along with a prelude and fugue in Ab minor are Brahms’s only works for organ.  The opus 122 chorales were the last pieces written by Brahms and are often viewed as a commentary on his impending death.  This piece is a setting of the familiar chorale Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.  The melody is mildly ornamented and the piece, like most in the set, is played on a quiet registration.

The postlude is the Intermezzo from Symphonie VI in g minor by Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937). Charles-Marie Widor was born in Lyons to a family of organ builders. He began his career as an organist at age 11 and soon sparked the interest of Cavaillé-Coll, the famous organ builder. Cavaillé-Coll made arrangements for Widor to study at the Brussels Conservatory with the renowned organist Nicolas-Jacques Lemmens. Upon completion of his studies he moved to Paris where he was appointed organist of the five manual, 100 stop organ at St. Sulpice in 1870 where he remained for 64 years. Influenced by the organs of Cavaillé-Coll, Widor created a new medium that he called the “organ symphony,” a multi-movement work for organ that borrows its forms from the traditional orchestral symphony which allowed Widor to explore the orchestral capabilities of the Caviellé-Coll organs. Symphonie VI in g minor was composed in 1878 for the inauguration of the organ at the Trocadéro and was premiered there on August 24 by the composer. The overall structure of the symphony alternates slow and fast movements as well as alternating tonal centers. The first and third movements are in g minor while the fifth is in G major. The Intermezzo highlights the reed choruses and cornets of the organ. This movement is in ternary form with fiery arpeggios shared between hands flanking either side of a lyrical trio section. This movement was criticized after the first performance of the symphony for being “too pianistic.”

Comfort Ye is a setting of the familiar passage from Isaiah that we often associate with the opening tenor recitative from Handel’s Messiah.  This setting was written by Katherine K. Davis (1892-1980). Davis was born in Missouri and attended Wellesley College and the New England Conservatory. She also studied with the renowned French composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger.  She taught music at the Concord Academy and the Shady Hill School for Girls. During her lifetime she wrote more than 600 compositions but is probably best remembered for Carol of the Drum more commonly called The Little Drummer Boy. She also wrote the hymn Let All Things Now Living which is sung to the hymn tune “Ash Grove.” The piece opens with a lovely soprano solo that is then taken up by the full soprano section and echoed by the tenors with the altos and basses providing accompaniment. The piece picks up and breaks into a joyful fugato (little fugal section) and at the end returns to the soprano’s solo line and then the answering chorus. This adds a nice contrast to the more gnarly postlude and dramatic gradual anthem.

November 30, 2014 - Advent 1

Passacaglia - Douglas E. Wagner

Advent Passacaglia - Mark Schweizer

Passacaglia in c minor BWV 582 - J.S. Bach

Hymns: #640 Aberstwyth, #721 Ton-Y-Botel, 

              #73 St. Stephen

This week’s music with the exception of the communion anthem is held together by form. 

The passacaglia is a form that originated in the 17^th century. These pieces are typically in triple meter (i.e. 3/4) and have a somber basso ostinato (a repeated bass line). The pieces are often written as a set of variations of ever increasing intricacy and complexity. The repeated idea does not always need to be a bass line but can present itself in any voice part.

The prelude is taken from Douglas E Wagner’s (b. 1952) set of Eight Psalm Impressions. This “Passacaglia”  is inspired by Psalm 52 “The goodness of God endureth continually.” The passacaglia is an ideal form for this verse. Just like God’s goodness, ostinato “endureth continually” through the set of eight variations and the coda. One noticeably different quality of this passacaglia is that the theme is in a major key rather than the more common minor key. Wagner began his career as a high school music teacher that composed on the side but with more than 2,500 publications to his credit he has become a full time composer. He currently resides in Indianapolis with his wife.

The gradual anthem by Mark Schweizer (b. 1956) is another excellent example of a passacaglia with a few interesting features. Schweizer is a native of Florida and holds degrees from Stetson University and the University of Arizona. He has held many university positions and is the owner and editor of St. James’s Press. In addition to his musical accomplishments Schweizer is the author of the St. Germaine mystery series including titles like The Alto Wore Tweed and The Tenor Wore Tap Shoes. The anthem is a set of nine variations in which the ostinato takes as a repeated harmonic structure rather than a bass line. The piece opens with the women singing a chain of suspensions a cappella in three parts. The organ joins the ladies of the choir for the second variation. The next variation is for a solo baritone with a new theme followed by the entrance of all the men. The women return with the same notes as the opening but with text. Variation six varies the men’s initial themes which are combined with the previous variation to make up variation seven.  The last two are further variations on numbers five and seven with an increased drive to the end before the sudden halt and concluding chords.

The postlude is Bach’s magnificent Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor BWV 582. I will only be playing the passacaglia because of time. Pieces like this and the ciaconas of Buxtehude make use of common improvisatory techniques and figures. Bach’s piece is a set of 21 variations (20 variations and the fugue which is the final variation) of varied texture, rhythm, and placement of the theme. The piece is in c minor, a key associated with longing which seems appropriate as we begin Advent. The work is rife with pent up tension that is released but not quite as the final chord normally goes into the fugue. It is easy to see why this is the standard for most pieces written in this form and why so many arrangements for orchestra and other ensembles exist. 

November 23, 2014 - Christ the King Sunday

Trumet Tune in C Major - David N. Johnson

Lauda Sion - Felix Mendelssohn

In Nomine Jesu - Jacob Handl

Hymns: #494 Diademata, #382 General Seminary, 

              Soon and Very Soon

This week’s choral music is heavily influenced by the choral music of early Italian masters but neither piece was written by them. The Lauda Sion of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) owes a great deal to the settings of Palestrina and Gibbons despite the lack of 16^th century counterpoint in this movement the influence of Gabrieli’s homophonic antiphonal style is evident and the presence of the chant melody later in the work is also a nod to the Venetian masters. In Nomine Jesu by Jacob Handl (1550-1591) combines the Franco-Flemish tradtion with that of the Venetian school. The prelude was written by American organist and teacher, David N Johnson (1922-1987.)

Mendelssohn is most often remembered for his symphonies, his Songs Without Words for the piano and for his choral music. His two large scale oratorios, Elijah, and St. Paul along with dozens of other psalm settings and cantatas. Lauda Sion Op. 73 was written in 1846 while Mendelssohn was hard at work on his oratorio Elijah. It was written for the 600^th anniversary of Corpus Christi and has a text by Thomas Aquinas. This text is one of only four sequences that survived The Council of Trent (another being the Dies Irae.) This lesser known work examines the mysteries of the Eucharist and utilizes the familiar chant melody associated with this text later on in the piece. The joyful homophonic opening in C major calls to mind the writings of Gabrieli for organ, brass, and choir with their big, full sounds.

Jacob Handl [Gallus] was born in 1550 in what is now Ribnica, Slovenia. He was educated at the Cistercian Monastery and went on to live at the Benedictine Melk Abbey. His career included Viennese Court composer, Kapellmeister to the Bishop of Moravia, and organist in Prague.  He composed more than 500 pieces during his short life of only 41 years and was known for his combination of Franco-Flemish style and the music of the Venetian school.

The prelude was written by David N. Johnson (1922-1987) and is one of his many Trumpet Tunes, this one in C major. As with most pieces in this style the piece goes back and forth between solo trumpet with accompaniment in the left hand and pedal to loud bold statements on the full chorus of the organ. David N. Johnson has ties to the Syracuse area. In 1951 he received his Master’s degree and in 1956 his PhD from Syracuse University. From 1960-1967 he was a lecturer at the university and in 1967 he succeeded Arthur Poister as professor of organ. In 1969 he moved to Arizona to teach at Arizona State at Tempe.