Music for November 23, 2014 + The Last Sunday after Pentecost + Christ the King Sunday

Vocal Music

• Lord of Life and King of Glory – Michelangelo Grancini (1605-1669)
• Sing, My Soul – Ned Rorem (b. 1923)

Instrumental Music

• Suite Brève: II. Cantilène – Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
• Hymne D’action de Grâce “Te Deum” – Jean Langlais
• There is a Spirit that Delights To Do No Evil – Ned Rorem (b. 1923)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those marked “R” which are from Renew.)

• Hymn 450 – All hail the power of Jesus’ name (CORONATION)
• Hymn 494 – Crown him with many crowns (DIADEMATA)
• Hymn R-268 – King of Kings (KING OF KINGS)
• Hymn 460 – Alleluia, sing to Jesus (HYFRYDOL)

This Sunday is New Year's Eve, as far as the church calendar goes. Christ the King Sunday (the last Sunday after Pentecost) ends the liturgical calendar for churches such as ours. Christ the King Sunday celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ as King and Lord.
To honor that feast, the Good Shepherd Choir sings an anthem based on a duet by the 17th century composer Michelangelo Grancini. Originally called Dulcis Christe, it was edited by the Chicago musician Richard Proulx as a work for 2-part mixed voice choir with the English text which we sing today.

Michelangelo Grancini was an Italian organist and composer who spent his entire life in Milan. He served several churches there and eventually became choir master of the Milan Cathedral in 1630, where he remained until his death. He was so highly regarded that he received a special dispensation enabling him to hold the Cathedral post which customarily excluded married men. During his life time he published nearly 20 volumes of his works including both sacred and secular music, but only a few pieces of his are now in existence.

Ned Rorem, during his Paris days.
Photo by Man Ray, 1953

We also feature music by the American composer and author Ned Rorem. He has received a Pulitzer Prize, a Fulbright Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Time Magazine called him "the world's best composer of art songs," yet his musical and literary ventures extend far beyond this specialized field. Rorem has composed three symphonies, four piano concertos and an array of other orchestral works, music for numerous combinations of chamber forces, ten operas, choral works of every description, ballets and other music for the theater, and literally hundreds of songs and cycles. He is the author of sixteen books, including five volumes of diaries and collections of lectures and criticism. A native of Richmond, Indiana, he now lives in New York City.

The communion anthem is from his set of Three Hymn Anthems which he wrote for Paul Calloway, director of music at Washington National Cathedral, in 1962. The three hymns, taken from the Episcopal Hymnal, are written for a mixed choir without accompaniment. They are chiefly homophonic, sometimes strophic, and generally one note per syllable, such as one might find in a hymnal. There the similarities end, however, for Rorem adds delicious twists and turns of chromaticism and key-changes, yielding a most listenable and affirming effect in every case

The organ piece is a selection from A Quaker Reader, Rorem's first major work for organ. It was premiered by Leonard Raver at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in 1977. Rorem was a Quaker, and though he was raised in Quaker silence, he says "I craved Catholic sound". He wrote this suite based on writings of Quakers.“There Is a Spirit That Delights to Do No Evil . . .” is from the dying words of James Naylor (1660)

Rorem spent 7 years of his life after graduate school in Paris, during the same time that our other composer, Jean Langlais, lived and worked as the organist at Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. If Rorem did indeed crave Catholic sound, then he surely must have heard Langlais play the organ, undoubtedly including improvisations or compositions of Langlais.  One wonders if there was any influence on the young composer.

• Hymn 450 – All hail the power of Jesus’ name (CORONATION) - Who doesn't know this thrilling hymn to Jesus? Written  by Edward Perronet, a friend and advisor of John and Charles Wesley, this hymn has gone through many alterations since it first appeared in 1780. It has also been sung to several tunes, including DIADEM and MILES LANE, in addition to the more familiar CORONATION.
• Hymn 494 – Crown him with many crowns (DIADEMATA) Speaking of Coronation, we continue the theme of Christ the King with another favorite hymn. Matthew Bridges wrote the hymn to illustrate the text, "And on his head were many crowns" (Revelation 19:12).
• Hymn R-268 – King of Kings (KING OF KINGS) Naomi Batya Ginsberg wrote "King of Kings" at the age of 13 with her friend Sophie Conty using a Hebrew melody as the tune. She has gone on to make a career out of songwriting and has written hundreds of songs for independent films, cable TV, ads and video games. The song now appears in 12 major hymnals.
• Hymn 460 – Alleluia, sing to Jesus (HYFRYDOL) And yet another barn-burner favorite of the church universal. One usually does not expect an insurance agent to write hymns, but William C. Dix wrote this text as a new Communion hymn for the Church of England. William Dix also wrote "As with gladness men of old," "What child is this?" and 46 other hymns.