Music for April 12, 2015 + The Second Sunday of Easter

Vocal Music

• Come, Ye Faithful – R. S. Thatcher (1888-1957)

Instrumental Music

• Organ Concerto in F Major, Op.4 No.5: IV. Presto (Gigue) - G. F. Handel (1685-1759)
• Rejoice, Beloved Christians - Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing – Healey Willan (1880-1968)

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

• Hymn 193 That Easter day with joy was bright (PUER NOBIS)
• Hymn R 61 Lift Your Heart to the Lord (SALVE FESTA DIES)
• Hymn 490 I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON)
• Hymn 178 Alleluia, alleluia! Give thanks (ALLELUIA NO. 1)
• Hymn 325 Let us break bread together (LET US BREAK BREAD)
• Hymn R-91 Open our eyes, Lord (OPEN OUR EYES)
• Hymn R-306 We are marching in the light of the Lord (SIYAHAMBA)

Easter wore us (the musicians and choirs) OUT! So, in what is something of a tradition, the choir and organist will repeat some of the music from the Easter Vigil for Low Sunday (the Sunday after Easter).

The anthem is by R. S. Thatcher, who ended a career in music as the Principal (Head) of the Royal Academy of Music in London (1949-1955). At one time he had been Organist and Choir Master at Worchester College, Oxford. This is a splendid hymn anthem in three verses. The entire choir sings stanza one in unison. Sopranos sing stanza two and Tenors and Basses sing stanza three while all four voices join on the Alleluias in harmony. This is a perennial favorite of the choir, as we sing it every two years for Easter.

Caricature of Handel playing a chamber organ -
Joseph Goupy, 1754

Handel wrote twelve organ concertos for chamber organ and orchestra in two different sets. Written as interludes in performances of oratorios in Covent Garden, they were the first works of their kind for this combination of instruments and served as a model for later composers.

His first set, Opus 4., contained TWO concertos in the key of F Major. Today I am playing a solo organ arrangement of the final movement of the second of the two, Opus 4, Number 5. It is a lively, bright piece in the style of Gigue, or Jig, in 12/8 time. I employ the full organ for the parts played by the orchestra, and only one division of the organ for the solo portions.





Lots of hymns to sing this Sunday, from traditional high church to contemporary praise choruses.

• That Easter day with joy was bright (PUER NOBIS) - This hymn, attributed to St. Ambrose, was translated in 1852 by J. M. Neale. Its tune is used three times in our hymnal for Christmas, Epiphany, and this Easter text.
• Lift Your Heart to the Lord (SALVE FESTA DIES) - This 1982 hymn by Englishman John Bowers is set to a 1906 tune by Ralph Vaughan Williams, which is in our hymnal as Hail Thee, Festival Day. Bowers also wrote hymn 51 in The Hymnal 1982.
• I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON) - Katheen Thomerson wrote both the text and tune for this popular hymn while in Houston for a visit at Church of the Redeemer in 1966, hence the tune's name.
• Alleluia, alleluia! Give thanks (ALLELUIA NO. 1) - Donald Fishel wrote this in 1972 as a response to Vatican II's encouragement of a more folk style in music. He was music director for a charismatic part of the Roman church, and he wrote it in about one hour.
• Let us break bread together (LET US BREAK BREAD) - This spiritual comes from the West African slave culture that developed in the coastal areas of South-Eastern America. It has strong Episcopal ties, as the slaves would attend church with their owners, taking communion while kneeling. We sing this in honor of First Communion Class.
• Open our eyes, Lord (OPEN OUR EYES) - The Apostle Thomas said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put ... my hand in his side, I will not believe.” So we will sing "...we want to see Jesus, To reach out and touch Him..."
• We are marching in the light of the Lord (SIYAHAMBA) - We end this service of the resurrection with a spirited song of going out.