Music for September 13, 2015 + The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• You Are the Christ, O Lord – Richard Wayne Dirksen (1921-2003)
• Lord, for thy Tender Mercy’s Sake – John Hilton (1565-1708?)

Instrumental Music

• Suite du Premier Ton – Louis-Nicolas Clerambault (1676-1749)
• Basse et Dessus de Trompette on de Cornet séparé, en dialogue
• Récits de Cromorne et de Cornet séparé, en dialogue 
• Sortie – Noel Rawsthorne (b. 1929)

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

• Hymn 427 When morning gilds the skies (LAUDES DOMINI)
• Hymn 675 Take up your cross, the Savior said (BOURBON)
• Hymn 707 Take my life, and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE)
• Hymn R 232 There is a Redeemer (GREEN)
• Hymn 522 Glorious things of thee are spoken (AUSTRIA)

Richard Wayne Dirksen at
Washington National Cathedral.

Sunday's offertory is a hymn straight out of our hymnal (hymn 254), but one that is practically unknown by the congregation. I chose it because the text amplifies the opening of the Gospel this Sunday, which is the account of Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. William H. How, the same person who wrote "For all the saints, who from their labors rest," wrote this hymn to commemorate the Confession of St. Peter (January 18). The tune used for the text is by Richard Wayne Dirksen, who was for many years the Organist and Choir Master of Washington National Cathedral. He wrote it in 1982 for use in our hymnal. It's a canon, much like "Row, row, row your boat," in that it can be sung in a round. In fact, we will do that when we repeat the first stanza at the end of the anthem. Dirksen named the tune WYNGATE CANON to honor his son's family, who lived on Wyngate Street in Bethesda, Maryland.

The communion motet is a choir favorite, Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy's Sake. It's a jewel from the English Renaissance period of choral music. Once attributed to Richard Farrant, it now is thought to be by the elder John Hilton. Check out this previous post of mine to read more about this anthem and the mystery of it's composer.

Looking at my organ music, I realize all the titles are in French! (And it's not even close to Bastille Day!) So let me do a little translating to help you understand these strange (to most) words. Louis-Nicolas Clerambault was a French musician, best known as an organist and composer. He made his living and gained fame in France much in the same way and at the time as J. S. Bach in Germany (though without the enduring popularity.) He worked as both a court and church musician, composing a large number of religious motets and hymns, more than 25 secular cantatas, sonatas for violin and basso continuo, a book of dance pieces for the harpsichord, and two suites for organ. It is the first suite that I use for my opening and communion voluntaries. It was the custom at the time for the title to describe the compositional form of the piece. Hence, the opening voluntary (Basse et Dessus de Trompette on de Cornet séparé, en dialogue) is a work featuring the Bass and Soprano of the Trumpet stop and the Cornet stop, separately, in dialogue. A Cornet (pronounced kor-neh) is a compound organ stop, containing multiple ranks of pipes which create a bright tone suggesting the Renaissance brass instrument, the cornett. The quieter communion voluntary (Récits de Cromorne et de Cornet séparé, en dialogue) would be a solo by the Krummhorn (sort of an early oboe) and the Cornet in dialogue with each other. It's been said that melodic charm wins out over religious spirit in Clérambault's organ music.