Music for September 10, 2017 + The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Immortal, Invisible – Eric Thiman (1900-1975)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude in Classic Style – Gordon Young (1919-1998)
• Land of Rest – George Shearing (1919-2011)
• Thou Art the Rock – Henri Mulet (1878-1967)

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

• Hymn 376 - Joyful, joyful, we adore thee  (HYMN TO JOY)
• Hymn 440 - Blessed Jesus, at thy word (LIEBSTER JESU)
• Hymn 302 - Father, we thank thee who hast planted (RENDEZ A DIEU)
• Hymn R192 - God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name (FREELY, FREELY)
• Hymn R226 - Ubi Caritas (TAIZE)
• Hymn 674 - “Forgive our sins, as we forgive” (DETROIT)
• Psalm 149 - ToneVIIIa

This Sunday the choir finally returns to the 10:15 service after their summer break and Hurricane Harvey. We've only had two rehearsals, so we turn to an anthem by the Englishman Eric Thiman. A church and recital organist and superb improviser, Thiman was a practical composer who aimed his output at the average choir and organist, rather than the cathedral choirs. Philip L Scowcroft, in his internet biography of Thiman said "His music rarely, if ever, touched the heights, yet we can admire its craftsmanship and take pleasure in its gracious tunefulness, which is well in the English tradition (or, properly, British tradition, since he used or set so many Scots and Irish tunes as well as English)." (1) In today's anthem, it is a Welsh tune that he arranges for choir, the hymn "Immortal, Invisible." It's a great choice for that first Sunday back with most of the choir singing the melody in unison, except for the third stanza that is in four part harmony (and unaccompanied.)

The opening voluntary is by the American counterpart, Gordon Young. Young was also a church musician and concert recitalist who published over 800 pieces in his lifetime. Like Thiman, most of it was aimed at the average church choir and organist, who loved singing his rhythmic and tuneful pieces. This opening voluntary is one that I have been playing since I was a high school senior. Prelude in Classic Style is one of Young's most popular pieces, even being recorded by the guitar master Christopher Parkening in an arrangement for guitar and harpsichord re-titled Hymn of Christian Joy. It's that joy that I wanted to express this morning as we celebrate Rally Day.

"Classic Style" refers to characteristics of the Classical period of Classical music, the years roughly covering 1750-1825 (think Mozart and Haydn). Classical music of this period has a lighter, clearer texture than baroque music (Bach or Handel) and is less complex. It is mainly homophonic—melody above chordal accompaniment. It also emphasizes light elegance in place of the baroque’s dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur. You will hear all of that in this morning's voluntary.

My closing voluntary is a piece that I have played since I was a Junior in college, the Toccata: Tu es petra, by Henri Mulet, from Esquisses Byzantines, a ten-movement suite published in 1920. Considered Mulet's most famous composition for organ, it was written over a period of at least ten years, dedicated "in memory of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Montmartre, 1914-1919. The tenth movement, the toccata, is thought to refer to the smaller, medieval church of Saint Pierre-de-Montmartre, an institution which had been consecrated over 700 years before the creation of the basilica. 

The ominous tonalities of the piece, the frequent use of the minor third, the development of contrasting motifs, and the brilliant finale in the parallel major key all suggest a spiritual battle in which good does indeed triumph.

Henri Mulet, c. 1937

Enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire before he was twelve years old, Henri Mulet studied cello, harmony, and organ. His primary organ instructors included Charles-Marie Widor, Alexandre Guilmant, and their assistant, Louis Vieme, all of whom thought highly of the young composer and organist. Louis Vieme claimed that Mulet was "one of the most brilliant of musical personalities, a solid virtuoso, and a very fine improviser." Although Mulet held several church organ positions, his most significant position was at Saint Philippe-du-Roule, a parish of about 30,000 members. In 1937, afflicted by poor health and poverty and disillusioned with music and life, Mulet moved to Draguignan, a town between Marseilles and Nice. He was taken into the convent of the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1958, where Mulet died several years later. 

1. Philip L Scowcroft, English Composers for Amateurs: No 2 - Eric Thiman