Music for Sunday, February 2, 2020 + The Presentation of Our Lord

Vocal Music

• When to the Temple Mary Went – Johannes Eccard (1553–1611)

Instrumental Music

• Improvisation on the hymntune “Rustington” – Charles Callahan (b. 1951)
• Lord God, Now Unlock Your Heaven, BWV 617 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Epiphany Suite: III. Postlude (based on “Ratisbon”) – Charles Callahan

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

• Hymn 436 - Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates (TRURO)
• Hymn 497 - How bright appears the Morning Star (WIE SCHON LEUCHTET)
• Hymn 278 - Sing we of the blessed Mother (RUSTINGTON)
• Hymn R 229 - Let all mortal flesh keep silence (PICARDY)
• Hymn R 295 - Lord, bid your servant go in peace (LAND OF REST)
• Hymn 657 - Love divine, all loves excelling (HYFRYDOL)
• Psalm 84 – setting by Hal Hopson

This Sunday is Candelmas, or the Feast of the Presentation, when we remember the presentation of the infant Christ in the Temple when the priest Simeon saw him and exclaimed, “My eyes have seen thy salvation.”  The anthem is a German Renaissance setting of a text telling that story, written in 6 parts by Johannes Eccard. It is in two verses, with the same music on for each stanza. The German title was Maria wallt zum Heiligtum from the Erster Theil der preussischen Fest-Lieder, first published in 1642. In the 1800s, John Troutbeck, an English clergyman, wrote this translation which has been used ever since.

Johannes Eccard

Johannes Eccard was born in Mühlhausen, Thuringia in 1553, and died in Berlin in 1611. Like most musicians of the time, he started his musical life as a chorister. He sang in the chapel of the Weimar court from age 14 until the chapel was disbanded four years later, when he went to the Bavarian Hofkapelle in Munich. In Munich he was lucky enough to be taken as a pupil by the great Orlando di Lassus, whose influence is clearly heard in Eccard’s music. At 26, Eccard entered the Hofkapelle of the Margrave Georg Friedrich of Brandenburg-Ansbach, and there he rose through the ranks, from singer to vice-Kapellmeister and finally Kapellmeister. I

Eccard was one of the most significant Protestant composers of chorale motets (motets using German hymn tunes, or chorales) of his day. Eccard composed both pieces that used the Lutheran chorale in the top part and a simple harmonization below it and elaborate polyphonic pieces that freely incorporated the chorale within the texture. Today's anthem is of the last set, clearly showing the influence of his teacher Lassus, as well as Eccard's ability to realize the full implications of his text through the relationship of words to music and in terms of texture.

In the 19th century Eccard’s music was regarded as the epitome of the a cappella ideal, and in an age of Protestant revival, he was seen as the counterpart to Palestrina. Brahms is said to have prized Eccard’s music

The communion voluntary is Bach’s setting from his Orgelbuchlein on the German Chorale based on that Canticle from Luke. It is the second of the chorales based on the Song of Simeon. The texture of this work is reminiscent of paintings that depict Heaven and earth in separate "layers" of activity. The right hand plays the melody in two voices, similar to a soprano and alto singing together, in 4/4. or common time, while the left hand plays a meandering 16th note line in 12/8 time. The pedal part almost dances as both feet play large, jumping intervals.

Music for January 26, 2020 + The Third Sunday after Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Dear Lord and Father of Mankind – C.Hubert H.Parry (1848-1918)

Instrumental Music

• Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, BWV 650 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)  
• Chorale Prelude on “Rockingham” – C. Hubert H. Parry
• Prelude in C Major, BWV 545 - Johann Sebastian Bach  

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

• Hymn 390 - Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LOBE DEN HERRN)
• Hymn 381 - Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (TONY-Y-BOTEL)
• Hymn 707 - Take my life, and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE)
• Hymn 321 - My God, thy table now is spread (ROCKINGHAM)
• Hymn R102 - The Lord is my light (Jacques Berthier)
• Hymn 530 - Spread, O spread, thou mighty word (GOTT SEI DANK)
• Psalm 27:1, 5-13 - Dominus illuminatio (simplified Anglican Chant by Jerome Meachem)

Hubert Parry was on of the leading musicians in England during his day, credited with started a renaissance in English music. He is best remembered as the composer of "I Was Glad," the anthem composed for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902. It has been used at every coronation since then.

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry

But today we will hear a much quieter composition.

The hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind began life as the ballad of Meshullemeth (‘Long since in Egypt’s plenteous land’) in Act I of Judith, his Birmingham oratorio of 1888. It was only after Parry’s death in 1918 that permission was granted to allow George Gilbert Stocks, the head of music at Repton School, to adapt the music to the words of John Greenleaf Whittier for the school’s hymn book, at which time the melody became known as REPTON. The hymn was then taken up with enthusiasm by Songs of Praise (1931), the English Hymnal in 1933 and the revised version of Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1950. It was also published in 1941 as a hymn-anthem, with Whittier’s words, in an arrangement by H A Chambers (which we are singing this morning) in which much of the original music of the aria was restored.

In spite of his strong talent in music, he was encouraged by both his parents and his in-laws to work in insurance. He was as bad in business as he was good in music, so finally he was allowed to study music. Ultimately, he was knighted in 1898, and given the title "baronet" in 1900.

I will also be playing one of his smaller organ works, a prelude based on the tune Rockinham, which is used for the communion hymn  My God, thy table now is spread.

For the opening voluntary I'm playing an organ piece that Bach himself arranged from one of his vocal works. Bach wrote Cantata 137, Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König, in August 1725, basing the chorale cantata on the hymn Praise to the Lord, the almighty, which we will be singing as the opening hymn.

This cantata was based entirely on the words and the tune for Joachim Neander's German hymn. The second movement was for alto soloist, with a violin obbligato which  accompanies the embellished melody of the chorale. When Bach included this movement in his Schübler Chorales for organ, he used a text for Advent, "Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter auf Erden", to name the piece. Noted Bach scholar Hermann Keller suggested that, in programming this piece, organists might just as well used the better known title, which is what I'm doing today.

Music for January 19, 2020 + The Second Sunday after Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Lead Me, Lord – S. S. Wesley (1810-1876)

Instrumental Music

• Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word – Gerald Near
• Meditation on “Kingsfold” – Charles Callahan
• Roulade – Gerald Near

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

• Hymn 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON)
• Hymn 439 – What wondrous love is this (WONDROUS LOVE)
• Hymn 533 - How wondrous and great thy works (LYONS)
• Hymn - I have decided to follow Jesus (ASSAM)
• Hymn 550 - Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult (GALILEE)
• Psalm 40:1-12 - Expectans, expectavi (simplified Anglican chant by Jerome Meachan)

S. S. Wesley

The choir (still recovering from Christmas break) sings an extract from a larger anthem by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the grandson of Charles Wesley. The popular short anthem Lead me, Lord is an extract from Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Famous in his lifetime as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters, he composed almost exclusively for the Church of England. He was appointed organist at Hereford Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, and Gloucester Cathedral.

He was the illegitimate son of the composer Samuel Wesley's and his teenage housemaid Sarah Suter, with whom he had seven children after separating from his wife Charlotte. His middle name derived from his father's lifelong admiration for the music of Bach.

Considering his love of Bach, I should have included a piece by Bach, but instead, I've focused on two living musicians who many consider among the most prominent, if not most prolific, church musicians in America today.

Gerald Near has written much organ music, including many settings of hymns and chants for the church. The opening voluntary is a highly ornamented arrangement of the Chorale Liebster Jesu, which we find in our hymnal at hymn 440: Blessed Jesus, at thy Word.

The closing voluntary is one of Gerald Near's earliest pieces from 1965. Culinarily speaking, a Roulade is a slice of meat rolled around a filling and cooked. It comes from the French word rouler: to roll. Musically, roulade is an embellishment consisting of a rapid run of several notes sung to one syllable. So Near's Roulade is a rapid, light piece.

Music for January 12, 2020 + The Baptism of Christ

Vocal Music

• My Dancing Day – Shaw/Parker (Alice Parker, b. 1925)

Instrumental Music

• When Jesus Went to Jordan’s Stream – Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
• When Jesus Went to Jordan’s Stream – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Toccata in F – Dietrich Buxtehude

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

• Hymn 76 - On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry (WINCHESTER NEW)
• Hymn R157 - We believe in God Almighty (DIVINUM MYSTERIUM)
• Hymn 135, - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn - Shall we gather at the river (HANSON PLACE)
• Hymn 132 - When Christ’s appearing was made known (ERHALT UNS, HERR)
• Psalm 29 – Tone Vc, refrain by James E. Barrett

This Sunday we are doing our last repeat from Christmas Eve, as we sing the Robert Shaw/Alice Parker arrangement of the English carol, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day.

As the choir began to review it this past Wednesday (rehearsing, mainly, as it was their first time together since Christmas), one of the basses asked, "Are we going to keep doing this until we get it right?"

"No," I answered. "We are going to keep doing it until it no longer fits the lessons for Sunday."

You see, this Sunday is the Sunday that we remember the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist. You'll notice references to Jesus' baptism in hymns 132 and 135, and a passing reference to the act in the opening hymn 76 and the communion hymn, Shall we gather at the river (which is not in The Hymnal 1982, but in the sister volume, Lift Every Voice and Sing.)

Alice Parker

The same holds true for My Dancing Day. Alice Parker, who was associated with many years with Robert Shaw and the Robert Shaw Chorale, arranged the medieval carol, keeping the gentle dance-like rhythm. The text of the carol tells the story of Christ, whose life is repeatedly characterized as a dance. The original carol has 11 stanzas, but this setting ends with stanza 4, the verse about the baptism.

Then afterward baptized I was;
The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard I from above,
To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh my love, this have I done for my true love.

The organ music is also based on a hymn for this occasion. This time it is a lesser known German Chorale which you'll find in the hymnal at hymn 139. If you are paying attention (or at church on time, for once), you'll hear me play the hymnal setting first during the opening voluntary, before playing Marcel Dupre's simple setting. You should be able to hear the melody clearly in this setting.

The same is not true about the communion voluntary, a chorale prelude on the same tune by the German composer Dietrich Buxtehude. He's treated the cantus firmus (the musicologist's way of saying melody) as a highly ornamented fashion, almost obliterating the tune until you really have to know what you are listening for in order to recognize it.

Music for January 5, 2020 + The Second Sunday after Christmas Day

Vocal Music

• Falan Tidings – Donald Pearson (b. 1953)

Instrumental Music

• How Bright Appears the Morning Star – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
• Impression on “We Three Kings” – Alfred V. Fedak (b. 1951)
• Gigue on “Stuttgart” – David Schelat (b. 1955)

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

• Hymn 109 - The first Nowell the angel did say (THE FIRST NOWELL)
• Hymn 421 - All glory be to God on high (ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HÖH)
• Hymn 127 - Earth has many a noble city (STUTTGART)
• Hymn 480 - When Jesus left his Father’s throne (KINGSFOLD)
• Hymn 324 - Let all mortal flesh keep silence (PICARDY)
• Hymn 119 - As with gladness men of old (DIX)

Twelve days after Christmas is the day marked as the Epiphany, generally thought of as the day that the God-Son was revealed as a human being in Christ Jesus. As the Epiphany is on a Monday this year, we will take the opportunity to focus this Sunday morning on the visit of the Magi as told in the Gospel of Matthew.

That being the case, much of the music for this Sunday features the Wise Men who followed that star. That includes the opening hymn, The First Nowell, which details the entire Christmas Story, focusing on the star which led both shepherds and magi to the infant King.

The offertory anthem is the same anthem sung at the 6:30 PM Service on Christmas Eve. Since the majority of our congregation was either at 4 or 10 PM,  we decided we'd do a follow-up singing of it on this Epiphany Sunday. Donald Pearson takes the text of a 17th century carol and sets it in a deceptively simple sounding anthem  It is, in fact, a work of subtlety and great depth. The three voice parts are as sweet and pleasant, but the harmonies are more challenging and the phrase shapes carry us right along with the surging melody.

According to the Oxford Book of Carols, the text dates from about 1610. Interestingly, the original carol starts with Matthew’s wise men and ends with Luke’s shepherds, which is truer to the narrative, since the Magi would have had to have left their homes weeks if not months before the birth, given the distance between their countries and Jerusalem. The title, Falan Tidings, comes from the original carol, which includes "the shepherds there about", who only had to leave their tents and flocks on Bethlehem Down and run down the hillside, ‘singing all even in a rout, “Falan-tiding-dido!”

I found it interesting that all of the composers today were born in the 50s, (except Pachelbel was born in 1653, while the others were 1950s babies!)