Music for January 2, 2021 + The Second Sunday after Christmas

Vocal Music

• Christ Be With Me – Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)

Instrumental Music

• The Old Year Away Hath Fled – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Let all mortal flesh keep silence – Charles Callahan (b. 1951)
• In Thee Is Joy – Johann Sebastian Bach 

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982.)

• 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 (STUTTGART)

This Sunday is the second Sunday after Christmas day. Between this Sunday and the next, the church calendar includes the Epiphany, January 6, the day the Magi discovered the newborn King. Since we don't have a service on Epiphany, we acknowledge this with some Epiphany hymns this Sunday. And since Sunday is so close to the beginning of the new year, I'm also throwing in a couple of organ preludes Bach included in his collection Orgelbüchlein, which tracks the liturgical year with a set of chorale preludes starting in Advent, advancing through Christmas to Pentecost; these two pieces are included in the section for New Year's Day. The first is evident: The Old Year Now Away Hath Fled.

The second is not overtly written for New Year, but it's infectios joy is perfect for the week after Christmas. In Thee Is Gladness (In dir ist Freude) is constructed around an extremely brief five-note motif from the first five notes of the chorale. Bach sticks teasingly to these five opening notes, of which two are even the same note. It is only by degrees that we get to hear the whole melody, but even then the little motif keeps popping up.

The anthem is a setting of St. Patrick's prayer, Christ be With Me, which is a perfect for a new year.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Amen.

Noel Rawsthorn

It is written by Noel Rawsthorne, a British organist and composer who was organist at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral from 1955 until 1980. He had begun there as a chorister at age 10.

After stepping down from the cathedral in 1980, he worked with the music publisher Kevin Mayhew on arrangements for the organ of well-known classical works. Volume followed volume, covering every possible occasion. Likewise, numerous collections of simple voluntaries were published, each being cleverly and precisely imagined, their structures handled with great care.