Music for March 1, 2015 + The Second Sunday of Lent

Vocal Music

• Lord, for thy Tender Mercy's Sake – Richard Farrant (c.1530-1580) or John Hilton (1565-1708?)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude on “Leoni” - Gerald Near (b. 1942)
• A Lenten Meditation – Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception “NORRIS” which is from Lift Every Voice and Sing.)

• Hymn 401 - The God of Abraham Praise (LEONI)
• Hymn 147 - Now let us all with one accord (BOURBON)
• Hymn - I can hear my Savior calling (NORRIS)
• Hymn 675 - Take up your cross, the Savior said (BOURBON)

The Choir is singing an anthem from one of my favorite eras and style of choral music: The 16th century Tudor anthem. The word “Tudor” is loosely used to denote the 100 years from the early 1500s to the 1600s, a period which some call the Golden Age of English church music. This genre includes simple four-part homophonic anthems to the more elaborate polyphony of six-, seven- or eight-part motets. Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy's Sake is one of two short anthems by either Richard Farrant or John Hilton, both English composers of sacred music. Farrant was organist at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, in the middle of the sixteenth century, while Hilton was known as a counter-tenor and organist, most notably at Trinity College, Cambridge. In the beginning, the music is in a simple, a capella, hymn-like style which befits the reflective and restful mood of the text, but at the words "that we may walk in a perfect heart" the choir has a chance to play around with the rhythms of the words and sing much more independently of each other, finally ending with a contrapuntal "amen."   The words are from Christian Prayers and Holy Meditations, by Henry Bull (1566).

Robert Powell at the console of the
organ at Christ Church, Greenville, SC

The Communion voluntary is a handbell piece by Robert Powell, retired music director of Christ Episcopal Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Born in Benoit, Mississippi, Powell attended Louisiana State University. After graduating from LSU, with a degree in organ and composition, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Tokyo, where he conducted a choir of American soldiers and Japanese women; their first big program was Handel's Messiah. After his military service, he attended Union Theological Seminary in New York City. While there, he  was assistant organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, where Alec Wyton, his mentor, was organist and choirmaster. His first published work was in 1959, and since that time, he has published over 400 works for choir, organ, handbells, and other instruments, as well as his Service of Holy Communion, which is in our hymnal.

This Week's Hymns

• The God of Abraham Praise (LEONI) Forshadowing the reading from the Old Testament, we open our service with this hymn, which, according to Cyberhymnal.com, is based on The Yigdal of Daniel ben Judah, a Jewish judge in Rome, circa 1400, paraphrased by Thomas Olivers, circa 1765; first appeared in The Gospel Magazine, April 1775. The lyrics are based on the 13 creeds of Moses Maimonides (circa 1130-1204).  Indeed, Cyberhymnal prints twelve verses, which have been shortened to five in our hymnal.  
• Now let us all with one accord (BOURBON) We have a few Early American hymn tunes in our hymnal.  This tune, BOURBON, appeared in Columbian Harmony (1825) and was therein attributed to Freeman Lewis (1780-1859).  The melody is actually in a pentatonic key, which means its scale has five notes.  It also means you could play it on the piano on all black keys.  The tune name comes from Bourbon Country, Kentucky, not from the drink!
• I can hear my Savior calling (NORRIS) - This old gospel hymn is from Lift Every Voice and Sing II (LEVAS), a hymnal published for African-American congregations in the Episcopal Church. The text was written in 1890 by E.W.Blandy, with music composed for it by John S. Norris. LEVAS leaves out the fermatas (the held-out notes) on the last line, ("with him        , with him       ...), so I am going to follow good performance practice and include them as we sing this hymn. This hymn calls us to obey the call of Jesus, and "take up my cross."
• Take up your cross, the Savior said (BOURBON)  Charles W. Everest, an Episcopal priest , was but nineteen when he published Visions of Death, and Other Poems; from this work this popular hymn is taken. This hymn is perfect as a response to today's Gospel, as it describes the fully committed Christian life as denying self, facing all dangers, and following Christ to the uttermost. And, yes, this is the same tune as we sang earlier in the service!