Music for February 21, 2016 + The Second Sunday in Lent

Vocal Music-

• Lead Me, Lord – Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876)

Instrumental Music

• A piano prelude by Dominic Marchado
• O man, bemoan thy grievous sin, BWV 622 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

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

• Hymn 401 - The God of Abraham praise (Leoni)
• Hymn 147 - Now let us all with one accord (Bourbon)
• Hymn 495 - Hail, thou once despised Jesus (In Babilone)
• Hymn R243 - You shall cross the barren desert (Be Not Afraid)
• Hymn 598 - Lord Christ, when first thou cam’st to earth (Mit Freuden zart)

This is one of those Sunday mornings which has been suddenly changed because of Wednesday night. Due to school, sickness, work, and family matters, I had almost half the choir absent at our weekly rehearsal. (You do realize, don't you, that your choir members spend at least four hours each week at church, either rehearsing or singing in services as part of their service to God?) We were scheduled to sing on of the movements from Antonín Dvořák's Mass in D, but since we missed last week's rehearsal due to Ash Wednesday, we were behind in our preparation. I called for a substitution mid-rehearsal, because I don't want my choir members to fret over something that can be changed. 

Samuel Sebastian Wesley
before he lost his hair.

SO: we are singing Lead Me, Lord, which is part of a longer anthem by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Praise the Lord, O My Soul, written in 1861. Wesley was the grandson of hymn-writer Charles Wesley, and the son of Samuel Wesley, another English musician, but it was Samuel Sebastian that became famous as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters. He composed almost exclusively for the Church of England, writing some exquisite music, including the hymn-tune AURELIA (The Church's One Foundation). 

Since Samuel Sebastian Wesley was named after his father's favorite musician, Johann Sebastian Bach, it is only fitting that our music includes one of Bach's miniature masterpieces, his chorale-prelude on the choral, O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß (O man, bewail thy sins so great). It is a great hymn for the season of Lent. Read the first stanza, upon which our communion voluntary is based:

O mankind, mourn your great sins,

for which Christ left His Father's bosom

and came to earth;

from a virgin pure and tender

He was born here for us,

He wished to become our Intercessor,

He gave life to the dead

and laid aside all sickness

until the time approached

that He would be sacrificed for us,

bearing the heavy burden of our sins

indeed for a long time on the Cross.

It is a Lutheran Passion hymn with a text written by Sebald Heyden in 1530 on a melody, STRASBORG, around 1524. The author reflects the Passion, based on the Four Evangelists, originally in 23 stanzas. though most modern hymnals only include the first and last stanzas.

What makes this a favorite organ piece among Bach enthusiasts is his use of ornaments, or improvisatory decorations, on the original melody. In fact, the original melody is only clearly laid out in two places: at the place in the tune that sets the words that He would be sacrificed for us and for a long time on the Cross. These two places in the chorale-prelude stand out by their stark simplicity. Capturing the Affect (or sense) of a text in both composition and performance was indeed one of the foundational premises that Bach fully embraced.  

The prelude today is a piano piece by Dominic Marchado, a home-schooled sixth grader in the St. Gregory Choir. In addition to piano and choir, Dominic is also learning to play the violin. We welcome him to the piano this morning and encourage him in his music.