Music for October 15, 2017 + Good Shepherd School Sunday

Vocal Music

• Rondo of Joy – Traditional, arr. Good Shepherd School
• Father God in Heaven – Suzanne Lord (b. 1946)

Instrumental Music

• Dona Nobis Pacem – Traditional, arr. Tom Anderson
• Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy) – Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Tom Anderson
• The King of Love My Shepherd Is – Healey Willan

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982)

• Hymn 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON)
• Hymn 645 - The King of love my Shepherd is (ST. COLUMBA)
• Hymn - The Lord is my Shepherd (traditional round)
• Hymn 708 - Savior, like a shepherd lead us (SICILIAN MARINERS)
• Hymn 325 - Let us break bread together on our knees (LET US BREAK BREAD)
• Hymn 376 - Joyful, joyful, we adore thee (HYMN TO JOY)

This Sunday we celebrate our church's preschool, and we are delighted to have the children of the Good Shepherd School provide the music for our services. They are under the direction of Karen Silva, who does a fabulous job of teaching rudiments of music to these preschool and kindergarten students, while getting them to sing on pitch!

The offertory is one of her creations, a medley of children's songs set in the form of a Rondo. The Rondo is a form where the a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") alternates with one or more contrasting themes, generally called "episodes". Possible patterns could be ABA, ABACA, or ABACABA. Today, you will hear the song Gaudeamus by Natalie Sleeth as the principal theme (A), with Praise Him, Praise Him All Ye Little Children, I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands as the B, C, and D themes. 

The communion anthem is a beautiful anthem by Suzanne Lord, a flute player, teacher and musicologist who last taught at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. It is a paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer. Listen to the children sing a smooth, legato musical phrase (in contrast to the jaunty melodies of the Rondo of Joy!)

I think you will really be intrigued by the opening and closing voluntaries. These will utilize tuned percussion tubes called Boomwhackers. Boomwhackers are lightweight, hollow, color-coded, plastic tubes, tuned to musical pitches by length. They produce musical tones when struck together, on the floor, or against nearly any surface (even heads!) They are most commonly used in elementary music classrooms as an inexpensive, unbreakable alternative or supplement to traditional pitched instruments such as xylophones and metallophones.

Craig Ramsell came up for the idea for his boomwhackers in 1994 while at home recovering from radiation therapy for cancer. While cutting cardboard tubes into shorter lengths for recycling he happened to notice the different pitches resulting from the different lengths and decided to investigate their creative potential. He and his partner, wife Monnie Ramsell, formed their own company to market the tubes.

It is a great way to teach pitch, harmony, and rhythm. Today you will hear the students accompany the tune Dona Nobis Pacem and Beethoven's Ode to Joy.