Music for October 22, 2017 + The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Give Almes of thy Goods – Christopher Tye (1505-1572)
• O For a Closer Walk with God – Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Instrumental Music

• O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness – Darwin Wolford (b. 1936)
• On a theme of Orlando Gibbons – Charles Villiers Stanford
• Sortie – Denis Bédard (b. 1950)

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

• Hymn 377 - All people that on earth do dwell (OLD 100TH)
• Hymn R258 - To God be the glory (TO GOD BE THE GLORY)
• Hymn 408 - Sing praise to God who reigns above (MIT FREUDEN ZART)
• Hymn R269 - Let all that is within me (Melvin Harrell)
• Hymn R271 - Alleluia, alleluia! Give thanks to the risen Lord (ALLELUIA NO. 1)
• Hymn 544 - Jesus shall reign where’er the sun (DUKE STREET)
• Psalm 96:1-9 - ToneVIIIa

Last month marked the 165th birthday of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, the Irish musician who, along with Edward Elgar and Charles H. H. Parry, helped create a renaissance in English music in the late 19th century.

C. V. Stanford

He was the only child of a prominent Dublin lawyer. His considerable musical talent gained him admission to Cambridge University at the age of 18 where he quickly established a commanding reputation, and was appointed organist of Trinity College while still an undergraduate. Afterward he studied in Leipzig and Berlin. He went on to compose in almost every music form including seven symphonies; ten operas; fifteen concertante works; chamber, piano, and organ pieces; and over thirty large-scale choral works.

Though his influence on the British music scene of his day was quite substantial, little of his popularity survived him, with only his voluminous sacred music remaining in the active body of works which is the foundation of the Anglican tradition.

Today you will hear two of his works during communion, both based on hymn-tunes. The organ voluntary is based on the tune by Orlando Gibbons, SONG 34, which can be found in our Hymnal 1982 at hymn 21. The anthem is his classic setting of hymn 684, O for a closer walk with God, paired with the hymn-tune CAITHNESS.

In addition to his musical prowess, one must admit that he was a snappy dresser. Gotta love those spats!

The opening voluntary is based on the Psalm appointed for today, Psalm 96.

Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness;
    let the whole earth tremble before him. - Psalm 96:9

Darwin Wolford

It is written by Darwin Wolford, a composer, organist, and former music professor living in Idaho. He was Director of Organ Studies at Brigham Young University–Idaho before his retirement in 2004.

Born in Logan, Utah, he began piano lessons at the age of eight. Wolford earned his bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, his Master of Music degree and his PhD in organ composition from the University of Utah.  During college he studied organ with famed Mormon Tabernacle organists Robert Cundick and Alexander Schreiner and composition with Leroy Robertson, John LaMontaine, and Ned Rorem.

He has published more than 350 compositions for choir, orchestra, organ, piano, and other instruments. Wolford’s works are among those heard performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Wolford is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served for many years as a member of the General Music Committee. he was a member of the Executive Hymnbook Committee and assisted with the publication of the 1985 LDS Hymnbook. He also helped prepare the LDS Children’s Songbook.

The anthem this morning is by the 16th century composer Christopher Tye. Tye was the choirmaster at Ely Cathedral during the reign of Henry the VIII, and as such contributed new music for the Anglican church, including this anthem, Give Almes of thy Goods. (The word almes being an Middle English spelling and pronunciation of alms, or charitable gifts.)

Give Almes of thy Goods is a short setting of an offertory sentence which appeared in both the 1549 and 1552 Books of Common Prayer. This is an Tudor creation in every way. Constructed in the ABB form of the early English anthem, this four-voice piece is entirely syllabic, exactly as Thomas Cramner, the architect of the Book of Common Prayer, required: "to every syllable a note."