Music for June 3, 2018 + Music Appreciation Sunday

Living Americans 

music by contemporary composers connected to the Episcopal Church or with connections to Texas and Houston

Vocal Music

• When In Our Music God Is Glorified – David Ashley White (b. 1944)
• Nearer, My God, to Thee – arr. Dan Forrest (b. 1978)
• Lord, You have Searched Me – David Hurd (b. 1950)
• Mass for St. Philip’s – William Bradley Roberts (b. 1947)

Instrumental Music

• Aria on a Chaconne – Joel Martinson (b. 1960)
• Strengthen for Service, Lord – Anne Krentz Organ (b. 1960)
• Festival Piece – Craig Phillips (b. 1961)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of those without a number which are from Wonder, Love, and Praise: A Supplement to the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON)
• Hymn 490 - I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON)
• Hymn - Through north and south (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)
• Hymn - Heal me, hands of Jesus (SHARPE)
• Hymn 324 - Let all mortal flesh keep silence (PICARDY)
• Hymn 530 - Spread, O spread, thou mighty word (GOTT SEI DANK)

As I write this blog each week, I am acutely aware that much of what we sing, play, and hear in our worship is the work of dead white men. While I appreciate that we want to hear and perform music which has stood the test of time, I also have a yearning to experience music that is new, different, and indicative of the age in which we live. One day, while listening to SiriusXM's Symphony Hall channel, I heard a promo for their weekly series "Living Americans," and the idea of scheduling a service devoted to music of such people was planted in my head.

With the exception of two composers, all of the composers featured today have ties to the Episcopal Church. And though all the hymns are not by living composers, two of them (I want to walk as a child of the light and Heal me, hands of Jesus) are indeed written by composers who are still very much alive and connected to the Episcopal Church.
 

David Ashley White

When you think about hymns about worship and music, one of the first hymns that comes to mind is one written in 1971 by the British minister and hymn-writer, Fred Pratt Green. When In Our Music God Is Glorified , usually sung to the hymn tune ENGLEBERG. However, today we sing a setting of the text to the tune HAMMERLING by Houstonian David Ashley White, Professor of Composition and Composer-in-Residence at Houston’s Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. He served as Director of the Moores School from 1999-2014.  This festival setting owas commissioned by the Houston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists for the 1988 National Convention, and was premiered at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston.

Dan Forrest

Nearer, My God, to Thee is by Dan Forrest, a free-lance composer living and working in South Carolina. Though he is a Presbyterian, his arrangement of the hymn Nearer My God to Thee was part of the prelude music for the funeral of Barbara Bush at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston in April. It is a beautiful arrangement with lovely harmonies which brings new life in this timeless hymn. It starts out in 6/8 time, but then reverts to the more familiar 4/4 time of the hymnal setting as it changes key on the second stanza. On the third stanza, we change keys again, not just once but twice before returning to the original key and gentle rhythm  of the beginning

David Hurd

The psalm for the day is David Hurd's Lord, You Have Searched Me Out. Dr. Hurd was Professor of Sacred Music and Director of Chapel Music at the General Theological Seminary in New York City for 28 years. He is presently the Director of Music at The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Times Square, New York City. We often sing parts of his Intersession Mass at our services, particularly in Advent. This setting of Psalm 139, the appointed Psalm for today, is one of the choir’s favorites.

William Bradley Roberts

Mass for St. Philip’s is a setting of the mass by William Bradley Roberts, the Associate Professor of Church Music at Virginia Theological Seminary and an ordained Episcopal priest. He came to Virginia Seminary after serving at St. John's, Lafayette Square, Washington, and St. Philip’s in the Hills, Tucson, Ariz. His undergrad degree was from Houston Baptist University.  This Mass was written for the Tucson congregation while he was serving as their director of music.

The organ and piano music includes:

Joel Martinson

Aria on a Chaconne is a beautiful, meditative organ piece by Joel Martinson, director of music and organist at Church of the Transfiguration (Episcopal) in Dallas. The lyrical melody is heard in the right hand played on a solo flute stop, while the left hand plays an accompaniment of pulsating block chords. At one point, the right hand plays a duet with itself as the left hand continues the accompaniment. Joel is another well-known composer of organ and choral music in the Episcopal Church. He runs his own publishing company, Kessler Park Press.

Anne Krentz Organ

Strengthen for Service, Lord is a setting of a new hymn-tune by Robert Hobby, director of music for Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The arrangement is by another Lutheran musician, Anne Krentz Organ, who serves as the Director of Music Ministries at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, IL. Contrary to her name, Anne holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Valparaiso University, a Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois, and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Church Music from Concordia University Chicago. She currently serves as the President of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.

Craig Phillips

Festival Piece – Craig Phillips is Director of Music at All Saints’ Church, Beverly Hills. His organ compositions are heard in churches all across the continent, with many being featured at National and regional meetings of the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians.
After the service we will celebrate and honor all our musicians at Good Shepherd with an extended coffee hour to thank our choirs, music director and all those involved in the music program. This will be the choir’s final Sunday before summer break.

The public is invited to attend this service – guests are welcome.

Music for May 27, 2018 + Trinity Sunday

Vocal Music

• In the Year that King Uzziah Died - Gordon Young (1919-1998)

Instrumental Music

• Kyrie, Gott Vater (Kyrie, O God, Eternal Father) – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Christe, aller Welt Trost (Christ, Comfort of all the world) – Johann Sebastian Bach
• Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist (Kyrie, O God the Holy Ghost) – Johann Sebastian Bach

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

• Hymn 362 - Holy, holy, holy (NICEA)
• Hymn R37 - Glorify your name (GLORIFY YOUR NAME)
• Hymn R132 - As Moses raised the serpent up (GIFT OF LOVE)
• Hymn 295 - Sing praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn R149  - Here I am, Lord (HERE I AM, LORD)
• Hymn - Santo, santo, santo (Iona Community)
• Hymn 608 - Eternal Father, stong to save (MELITA)
• Hymn S-236 - A Song of Praise: Glory to You (John Rutter)

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the one Sunday of the church Calendar that celebrates a doctrine of the church rather than an event in its sacred history.  Trinity Sunday is always the first Sunday after Pentecost, and we always sing that wonderful trinitarian hymn, Holy, holy, holy which ends with this great and memorable line:

God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.

It's a great hymn, and one that is virtually in every hymnal of every church across the globe (with the exception of the Unitarians!)


One of the scripture readings for this Sunday is the passage from Isaiah 6:1-3 -

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 

[And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.]

We are singing an anthem based on this text by the American composer Gordon Young, and I've had a couple of choir members asked "what this is about? Who was Uzziah, and why do we care when he died?"

Uzziah was a king of Judah who lived around 804 -739 B.C. He was 16 when he became king of Judah and reigned for 52 years. (The first 24 years of his reign were as co-regent with his father, Amaziah.) The Book of Isaiah uses "the year that king Uzziah died" as a reference point, just like the Gospels tell us "Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod" or "Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken... (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)" This is much in the same way we might say "In the year the World Trade Center was attacked, I was starting my new job in Texas." It helps places things in context.

This date is important to the prophet Isaiah as it paralleled the crisis in his own life. It was at this time that he saw the vision of God in the temple and answered the call: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?" Isaiah answered, "Here I am, send me!" (That's the reason we are also singing the hymn "Here I Am, Lord" at communion.)

The organ music continues the theme of the Holy Trinity. Bach wrote his four volume work, Clavier-Übung over a period of some fifteen years. (Clavier-Übung means "Keyboard Practice.")  The first volume contains six partitas, Vol. II the French and Italian Suites, and Vol. IV the Goldberg Variations - all for harpsichord, but Vol. III was written for the organ.  Clavier-Übung III is often called the "German organ mass" because it consists of a series of chorale preludes on texts pertaining to the Lutheran Mass and Catechism. There are many instances of a symbolic nod to the Holy Trinity throughout this entire work (the number three shows up A LOT).

The opening, communion, and closing voluntaries are from the first three chorale preludes in Clavier-Übung III. These are settings of the three verses of the Kyrie, which was usually sung in Leipzig on Sundays after the opening organ prelude. Bach's three monumental pedaliter settings of the Kyrie correspond to the three verses. All three have portions of the same melody as their cantus firmus (melody) – in the soprano voice (right hand)for "God the Father", in the middle tenor voice (left hand) for "God the Son" and in the bass (pedal) for "God the Holy Ghost".

We close the service with the Navy Hymn, which works well for Memorial Day Weekend AND Trinity Sunday. The first three stanzas of this hymn appeal to the Trinity with Scripture passages where each Person controlled the sea, imploring “O hear us when we cry to Thee for those in peril on the sea.” The first stanza refers to God's discourse with Job, in which the Lord asks “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I … said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” (Job 38:8, 11 ESV) The second stanza refers to two occasions when Jesus calmed the raging sea: when He walked on the water (Mark 6:45-52), and when He slept through a storm until His terrified disciples woke Him (Mark 4:35-41). The third stanza alludes to Creation, when “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2 ESV) The final stanza summarizes the hymn and promises continued praise “from land and sea.”

Both the opening AND closing hymn-tunes were composed by the same man, John Bacchus Dykes
(1823-1876), an English Vicar as well as musician, who composed many of the favorite hymns of this congregations. Look his name up in the back of the hymnal.

Music for May 20, 2018 + The Day of Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Soon ah Will Be Done – William Dawson (1899-1990)
• Listen, Sweet Dove – Grayston Ives (b. 1948)

Instrumental Music

• Nun Bitten Wir den Heiligen Geist, BuxWV 208 - Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• There is a Spirit that delights to do no evil – Ned Rorem (b. 1923)
• Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 199 - Dietrich Buxtehude

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

• Hymn R283 - Creating Spirit, holy Lord (PUER NOBIS)
• Hymn 225 - Hail thee, festival day (SALVE FESTA DIES)
• Hymn 513 - Like the murmur of the dove’s song (BRIDEGROOM)
• Hymn 511 - Holy Spirit, ever living (ABBOT’S LEIGH)
• Hymn R248 - Oh, let the Son of God enfold you (SPIRIT SONG)
• Hymn R90 - Spirit of the Living God (Daniel Iverson)
• Hymn R168 - If you believe and I believe (Traditional, Zimbabwe)
• Hymn R305 - Lord, you give the Great Commission (ABBOT’S LEIGH)
• Psalm 104:25-26, 28-32, 35 – refrain by Rawn Harbor

The Good Shepherd Choir is singing two anthems for Pentecost Sunday. One is based on a text with direct mention of the Holy Spirit, Listen Sweet Dove by Grayston Ives.

Ives is an English composer whose whole professional life has been centered on choral music. As a child, he was a chorister at Ely Cathedral, then he studied music at Cambridge University under Richard Rodney Bennett.  After university, "Bil" Ives sang as a tenor with the Kings Singers between 1975-1985. He then became Organist, Informator Choristarum (Choir Director), Fellow and Tutor in Music at Magdalen College, Oxford until 2009.


Listen Sweet Dove was published in 2005. The lyrics are taken from a longer poem called Whitsunday by George Herbert (1593–1633). More than ninety of Herbert's poems have been set to music over the centuries, some of them multiple times.  In our hymnal alone there are five hymns written by him.

Listen sweet dove unto my song,
and spread thy golden wings in me;
hatching my tender heart so long,
till it get wing and flie away with thee.

Such glorious gifts thou didst bestow
the earth did like a heav’n appeare,
the starres were coming down to know
if they might mend their wages and serve here.

The sunne which once did shine alone,
hung down his head and wisht for night,
when he beheld twelve sunnes for one
going about the world and giving light.

Lord though we change thou art the same,
the same sweet God of love and light:
restore this day for thy great name,
unto his ancient and miraculous right.

The other anthem is an arrangement of the Spiritual Soon Ah Will Be Done by William L. Dawson. Dawson was the Alabama native who helped popularize the spirituals of the African-American slaves with 'stylized' arrangements through creative and attractive 'packaging' that has an appeal far beyond the original music. He was the Head of the Music Department at the Tuskegee Institute from 1931–1956, where he developed the Tuskegee Institute Choir into an internationally renowned ensemble; they were invited to sing at New York City's Radio City Music Hall in 1932 for a week of six daily performances.

This arrangement of Soon Ah Will Be Done (Soon I will be done with the troubles of the world) belies the original intent of the slave song. Here the themes of dissatisfaction with "the troubles of the world" and the desire to go "home to live with God" (and to see "my mother") are sugar-coated with insistent rhythms and a driving tempo. Still, it is fun to sing. I will admit it has nothing  to do with Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, but we had been working on it to sing on May 13 when one of the choir suggested that it would be better sung on a day other than Mother's Day. I agreed.

The opening and closing voluntaries are organ chorales by the German Composer Dietrich Buxtehude on two classic German-Lutheran chorale-tunes for Pentecost.  The tune for the closing voluntary can be found in our hymnal at hymn 501.

Music for May 13, 2018 + The Sunday after Ascension

Vocal Music

• Come Down, O Love Divine – Ralph Vaughan Williams, (1872-1958),arr. Philip Dietterich (b. 1931)

Instrumental Music

• Toccata on “King’s Weston” – arr. Matthew Compton (b. 1994)
• Gabriel’s Oboe – Ennio Morricone (b. 1928), arr. Kevin McChesney (b. 1963)
• Prelude on "Hyfrydol" – Healey Willan (1880-1968)

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

• Hymn 494 - Crown him with many crowns (DIADEMATA)
• Hymn 214 - Hail the day that sees him rise (LLANFAIR)
• Hymn 215 - See the Conqueror mounts in triumph (IN BABILONE)
• Hymn R245 - Lord, I want to be a Christian (I WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN)
• Hymn R228 - Eat this Bread (Taizé)
• Hymn 460 - Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! (HYFRYDOL)
• Psalm 1 - Beatus vir qui non abiit (Thomas Pavlechko)

May is the time that our choirs begin to wrap things up for the current choir season before taking a well deserved summer break. It's a time that always brings both sadness and relief that our weekly rehearsals won't be happening for the hot summer months.

This Sunday you will hear our Good Shepherd Handbell Guild for their final time this Spring. This group involves 10-11 volunteer ringers who work hard every week. Handbells are melodic percussion instruments, so good rhythm skills are essential. Since each ringer typically plays two or more bells, a high level of commitment is important, as even one absence leave a large gap in the ensemble. This group rehearses on each Wednesday (September through May) and plays every 4-6 weeks.

The 2018 Good Shepherd Handbell Guild (two members missing)

We are playing two pieces that are harder than anything we have done in a long time. For the opening voluntary. arranger Matthew Compton has written a high energy arrangement of Ralph Vaughan William's hymn-tune, KING'S WESTON. True to a Toccata, this arrangement flies along with fiery rhythms and continuous intensity from beginning to end. The second stanza features a unique twist where the tune is played both forward and backward at the same time. Listen for that backwards melody as it is played on the handchimes.

Matthew Compton

Matthew Compton is a Colorado Springs native who has been composing, arranging, and conducting music for handbells since 2007 when he was in the eighth grade.  He had his first composition published at the age of 15, making him one of the youngest ever published handbell composers.  He has numerous compositions and arrangements in print or in the publishing process.  An avid performer and listener, Matthew is known for his high energy originals and arrangements and beautiful harmonies, and his music has been performed across the world

Ennio Morricone

The other handbell piece is Gabriel's Oboe, originally written by the composer Ennio Morricone for the film "The Mission." The score for that movie was nominated for an Oscar, and Morricone recieved a Golden Globe for his music for that film.

Since it's appearance in 1986, this tune has become a standard of instrumental and vocal repertoire. Sarah Brightman, Il Divo, Yo Yo Ma, and a host of others have recorded it. Arranger Kevin McChesney captures its beauty completely in this wonderful arrangement.

Philip Dietterich

The choir's offertory anthem, Come Down, O Love Divine, is another arrangement of a Vaughan Williams tune. This hymn, often sung for Pentecost, is  No. 516 in our hymnal. The text is translated and reworked from the original hymn by 14th century Italian author Bianco da Siena. The tune name is Down Ampney,  named after Vaughan-William's birthplace. New York State native Philip Dietterich composed this hymn-anthem based on the familiar tune. For most of his adult life he was the Minister of Music at First United Methodist Church in Westfield, New Jersey. Mr. Dietterich now lives in retirement in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.

Music for May 6, 2018 + The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Vocal Music

• Thanks be to God – Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611–1675)
• The Peace of God – John Rutter (b. 1945)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude on Dunedin – David Dahl (b. 1937)
• Communion – Richard Purvis (1913-1994)
• Finale and Fughetta in C– Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656 – 1746)

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

• Hymn 8 - Morning is broken (BUNESSAN)
• Hymn 455 - O love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN)
• Hymn 705 - As those of old their first fruits brought (FOREST GREEN)
• Hymn R249 - Great is thy faithfulness (FAITHFULNESS)
• Hymn 400 - All creatures of our God and King (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)
• Psalm 98:1-6 Cantate Domino – Tone IIa

We have two totally different choral offerings this morning. The first is an extroverted, almost bouncy anthem of thanksgiving by the German Bohemian composer and organist Andreas Hammerschmidt. Musicologists regard Hammerschmidt as the most representative composer of middle 17th century German church music, but his works are hardly known today, as he is overshadowed by the towering figure of Heinrich Schütz, whom he greatly admired and who once wrote a laudatory poem for one of Hammerschmidt's publications.

Hammerschmidt was born in Brüx in Bohemia, where his family belonged to the Protestant community. During the Thirty Years War Bohemia became Catholic again, and Hammerschmidt's father decided to move to Freiberg in Saxony. Very little is known about his musical education.

This happy looking man is Andreas Hammerschmidt. He's still mad that Schutz gets more attention.

In 1635 Hammerschmidt was appointed organist at the Petrikirche, and in 1639 he moved to Zittau, where he became the organist of the Johanniskirche. It was his last position, and here he composed the largest part of his music. The position of organist was increasingly important, as he was responsible for composing and performing all church music and directing the soloists from the school choir and the instrumental ensemble of town musicians. His activities as composer and performer not only made him a man of reputation, but also brought him considerable wealth.  His tombstone calls him the Orpheus of Zittau.

The other anthem which will be sung at communion is the lovely, lyrical The Peace of God by the English composer John Rutter. His gift of melody and captivating harmonies is evident in this quiet little peace based on a prayer from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The peace of God which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.

The opening voluntary is the Chorale Prelude on DUNEDIN, by Washington composer David Dahl. I'm playing it because this is the tune of the hymn prior to the Gospel this morning. This work was commissioned in 2016 by the Houston American Guild of Organist's National Convention, and had its premier at Christ Church Cathedral in  Houston.

David P. Dahl

You'll hear the tune three times. First, it is played on the oboe stop (left hand) against a obbligato on the flute (right hand.) Then the tune is heard in canon (like a round) with the right hand playing on a combination of flute sounds at different pitches, and the left hand coming in a measure later using the principals. The third and final reiteration combines the melody, this time played by the feet on a loud trumpet sound, while the hands play bold, fanfare-like interjections.

David P. Dahl is Professor of Music and University Organist Emeritus from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA, retiring in 2000 after thirty-five years of teaching. In August, 2010, he retired as Director Emeritus of Music Ministries at Christ Episcopal Church, Tacoma, where served for forty years. 

Here's a NERD ALERT. When I was a teenager, and first interested in the organ, my grandmother had a Reader's Digest Record Collection called "The Organ Plays Golden Favorites," four LPs of four well-known American organist of both the legit (classical) and theatre organ worlds. One of the artists I was introduced to was Richard Purvis, the long-time organist of Grace Cathedral in San Franciscon. One of the things that intrigued me about Purvis was the story on the album sleeve that, years ago, as a high school boy, he was well known as a theatre organist under the name "Don Irving." Don Irving dissappeared, but Richard Purvis went on to study at the Curtis Institue of Music in Philadelphia. It also said he was well known as a composer, particularly famous for two compositions, his setting of "Greensleeves" and "Communion." I've heard several people play "Greensleeves" over the years, but the only person I know that plays "Communion" is me!

"Communion" is a quiet, contemplative piece, with a melody in the style of Gregorian Chant, accompanied by sustained chords played on the strings. This work was no doubt written for the organ at Grace Cathedral, an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ with over 7000 pipes, with a string division larger than most normal-sized church organs!