Music for March 8, 2020 + Lent II

Vocal Music

• God So Loved the World – John Goss (1800-1880)

Instrumental Music

• Wär Gott nicht mi tuns diese Zeit – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• (Had God Not Been With Us This Time)
• Contemplation on “Beautiful Savior” – Matthew Compton (b. 1994) 
• Good Shepherd Handbell Guild
• Lift High the Cross – Charles Callahan (b. 1951)

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 R 132 - As Moses raised the serpent up (GIFT OF LOVE)
• Hymn 635 - If thou but trust in God to guide thee (WER NUR DEN LIEBEN GOTT)
• Hymn 691 - My faith looks up to thee (OLIVET)
• Hymn 313 - Let thy Blood in mercy poured (JESUS, MEINE ZUVERSICHT)
• Hymn 473 - Lift high the cross (CRUCIFER)
• Psalm 121 – tone IIa

Sir John Goss, looking for all
the world like Franz Schubert.

This Sunday's anthem is a setting of a verse from Sunday's Gospel reading, a verse that is probably the most well known and memorized verse from the Bible. Most choirs know and sing John Stainer's setting of God So Loved the World, but few know the setting by Stainer's teacher and predecessor, Sir John Goss, who was an English organist, composer and teacher.

Born to a musical family, Goss was a boy chorister of the Chapel Royal, London, and later a pupil of Thomas Attwood, organist of St Paul's Cathedral. After a brief period as a chorus member in an opera company he was appointed organist of a chapel in south London, later moving to more prestigious organ posts at St Luke's Church, Chelsea and finally St Paul's Cathedral, where he struggled to improve musical standards.

As a composer, his best-known compositions are his hymn tunes "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" and "See, Amid the Winter's Snow". The music critic of The Times described him as the last of the line of English composers who confined themselves almost entirely to ecclesiastical music.

From 1827 to 1874, Goss was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music, teaching harmony. He also taught at St Paul's. Among his pupils at the academy were Arthur Sullivan, Frederic Cowen and Frederick Bridge. His best-known pupil at St Paul's was John Stainer, who succeeded him as organist there.

Goss was noted for his piety and gentleness of character. His pupil, John Stainer, wrote, "That Goss was a man of religious life was patent to all who came into contact with him, but an appeal to the general effect of his sacred compositions offers public proof of the fact." His mildness was a disadvantage when attempting to deal with his recalcitrant singers. He was unable to do anything about the laziness of the tenors and basses, who had lifetime security of tenure and were uninterested in learning new music.

I can relate.