Music for Holy Week

Maundy Thursday

Vocal Music

• As In that Upper Room – Carl Haywood (b. 1949)
• Three Holy Days Enfold Us Now – Carl Haywood
• According to thy Gracious Word – W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)

Instrumental Music

• Ubi Caritas – Gerald Near (b. 1942)
• Adoro te Devote – Gerald Near

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

• Hymn 439 - What wondrous love is this (WONDROUS LOVE)
• Hymn R289 - Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love (CHEREPONI)
• Hymn R148 - Brother, let me be your servant (THE SERVANT SONG)
• Hymn R226 - Ubi Caritas et amor (UBI CARITAS)
• Hymn R235 - O sacred head, now wounded (HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN)
• Hymn 171 - God to dark Gethsemane (PETRA)
• Psalm 22 – IVe

Good Friday

Vocal Music

• Were you there? – Negro Spiritual
• Richard Murray, baritone

Instrumental Music

• As Jesus Stood Beside the Cross – Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)
• O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

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

• Hymn 158 - Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended (HERZLIEBSTER JESU)
• Hymn 474 - When I survey the wondrous cross (ROCKINGHAM)
• Hymn 441 - In the cross of Christ I glory (RATHBUN)

On Maundy Thursday the choir will sing two hymns by Carl Haywood, an eminent African-American composer in the Episcopal Church.

Carl W. Haywood, a native of Portsmouth, Virginia, has degrees from Norfolk State University, Southern Methodist University, (Master of Sacred Music in organ and Master of Music in choral conducting), and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. 

Dr. Haywood is recognized as a superb choral conductor/organist with superior musical acumen.  His anthems, spirituals, and organ music are published by GIA, Walton, and Alliance Publishing companies. 

For twenty-six years he served as organist/choir director at Grace Episcopal Church, Norfolk and has served on the Liturgical Commission for the Diocese of Southern Virginia, the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music for the Episcopal Church of America and as Director of Music for the Union of Black Episcopalians.

Dr. Haywood, who has sustained a long tenure at Norfolk State University, is a devoted teacher and friend of students and young musicians. A dynamic advocate of NSU, he is Director of Choral Activities and conducts the NSU Concert Choir and the Spartan Chorale. Dr. Haywood frequently serves as a clinician, adjudicator, guest conductor, and lecturer for schools, colleges, and churches throughout the country. He also serves as a National Conductor for the 105 Voices of History, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Choir.

Music for Sunday, December 12, 2021 + The Third Sunday of Advent

Vocal Music

• Lo! He Comes, an Infant Stranger – Simon Mold (b. 1957)

Instrumental Music

• Fantasy on “Veni Emmanuel” – Robert C. Lau (1943)
• Savior of the Nations, Come! – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Lord Jesus, the Only Son of God – 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 616 - Hail to the Lord’s anointed (ES FLOG EIN KLEINES WALDVÖGELEIN)
• Hymn R-122 - Canticle 9: The first song of Isaiah (Jack Noble White)
• Hymn R-26 - Jesus, name above all names (Nadia Hearn)
• Hymn R-278 - Wait for the Lord (Taizé)
• Hymn 59 - Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding (MERTON)

The choir introduces a new Advent carol at the 10:15 service this Sunday. Using a text from the 1800s, English Simon Mold has written a grand tune in the Anglican tradition, which makes sense, as he started singing as a boy when he was a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral. 

Simon Mold

After reading English Language and Medieval Literature at Durham University, where he was a cathedral choral scholar, Simon embarked upon a teaching career principally in the south of England, and sang in several cathedral choirs. His interest in composition began at Peterborough where he directed a performance of one of his own choral pieces in the cathedral whilst still a boy chorister, and subsequently Simon’s music has been widely published, performed, recorded and broadcast by groups such as the St Paul’s Cathedral Choir, London, and Lesley Garrett’s BBC television series Christmas Voices. 

In addition to his sacred music Simon’s output includes secular choral pieces, instrumental works and contributions to the organ repertoire; he has also written a number of song cycles. Simon has additionally been a regular contributor to various musical and literary magazines, and has written widely on diverse aspects of music, language and literature. A verse collection, Poetry of the Peak, was published in 2019.

Robert Lau

At last week's concert by the choirs of Lone Star College, Kingwood, they sang a beautiful setting combining the 15th century chorale "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" with "The Rose" that Bette Midler made famous. Afterwards, one of the concert goers remarked, "That was really interesting." 

I cautioned that he be careful with that word. It could mean, "That was different, captivating, attention grabbing" or it could mean, "Well, that was weird. What were they drinking?" (For the record, the "Rose" mash-up that Evok sang was in the first catergory.)

"Different" could be said about the opening voluntary this Sunday. The fantasy on the Advent hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is certainly different. The work opens with the melody in the pedal, on a plaintive sounding reed stop, while the hands accompany on the string sound of the organ. So far so good. 

But then there is a new chant-like melody, interspersed with loud, wild chords. I like to think this sympbolizes the shape the world was in with a Savior. There is a lot of struggle and strife as the phrase "Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall Come to Thee" comes to a climax. Then it all stops before we hear a soft echo of the "Rejoice" theme as the piece comes quietly to a close.

Robert Lau, the composer holds degrees from Lebanon Valley College, The Eastman School of Music and The Catholic University of America. He was a member of the faculty of Lebanon Valley College from 1968-89, holding the academic rank of professor and chairing the Department of Music. He is currently an adjunct member at Penn State - Harrisburg where he teaches in the School of Humanities. Dr. Lau was Organist/Choirmaster at Mt. Calvary Episcopal Church, Camp Hill

Music for Sunday, November 14, 2021 + The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Dear Lord and Father of Mankind – C. H. H. Parry (1848-1918)

Instrumental Music

• Mensch, Willst Du Leben Seliglich – Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 – 1707)
• Prelude on Michael – Charles Callahan (b. 1951)
• “Little” Prelude and Fugue in G Minor – attr. J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982.)

Hymn 51- We the Lord’s People (DECATUR PLACE)
Hymn 686 - Come, thou font of every blessing (NETTLETON)
Hymn 301 - Bread of the world in mercy broken (RENDEZ À DIEU)
Hymn 307 - Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendor (BRYN CALFARIA)
Psalm 16 Tone II, refrain by James E. Barrett

The choir sings one of the beautiful hymn anthems arranged from the British composer Charles H. H. Parry. We are singing it this afternoon as part of the Diocese of Texas' Choral Festival, which I am directing. You can learn more about this anthem by reading this post from January 2020 when we last sang it.

Buxtehude

The opening voluntary is one of the lesser known chorale preludes of  Dietrich Buxtehude, but a very fine one. The melody and text of this hymn, Mensch, willst du leben seliglich, are probably from Martin Luther. The text is referring to the ten commandments. Buxtehude puts the beautiful melody in the center and creates a fine, lyrical piece from it. The English translation is roughly, "Man, do you want to live happily?" That just doesn't sound very poetic, so I left it in German.

The communion voluntary is an organ arrangement of Herbert Howell's hymn tune, MICHAEL. It was originally called 'A Hymn Tune for Charterhouse' but when Howells' son Michael died of polio at the age of nine in 1935, Howells re-named it after him. 

The text, "All My Hope on God is Founded" is an English translation, by the poet Robert Bridges, of a German hymn,  "Meine Hoffnung stehet feste" written around 1680 by Joachim Neander. Here is the text. It is a beautiful marriage of text and tune, and one that deserves to be better known.

1 All my hope on God is founded;
he doth still my trust renew,
me through change and chance he guideth,
only good and only true.
God unknown, he alone
calls my heart to be his own.

2 Mortal pride and earthly glory,
sword and crown betray our trust;
though with care and toil we build them,
tower and temple fall to dust.
But God's power, hour by hour,
is my temple and my tower.

And I am continuing my (almost) montly series of playing the so-called "8 Little Preludes and Fugues" by (supposedly) J. S. Bach. Though they are included in the Bach catalogue (BW 553-560), it is presumed today that Johann Sebastian Bach did not compose the "eight." Composition of the eight have been attributed to one or more of Bach's students, including both JohannTobias Krebs or his son Ludwig [Krebs], or Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer. 

Today you will hear the sixth installment, the Prelude and Fugue in G Minor. The conventional formulaic cadences and simple one-bar sequences over a basso continuo seem like a composer "consciously creating a series of samples". The subject of the fugue is composed of three separate motifs, all of which can be found in canzonas and ricercars. The 19th-century Bach scholar Philipp Spitta praised the fugue, particularly its modulations. Contemporary Bach scholar Peter Williams has suggested that "perhaps the imaginative penultimate bar was inspired by J. S. Bach"

Music for Sunday, October 31, 2021 + + The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• I Give to You a New Commandment – Peter Nardone (b. 1965)

Instrumental Music

• A Mighty Fortress Is Our God – Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 – 1707)
• Let Us Break Bread Together – Charles Callahan (b. 1951)
• Toccata and Fugue in D Minor – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 688 - A mighty fortress is our God (EIN FESTE BURG)
• Hymn 424 - For the fruit of all creation (EAST ACKLAM)
• Hymn 602 - Jesus, Jesus, fill us with your love (CHEREPONI)
• Hymn 551 - Rise up, ye saints of God! (FESTAL SONG)

There are three things we are focusing on musically today. First is the Gospel reading. In Mark 12:28-31we read, 

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

This reminded me of the passage in John 13 where Jesus gives a new commandment, that we love one another as Jesus has loved us. I therefore looked to Peter Nardone's anthem setting of that scripture which pairs those words with an original tune with the Roman Catholic chant, Ubi Caritas.

Where charity and love are, there God is.

The love of Christ has gathered us into one.

Let us exult, and in Him be joyful.

Let us fear and let us love the living God.

And from a sincere heart let us love each other.

You'll hear the tenors and basses sing that chant in Latin while the trebles sing the scripture.

Peter Nardone is a free-lance conductor, singer and composer who has sung with the Monteverdi Choir, The King’s Consort and the Tallis Scholars. He has been Director of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral and was subsequently Organist and Director of Music at Worcester Cathedral.

The second thing we focus on today is the Reformation. Today is Reformation Day, a Protestant Christian religious holiday celebrated on October 31st in remembrance of the onset of the Reformation. According to Philip Melanchthon, All Hallows' Eve 1517 was the day German monk Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony. His famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is considered to be the great Reformation hymn. We will sing the hymn at the opening of the service, preceded by Dietrich Buxtehude's elegant chorale prelude based on the hymn. Just don't expect to recognize the melody in Buxtehude's setting

The third thing we focus on today (at the end of the service) is All Hallows' Eve, better known as Halloween. It is liturgical in as far as the day is the Eve of All Hallows' Day (or All Saints' Day). It's roots are Christian, but it's modern reflection is more secular, or at least Pagan. And of all the music for organ, the pièce de résistance is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. Whenever I meet new people and tell them I am an organist, more often than not they will ask "Can you play the Phantom of the Opera?" - meaning, "can you play Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565?" Whatever. It's a fun piece to play, and if I'm ever going to play it in church, today is the day. 

me, practicing this Sunday's closing voluntary.

Music for July 11, 2021 + The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Instrumental Music

• Christus, der ist mein Leben– Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
• We pray now to the Holy Spirit—Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Strengthen for Service, Lord – arr. Anne Krentz Organ (b. 1960)
• Toccata in E Minor – Johann Pachelbel

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 686 Come, thou fount of every blessing (EBENEZER)
• Hymn 295 Sing praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn 671 Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound (NEW BRITAIN)
• Psalm85:8-13– Tone VIIIa

Years ago, before I began my work as a musician in the Episcopal Church, I had a short stint working at a Kinkos. I was tired of church music, and, since I loved paper and office supplies, I thought working at Kinkos might be fun. "Fun" might not be the best word to describe my two years there, but "interesting" sure fits.

Working those huge copiers gave me the opportunity to see a lot of documents. Some were so technical that I showed no interest. (Flight manuals for FedEx transport planes.) What really pique my interest were wedding service leaflets. My favorite to this day is the one which had a hand-drawn cover with the Bible verse on the front in calligraphy: "What God hath joined together let no man put us under." (sic) Another favorite was the one which listed the music, including the famous Canon in D by the composer Paco Bell. 

I thought about that this week as I was choosing music for the service, and Hymn 295, Sing praise to our Creator, wound up as one of my choices for hymns. I remembered Johann Pachelbel had written a partita (a set of variations) on the German chorale, Christus, der ist mein Leben, which is the tune used for hymn 295 in our hymnal. Since the partita doesn't include much pedal, I decided that it would be a great choice for this Sunday since I would be out of the office this week, with little time to practice the organ.

(Regular organ practice is essential to anyone who wants to play interesting and challenging literature on any musical instrument. You may not realize it, but two hours with an instrument a day is not unusual for an active musician. In fact, two hours is almost the minimum.)

Since I was playing a chorale-based selection of Pachelbel, I decided to choose one of his "free" organ works for the closing voluntary. The Toccata in E Minor is a serious if flashy organ work with little pedal work. It's got a great sense of forward motion which is perfect for the closing of the service as we are sent out to "do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord."

Pachelbel was an organist during the Baroque period who is credited with bringing the south German organ school to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most important composers of the middle Baroque era. 

During that same time, you have Dietrich Buxtehude, a Danish-born organist who spent the last 40 years of his life at Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) in Lubeck in Northern Germany. He was very well known and influential. Both G.F. Handel and J.S. Bach wanted to follow Buxtehude at St. Mary's, but neither one wanted to marry his daughter as that was a condition for the position. I'm playing another chorale-based work by him for the offertory.

Anne Krentz Organ

To balance all that Baroque organ music, I looked to the piano music of the contemporary American composer with the ironic name of Anne Krentz Organ. She is the Director of Music Ministries at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, IL. She  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 in River Forest, IL. She is a leader in contemporary Lutheran Church music, having served on the staff of the Lutheran Summer Music Program as organist and handbell choir director, additionally teaching classes on church music and hymnody. Organ currently serves as the President of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians.

In today's Communion voluntary, Organ takes an original hymn tune of another Lutheran Composer, Robert Hobby, and crafts a beautifully meditative piano piece. The tune, BUCKHURST RUN, is paired with the text "Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands" (see The Hymnal 1982, #312) in the 2006 hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Worship. BUCKHURST RUN is named after the street in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the Hobby family lives.

Music for January 24, 2021 + The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• They Cast Their Nets in Galilee – Michael McCabe (b. 1941)
• You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore –
  Cesáreo Gabaraín (1936-1991)
• Hymn 660: O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee (MARYTON)

Instrumental Music

• Suite on Auf meinen lieben Gott – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707)
• Rigaudon – André Campra (1660-1744)

This Sunday two of our sopranos, Amy Bogan and Ana Zhang, will come together to sing three hymns from our hymnals which are appropriate to the readings for this Sunday, the miracle of the great catch at Galilee. It is a poem by poet, lawyer, and farmer William Alexander Percy, from Greenville, Mississippi. 

Michael McCabe

The tune for They Cast Their Nets was written for this text for the Hymnal 1940, the predecessor of our current hymnal. David McK. Williams was the organist/Choirmaster at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City. He named the tune GEORGETOWN, for the church of his friend, F. Bland Tucker, who was rector of St. John's, Georgetown Parish in Washington, D.C. 

This arrangement is by Michael McCabe, an American composer with a 20 year career in the military, which provided McCabe with unique learning opportunities, such as study with such notable musicians as Leo Sowerby, David McK. Williams, Thomas Matthews, and Dale Wood. He has served numerous churches, including Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

The communion anthem is the Spanish hymn, Tú has venido a la orilla. Written by the Spanish priest Cesáreo Gabaraín, it is one of the most popular songs to emerge from the 1970s revival of religious song in Spain. It asks singers to become like the fishermen who left boats and nets to follow Jesus, first as disciples learning his way of love, then as apostles carrying that love to others. Various translations have appeared in over forty hymnals since it first was published in 1979. It is included in Wonder, Love, and Praise, the supplement to the Episcopal hymnal published in 1997.

Dietrich Buxtehude wrote a set of variations based on the hymn Auf meinen lieben Gott: 

Auf meinen lieben Gott                            In my beloved God

Trau' ich in Angst und Not,                     I trust in anxiety and trouble;

Der kann mich allzeit retten                    He can always deliver me

Aus Trübsal, Angst und Nöten,              from sorrow, anxiety, and troubles;

Mein Unglück kann er wenden,              he can change my misfortune,

Steht all's in seinen Händen.                   everything is in his hands.

I am playing this for the opening voluntary. What is so weird to me is that he wrote these variations in the form of a dance suite. An important musical form of in the Baroque period, the Suite was a collection of pieces for keyboard or instrumental ensemble consisting of a number of smaller movements, each in the character of a dance and all in the same key. What is perplexing is the combination of a hymn with dance rhythms. The Church was strongly opposed to dancing, connecting it to heathen rituals and lasciviousness. Nevertheless, here we have a hymn set in various dance forms: 

I. Chorale (not part of Buxtehude's original work. I'll just play the 4-part hymn setting to give you an idea of the melody.)
II. Prelude - Buxtehude's original opening movement, is a stylized setting of the chorale.
III. Double - A French term for a simple type of variation (of the prelude.)
IV. Sarabande - a dance in a slow triple meter in a dignified style, usually (as here) with an accent on the second beat of the measure.
V. Courante - This one is in the French style, which is much more refined than the Italian. It is also in a triple meter, but not as slow as the Sarabande.
VI. Gigue - probably the most familiar dance to modern folks (as in jig), it is a lively dance in compound duple time (6/8 or 6/4). 

Music for January 3, 2020 + The Second Sunday after Christmas

Instrumental Music

• How Brightly Shines the Morning Star (BuxWV 223) – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Meditation on “Dix”
• Prelude on “Puer Nobis” - Rudy Davenport
• Praise God, All Ye Christians - Dietrich Buxtehude

For this Sunday, I am playing a mix of Chorales and hymn tunes which are appropriate to the Second Sunday after Christmas. We are still in the season after Christmas, but the alternate Gospel for today is the story of the visit of the Magi, so I'm leaning heavily on that theme.

Before the Gospel, you'll hear an improvisation on the hymn-tune DIX, which we often use to sing the words of hymn 119, "As with gladness men of old did the guiding star behold; as with joy they hailed its light, leading onward, beaming bright..." This hymn is a prayer for God's presence in our lives as we draw closer to Him. The Magi showed faith in God and eagerness, as well as sacrifice, in their journey to see the Christ-child. So may we live as though we really believe and eagerly look forward to the day when we shall one day see Him. In the third stanza, the gifts of the Magi are not even named. The Magi took the trouble to bring “gifts most rare” on a long journey. So may we “All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.” This pilgrimage is not easy, so we sing, “Holy Jesus, every day keep us in the narrow way,” remembering that Jesus said, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14, ESV).

Puer natus est nobis  

 At communion I'll play a piano improvisation of the German Chorale PUER NOBIS, a 15th century choral which gets its tune name from the incipit of the original Latin Christmas text, which was translated into German by the mid-sixteenth century as "Uns ist geborn ein Kindelein," and later in English as "Unto Us a Boy Is Born." But I am using it not for its connection to the Christmas season, but because our hymnal uses it with the Epiphany text found at hymn 124, "What star is this, with beam so bright, More lovely than the noonday light? ’Tis sent to announce a newborn king, Glad tidings of our God to bring."

The opening voluntary is an extended chorale fantasia on the German chorale Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern by Dieterich Buxtehude. Buxtehude composed a fantasy in several long sections, characterized by the use of different means, such as the use of rhetorical figures and the abundant use of repetitions and echo effects. The first section begins with the melody of the hymn played in the bass, with a subsequent shift to the soprano. A section in stylus phantasticus follows, with rapid succession of thirty-second notes and triplets .

After a very short richly decorated largo, the composition continues with a jig in 6/8, followed by an episode in fugue style. The work ends with exhibitions of new thematic material, in the form of fantasy. In the last four bars the score includes the use of the pedal board for the very first time.

The Morgenstern mentioned in the first line (How bright appears the Morning Star, with mercy beaming from afar; the host of heav'en rejoices) may refer to the star of Bethlehem, but I think it points to Jesus, the Light of the world. Either way, it's entirely appropriate for the season.

The closing voluntary is another of Buxtehude's chorale settings, though much shorter than the fantasy on Wie schön leuchtet. "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich" is a German Christmas carol from the 16th century.

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.

Music for January 12, 2020 + The Baptism of Christ

Vocal Music

• My Dancing Day – Shaw/Parker (Alice Parker, b. 1925)

Instrumental Music

• When Jesus Went to Jordan’s Stream – Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
• When Jesus Went to Jordan’s Stream – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Toccata in F – Dietrich Buxtehude

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

• Hymn 76 - On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry (WINCHESTER NEW)
• Hymn R157 - We believe in God Almighty (DIVINUM MYSTERIUM)
• Hymn 135, - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn - Shall we gather at the river (HANSON PLACE)
• Hymn 132 - When Christ’s appearing was made known (ERHALT UNS, HERR)
• Psalm 29 – Tone Vc, refrain by James E. Barrett

This Sunday we are doing our last repeat from Christmas Eve, as we sing the Robert Shaw/Alice Parker arrangement of the English carol, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day.

As the choir began to review it this past Wednesday (rehearsing, mainly, as it was their first time together since Christmas), one of the basses asked, "Are we going to keep doing this until we get it right?"

"No," I answered. "We are going to keep doing it until it no longer fits the lessons for Sunday."

You see, this Sunday is the Sunday that we remember the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist. You'll notice references to Jesus' baptism in hymns 132 and 135, and a passing reference to the act in the opening hymn 76 and the communion hymn, Shall we gather at the river (which is not in The Hymnal 1982, but in the sister volume, Lift Every Voice and Sing.)

Alice Parker

The same holds true for My Dancing Day. Alice Parker, who was associated with many years with Robert Shaw and the Robert Shaw Chorale, arranged the medieval carol, keeping the gentle dance-like rhythm. The text of the carol tells the story of Christ, whose life is repeatedly characterized as a dance. The original carol has 11 stanzas, but this setting ends with stanza 4, the verse about the baptism.

Then afterward baptized I was;
The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard I from above,
To call my true love to my dance.
Sing, oh my love, this have I done for my true love.

The organ music is also based on a hymn for this occasion. This time it is a lesser known German Chorale which you'll find in the hymnal at hymn 139. If you are paying attention (or at church on time, for once), you'll hear me play the hymnal setting first during the opening voluntary, before playing Marcel Dupre's simple setting. You should be able to hear the melody clearly in this setting.

The same is not true about the communion voluntary, a chorale prelude on the same tune by the German composer Dietrich Buxtehude. He's treated the cantus firmus (the musicologist's way of saying melody) as a highly ornamented fashion, almost obliterating the tune until you really have to know what you are listening for in order to recognize it.

Music for December 15, 2019 + Advent III

Vocal Music

• O Jesus, Grant Me Hope and Comfort – Johann Wolfgang Franck (1644-1710)

Instrumental Music

• Aria (The Goldberg Variations) – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
• Once He Came in Blessing – John Leavitt (b. 1956)
• Magnificat on the Ninth Tone – Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

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

• Hymn 59 - Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding (Merton)
• Hymn S 242 - Canticle: The Song of Mary (Magnificat) – Tonus Peregrinus
• Hymn 493 - O for a thousand tongues to sing (Azmon)
• Hymn 60 -  Creator of the stars of night (Conditor alme siderum)
• Hymn 615 - “Thy kingdom come!” on bended knee (St. Flavian)
• Hymn R 278 - Wait for the Lord (Jacques Berthier)
• Hymn 76 - On Jordan’s banks the Baptist’s cry (Winchester New)

You could call all the music this Sunday basically Baroque . All but one of the choral and organ music is written by composers of the Baroque period, that period of music from 1600-1750 characterized by the music of such composers as J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi. The one lone stand-out is by contemporary American composer John Leavitt, and even his organ setting of the Advent Chorale Gottes Sohn ist kommen ("Once He Came in Blessing" in our hymnal) is imitative of an organ chorale of Bach, with a long, solo melodic line which is highly ornamented, contrasted against an almost metronomic eighth-note accompaniment grouped into two-beat, sighing motives. So all the music sounds Baroque in spite of the century in which it was written. (Which leads me to say, If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it.)

A native of Kansas, John Leavitt received the Kansas Artist Fellowship Award from the Kansas Arts in 2003 and in 2010 he was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces to commission a new choral work in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the State of Kansas.  His music has been performed in 30 countries across the globe and his recordings have been featured nationally on many public radio stations. His compositions are represented by nearly every major music publisher in this country. In addition to his academic posts, he has served Lutheran churches in the Wichita area.

The choir's anthem is a beautiful little motet by the German composer Johann Wolfgang Franck, who was better known during his time as a composer for theatre. He began his career, however, in the service of the Margrave of Ansbach where he composed a considerable body of sacred music for the court chapel. In 1677 he was made court chaplain, but this came to an end in January 1679 when he was forced to flee after murdering one of the chapel musicians and wounding his own wife in a fit of jealousy.

No wonder he turned to opera.

I guess 17th century Bavaria did not possess "the long arm of the law," as he found asylum in Hamburg, becoming musical director of the The Oper am Gänsemarkt, the first public (not court supported) opera in Germany. Here he produced 14 operas between 1679 and 1686. From 1690 to 1695 he was in London, in whose concert life he was an active participant.

Music for November 17, 2019

Vocal Music

• The First Song of Isaiah – Jack Noble White (1938-2019)
• Praise the Lord who Reigns Above – Jody Lindh (b. 1944)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude in A Major, BWV 536 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Auf Meinen Lieben Gott – Dietrich Buxtehude
• Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott – Johann Pachelbel

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

• Hymn 688 - A mighty fortress is our God (EIN FESTE BURG)
• Hymn 482 - Lord of all hopefulness (SLANE)
• Hymn R 172 - In my life, Lord, be glorified (LORD, BE GLORIFIED)
• Hymn - Steal away to Jesus (SPIRITUAL)
• Hymn 620 - Jerusalem, my happy home (LAND OF REST)
• Hymn 598 - Lord Christ, when first thou cam’st to earth (MIT FREUDEN ZART)

The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex is well represented by the choral music this Sunday. The Canticle is a setting of the First Song of Isaiah by Jack Noble White, an Episcopal musician who passed away this month in Fort Worth at the age of 81. The offertory is an anthem by Jody Lindh, a retired Methodist musician living in Dallas. Both anthems will be sung by our children's choir.

Since it was first published in 1976, White's FIRST SONG OF ISAIAH has been sung by millions of people worldwide. White was organist/choirmaster at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mobile, Alabama in 1975 when a group of 90 youth from California, Nevada, Nassau in the Bahamas, and Alabama gathered for a music conference near Mobile. White composed this setting for that group, including keyboard, guitar, drums, bass guitar, and handbells to accompany the choir. Today we will sing with just the piano as the Coventry Choir leads the congregation of the singing of this Canticle found in the Book of Common Prayer (which was in experimental use at the time.)

Jack Noble White

Jack Noble White spent most of his career in Texas, of which he is a sixth generation native. He divided his time between music and education. White served as Secretary of the Episcopal Church’s National Music Commission from 1962-1977. He began writing and publishing during that time and now has many works in print. In 1977 he became the Executive Director of The Texas Boys Choir, leading them into a continuous international limelight with numerous tours. He and his wife, Johanna, founded the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, still housing the 70-year-old choir. Retiring from that position in 1995, he devoted his attention to writing and other projects, including the Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir, and their annual Fort Worth play-pageant of the Nativity, The Littlest Wiseman, now in its 59th year.

Jody Lindh

Jody Lindh had an unusually long tenure as director of Music at University Park United Methodist in Dallas, beginning as organist while still a student at Southern Methodist University. Upon graduation, he was named director of music, where he served for 45 years until his retirement in 2013. He is married to Jonell Lindh, a semi-retired United Methodist Minister on staff of First United Methodist in Dallas.

A little known fact about Lindh: He’s a Lutheran. He's an associate member of University Park, but remains a member of Elim Lutheran Church in Marquette, Kansas, the church he grew up in. "My great-grandfather was a founder of Elim in the 1880s, and my whole family is there," he said. "I couldn't possibly leave it!"

Music for September 8, 2019

Vocal Music

• Teach Me, O Lord – Thomas Attwood (1765-1838)

Instrumental Music

• Prélude, Opus 15, no. 5 – Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
• From God Shall Naught Divide Me, BuxWV 220 – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Tuba Tune in D Major, Op. 15 – C. S. Lang (1891-1971)

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

• Hymn 400 - All creatures of our God and king (LAAST UNS ERFREUEN)
• Hymn 675 - Take up your cross, the Savior said (BOURBON)
• Hymn 635 - If thou but suffer God to guide thee (WER NUR DEN LIEBEN GOTT)
• Hymn - I have decided to follow Jesus (ISSAM)
• Hymn R 206 - Holy, holy (HOLY HOLY)
• Hymn 423 - Immortal, invisible (ST. DENIO)
• Psalm 1 – Tone VIb

Thomas Attwood (unknown painter)

Two weeks ago the Good Shepherd Choir sang an anthem by Mozart, and the week before we featured music by Mendelssohn. Today we sing an anthem by an English composer who bridged the two, Thomas Attwood. Attwood was organist at St. Paul's Cathedral in London from 1796 until his death. He began his musical career as a chorister in the Chapel Royal. The Prince of Wales, later George IV, sent him to Italy to study music when Attwood was 18, and then on to Vienna, where he became a student and friend to Mozart. Mozart told a friend, "I have the sincerest affection for Attwood, and i feel much pleasure in telling you that he has imbibed more of my style than any other scholar I have ever had." (1) Today's anthem, Teach Me, O Lord, dates from 1797, and exhibits much of Mozart's style. It has many of the same melodic and harmonic characteristics of Ave Verum, Mozart's miniature masterpiece.

Later in his life, Attwood became a close friend to the young composer Mendelssohn. During Mendelssohn's first trip to London, he suffered a knee injury in an accident, and spent the latter part of his recuperation in Attwood's home at Beulah Hill in Norwood. Following a second stay at  Norwood in 1832, Mendelssohn dedicated his Three Preludes and Fugues for the Organ (Op. 37) to Attwood.

(1) Wienand, Elwyn A. and Young, Robert H., The Anthem in England and America, The Free Press, 1970, p. 248 

Music for January 6, 2019 + The Feast of the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• The Provençal Carol – Donald Busarow (b. 1934)

Instrumental Music

• How Brightly Shines the Morning Star – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• What Star Is This – Jean-François Dandrieu (1682 - 1738)
• Fugue in C– Dietrich Buxtehude

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982)

• Hymn 127 - Earth has many a noble city (STUTTGART)
• Hymn 124 - What star is this, with beams so bright? (PUER NOBIS)
• Hymn 132 - When Christ's appearing was made known (ERHALT UNS, HERR)
• Hymn 128 - We three kings of Orient are (THREE KINGS OF ORIENT)
• Hymn 119 - As with gladness men of old (DIX)

Cecil Frances Alexander was an Irish poet and hymn-writer who wrote over 400 poems and hymns, with many of her most popular aimed at children. Her highly descriptive texts include such hymns as "All things bright and beautiful," "Once in Royal David's city," "There is a green hill far away," and "Jesus calls us o'er the tumult," to name but a few. Nine of her hymns can be found in our hymnal alone, yet the text to this Sunday's anthem is not one of them. "Saw you never, in the twilight" tells the story of the star of Bethlehem, and the journey of the wise men in following that star to find the infant Jesus, the "bright and morning star."

Cecil Frances Alexander
(No, she is not a man).

Saw you never, in the twilight,
when the sun had left the skies,
up in heav'n the clear stars shining
through the gloom, like silver eyes?
So of old the wise men, watching,
saw a little stranger star,
and they knew the King was given,
and they followed it from far.

Heard you never of the story
how they crossed the desert wild,
journeyed on by plain and mountain
till they found the holy child?
How they opened all their treasure,
kneeling to that infant King;
gave the gold and fragrant incense,
gave the myrrh in offering?

Know ye not that lowly baby
was the bright and morning Star?
He who came to light the Gentiles
and the darkened isles afar?
And we, too, may seek his cradle;
there our hearts' best treasures bring;
love and faith and true devotion
for our Savior, God, and King.

Jesus is often referred to as "the Morning Star." He even said, in Revelation 22:16, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." Therefore, I chose Dietrich Buxtehude's chorale fantasia on ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’, BuxWV223, (How bright appears the morning star, hymn 497 in The Hymnal 1982 ) as my prelude for the Sunday of Epiphany.

It begins with a section in which the first part of the melody is given in long notes first to the pedals and then to the uppermost voice. The melody’s subsequent notes are the subject of the deceptively free-sounding passage which immediately follows. Then begins a section based on the descending scale with which the melody concludes. The second verse  is a wonderfully exuberant jig fugue in AAB form (the form of the melody) whose initial subject is based on the melody’s first few notes (note how in the B section the momentum created by Buxtehude’s rhythms effortlessly sweeps up the repetitive phrases with which the melody’s last section begins).

The communion voluntary is another setting of an Epiphany hymn, this time from Eighteenth Century France. Jean-François Dandrieu was born in Paris into a family of artists and musicians. A gifted and precocious child, he gave his first public performances when he was 5 years old, playing the harpsichord for King Louis XIV of France, and his court. These concerts marked the beginning of Dandrieu's very successful career as harpsichordist and organist. In 1700, at age 18, he started playing the organ at the Saint-Merri church in Paris (a post previously occupied by Nicolas Lebègue) and became its titular organist in 1705. In 1721 he was appointed one of the four organists of the Chapelle royale of France. In 1733, he succeeded his uncle, the organist and priest Pierre Dandrieu to become the organist of the church of St Barthélémy in the Île de la Cité. When he died in 1739, he was succeeded at the organ of St Barthélemy by his sister, Jeanne-Françoise.

The organ piece this morning comes from a volume of organ noëls, which was a revised and enlarged version of a similar book published by his uncle, Pierre Dandrieu in 1714 and published posthumously by his sister, Jeanne-Françoise, in 1759.

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 November 26, 2017 + Christ the King Sunday

Vocal Music

• King of Glory, King of Peace – Gerald Near (b. 1942)
• My Shepherd Will Supply My Need – Virgil Thomson (1896-1989)

Instrumental Music

• The Lord My Shepherd Is and Guide – Helmut Walcha (1907-1991)
• Partita on Auf meinen lieben Gott, BuxWV 179- Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Postludium in C – Helmut Walcha

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

• Hymn 450 - All hail the power of Jesus’ name (CORONATION)
• Hymn R267 - The King of Glory comes (PROMISED ONE)
• Hymn 460 - Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (HYFRYDOL)
• Hymn R29 - He Is Lord (HE IS LORD)
• Hymn 494 - Crown him with many crowns (DIADEMATA)
• Canticle S-35 – Come, let us sing unto the Lord (Jack Noble White)

Just a few notes about this Sunday's music for Christ the King Sunday. As we end this holiday weekend, it seems appropriate that, on the Sunday following one of the most American Holidays, we hear choral works of two American composers. I've written about Gerald Near before, so you can click here to read about him. The other composer is Virgil Thomson, a composer and a music critic from the 20th century.  He composed in almost every genre of music, producing a highly original body of work rooted in American speech rhythms and hymnbook harmony.

Born 121 years ago on November 25 in Kansas City, Missouri, Thomson was inspired by a strong sense of place—rooted in heartland America and its Protestant traditions. The biography on the webpage VirgilThomson.org tells us

His early connection to music came through the church, through piano lessons beginning at age 5, and stints accompanying theatricals and silent films. The music he heard was part and parcel of the wide world around him: Civil War songs, cowboy songs, the blues, barn-dance music, Baptist hymns, folk songs, popular songs, in addition to the canons of Western art music that he studied. 1

Virgil Thomson

 When he finished junior college, he joined the army to fight in World War I, stationed in New York City. He trained in radio telephony and in aviation and was set for embarkation for France when the war ended. 

In 1919, he enrolled as a student at Harvard where he became interested in all things French, so he secured a fellowship in 1921 to study organ and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger, where he met Jean Cocteau, Gertrude Stein, Igor Stravinsky and Eric Satie, among many others. Returning to Harvard in 1922, he graduated in 1923. 

Between 1923 and 1940 he live between New York and Paris, composing opera, film scores, ballet scores, incidental music for the theater, and musical portraits, a genre in which he created more than 140 works. 

He finally settled in New York in 1940 when he accepted a job as chief music critic for the New York Herald Tribune, a position he held until 1951. 

His many honors and awards included the Pulitzer Prize a Brandeis Award, the gold medal for music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Book Circle Award, the Kennedy Center Honors, and 20 honorary doctorates.

In contrast to the American choral music for today, the instrumental music for this Sunday all comes from Germany. The communion voluntary is a partita by Dietrich Buxtehude on the German chorale In my beloved God. What is unusual about this partita (set of variations) is that the hymn is arranged for clavier, or keyboard (harpsichord) as opposed to the organ, which was normally used for sacred tunes. Buxtehude also used the typical dance rhythms of the day (sarabande, courante, gigue) as framework for different variations. These are forms that would normally be reserved for secular music.

Helmut Walcha

The opening and closing voluntaries are by 20th century organist and composer Helmut Walcha, a specialist in Bach and neo-baroque music.  As a result of a smallpox vaccination, Walcha had poor eyesight since childhood, and was fully blind by sixteen. He learned new pieces by having musicians (including his mother in his childhood and his wife in later years), play for him four times (each hand separately, the pedal part separately, and the complete piece). Having perfect pitch, he would memorise the piece while listening. Read this article from Pipedreams about his prodigious memory skills here.

His own music followed some of the same principles of music from the Baroque era, while incorporating harmonies and sounds found in more modern music.

1 http://www.virgilthomson.org/about/biography Accessed November 24, 2017.

Music for Sunday, June 25, 2017 + The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Let There Be Peace on Earth – Mark Hayes (b. 1953), arr., Bruce Bailey, soloist

Instrumental Music

• Chorale prelude on Herr Jesu Christ (hymn 3) – Gerald Near
• Chorale Prelude on Es ist das Heil (hymn 298)– Dietrich Buxtehude
• Postlude on St. Dunstan’s (hymn 564) – Gerald Near

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982 with the exception of "I have decided," which is from Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal.)

• Hymn 524 - I love thy kingdom, Lord (ST. THOMAS (WILLIAMS))
• Hymn 296 - We know that Christ is raised and dies no more (ENGLEBERG)
• Hymn 679 - Surely it is God who saves me (THOMAS MERTON)
• Hymn 676 - There is a balm in Gilead (BALM IN GILEAD)
• Hymn - I have decided to follow Jesus (INDIAN FOLK MELODY)
• Hymn 530 - Spread, O Spread, thou mighty word (GOTT SEI DANK)
• Psalm 69:8-11, 18-20  - Salvum me fac (tone IVe)

This Sunday Bruce Bailey is singing the song Let There Be Peace On Earth, written in 1955 by the husband/wife team of Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller in 1955. It was initially written for the International Children's Choir of Long Beach, California, and is still their theme song.

Mark Hayes

This beautiful arrangement by the contemporary pianist Mark Hayes uses the updated lyrics which change the gender specific terms Father/He/Brother to gender neutral terms (where "father" is replaced with "creator", and "brother" is replaced with "family" or "each other"), The gender-neutral lyrics have been copyrighted by the original licensing agent of the song. 

You can read the lyrics and a brief history of the song by checking out the History of Hymns blog written by Michael Hawn, who just retired as professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology, SMU, in Dallas.

None of the tunes used in the organ voluntaries today are particularly well-known among our congregation. The communion voluntary uses a chorale melody associated (among Lutherans) with the text "Salvation now has come for all." In our hymnal it is used for the baptism hymn "All who believe and are baptized" (Hymn 298). The tune was written in the 16th century by Hans Leo Hassler. Since this chorale text focused on essential Lutheran theology (Man is saved by grace, not works), the tune was often used as the basis for both organ and choral works. 

Gerald Near

 2017 marks the 75th birthday of American composer Gerald Near, a composer with broad appeal to musicians in all liturgical denominations. With an extensive catalogue of compositions, he has added to the literature of organists, harpsichordists, and choirs. He is particularly adept at writing organ music based on hymn-tunes and chant-tunes. I play two such works today, beginning with a short chorale-based prelude on the tune found in our hymnal at #3. It is straight-forward; the melody is heard quite plainly in the right hand on a distinctive solo stop, without any ornamentation.

The closing voluntary begins with a fanfare, then a complete statement of the great hymn, "He Who Would Valiant Be," with a tune written by Charles Winfred Douglas.

Music for March 5, 2017 + The First Sunday in Lent

Vocal Music

• Turn Thy Face From My Sin – Thomas Attwood (1765–1838)

Instrumental Music

• A Mighty Fortress Is Our God – Dietrich Buxtehude

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

• The Great Litany
• Hymn 142 - Lord, who throughout these forty days (ST. FLAVIAN)
• Hymn 380 - From all that dwells below the skies (OLD 100TH)
• Hymn R172 - In our lives, Lord, be glorified (LORD, BE GLORIFIED)
• Hymn R107 - You are my hiding place (Michael Ledner)
• Hymn 688 - A mighty fortress is our God (EIN FESTE BURG)
• Psalm 32 - Tone IIa

The First Sunday in Lent is like riding in a car that has been going 65 miles an hour then the driver hits the brakes because he realizes he needs to be going in the other direction. All the music from the previous weeks with its "Alleluias" and upbeat tempos are gone, and we are unaccustomed to the quietness we find in Lent.

We start the service not with a prelude and opening hymn followed by the Gloria, but with silence and then the Great Litany, sung in procession. The Great Litany is an intercessory prayer including various petitions that are said or sung by the leader, with fixed responses by the congregation. The Litany was the first English language rite prepared by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, published in 1544. Cranmer modified an earlier litany form by consolidating certain groups of petitions into single prayers with response.

The Great Litany may be said or sung, with the officiant and people kneeling or standing, or it may be done in procession, as is our custom.  Because of its penitential tone, it is especially appropriate during Lent.

The anthem is Turn thy face from my sins, with words from Psalm 51. It is by Thomas Attwood, an English organist and composer who was fortunate enough to come under the patronage of the Prince of Wales (later George IV) at the age of 16. This enabled him to travel abroad to study in Naples and later Vienna, where he was a pupil of Mozart.  In 1796, when he was 31, he was chosen as the organist of St Paul's Cathedral, and in the same year he was made composer of the Chapel Royal. 

In spite of his modest achievements in the field of composition—which include some thirty-two operas—Attwood will be remembered for a few short anthems, including "Turn Thy face from my sins" and "Teach me, O Lord" (which we sang just two weeks ago at the Bishop's visit.) 

The only other piece of music outside the usual hymns is a chorale prelude by the Baroque composer Dietrich Buxtehude. Like many of the composers of the 1600s, Buxtehude loved to take a familiar hymn (in this case, Ein feste Burg - A Mighty Fortress) and add embellishments, or musical flourishes, that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note, like a trill or a turn. Sometimes the melody becomes so drawn out that you might not even recognize it. See if you can pick "A Mighty Fortress is our God" out of the notes you'll hear from the organ during the communion.

examples of Baroque ornamentation in art

Music for January 8, 2016 + The First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ

Vocal Music

• Christmas Joy – Mark Schweitzer (b. 1956)

Instrumental Music

• Christ Our Lord to Jordan Came, BuxWV 180 – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• When Christ’s Appearing Was Made Known,– attributed to Dietrich Buxtehude
• Præludium in C Major BuxWV 137 – Dietrich Buxtehude

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

• Hymn 76 - On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry (WINCHESTER NEW)
• Hymn R157 - We believe in God Almighty (DIVINUM MYSTERIUM)
• Hymn 135, st. 1&2 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn - Shall we gather at the river (HANSON PLACE)
• Hymn 132 - When Christ’s appearing was made known (ERHALT UNS, HERR)

The first Sunday after the Epiphany is the Sunday when we remember Christ's own baptism. It marks the beginning of his ministry on earth, and reminds us of our own call to be his followers. Epiphany itself marks the end of the Christmas Season. It is fitting and proper to remove all Christmas decorations.

But the spirit of Christmas should not be taken down. That's why we are singing this beautiful anthem by composer, author, and publisher Mark Schweitzer, using a text by African-American author, theologian, and educator Howard Thurman. He served as dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University from 1932 to 1944 and as dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University from 1953 to 1965. It was his theology of radical nonviolence that influenced and shaped a generation of civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr. The text  follows:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky has withdrawn,
When the kings see their prophesy rightly fulfilled,
When the princes and shepherds have gone;

 Then the true work of Christmas begins.

To find the lost,
To heal the broken hearts,
To feed the hungry,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among all brothers,
To make music in the heart.

All of the organ music today is by Dietrich Buxtehude, the North German organist who served as an inspiration to a young Johann Sebastian Bach.
Two of the pieces are based on German chorales that refer to Christ's baptism. The communion voluntary is based on a hymn that is not well known among Episcopalians, but is in our hymnal. You'll discover the tune and a contemporary translation of the hymn at number 139 in the Hymnal 1982. The other hymn is also in our hymnal, but is better known among us Anglicans. Hymn 132, When Christ's appearing was made known, is set to the tune ERHALT UNS, HERR, which we also use for the Lenten hymn The glory of these forty days (hymn 143) and the baptism hymn Descend, O Spirit, purging flame (hymn 297).
The setting which I am playing has been attributed to Buxtehude, but many authorities doubt that claim, thinking it may by by Samuel Scheidt or another long-forgotten church musician.

Music for June 19, 2016

Vocal Music

• Crucifix – Jean-Baptiste Faure (1830-1914), Bidkar Cajina, baritone

Instrumental Music

• We pray now to the Holy Ghost – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
• Elevation – Paul Benoit (1893-1979)
• Fugue in C Major – Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982)

• Hymn 388 - O worship the King (Hanover)
• Hymn 529 - In Christ there is no East or West (McKee)
• Hymn 707 - Take my life, and let it be (Hollingside)
• Hymn 652 - Dear Lord and Father of mankind (Rest)
• Hymn 535 - Ye servants of God, your master proclaim (Paderborn)

Jean Baptiste Faure
(painted by Edouard Manet)

Jean-Baptiste Faure was a operatic baritone who is best known today as the composer of Les Rameaux (The Palms), which has been a Palm Sunday staple for years in many churches (but not Good Shepherd, strangely enough.)

A choir boy in his youth, he entered the Paris Conservatory in 1851 and made his operatic debut the following year at the Opéra-Comique. He debuted at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in 1860, and at the Paris Opera in 1861. His last stage appearances are recorded as taking place in Marseilles and Vichy in 1886.

In addition to singing, Faure composed several enduring songs, including Sancta Maria, Les Rameaux (The Palms), and Crucifix. The latter two were recorded by Enrico Caruso, among others.

Though this was chosen for this Sunday several weeks ago, it's text is fitting for this first Sunday after the terrible shootings in Orlando. This is the English text:

Come unto Him, all ye who weep, for He too weepeth,
Come unto Him, all ye who mourn, for He can heal.
Come unto Him, all ye who fear,
Come unto Him, in woe and weal.
Come unto Him, in your last sleep, He never sleepeth.