Music for June 5, 2023 + Trinity Sunday

Vocal Music

• Father of Heaven, Whose Love Profound – Healey Willan (1880-1968)
• God Be in My Head – H. Walford Davies (1869-1941)

Instrumental Music

• Allein Gott in der Hőh – Andreas Armsdorff (1670 –1699)
• Christus, der ist mein Leben – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
• Allein Gott in der Hőh – 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 362 - Holy, holy, holy (NICEA)
• Hymn 321 - All glory be to God on high (ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HŐH)
• Hymn 371 - Thou, whose almighty word (MOSCOW)
• Hymn 295 - Sing Praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn R37 - Father, we love you (GLORIFY YOUR NAME)
• Hymn 368 - Holy Father, great Creator (REGENT SQUARE)
• Canticle 13 - Glory to You (John Rutter)

Trinity Sunday

I understand that priests hate to preach on Trinity Sunday, for trying to preach on the mystery of the Holy Trinity is akin to tightrope walking, without a net, in a high wind. I mean, it's a mystery, right? As a musician, however, I love Trinity Sunday because there is a lot of great music for the day, including one of my favorite hymns, "Holy, holy, holy." I remember singing that in the Methodist Church when I was a boy on every first Sunday of the month when we had communion.

Father of Heaven, Whose Love Profound

This setting of the hymn "Father of heaven, whose love profound," using the hymn tune ANGELUS, comes from the pen of the British-Canadian composer Healey Willan. The text is a hymn to the Trinity by the 19th century British priest Edward Cooper. The tune, which is found in our hymnal for an evening hymn (hymn 23), is a 17th century tune by the Silesian composer Georg Joseph who served at the court of prince-bishop of Breslau, Poland.

Though Healey Willan composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, he is best known for his church music. In 1913 he left his home in London and came to Toronto as head of the music theory department at the University of Toronto and organist and choirmaster at St. Paul's Church. From 1921 until his death he was precentor at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. He wrote adaptations of ancient service music, hymn tunes, faux-bourdons, newly composed service music, motets, symphonies, operas, cantatas, organ works, chamber music, songs, and incidental music for plays. The Hymnal 1982 includes the Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and Gloria in excelsis (S 91, S 114, S 158, and S 202) from his Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena.

God Be In My Head

Every week, at the end of the choir's rehearsal, we close with the singing of a short blessing in the form of an anthem, and the saying of compline, the service of night prayer. This year the choir has been singing this blessing from The Book of Hours, an early form of a prayer book prescribed for the monastic house at Salisbury, which was printed in London in 1514; one copy survives, at Clare College, Cambridge.

The music is by H. Walford Davies, an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. Davies served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, during which he composed the Royal Air Force March Past, and was music adviser to the British Broadcasting Corporation, for whom he gave commended talks on music between 1924 and 1941. He was knighted in 1922.

As this is the last time the choir will sing before summer break, we close our season as we close our rehearsal, by singing this blessing.

Organ Voluntaries

The voluntaries this morning are all based on two of the hymns from our morning service, and they are all settings by Baroque German Composers. (The Baroque period was that period spanning from 1600-1750, ending in the death of J. S. Bach.)

The opening and closing voluntaries are settings of the Hymn of Praise we will be singing during the month of June. Hymn 421, "All glory be to God on high," is fitting for Trinity Sunday as it praises each person in the Godhead. It is also fitting to be sung in place of the Gloria, as it is a metrical setting of the canticle.

The closing voluntary is a trio by Bach, using the tune in the pedal. You'll also hear fragments of the melody in the music played on the manuals (keyboards). 

The opening voluntary is also a trio, but with the melody played in canon. First you hear the melody in the right hand, then several measures later the same melody is taken up in the pedal. This is by Andreas Armsdorff, a German composer and organist. He was born in Mühlberg, a town in Southern Germany, and studied music and law. At some point in his early life he moved to nearby Erfurt where he may have studied with Johann Pachelbel.

Johann Pachelbel was the preeminent organist in South Germany at the time. In addition to his famous Canon, he wrote church music, including several volumes of organ music. The music during the Eucharist is a partita on our presentation hymn ("Sing praise to our Creator," hymn 295), one of a set of four partitas (variations) on German chorales which he wrote.

Music for May 21, 2023 + Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day

Vocal Music

• The Seven Joys of Mary – arr. Richard Shepherd (1949 – 2021)
• I Will Not Leave You Comfortless – Everett Titcomb (1884-1968)

Instrumental Music

• Prière du Christ montant vers son Père – Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
• Sonata in G Major: Adagio – Josef Hector Fiocco (1703-1741)
• Prelude on "Deo Gracias" – 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 215 See the Conqueror mounts in triumph (IN BABILONE)
• Hymn 450 All hail the power of Jesus’ name! (CORONATION)
• Hymn R37 Father, we love you (GLORIFY YOUR NAME)
• Hymn 460 Alleluia! sing to Jesus! (HYFRYDOL)
• Psalm 68 – tone VIIc

Ascension Day commemorates the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Happening 40 days after Easter, on a Thursday, it is one of the ecumenical feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of Easter and Pentecost.

We don't hold a separate service on Ascension Day, but we do acknowledge it on the Sunday after the Ascension with hymns and readings. The first reading from Acts is the story of Christ's departure. 

Prière du Christ montant vers son Père

Olivier Messiaen

French-Belgian composer Olivier Messiaen wrote an orchestral suite called L'Ascension in 1932-1933. The composer described the work as Four Symphonic Meditations and the sections are; 1) Majesty of Christ praying that His Father should glorify Him, 2) Serene Alleluias from a soul longing for Heaven, 3) Alleluia on the Trumpet, Alleluia on the Cymbal, and 4) Prayer of Christ ascending towards His Father. Messiaen arranged the suite for solo organ a year later. 

Our opening voluntary is that last movement, Prayer of Christ ascending to the Father. The subtitle is the words found in today's Gospel reading:

I have manifested Thy name unto men… And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. - John 17:6, 11

Messiaen is known for his unique composition style. Incorporating complex rhythms, harmony and melodies, Prière du Christ montant vers son Père is no exception to the composer's popular, distinctive style.  The extremely languorous tempo of the movement sustains the intense religious character of this work.

The Seven Joys of Mary

The Seven Joys of Mary is a traditional carol that tells of Mary’s joy at different points in Jesus’s life, probably inspired by the trope of the Seven Joys of the Virgin in the devotional literature and art of Medieval Europe. Though oft now heard in Lessons and Carol Services in December, it was not traditionally associated with the Christmas season. 

I chose to schedule it on this day because it ends with this stanza:

The next good joy that Mary had,

It was the joy of seven;

To see her own son, Jesus Christ

To wear the crown of heaven:

We believe Jesus now reigns in heaven, "that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with [God] and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting." (Collect for Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day, BCP p. 226)

I Will Not Leave You Comfortless.

This short motet from the pen of American organist, composer, and church musician Everett Titcomb.

His music was very popular within the Anglican church, particularly the Episcopal Church, in the first half of the 20th century.

A product of New England, Titcomb's association with church music and the Anglican faith began as a child. Although his family was associated with the Unitarians, Everett was brought into the Episcopal church very early. Through the pervasive influence of a neighbor, he joined the boy choir of St. James' Episcopal Church in Amesbury at the age of nine. Singing in the boy choir was a part of his musical education until a changing voice led him in a new direction, playing the organ for Sunday School.

By the time he was fourteen, he had become parish organist at St. James'.

After high school he began working at at the Church of the Messiah in Auburndale, a suburb of Boston. After seven years in Auburndale, Titcomb knew he needed a change and by the fall of 1909 he had

accepted an appointment at Christ Church, Andover, Massachusetts. He moved to a new apartment which was also near  the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Boston, and in 1910 he was hired as organist-choir master at the church. Titcomb would serve this parish for fifty years, and this little church would become within two decades a leader in the United States in the revival of plainsong and of Renaissance polyphony.

The motet is an ABA form and opens quietly with the tenor section chanting the theme that is immediately taken up by the rest of the choir entering on a G minor chord to establish the key. The first section is set in a syllabic, chordal style while the florid B section consist of an imitative setting of the word “alleluia.” This florid style is typical for hallelujahs going back to the medieval plain chant settings. The Basses sing the plain chant tune Veni Creator Spiritus while the rest of the choir sings alleluias.

Everett Titcomb

I will not leave you comfortless made Titcomb well known in Anglican circles of the English-speaking world. The motet was chosen for performance at the Crystal Palace in London at the annual choir festival in 1936, where it was sung by a choir of 4000 members. The event marked the first time that a work by an American composer had been chosen for one of those festivals. 

Interesting note: Messiaen's Prière du Christ montant vers son Père and Titcomb's I Will Not Leave You were both written within two years of each other, but while Messiaen pushes the norms of harmony, rhythm and form, Titcomb reaches back to the music of the Renaissance. Both are still very much a part of sacred repertoire today.

A NEW SONG: Music for October 23, 2022 + The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Oh, Sing to the Lord a New Song – John Leavitt (b. 1956)

Instrumental Music

• Chorale Prelude on a Melody by Orlando Gibbons – Healey Willan (1880-1968)
• Sonata IV: Andante – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Finale in D Minor – Eric H. Thiman (1900-1975)

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 680 O God, our help in ages past (ST. ANNE)
• Hymn 686 Come, thou fount of every blessing (NETTLETON)
• Hymn 424 For the fruit of all creation (EAST ACKLAM)
• Hymn 693 Just as I am (WOODWORTH)
• Hymn 636 How firm a foundation (FOUNDATION)
• Psalm 84:1-6 – Tone VIIIa

Oh, Sing to the Lord a New Song

This anthem is a departure from our usually sedate, organ-based fare. It is a contemporary setting of a contemporary paraphrase of Psalm 96. The composer of the piece is John Leavitt, a Kansas native who devotes himself full-time to composing and conducting. He is the artistic director and conductor of a professionally trained vocal ensemble known as The Master Arts Chorale and an associated children's choir, The Master Arts Youth Chorale, both in Wichita.

Born and raised in Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavitt did his undergraduate work is in Music Education at Emporia State University. After graduation, Leavitt moved to Wichita, Kansas where he worked in television for five years. At Wichita State University he pursued a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance with significant study in composition. While in Wichita he directed the parish music program at Immanuel Lutheran Church and served on the faculty at Friends University where he won the faculty award for teaching excellence in 1989.

He completed doctoral work in Choral Conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. 

Chorale Prelude on a Melody by Orland Gibbons

The melody by Orlando Gibbons, an English composer who lived in last half of the 16th century and the first quarter of the 17th century, can be found in our hymnal at hymn 670. In addition to his instrumental and choral works, Gibbons also wrote many hymn tunes, 17 of which were included in George Withers' 'Hymnes and Songs of the Church', published in 1623.

It is arranged by Healey Willan, the Canadian organist, who spent most of his professional career at St. Mary the Virgin in Toronto. Though born in England, Willan moved to Canada in in13, when he was 33, and spent the rest of his life there, becoming known as "the Dean of Canadian composers." 

He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano, but his best known works are his church music.

Sonata in E Minor: II. Andante

The communion voluntary is the second movement of a Trio Sonata by J. S. Bach. Bach compiled six “sonatas” for organ, reworking and expanding upon various earlier pieces. The fourth of these is designated as a “Trio sonata” in E minor, BWV 528, which simply describes three-part music written for two manuals and pedal.

The middle Andante movement in B minor features imitative interplay between the two voices in the manuals, while the pedal provides the bass line.

Finale in D Minor

The closing voluntary is by one of the leading organ composers from England of the 20th century. Eric Thiman was born in 1900 in Ashford, Kent, and spent his life in or around London.

Though largely self-taught, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at twenty-one, and a Doctor of Music of London University at twenty-seven – at the time the youngest person ever to achieve that qualification.

From 1931 he was Professor of Harmony at the Royal Academy of Music and was appointed Dean of the Music Faculty at London University in 1956. He was warmly respected and a gifted and patient teacher.

Unlike many of the well known organists in Great Britain, Thiman was not an Anglican. He was organist and Choir Director at two big non-conformist churches, Park Chapel, Hornsey (England) and City Temple in London. 

Music for September 11, 2022

Vocal Music

• Now Let Us All Praise God and Sing – Gordon Young

Instrumental Music

• Prelude and Fugue in D Minor – Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
• Prelude on St. Columba – Healey Willan (1880-1968)
• Sinfonie from Cantata 29: We Thank Thee, God – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 410 - Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LAUDA ANIMA)
• Hymn 470 - There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (BEECHER)
• Hymn 401 - The God of Abraham Praise (LEONI)
• Hymn 571 - Amazing grace (NEW BRITAIN)
• Hymn 708 - Savior, like a shepherd lead us (SICILIAN MARINERS)
• Psalm 51:1-4, 7-8, 11 – Tone VIIIb

Now Let Us All Praise God and Sing

This morning we sing an anthem by twentieth-century American organist and choral and organ composer Gordon Young.  Dr. Young was awarded 18 consecutive annual composition awards from The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. His works works total over 800, and a number of his church anthems such as this one have become standard repertoire.  These are Young's words which speak the praise of God within all our hearts expressed as “Alleluia”, an early Hebrew expression of praise which literally means "Praise to Yahweh" or "Praise God!"

Prelude and Fugue in D Minor

There are not many female composers, especially from the past. One of the few is Clara Schumann, the wife of the composer/pianist Robert Schumann. As a pianist, she was as good or better than Robert, but as a composer we will never know. He wrote over 150 pieces. She wrote only a fraction of that.

Though she had been encouraged by her father to compose as part of her musical education, she became more preoccupied with other responsibilities in life as she grew older, and found it hard to compose regularly. "I once believed that I possessed creative talent," she said, "but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose – there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?" Her husband also expressed his concern:

"Clara has composed a series of small pieces, which show a musical and tender ingenuity such as she has never attained before. But to have children, and a husband who is always living in the realm of imagination, does not go together with composing. She cannot work at it regularly, and I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas are lost because she cannot work them out."

The work you will hear today for the opening voluntary is a Prelude and Fugue which was originally written for piano, but I think it works equally well on the organ. The prelude and fugue form was an old compositional form, dating back to the days of Bach and Buxtehude. One can see in this composition that Clara was well-versed in music of other eras.

Sinfonie from Cantata 29: We Thank Thee, God, We Thank Thee

A concerto is a work for solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale. Bach never wrote such a work for organ and orchestra, so the closest we can come is this Sinfonie (overture or prelude) to his Cantata 29 

This work may have a familiar sound to listeners who do not already know this cantata: it is an arrangement of the Prelude from the Partita in E major for unaccompanied violin: 

The treble of the obbligato organ part plays the famous partita tune, transposed here from E major down a step to D major. Bach added trumpet and drum parts here for punctuation, and to make the opening line even more festive than the mood created by the partita theme alone. String and oboe parts provided additional reinforcement. It is unusual to find an obbligato organ part – more importantly, an independent organ part which is separate from the continuo. Was this a showcase for Bach’s own organ virtuosity? Or did Bach serve as a conductor here for the larger than usual cantata ensemble, while someone else – one of his talented sons? – stood at the organ?

Music for April 24, 2022 + Easter II

Vocal Music

• Most Glorious Lord of Life – William H. Harris (1883-1973)

Instrumental Music

• Variations on "O Filii et Filiae"– Wilbur Held (1914-2015)
• Salzburg– Rudy Davenport (b. 1948)
• Good Christians all, rejoice and sing– Healey Willan (1880-1968)

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

• Hymn 182 Christ Is Alive! (TRURO)
• Hymn R119 Psalm 150: Hallelujah, praise the Lord (ORIENTIS PARTIBUS)
• Hymn 206 Alleluia! O sons and daughters, let us sing (O FILII ET FILIAE)
• Hymn 205 Good Christians all, rejoice and sing (GELOBT SEI GOTT)
• Hymn R29 He is Lord, he is Lord (HE IS LORD)
• Hymn R91 Open our eyes, Lord (OPEN OUR EYES)
• Hymn 178 Alleluia, alleluia! Give thanks

Music for March 6, 2022 + The First Sunday in Lent

Vocal Music

• Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days – Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), arr. Mark Schweitzer

Instrumental Music

• Chorale Prelude on a melody by Orlando Gibbons – Healey Willan (1880-1968)
• Suite No. 4 in E Minor: Sarabande – George Frederick Handel (1685-1759)
• Hilf Gott, Dass Mir's Gelinge, BWV 624 – 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 s-67 The Great Litany
• Hymn R112 - You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord (ON EAGLE’S WINGS)
• Hymn 150 - Forty days and forty nights (AUS DER TIEFE RUFE ICH)
• Hymn R9 - As the deer pants for the water (AS THE DEER)
• Hymn 559 - Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us (DULCE CARMEN)
• Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 – Tone IIa

The anthem today is what classical musicians call a quodlibet, which is an arrangement of two or more familiar tunes in polyphonic relationship, meaning that they can be heard at the same time. The arranger, Mark Schweizer, has done that by combining the beautiful melody of Gabriel Fauré's Pavane, Op. 50 with the hymn-tune MORNING SONG (hymn 9 in the Hymnal 1982), using the text, "Lord, who throughout these forty days." The combination is a match made in heaven. Here are links for you to hear the two melodies by themselves. (Just don't listen during the sermon if you are reading this on Sunday!) 

Mark Schweizer

Gabriel Fauré

Fauré: Pavane / Rattle · Berliner Philharmoniker

Morning Song

The opening voluntary is an organ setting of another tune from hymnal which is not an explicitly Lenten hymn, Lord, forever at thy side, found at hymn 670. This tune is used in an anthem, though, which is often sung during Lent, Jesus, Grant Me This I Pray. This setting of the tune from the great English musician of the Renaissance Orlando Gibbons, is by the English-turned-Canadian composer, Healey Willan.

The closing voluntary is a short work by Johann Sebastian Bach found in his collection called Orgelbüchlein. Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) is one of the most extraordinary of all Bach’s organ collections and compositions. Even though it may seem to be just a collection of hymn-tune (chorale) arrangements for the church organist, it is considered by many scholars to be a masterpiece of organ literature. 

Bach planned a collection of 119 chorale preludes (only 45 were written) to be used during the liturgical year. Some are quite simple, while others are intricate works in miniature. Today I am playing one of the Lenten chorales on a text and tune well known to congregations during Bach's day.

The text itself is unusual. It was written in the 1500s by Heinrich Müller while he was in prison by the Duke of Saxony for his Lutheran sympathies. Müller included his name as an acrostic, using the first letter of each stanza to spell our his name. Also, the first stanza is weirdly self-referential: the poet asks God’s help “die Silben reimen zwingen” (to force these syllables to rhyme). Most hymns during the Reformation aimed to reach the entire worshipping community, not individual piety.

Much like Müller "forcing syllables to rhyme,"  Bach does the same thing, forcing the right hand to play two voices in canon. It’s an inside joke for the performer. For the listener, who might not perceive these counterpoint games, the idea is still clear from the meandering left-hand and pedal parts. The piece takes a lot of physical work to perform, and it sounds, at best, bizarre.  

Bach’s organ version was probably a deliberately rather awkward harmonic and canonic whole, with a left hand that searches around capriciously from high to low. Maybe Bach also thought it might not be so easy to keep constant faith if you were imprisoned for your religious beliefs for over ten years.

Music for May 3, 2020 + The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Vocal Music

• Psalm XXIII – Paul Creston (1906-1985), Amy Bogan, soprano

Instrumental Music

• The King of Love My Shepherd is – Healey Willan (1888-1968)
• Fugue in G (Gigue) BWV 577 - J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

Congregational Music (hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 708- Savior, like a shepherd lead us (SICILIAN MARINERS)

This Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is what's known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Look at all the readings for this Sunday Psalm, Epistle, and Gospel all talk about the Shepherd. Likewise, the music also focuses on the Lord as our Shepherd.

Today's musical offering is a luxurious setting of the 23rd Psalm by the American composer Paul Creston.

As a composer, Creston was about as self-made as he could be. Born Giuseppe Guttoveggio in New York City in 1906, Creston chose his professional surname from a high school play he'd been in, adopting "Paul" simply because it appealed to him. He taught himself composition and music theory while working full-time to support his family, meaning his style was independent of any outside influence. His work is noted for its complex and shifting rhythms, while retaining a distinctly modern American tonal sound.

Paul Creston

Early performances of his music by the avant-garde American pianist Henry Cowell led to a 1938 Guggenheim fellowship. In 1941, Creston's Symphony No. 1 received the annual award from the New York Music Critics' Circle. His music was championed by a number of important conductors, including Arturo Toscanini, Eugene Ormandy, and Leopold Stokowski.

From his earliest years as a composer, Creston maintained a post as organist of St. Malachy's Church in New York City (1934-1967). There is a distinct religious sensibility to much of his music that is clearly evident in such works as the Symphony No. 3 ("Three Mysteries"; 1950) and the orchestral meditation Corinthians: XIII, Op. 82 (1963).

His setting of Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd) is more musically demanding and technically difficult than some of the well-known choral settings, yet obtains an even greater feeling of tranquility. It will be sung by our soprano soloist, Amy Bogan.

The organ music includes Healey Willan's pastorale setting of the Irish tune, ST. COLUMBA. You’ll often hear The King of Love My Shepherd Is sung with this tune – but only because the publishers of the 1906 English Hymnal couldn’t secure the copyrights to the British tune that was originally written for The King of Love (DOMINUS REGIT ME). The publishers used the Irish hymn tune instead and it’s become a favorite.

ST. COLUMBA is named for (obviously) St. Columba – an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity to the area we now know as Scotland. (As legend has it, he may have also been the first person to have spotted the Loch Ness Monster!) Today St. Columba is one of the three patron saints of Ireland alongside St. Brigid of Kildare and – naturally – St. Patrick.

I end with the Fugue à la Gigue by Bach. It is a fun, lighthearted dance piece with a lively recurring tune that appears in every voice part (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) and interwoven in increasing complexity.

Music for February 23, 2020 + The Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• This Glimpse of Glory – David Ashley White (b. 1944)
• The Gift to be Simple – Dale Wood (1934-2009)

Instrumental Music

• Adoration – Florence B. Price (1887–1953)
• 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 427 - When morning gilds the skies (LAUDES DOMINI)
• Hymn 135 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON)
• Hymn 383 - Fairest Lord Jesus (ST. ELIZABETH)
• Hymn 328 - Draw nigh and take the Body of the Lord (SONG 46)
• Hymn 599 -  Lift Every Voice and Sing (LIFT EVERY VOICE)
• Psalm 99 - Hal H. Hopson

The last Sunday of Epiphany is also the last Sunday of Black History Month, and we end both with two pieces which represent a crucial point in music history.

Florence Beatrice Smith Price

The opening voluntary is an organ piece by Florence Beatrice Price, the first African-American woman to have had her work performed by a major symphony orchestra. In 1933 the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered Price’s Symphony No. 1 in E minor. This was a time when very few women composers were given time on the concert programs. The fact that this young black woman from Arkansas had any training was pretty unique in itself.

Florence Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was taught music by her mother from a young age after she was denied music education from the city. She then attended Boston's New England Conservatory in 1903 to study piano, organ, and composition, and returned to Arkansas with a teaching certificate to bring music education back to her hometown. However, after a series of violent, racially-charged events occurred in Little Rock, Price relocated to Chicago in 1927, where her music career greatly accelerated. She went on to have a prolific career, writing dozens of orchestral, vocal, instrumental, and chamber works, with a musical style influenced by composers such as Dvořák and Coleridge-Taylor as well as Negro spirituals and vernacular dances.

Price graduated as high school valedictorian at age 14. Her daughter once explained that Price really wanted to be a doctor, but no medical school would accept her application. So she became a composer instead! She had also been denied entry to higher musical learning in the south, so she left Little Rock in 1904 to attend the New England Conservatory and, after following her mother’s advice to present herself as being of Mexican descent, earned a bachelor of music degree in 1906, the only one of 2,000 students to pursue a double major (organ and piano performance).

Price continued to read medical journals and attended classes at local colleges and universities. She was a true lifelong learner. Music was her passion and became the field that offered her fulfillment, despite the struggles she encountered.

This simple organ work is from one of the several organ magazines of the 30s and 40s, and is more indicative of what was the norm for church music, rather than an example of Price's more sophisticated orchestral style.

James Weldon Johnson

Our Bishop, Andy Doyle, shared a post last week about the 120th anniversary of the great song of the African-Americans, Lift Every Voice and Sing. Written in 1900 as a poem honoring the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, it was first sung by a chorus of 500 school children. Within the next two decades, it became  known as the Negro anthem. And in 1919, though it rejected the idea of a separate “anthem” for African Americans, the NAACP declared Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing as its official song.

The poem was written by James Weldon Johnson and set to music by his brother, Rosamond. It's impact on Americans cannot be disputed.

Music for October 13, 2019

Vocal Music

• Rejoice, O Land – Healey Willan (1880 - 1968)
• Here, O My Lord – Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)

Instrumental Music

• Chorale Prelude on the Tune “Bevan” – Healey Willan
• Fanfare and Alleluia – Douglas E. Wagner
• Postlude in D – Healey Willan

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

• Hymn 411 - O bless the Lord, my soul (ST. THOMAS (WILLIAMS))
• Hymn - Wade in the water (Negro Spiritual)
• Hymn R 266 - Give thanks with a grateful heart (GIVE THANKS)
• Hymn R 191 - O Christ, the healer (ERHALT UNS, HERR)
• Hymn R 232 - There is a redeemer (GREEN)
• Hymn 397 - Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET ALLE GOTT)
• Psalm 111 - Jerome W. Meachen

This Sunday the Gospel from Luke tells us of ten lepers who are healed by Jesus. The tenth leper was a Samaritan, a foreigner to Jesus. But he experienced the love and healing which tore down the barrier to a relationship with Jesus. He was filled with the desire to praise and to thank God for this gift—not out of obligation, but out of genuine gratitude.
That is why I chose the anthem for Sunday:

Rejoice, O land, in God, thy might;
His will obey, Him serve aright.
For thee the saints lift up their voice;
Fear not, O land, in God rejoice.

Glad shalt thou be, with blessing crowned;
With joy and peace thou shall abound;
Yea, love with thee shall make his home
Until thou see God’s kingdom come.

Sometimes we become overwhelmed and anxious about all the ways we are foreigners to God and we build barriers to his Grace. We should take heart from this Samaritan, whose life is transformed from fear to love, from anxiety to perpetual thanks.

Healey Willan, 1965

The arrangement of this hymn is by the Anglo-Canadian organist and composer Healey Willan. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano. He is best known, however, for his church music.

He also composed the communion voluntary based on the hymn-tune BEVAN, which is used for the little known hymn Jesus, My Great High Priest. You'll hear the melody in the right hand, played again a measure later by the left hand on a different manual (keyboard.)

The Good Shepherd Handbell Guild will play for the first time this Sunday as they play Douglas Wagners Fanfare and Alleluia for the opening voluntary.

Music for June 16, 2019 + Trinity Sunday

Vocal Music

• Father of Heaven, Whose Love Profound – Healey Willan (1880-1968)

Instrumental Music

• All Glory Be To God on High - Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
• Adoration Antiphon (Holy, Holy) - Fred Bock (1939-1998)
• We All Believe in One True God - J. S. Bach (1685-1750)

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

• Hymn 362 - Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! (NICEA)
• Hymn S-236 - Canticle 13: Benedictus es, Domine – setting by John Rutter
• Hymn 686 – Come, thou fount of every blessing (NETTLETON)
• Hymn 295 - Sing praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn R37 - Father, we love you (GLORIFY YOUR NAME)
• Hymn R206 - Holy, holy (Jimmy Owens)
• Hymn 368 - Holy Father, great Creator (REGENT SQUARE)

I understand that clergy-types don't particularly care for preaching on Trinity Sunday. There's nothing innately inspiring about the doctrine of the Three-in-One. But as a musician, I love Trinity Sunday, because we have such good music from which to choose to honor this day. Holy, holy, holy has to be one of my favorite hymns to play, partially because people will sing it, and partially because, as a little boy growing up Methodist in a small town, we sang it every first Sunday of the month, when we would have Communion.  (It was the closest thing we had to a Sanctus!) I could sing it from memory.

The anthem is by Healey Willan, an English musician who immigrated to Canada early in the 20th century to teach at the Toronto Conservatory of Music. He was on faculty and staff there from 1913-1936, when he and the school parted ways. He had become organist at St. Mary Magdalene in 1921, and he remained there until his death in 1968.

Musically, he wrote in many different genres, including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano. He is best known today for his church music. Even in that he utilized disparate styles. For his choirs at St. Mary Magdalene he wrote music for the decidedly Anglo-Catholic congregation, with its more mystical approach. Willan's deep interest in plainsong and polyphonic, unaccompanied choral music is evident. But beginning in the 1950s he also began to write organ and choral music with a broader scope, using familiar hymn texts and tunes in his church music. The anthem today is an example of that. The text and tune are perhaps more familiar to Lutherans than Anglicans. The text is a prayer to the Trinity. Listen for this recurring phrase: Before thy throne we sinners bend....

There is also some good organ music based on the Trinity. One of my favorites is this sturdy chorale-prelude by Bach on the German chorale, Wir glauben all an einen Gott (We all believe in one God) The text is a paraphrase of the creed by Martin Luther, using a 15th century tune that Luther adapted for the text.  Bach use a fragment of the melody for the subject in his fughetta which I am playing as the closing voluntary.

I call it a fughetta because, unlike an actual fugue, the subject (melody) does not appear in the pedal. Instead, we find an ostinato passage which makes me feel like Sisyphus, for the pedal melody begins climbing up the pedalboard until it reaches an octave, then tumbles back down again, only to be repeated:

A contemporary of Bach's, Georg Philipp Telemann, wrote the opening voluntary, a two-part setting of the hymn we're singing as our hymn of praise, All Glory Be to God on High. It's a metrical setting of the Gloria which we sing every Sunday. In this organ piece, the melody is heard clearly in the upper voice, played by the right hand. The first verse is imitative, very much like a fugue, but with the melody played in half-notes above all accompaniment. The second setting returns to the usual rhythm of the hymn-tune while the left hand employs a playful dance-like motif.

Music for June 2, 2019 + The Sunday after Ascension Day

Vocal Music

• A Gaelic Blessing – John Rutter (b. 1945) 

Instrumental Music

• Prelude on “Deo Gracias” – Healey Willan (1880 – 1968) 
• Tribute – Craig Phillips (b. 1961) 
• Toccata on Hyfrydol – Craig Phillips 

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 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON) 
• Hymn 495 - Hail, thou once despised Jesus! (IN BABILONE) 
• Hymn R168 - If you believe and I believe (ZIMBABWE) 
• Hymn R136 - Alleluia (ALLELUIA) 
• Hymn 460 - Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (HYFRYDOL) 

Do you know what a rune is? John Rutter has said that his composition, A Gaelic Blessing, is based on "an old Gaelic rune". Every time I put that in the service leaflet as source of the text, one of our proof-readers assumes that my typing is as accurate as my organ playing and changes it to "an old Gaelic tune."

Every time.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (I just looked at mine on my shelf, from my college days!), a rune is a poem or song. Usually it has Norse or Scandinavian ties, but I guess we could call this Gaelic verse a rune.

I found this description of Rutter's piece on the Classic FM website, the website of the British Classical FM station which, unfortunately, we can no longer listen to in the States. I'm sure it has something to do with Trump. I wish I could claim this witty opening as mine, but alas, it isn't.

Musicians are a mischievous lot – as evidenced by the nickname ascribed to John Rutter’s A Gaelic Blessing. No sooner had it been composed in 1978 than it was being referred to as ‘A Garlic Dressing’.

Rutter is known for his beautiful simplistic choral miniatures – and this is the finest example of them all. Commissioned by an American Methodist church, the lush string accompaniment perfectly matches the serene text Rutter chooses to set. Although the words are filled with religious significance, it would be fair to expect the composer himself to hold deep religious beliefs. Rutter, however, describes himself as ‘An agnostic supporter of the Christian faith’.

Lasting under two minutes, A Gaelic Blessing is an enduring popular choice at weddings, christenings and funerals – not only for the deeply comforting words but for the equally tranquil and sensitive music Rutter sets them to.

https://www.classicfm.com/composers/rutter/music/john-rutter-gaelic-blessing/

I will say that I resist writing "Garlic Dressing" on the choir whiteboard everytime we sing. It is hard, but I manage to resist.

 a painting of the Ascension
from the 'Jesus Mafa’ project of Cameroon:

My opening voluntary is Healey Willan's bold setting of the hymn tune DEO GRACIAS, which we find in our hymnal at 218, the Ascension hymn "A hymn of glory let us sing." The tune is called DEO GRACIAS because these are the first two words of the original song, a ballad commemorating the victory of King Henry V of England at Agin-court, France, in 1415. This "Agincourt Hymn," as it is often called, is one of the most famous old English songs. (It is also used for another text in our hymnal, O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High. You can look this one up yourself, using the index in the back of the hymnal.)

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 the Triduum 2018

THE TRIDUUM is a fancy word meaning the Three (tri) Days (duum) that bring Holy Week to a close. Here are the music lists for the Maundy Thursday Service (7 PM March 29), Good Friday Service (Noon on Friday March 30) and the Easter Vigil (7 PM on Saturday, March 31)

March 29, 2018 + Maundy Thursday + 7 P.M.

Vocal Music

• Drop, Drop, Slow Tears – Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) 
• Ave Verum - Robert Lucas de Pearsall (1795-1856) 

Instrumental Music 

• Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness – Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795) 
• Ubi Caritas - Michael Larkin (b. 1951) 

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 576 - God is love, and where true love is (MANDATUM) 
• Hymn R148 - Brother, let me be your servant (THE SERVANT SONG) 
• Hymn 602- Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love (CHEREPONI) 
• Hymn R226 - Ubi caritas et amor (Jacques Berthier) 
• Hymn 479 - Glory be to Jesus (WEM IN LEIDENSTAGEN) 
• Hymn 171 - Go to dark Gethsemane (PETRA) 
• Hymn R169 - Stay with me (Jacques Berthier) 

Drop, drop, slow tears is a devotional anthem which we will sing during the foot washing. Like The King of love and Let all mortal flesh, Ralph Vaughan Williams ‘married’ a poignant text by the Jacobean poet and clergyman Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650) to one of Orlando Gibbons’s hymn tunes (Song 46, published in 1623) for The English Hymnal in 1906. Interestingly, poet and composer are linked by their connection with King’s College, Cambridge, where Gibbons was a chorister and Fletcher a student. 

March 30, 2018 + Good Friday + Noon 

Vocal Music 

• The Crucifixion – Samuel Barber
• Christine Marku, soprano 
• Were You There? - Spiritual 
• Richard Murray, baritone

Instrumental Music 

• O Sacred Head – Pamela Decker (b. 1955)

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.) 

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

Christine Marku will be singing the haunting solo, "The Crucifixion", by Samuel Barber as part of our Good Friday service. Barber wrote this solo as part of his song cycle, Hermit Songs, which he wrote for the American soprano Leontyne Price in 1953, when she was barely 27, a recent graduate of Julliard. Hermit Songs takes as its basis a collection of anonymous poems written by Irish monks and scholars from the 8th to the 13th centuries. "The Crucifixion" is from the 12th century collection The Speckled Book, translated by Howard Mumford Jones. Listen for the bird's cry in the piano accompaniment.

At the cry of the first bird
They began to crucify Thee, O Swan!
Never shall lament cease because of that.
It was like the parting of day from night.
Ah, sore was the suffering borne
By the body of Mary's Son,
But sorer still to Him was the grief
Which for His sake
Came upon His Mother.

Ms. Marku will present a vocal recital in our nave on April 22, 2018.

The beautiful Passion Hymn, O Sacred Head, Once Wounded, is arranged in a meditative setting for organ by Pamela Decker, Professor of Organ/Music Theory at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, and organist at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Tucson. She is also active as a composer and organ recitalist.

March 31, 2018 + Easter Vigil + 7 P.M.

Vocal Music 

• Come, Ye Faithful – R. S. Thatcher 

Instrumental Music 

• Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands – Johann Ludwig Krebs 
• Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing – Healey Willan 

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

• Hymn 580 - God, who stretched the spangled heavens (HOLY MANNA) 
• Hymn 648 - When Israel was in Egypt’s Land (GO DOWN, MOSES) 
• Hymn R9 - As the deer pants for the water (Marty Nystrom) 
• Hymn 880 - Christ our Passover (SINE NOMINE) 
• Hymn 174 - At the Lamb’s high feast we sing (SALZBURG) 
• Hymn 187 - Through the Red Sea brought at last (STRAF MICH NICHT) 

The title of the communion organ voluntary sounds like its more appropriate for Good Friday, and the minor key of the chorale would lead you to think you were right, but the text reveals the true meaning of the hymn, written by Martin Luther.

Christ lay in death's bonds
handed over for our sins,
he is risen again
and has brought us life
For this we should be joyful,
praise God and be thankful to him
and sing allelluia,
Alleluia

Krebs was one of the prized pupils of J. S. Bach. Although it is impossible today to view Krebs outside of the shadow of his musical mentor, Krebs established an independent reputation as a virtuoso organist, organ expert, and organ teacher. When Bach died, Krebs was immediately considered as his possible successor at Leipzig. Like Bach, Krebs perpetuated his career through his children: his son succeeded him as organist at the church in Altenburg, Germany, as did his grandson.

This piece comes from The Clavier-Übung of Krebs, a collection of 39 pieces based upon 13 favorite chorales of the 18th century.  In this setting of the Easter chorale, we hear the melody clearly, played in the left hand on a pungent reed stop, while the right hand plays a lilting, almost dance-like obbligato in triplets. The pedal furnishes a walking bass line. 

Music for October 15, 2017 + Good Shepherd School Sunday

Vocal Music

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

Instrumental Music

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

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Music for February 5, 2017 + The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Give Almes of Thy Goods – Christopher Tye (1505-1572)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude on Slane – Healey Willan (1880-1968)
• Let Us Break Bread Together – Dale Wood (1934-2003)
• Trumpet Tune in D – David N. Johnson (1922-1988)

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

• Hymn 372 - Praise to the Living God (LEONI)
• Hymn 488 - Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart (SLANE)
• Hymn 380 - From all that dwell below the skies (OLD 100TH)
• Hymn 325 - Let us break bread together (LET US BREAK BREAD)
• Hymn R306 - We are marching in the light of the Lord (SIYAHAMBA)

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

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

Northeast aspect of Ely Cathedral
by John Buckler

And, yes, the closing voluntary is the Trumpet Tune in D by David Johnson which was heard every Sunday for years on KUHF(KUHA) as the theme music for the Sunday morning program "With Heart and Voice" until the station was taken off the air. It was a sad day for music and the arts in Houston. 

Music for Christmas Weekend 2016

December 24, 2016 – 4 PM

Pamela Saxon King, soloist
The Good Shepherd Bell Choir
The Good Shepherd Liturgical Dance Company

Vocal Music

• Mary, Did You Know? – Buddy Greene
• Do You Hear What I Hear? - Gloria Shayne Baker (1923 – 2008)

Instrumental Music

• Go, Tell It on the Mountain – Patricia A. Sanders
• Away in a Manger – Patricia A. Sanders
• Chorale partita on From heaven above to earth I come – Paul Manz
• I. Theme
• II. Allegro
• III. Andante Sostenuto
• IV. Allegro Moderato
• V. Adagio
• VI. Toccata

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

• Hymn 86 - O come, all ye faithful (Adeste Fidelis)
• Hymn 96 - Angels we have heard on high (Gloria)
• Hymn 115 - What child is this? (Greensleeves)
• Hymn 111 - Silent night, holy night (Stille Nacht)
• Hymn 99 - Go, tell it on the mountain (Go Tell It on the Mountain)

December 24, 2016 – 6:30 and 10 PM

The Good Shepherd Choir
Allison Gosney, soprano

Vocal Music

• Adam Lay Ybounden – Richard Shephard (b. 1949)
• What Is This Lovely Fragrance - Healey Willan (1880-1968)
• Hail, Blessed Virgin Mary – Italian Carol, arr. Charles Wood (1866-1926)
• Ding Dong, Merrily on High– French tune, arr. Charles Wood
• What Sweeter Musick - William Bradley Roberts (b. 1947)
• Ave Maria – César Franck (1822 – 1890)
• Christmas Joy - Mark Schweitzer (b. 1956)

Instrumental Music

• Chorale partita on From heaven above to earth I come – Paul Manz
• I. Theme
• II. Allegro
• III. Andante Sostenuto
• IV. Allegro Moderato
• VI. Toccata

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

• Hymn 86 - O come, all ye faithful (Adeste Fidelis)
• Hymn 96 - Angels we have heard on high (Gloria)
• Hymn 87 - Hark! the herald angels sing (Mendelssohn)
• Hymn 115 - What child is this? (Greensleeves)
• Hymn 79 - O little town of Bethlehem (St. Louis)
• Hymn 111- Silent night, holy night (Stille Nacht)
• Hymn 99- Go tell it on the mountain! (Go Tell It on the Mountain)

December 25, 2016 – 10:15 AM

Instrumental Music

• Good Christian Friends, Rejoice – Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
• In the Bleak Midwinter—John Purifoy 
• O Little Town of Bethlehem – Jim Brickman (b. 1961)
• Prologue – Traditional, arr. Joseph W. Clokey (1890-1960)

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

• Hymn 107 - Good Christian friends, rejoice (In dulci jubilo)
• Hymn 96 - Angels we have heard on high (stanzas 1, 2, 3) (Gloria)
• Hymn 102 - Once in royal David’s city (Irby)
• Hymn 115 - What child is this? (Greensleeves)
• Hymn 100 – Joy to the world (Antioch )

Music for May 22, 2016 + Trinity Sunday

Vocal Music

• Father of Heaven, whose love profound – Healey Willan (1888-1968)

Instrumental Music

• Come, Christians, Join to Sing (Madrid and Holy Manna) - Don Schlosser (21st C.)
• Reflections on "The Valley of Peace" - Albin C. Whitworth (b. 1938)
• Intermezzo - Gordon Young (1919-1998)
• Praise! - Gilbert M. Martin (b. 1941)

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

• Hymn 362 - Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! (Nicea)
• Hymn 421 - All glory be to God on high (Allein Gott in der Hoh)
• Hymn 368 - Holy Father, great Creator (Regent Square)
• Hymn 295 - Sing praise to our Creator (Christus, der ist mein Leben)
• Hymn R37 - Father, we love you (Glorify Your Name)
• Hymn R206 - Holy, holy  (Jimmy Owens)
• Hymn 371 - Thou, whose almighty word (Moscow)

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, where we focus on the mystery of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The choir will be singing a setting of the hymn Father of Heaven, whose love profound by the Canadian composer Healey Willan. With over 800 published compositions to his name, Willan is considered to be the dean of Canadian composers, even though he was born in England. He moved to Canada when he was 33 to become the organist-choirmaster of Toronto's largest church, St. Paul's, Bloor Street. In 1914 Willan was appointed Lecturer and Examiner in music at the University of Toronto. But it was his royalties as a church music composer which allowed him to leave "low church" St. Paul's in 1921 and to become Precentor of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto. He remained there until his death. St. Mary Magdalene, under Willan, became a North American mecca for choral and Anglican church musicians.

All the other music today is from American composers of our time, with all but one still alive and working in church music. The opening voluntary is by Nashville composer Don Schlosser, Minister of Music at Glendale Baptist Church in Nashville. He has had a career in both music ministry and in the music publishing industry in Nashville. After 17 years as a full-time church choral director in three states, Schlosser worked for ten years for a local church-based publisher, producing music demos, and leading conferences. Don is also currently music director of Nashville in Harmony, Music City’s first and only chorus for LGBT persons and their straight allies. Don has written, arranged, and published choral music for adults, students, and children, as well as keyboard arrangements. Fluent in Spanish, he has also taught seminars and conducted choirs in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Costa Rica. Schlosser holds both a Bachelor of Arts in piano performance and a Master of Church Music in composition

The first communion voluntary is by Kentuckian Albin C. Whitworth is our Minister of Music & Worship/Organist.  Albin holds a B.A. and the D.C.M from Asbury University and a M.Ed. and Ed.S. from the University of Louisville.  For decades he was organist and choir director at the First United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY, leading a 100 voice choir from a massive pipe organ. Today he is organist at Deer Park Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Katie, have two identical twin sons – Mark and Kent.  They also have 4 grandchildren – Tyler, Andrew, Mary Kathryn, and Margaret.  Albin and Katie enjoy traveling when they are not spending time with family and friends.

Many thanks to Jill Kirkonis for playing the organ this morning and Mac Jones for directing the choir in my absence. I am in Memphis for the wedding of my son, Paul, to Leigh Ann Battles. We covet your prayers for their joy and happiness!