WAKE UP! Music for Sunday, November 27, 2022 + Advent I

Vocal Music

• People, Look East – arr. Malcolm Archer (b. 1952)

Instrumental Music

• “Sleepers, wake!” A voice astounds us – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Larry Dalton (1946-2009)
• “Sleepers, wake!” A voice astounds us – Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780)

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

• Hymn 57 - Lo! he comes with clouds descending (HELMSLEY)
• Hymn 73 - The King shall come when morning comes (ST. STEPHEN)
• Hymn 59 – Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding (MERTON)
• Hymn R 152 - I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON)
• Hymn 68 - Rejoice! rejoice, believers (LLANGLOFFAN)
• Psalm 122 – Tone 1f

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, starting a new year in the church. We sing hymns and songs focusing on the coming of Christ.

People, Look East

"People, Look East" first appeared in The Oxford Book of Carols (1928). The text was written by the same poet who wrote the popular hymn "Morning has broken," Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965). In England, she is beloved as the author of more than eighty children's books and poem collections, most notably Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep, Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard, and The Little Bookroom.

Key images of the season are abundant. "People, Look East" is the direction of the rising sun and, in the history of Christianity, the direction of the coming Messiah. In stanza two, the bare earth is waiting for the seed that will flourish in the reign of the Promised One. In stanza three, the stars that guided the Magi shape the "bowl" of the heavens, giving signs of hope beyond "the frosty weather." The angels' song, in stanza four, sets "every peak and valley humming," an oblique reference to Isaiah 40:4, "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low. . ."

Except for one word that changes in the last two lines of each stanza, the poem and its musical setting give the sense of a refrain. "Love," in turn, is defined as "Guest," "Rose," "Star," and "Lord." 

The lively tune, a traditional French carol BESANÇON, which earlier appeared with the anonymous text, "Shepherds, shake off your drowsy sleep," provides a festive setting for this wonderful Advent text. In the last forty years, this hymn has gained increasing popularity, as evidenced by its appearance in a number of hymnals in the United States.

Sleepers, Wake!

The Gospel lesson from Matthew 24 warns us

Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.(verse 42

I therefore had to choose the old Advent standby, “Sleepers, wake!” A voice astounds us, for the organ voluntaries this Sunday. The opening voluntary is an arrangement of a movement from a Bach cantata (No. 140) arranged by J. S. Bach himself. The keystone of the work, in the middle of the cantata, it is a chorale for tenor. This, along with Sheep may Safely Graze and Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring must surely rank among the best known and most popular of Bach’s individual cantata movements.

The chorale melody is played with a minimum of embellishment on a trumpet sound while the principal, or basic organ sound, declaims the obbligato melody. One of the wonders of this movement is the manner in which the chorale and obbligato melodies appear to have virtually no connection with each other, and yet fit together perfectly. Julian Mincham, in his writings on Bach’s Cantatas (JSBachCantatas.com), says

It is possible that Bach saw this as a symbol of the earthly and the spiritual, seemingly apart, dissimilar and diverse and yet, by reason of the Ordained Natural Order, ultimately fitting together and perfectly complementing each other. Thus we might consider the chorale as representing matters spiritual and the foursquare, almost stolid string melody as earthly life and environment. Each may be depicted perfectly well independently but the fundamental message is that they have been conceived, by the Almighty, as the two parts of the same reality.

The closing voluntary is by a cousin and pupil of Bach, Johann Ludwig Krebs.  His organ music is composed in the forms used by Bach and leans heavily on Bach’s style. It is technically very accomplished. Krebs also wrote trio sonatas, sonatas for flute and harpsichord, and some sacred vocal music.

Music for September 4, 2022 + The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• I Love You, O My God Most High – David Hogan (1949-1986)

Instrumental Music

• Trio in D Minor – Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780)
• Ubi Caritas – Gerald Near (b. 1942)
• Praeludium in F Major – Johann Ludwig Krebs

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982 with the exception of "I can hear my Savior calling" which is from LEVAS II.)

• Hymn 594 - God of grace and God of glory (CWM RHONDDA)
• Hymn - I can hear my Savior calling (NORRIS)
• Hymn 576 - God is love, and where true love is (MANDATUM)
• Hymn 675 - Take up your cross, the Savior said (BOURBON)
• Psalm 1 – Tone VIIIa

I Love You, O My God Most High

I’m always moved by stories of talented people who are cut down in the prime of life. Such is the story of David Hogan, the composer of today’s anthem. Hogan was an American composer, teacher, and performer with ties to both the East and West Coasts. He had moved to France to teach at the American Conservatory at the Palace of Fontainebleau in Paris, and was flying back to Paris on July 17, 1996 on TWA Flight 800, when it suddenly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York. Thus ended a life dedicated to music.

A native of Virginia, Hogan graduated from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University with a bachelor's degree in 1971, and would go on to earn a master's degree in voice in 1975. He enjoyed enormous success both as a composer and teacher and still found time to perform internationally as a concert tenor and pianist. For three years in a row, his students won first place in the Student Composers Competition of the Music Teachers National Association.

Dedicated to God as well as his craft, he had the distinction of being one of the two composers chosen to write new works for the Consecration of the Washington National Cathedral in 1989. Our kids choir learned his Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis a few years ago for the Diocesan Youth Choral Festival. But he also wrote simple sacred music too, such as today’s anthem, written for his small choir at St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco.  It’s a simple setting of a traditional Irish melody, Daniel, arranged for two-part mixed choir. Simple but elegant, it uses the text by St Ignatius of Loyola, as translated by Edward Caswall.

I love you, O my Lord most high,

for first your love has captured me;

I seek no other liberty:

bound by your love, I shall be free.

May memory no thought suggest

but shall to your pure glory tend,

may understanding find no rest,

except in you, its only end.

All mine is yours: say but the word,

say what you will, it shall be done;

I know your love, most gracious Lord,

I know you seek my good alone.

Apart from you, nothing can be,

so grant me this, my only wish,

to love you, Lord, eternally,

you give me all in giving this.

Johann Ludwig Krebs

Wait, Who?

Krebs was an organist and composer from a highly musical family.  His father, both brothers, and his three sons all received formal musical training; his son Johann Gottfried was also an extremely prolific composer.

Best remembered as a pupil of Bach, Krebs was educated at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, as were his brothers.  The oft-repeated story that Bach punningly referred to him as the finest 'crab' in his "brook" (Krebs im Bach) is apocryphal, but Bach did provide a written testimonial as to his skill in composition and in playing the keyboard, lute, and violin.

Over his career Krebs held three organ posts, all in the viscinity of Leipzig: first at the St Marien church in Zwicken, then at the castles of Zeitz and, finally, Altenburg.

His status as a student of Bach tended to shade many of his compositions.  Although many of his works do stay very close to the outdated Bach model, with a conservative love of counterpoint, other compositions exhibit a more up-to-date style galant, a light and elegant free homophonic style of musical composition in the 18th century as contrasted with the serious contrapuntal style of the baroque era. 

In today's two organ pieces, the opening voluntary is an example of his mastery of Baroque counterpoint. The Trio in D Minor is written in three parts: two top parts played separately by the hands, and a bass line played by the feet. There is a lot of imitation between the two keyboard parts.

The closing volutary is an example of the more 'modern' style galant. This meant simpler, more song-like melodies, a decreased use of polyphony, short, periodic phrases, and a reduced harmonic vocabulary emphasizing tonic and dominant

. 

Music for Sunday, September 26, 2021 + The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Wash Me Throughly (Chandos Anthem No. 3) – George Frideric Handel 

Instrumental Music

• Prelude on “Mit Freuden Zart – T. Frederick H. Candlyn (1892-1964)
• If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee – Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780)
• If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee – 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 408 Sing praise to God who reigns above (MIT FREUDEN ZART)
• Hymn R168 If you believe and I believe (trad. Zimbabwe)
• Hymn 343 Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless (ST. AGNES)
• Hymn R291  Go forth for God (GENEVA 124)
• Psalm 19:7-14 Psalm Tone VIIIa

In 1717, George Frederick Handel became the composer in residence at Cannons, the court of James Brydges, who became the First Duke of Chandos in 1719. As part of his responsibilities, he wrote eleven "anthems" for use in the chapel there, but these are more than just a simple anthem. They are multi-movement works which foreshadow the greatness found in his oratorios. Handel was limited in the resources available to him, so it was written for only three voices (soprano, tenor, and bass) with intimate instrumental forces of oboe, two violins, and basso continuo (usually the organ with the bass line doubled by an instrument). It is true chamber music.

G. F. Handel (without his wig)

The choir will sing the third movement of the third Chandos anthem, which is based on verses from Psalm 51. Originally written for alto and tenor, today the entire choir will be singing together. Handel himself chose the texts for all the Chandos Anthems, using primarily as his source the Psalter of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The opening voluntary is a organ prelude on the Bohemian Brethren tune from the 16th century, MIT FREUDEN ZART. It is set for organ by the esteemed former organist of St. Thomas Church, New York City, T. Frederick H. Candlyn. Born in England, he moved to the United States at age 23 to become the organist/choirmaster at St. Paul's, Albany. He moved to St. Thomas in 1943, where he stayed until his retirement in 1954. His name is still prominent in the choral libraries of church choirs in this country.

The accompanying photo shows the rector of St. Pauls, George Taylor, presenting Candlyn with an umbrella in recognition of 25 years of perfect attendance in Sunday School! 

If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee is hymn 635 in the Hymnal 1982, and its lyrics are especially appropriate for the scripture readings this Sunday. Since we won't get a chance to sing it, I encourage you to read the text while waiting during communion, or after you get back to your seat. I'm playing two different settings of the German chorale, Wer nur den lieben Gott, both by German composers of the Late Baroque. Johann Ludwig Krebs (composer of the communion voluntary) was held in high regard by his contemporaries, including the older musician J. S. Bach, who made up a play on their two names ( Krebs [crab or crayfish] and Bach [brook or stream]) by saying "He is the only crayfish in my stream." It is not surprising that many of his works, especially his organ compositions, are very much like those of Bach

Music for Sunday, May 23, 2021 + Pentecost

Vocal Music

• If Ye Love Me – Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 1585)
• Gracious Spirit, Dwell in Me – K. Lee Scott (b. 1950)

Instrumental Music

• Dearest Jesus, We Are Here – Johann L. Krebs (1713-1780)
• Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now – Johann G. Walther (1685-1748)
• Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist (Come God, Creator, Holy Ghost) BWV 667– 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 511 Holy Spirit, ever living (ABBOT’S LEIGH)
• Hymn R168 If you believe and I believe (Zimbabwean)
• Hymn R291 Go forth for God, go to the world in peace (GENEVA 124)
• Psalm 104 – tone VIIIa

Thomas Tallis was the preeminent composer of the English Renaissance. He was such an important  person during the Tudor period that he was one of the characters in the 2007 BBC television series The Tudors, though in a highly fictionalized version. A Catholic, he was able to survive the the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism, and his music often displays characteristics of the turmoil. During Elizabeth I's reign, he wrote music using Latin texts, in a florid style. 

Henry VIII's break from the Roman Catholic church in 1534 and the rise of Thomas Cranmer noticeably influenced the style of music being written. Cranmer recommended a syllabic style of music where each syllable is sung to one pitch, as his instructions make clear for the setting of the 1544 English Litany. As a result, the writing of Tallis and his contemporaries became less florid, using English texts.

Today's anthem is an example of English text writing. If Ye Love Me was actually written during the reign of Elizabeth I, but it is a noted example of this Reformation compositional style, essentially homophonic but with some elaboration and imitation. Typically for Anglican motets of this period, it is written in an ABB form, with the second section repeated. It has become a favorite of English speaking choirs the world over. 

It was sung at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in 2018.

The other anthem is a setting of a hymn by the 19th century English Congregational minister, Thomas T. Lynch. Lynch's hymn is set in this meter: 7.7.7.7.7.7 (seven syllables per line). But K. Lee Scott sets this text to the tune ADORE DEVOTE, a chant from the 13th century, which has the meter 6.5.6.5. D (Doubled). As you can imagine, some creative license has been used in fitting the 19th century text to the 13th century tune, including writing an entirely new 4th stanza written by the composer. Thankfully, it works. (The tune ADORE DEVOTE is in the Eucharist section of the hymnal as hymn 314: Humbly I adore thee, Verity unseen, as well as the hymn 357, Jesus, Son of Mary, fount of life alone in the Burial section.)

All the organ music for this Sunday comes from the Baroque period, the period in music history that is roughly the years 1600-1750. It was the period where the organ truly was the king of instruments, especially in Germany, the home of all three of today's composers. The first piece is a piece by Johann Ludwig Krebs. Krebs studied under his father and was later a favorite pupil of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach at Leipzig. His music shows many of the same attributes found in Bach's music, and his best organ works equal anything by Bach. Bach (who had also instructed J. Ludwig's father) held Krebs in high standing. However, it was quite difficult for Krebs to obtain a patron or a post at any cathedral. This can be attributed to the fact that by this time the Baroque tradition was being left behind in favor of the new galant music style. This point in time also marked the transition to the classical music era, with composers such as Bach's son, C.P.E. Bach. 

Today's opening voluntary is one of a set of pieces for organ and wind instruments that Krebs wrote. The trumpet part is played by Sydney Peltier, our alto section leader. She came to us at the start of the year. She is a teacher in Houston ISD, after teaching for a couple of years as a middle school choir director in Humble ISD.

The next two opening voluntaries are by another contemporary of Bach, Johann Gottfried Walther. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that of Johann Sebastian Bach, he was the famous composer's cousin.  Walther as a city organist of Weimar wrote exactly 132 organ preludes based on Lutheran chorale melodies. Two of those are the settings of the hymn Lord Jesus Christ, be Present Now which I'll be playing for the second half of the opening voluntary. (The same tune is used in our hymnal for No. 3,  Now that the daylight fills the sky and No. 310, O saving Victim, opening wide).

The first one is written for keyboard alone - no pedal and no trumpet. But the second one was written with the pedal part playing the melody, which today will be played on the trumpet.

The closing voluntary is the extended chorale setting of Come, God, Creator, Holy Ghost, from Bach's The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668. This chorale prelude on Martin Luther's hymn for Pentecost "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" consists of two variations linked by a bridging interlude: the first is a miniature chorale prelude almost identical to BWV 631 in the Orgelbüchlein, with an uninterrupted cantus firmus in the soprano line; in the second, the four lines of the cantus firmus are heard in the pedal, beneath a flowing imitative ritornello accompaniment on the keyboard.

It is one of the last things he ever wrote. In 1750 when Bach began to suffer from blindness before his death in July, BWV 666 and 667 were dictated to his student and son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnikol and copied posthumously into the manuscript. 

Music for April 15, 2018 + The Third Sunday of Easter

Vocal Music 

• Come, Ye Faithful – Reginald. S. Thatcher (1888-1957)

Instrumental Music 

• Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands – Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780)
• Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness – Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795) 
• Let Heaven and Earth Rejoice – 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 182 - Christ is alive! Let Christians sing (TRURO) 
• Hymn 417 - This is the feast of victory (FESTIVAL CANTICLE)) 
• Hymn 193 - That Easter day with joy was bright (PUER NOBIS) 
• Hymn R18 - Come, let us with our Lord arise (SUSSEX CAROL) 
• Hymn 295 - Sing praise to our creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN) 
• Hymn 325 - Let us break bread together (LET US BREAK BREAD) 
• Hymn 180 - He is risen, he is risen (Unser Herrscher) 
• Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9 - Jeff Ostrowsk 

Do you ever watch the late night talk shows, and find that, while their conversations are vaguely current, it's like they are a couple of weeks behind the times? Then you click on the information button on the screen and find that, sure enough, this is The Tonight Show from a month earlier. Sometimes the networks repeat a recent program that was really good but may have missed a larger audience.

That's what's going on today.

Most of the choral and instrumental music you are hearing today got their first exposure at our Easter Vigil, a wonderful service that (unfortunately) many of you missed. (We'll work on that next year, right?)

The anthem is the best known work of  English composer Reginald S. Thatcher. Born in Salisbury, Thatcher received his education at the Royal College of Music and at Worcester College, Oxford, England. His career consisted of a series of music school appointments, including director of music at Harrow Public School, the Royal Naval College and principal of the Royal Academy of Music. From 1954 to 1960 Thatcher was president of the Royal College of Organists. He also served on the editorial committee of The BBC Hymn Book (1951). In 1952 Thatcher was knighted for his contribution to British music and Culture.

He also has one hymn-tune in the Hymnal 1982, which is used for  39. Jesus, Redeemer of the world and 394. Creating God, your fingers trace.

Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio,1601,
Oil on canvas, National Gallery, London

The text for the anthem is by Eighth-century Greek poet John of Damascus. Written around 750 and inspired by the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, this text is from John's poem for the Sunday after Easter.

John's father, a Christian, was an important official at the court of the Muslim caliph in Damascus. After his father's death, John assumed that position and lived in wealth and honor. At about the age of forty, however, he became dissatisfied with his life, gave away his possessions, freed his slaves, and entered the monastery of St. Sabas in the desert near Jerusalem. One of the last of the Greek fathers, John became a great theologian in the Eastern church. He defended the church's use of icons, codified the practices of Byzantine chant, and wrote about science, philosophy, and theology.

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 December 17, 2017 + The Third Sunday of Advent

Vocal Music

• Rejoice in the Lord Alway – Anon. 16th C.

Instrumental Music

• Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648 – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
• Magnificat V (no. 14 from "Vêpres du commun des fêtes de la Sainte Vierge", op. 18)- Marcel Dupré (1886-1971).
• Fuga super: Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn (Magnificat), BWV 733 - J. S. Bach (J. L. Krebs?)

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

• Hymn 657 - Love divine, all loves excelling (HYFRYDOL)
• Hymn 59 - Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding (MERTON)
• Hymn R128 - Blessed be the God of Israel (FOREST GREEN)
• Hymn R152 - I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON)
• Hymn R278 - Wait for the Lord (Taizé)
• Hymn 76 - On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry (WINCHESTER NEW)
• Psalm 126 - In convertendo – Tone VIIIg

Mary's song of praise, called the Magnificat, is one of the traditional songs of Advent. It derives its
name from the first work of the Latin text

Magnificat anima mea Dominum;
My soul doth magnify the Lord.

The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55) where it is spoken by Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Found only in Luke's Gospel, is one of four hymns, distilled from a collection of early Jewish-Christian canticles, which complement the promise-fulfillment theme of Luke's infancy narrative. The other songs are Zechariah's Benedictus (1:67–79); the angels' Gloria in Excelsis Deo (2:13–14); and Simeon's Nunc dimittis (2:28–32).
(The presentation hymn this morning is a metrical setting of the Benedictus.)

Though we are not singing a setting of the Magnificat this morning, I am playing organ music based on the Canticle of Mary.

In Germany, Martin Luther translated the Latin text to German and gave us what is now called "The German Magnificat." Originally sung to the chant Tonus peregrinus, (Latin: ‘wandering tone’), the chant was soon "straightened out" into what we recognized today as a metrical hymn tune, or chorale. Bach used this chorale melody in his cantata Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10, and today's opening voluntary is his organ transcription of the fifth movement of that work.

German Magnificat set to the Tonus Peregrinus

The Chorale tune used by Bach and Krebs.

In the fifth movement, "Er denket der Barmherzigkeit" (He remembers his mercy), the piece begins with a bass line of "emphatic downward semitone intervals" which Klaus Hofmann interprets as "sighs of divine mercy". [1] The melody is played by oboes and trumpet while accompanied by alto and tenor singing in imitation. The voices often sing in parallel thirds and sixths, which expressed mildness and compassion according to the Baroque idea that certain rhythmic and melodic motifs could express particular "affects."

The opening phrase of that hymn was also used as the subject (theme) of the Fugue I am playing for the closing voluntary. Once thought to be by Bach, prevailing scholarship suggests that the fugue is not actually by Bach, but by one of his students, Johann Ludwig Krebs. Discoveries of manuscripts from the time established the composer of the piece as Krebs.

While not up to the artistry usually displayed in the fugues of Bach, it is still an fine work.  Krebs presents the stately chorale theme in a somewhat dry fashion in the opening, but afterwards his subtle contrapuntal voicing enlivens the music, drawing in the listener. When he finally makes use of the pedal just past the midpoint of the work, the music suddenly takes on an epic air, a greater sense of religious grandeur. Throughout the piece, Krebs subtly employs a motif, as well as its inversion, which it derives from the work's countermelody, in the end demonstrating his mastery in development and contrapuntal writing.

This communion voluntary comes from a set of Assumption Day vesper improvisations that Marcel Dupré later committed to paper. He would play an improvisation on the Canticle between the singing of the verses. This slow, mysterious movement is based on the following verse:

- He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel; as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed foreve

[1] J.S. Bach - Cantatas, Vol.23 (BWV 10, 93, 178, 107) (CD). Åkersberga, Sweden: BIS. 2003. BIS-1331. Retrieved 31 May 2017. With English liner notes by Klaus Hofmann (p7)

Music for May 10, 2015 + The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Vocal Music

• The Story Tellin' Man II - Ken Medema 
• I Give You a New Commandment – Peter Aston (1938-2013)
• Give Ear unto Me – Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739)

Instrumental Music

• Rejoice, Beloved Christians – Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780)
• Praeludium in F Major – Johann Ludwig Krebs

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 (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)
• Hymn 455 O Love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN)
• Hymn R 226 Ubi caritas et amor (Jacques Berthier)
• Hymn 610 Lord, whose love through humble service (BLAENHAFREN)

Quick Pop Quiz: What is the greatest commandment?

• A. Thou Shalt honor thy father and mother.
• B. Love thy neighbor as yourself
• C. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.
• D. Thou shalt not wear white until after Memorial Day.

The answer is C, though B comes in a close second, and A has special relevance this Sunday. (It's Mother's Day - a gentle reminder from your music ministry.) We will make no comment about D.

I bring this up because this Sunday's Gospel from John 15 reminds us what Jesus said about commandments: If we love him, we will keep his commandments. “This is my commandment", he says, "that you love one another as I have loved you". It's about love. So all of our vocal music centers on that theme.

Peter Aston

The Good Shepherd choir sings a setting of a text from John 13 by English composer, Peter Aston. Though best known as a composer of church music, Aston's career combined teaching and conducting as well as composing. He held posts at the University of York and University of East Anglia,and conducted leading British orchestras and various international choirs. He was a founder of the Norwich Festival of Contemporary Church Music and was a Lay Canon of Norwich Cathedral. He died a month before his 75th birthday near Norwich, U.K., on September 13, 2013.

Benedetto Marcello

At communion the St. Gregory Choir will sing Benedetto Marcello's two part anthem Give Ear unto Me, with a text paraphrased from Psalm 17. Even this psalm concentrates on our following the commandments:

Give ear unto me, Lord, I beseech Thee,
for I have walked in Thy commandments,
Let me be judged with righteous judgment,
O let my sentence, come from Thy presence.

Marcello was an Italian composer, writer, and teacher, best known today for his church music and instrumental works. He was a younger contemporary of Antonio Vivaldi, and, indeed, his musical style closely resembles that of the Venetian master.

Ken Medema

However, the main musical offering this Sunday is the presentation of the musical, The Story Tellin' Man II, by Ken Medema. Every Spring the St. Gregory Choir presents a short musical presentation of a Biblical story in our 10:15 worship service.

One of the first musicals written in a contemporary vein for children was The Story Tellin' Man. Written in 1975, it was a collection of several of the parables, or stories, told by Jesus (the Story Tellin' Man) and has become a classic. Medema used several different musical styles to tell the different stories. Kids love singing the music, but the entire musical is 45 minutes long - we Episcopalians don't have patience for long sermons on Sunday morning, much less long musicals! - so I have devised a way to divide the work into TWO musicals - the first one focusing on the "lost" parables (lost coin, lost sheep, lost son) and the second one telling the story of the Good Samaritan. It's that story that we tell this Sunday as we hear the scripture about "Love One Another." I think it's a perfect fit.

Be sure to read about Ken Medema's inspiring story here.

The opening and closing voluntaries are by Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer noted for his organ music. He began his musical studies under his father and was later a favorite pupil of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach at Leipzig. (Bach held him in high regard, punning on both their names (Krebs [crab] and Bach [brook]) by saying "He is the only crab in my brook."
Krebs's organ music is composed in the forms used by Bach and leans heavily on Bach’s style. It is technically very accomplished. Krebs also wrote trio sonatas, sonatas for flute and harpsichord, and some sacred vocal music.

About the hymns:

• All creatures of our God and King (LASST UNS ERFREUEN) We are singing this hymn, the "Canticle of the Sun" by St. Francis of Assisi, in a nod to Rogation Sunday, the sixth Sunday before Easter, the day when the Church has traditionally offered prayer for God’s blessings on the fruits of the earth and the labors of those who produce our food. The word “rogation” is from the Latin rogare, “to ask.” It is good to be reminded of our dependence upon those who produce our food and our responsibility for the environment. We will omit those stanzas with an asterisk.
• O Love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN) The love of God lies at the heart of the Christian message, and that love is not an abstract idea but an act of redemption. William Temple points out that the essence of Christianity is not "God is love" but "God so loved that he gave," and this love is the theme of Horatio Bonar's great hymn.
• Ubi caritas et amor (Jacques Berthier) One of the most loved and familiar of the songs from the Taizé Community in France, it was written by Jacques Berthier, the organist at St-Ignace, the Jesuit church in Paris from 1961 until his death in 1994.
• Lord, whose love through humble service (BLAENHAFREN) This hymn was written in 1961 and is a reminder that, as Christians, we should follow the example of Christ, whose life was spent serving others. Our worship in church is in vain unless it is followed by concerns for others.

Music for February 1, 2015 + The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Vocal Music

• The Apple Tree – Mark Schweizer (b.1956)

Instrumental Music

• Trio in D minor – Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780)
• Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Prelude in G Major, BWV 568 – J. S. Bach

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

• Hymn 493 O for a thousand tongues to sing (AZMON)
• Hymn R115 Psalm 111: God’s holy ways are just and true (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)
• Hymn 536 God has spoken to his people (TORAH SONG)
• Hymn 530 Spread, O spread, thou mighty word (GOTT SEI DANK)

Mark Schweizer, the composer

There is a beautiful poem that has become popular as a text for Christmas Carols called "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree." Many composers have set this anonymous 18th century poem as a choral work, including Elizabeth Poston, whose setting was made famous by the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge, with its inclusion in their yearly Christmas Lessons and Carols. Our choir has sung that one, but this week we are singing a simple a capella setting by Mark Schweizer. But more about him in a moment.

I've always found it curious that "The Apple Tree" was thought of as a Christmas Carol, when it mentions nothing about the incarnation or birth of Jesus. The text is, however, full of allusions to both the apple tree (such as in Song of Solomon 2:3 which has been interpreted as a metaphor representing Christ), and to Jesus' description of his life as a tree of life.There was an old English tradition of wassailing or wishing health to apple trees on Christmas Eve, so that may be where the Christmas connection came in.

The tree of life my soul hath seen,

Laden with fruit, and always green,

The trees of nature fruitless be,

Compar'd with Christ the appletree.

His beauty doth all things excel,

By faith I know, but ne'er can tell,

The glory which I now can see,

In Jesus Christ the appletree.

For happiness I long have sought,

And pleasure I have dearly bought;

I missed of all but now I see

'Tis found in Christ the appletree.

I'm wearied with my former toil,

Here I will sit and rest awhile;

Under the shadow I will be

Of Jesus Christ the appletree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,

It keeps my dying faith alive;

Which makes my soul in haste to be

With Jesus Christ the appletree.

Mark Schweitzer, the author

Mark Schweizer is an interesting man. A native of Florida, he received music degrees from Stetson University in DeLand and the University of Arizona including a doctorate in vocal performance. He went on to teach voice and perform professionally before starting his own publishing company which publishes church music AND murder mysteries. That sounds like an unusual combination, but if you've ever worked in a church, it makes perfect sense. Read more about him from his bio on the Goodreads page.

• O for a thousand tongues to sing (AZMON) “If I had a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ with them all.” So said Peter Böhler to Charles Wesley, inspiring the first line of the classic hymn, “Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer’s praise” (Psalter Hymnal Handbook.) Written to celebrate the one year anniversary of Charles’ conversion to Christianity, this declaration of Christ’s power and victory in his own life, rich in Biblical imagery of the Kingdom of God, becomes our own hymn of praise. We stand with the angels before the throne of God, lifting our voices as one church to glorify the one who “bids our sorrows cease.” (from Hymnary.org) I am using it today because of its reference to healing in the fifth stanza.
• Psalm 111: God’s holy ways are just and true (LASST UNS ERFREUEN) This is a relatively recent poetic paraphrase of Psalm 111 (the psalm appointed for this day) by Barbara Woollett (b.1937), a full-time housewife and mother as well as a hymn writer.  The tune for this Psalm setting is the great German chorale "Laast uns erfreuen."
• God has spoken to his people (TORAH SONG)  Catholic priest Willard Francis Jabusch (b. 1930) wrote this text for his congregation in Chicago in 1966, using the Israeli tune, TORAH SONG (or YISRAEL V'ORAITA, as it is known in other hymnals.) The tune is not in a typical major or minor key, but is instead in a strange mode which may sound foreign to our ears, but is prominent in the synagogue music of Eastern Europe, as well as Jewish folk and Hasidic music.
• Spread, O spread, thou mighty word (GOTT SEI DANK) This hymn expresses a worldwide concern for education and mission. Originally in German by J. F. Bahnmeaier with seven stanzas, the Catherine Winkworth translation of the first three stanzas made it into the hymnal, along with a new fourth verse  by modern hymnist F. Pratt Green.