Music for January 2, 2021 + The Second Sunday after Christmas

Vocal Music

• Christ Be With Me – Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)

Instrumental Music

• The Old Year Away Hath Fled – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Let all mortal flesh keep silence – Charles Callahan (b. 1951)
• In Thee Is Joy – Johann Sebastian Bach 

Congregational Music (all hymns from The Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 109 - The first Nowell the angel did say (THE FIRST NOWELL)
• Hymn 421 - All glory be to God on high (ALLEIN GOTT IN DER HÖH)
• Hymn 127 - Earth has many a noble city (STUTTGART
• Hymn 480 - When Jesus left his Father’s throne (KINGSFOLD)
• Hymn 324 - Let all mortal flesh keep silence (PICARDY)
• Hymn 119 - As with gladness men of Old (STUTTGART)

This Sunday is the second Sunday after Christmas day. Between this Sunday and the next, the church calendar includes the Epiphany, January 6, the day the Magi discovered the newborn King. Since we don't have a service on Epiphany, we acknowledge this with some Epiphany hymns this Sunday. And since Sunday is so close to the beginning of the new year, I'm also throwing in a couple of organ preludes Bach included in his collection Orgelbüchlein, which tracks the liturgical year with a set of chorale preludes starting in Advent, advancing through Christmas to Pentecost; these two pieces are included in the section for New Year's Day. The first is evident: The Old Year Now Away Hath Fled.

The second is not overtly written for New Year, but it's infectios joy is perfect for the week after Christmas. In Thee Is Gladness (In dir ist Freude) is constructed around an extremely brief five-note motif from the first five notes of the chorale. Bach sticks teasingly to these five opening notes, of which two are even the same note. It is only by degrees that we get to hear the whole melody, but even then the little motif keeps popping up.

The anthem is a setting of St. Patrick's prayer, Christ be With Me, which is a perfect for a new year.

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. Amen.

Noel Rawsthorn

It is written by Noel Rawsthorne, a British organist and composer who was organist at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral from 1955 until 1980. He had begun there as a chorister at age 10.

After stepping down from the cathedral in 1980, he worked with the music publisher Kevin Mayhew on arrangements for the organ of well-known classical works. Volume followed volume, covering every possible occasion. Likewise, numerous collections of simple voluntaries were published, each being cleverly and precisely imagined, their structures handled with great care. 

Music for May 30, 2021 + Trinity Sunday

Vocal Music

• Round the Lord in Glory Seated – C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918)
• Christ, be with Me – Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)

Instrumental Music

• Suite for Organ – John Stanley (1712-1786)
• I. Introduction and Allegro
  
• II. (Slow with expression)
• III. Trumpet Voluntary
• Allein Gott in der Höh – Andreas Nicholas Vetter (1666 – 1734)
• Allein Gott in der Höh - Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau (1663 - 1712

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 362 Holy, holy, holy (NICEA)
• Hymn 295 Sing praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn 371 Thou, whose almighty word (MOSCOW)
• Canticle 13 Glory to You (John Rutter)

"And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory." Isaiah 6:3

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the only day in the Liturgical calendar to commemorate a doctrine rather than a person or event. As the name suggests, Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's always the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity.

Musically, we observe the day by singing hymns praising the Trinity. One of the most familiar, and a personal favorite, is the opening hymn Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. One that is not as well known, but equally as beautiful and powerful, is the hymn Round the Lord in Glory Seated.

Our hymnal pairs a text by the 19th century Anglican Bishop Richard Mant with a tune by C. Hubert H. Parry, an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Parry is best known for the choral song Jerusalem, the coronation anthem I was glad and the hymn tune REPTON, which sets the words "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind". 

Hubert Parry earned a Bachelor of Music degree at Oxford at the age of 18.  Although an accomplished organist, pianist, and violinist, he initially worked for three years as a clerk at Lloyd’s of London before leaving to further his musical studies.  Parry published his first orchestral work in 1878 (Piano Concerto in F# Minor) and then went on to compose a wide variety of works including oratorios, librettos, chamber pieces, cantatas, choral works and solo songs.

Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry

In 1883 he joined the Royal College of Music as a teacher and became its director in 1894, a position he held until his death.  He was knighted in 1898 and made a baronet in 1903.  Probably his most notable pupils were Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst.  Parry was not a distant man and inspired others through his kindness, warmth and enthusiasm.  From 1900-1908, he served as a Professor of Music at Oxford and received three honorary doctorate degrees from Cambridge, Oxford and Dublin.  Most music critics in recent years consider him to be one of the most underrated of the late Romantic composers and a number believe he was one of the most influential English composers since Henry Purcell.

RUSTINGTON was first published in the Westminster Abbey Hymn Book (1897) as a setting for Benjamin Webb's "Praise the Rock of Our Salvation." The tune is named for the village in Sussex, England, where Parry lived for some years and where he died.

St. Patrick's Breastplate is a poem that is often used on Trinity Sunday. This great Trinitarian text belongs to a Celtic style of hymn known as a lorica, from the Latin word for “armor” or “breastplate.” In effect, it serves as both a statement of faith and a prayer for God’s protection. The most familiar part of this poem is the prayer "Christ be with me," which has been set to a new tune by the British organist Noel Rawsthorne. He was organist of Liverpool Cathedral for 25 years and City Organist and Artistic Director at St George’s Hall, Liverpool.

Another lesser known British Composer is John Stanley, a contemporary and friend of George Fredrick Handel. He was completely blind from the age of two, but in spite of this he was greatly admired both as a composer and as a performer, and Handel himself was often seen, along with other famous musicians of the day, listening to Stanley's performances on the organ of the Temple Church, London, where he was organist for more than 50 years.

The opening voluntary is a group of pieces taken from a collection of voluntaries which have been grouped together by Henry Coleman to form a suite , and have been freely transcribed for the modern organ. The organ of 18th century England did not have the full pedalboard that organs now have, so the music has been arranged to accommodate that.

Music for March 17, 2019

Vocal Music

• Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive – 19th C. American Hymn

Instrumental Music

• Erbarm' Dich mein, o Herre Gott! BWV 721  (Be Merciful to Me, O Lord God) – J. S. Bach
• Londonderry Air – Noel Rawsthorne (1929-1919)

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

• Hymn 401 - The God of Abraham praise (LEONI)
• Hymn 455 - O love of God, how strong and true (DUNEDIN)
• Hymn 495 - Hail, thou once despised Jesus (IN BABILONE)
• Hymn R243 - You shall cross the barren desert (BE NOT AFRAID)
• Hymn 598 - Lord Christ, when first thou cam’st to earth (MIT FREUDEN ZART)
• Psalm 27– Psalm tone IIa

Every five or six years St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday. Now I recognize that this is not an official Holy Day in the Episcopal Church, but I have always loved the Irish tune, Londonderry Air, played on the organ. (Probably because as a teenage I had two recordings of the melody played on Theatre organs by none other than Virgil Fox and Billy Nalle.) So I use this as an excuse every time St. Patrick's Day and Sunday occur together to play an arrangement.

This year the arrangement is by the English organist Noel Rawsthorne, who died just two months ago at the age of 89. Rawsthorne became organist of Liverpool Cathedral when he succeeded his teacher, Harry Goss-Custard, in 1955. He stayed at Liverpool until his retirement in 1980. The Liverpool organ is the largest pipe organ in the UK. You can read about it here. (Notice that the cathedral has only had four organists since the organ was installed in 1923!

The communion voluntary is an early work (perhaps 1703?) by Johann Sebastian Bach. The stately melody, in long, slow half notes, rises from a heavy, mournful bass line with repeated four and five-voice chords in quarter notes in the left hand. The melody is what is called a cantus firmus, a well known Lutheran choral theme. The title means "Be Merciful to Me, O Lord God" in German, and you can feel the pain and the guilt of the penitent through the cantus firmus, as he (or she) ascends and seeks pardon from God.

We see no models of this simple form in the complex North-German style of Buxtehude and his circle, although its somewhat archaic style is reminiscent of Johann Kuhnau.

In addition to the unusual texture of this work, it also has unusual harmonies. There are more minor 7th and 9th chords than usual; more chord progressions a 3rd apart than usual; and more untied suspensions than usual.  It truly is an oddity among the organ works of Bach, but one that has become a favorite of organists the world over.

An early printing of the Hymntune DETROIT, in shaped-notes, with the melody in the tenor.

The choir is singing a sparse acapella setting of the 19th century American tune, DETROIT. The text is from the 20th century. Rosamond E. Herklots wrote these words in 1966 after digging out weeds in her garden and thinking how bitterness, hatred, and resentment are like poisonous weeds growing in the Christian garden of life. "Forgive Our Sins" is a hymn about being ready to forgive others again and again-as Jesus said, seventy-times-seven times! We have many hymns about God's forgiveness of our sins, but this one adds a most helpful guide in forgiving others' sins. Herklots revised her own text into the second-person singular ("you") in 1967.

The hymn tune was very popular among Primitive Baptists, and in 1933, George Pullen Jackson included it among the "Eighty Most Popular Tunes" in his White Spirituals in the Southern Uplands. It was only in the last half of the 20th century that it was included in mainline hymnals. Both The Hymnal 1982 and the RENEW hymnal include this pairing of text and tune.

Music for March 3, 2019 + The Last Sunday after Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Christ, the Glory – Jean-François Lallouette (1651-1728)
• Alleluia, Song of Gladness – plainsong arr. Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude and Fugato on “Crusader’s Hymn” – Gordon Young (1919-1998)
• Prière – Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)
• Processional – William Mathias (1934-1992)

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

• Hymn 460 - Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (HYFRYDOL)
• Hymn 383 - Fairest Lord Jesus (ST. ELIZABETH)
• Hymn 135 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn R90 - Spirit of the living God (Daniel Iverson)
• Hymn R102 - The Lord is my light (Jacques Berthier)
• Hymn R201 - Be still, for the Spirit of the Lord (BE STILL)
• Hymn R291 - Go forth for God, go to the world in peace (GENEVA 124)
• Psalm 99 - simplified Anglican Chant by Jerome W. Meachen

The Last Sunday after Epiphany, which observes the Transfiguration of Christ, is like one big final "Hurrah" before we enter the quiet, contemplative season of Lent (Ash Wednesday is March 6.) The Gospel tells of the time Christ reveals his true Glory upon the mountain just before his own passion begins. We remember that glory this Sunday.

We also say "farewell" to our alleluias. The liturgy of the medieval church forbade the use of alleluias from a period before Lent until Easter, a practice which we observe in our own Lenten discipline. Therefore, this Sunday the choir will sing a hymn with roots from the medieval church and tune from the 16th century which is often called “Farewell to Alleluia.” Here is a beautiful meditation on this hymn from the Lutheran blogger Marie Greenway

My communion voluntary is a quiet piece by the English organist Noel Rawsthorne, who died in January at the age of 89. Rawsthorne was Organist of Liverpool Cathedral for twenty-five years from 1955-1980 before becoming Organist Emeritus. After study at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now The Royal Northern College of Music), he won scholarships to study with on the continent with both Fernando Germani & Marcel Dupré. 

From 1980-1984 he was City Organist & Artistic Director at St. George’s Hall, Liverpool, and travelled widely as a recitalist in U.K. Europe and USSR. In recognition of his many achievements, he was awarded a D.Mus from the University of Liverpool in 1994.

Music for September 13, 2015 + The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• You Are the Christ, O Lord – Richard Wayne Dirksen (1921-2003)
• Lord, for thy Tender Mercy’s Sake – John Hilton (1565-1708?)

Instrumental Music

• Suite du Premier Ton – Louis-Nicolas Clerambault (1676-1749)
• Basse et Dessus de Trompette on de Cornet séparé, en dialogue
• Récits de Cromorne et de Cornet séparé, en dialogue 
• Sortie – Noel Rawsthorne (b. 1929)

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 675 Take up your cross, the Savior said (BOURBON)
• Hymn 707 Take my life, and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE)
• Hymn R 232 There is a Redeemer (GREEN)
• Hymn 522 Glorious things of thee are spoken (AUSTRIA)

Richard Wayne Dirksen at
Washington National Cathedral.

Sunday's offertory is a hymn straight out of our hymnal (hymn 254), but one that is practically unknown by the congregation. I chose it because the text amplifies the opening of the Gospel this Sunday, which is the account of Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. William H. How, the same person who wrote "For all the saints, who from their labors rest," wrote this hymn to commemorate the Confession of St. Peter (January 18). The tune used for the text is by Richard Wayne Dirksen, who was for many years the Organist and Choir Master of Washington National Cathedral. He wrote it in 1982 for use in our hymnal. It's a canon, much like "Row, row, row your boat," in that it can be sung in a round. In fact, we will do that when we repeat the first stanza at the end of the anthem. Dirksen named the tune WYNGATE CANON to honor his son's family, who lived on Wyngate Street in Bethesda, Maryland.

The communion motet is a choir favorite, Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy's Sake. It's a jewel from the English Renaissance period of choral music. Once attributed to Richard Farrant, it now is thought to be by the elder John Hilton. Check out this previous post of mine to read more about this anthem and the mystery of it's composer.

Looking at my organ music, I realize all the titles are in French! (And it's not even close to Bastille Day!) So let me do a little translating to help you understand these strange (to most) words. Louis-Nicolas Clerambault was a French musician, best known as an organist and composer. He made his living and gained fame in France much in the same way and at the time as J. S. Bach in Germany (though without the enduring popularity.) He worked as both a court and church musician, composing a large number of religious motets and hymns, more than 25 secular cantatas, sonatas for violin and basso continuo, a book of dance pieces for the harpsichord, and two suites for organ. It is the first suite that I use for my opening and communion voluntaries. It was the custom at the time for the title to describe the compositional form of the piece. Hence, the opening voluntary (Basse et Dessus de Trompette on de Cornet séparé, en dialogue) is a work featuring the Bass and Soprano of the Trumpet stop and the Cornet stop, separately, in dialogue. A Cornet (pronounced kor-neh) is a compound organ stop, containing multiple ranks of pipes which create a bright tone suggesting the Renaissance brass instrument, the cornett. The quieter communion voluntary (Récits de Cromorne et de Cornet séparé, en dialogue) would be a solo by the Krummhorn (sort of an early oboe) and the Cornet in dialogue with each other. It's been said that melodic charm wins out over religious spirit in Clérambault's organ music.