Music for February 11, 2018 + The Last Sunday after Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Christ, Upon the Mountain Stands – Robert W. Lehman (b. 1960) 
• Thanks be to God – Marty Haugen (b. 1950) 

Instrumental Music

• Chorale Prelude on Salzburg – Aaron David Miller (b. 1972) 
• Chorale Prelude on St. Elizabeth – Aaron David Miller 
• Toccata – Georgi Mushel (1909-1989) 

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

• Hymn 135 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG) 
• Hymn R238 - He is exalted (HE IS EXALTED) 
• Hymn 529 - Fairest Lord Jesus (St. ELIZABETH) 
• Hymn 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON) 
• Hymn 490 -  I want to walk as a child of the light (HOUSTON) 
• Hymn 314 - Humbly I adore thee (ADORO DEVOTE) 
• Hymn R 247 - Shine, Jesus, shine (SHINE JESUS SHINE)

As part of our Black History Month commemoration, I wanted to include the anthem, Thanks Be To God. The composer, Marty Haugen, is not an African-American. He is not even Episcopalian. He's a 67-year-old white guy from Minnesota who was raised as a Lutheran and is now a member the United Church of Christ. Despite being a non-Catholic, his music has found great favor in the Catholic church as well as other liturgical churches looking for newer expressions through music.

What makes this anthem relevant to Black History Month is its inclusion of that great anthem of the Civil Rights movement, "We Shall Overcome." Haugen presents that inspiring song as counterpoint to his own melody. It is fitting, as you can see in the text of his anthem:

Thanks be to God when people care, thanks be for friends and loved ones,
Thanks be to God forever and ever 

Thanks be to God for food and home, thanks be for health and laughter,
Thanks be to God forever and ever 

Thanks be to God when hatred ends, thanks be for peace and safety.
Thanks be to God forever and ever 

Teach us the way of your peace, kindle your fire within us,
 Give us a vision of a world where people care for each other. 

 We shall overcome, We shall overcome,   Deep in my heart, I do believe that we shall overcome someday. 

Thanks Be To God was written as part of a larger work, Agapé , a reflection on the Eucharist, with ancient stories & contemporary heroes. This was part of the section on Dr. King.

An interesting development in the clouded history of "We Shall Overcome" was made known just last month, as a federal district court in New York on Jan. 26 oversaw a negotiated settlement that places “We Shall Overcome” in the public domain, while giving due credit to the woman who wrote the original version of the song some 70 years ago.

Louise Shropshire 1913-1993

Louise Shropshire was the director of music at Revelation Baptist Church in Cincinnati when her minister asked her family to host a young minister, Martin Luther King, who was in Cincinnati to speak at a banquet. While there, she shared with a him a hymn she had written in 1942 (and later copyrighted in 1954) called. "If My Jesus Wills".  This is the likely source from which folk singer Pete Seeger derived the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome” when he first heard it sung by striking African-American tobacco workers in the late 1940s. Her original text goes:

I'll overcome,
I'll overcome,
I overcome someday
If my Jesus wills,
I do believe,
I'll overcome someday. 

Music for February 4, 2018 + The Fifth Sunday of Epiphany

Vocal Music

• O Christ, the Healer – Richard Gieseke (b. 1952)

Instrumental Music

• Pavane - Alec Rowley (1892 –1958)
• The Quiet Church – Mark Fax (1911-1974)
• Processional on “Praise to the Lord” – Martin Shaw (1875-1958)

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

• Hymn 423 - Immortal, invisible, God only wise (ST. DENIO)
• Hymn 529 - In Christ there is no East or West (MCKEE)
• Hymn 135 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn R 223 - Soften my heart (Graham Kendrick)
• Hymn R 224 - Healer of my soul (John Michael Talbot)
• Hymn R 227 - Jesus, remember me (Taizé)
• Hymn 390 - Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LOBE DEN HERREN)
• Psalm 147:1-12 - Laudate Dominum – Tone Ih

February is Black History Month, celebrating the accomplishments of African-Americans and their contributions to American society and culture. We're pretty familiar with the Spirituals and Gospel songs that Black Americans have contributed to our sacred music repertoire, but not so much with music in the more classical vein, and especially organ music.

Mark Oakland Fax was an African American educator and composer from Baltimore, Maryland.  He showed early promise as a musician, and by the time he was a teenager, he was accompanying silent movies on the organ at Baltimore's Regent Theatre and playing for church on Sundays.

He enrolled as a student at Syracuse University and graduated with honors in 1933. As a student, Fax won the prestigious Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in a national competition and was elected to the All-University Honor Society.  Depression-era conditions forced him to forgo graduate school, and he accepted a position at Paine College in Georgia, where he founded and chaired the music department.

In 1942, he the entered the Eastman School of Music, where he also studied piano at Bennington College in Vermont. During this time he composed music for the Martha Graham Dance Troupe. After receiving his Masters of Music in 1945, he taught at Black Mountain College in North Carolina for one year before moving to Washington, D.C. for a faculty position at Howard University, teaching theory and serving as director of the music school.

In addition, he held numerous posts at churches, most notably Asbury United Methodist Church, Washington, DC where he was the music director, organist, and composer.

In Washington, he received favorable attention. Washington Post critic Paul Hume praised Fax’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano as “striking…difficult…a work of surprising contrapuntal texture” and declared the composer’s oeuvre “music of rare power.” ’Til Victory is Won (1967), Fax’s epic operatic history of the African American experience, was mounted at the Kennedy Center. Today, except for a small group of organists and conductors, few musicians know his music.

 A review of Fax’s works reveals that his compositions range in genres including vocal solo, choral, operatic, symphonic, chamber and solo instrumental works. Very little has been published, though several organ works have been included in a relatively new series of books highlighting the organ music of African American composers.

Music for January 28, 2018 + The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree – Mark Schweitzer (b. 1956)

Instrumental Music

• Wo soll ich fliehen hin? (Whether Shall I Flee?) – Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 694 (1685-1750) 
• Sonata No. 51 in B-flat Major – Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
• Praeludium and Fugue in E Minor – Johann Sebastian Bach, BWV 533

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 536 - Open your ears, O faithful people (TORAH SONG)
• Hymn 380 - From all that dwells below the skies (OLD 100TH)
• Hymn R201 - Be still, for the Spirit of the Lord (BE STILL)
• Hymn R266 - Give thanks with a grateful heart (GIVE THANKS)
• Hymn 530 - Spread, O spread, thou mighty word (GOTT SEI DANK)
• Psalm 111 – Confitebor tibi – Tone IVe

The anthem this morning is a simple but beautiful setting of an anonymous poem, The Apple Tree. We first sang this setting three years ago, and I wrote about it and its composer then, so if you want to read what I wrote, click here. It's worth it. I really did a good job. 😀

The opening voluntary is an early work of Johann Sebastian Bach on the Lutheran Chorale Wo soll ich fliehen hin, a hymn about the fearful sinner who diligently tries to escape the clutches of the devil, and finds redemption and peace in the blood of Jesus. Those happy Lutherans! Bach must not have been too keen on this arrangement, for he never tried to publish it, and it was only because one of his students, Johann Kirnberger, who discovered it among twenty-four organ compositions following Bach's death, that we even have access to it today.

The piece is a trio, meaning that there are three parts, or lines of music; two played by each of the hands, and the third, the chorale-melody, played by the feet.  "Above the doom-laden chorale melody in the pedal, which unfurls frightfully slowly and is therefore unrecognisable, the right hand plays a hurried escape motif. Nevertheless, the cheerful undertone in the left hand reveals that there will be a satisfactory outcome.melody." (1) Organist Leo van Doeselaar compares the two manual parts to a duel: "The two parts... are fighting out a duel, allowing each other no rest at all. Wide leaps, continuing musical lines, lots of syncopation, hard leaps... and that's all logical, because the text is so emotional: 'Where can I go, with all my sins?" (2)

Wo soll ich fliehen hin,
weil ich beschweret bin
mit vielen grossen Sünden ?
Wo kann ich Rettung finden ?
Wenn alle Welt herkäme,
mein Angst sie nicht wegnähme.

Where should I fly from here since I am burdened with many great sins? Where can I find rescue? If everybody in the world came to help, they would not take away my anguish. 

Another early work of Bach is his so-called "Little" Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, one of the best known and most widely played of Bach's early works. Mendelssohn was said to have introduced it to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. (Probably leading to its other nick-name, the "Cathedral.") It's form shows an immaturity, but that's overlooked by its strong spirit and drive. The work begins with a section of passage-work, which acts as an introduction and firmly sets the key. This is followed by a section of extended elaboration derived from the opening material. The second section, the fugue, contrasts with first by its thicker texture and stricter rhythm.

A contemporary of Bach named Domenico Scarlatti was living and writing music at the same time in Italy and Spain. Scarlatti churned out an enormous number of keyboard sonatas — more than 550.  If we believe the tales that are told, we have Scarlatti's gambling habit to thank for that number. One story has it that Scarlatti needed help from his patroness, the Queen of Spain, to pay off his gambling debts.  In return, she asked the composer to write down his improvised keyboard music.  The manuscripts containing the keyboard sonatas were given first to the queen and then, when the queen died in 1758, to the great singer Farinelli.  Soon thereafter, Scarlatti’s sonatas became known and loved across Europe.

Domenico Scarlatti

Scarlatti's sonatas all fall into the same form as the typical early 18th century keyboard sonata, the two-part binary form in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. That is true of today's sonata, No. 51. The majority of Scarlatti's sonatas are brisk, energetic pieces, but since I am playing during communion, I've chosen one of his slower pieces marked Cantabile, which means "in a smooth singing style."

1. Bierman, Marloes. “Wo Soll Ich Fliehen Hin.” All of Bach, 15 May 2015, allofbach.com/en/bwv/bwv-694/. accessed 25 January 2018
2. van Doeselaar, Leo. “Wo Soll Ich Fliehen Hin.” All of Bach, 15 May 2015, allofbach.com/en/bwv/bwv-694/.

Music for January 21, 2018 + The Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Vocal Music

• They Cast Their Nets in Galilee – Michael McCabe (b. 1941)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude on “Mit Freuden Zart” – T. Frederick H. Candlyn (1892-1964)
• Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness – Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
• Grand Chœur – François-Clément Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924)

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 470 - There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (BEECHER)
• Hymn 533 - How wondrous and great thy works (LYONS)
• Hymn R147 - Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling (THOMPSON)
• Hymn 660 - O Master, let me walk with thee (MARYTON)
• Hymn 550 - Jesus calls us: o’er the tumult (GALILEE)
• Psalm 62:6-14 - setting by Thom Pavlechko

Vocation de Saint Jacques et de Saint Jean
Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836 – 1902)
Brooklyn Museum Collection

This Sunday we hear the Gospel story of the calling of the disciples. There are two hymns in our hymnal that speak directly this story, and we will sing (or hear) both of them. The best known is the hymn Jesus calls us: o'er the tumult. In the 1982 Hymnal, the editors decided to do away with the familiar tune GALILEE in favor of two other tunes which honestly have no history of being associated with the text. The first year I was here at Good Shepherd I dutifully chose the tune which I thought the congregation would have the best chance of singing. After the service I was castigated by congregation members who said

(cas·ti·gate [ˈkastəˌɡāt] verb formal: reprimand (someone) severely) 

 the real tune was the one in the 1940 Hymnal (and every other hymnal in the United States.) Henceforth I have always paired this text with the tune GALILEE. (So don't try to read the music out of the hymnal - I'll be playing another tune.)


The other hymn is one that is somewhat peculiar to the Episcopalians. “They cast their nets in Galilee” comes from the last four stanzas of a poem written in 1924 by attorney and poet William Alexander Percy (1885-1942), a native of Greenville, Mississippi, and a graduate of Sewanee. 

The words are simple in themselves, calling to mind “happy, simple fisherfolk” who leave their peaceful lifestyle for the Peace of God. As they soon learned, there is a cost of discipleship.

These verses entered the Hymnal 1940 with the tune composed by David McK. Williams, general music editor of that hymnal. He named the tune GEORGETOWN out of friendship for F. Bland Tucker, who was then rector of St. John's Church, Georgetown Parish, in Washington, D.C.

Michael McCabe

This hymn has been arranged by Michael McCabe, an organist and composer who had a 20 year military career. His various assignments provided McCabe with unique learning opportunities, such as study with such notable musicians as Leo Sowerby, Thomas Matthews, Dale Wood, and the composer of this hymn, David McK. Williams. He has served numerous church, including Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. As a published composer, McCabe was elected to ASCAP in 1972, and ASCAP credits include NBC Television, foreign and domestic recording, the Stockholm and Stuttgart Music Festivals.

This is a pretty straight-forward arrangement of the tune, with the choir singing in unison (or in canon) most of the time. On stanza three, McCabe comes up with a new melody which on the surface looks like the original, but is in an entirely new mode and tonality. Please pray that the tenors and basses (who sing this stanza) remembers the difference. We did not have choir rehearsal this week due to ice and general indifference.

T. Frederick H. Candlyn

The opening voluntary is a setting of our opening hymn. This is a piece I have had in my library since I was in high school. When I began playing the organ at age 15, I also began exploring the hymnal, learning many hymn-tunes that were new to me. One of those was Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above (MIT FREUDEN ZART). I have never heard a hymn that I thought was so grand, and it pained me that my small congregation in Tennessee did not know it. So I scoured a music catalogue (this was before the internet) and ordered this arrangement sight-unseen. I did not know the name of Thomas Frederick Handel Candlyn, nor the church from which he retired, St. Thomas Episcopal in Manhattan, but I loved the improvisatory style in which he wrote, and have loved playing it this 40+ years.  I hope the congregation gets something out of it, too.

Music for January 14, 2018 + The Second Sunday after Epiphany

Vocal Music

• Hush! Somebody’s Calling My Name – Brazeal Dennard (1929-2010)
• May My Light Shine – Lynn Bailey (b. 1955) and Becki Mayo (b. 1956)

Instrumental Music

• Voluntary in A Minor – Maurice Greene (1696-1755)
• Communion – François-Clément Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924)
• Allegro in D Minor – John Stanley (1712-1786)

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

• Hymn 7 - Christ, whose glory fills the skies (RATISBON)
• Hymn 295 - Sing praise to our Creator (CHRISTUS, DER IST MEIN LEBEN)
• Hymn 707 - Take my life and let it be consecrated (HOOLINSIDE)
• Hymn R149 - I, the Lord of sea and sky (HERE I AM LORD)
• Hymn R147 - Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling (THOMPSON)
• Hymn 535 -  Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim (PADERBORN)
• Psalm 139 Domine, probasti – David Hurd

Becki Slagle Mayo

The Coventry Choir is singing an anthem that is perfect for the season after Christmas and Epiphany. The text is inspired by the Star of Bethlehem, and the music and text both quote the refrain of "We Three Kings." (Star of Wonder, Star of Light...) This work is a collaboration between two composers, Becki Slagle Mayo and Lynn Shaw Bailey.

A graduate of Campbellsville College and Mankato State University, Mayo is director of youth and children's choirs at Alpharetta (Georgia) Presbyterian Church, and maintains a private piano studio in her home. As a composer and arranger, she has published over 50 compositions with 12 major publishing companies.

Lynn Shaw Bailey

Perhaps best known by her anthems for younger and developing voices, Bailey studied music at Oklahoma Baptist University and received OBU’s Alumni Profiles in Excellence Award. She also studied composition privately with Bob Burroughs, David Schwoebel, and Alice Parker. In addition, Lynn has degrees in journalism and nursing.

A native and resident of Georgia for most of her life, Bailey and her husband now live in Waco, Texas

The Good Shepherd Choir is singing an anthem we did exactly three years ago, so I am adding this link to what I said about Hush! Somebody's Calling My Name here.

Maurice Greene

The opening and closing voluntaries are connected by a musical lineage. Maurice Greene , the composer of the opening voluntary, was an English composer in London. His grandfather, John Greene, had been the Recorder in the City of London and his father, Thomas Greene, chaplain of the Chapel Royal and canon of Salisbury. Maurice Greene was the youngest of seven children and began his musical studies as a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral. His voice broke at the age of 14 and his musical tutoring was continued under Richard Brind, the Cathedral organist.

By the time he was but 40 years old, he held all the major musical appointments in the country,  namely Organist of St. Paul's Cathedral, Organist and Composer to the Chapel Royal, Professor of Music at Cambridge University and Master of the King's Musick. 

One of his students was the eight year old John Stanley, who, though blind from an accident since the age of two, studied "with great diligence, and a success that was astonishing" (1).  Stanley had begun his musical studies at seven with lessons from another organist  but the teacher/student partnership was not fruitful. However, under the guidance of Maurice Greene, he progressed so that by age nine he was playing the organ occasionally at All Hallows Church on Bread Street.

John Stanley

The organist at All Hallows at that time was the composer William Babell, a former pupil of Handel. Babell died on September 23rd, 1723 and exactly one month later the eleven year old Stanley was appointed organist to the church at a salary of £20 per annum!

At the age of fourteen he was chosen as organist at St. Andrew's, Holborn and at the age of seventeen became the youngest person ever to obtain the BMus degree at Oxford University. In 1734 he was appointed organist to the Temple Church - a position he held until his death. It was at the ancient Temple Church that his brilliant playing upon the organ and harpsichord attracted the attention of many fine musicians including Handel who regularly visited the church to hear him.

The English organ of this period was not as developed as the German organ of the same time, often having no pedals and only two keyboards, so the music of the period is not as complex as the music of Bach or Buxtehude. The piece I am playing today has been freely arranged for the modern organ by English organist Henry Coleman. It includes a pedal part and more manual (keyboard) changes.

(1) The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces, Charles Burney (1773)

Music for January 7, 2018 + The First Sunday after the Epiphany

The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Vocal Music

• The Holly and the Ivy – Richard Shephard (b. 1949)

Instrumental Music

• When Jesus Went to Jordan’s Stream – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
• O Lamb of God, Most Holy – Johann Pachelbel
• Toccata in C – Johann Pachelbel

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

• Hymn 398 - I sing the almighty power of God (FOREST GREEN)
• Hymn 381 - Thy strong word did cleave the darkness (TON-Y-BOTEL)
• Hymn 135 - Songs of thankfulness and praise (SALZBURG)
• Hymn R248 - O let the Son of God enfold you (SPIRIT SONG)
• Hymn R90 - Spirit of the Living God (IVERSON)
• Hymn 616 - Hail to the Lord’s anointed (ES FLOG EIN KLEINES WALDVÖGELEIN)
• Psalm 29  Afferte Domino – Tone Vc, antiphon by James E. Barrett

This Sunday we remember the Baptism of Christ. The first Sunday after the Epiphany is always focused on Christ's baptism, and often we include an anthem setting of "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day" which we may have just sung at Christmas. But this year we are serving up another Christmas left-over, the old English Carol "The Holly and the Ivy." The carol itself is a curiosity, for what is particularly sacred about Holly and Ivy? What is inherently Christmas about the two, either, other than the hardiness of the evergreen? In any case, we are singing it on this first Sunday of the new year, relishing in the reminder that " Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ To be our sweet Saviour."  (An interesting article about this carol is found on the gardening website TheSpruce.com. You can read it here.

The organ music is much more connected to the day's readings. The main Lutheran chorale dealing with the Baptism of Christ is the old hymn CHRIST UNSER HERR ZUM JORDAN KAM, which is found in our hymnal at number 139, albeit to a new translation of the text originally by Martin Luther. Both J. S. Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude wrote beautiful organ settings of the chorale, but today I am playing one by Johann Pachelbel, the greatest organist of the South German organ school of the baroque period. (Both Bach and Buxtehude were North German.) The melody of this setting is in the pedal, played on an 8' trumpet stop.

The communion voluntary is Pachelbel's setting of the Lenten chorale O Lamm Gottes unschuldig (Lamb of God, Most Holy). Why would I schedule a Lenten piece for the first Sunday of January? Because in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" when he saw Jesus walking toward him.

This short setting of the chorale is in the form of a fughetta. Did you fughetta 'bout fughettas? I wrote about them in my Christmas post. (Fughetta: a short fugue that has the same characteristics as a fugue. Often the contrapuntal writing is not strict, and the setting less formal.) Just be glad there is no test.

Music for Christmas 2017

December 24 + The Eve of the Nativity + Family Service at 4 PM

Vocal Music – Kristen Herztenberg Satterwhite, soloist

• Ave Maria – Bach/Gounod
• O Holy Night – Adolphe Adam

Instrumental Music

• Noel X - Grand Jeu Et Duo* - Louis-Claude Daquin
• Glory to the Newborn King, Music for Bells and Organ – arr. Anna Laura Page
• Fughetta on “Antioch” – Richard Shephard

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 83 - O Come, all ye faithful (ADESTE FIDELIS)
• Hymn 96 - Angels we have heard on high (GLORIA)
• Hymn 99 - Go, tell it on the mountain (GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN)
• Hymn 115 - What child is this (GREENSLEEVES)
• Hymn 101 - Away in a manger (TUNE)
• Hymn 111 - Silent Night (STILLE NACHT)

December 24 + The Eve of the Nativity + Choral Eucharist 6:30 and 10 PM

Vocal Music

• The Holly and the Ivy - Richard Shephard
• Mass for the Nativity - Richard Shephard
• The Great God of Heaven- Richard Shephard
• I Wonder As I Wander - Richard Shephard
• Ave Maria – Luigi Cherubini, Allison Gosney, soprano

Instrumental Music

• Noel X - Grand Jeu Et Duo* - Louis-Claude Daquin
• Fughetta on “Antioch” – Richard Shephard

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

Hymn 83 - O Come, all ye faithful (ADESTE FIDELIS)
Hymn 87 - Hark! the herald angels sing (MENDELSSOHN)
Hymn 115 - What child is this (GREENSLEEVES)
Hymn 89 - It came upon a midnight clear (CAROL)
Hymn 100 - Joy to the world, the Lord is come (ANTIOCH)
Psalm 96 :1-4, 6-9  Cantate Domino  

December 25th + Christmas Day + Eucharist 10:00 AM

Instrumental Music

• In the Bleak Midwinter – Allen Orton Gibbs
• The First Noel – Jim Brickman
• Star Carol/Some Children See Him – Alfred Burt, arr. Mark Hayes
• Fughetta on “Antioch” – Richard Shephard

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982.)

• Hymn 102 - Once in royal David’s city (IRBY)
• Hymn 96 - Angels we have heard on high (GLORIA)
• Hymn 87 - Hark! the herald angels sing (MENDELSSOHN)
• Hymn 100 - Joy to the world  (ANTIOCH)

Kristen Hertzenberg Satterwhite
soloist for 4 PM service

Soloist for the 4 PM service will be Kristen Hertzenberg Satterwhite, Kingwood native and daughter-in-law of our beloved Satterwhites. Best known for her role as Christine in the Las Vegas production of The Phantom of the Opera, Kristen Hertzenberg has proven her ability to sing anything in her concerts, performing music ranging from opera to Broadway to blues. In 2014, Nevada Public Radio-affiliated Desert Companion magazine named her Best Torch Singer in Las Vegas, describing her voice as "a dynamic instrument that goes from gritty blues to angelic peal at the drop of a Julie London record sleeve."

Raised in the Houston area, Hertzenberg studied at UT Austin and earned a master's degree in opera at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She also studied at the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, Austria and was a first place winner in the National Opera Association competition. After touring Europe in the musical Hair, she moved to Las Vegas for Phantom where she spent five years in her dream role. She has also played Sophie in Terrence McNally's Master Class, Heidi in [title of show], and most recently starred as Dyanne in the Las Vegas production of the Tony award winning musical Million Dollar Quartet. Read more about her at her website, www.kristenhertzenberg.com.

Richard Shephard

Composer for most of the Choral music at the late services is Englishman Richard Shephard. Shephard (b. 1949) was educated at The King’s School, Gloucester and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He is Chamberlain of Yorkminster, head of their development department, and Honorary Visiting Fellow in the Music Department of the University of York. His compositions include operas, oratorios and orchestral works but it is perhaps for his church music that he is best known. His anthems and service settings are sung widely in the cathedrals and churches of the UK and they have a considerable following in the USA. He holds the Lambeth Doctorate of Music from Oxford University and two Honorary Doctorates from the University of the South (Sewanee, TN) and the University of York (York, UK).

The service music (Gloria, Sanctus, and Fraction anthem) are taken from his Mass for the Nativity. Sung in Latin, it has been used at Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in York Minster, St. Thomas Church in New York City, and broadcast on BBC 4. This is a liturgical choral mass based on traditional carols (Bohemian, French, Basque, Spanish, German, English and Italian) for Choir and Organ.

The closing voluntary is his Fughetta on "Antioch" (Joy to the World). What the heck is a fughetta, you might be asking? I looked it up. Fughetta: a short fugue that has the same characteristics as a fugue. Often the contrapuntal writing is not strict, and the setting less formal. So there you have it! This is a mini-fugue for organ on "Joy to the World," though the very beginning sounds more like the German carol, While By My Sheep (How Great Our Joy!). Once the pedal comes in, though, there is no mistaking the familiar hymn.

* Bon Joseph, écoutez-moi (Good Joseph, Listen to Me)