Music for October 1, 2017 + The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

10:15 AM Eucharist

Vocal Music

• Lead me, Lord – Samuel S. Wesley (1810-1876)

Instrumental Music

• Out of the Deep I Cry to You – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
• Suite du Premier Ton No. Récit – Denis Bédard (b. 1950)
• Toccata in E Minor – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

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 439 - What wondrous love is this (WONDROUS LOVE)
• Hymn 435 - At the name of Jesus (KING'S WESTON)
• Hymn 711 - Seek ye first the kingdom of God (SEEK YE FIRST)
• Hymn 554 - ‘Tis the gift to be simple (SIMPLE GIFTS)
• Hymn R26 - Jesus, name above all names (HEARN)
• Hymn 477 - All praise to the, for thou, O King divine (ENGLEBERG)
• Psalm 25:1-8 (Tone VIIIa)

St. Michael and All Angels  - 5:00 PM

Vocal Music

• Draw Us In the Spirit’s Tether – Harold Friedell (1905-1958)

Instrumental Music

• Adagio in E – Frank Bridge (1879-1918)
• Suite du Premier Ton No. Récit – Denis Bédard (b. 1950)
• Toccata in E Minor – Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

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

• Hymn 618 - Ye watchers and ye holy ones (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)
• Hymn 282 - Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels (CAELITES PLAUDANT)
• Hymn R-75 - Praise the Lord! O heavens adore him (AUSTRIAN HYMN)
• Hymn R-114 - Bless the Lord, my soul (Jacques Berthier)
• Hymn 410 - Praise, my soul, the King of heaven (LAUDA ANIMA)
• Psalm 103:19-22 (Tone VIIIb)

The anthem at 10:15 service this Sunday is the quiet, simple, Lead me Lord by S. S. Wesley.  Lead me Lord is an extract from a larger, longer anthem by Wesley called Praise the Lord.  This excerpt has proven to be so popular and accessible that it has been included as a hymn in several hymnals in the last 50 years.

The opening voluntary at 10:15 is based on the tune Aus Tiefer noth schrei Ich zu Dir, though not the tune found in our hymnal with the same name. (The one in our hymnal, found at 151, is thought to be composed by Martin Luther.)  The tune used in this chorale prelude is very similar to a tune the Lutherans used for the text Herr, wie du willst, so schicks mit mir (Lord, as Thou wilt, deal Thou with me - sort of the Lutheran answer to the Methodist hymn, "Have Thy Own Way, Lord.") In fact, the copy of the music lists both texts as the title for this piece.

In this setting by the South German organist Johann Pachelbel (of the Canon in D fame), you'll first hear a fragment of the tune as the subject of a fughetta, a short fugue, with exposition plus only a few restatements of the subject. The fughetta soon evolves into a chorale-prelude, with the entire tune heard in long notes in the soprano (top) voice, with a contrapuntal accompaniment in the lower voices.

Denis Bédard 

The communion voluntary at both services is a slow, lyrical movement from a Suite by the Canadian organist, Denis Bédard. This movement is titled récit, which has sort of a double meaning - on the French-syle organ, one of the divisions of the organ is called récit, and French organists would use the term when naming a composition to describe where and how it is to be played. The word also means "story" in French (I am told, as I barely speak English with fluidity), so this could refer to this piece as a lyrical story. The melody will be played on the oboe in the récit (swell) division of our organ, accompanied by a single flute at 8' pitch.

Denis Bédard, who was born in Quebec City in 1950, first studied music at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, graduating with first class honours in organ, harpsichord, chamber music, counterpoint and fugue. He continued his studies in Paris and Montreal, as well as in Amsterdam with Gustav Leonhardt, and was laureate of the "Prix d'Europe" in 1975 and of the CBC Radio Talent Competition in 1978. A professor at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec from 1981 until 1989 and organ professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from 2001 until 2004, Denis Bédard was organist at St-Coeur-de-Marie church in Quebec City for 19 years and then became organist at St-Roch church, also in Quebec City, in September 1997. Since September 2001 Denis Bédard has been organist and music director at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver. He is a very active concert artist and has given recitals across Canada, in the United States, in France and in Brazil.

This Sunday evening, as we dedicate the Acolyte Guild at our annual service, I have chosen the beautiful anthem by the American composer Harold Friedell for the offertory. Though it is not written specifically for either acolytes, youth, or Michaelmas, these words make it apt for a service calling our young men and women into service:

Draw us in the Spirit’s tether,

For when humbly in Thy name,

Two or three are met together

Thou are in the midst of them;

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Touch we now Thy garment’s hem.

As the brethren used to gather

In the name of Christ to sup,

Then with thanks to God the Father

Break the bread and bless the cup,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

So knit Thou our friendship up.

All our meals and all our living

Make as sacraments of Thee,

That by caring, helping, giving

We may true disciples be.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

We will serve Thee faithfully.

© 1957, 1985, Oxford University Press, The H.W. Gray Co. Used by permission.

This hymn was written by Percy Dearmer and first published in 1931. It gained popularity because of Harold Friedell’s 1957 anthem. Friedell (1905-1958) was a professor of theory and composition at the School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York City.

Jet E. Turner, a master of sacred music graduate at Union, arranged a portion of the music of the anthem as a hymn for the United Methodist Hymnal, and named the tune UNION SEMINARY. (1) Like the anthem Lead me, Lord, mentioned at the beginning of the article, it has since become a very popular hymn in new hymnals, being included in over 18 hymnals in recent years.

(1) Hawn, C. Michael, History of Hymns: Draw Us In the Spirit's Tether. Retrieved from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-draw-us-in-the-spirits-tether

Music for Sunday, September 24, 2017 + The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Steal Away – Joseph Jennings (b. 1954)

Instrumental Music

• Adagio in E – Frank Bridge (1879-1918)
• Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott  BWV 721– Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)  
• Allegro con Spirito in B-flat – Frank Bridge

Congregational Music (all hymns from the Hymnal 1982)

• Hymn 414 - God, my King, thy might confessing (STUTTGART)
• Hymn 527 - Singing songs of expectation (TON-Y-BOTEL)
• Hymn 551 - Rise up, ye saints of God (FESTAL SONG)
• Hymn 482 - Lord of all hopefulness (SLANE)
• Hymn 404 - We will extol you, ever-blessed Lord (OLD 124TH)
• Psalm 145:1-8 – Tone VIIIa

The anthem this morning is an arrangement of the Negro spiritual, Steal Away, by American composer and arranger,  Joseph Jennings. A native of Georgia, he had degrees in choral conducting (Colorado State University) and music education (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio) when he auditioned as a counter-tenor for the all-male, a capella singing group, Chanticleer. Soon after, he became their musical director, where he led them to international renown. Under his direction, they produced 23 critically acclaimed recordings in works ranging from Gregorian chant to Renaissance masterworks to jazz. Many of the recordings became Billboard best sellers, including two Grammy winners. He retired from Chanticleer in 2009.

Joseph Jennings (Photo by Katy Raddatz--The San Francisco Chronicle)

In 2014 Chorus America conferred the inaugural Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award on Jennings to acknowledge his contribution to the African-American choral tradition during his 25-year tenure as a singer and music director with Chanticleer. The hundred plus arrangements of African-American gospel, spirituals and jazz made by Jennings for Chanticleer have been given thousands of performances worldwide by choirs such as ours worldwide.

Steal Away is a well known Spiritual, found in over 85 hymnals. The song is easily recognized by the chorus:

Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus!
Steal away, steal away home, I ain't got long to stay here

Songs such as "Steal Away to Jesus", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Wade in the Water" and the "Gospel Train" are songs with hidden codes, not only about having faith in God, but containing hidden messages for slaves to run away on their own, or with the Underground Railroad.

Steal Away gained world-wide recognition after the Civil War when the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee included the song on their tours of the United States and Europe. 

An arrangement of the song is included in the oratorio A Child of Our Time, first performed in 1944, by the classical composer Michael Tippett.

The communion voluntary, Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott  (Have Mercy on Me, O Lord God), is an unusual work by J. S. Bach. This early work (believed to be c. 1703), has unusual harmonies and a texture unique among Bach's music. There are more minor 7th and 9th chords than usual; more chord progressions a 3rd apart than usual; more untied suspensions. It's in the phrygian mode, which means it's key signature is two sharps (normally D Major or b minor), but the base note is F-sharp.

It’s a unique texture comes from the three-or four part repeated chords in the accompaniment with no break, under the melody in the soprano. Some feel this is to give a sense of vibrato in the accompaniment. You don’t find this same texture in any other Bach work, or many other of his contemporaries. This manuscript is only found once, in a handwritten collection owned by J. G. Walther. Some think this is not an authentic Bach work.

The opening and closing voluntaries are both by the British composer and organist Frank Bridge. His Adagio in E Major is very popular among organist. I love the slow, wistful melody that begins softly on a low 'E' and begins a slow ascent, growing in volume as the melody line rises. It reminds me of incense that intensifies as it languidly climbs toward God. The music reaches full organ before it begins to die away, ending as quietly as it began.

Music for September 17, 2017 + The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy – Maurice Bevan (1921-2006)

Instrumental Music

• Our Father, Who Art in Heaven – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Sonata No. 1 in F minor: Adagio – Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
• Grand Chœur alla Handel – Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)

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 648 - When Israel was in Egypt’s Land (GO DOWN, MOSES)
• Hymn 397 - Now thank we all our God (NUN DANKET ALLE GOTT)
• Hymn R184 - “Forgive our sins, as we forgive” (DETROIT)
• Hymn R192 - God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name (FREELY, FREELY)
• Hymn 690 - Guide me, O thou great Jehovah (CWM RHONDDA)
• Psalm 114 – Tone VIIIa

Many hymnals have the hymn There's a Wideness in God's Mercy within their pages, often to the tune WELLESLEY, though our hymnal uses the tune BEECHER. When we sing this text this Sunday, however, we will be utilizing the relatively new hymn-tune, CORVEDALE, by the Englishman Maurice Bevan. What I absolutely love about this setting, other than its beautiful, expansive melody which seems to keep reaching newer heights, is that it contains some sobering words which, when I first heard them, helped me to "wake up" to the all-encompassing mercy and love of God. (The stanzas I have highlighted are not found in The Hymnal 1982.)

1 There's a wideness in God's mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there's a kindness in his justice
which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth's sorrows
are more felt than up in heaven;
there is no place where earth's failings
have such kindly judgement given.

2 For the love of God is broader
than the measure of our mind,
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
But we make his love too narrow
by false limits of our own;
and we magnify his strictness
with a zeal he would not own. 

3 There is plentiful redemption
through the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members
in the sorrows of the Head.
There is grace enough for thousands
of new worlds as great as this;
there is room for fresh creations
in that upper home of bliss.

4 If our love were but more simple,
we should take him at his word;
and our lives would be all gladness
in the joy of Christ our Lord.

The three+ verses of this version speak of God’s “plentiful redemption” and “grace for thousands / of new worlds as great as this”

The composer,  Maurice Bevan, was the son, grandson and great-grandson of Anglican clergymen. Well known as a singer, he was a member for forty years of both the Deller Consort, one of the first professional groups to revive interest in early music, and the Vicars Choral of St. Paul Cathedral in London. I am not sure if he arranged this hymn-tune into the anthem version we are singing today, or if the anthem came first, and the hymn-tune came out of it. At any rate, it is now included in 5 hymnals in the United Kingdom.

If you are interested, (and are not sitting in church during the service while reading this) you can hear a recording of Bevan singing a Handel aria with the Deller Consort here.

Speaking of Handel, the closing voluntary is an organ piece written by a late-nineteenth century Frenchman in the style of a minuet of G. F. Handel. The composer, Felix Alexandre Guilmant, was one of the greatest organists in the late nineteenth century. Born in Boulogne-sur-Mer (France) he studied with Lemmens in Brussels and from 1871 to his death lived and worked in Paris. Guilmant was world famous in his day and made three concert trips to the United States. Many organ concerts were played by him, including very special series in the Palais de Trocadéro in Paris.

Guilmant was a great improviser and a well-known teacher. Like Felix Mendelssohn, he performed and published old music that had long been forgotten. His own body of work is large: 94 opus numbers and many unpublished or unnumbered works.

Music for September 10, 2017 + The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• Immortal, Invisible – Eric Thiman (1900-1975)

Instrumental Music

• Prelude in Classic Style – Gordon Young (1919-1998)
• Land of Rest – George Shearing (1919-2011)
• Thou Art the Rock – Henri Mulet (1878-1967)

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

• Hymn 376 - Joyful, joyful, we adore thee  (HYMN TO JOY)
• Hymn 440 - Blessed Jesus, at thy word (LIEBSTER JESU)
• Hymn 302 - Father, we thank thee who hast planted (RENDEZ A DIEU)
• Hymn R192 - God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name (FREELY, FREELY)
• Hymn R226 - Ubi Caritas (TAIZE)
• Hymn 674 - “Forgive our sins, as we forgive” (DETROIT)
• Psalm 149 - ToneVIIIa

This Sunday the choir finally returns to the 10:15 service after their summer break and Hurricane Harvey. We've only had two rehearsals, so we turn to an anthem by the Englishman Eric Thiman. A church and recital organist and superb improviser, Thiman was a practical composer who aimed his output at the average choir and organist, rather than the cathedral choirs. Philip L Scowcroft, in his internet biography of Thiman said "His music rarely, if ever, touched the heights, yet we can admire its craftsmanship and take pleasure in its gracious tunefulness, which is well in the English tradition (or, properly, British tradition, since he used or set so many Scots and Irish tunes as well as English)." (1) In today's anthem, it is a Welsh tune that he arranges for choir, the hymn "Immortal, Invisible." It's a great choice for that first Sunday back with most of the choir singing the melody in unison, except for the third stanza that is in four part harmony (and unaccompanied.)

The opening voluntary is by the American counterpart, Gordon Young. Young was also a church musician and concert recitalist who published over 800 pieces in his lifetime. Like Thiman, most of it was aimed at the average church choir and organist, who loved singing his rhythmic and tuneful pieces. This opening voluntary is one that I have been playing since I was a high school senior. Prelude in Classic Style is one of Young's most popular pieces, even being recorded by the guitar master Christopher Parkening in an arrangement for guitar and harpsichord re-titled Hymn of Christian Joy. It's that joy that I wanted to express this morning as we celebrate Rally Day.

"Classic Style" refers to characteristics of the Classical period of Classical music, the years roughly covering 1750-1825 (think Mozart and Haydn). Classical music of this period has a lighter, clearer texture than baroque music (Bach or Handel) and is less complex. It is mainly homophonic—melody above chordal accompaniment. It also emphasizes light elegance in place of the baroque’s dignified seriousness and impressive grandeur. You will hear all of that in this morning's voluntary.

My closing voluntary is a piece that I have played since I was a Junior in college, the Toccata: Tu es petra, by Henri Mulet, from Esquisses Byzantines, a ten-movement suite published in 1920. Considered Mulet's most famous composition for organ, it was written over a period of at least ten years, dedicated "in memory of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Montmartre, 1914-1919. The tenth movement, the toccata, is thought to refer to the smaller, medieval church of Saint Pierre-de-Montmartre, an institution which had been consecrated over 700 years before the creation of the basilica. 

The ominous tonalities of the piece, the frequent use of the minor third, the development of contrasting motifs, and the brilliant finale in the parallel major key all suggest a spiritual battle in which good does indeed triumph.

Henri Mulet, c. 1937

Enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire before he was twelve years old, Henri Mulet studied cello, harmony, and organ. His primary organ instructors included Charles-Marie Widor, Alexandre Guilmant, and their assistant, Louis Vieme, all of whom thought highly of the young composer and organist. Louis Vieme claimed that Mulet was "one of the most brilliant of musical personalities, a solid virtuoso, and a very fine improviser." Although Mulet held several church organ positions, his most significant position was at Saint Philippe-du-Roule, a parish of about 30,000 members. In 1937, afflicted by poor health and poverty and disillusioned with music and life, Mulet moved to Draguignan, a town between Marseilles and Nice. He was taken into the convent of the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1958, where Mulet died several years later. 

1. Philip L Scowcroft, English Composers for Amateurs: No 2 - Eric Thiman

Music for Sunday, September 3, 2017 + The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey rain, we will have only one Service this Sunday, and the choir will not sing.

Instrumental Music - Jill Kirkonis, organist

• His Matchless Worth - Lowell Mason (adapted from Mozart’s O Could I Speak)
• Idylle - Charles Overholt
• Prelude and Fugue in G Minor – J. S. Bach
• A Celebration of Praise - James Denton

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

• Hymn 525 - The Church’s one foundation (AURELIA)
• Hymn 576 - God is love, and where true love is (MANDATUM)
• Hymn 707 - Take my life and let it be (HOLLINGSIDE)
• Hymn R195 - I come with joy to meet my Lord (LAND OF REST)
• Hymn R29 - He is Lord, he is Lord (HE IS LORD)
• Hymn R26 - O how he loves you and me (PATRICIA)
• Hymn 522 - Glorious things of thee are spoken (AUSTRIA)
• Psalm 138 - ToneVIIIa

Music for August 20, 2017 + The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• This Is My Father’s World – arr. Richard Walters (21st C.)
• Jade Panares, soprano

Instrumental Music

• Berceuse – Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
• From God shall nought divide me  - Von Gott will ich nicht lassen,  BWV 658 – J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
• Carillon de Longpont – Louis Vierne

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

• Hymn 380 - From all that dwell below the skies (OLD 100TH)
• Hymn 470 - There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (BEECHER)
• Hymn 533 - How wondrous and great thy works (LYONS)
• Hymn R249 - Great is thy Faithfulness (FAITHFULNESS)
• Hymn R173 - O Lord, hear my prayer (Taizé)
• Hymn 371 - Thou, whose almighty word (MOSCOW)
• Psalm 67 - Tone VIIIa

Last weekend at the Old Fashioned Hymn Sing, one of the requests was the hymn "This Is My Father's World," sung to the tune TERRA BEATA that is used in most hymnals. (For some reason the editors of The Hymnal 1982 chose a new tune which only appears in one other hymnal, making it fairly unattractive to ecumenical singing.) TERRA BEATA was originally a traditional English folk tune, a variant of which, entitled RUSPER, appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906.  In 1915, Franklin L. Sheppard arranged the tune for Maltbie D. Babcock's poem and published it in the Presbyterian church school hymnal Alleluia, edited by Sheppard (Babcock and Sheppard were friends). Since that time the text and tune has been published in 89 hymnals (except ours.)

Jade Panares, our soprano section leader, will be singing a setting of this hymn this weekend. Jade will be beginning her third year at the University of Houston, majoring in voice. In this arrangement, the simple melody has been left pretty much intact, with a lilting, syncopated piano accompaniment that the arranger describes as 'light rock.' (VERY light, in my opinion.) We chose to sing this hymn this week in light of the events of the past week here in the States. We refer to the last stanza (which also is NOT in The Hymnal 1982.)

This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad! 

The opening and closing voluntaries are from a collection of organ music 24 Pièces en style libre, Opus 31, Volume II, by Louis Vierne. The opening voluntary is No 19, Berceuse. A berceuse is a lullaby or cradle song.  It's dedicated to "à ma fille Colette" (to my daughter, Colette). But when it was published, Vierne had divorced from his wife who had quickly, while still married, fallen in love with Charles Mutin.. After seeing this dedication, Vierne's former wife wrote him: "A ta fille ? Elle n'est même pas de toi !" (to your daughter? But it's not YOUR daughter!"). How cruel, but still more cruel when one reads the dedication of  Vierne's 2nd symphony "A mon ami Charles Mutin" (To my friend Charles Mutin), written just after the Viernes were first married!

The closing voluntary is No 21, Carillon. It is based on the carillon of the Chapel of the Castle of Longpont, in Northern France.  Vierne was the organist at Notre-Dame in Paris, and good friends with the Montesquiou family, who would often invite him to spend August at the Castle. On August 15, 1913, he first heard the four bell chime (not really a carillon) play the now-famous air, and he was inspired to write this piece. Later he published it, dedicating it to the memory of his brother, René, who had been killed on May 29, 1918, by Austrian shrapnel, on the Plateau Branscourt (Marne), not far from Longpont.

It opens with full organ, the Carillon theme entering in an energetic ostinato in the pedals, above which powerful, detached chords appear. In the middle the volume drops and the carillon theme continues on the manuals. Striking features are the modulations, the highly effective staccato articulations, and the dynamic effects created by the swell box. A gradual crescendo leads into the reprise of the opening, ending with a coda.

The Communion voluntary is Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, a chorale prelude from the Great Eighteen Choräle Preludes, which J. S. Bach published in the last 10 years of his life, using earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The works form an encyclopedic collection of large-scale chorale preludes, in a variety of styles harking back to the previous century, that Bach gradually perfected during his career. 

No. 7, From God shall nought divide me, is an example of the cantus firmus chorale: The melody of the chorale is sounded in long notes throughout the piece, in the pedal in this case. The ornate three-part keyboard accompaniment is derived from the opening notes of the hymn and a separate "joy motif" that permeates the piece, exquisitely "winding above and around [the chorale melody] like a luxurious garland of amaranth." [1]  Only four lines of the melody are heard in the pedal, the chorale prelude closing with a seemingly timeless bell-like coda over a pedal point, perhaps illustrating the final lines of the hymn, "after death we will be buried deep in the earth; when we have slept, we will be awoken by God." It is also interesting to note that in this "bell" coda, the note C sharp is heard 7 times consecutively, within a fourth voice, outside of the three accompaniment voices. This would seem to be indicative of the German funeral bell.

[1] Stinson, Russell (2001), J.S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-516556-X, p. 85

Music for August 13, 2017 + The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Vocal Music

• It Is Enough from Elijah – Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
• Richard Murray, baritone

Instrumental Music

• Kommst du nun, Jesu vom Himmel herunter auf Erden, BWV 650 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• Sonatina from Cantata 106, God’s Time Is Best – Johann Sebastian Bach
• Maestoso, Opus 9, No. 1 – Hermann Schroeder (1904-1984)

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

• Hymn 390 - Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (LOBE DEN HERREN)
• Hymn 529 - In Christ there is no East or West (MCKEE)
• Hymn R75 - Praise the Lord! Ye heavens adore him (AUSTRIAN HYMN)
• Hymn - When the storms of life are raging, stand by me (STAND BY ME)
• Hymn 680 - O God, our help in ages past (ST. ANNE)
• Psalm 85:8-13 – Tone VIIIa

An organ transcription is an arrangement for the organ of a musical work that was originally written for another medium. Often it's an orchestra piece that has been arranged, but it could be a vocal work or even a piano piece that someone has arranged for use on the organ. Such music is often helpful for wedding use (think Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, Ave Maria, or even [shudder!] the Wedding March. More often than not, it's not a terribly satisfying treatment of the piece (think Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel), but it's written because somebody [the Bride's Mother] really likes the music.

But all transcribed works for organ are not banal. In fact, Bach arranged some of his own music for solo organ. That wonderful Advent piece, Wachet Auf/Sleepers, Wake, is a transcription of the tenor aria from Cantata 140. And this morning's prelude is another transcribed setting of another movement of another cantata, Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, movement 2 (alto solo). (You know LOBE DEN HERREN as the tune we use for our opening hymn this morning,) What is curious is that Bach renames the chorale to make it suitable for Advent: Are you coming , Jesus from heaven down to earth ? Why? I don't know. When I am playing it this morning, I am thinking of Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.

The melody is played in the pedal on a 4' trumpet stop, so it sounds higher than that of the left hand (which is thus the true bass of the piece).  The melody only appears in isolated pockets of the prelude, each time rising up out of the flowing right hand's obbligato melody, itself built of such beautiful music that it continues for a full twelve measures after the cantus firmus has had its final say, finally winding down only at the final, rich cadence.

 Here is what the melody looks like, compared with the hymn-tune on top. (And remember, I am playing this with my feet!)

Edwin Arthur Kraft

The communion voluntary is another transcription of the Sinfonia (the opening movement) of Cantata 106, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (God's time is best). However, Bach did not make this arrangement. It was arranged from the original orchestration (two flutes, two violins, and continuo) by Edwin Arthur Kraft, an American organist and choir-director who was best known for being organist choirmaster at the Episcopal cathedral in Cleveland, and head of the Organ Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He finally retired from his position at the cathedral in 1959, after service continually (except for one year) since 1907.

In this work, marked Molto adagio,  you hear the obbligato alto recorders in the right hand, mournfully echo each other over a sonorous background of viola da gambas and continuo, played by the left hand and pedals.

The offertory solo is the beautiful aria from the second part of Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio, Elijah. This solo precedes the Old Testament passage this morning, (and sometimes includes it.)
It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but vanity. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have broken Thy covenant, and thrown down Thine altars, and slain all Thy prophets, slain them with the sword. And I, even I only am left: and they seek my life to take it away! It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! Now let me die, Lord, take away my life!