Notes for Sunday's Music

This Sunday is known as "Gaudete Sunday" as the first word of the proper Introit is "Gaudete" (Rejoice), and is signified by lighting the rose candle in the Advent wreath. In some parishes, clergy wear rose vestments on this day. As we hear the canticle Magnificat in place of the usual psalm this Sunday, we have liturgical encouragement to program other works that use this joyful Song of Mary as inspiration. Next Sunday on Advent IV we hear the story of the Visitation.

Organ Music

German composer Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) overcame many obstacles throughout his life, not the least of which was losing all four of his children to the plague in 1636. He was highly esteemed during his lifetime, holding important posts as organist at the Martkirche in Halle, and court organist to Margrave Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg. One of the most prolific composers prior to J S Bach, Scheidt wrote numerous works for the Lutheran Mass and Office, many of which are plainsong based such as the Magnificat noni toni. When used in the liturgical function for which it was intended, this music is performed in alternatim, that is, the short organ versets answer and complement the sung plainchant verses.

Two delightful fugue versets by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) played for the closing voluntary comes from a collection of 94 fugues in a variety of modes. Some of these pieces quote specific chants; others do not (such as the ones played today). These shot fugues were written for use in the Lutheran vesper service, intended to be used in alternatim (like Scheidt's music above) or as introductions to the Magnificat. (In other words, Pachelbel composed much more music than just the "Canon in D!")

Hymns

Hymn 640 is a welcome reminder that we are indeed in the middle of Advent. The dialogue form of the hymn, reflective of the dialogue found in Is. 21:11-12, captures a conversation between a traveler and watchman and is filled with imagery suggestive of the cities with which its author was familiar. The tune Aberystwyth proved early on to be the most widely used of all the Welsh hymn tunes, gaining acceptance in English books well before any others. The name of the tune is that of the seaside town on Cardigan Bay where composer Joseph Parry was the first Professor of Music of the newly founded University College.

Hymn 438 has gained a great deal of popularity in recent years. The tune dates from 1919 (The Public School Hymnbook, London), and is named after one of the school houses at Gresham's School, Norfolk, England, where the composer, Walter Greatorex, was Director of Music. Benjamin Britten was one of the distinguished pupils of this school in the early part of the 20^th century. The text was written in 1961 by Timothy Dudley-Smith while he was serving the church Pastoral Aid Society, a home missionary society of the Church of England, and is a metrical paraphrase of the Song of Mary (Magnificat).

Choral Repertoire

The Anthem by Gustav Holst is a treatment of the well-known hymn tune Picardy. An intensely dramatic work, the first verse is designated as soprano solo and the second for baritone solo. The third verse introduces the choir in four-part harmony, while the concluding fourth verse is largely in unison. For most of the work the organ part provides colorful harmonic punctuation, but by the fourth stanza, ascending scales and triplet rhythms add new energy to the music. Towards the end G-sharps are introduced taking the mode from minor to major, producing one of the most thrilling cadences in the English repertoire. Though Holst is best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed a large number of works across a range of genres. He was a significant influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett, and Benjamin Britten.

Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols next Sunday 22 December