This year the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (also known as Candlemas) falls on a Sunday, and as such, supersedes the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany (or Ordinary Time). The day is known as Candlemas, and it always coincides with Groundhog Day). We are reminded that Christ is the Light of the world, as was plainly obvious to the aged Simeon when he beheld Christ in the temple. To that end, a "light" theme permeates today's music.

The Nunc dimittis (Song of Simeon) is a staple canticle at Evensong but is rarely heard in the Eucharist. There are hundreds if not thousands of musical settings of the Nunc dimittis. A favorite of our choir is the setting in A major by Herbert Sumsion (1899-1995). His harmonic language is charmingly direct and warm, endearing his music to the singers and listeners alike. Sumsion was organist of Gloucester Cathedral for nearly 40 years. As Good Shepherd Choir sang in Gloucester Cathedral in 2003, our singers became acquainted with several people who knew Sumsion very well and recounted fond first hand memories of his long tenure there.

C�sar Franck (1822-1890) was a cutting edge composer for the organ in that he wrote in a "symphonic" style. In fact, Grande pi�ce symphonique is considered the first symphony written for the organ in that it is usually analyzed as being in three movements, and just as Beethoven had done in his Ninth Symphony, each of the themes used throughout the work are restated at the end. The Andante section played for the opening voluntary displays Franck's limpid knack for composing a long and very memorable melody. Franck's principal positions throughout his career included serving as organiste-titulaire for Ste Clotilde in Paris and organ professor at Paris Conservatory.

The Anthem at 11:15 is Charles Wood's (1866-1926), setting of H.R. Bramley's text, O thou the central orb. Thou his professional life was spent in England, Wood, like his teacher Charles Villiers Stanford, was of Irish origin. He later succeeded Stanford as organist at Trinity College, Cambridge University. The flexible text and Wood's mood-shifting musical nuances render the piece suitable for almost any occasion, particularly during the season of Epiphany when we hear Light as a metaphor for Christ.

Jan Nieland (1903-1968) was a celebrated composer in the Netherlands, however is little known here in the U.S. Throughout the 20^th century Dutch composers were highly influenced by French music; at times Nieland's music sounds strikingly similar to Franck. The Toccata in A Minor is in ABA form, with the B section being a brief visit to the key of g minor. After a dominant pedal point, the A section returns with fire and fury.

The origin of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, K 622, can be traced to the friendship between Mozart and the contemporary clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler. At that time the clarinet was a new instrument on the scene of orchestral music. This concerto was composed right at the end of Mozart's life and is thought to have been Mozart's final purely instrumental music. (His final work was his epic Requiem, scored for choir, soloists, and orchestra.) In addition to being a fairly good textbook example of classical architecture (musically speaking), the concerto celebrates the extreme upper and lower ranges of the clarinet.

The opening Allegro is in typical sonata form, sometimes known as "first movement form." A primary theme played in the tonic is followed by a secondary theme in the dominant. As is common with music of this period, there is a "double exposition," that is, the theme is introduced in the orchestra (in this case, the organ) then restated by the soloist, who takes the theme further by modulating to different keys. The main theme itself, though a very simple tune, is taken through a variety of keys eliciting a wide range of emotion.

The second movement, Adagio, is one of great introspection and exploits the clarinet's extreme high and low registers. Using the traditional A-B-A song form, with a coda, Mozartian chromaticism abounds within the confines of conventional harmony.

The Rondo is a delightfully peppy and lighthearted movement to close out the concerto. In symmetrical architectural fashion, the A section serves as a refrain: ABACABA. This classical form is always a crowd pleaser, as the listener feels intimately connected to the theme on just one hearing of the music.