10:00am Eucharist, II

      Summer Choir

      Joshua Bracken, Visiting Organist

            Frescobaldi / Ricercare

            Stanford / When in our music

            Manz / God of grace

            Hymns

            615*                   Thy kingdom come                                            St. Flavian

            402* (st. 1)         Father, we thank thee who hast planted        Rendez � Dieu

            600                     O day of God, draw nigh                                   Bellwoods

            388*                   O worship the King                                               Hanover

5:00pm Eucharist, II

      Carter Leer, Visiting Organist

            Hymns

            388*                   O worship the King                                                Hanover

            402* (st. 1)         Father, we thank thee who hast planted        Rendez � Dieu

            45*                     To you before the close of day        Te lucis ante terminum

[* = Hymns chosen from the 2009 Hymn Survey]

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) was an extremely influential composer of the late Renaissance who helped to shape music of the later Baroque era. His publication Fiori Musicali dates from 1635 and contains three mass settings for organ. Ordinarily these various mass movements would be improvised by the organist (and still are to this day in many places), and thanks to Frescobaldi taking the time to write these improvisations out, we have a glimpse of what early 17^th century liturgical organ improvisation sounded like. So important was Frescobaldi's Fiori Musicali that Bach took the time to copy the entire book note by note. The movement played Sunday morning is a Ricercar, and during the 17^th century this movement would be played during the Offertory. Ricercar (meaning to search or to seek) is an early form of counterpoint which eventually gave way to a form known as Fugue. Frescobaldi was organist of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome from 1608-28, and again from 1634 until his death.

The closing voluntary is a hymn interpretation (God of grace) by American composer Paul Manz (1919-2009). As a contemporary Lutheran composer, Manz's organ works embrace a neo-Baroque style. Manz was most influential with regard to works composed for the Lutheran Church, but today his music is performed in many countries over many denominational lines. Manz held positions at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Chicago, Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, and was Professor of Church Music at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.