Sunday after Christmas - 30 December 2012

Mattins

• Opening Hymn 148 “See amid the winter’s snow” 
• Offertory Hymn 143 “Angels from the realms of glory” 
• Closing Hymn 138 “Hark! The herald angels sing”
   
• Visit St Barnabas website here »

(no choir today)

Christmas Eve / Christmas Day 2012

Christmas Eve 2012 (10:30 pm)

• Organ Prelude: “The Holy Boy” – John Ireland 
• Introit: Fanfare – Martin Shaw 
• Processional Hymn “O come, all ye faithful”
• Psalm 96 (Tone VIII.2)
• Gospel Alleluia

Choir: Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
All: Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Cantor: Today shall ye know that the Lord will come to deliver you: and at sunrise shall ye behold his glory: On the morrow the iniquity of the earth shall be blotted out and the Saviour of the world shall reign over us.
All: Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

• Anthem: The Snow Lay on the Ground – Geoffrey Shaw 
• Offertory Hymn: “Once in royal David’s city” 
• Carols During Communion: 

Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Let folly praise that fancy loves

• Final Hymn “Silent Night”
• Organ Postlude: “In dulci jubilo” - J.S. Bach

Christmas Day 2012

• Opening Carol: 146 “Twas in the moon of wintertime” 
• Carol 154 “Joy to the world” 
• Offertory Carol: 139 “The First Nowell” 
• Closing Carol: 153 “Good Christians all, rejoice”
• Visit St Barnabas website here »

Advent 4 - Sunday 23 December 2012

• Organ Prelude: Rorate coeli (Drop down, ye heavens) – Jeanne Demessieux 
• Opening Hymn 116 “Your kingdom come on bended knee” 
• Psalm 89: 1-4, 19-26 
• Gospel Acclamation
  

  Choir: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  All: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  Cantor: The LORD is near to all who call on him / to all who call on him in truth: my mouth will speak in praise of the LORD / let every creature praise his holy name for e-ver and e-ver.
  All: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia

• Anthem: Mary’s Magnificat – Andrew Carter 
• Offertory Hymn
  

  Sing of Mary, pure and lowly, Virgin mother undefiled,
  Sing of God's own Son most holy, Who became her little child.
  Fairest child of fairest mother, God the Lord who came to earth,
  Word made flesh, our very brother, Takes our nature by his birth.
  
  Sing of Jesus, son of Mary, In the home at Nazareth.
  Toil and labour cannot weary Love enduring unto death.
  Constant was the love he gave her, Though he went forth from her side, Forth to preach, and heal, and suffer, Till on Calvary he died.
  
  Glory be to God the Father; Glory be to God the Son;
  Glory be to God the Spirit; Glory to the Three in One.
  From the heart of blessed Mary, From all saints the song ascends,
  And the Church the strain re-echoes Unto earth's remotest ends.

• Communion Hymn 95 “O come, divine Messiah”
• Communion Motet: “Adam lay ybounden” – Howard Skempton
  

  Adam lay ybounden,
  Bounden in a bond;
  Four thousand winter
  Thought he not too long.
  And all was for an apple,
  An apple that he took,
  As clerkës finden written
  In their book.
  
  Nor had one apple taken been,
  The apple taken been,
  Then had never Our Lady
  A-been heaven's queen.
  Blessed be the time
  That apple taken was.
  Therefore we may singen
  Deo gratias!

• Final Hymn 89 “O come, O come, Emmanuel”
• Visit St Barnabas website here »
  
  There is no organ postlude this morning. Please spend a moment or two in quiet contemplation in anticipation of Christ’s birth
• Music Notes:
  “Adam lay ybounden” is a macaronic (meaning it has a mix of Latin and English words) poem by an unknown author, dating from around 1400. Several composers have set this text to music, one of the more recent being Englishman Howard Skempton (born 1947). His is a simple setting of this medieval Advent carol which has great impact in its originality; the style is controlled, almost austere, and the effect is hypnotic. It is a perhaps unsettling but poignant piece of music.
  Here is a very loose interpretation of the old English:
  
  

  Adam's (i.e.man's) sin enchained him for four thousand years (the accepted time from creation to Jesus' birth.) He did not think it was too long to wait. And all this was because of the apple Adam took, as scribes have recorded in Holy Scripture.
  
  If the apple had never been taken, then Mary would never have become Heaven's Queen. Blessed then be that apple's theft (because it ultimately brought salvation.) Therefore we must sing, thanks be to God!

Advent 3 - Sunday 16 December 2012

• Prelude: Advent Music for Flute and Organ – Robert Powell 
• Opening Hymn 98 “Hark the glad sound!” 
• Gospel Acclamation
  

  Choir: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  All: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  Cantor: You who sit enthroned between the cherubim shine forth: Awaken your might / come and save us.
  All: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia 

• Solo: (Ed Wiens, tenor) 
• Offertory Hymn 111 “Harold! Sound the note of judgement” 
• Communion Hymn 96 “Creator of the stars of night” 
• Communion Motet: Adam lay ybounden – Howard Skempton
  

  Adam lay ybounden,
  Bounden in a bond;
  Four thousand winter
  Thought he not too long.
  And all was for an apple,
  An apple that he took,
  As clerkës finden written
  In their book.
  
  Nor had one apple taken been,
  The apple taken been,
  Then had never Our Lady
  A-been heaven's queen.
  Blessed be the time
  That apple taken was.
  Therefore we may singen
  Deo gratias!

• Final Hymn 93 “You servants of the Lord” 
• Postlude: Advent Music for Flute and Organ – Robert

Advent 2 - Sunday 9 December 2012

• Organ Prelude: “Lo, how a rose e’er blooming” – Johannes Brahms 
• Opening Hymn 88 “Come, thou long-expected Jesus” 
• Psalm 
• Gospel Acclamation
  

  Choir: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  All: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  Cantor: Behold, our Lord will come with power: and will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
  All: Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia

• Offertory Hymn 106 “There’s a voice in the wilderness” 
• During Communion: The Advent Prose 
• Communion Motet: Lo, how a rose – Michael Praetorius

  The text of this motet can be found, in a slightly different translation, at Hymn 117. 

• Final Hymn 103 “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry” 
• Organ Postlude: “Deck thyself, my soul with gladness” – Johannes Brahms

Advent I: Sunday, 2 December 2012

• Organ Prelude: Nun komm der heiden Heiland – J.S. Bach

Come now, Saviour of the Gentiles,
recognised as the child of the Virgin,
so that all the world is amazed
God ordained such a birth for him.

• Opening Hymn 89 “O come, O come, Emmanuel” 
• Psalm 25: 1-9 
• Anthem: “People, look east” – French carol arr. By Martin Shaw 
• Offertory Hymn 114 “Lo, he comes with clouds descending” 
• Communion Hymn 92 “O day of God, draw nigh” 
• Final Hymn 97 “Jesus came, the heavens adoring” 
• Organ Postlude: Wachet auf! (Sleepers, wake!) – J.S. Bach

Christ the King - Sunday, 25 November 2012

• Organ Prelude: Capriccio - Johann Jacob Froberger 
• Opening Hymn 378 “Crown him with many crowns” 
• Service Music: David Hurd
• Anthem: O Sing Joyfully – Adrian Batten 
• Offertory Hymn 375 “At the name of Jesus” 
• Communion Hymn 48 “Let all mortal flesh keep silence” 
• Final Hymn 379 “Rejoice, the Lord is King” 
• Organ Postlude: Exultate – June Dixon

Music Notes

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616 – 1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. He was among the most famous composers of the era and influenced practically every major composer in Europe by developing the genre of keyboard suite and contributing greatly to the exchange of musical traditions through his many travels. A cappriccio is defined as a lively piece of music, short and free in form, like an improvisation.

Adrian Batten (c. 1591 – c. 1637) was an English organist and Anglican church composer. He was active during an important period of English church music, between the Reformation and the Civil War in the 1640s. During this period the liturgical music of the first generations of Anglicans began to diverge significantly from music on the European continent. Although by no means comparable with the work of the greatest of his contemporary English church musicians (William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons, for example), Batten's music possesses charms of its own. His music has been described as follows: “ .... there is one virtue in Batten's sacred music which was possessed by only a few composers, and that is his constant endeavour to think of music as the servant of divine worship and not as the central figure of that service.”

June Nixon is one of Australia’s best known musicians – an organist, choir trainer and composer. She was appointed organist of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1973, and for her long and distinguished service to church music she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1999.

Pentecost 25 - Sunday 18 November 2012

• Organ Prelude: 1. Prélude à l’Introït - 3. Élévation - 4. Communion - Charles Tournemire (1870-1939) (played by Peter Dunphy) 
• Opening Hymn 434 “The love of Jesus calls us” Service Music: John Merbecke 
• Solo: TBA (Virginia Wright, mezzo-soprano) 
• Offertory Hymn 529 “God, my hope on you is founded” 
• Communion Hymn 49 “Draw nigh and take” 
• Final Hymn 491 “The head that once was crowned with thorns” 
• Organ Postlude: The Prince of Denmark’s March – Jeremiah Clarke

Music Notes

Born at Bordeaux, France, Charles Tournemire served as the organiste titulaire at the Basilique Ste-Clotilde, Paris from 1898 to 1939. Gregorian chant exerted a substantial influence on Tournemire’s compositional output, most notably L’Orgue Mystique, a collection of 51 five-movement Offices or suites. Each of these Offices contains five pieces to be used for the five moments at which, before Vatican II, the liturgical organist intervened in the mass: namely, Introit, Offertory, Elevation, Communion, and Recessional. The first four pieces are untitled and brief so they can be inserted during the mass without hindering its progress. L’Orgue Mystique, composed between 1927 and 1932, is arranged by liturgical seasons: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost including principal feast days.

Pentecost 24 – Remembrance Day - Sunday 11 November, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Sursum corda – John Ireland 
• Opening Hymn 528 “O God, our help in ages past” 
• O Canada God Save the Queen 
• Service Music: David Hurd 
• Psalm 127 (Tone II.1) 
• Anthem: “Greater Love hath no man” – John Ireland

Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it. Love is strong as death.
Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
That we,being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.
Ye are washed, ye are sanctified,
ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation;
That ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath call'd you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto to God, which is your reasonable service.

• Offertory Hymn 335 “How shall I sing that majesty” 
• Communion Hymn 171 “What does the Lord require” 
• Final Hymn “And can it be that I should gain” 
• Organ Postlude: Alla Marcia – John Ireland

Music Notes

John Ireland was born near Manchester, England in 1879. He entered the newly-established Royal College of Music in London at the age of fourteen, lost both his parents shortly after, and had to make his own way as an orphaned teenager, studying piano, organ and composition. The last was under Sir Charles Stanford, who taught many of the English composers who emerged at the end of the 19th century, including Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells and a host of others. Ireland emerged as a celebrated composer towards the end of World War I when his Violin Sonata No.2 brought him overnight fame. From then until his death in 1962 he led an outwardly uneventful life combining composition, composition teaching at the Royal College (where his pupils included Benjamin Britten and E.J. Moeran), and his position as organist and choirmaster at St. Luke's Church, Chelsea, in London. He composed a great deal of music, although not a lot for the church. Ireland is known throughout the English-speaking world for his music to the hymn “My song is love unknown”, and is justly famous for “Greater love”, this morning’s anthem, which he wrote in 1912. Both “Sursum corda” (the prelude) and “Alla marcia” (the postlude) were composed a year earlier.

All Saints - November 4, 2012

• Organ Prelude: “Jerusalem, My Happy Home” and “There Is a Happy Land” – George Shearing 
• Opening Hymn 276 “For all the saints” 
• Service Music: David Hurd 
• Psalm 24: 1-6 (Tone VIII.1)
• Anthem: O sing joyfully – Adrian Batten
  

  O sing joyfully unto God our strength; make a cheerful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take the song, bring hither the tabret, the merry harp with the lute. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, even in the time appointed, and upon our solemn feast-day. For this was made a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 81:1-4)

• Offertory Hymn 275 “O what their joy and their glory must be” 
• Communion Hymn 282 “Let saints on earth in concert sing” 
• Final Hymn 278 “Jerusalem the golden” 
• Organ Postlude: “Menuet Gothique” (from Suite Gothique) – Leon Boellman 

Music Notes:

In 1977 the American composer Dale Wood and jazz pianist George Shearing created a volume of organ settings of early American folk hymns entitled Sacred Sounds from George Shearing. Over a period of 11 weeks Shearing had recorded a series of improvisations at the piano. After the tapes were transcribed to paper, Shearing visited Dale in his studio. Dale spent hours at the organ making suggestions of registrations and textures, while Shearing with his critical ear listened for accuracy. This morning’s organ preludes are from this set of pieces.

Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897) moved in the best circles of the French musical world, and as a pleasing personality, he made friends of many artists and was able to give concerts both in Paris and the provinces. Boëllmann became known as "a dedicated [organ] teacher, trenchant critic, gifted composer and successful performer ... who coaxed pleasing sounds out of recalcitrant instruments". His best-known composition is Suite Gothique in four sections, of which the Menuet is the third. Boellman composed it in 1895, two years before his premature death at age 35.

Pentecost 22 - October 28, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Elegy – C.H. Lloyd 
• Opening Hymn 343 “When all thy mercies, O my God” 
• Service Music: David Hurd 
• Psalm 34: 1-8 
• Anthem: Expectans, expectavi – Sir Charles Wood
  

  This sanctuary of my soul, Unwitting I keep white and whole,
  Unlatch'd and lit, if Thou should'st care To enter or to tarry there.
  With parted lips and outstretch'd hands, And list'ning ears
  Thy servant stands. Call Thou early, call Thou late,
  to Thy great service dedicate. My soul, keep white, and whole.

• Offertory Hymn 508 “I heard the voice of Jesus say” 
• Communion Hymn 620 “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds” 
• Final Hymn 306 “O for a thousand tongues to sing” 
• Organ Postlude: Prelude in C major BWV 545 – J.S. Bach

Music Notes:

Charles Hamilton Sorley (1895 – 1915) was a British World War I poet who was shot during the Battle of Loos, and whose life and work are commemorated on a stone in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey. The text of today’s anthem is taken from the final two verses of Sorley’s “Expectans, expectavi” (translated as ‘I waited patiently’) ..... here are the opening verses:

FROM morn to midnight, all day through,
I laugh and play as others do,
I sin and chatter, just the same
As others with a different name.
And all year long upon the stage,

I dance and tumble and do rage
So vehemently, I scarcely see
The inner and eternal me.
I have a temple I do not
Visit, a heart I have forgot,

A self that I have never met,
A secret shrine—and yet, and yet ......

As a composer, Charles Wood (1866-1926) exhibited "fastidious taste and fine scholarship". Wood was an important teacher at Cambridge University where he became Professor of Music in 1924 following Stanford's death. “Expectans expectavi” was published in 1919. It is slightly unusual in its construction: it has a short and effective pianissimo coda, and a bar of silence before the build-up to the climax begins.

---

NOVEMBER 11

Bagpiper ROB CRABTREE is the special guest at “Remembering”, our November 11 concert. He’s an internationally known artist and teacher, having won several competitions including the Gold Medal in 1998 at Braemar, Scotland. In 1999 his first recording “The Piper’s Legacy” was nominated for a Juno award, and he has since released three other albums. Rob Crabtree will join with our choir and soloists to present a varied programme of music associated with Remembrance Day, including some ‘singalong’ pieces such as ‘The Maple Leaf Forever’ and “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”. We hope you’ll join us, and invite your friends and family members to come and enjoy an hour or so of music and a glass of sherry after the concert. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door and are available from choir members following this morning’s service.

Pentecost 21 - Sunday 21 October 2012

• Organ Prelude: Andante (from Sonata in C minor) – Josef Rheinburger 
• Opening Hymn 436 “I bind unto myself today” 
• Service Music: John Merbecke 
• Psalm 104: 1-9, 25, 37 
• Solo: “Draw near, all ye people” (from ‘Elijah’) – Felix Mendelssohn (Ross Hewitt, baritone) 
• Offertory Hymn 645 “Come down, O love divine” 
• Communion Hymn 65 “Here, Lord, we take the broken bread” 
• Communion Motet: “Lord, for thy tender mercies’ sake” – Richard Farrant
• Final Hymn 356 “Ye boundless realms of joy” (Darwall #365) 
• Organ Postlude: Te deum laudamus – Dietrich Buxtehude

Pentecost 20 - Sunday 14 October 2012

• Prelude: Adagio (from Flute Concerto in C) – Jean Marie Leclair (Fiona Strachan, flute) 
• Opening Hymn 388 “Glorious things of thee are spoken” 
• Psalm 22: 1-15 (Tone VIII.3) 
• Anthem: Lead me, Lord – Samuel Sebastian Wesley
  Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety. (from Psalms 4 and 5) 
• Offertory Hymn 602 “Lift high the cross” 
• Communion Hymn 84 “Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour” 
• Final Hymn “Who would true valour see” (original text from Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan) 
• Postlude: La Vibray (from Flute Sonata 2 in D minor) – Michel Blavet (Fiona Strachan, flute)

Music Notes

Two weeks ago the organ prelude was by Samuel Wesley, who, as mentioned in the Music Notes, was notorious for fathering children out of wedlock. He eventually married his first relationship, but left her for another woman with whom he had four more children, one of whom was Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). S.S. Wesley was involved in church music from an early age, first as a boy chorister at the Chapel Royal and subsequently as organist of Hereford, Exeter, Winchester and Gloucester Cathedrals. He also composed a great deal of music for the church. One of his most popular anthems is “Lead me, Lord” which is extracted from a longer piece, “Praise the Lord, O my soul”.

Alas, this morning’s final hymn was not included in our current hymnbook; and had it been, the words would have been altered substantially. We’re going back to the original text, from John Bunyan’s allegory, “Pilgrim’s Progress”. It has been suggested as a reflection on today’s gospel reading.

Visit St Barnabas website at » www.stbarnabas-toronto.com/

Pentecost 19 – Thanksgiving – Sunday 7 October 2012

• Organ Prelude: Before the Image of a Saint – Siegried Karg-Elert 
• Opening Hymn 262 “Come, ye thankful people, come” 
• Psalm 126 (Tone VI)
• Anthem: Achieved is the glorious work (from ‘The Creation’) – Franz Josef Haydn 
• Offertory Hymn 330 “O Praise ye the Lord” 
• Communion Hymn 259 “For the fruit of all creation” 
• Final Hymn 399 “Now thank we all our God” 
• Organ Postlude: Chorale Prelude on “Now thank we all our God” – Siegfried Karg-Elert

Music Notes:

Considered by many to be his masterpiece, Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809) composed The Creation over a 2-year period beginning in 1796. It’s an oratorio in three parts that depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis and in “Paradise Lost” (John Milton). The chorus “Achieved is the glorious work” is an acknowledgement that, on the sixth day, God completed his work.

Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933) was a German composer of considerable fame in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for organ. Among his many compositions are 66 ‘chorale improvisations’, or preludes on hymn tunes. Born in Denmark, Karg-Elert moved to Germany as a child and spent all of his life there, composing and teaching. Although his music was greatly admired in the UK and USA, it was generally ignored in his adopted country.

“REMEMBERING”

The choir is planning a special Remembrance Day concert on Sunday 11 November at 4 pm. It will feature our choir and lead singers with special guest Rob Crabtree, a Juno nominated bagpiper, all performing a variety of both sacred and secular music (Scottish, Welsh, English and Canadian) that is associated with both World Wars - and maybe a singalong or two! A programme is posted on various bulletin boards around the church. It would be a wonderful thing to fill the church for this concert, so please tell your friends and relatives. Advance tickets at $8 ($10 at the door) are now available from choir members and the church office. The money raised will be used to support the Organ Restoration Fund.

Pentecost 18 - Sunday 30 September 2012

• Organ Prelude: Air and Gavotte – Samuel Wesley 
• Opening Hymn 380 “O worship the King” 
• Service Music: David Hurd Psalm 124 (Tone II.1) 
• Anthem: Jesu, joy of man’s desiring – J.S. Bach 
• Offertory Hymn 384 “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” 
• Communion Hymn 610 “Before I take the Body of my Lord” 
• Communion Motet: If ye love me – Thomas Tallis 
• Final Hymn 325 “Angel voices, ever singing” 
• Organ Postlude: Toccata in D minor – J.S. Bach 

Music Notes

Samuel Wesley (1766-1837) was something of a black sheep in the Wesley family. He was the son of Charles Wesley, the famous Methodist hymn writer and the nephew of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church. In 1784 he converted to Roman Catholicism (surely not a popular choice amongst his family!); and even worse, perhaps, he fathered several children out of wedlock (he did marry the first mother of his child, but later left her and became involved with another woman with whom he had 4 children).

In spite of all this many of his best compositions were written for the church. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) composed well over 200 cantatas which were sung as part of services throughout the Lutheran church year. “Jesu, joy of man’s desiring” is a movement from the 147th cantata, composed for the Visitation of Mary. The most instantly recognizable piece of organ music is Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor”, popularized by Leopold Stokowski’s arrangement for orchestra which was an international best seller when he recorded it in 1927, and in 1940 when he used it in the score to the Disney film “Fantasia” (and not forgetting its use in Phantom of the Opera!). Thomas Tallis composed “If ye love me, keep my commandments” to a text from John 14: 15-17. Tallis (c1505 to 1585) is one of England’s greatest early composers who became organist of Canterbury Cathedral and later the Chapel Royal. He performed and wrote music for four monarchs – King Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I.

Pentecost 17 - Sunday 23 September 2012

• Organ Prelude: Adagio (from Sonata 3) – Alexandré Guilmant 
• Opening Hymn 577 “God of grace and God of glory” 
• Psalm 1 
• Solo: O Praise the Lord – Maurice Greene (Fiona Strachan, soprano) 
• Offertory Hymn 184 “My song is love unknown” 
• Final Hymn 500 “Sister, let me be your servant” 
• Organ Postlude: Sketch in D flat – Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

MUSIC NOTES

Alexandré Guilmant (1837-1911) was a French organist who was famous internationally as a concert artist in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He played no fewer than 40 recitals during the St. Louis Exposition of 1904 on the instrument that is now located in the Wanamaker store in Philadelphia, and for 30 years was organist of the Paris church known as La Trinité. Guilmant composed mainly organ music, including 8 sonatas which are still performed regularly.

Maurice Greene (1696-1755), an 18th century English musician, was organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Chapel Royal in London and later professor at Cambridge University. He composed a great deal of both sacred and secular music, but his best known work is the wonderful anthem “Lord, let me know mine end” which the St. Barnabas’ Choir has sung often.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) is not remembered for organ music, but mainly for his songs (lieder) and orchestral/other instrumental works. In fact, the four Sketches were composed in 1845 for pedal-piano, an instrument (a piano with foot pedals like the organ) that has a curious sound to modern ears, though it resembles the organ with its sustaining sonorities. The Sketches are most often played now on the organ.

Pentecost 16 - Sunday 16 September 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Prelude (or Entrée, from Petite Suite Scholastique) – Déodat de Sévérac
• Opening Hymn 7 “New every morning is the love”
• Service Music:  John Merbecke
• Psalm 19
• Gospel Alleluia
  Choir:  Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  All:  Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
  Cantor:  The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork.
  All:  Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia
• Offertory Hymn 2 “When morning gilds the skies”
• Communion Hymn 479 “O Christ the Master Carpenter”
• Communion Motet:  “When I survey the wondrous cross” – Malcolm Archer
• Final Hymn 344 “From all that dwell below the skies”
• Organ Postlude:  Rigadoun – André Campra

Music Notes:

Déodat de Sévérac (1872-1921) was a French composer who is best known for his choral
music, but he also wrote music for piano, operas and a small number of organ pieces.  The  “Petite Suite Scholastique” is a set of five pieces designed for use during a mass.
Andre Campra is another Frenchman, but from an earlier period (1660-1744).  As Music
Director of Notre Dame for six years, Campra caused a bit of a stir by introducing string players  to play during mass -  at that time violins were viewed as ‘street instruments’ and therefore not  appropriate in a sacred context.  His opera/ballets were very popular during his lifetime,  although seldom heard today.  ‘Rigadoun’ is from the opera ‘Idoménée’, written in 1711/1712.

Pentecost XV – September 9, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’ – Ralph Vaughan Williams
• 
Opening Hymn 484 “In Christ there is no east or west” (St. Bernard #607)
• 
Psalm 125

• Offertory Hymn 524 “O Christ the great foundation” (Aurelia)
• 
Communion Hymn 450 “You call us Lord to be” (Rhosymedre)

• Final Hymn 576 “For the healing of the nations” (Westminster Abbey)
• 
Organ Postlude:  Prelude in F minor – J.S. Bach

Pentecost XIV - September 2, 2012

Peter Dunphy, guest organist

• Organ Prelude: 15 Pieces Founded on Antiphons: Antiphon III – Marcel Dupré, 1886 - 1971

• Opening Hymn 439 “Blest are the pure in heart” (Franconia)

• Offertory Hymn 619 “Fairest Lord Jesus” (Crusaders’ Hymn)

• Final Hymn 392 “Immortal, invisible, God only wise” (St. Denio)

• Organ Postlude:  Le Tombeau de Titelouze: VIII. Veni Creator Spiritus – Marcel Dupré, 1886 - 1971

Pentecost XIII - August 26, 2012

Peter Dunphy, Guest Organist

• Organ Prelude:  Organ Book: VIII. Andantino - Jean Langlais, 1907 - 1991
• 
Opening Hymn 350 “Stand up and bless the Lord” (St. Thomas)

• Offertory Hymn 526 “God is our fortress and our rock” (Ein’ feste Burg)
• 
Final Hymn 620 “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds” (St. Peter)

• Organ Postlude:  Organ Book: X. Pasticcio – Jean Langlais, 1907 - 1991

Pentecost XII - August 19, 2012

Peter Dunphy, guest organist

• Organ Prelude:  Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn, BuxWV 192 – Dietrich Buxtehude, c.1637 - 1707

• Opening Hymn 8 “Awake my soul, and with the sun” (Morning Hymn)

• Offertory Hymn 431 “Take up your cross” (Breslau)

• Final Hymn 343 “When all thy mercies, O my God” (St. Stephen)

• Organ Postlude:  Suite du Deuxième Ton: VII. Caprice sur les Grands Jeux – Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, 1676 - 1749

Pentecost XI - August 12, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Canon – Nadia Boulanger
• Opening Hymn 85 “Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless” (St. Agnes)
• Offertory Hymn 508 “I heard the voice of Jesus say” (Kingsfold)
• Final Hymn 353 “My God, how endless is your love” (Wareham)
• Organ Postlude:  Exultemus – June Nixon

Pentecost X - 5 August 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Sonata in G - Anonymous
• Opening Hymn 370 “Songs of praise the angels sang” (Culbach)
• Offertory Hymn 451 “King of love, O Christ, we crown you” (Hermon)
• Final Hymn 467 “Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go” (Warrington #474)
• Organ Postlude:  Tu es petrus (Thou art the rock) – Jeanne Demessieux

Pentecost IX - 29 July 2012

• Organ Prelude: Meditation on the name of BACH – Herbert Brewer
• Opening Hymn 435 “Take my life, and let it be” (Mozart)
• Offertory Hymn 455 “Dear God, compassionate and true” (Repton)
• Final Hymn 434 “The love of Jesus calls us” (Aurelia)
• Organ Postlude:  Toccatinetto - Christopher Tambling

Pentecost VIII - July 22, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Lament (from ‘Heroic Suite’) – Alec Rowley
• 
Opening Hymn 485 “Love divine, all loves excelling” (Hyfrydol #374)
• 
Offertory Hymn 59 “Jesus calls us here to meet him” (Jesus calls us)
• 
Final Hymn 592 “Where cross the crowded ways of life” (Walton)

• Organ Postlude:  Prelude on ‘Hyfrydol’ – Healey Willan

Pentecost VII - July 15, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Cantilene (from Sonata 11) – Josef Rheinberger
• Opening Hymn 481 “May the grace of Christ our Saviour” (Halton Holgate)
• Offertory Hymn 381 “Praise, my soul, the King of heaven” (Praise, my soul)
• Final Hymn 365 “Glory to God on high” (Darwall)
• Organ Postlude:  Sabbath Joy – Norman Warren

Pentecost VI - July 8, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Prelude in E minor – J.S. Bach
• Opening Hymn 560 “God, whose almighty word” (Moscow)
• Offertory Hymn 546 “God moves in a mysterious way” (London New)
• Final Hymn 527 “How firm a foundation” (St. Denio #393)
• Organ Postlude:  Fugue in E minor – J.S. Bach

Pentecost V / Canada Day - July 1, 2012

• Organ Preludes: 
• Elegie – Henri Gagnon 
 
• Meditation Op. 6 – Joseph-Arthur Bernier 


• Opening Hymn 394 “Eternal, unchanging” (St. Basil)

• Words: Robert Balgarnie Young Scott (1899 - 1987)
 
• Music: James Healey_Willan (1880 – 1968) 
• National Anthem: 659 “O Canada” 
English 
• Words: Robert Stanley Weir (1856-1926) and others

• Music: Calixa Lavallee (1842-1891)


• Offertory Hymn 532 “What a friend we have in Jesus” (Friendship)

• Words: Joseph Medlicott Scriven (1819 - 1886)

• Music: Charles Crozat Converse (1832 - 1918) 
• Organ Music During Communion: Petits Morceaux – Romain-Octave Pelletier
• Final Hymn 572 “Let there be light” (Concord) 

• Words: Frances Wheeler Davis (b1936)

• Music: Robert James Berkeley Fleming (1921 – 1976)


• Organ Postlude: Finale (from `Petit Suite`) – Gerald Bales 

• Notes: In observance of Canada Day, all words and music (with one exception) of today’s hymns were written by Canadians, as well as all the organ music. The one exception is the music to `What a friend we have in Jesus` which was composed by American Charles Converse.

John the Baptist - June 24, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  Two Vesper Voluntaries – Sir Edward Elgar
• Opening Hymn 283 + verse 2k “By all your saints still striving” (Ewing)
• Offertory Hymn 106 “There’s a voice in the wilderness” (Ascension)
• Final Hymn 270 “Lamb of God, to thee we raise” (Monkland #398)
• Organ Postlude:  Processional (from ‘Laudate Dominum’) – Peter Hurford 

Pentecost III - June 17, 2012

• Organ Prelude:  24 Pièces en style libre: 15. Arabesque -  Louis Vierne, 1870-1937
• Opening Hymn 478 “Almighty God, thy word is cast” (Albano)
• Offertory Hymn 577 “God of grace and God of glory” (Cwm Rhondda)
• Final Hymn 379 “Rejoice, the Lord is King” (Darwall)
• Organ Postlude:  Fugue in G minor ("The Little"), BWV 578 - J. S. Bach, 1685-1750

• Peter Dunphy, organist

St. Barnabas - June 10, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Three Liturgical Preludes – George Oldroyd
• Processional Hymn “The son of Consolation!” (Ewing) 
• Psalm 112 – Beatus vir – Antonio Vivaldi 
• Anthem: Happy and blest are they (from ‘St. Paul’) – Felix Mendelssohn 
• Offertory Hymn: 281 “Who are these like stars appearing” (All Saints) 
• Communion Hymn 286 “Give me the wings of faith” (Westminster) 
• Communion Motet: O Taste and See – Ralph Vaughan Williams 
• Concluding Hymn 525 “The church’s one foundation” (Aurelia) 
• Organ Postlude: Sortie in E flat - Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely 

• Music Notes: 

Dr. George Oldroyd (1887-1956) was an English organist and composer of Anglican church music. He was organist of St. Alban's Church, Holborn in London from 1919 to 1920, and then of St Michael's Church, Croydon from 1920 until his death in 1956. Both churches are firmly rooted within the Anglo-Catholic branch of the Anglican church, and Oldroyd composed both choral and organ music with its rich ritualistic traditions in mind. “Beatus Vir” is the Latin translation of Psalm 112 (page 860 of the BAS) which is the proper psalm for St. Barnabas’ Day. Today the choir will sing Antonio Vivaldi’s setting of these words between the first and second readings. The exuberance of the music is a perfect match for the text, “Happy are they who fear the Lord and have great delight in his commandments!” with soprano and alto solos alternating with the chorus. Vivaldi (1678-1741), also known as ‘The Red Priest’ (not for his political bent but because of his flaming red hair) was a composer, violinist and priest whose musical influence spread all across Europe during his lifetime. His best-known composition is ‘The Four Seasons’. 

Felix Mendelssohn began writing his oratorio “St. Paul” in 1832 and completed it early in 1836, with its first performance in Dusseldorf in May of that year. The first British performance was ten years later in Birmingham with Mendelssohn conducting and the world-famous Jenny Lind in the soprano role. The oratorio is in two parts. Part 1 recounts the preaching, persecution and martyrdom of St. Stephen (the first Christian martyr), the miracle of St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity, and concluding with Ananias commissioning Paul as a minister of Christ. Part 2 relates to Paul and Barnabas becoming ambassadors and evangelists of the Christian church, celebrated by the perhaps familiar “How lovely are the messengers”. Mendelssohn himself was a Jew who converted to Christianity but it’s not known if his oratorio has any relation to his personal experiences. “Happy and blest are they”, today’s anthem, is from Part 1 of “St. Paul” and is a soothing consolation on the death of St. Stephen with a musical elegance not often matched. 

“O Taste and See” (communion motet) was composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) to be sung during the communion service at the coronation of Elizabeth II. The text is from Psalm 34:8. 

Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (1817-1869) was a French organist and composer who played a major role in the development of the French symphonic organ style and was a close friend of the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, inaugurating many new Cavaillé-Coll organs. He was organist at the Parisian churches of Saint-Roch (1841-1846), the Église de la Madeleine (1847-1857), and Saint-Sulpice (1863-1869). Lefébure-Wély is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. His most celebrated compositions are probably the Sorties in E-flat and B-flat major for organ. The Sortie in E-flat ends the service this morning. 

---

The choir will be on holiday from June 17 to September 2 (inclusive), returning on Sunday 9 September 2012.

Trinity Sunday - June 3, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Benedictus – Alec Rowley 
• Processional Hymn 1 “Holy, holy, holy” (Nicaea)
•  Psalm 29 
• Solo: TBA (Ed Wiens, tenor) 
• Offertory Hymn 445 “God the creator” (Bunessan) 
• Communion Hymn 6 “This day at thy creating word” (Rushton) 
• Motet: Hymn to the Trinity - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky 
• Concluding Hymn 326 “Bright the vision that delighted” (Redhead) 
• Organ Postlude: Fugue in E flat (St. Anne) – J.S. Bach

Pentecost - May 27, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Komm Gott, Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist (Come, Holy Spirit) – J.S. Bach
• Processional Hymn 653 “Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost” (Capetown)
• Psalm 104: 25-35
• Offertory Hymn 645 “Come down, O love divine” (Down Ampney)
• Communion Hymns
• 637 “Come, Holy Ghost” (Veni Creator Spiritus)
• 649 “Breathe on me, breath of God” (Trentham)
• Motet: O Lord, give thy holy spirit – Thomas Tallis
• Concluding Hymn 655 “Holy Spirit, ever dwelling” (In Babilone)
• Organ Postlude: Prelude on ‘Old 104th’ – C.H.H. Parry

Easter 7 - Sunday after Ascension - May 20, 2012

• Organ Prelude: How fair and how pleasant art Thou – Marcel Dupré 
• Processional Hymn 491 “The head that once was crowned with thorns” (St. Magnus) 
• Psalm 1 
• Anthem: Alleluia – Dietrich Buxtehude 
• Offertory Hymn 322 “All hail the power of Jesus’ name” (Miles Lane)
•  Communion Hymn 439 “Blest are the pure in heart” (Franconia) 
• Concluding Hymn 372 “Alleluia sing to Jesus” (Hyfrydol) 
• Organ Postlude: Chaconne in E minor – Dietrich Buxtehude

Easter 6 - May 13, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Music for Flute and Organ by Michel Blavet (1700-1768) 
• Processional Hymn 70 “Jesus, the joy of loving hearts” (Maryton) 
• Psalm 98 
• Anthem: Cantique de Jean Racine – Gabriel Fauré 
• Offertory Hymn 372 “Praise to the holiest in the height” (Gerontius) 
• Communion Hymn 481 “May the grace of Christ our Saviour” (Halton Holgate) 
• Concluding Hymn 412 “O God, beyond all face and form” (Melita) 
• Organ Postlude: Music for Flute and Organ by Michel Blavet (1700-1768)

Easter 5 - May 6, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Two Dutch Folksongs – arranged by Jan Zwart
• Processional Hymn 40 “O Spirit of the living God” (Wareham)
• Offertory Hymn 451 “King of love, O Christ, we crown you” (Hermon)
• Communion Hymns
• 52 “O God unseen yet ever near” (St. Flavian)
• 487 “Where charity and love prevail” (Primrose) 
• Motet: If ye love me, keep my commandments – Thomas Tallis 
• Concluding Hymn 343 “When all thy mercies” (St. Stephen) 
• Organ Postlude: Impetuoso – Albert de Klerk 

• Music Notes: 

On May 4 each year the Dutch honour all members of the military and civilians who have died in war situations or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War 2; and on May 5 there is a celebration of the 1945 capitulation of German forces in the Second World War. In acknowledgement of these special days and of our country’s friendship with The Netherlands, today’s organ music is by Dutch composers – Jan Zwart (1877-1937) and Albert de Klerk (1917-1998).

Easter 4 (Mattins) - Sunday 29 April, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Prelude founded on an Old Irish Church Melody" - Charles Villiers Stanford 
• Processional Hymn 224 “Awake, arise, lift up your voice” (Richmond) 
• Psalm 23 (Hymn 519 – Crimond) 
• Solo: Sheep may safely graze – J.S. Bach (Fiona Strachan, soprano) 
• Offertory Hymn 375 “At the Name of Jesus” (King’s Weston) 
• Concluding Hymn 325 “Angel voices, ever singing” (Angel Voices) 
• Organ Postlude: Prelude on Saint Columba - Healey Willan

Easter 3 - Earth Day - Sunday, April 22, 2012

• Organ Prelude: In Springtime – Alfred Hollins 
• Processional Hymn 427 “All beautiful the march of days” (Forest Green) 
• Psalm 4 (Tone II.1) 
• Anthem: For the beauty of the earth – Andrew Carter 
• Offertory Hymn 428 “God who gives to life its goodness” (Abbot’s Leigh) 
• Communion Hymn 409 “Before the earth had yet begun” (Craigleith) 
• Concluding Hymn 387 “All praise to thee” (Sine nomine) 
• Organ Postlude: Forest Music – G.F. Handel

Music Notes
Alfred Hollins (1865-1942) was a blind-from-birth Yorkshire organist and composer, although he lived in Scotland for most of his life. Late in the nineteenth century he became organist of Free St. George’s Church in Edinburgh, whose founding minister had virulently opposed the installation of the ‘kist of whistles’ into his church. He regarded it definitely as the thin edge of the wedge – to the sacramental system of popery and the work of the very devil himself! Fortunately, a more enlightened assistant minister persuaded the elders to move with the times and install an organ and appoint Alfred Hollins as organist. Hollins was a prolific composer. He wrote much for the organ – there are some fifty-five pieces, one of which is the very pastoral and evocative “In Springtime”, today’s organ prelude.

Recognized as the best known and one of the most highly regarded preachers in the Anglican Church, Herbert O'Driscoll (born 1928) is a former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, and former Warden of the College of Preachers at Washington National Cathedral. He is the author of 30 books, including A Doorway in Time, a reflection of his own Celtic spirituality, and Emmanuel, written during a visit to the Holy Land. O'Driscoll is at once a brilliant scholar and mesmerizing Irish storyteller. He has also written several hymns, one of which is our communion hymn this morning – “Before the earth had yet begun”.

In November 1741 Georg Frederic Handel (1685-1758) visited Dublin, Ireland where he had been asked by the Governors of Mercer's Hospital, and of the Charitable Infirmary, to compose something “special” in aid of the Dublin sick. That ‘something special’ was Messiah, which Handel composed in England in just three weeks and completed on September 14, 1741. Between November 1741 and April of 1742 when Messiah received its first performance, he participated in concerts of several of his other works, and his Irish visit ended in June with a second Messiah performance. Handel was very taken with Ireland and its folk music, and this influence can be heard in Forest Music, composed in Ireland in 1742 for a German lady friend – it is this morning’s organ postlude.

Easter 2 - Sunday April 15, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Dolcezza – Percy Whitlock 
• Opening Hymn 205 “The day of resurrection”
• Offertory Hymn 378 “Crown him with many crowns” 
• Organ Music During Communion: 
• Air (from Orchestral Suite in D) – J.S. Bach 
• Bist du bei mir (Be Thou with me) – J.S. Bach 
• Concluding Hymn 619 “Fairest Lord Jesus” 
• Organ Postlude: “Heute triumphieret Gottes Sohn” (Today the Son of God triumphs) – J.S. Bach 
•  (no choir)

Easter Day - Sunday, April 8, 2012

Organ Prelude: Prelude on 'The Easter Hymn' - Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
Hymns:

• Processional Hymn 203: Jesus Christ is Risen Today - Easter Hymn 
• Offertory Hymn 231: That Eastertide with joy was bright - Lasst uns erfreuen 
• Communion Hymn 84: Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour - St. Osmund 
• Communion Hymn 569: Come, my way, my truth, my life - The Call 
• Recessional Hymn 216: Ye choirs of New Jerusalem - St. Fulbert 

Anthem: Alleluia (from cantata Der Herr is mit mir - God is with me – Dietrich Buxtehude
Organ Postlude: Toccata - Johann Pachelbel

Sunday, April 1, 2012 - Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion

• Procession of Palms – Malcolm Williamson 
• Processional Hymn 181 All Glory, Laud and Honour (St. Theodulph)
 
• Offertory Hymn 184 My Song is Love Unknown (Love Unknown) 
• Communion Hymns 
• 202 “There is a Green Hill” (Horsley) 
• 56 “I am the Bread” (Picket Wood) 
• Recessional Hymn 187 “As Royal Banners” (Gonfalon Royal) 
• To emphasize the transition from the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to the solemnity of Holy Week, there is no organ postlude. Please take a minute in silence to ponder and pray about the events of the week ahead. 

PROCESSION OF PALMS – MALCOLM WILLIAMSON 

In the late 1960s I was introduced to Procession of Palms by my organ teacher who had the confidence to ask me to accompany his choir in a Palm Sunday service. Since that time I’ve incorporated it into several Palm Sunday services in different ways, the most effective being at the start of the service in place of an organ prelude and preceding the traditional procession. The work is a bit longer than the usual anthem, being in 5 sections and using words familiar to us all. It begins with a contemporary musical setting of “Ride on, ride on in majesty”, followed by a jaunty “All glory, laud and honour”. Then comes a more somber setting of the text “O Saviour of the world, who by thy cross and precious blood …..”, sung by 2 soloists. A beautiful “Benedictus qui venit” (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord) follows, and the work ends with rousing shouts of “Hosanna” from the choir.

Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003) was Australian born but spent his working life in the UK where he was Master of the Queen’s Musick from 1975 until his death. He composed Procession of Palms in 1961.

Neil Houlton

Sunday, March 25, 2012 - The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Organ Prelude: Prelude in G - Felix Mendelssohn
Hymns:

• Processional Hymn 564 - Lead us, heavenly Father - Mannheim 
• Offertory Hymn 185 - Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle - Oriel 
• Recessional Hymn 438 - O Jesus, I have promised - Wolvercote 

Organ Postlude: Fugue in G - Felix Mendelssohn

---

Music Notes

Next Sunday (Palm Sunday) the choir is singing a longer-than-usual piece of music in an unusual place in the service.  Instead of an organ prelude, the service will begin with a wonderful work called Procession of Palms by Malcolm Williamson, an Australian born, UK based composer who was Master of the Queen's Musick until his death in 2003.  It is a very fitting way in which to begin the exuberance of Palm Sunday.

Sunday, March 18, 2012 - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Organ Prelude: Psalm Prelude Set 1 No. 1 - Herbert Howells
Hymns:

• Processional Hymn 607 “ Come, let us to the Lord our God" - St. Bernard
• Offertory Hymn 551 “My faith looks up to thee” -Olivet
• Communion Hymn 72 “Bread of Heaven" - Jesu, meine Zuversicht
• Recessional Hymn 398 “Let us with a gladsome mind” - Monkland

Solo: Jesus, Savior, I am Thine (from ‘St. Matthew Passion’) - J. S. Bach (Virginia Wright, mezzo-soprano)
Service Music: Missa L’Hora Passa – Ludovico da Viadana
Communion Motet: Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz - Brahms
Organ Postlude: Divertimento - Frederick Karam

Sunday, March 11, 2012 - The Third Sunday in Lent

Organ Prelude Ich ruf zu dir (I call to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ) - J. S. Bach
Hymns

• Processional Hymn 629 “Jesus, thy blood and righteousness” (Walton)
• Communion Hymn 479 “O Christ, the master carpenter”(Albano)
• Recessional Hymn 306 “O for a thousand tongues” (Richmond)

Communion Motet Ave verum corpus - Sir Edward Elgar
Organ Postlude Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’ - Ralph Vaughan Williams

---

Music Notes:

Both quintessential British composers who contributed significantly to the music of the church, Edward Elgar (1857-1934) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) were very different men.

Elgar was a devout Roman Catholic who was a parish organist early in his career, writing several choral pieces for that church and later in life composing large-scale oratorios for choir, soloists and orchestra (i.e., “The Dream of Gerontius” to a text by Cardinal Newman).

Vaughan Williams, the son of a priest, was described by his second wife, Ursula, as "an atheist ... [who] later drifted into a cheerful agnosticism." One of RVW’s most significant contributions to the Church of England was his editorship of the English Hymnal in 1904, and throughout his career he composed several choral works, hymn tunes (the one we use for “For all the saints” is one example), and a smattering of pieces for solo organ.

Sunday, March 4, 2012 - Second Sunday in Lent

MORNING PRAYER
Hymns:

• Opening Hymn 7 “New every morning is the love” 
• Hymn 542 “Out of the depths” (Sandon) 
• Offertory Hymn 532 “What a friend we have in Jesus” (Friendship)
• Recessional Hymn 537 “In the cross of Christ” (Cross of Jesus)

Sunday, February 19, 2012 - Epiphany 7: Transfiguration

Organ Prelude: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (Dearest Jesus, we are here) - J.S. Bach
Anthem:  Laudamus te (Gloria) - Francis Poulenc
Organ Postlude: Fantasia in G minor -  J.S. Bach

Sunday, February 12, 2012 - Epiphany 6

Organ Preludes: So Fades the lovely Blooming Flower and There is a Happy Home - George Shearing
Organ Postlude: Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound! - George Shearing

Sunday, February 5, 2012 - Epiphany 5

Organ Prelude: Intermezzo - Healey Willan
Hymns

• Processional Hymn 40 “O spirit of the living God” (Wareham)
• Offertory Hymn 384 “Praise to the Lord, the almighty”  (Lobe den Herren)
• Communion Hymn 48 “Let all mortal flesh” (Picardy)
• Recessional Hymn  577 “God of grace and God of glory” (Cwm Rhondda)

Anthem: God be in my head - Andrew Carter
Organ Postlude: Sabbath Joy - Norman Warren

Music Notes:

Healey Willan (1880-1968) was in his lifetime the ‘dean of Canadian composers’, having produced a prodigious amount of music not only for the church and organ but also chamber and orchestral music as well as an opera.  He was also responsible for teaching many of the next generation’s composers at the Royal Conservatory of Music in addition to his work at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene.  Today’s prelude, “Intermezzo”, is from a suite of five pieces that Dr. Willan composed to show off the organ at St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Ottawa.

Andrew Carter (born 1939), who wrote today’s anthem, is a prolific English composer whose style is similar to that of the better-known (and even more prolific) John Rutter. The text of the anthem is an ancient one, from a publication called the Sarum Primer, originally published in England in 1514.

Norman Warren (born 1934) was educated at Dulwich College, Corpus Christi College, and Ridley Hall Theological College in Cambridge, and was ordained in the Church of England in 1961. He served as vicar of St. Paul's Church, Leamington Spa (1963-1977), rector of Morden (1977-1989), and since 1989 has been archdeacon of Rochester.  Warren was a member of the Jubilate Group committees that published Psalm Praise (1973) and Hymns for Today's Church (1982). He has composed over one hundred hymn tunes as well as this morning’s postlude, “Sabbath Joy”.

Sunday, January 29, 2012 - Epiphany 4

Organ Prelude: Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my Joy) - Max Reger
Anthem:  God be in my head - Andrew Carter
Organ Postlude: Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my Joy) - J.S. Bach

Sunday, January 22, 2012 - Epiphany 3

Organ Prelude: Recit de nazard (from ‘Suite du deuxieme ton’) - Louis-Nicolas Clerambault
Nazard (from ‘Suite Francaise’) - Jean Langlais (played by Peter Dunphy)
Communion Motet:  Lord, for thy tender mercies’ sake - Richard Farrant
Organ Postlude: Basse et dessus de trompette - Louis-Nicolas Clerambault

Sunday, January 15, 2012 - Epiphany 2

Organ Prelude: Petit Canon - Nadia Boulanger
Anthem: O Holy City, seen of John  - Herbert Howells
Organ Postlude: Processional on ‘Sine nomine’ - David Cameron

Sunday, January 8, 2012 - Epiphany

LESSONS, READINGS AND CAROLS FOR EPIPHANY

Organ Prelude: Nun freut euch (Good Christians, One and All,  Rejoice) – J.S. Bach

Hymns:

• Entrance:  Of eternal love begotten, (Divinum mysterium)
• From east to west, from shore to shore (Puer nobis nascitur)
• What child is this, who, laid to rest (Greensleeves)  
• O come, all ye faithful,  (Adeste fidelis)
• Away in a manger, no crib for a bed (Cradle Song)
• Recessional: In the darkness shines the splendor (Irby)

Carols (sung by the choir)

• In the bleak midwinter  (Words: Christina Rosetti, Music: Harold Darke)
• When to the temple Mary went – Johann Eccard
• Nunc dimittis (from the Service in C) - Charles Villiers Stanford
• The Three Kings - Ross Hewitt (baritone) (Words: Peter Cornelius; Music: Peter Cornelius, arr. Ivor Atkins)

Organ Postlude:  Festival Voluntary - Flor Peeters

Sunday, January 1, 2012 - New Year's Day

10:00 am Choral Eucharist

•  Prelude: The Shepherds (The Nativity) - Olivier Messiaen 
• Setting: Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei from The New Plainsong - David Hurd 
• Carol: “An Old French Carol” - arr. Samuel Liddle 
• Carol: “A Child is Born There” - Norman Nurmi 
• Music at Communion: Gesù Bambino - Pietro Yon 
• Postlude: Noel X - Louis-Claude Daquin