Sunday, October 28, 2012

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.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

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

Sunday, October 14, 2012

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.

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Sunday, October 7, 2012

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.