Cellist Aaron Dunigan-AtLee and contra bassist Ovella Huddleston join yours truly in two disparate chamber works this Sunday morning. During the prelude, the traditional spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" recalls our human right of freedom and personal dignity this holiday weekend. At communion, the Baroque strains of J.S. Bach's "Bourrée," the first movement of the "French Overture" published in 1735, is offered.
From the great American composer and writer Ned Rorem, the "Fanfare" from the 1990 "Organ Book III" closes worship on an exuberant and decidedly idiosyncratic note.
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Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era along with his contemporaries J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel. Also a virtuoso violist and noted impresario, Vivaldi composed prolifically and firmly established the concerto, of which he wrote over 500, as an accepted compositional form. This Sunday we hear one of these concertos in its entirety, the "Concerto in G Minor, RV 317" with violinist Harmony Tucker.
With CSU Organ Week just around the corner we celebrate the role of the organ in our worship life and in Christian communal worship through the centuries. A few chestnuts from the instrument's vast repertoire will be represented this Sunday morning.
At the Prelude, a selection from Brahms' "Eleven Chorale Preludes," the composer's final work, will be offered in the flowing and beautiful "Herzlich tut mich erfreuen" (My Faithful Heart Rejoices). For the Offertory, we hear a delightful contemporary setting of the 16th century German hymn "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei" (God the Father, Be Our Stay) by Paul Manz. At the Postlude, a dramatic yet fleeting "Toccata in E Minor" by Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel sends us out into the world. At the annual Rolland Moore Park outdoor service this Sunday, we gather for a time of worship and fellowship as one Beloved Community.
Musicians/vocalists Bill DeMarco, Lucas Jackson, Nick McCulloch, Bruce Ronda, Con Woodall and I bring you songs from the American and Celtic folk traditions and more. Come to rekindle your little flame and shine on! At 9:00 a.m., staff singers Lucas Jackson and Alex Young, along with her violin, join bassist Peter Strening and me on this last Sunday of Eastertide. Spiritual songs from the rock/pop idioms and an offering from the organ will be heard at this eclectic early morning service.
At 11:00 a.m., a tango for organ on the Ralph Vaughan Williams hymn tune to the Spirit "Down Ampney" opens worship in a setting by Mark Sedio. The Chancel Choir sings a rousing arrangement of the spiritual "I Wanna Be Ready" by esteemed composer Rosephanye Powell featuring soloists Lucas Jackson and Alex Young. Flor Peeters' "Festival Voluntary" closes the service on a note of majestic joy and triumph. At 9:00 a.m., a little morning chamber music by cellist Lucas Jackson, double bassist Ovella Huddleston, and yours truly.
At 11:00 a.m., organ works by French Romantic composer César Franck and Tudor-era English composer John Redford, also organist of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. The Chancel Choir offers the pop-centric anthem "You Sing Over Me" by Heather Sorenson. At 9:00, we share the spiritual essence of songs by George Harrison and Paul McCartney and others. Guitarist Alan Skowron joins us for a service of Easter Alleluias and thanks.
At 11:00, the organ offers two works inspired by dance: a jig and minuet by composers Dietrich Buxtehude and Léon Boëllmann. The Chancel Choir sings a contemporary setting of the George Herbert hymn text "Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life" by Thomas Keesecker. On our yearly walk down Emmaus Road we seek to encounter the Risen Christ in our own lives as those disciples experienced long ago. An Easter flashback this Sunday morning.
At 9:00, cantor/cellist Lucas Jackson and violinist Harmony Tucker and I explore the life-giving message of Eastertide with songs from the English folk and Italian traditions with a touch of eccentricity. At 11:00, the organ ushers in worship with a neo-baroque setting of the 16th century German Easter hymn "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" (Appeared Is the Splendid Day) by Heinrich von Herzogenberg. The Chancel Choir sings of the resurrection in an ambitiously eccentric hymn setting from the Episcopal 1982 hymnal in "Look There! The Christ, Our Brother, Comes" by idiosyncratic American composer William Albright. The organ speaks one final time in a blistering toccata on the hymn tune "Gaudeamus Pariter" most associated with the Easter text "Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain." A celebration of our island home, Mother Earth, and a call for her nurturing this Sunday morning.
At the 9:00 a.m. "eclectic" service we honor the gift of creation with songs of praise and stewardship. Ukulelist Stuart Yoshida joins us and will share his fascinating work realizing the potential musical interplay between plant and humankind during the Gathering Music. At the 11:00 a.m. traditional service, a majestic yet mysterious song to the peaks in "Lied to the Mountains" by Belgian composer Flor Peeters begins the worship hour. The Chancel Choir offers the modern choral classic "For the Beauty of the Earth" by John Rutter in a contemporary musical adaptation of the 19th century hymn text. To close, the energetic and jubilant "Toccata for a Joyful Day" by Emma Lou Diemer sends us empowered into this beautiful world. The Triduum begins with an agape meal and service of Tenebrae this Maundy Thursday.evening. Organ works by Olivier Messiaen and Jehan Alain will be offered along with a poignant setting of the spiritual "Were You There?" by Bob Chilcott from the Chancel Choir. Cellist Aaron Dunigan-AtLee also joins us for this poignant service of communion and shadows.
On the solemn feast day of Good Friday, a time for prayer, reflection and meditation will be presented with the organ repertoire of Passiontide by composers J.S. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Jean Langlais, and Arvo Pärt. Easter Sunday morning begins with the joyful strains of the Plymouth Brass ensemble. The Chancel Choir offers the Southern Harmony-influenced anthem "Tell the News!" by David Ashley White. The Plymouth Ringers offer a quiet joy during communion time with Eastertide meditations and carols. The organ closes our Paschal celebration with the riveting "Final from Organ Symphony No. 1" by titular organist and composer of Notre Dame Cathedral (1900-1937) Louis Vierne. |
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