2026

The Season after the Epiphany 

2•15•26 | Last Epiphany

Christe, qui lux es et die, by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
The God of Gods, by Justine Koontz (b. 1987)
“Et resurrexit,” from Mass in B minor, BWV 232, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
“Sanctus,” from Requiem (1845-924), by Gabriel Fauré
Fugue on Salzburg, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)

The last Sunday after the Epiphany is sometimes known as “Transfiguration Sunday,” as the readings for this day include Jesus’ ascent into the mountains where his clothes and visage became transfigured with light; other readings for the day likewise emphasize light and revelation. (The actual feast day for the Transfiguration is August 6, which sometimes causes confusion). The opening voluntary is a set of three variations on the Latin hymn Christe, qui lux es et die, the first stanza of which likewise emphasizes light:

“Christ, who art the light and day,
You drive away the darkness of night,
You are called the light of light,
For you proclaim the blessed light.”

Sweelinck was a Dutch composer whose work bridged the transition between what we typically view as the Renaissance and the Baroque. His style of keyboard tradition would later impact the North German school of composition, leading to the works of Dietrich Buxtehude and, eventually, J.S. Bach.

Our introit is from a collection of works by Justine Koontz, Director of Music and Organist at Memorial Episcopal Church in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. St. David’s was one of the churches which commissioned this collection, along with parishes in California, Indiana, and Virginia. The text is from psalm 50, and echoes the imagery of light and revelation heard throughout today’s lectionary.

At the offertory we hear a movement from J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, one of his final choral works that served as a summation of his contrapuntal and rhetorical skill as a composer. This particular movement – Et resurrexit – is a bit of a spoiler, looking ahead as it does to Easter. It specifically references the last line of today’s Gospel reading: “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” One of the subtleties of the movement are the hidden reference to the number three scattered throughout. Bach often used the number three specifically as Trinitarian imagery; here, it serves to emphasize the “tertia die,” the “third day.” The piece begins with three “pick up” notes, followed by a triplet figure (a grouping of three notes) that returns again and again throughout the work. But what is might be most interesting is what we don’t hear: a written-out grouping of three eighth-note rests that occurs before the work begins. There is a suggestion that those three eighth-note rests worth of silence are a part of the aural experience of the piece, a nod to the Triduum spanning Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter. You can hear the entire Mass in B Minor on March 15 at the 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon.

During Communion we hear the serene Sanctus by French composer Gabriel Fauré. The work builds from a simple arpeggiated texture to grand statements of “Hosannas” before returning once again to a simple chant and rolling chords in the organ. (The choir will offer the entirety of Fauré’s Requiem on April 3 as part of Music for Good Friday.)

Closing our service today is Douglas Buchanan’s fugue on the melody Salzburg (“Songs of thankfulness and praise”). The fugue draws on the techniques which students of counterpoint learn from J.S. Bach: inversion (flipping the initial melody upside down), augmentation (stretching out the melody), and stretto (overlapping the statements of the melody), among others. If you listen closely, you can hear all of these at once in the closing moments of the piece.

2•8•26 | 5 Epiphany

Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind (Skye Boat Song), arr. Robert Fitzgerald
Nor Eye Hath Seen, Scottish Traditional arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
“Cum sancto spiritu,” from Mass in B minor, BWV 232, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
O salutaris hostia, by Caterina Assandra (c. 1590 to after 1618)
Fugue in D Major, BWV 532, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Much of today’s music responds to the reading from Corinthians, which focuses, which focuses on the power of the Spirit to move, teach, and inspire wisdom and love. The opening voluntary is an arrangement of the hymn “Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind,” itself an adaptation of the Skye Boat Song, a traditional Scottish air relating the flight of Bonnie Prince Charlie to the Isle of Skye. We hear the tune again during the introit, this time accompanied by an Isaac Watts text that offers a poetic paraphrase of the Corinthians reading: ““What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

More music focusing on the Holy Spirit is heard at the offertory in the jubilant “Cum Sancto Spiritu” from J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. Written in D major (a key typically reserved for joyous topics) this movement begins with alternations between a few voices with exuberant answers by the full choir. An extensive fugue (a process where one voice enters with a melody, and more and more voices subsequently pile on with the same tune) follows. You can hear the entirety of the Mass in B minor – one of Bach’s crowning achievements – at the 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon on March 15.

During Communion we hear the music of Caterina Assandra, a 17th-century Benedictine nun, composer, and organist from Pavia, Italy. Assandra published numerous two-part sacred works with instrumental accompaniment. This setting of St. Thomas Aquinas’ eucharistic hymn O Salutaris Hostia was arranged for four vocal parts by Douglas. Buchanan, with two of the instrumental parts being given text (a process called “contrafactum”) to match the two existing vocal parts. The work begins with a fanfare figure common in Italian instrumental works of the time and proceeds with other dance-like rhythms to complement the text.

The closing voluntary is J.S. Bach’s Fugue in D Major, BWV 532. Set again in the joyous key of D major, the rippling figure on which Bach bases the work can be interpreted as a being related to symbolism regarding the Holy Spirit – in this case, it is a Flammenzugen figure, a “tongue of flame.” This trope is also heard in works like the “Refiner’s fire” aria from Handel’s Messiah, as well as in “And he shall purify” from the same work.

2•1•26 | 4 Epiphany

Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne, by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Candlemas Eve, English Traditional arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Even When He is Silent, by Kim André Arnesen (b. 1970)
Oseh Shalom, by Joshua Bornfield (b. 1980)
Cwm Rhondda, by J. Bert Carlson (1937-2017)

Opening our service is an active, bubbling prelude by J.S. Bach’s idol, Dietrich Buxtehude. Though C Major is sometimes thought of as a “simple” key because it has no sharps or flats, this particular work counters this by weaving together rapid scales, a miniature fugue, and finally a grand dance which ushers us into our worship. 

Our introit is an English carol derived from a Basque melody entitled Candlemas Eve, arranged by Douglas Buchanan and based on the performance by Yorkshire artist Kate Rusby. Candlemas is observed on February 2, also known as the Feast of the Presentation, which celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. It marks the 40th day after Christmas, and is the official end of the celebrations of the Christmas and Epiphany season (So, if you have not taken down Christmas decorations yet, like some music directors, you’re actually in good ritual company!) The celebration came to be known as Candlemas, referring to the tradition of parishioners bringing candles to the church to be blessed for their use in the year. This carol refers to British tradition of decorating houses with seasonal plants: rosemary, bays, holly, and mistletoe for Christmas and Epiphany; boxwood for Candlemas; yew for Easter; and birch for Pentecost (Whitsunday). These likely were outgrowths of pre-Christian traditions (Imbolc, a pre-Christian Celtic holiday, occurred on February 1, the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox).

This past Tuesday, January 27, was Holocaust Remembrance Day; our other choral works for the day respond to this commemoration. This day of remembrance was appointed in 2005 United Nations General Assembly, marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps. (January 27, 1945 was the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz.) The Nazi regime killed at least 13 million people, including 6 million Jewish people, and also targeting Queer people, disabled people, prisoners of war, and immigrants. In 2008, UN secretary Ban Ki-moon spoke regarding the remembrance: “The International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust is thus a day on which we must reassert our commitment to human rights. […] We must also go beyond remembrance, and make sure that new generations know this history. We must apply the lessons of the Holocaust to today’s world.”

At the offertory, we here Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen’s setting of text found in Cologne, Germany during World War II. The harmonic language uses shimmering dissonances to highlight important words. The source of the text has been open to some debate through the years, but appears to have been first reported by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, sharing a “special correspondence” from an anonymous reporter. Note particularly how the original text has been changed, with “neighborly love,” (Nächstenliebe) receiving the final emphasis.  

“Catholic Scouts had discovered underground passageways which had been unused for many years under old buildings, and these could now serve as refuges from the Gestapo. At one point, nine Jewish fugitives hid here for four months without ever being caught. When I visited the shelter, I had the opportunity to see the emergency housing, fully equipped with a kitchen, bedroom, living room, radio, a small library, and oil lamps — evidence of a stunning experience. Meals could only be prepared at night so as not to attract the Gestapo’s attention, who would have noticed the smoke during the day. Food had to be supplied by friends who willingly gave up a portion of their rations to help those unfortunate people living for weeks in utter darkness. The following inscription is written on the wall of one of these underground rooms, which in some ways resemble the Roman catacombs: ‘I believe in the sun, though it be dark; I believe in God, though He be silent; I believe in neighborly love, though it be unable to reveal itself.’” 

At communion, we hear choir member Joshua Bornfield’s setting of the Jewish prayer Oseh Shalom, composed in 2018. Sung in Hebrew, this prayer for peace is often heard at the end of the Kaddish prayer (a prayer typically associated with mourning) as well as in joyful contexts. The soprano melody is based upon the original chant, with contemporary harmonies creating a thoughtful, sometimes pensive, atmosphere. 

Closing the service is a triumphal setting of the Welsh hymn (and favorite of this parish) Cwm Rhondda by the late American composer and pastor J. Bert Carlson.

1•25•26 | 3 Epiphany (Cancelled due to snow and ice)

Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne, by Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)
Draw us in the Spirit’s Tether, by Saunder Choi
Unclouded Day, by Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970)
Panis Angelicus, by César Franck (1822-1890)
Cwm Rhondda, by J. Bert Carlson (1937-2017)

Opening our service is a bubbling, jubilant prelude by J.S. Bach’s idol, Dietrich Buxtehude. Though C Major is sometimes thought of as a “simple” key because it has no sharps or flats, this particular work counters this by weaving together rapid scales, a miniature fugue, and finally a grand dance which ushers us into our worship. Following this is Filipino composer Saunder Choi’s welcoming setting of Draw us in the Spirit’s Tether, a fitting greeting as we prepare for our annual meeting, sung as an introit. Based in California, Choi is a professional choral singer as well as a composer mentor and conductor. During the offertory, the choir sings Shawn Kirchner’s arrangement of the energetic hymn Unclouded Day, originally penned by the 19th-century Ohioan Joshiah Kelley Alwood. Kirchner is an active choral singer, composer, and arranger, and is deeply involved in multiple climate justice movements. César Franck, a Belgian-born composer active in France, wrote the music heard during Communion. Franck has had an enduring presence in organ and choral repertoire, with Panis Angelicus being one of his most-performed choral works. Beginning with a soprano solo, sung today by Juliana Marin, this setting of the penultimate stanza of Thomas Aquinas’ eucharistic hymn Sacris solemnis (“Our solemn feast”) later blossoms into lush choral accompaniment. Closing the service is a triumphal setting of Cwm Rhondda by the late American composer and pastor J. Bert Carlson. 

1•18•26 | 1 Epiphany

The Quiet Church, by Mark Fax (1911-1974)
I Dream a World, by Jonathan Jensen
Behold the Lamb of God, by Keith Getty (b. 1974) and Kristyn Getty (b. 1980), arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Qui tollis peccata mundi, from Mass in B minor, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Toccata on “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Mark A. Miller (b. 1967)

African-American organist-composer Mark Fax was a native of Baltimore and a child prodigy; he studied at the Eastman School of Music before teaching at Howard University and serving as music director of Asbury Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. His voluntary The Quiet Church utilizes inventive harmonies as well as the chimes on the organ (don’t be fooled – it’s not time to stand up yet!) to draw our focus into a meditative space. 

Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes’ penned I Dream a World in 1941, more than twenty years before Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech; it is striking to hear the similarity in rhetoric and imagery in the two messages. Retired Baltimore Symphony bassist Jonathan Jensen composed this setting in 2019; the Choir of St. David’s premiered it in 2020. You can hear this work, along with more music commemorating Dr. King, at today’s Recital and Evensong beginning at 4:30 pm.

The choral offerings at the Offertory and at Communion both respond to John’s declaration of Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Behold the Lamb of God is a meditative hymn-anthem by Northern Irish composer-poets Keith and Kristyn Getty. The hymn-writing team has enjoyed global success since Keith first sketched out their first tune on the back of an electricity bill, having received Grammy nominations, founding the Getty Music Organization, and Keith being awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

The translation of “who takes away the sins of the world” is Qui tollis peccata mundi. This is included in the Gloria portion of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, one of his choral masterpieces and the centerpiece of our 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon on March 15. Listen for the long, held notes on “peccata,” which are sung with a crescendo (“getting louder”) and create dissonances against the other voices, as well as the imploring “miserere nobis” (“have mercy on us”). The entire movement includes numerous musically “painful” moments created through dissonances and chromaticism, ultimately yielding to a luminous final sonority.

Mark Miller, the composer of the closing voluntary, is a Lecturer in Sacred Music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music, as well as Professor of Church Music at Drew University and Minister of Music of Church Church, Summit, New Jersey. In his biographical statement, he relates that “music is instrumental in healing the world.” His festive setting of “Lift every voice and sing” is in the form of a rollicking toccata, which means “touch” and typically focuses on rapid figurations and virtuosity. The original hymn was written by brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson in 1900. James, who served as Principal of the Edwin M. Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, had planned to write a poem for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, but chose instead to write a text addressing the struggles and hardships experienced by African Americans during the Reconstruction era and the passage of the Southern Jim Crow laws. The poem was first recited by 500 students at the school. The poem and its music became popular in Black communities, and within a generation had proliferated throughout the South.

1•11•26 | 1 Epiphany

Prélude sur l’Introït de l’Épiphanie, by Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
O God of Truth, by Justine Koontz (b. 1987)
O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Confiteor, from Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam, BWV 684, by J.S. Bach

Today’s music offers a nod to the Feast of the Epiphany (which occurred on Tuesday), with imagery of stars and light, as well as to Jesus’ baptism, the reading associated with the first Sunday after the Epihany. French composer Maurice Duruflé, whose Requiem and Ubi caritas are enduring favorites, composed our opening voluntary, which is an elaboration on the Roman rite chant for the Feast of the Epiphany. Our introit is from a collection of works by Justine Koontz, Director of Music and Organist at Memorial Episcopal Church in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. St. David’s was one of the churches which commissioned this collection, along with parishes in California, Indiana, and Virginia. The text, by St. Ambrose of Milan, emphasizes the imagery of light.

At the offertory we hear a new arrangement of O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem by Director of Music Douglas Buchanan. The hymn was written by Tennessee farmer-composer R. Boyce Fisher. Boyce and his spouse Cora Carlton had 11 children; Boyce noted that the only time he could concentrate on writing music was when he went to the barn to milk the family’s cow, which is where he mentally composed O Beautiful Star (as well as many other songs). Today’s arrangement begins with a reference to the slower interpretation often heard in the Bluegrass tradition, before launching into a rhythmically-charged version. 

During Communion, we hear a movement from J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, one of his choral masterworks and the centerpiece of our 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon, which occurs on March 15. This movement, “Confiteor,” is from the section of the Mass which sets the Creed, specifically the portion relating to baptism. Two motives are presented: first, the elastic “Confiteor in unum baptisma” (“I believe in one baptism”), followed by the repeated-note figures of “in remissionem pecatorum.” These are each developed independently before being combined together. As if this isn’t a sufficient display of Bach’s contrapuntal mastery (“contrapuntal” and “counterpoint” refer to the art of combining musical lines together), Bach then interweaves a canon based on the Roman rite chant associated with the “Confiteor” section of the Creed while these opening motives dance around those statements.

The closing voluntary is J.S. Bach’s setting of the chorale “When Jesus came to the Jordan.” Bach’s organ settings of chorale are miniature musical sermons, and he utilizes musical rhetoric and symbology to represent his musical theology. Listen to the running, rippling line in the lower register an the the precise eighth notes above it: the bottom represents both the waters of baptism as well as the blood of the cross, while the notes of the upper register form the cross motives themselves (any motive of four notes that proceeds middle-low-high-middle is typically interpreted as a “cross motive” in this style).

The Season of Christmas

1•4•26 | Christmas 2

Lo! He Comes, an Infant Stranger, by Martin Madan (1726-1790), after Thomas Olivers (1725-1799)
Die Könige, by Peter Cornelius (1824-1874), arr. after Ivor Atkins (1869-1953)
Coventry Carol, arr. Martin Shaw (1875-1958)

Our Introit, Lo! He Comes, an Infant Stranger is a derivation of the hymn Lo! He comes with clouds descending, with added flourishes in the voices. Romantic German composer Peter Cornelius wrote Die Könige as part of his Weihnachtslieder (“Christmas-Songs”), originally for piano and voice. Here, the choir serves as the accompanying part, singing the text to Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (“How brightly shines the morningstar”). Cornelius was friends with prominent composers throughout Germany and Austria (Franz Liszt was said to have sought him out regarding matters of orchestration). At Communion, we hear the “Coventry Carol,” which is taken from the 16th-century mystery play The Pageant of the Shearman and the Tailors which was performed in Coventry, England. “Mystery” (sometimes “miracle”) plays were English depictions of biblical stories, often incorporating a living tableau and music.

2•28•25 | Christmas 1

Noel Variations by Claude Balbastre (1724-1799)
A Great and Mighty Wonder, arr. Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Festive Variations and Toccata on “I Saw Three Ships” by David Lasky (b. 1957)

French composer Claude Balbastre was born in Dijon, the 16th child of organist Bénigne Balbastre’s 18 children. He studied with Claude Rameau (the younger brother of famed composer-theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau) and eventually moved to Paris where he would become organist at Notre-Dame and the Chapelle Royale. In France, a “Noel” is a general term for a Christmas Carol. The text for A great and mighty wonder is by St. Germanus, a 4th-century French saint. If the tune sounds familiar, it is because it is the same as Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen, or, “Lo, how a rose e’er blooming.” David Lasky, the composer of the closing voluntary, is active throughout New England and the Midatlantic, serving at St. Cecilia’s Church in Leominster, Massachusetts and having been an active recitalist at venues including the Washington National Cathedral and the National Shrine.

12•24•25 | Christmas Eve (9 pm)

Psallite, by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
O beatum et sacrosanctum die, by Peter Philips (c. 1560-1628)
Ding-dong! Merrily on high, by David Wilcocks (1919-2015)
There is no rose, by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994)
Die Könige, by Peter Cornelius (1824-1874)
A Carol, by Charles Shadle (b. 1960) (2025-2026 Composer-in-Residence)
Double canon on In Dulci Jubilo, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
All My Heart This Night Rejoices, by Johann Georg Ebeling (1637-1676)
O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
What sweeter music, by John Rutter (b. 1945)
See amid the winter’s snow, by John Goss (1800-1880), arr. Richard Lloyd (1933-2021)
Final, from Symphonie I, by Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

To begin our Christmas celebration, we hear an offering of carols. This begins with Once in royal David’s city. This carol famously opens the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, traditionally beginning with a treble soloist, followed by the choir, followed by the congregation, a tradition we replicate here. 

Many of today’s musical offerings reference – through text or music – the ringing of bells. One such example is Psallite, by late-Renaissance German composer Michael Praetorius, which opens with an imitative, ringing motive. The text is macaronic, meaning it combines multiple languages together, in this case, German and Latin. Another Renaissance anthem in Latin follows, O beatum et sacrosanctum die, written by English composer, organist, and Catholic priest Peter Philips. Listen for the alternation between legato, serene passages and imitative, dancing segments. Following this is Ding-Dong! Merrily on High, a carol based on a 16th-century French dance tune. The carol became well-known in England with arrangements by Anglican composer-organists Charles Wood and, in this case, David Wilcocks (We sing Wilcocks’ famed descants and arrangements of O Come All Ye Faithful and Hark! the herald-angels sing as our opening and closing hymns, respectively; in the final verses of each of these, listen for Wilcocks’ stunning reharmonizations, notably on “Word of the Father” in the opening hymn, and the final “Hark” in the closing hymn). Wilcocks’ Ding-Dong! arrangement begins with a flourish on the organ intended to call to mind the ringing of church-bells. 

Whereas the first few choral works were written or based on material from the 16th and 17th centuries, the next several come from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Romantic German composer Peter Cornelius wrote Die Könige as part of his Weihnachtslieder (“Christmas-Songs”), originally for piano and voice. Here, the choir serves as the accompanying part, singing the text to Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (“How brightly shines the morningstar”). Cornelius was friends with prominent composers throughout Germany and Austria (Franz Liszt was said to have sought him out regarding matters of orchestration). Elizabeth Maconchy, composer of There is no rose, was born in Hertfordshire, England, and studied with Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Her lilting setting of this medieval carol utilizes motifs that are emblematic of her style, including: repeated patterns of small intervals, harmonic surprises, and chromatically-inflected “blue” notes. Finally, A Carol is an extra gift from this year’s Composer-in-Residence Charles Shadle, Senior Lecturer in Music at MIT and a member of the Choctaw Nation. The text is by Maryland native Lizette Woodworth Reese, who taught English in Baltimore for nearly 50 years and was named Maryland’s Poet Laureate in 1931.

Both the organ voluntary –which separates our Prelude of Carols from the Liturgy of the Word – and the offertory anthem are by Director of Music Douglas Buchanan. The voluntary, composed in 2015, sets the German Christmas carol In dulci jubilo (frequently sung in English as “Good Christian friends, rejoice”). Its quiet nature belies the activity going on: in the pedals, each foot offers an independent statement of the carol, one high, and one low. Above this, a tapestry of chords gently pushes and pulls at the harmonic landscape. (One can hear the classic approach to a double canon on this tune, by J.S. Bach, as the opening voluntary of the Christmas Day service tomorrow morning.)

All My Heart This Night Rejoices is a carol written by Lutheran clergyman and poet Paul Gerhardt in 1656, originally titled Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen, with music by his contemporary Johann Ebeling. The original included fifteen stanzas, of which we hear two this evening. Though the melody includes linear aspects that recall other Lutheran-style chorales, the playful motive heard at “As I hear / Far and near” seems particularly reminiscent of chiming bells.

At the offertory we hear a new arrangement of O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem by Director of Music Douglas Buchanan. The hymn was written by Tennessee farmer-composer R. Boyce Fisher. Boyce and his spouse Cora Carlton had 11 children; Boyce noted that the only time he could concentrate on writing music was when he went to the barn to milk the family’s cow, which is where he mentally composed O Beautiful Star (as well as many other songs). Tonight’s arrangement begins with a reference to the slower interpretation often heard in Bluegrass tradition, before launching into a rhythmically-charged version. 

During Communion we hear John Rutter’s What Sweeter Music, whose choral music is oft-performed at Christmastime. This particular carol was commissioned by King’s College in 1987, and sets the text of Cambridge graduate Robert Herrick. Herrick was influenced by Ben Johnson, and became a vicar later in life. Following is See Amid the Winter’s Snow, with text by Edward Caswall, a British clergyman, poet, and author. (Intriguingly, his other works include a satirical text entitled The Art of Pluck, a mock-treatise on the academic art of failure.)

Closing today’s service is the jubilant Final from Louis Vierne’s Symphony no. 1. In French organ tradition, a Symphony fulfilled the role of a large-scale composition, albeit without orchestra. Vierne completed six of these in his lifetime. This movement begins with rolling chords in the hands with a jubilant, clangorous pedal melody reminiscent of a carillon, bringing together the musical themes of bell-ringing heard throughout the service. This theme travels through numerous textures and dynamics before re-emerging in a boisterous climax.

12•24•25 | Christmas Eve (4 pm)

Noël Grand Jeu et duo, by Louis-Claude D’Aquin (1694-1772)
All My Heart This Night Rejoices, by Johann Georg Ebeling (1637-1676)
O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Ding-Dong! Merrily on High, arr. David Wilcocks (1919-2015)
What sweeter music, by John Rutter (b. 1945)
See amid the winter’s snow, by John Goss (1800-1880), arr. Richard Lloyd (1933-2021)
Final, from Symphonie I, by Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Today’s musical offerings are chosen from a variety of carols. First, we hear one of the twelve concert settings of Noëls (the French term for Christmas carols) by Louis-Claude D’Aquin, who held the position of titular organist at Notre-Dame, Paris. Many of the choir’s offerings tonight recall the idea of bells, including the playful motives in the introit, coming from the Lutheran chorale tradition; the jubilant setting of Ding-Dong Merrily on High by David Wilcocks, former music director of Kings College, Cambridge; and the boisterous Final from Louis Vierne’s first Symphony. We also hear a new arrangement of O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem by Director of Music Douglas Buchanan, based on the hymn by Tennessee farmer-composer R. Boyce Fisher.

The Season of Advent 

12•21•25 | The Fourth Sunday of Advent: Lessons and Carols

Opening Voluntary: II. Warmly, quietly, by Elam Ray Sprenkle (1948-2025) 

Baltimore-based composer Ray Sprenkle taught music theory and musicology at Peabody and served as Director of Music at Second Presbyterian Church. His Four Vignettes ˆ– dedicated to organist Margaret Budd, who passed away in September – elaborates on Benjamin Britten’s Hodie from the Ceremony of Carols, this in turn being an adaptation of the Roman rite chant Hodie, Christus natus est (“Today, Christ is born”). 

Carol: Advent Matins Responsory, by G.P. da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594)

This responsory was adapted from a setting of the Magnificat (the Song of Mary), and is traditionally sung at King’s College, Cambridge, during Advent services. Though the services of nine lessons and carol originated at Truro Cathedral in 1880, it was popularized by King’s College, which held its first such service in 1918.

Hymn: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The text for “O come, O come, Emmanuel” is adapted from the “O antiphons”, the appointed responses that are paired with the singing of the Magnificat in the seven days preceding Christmas. These texts originate from the 8th century, the tune from the 15th.

Invitatory Carol: A Carol, by Charles Shadle (b. 1960), 2025-2026 Composer-in-Residence

This work is an extra gift from this year’s Composer-in-Residence Charles Shadle, Senior Lecturer in Music at MIT and a member of the Choctaw Nation. The text is by Maryland native Lizette Woodworth Reese, who taught English in Baltimore for nearly 50 years and was named Maryland’s Poet Laureate in 1931.

Hymn: Of the Father’s love begotten

The hymn tune Divinum mysterium is adapted from a circa 13th century plainsong chant; its current form in triple meter was first published in the Piae Cantionis of 1582, which contains other tunes which have become popular at Advent and Christmastide, including In dulci jubilo and Good King Wenceslas. The four-part descant by David Willcocks adds a particular glory to the final verse.

Carol: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, by Elizabeth Poston (1905-1987)

This Carol has a long history with the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, frequently appearing as one of the carols sung by the choir. The text is an 18th century poem, presumably written by one Rev. Richard Hutchins. It plays with the image of Christ as a life-giving tree, resonating with this reading from Genesis (this reading is always included in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols).

Hymn: People Look East, W724

English poet and children’s author Eleanor Farjeon penned not only People Look East but also the popular hymn Morning has Broken. People Look East was wedded with a French Christmas carol in 1928 to form this hymn.

Carol: There is No Rose, by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994)

Elizabeth Maconchy was born in Hertfordshire, England, and studied with Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Her lilting setting of this medieval carol utilizes motifs that are emblematic of her style, including: repeated patterns of small intervals, harmonic surprises, and chromatically-inflected “blue” notes.

Hymn: O little town of Bethlehem

The text to O little town of Bethlehem is by Phillips Brooks, who served as an Episcopal priest at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia and later Trinity Church, Boston. His organist Lewis Redner set the text to the tune St. Louis, the tune typically sung in America; this year, we sing the version most often used in England, Forest Green.

Carol: I Wonder as I Wander, by Carl Rütti (b. 1949)

American folklorist John Jacob Niles penned this hymn in 1933, based on a fragment he purportedly heard a young girl sing in the Appalachian town of Murphy, North Carolina on July 16, 1933. Swiss composer Carl Rütti composed a new, rather rhapsodic, version of this text in 2009.

Hymn: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven came

This hymn originated as a Basque folk carol, collected by French organist and composer Charles Bordes, the co-founder of  Paris’ Schola Cantorum. The carol itself is based on the c. 13th-century Latin hymn Angelus ad virginem (“The angel came to the virgin”).

Carol: What Sweeter Music, by John Rutter (b. 1945)

This carol was commissioned by King’s College in 1987, and sets the text of Cambridge graduate Robert Herrick. Herrick was influenced by Ben Johnson, and became a vicar later in life.

Hymn: O Come all ye faithful

This 18th century hymn has become the centerpiece of many services at Christmastide, particularly at Lessons and Carols services, where the final verse (omitted here, as we are still in Advent) references Christ as “Word of the father.” The “Word” chord has become a popular feature of this particular arrangement, the surprising reharmonization of it an illustration of the mystery of Christ’s appearance in the world. The specific harmony (which you can hear at our Christmas Eve services) was a performance practice at King’s College for many years before being incorporated into this arrangement by David Willcocks.

Hymn: Lo! He comes with clouds descending

This hymn is one of the many penned by Charles Wesley, a leader of the Methodist movement, and including “Hark! the herald-angels sing” and “Jesus Christ is risen today.” This hymn in particular is filled with Advent imagery, with this arrangement paying particular attention to verses three (listen to the harmonic surprises at “with what rapture”) and four (where a descant joins).

Closing Voluntaries:

In dulci jubilo, BWV 729

Brilliant, like a Starbust, from Four Vignettes on the Hodie of Benjamin Britten, by Elam Ray Sprenkle

Traditionally, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College closes with an organ voluntary. The first piece of the voluntary is always Bach’s setting of the German Christmas carol In dulci jubilo (“Good Christian friends, rejoice”), followed by a virtuosic organ work. This year, we hear the rollicking first movement of Sprenkle’s Four Vignettes.

12•14•25 | The Second Sunday of Advent

Chorale and Fugue on St. Mary’s, by Elizabeth Sterling (1819-1895)
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging, German traditional
Magnificat, by Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
On Each Return of the Night, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984), World Premiere
Tone VIII, No. 8, from Magnificat-Fugen, by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday, and is sometimes known as “Rose Sunday” – the pink-colored candle in the Advent wreath is typically lit on this day, Originally, Advent – like Lent – lasted 40 days, and Gaudete Sunday appearing roughly halfway through the season provided a respite from penitential practice. While we still have readings relating to John the Baptist, we also hear the Magnificat – the Song of Mary, the words she speaks when visiting her cousin Elizabeth – and so our music turns towards Marian themes.

Today’s opening voluntary is by British organist-composer Elizabeth Sterling. Known for her virtuosic pedal work, she wrote several collections of organ music, including a collection of fugues written on chorales and psalm tunes. This tune is from the psalter of 17th-century Welsh clergy William Prys. Following is the German folk hymn Maria durch ein Dornwald gin, “Mary travels amid the thorns.” This was a pilgrimage tune popularized in the mid-19th century, with possible precedents occurring as far back as the 1600s. Here, we have imagery commonly associated with Mary – specifically the rose – with interpolations of the Kyrie (“Lord have mercy”).

In place of the psalm, today we hear the Magnificat. The Magnificat is a poetic text from somewhere in the Bible other than the book of psalms. In this case, the title is the Latin word which begins the canticle, meaning “magnify:” “My soul proclaims [i.e., magnifies] the greatness of the Lord.” We hear a more traditional translation during the Offertory, when the choir sings the Magnificat from Orlando Gibbons’ Short Service. In the Anglican church there are many choral settings of the Magnificat canticle as it is part of the service of Evensong, or evening prayer. Evensong combines together the monastic observations of Vespers and Compline, which each had an associated canticle: the Magnificat for Vespers, and the Nunc Dimitties (the Song of Simeon) for Compline. During the course of Evensong each of these canticles is sung, thus composers typically intentionally compose a paired Magnificat and a Nunc Dimittis, typically referred to as a Service. (Orlando Gibbons’ settings are, well, not long, hence the creative title of the Short Service.)

German composer of Canon in D fame Johann Pachelbel wrote an extensive collection of fugues on the Magnificat. When chanted, the Magnificat traditionally used a number of proscribed melodies, or tones. Pachelbel’s Magnificat-Fugen comprises 101 short fugues on these tones (we’ve skipped to the fifth one before the end – a jaunty, festive tune on the chant associated with the 8th Tone).

January 16 is the 250th birthday of British author Jane Austen. In addition to her output of beloved novels, she wrote several prayers steeped in the style of the Church of England. These were primarily penitential in nature, with a few poetic turns of phrase, including the title of today’s Communion motet, On each return of night, written by Director of Music Douglas Buchanan to commemorate this anniversary. The anthem adapts portions of these prayers, and utilizes musical gestures and textures that would have been familiar to a late-18th/early-19th century churchgoer, drawing on the traditions of English composers like Adrian Batten and Henry Purcell, with a few twists and turns. (Doug describes the musical language of the piece as “Purcell with a headache.”) For more on Jane Austen, check out The Bedside, Bathtub, and Armchair Companion to Jane Austen, with two co-authors whose names you might recognize.

12•7•25 | The Second Sunday of Advent

Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele, by Heinrich Nicholas Gerber (1702-1775)
Sainte Nicholaes, by Godric the Mystic (c. 1070-1170)
This is the Record of John, by Orlando Gibbons  (1583-1625)
There is no rose, by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994)
Partita on Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele, by Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

Today’s opening and closing voluntaries are based on the Lutheran chorale tune Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele, which we sing as the text “Comfort, comfort, ye my people.” The opening voluntary, by J.S. Bach pupil Heinrich Gerber, utilizes a walking bass line and an flowery upper line; sandwiched between these is the chorale tune. The closing voluntary, by Johann Pachelbel of Canon in D fame, is a partita – a set of variations – on this tune, beginning with the chorale and proceeding through a variety of textures. The work concludes with a fughetta, a “little fugue,” with the chorale tune strongly presented in the pedal.

Yesterday – Saturday, December 6 – was St. Nicholas Day. We give a nod to this feast day with the introit, written by Godric the Mystic in praise of St. Nicholas. Godric was a hermit who lived near Durham, England. The monks of the Durham Cathedral often looked after him, with one, Brother Reginald – writing a book about his life and works, which included miracles, cures, and visions. Sainte Nicholaes is one of the oldest surviving writings in Old English.  

Last week we explored the changes to our service music during the Advent season; because we celebrated two baptisms, we didn’t sing the opening song of praise (one of the liturgical aspects of a baptismal service in the Episcopal church). During Advent, in place of our usual Gloria, we sing a Trisagion, a penitential-tinged hymn drawn from the Orthodox tradition. This setting was written for St. David’s by Director of Music Douglas Buchanan in 2016. 

At the offertory we hear an Advent favorite within the Anglican choral repertoire, This is the Record of John by English Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, featuring soloist Beth Sullivan. Gibbons was a keyboard virtuoso and rose to the position of Westminster Abbey organist before his sudden death at the age of 41. He left behind a corpus of works that are part of the core of the Anglican choral repertoire, from service music to anthems, in addition to works for virginal (an early domestic keyboard instrument) that displayed his virtuosic technique.

At communion, the choir sings a setting of the Medieval carol There is no rose. Responding to today’s reading from Isaiah, this setting is by 20th- century composer Elizabeth Maconchy. Born in Hertfordshire, England, her family moved to the east coast of Ireland when she was young. She studied with Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan Williams, accruing influences from contemporaneous European composers include Béla Bártok. Her setting of There is no rose combines a lilting lyricism with harmonic surprises and chromatically-inflected “blue” notes. Irish musician Ailie Blunnie in her thesis on Maconchy’s music notes this as one of the “fingerprints” of her style, which include: the “simultaneous use of major and minor sonorities,” and “a predilection for intervallic composition…[she was] profoundly influenced by the resonances produced by certain intervals, [and] tended to build works around one or a small number of intervals, which varied according to the work in question.”

11•30•25 | The First Sunday of Advent

Wachet auf (“Sleepers wake!”), by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Drop down ye heavens, by Justine Koontz (b. 1987)
Invitation to Love, by Faye Chiao (b. 1983), 2017-2018 Composer-in-Residence
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning, arr. André Thomas (b. 1952)
Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 661, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

To open the season of Advent – the start of the church year in which we await Christ’s coming – we hear one of J.S. Bach’s most popular chorale-preludes, Wachet auf (“Wake up!”, or, as it is more commonly known “Sleepers wake!”). Based on the hymn tune which closes today’s service, this is an organ version of the middle movement of Bach’s cantata number 140 of the same name. This general theme of watchfulness is heard throughout today’s hymnody. Following this is a setting of the “Advent Prose,” known in Latin as Rorate coeli and in English as “Drop down ye heavens.” The text is inspired by the beginning of Isaiah 45:8, with other Advent-related texts appended to it, and is linked to several specific observations during the Advent season. This setting is by Justine Koontz, Director of Music and Organist at Memorial Episcopal Church in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. St. David’s was one of the churches which commissioned this collection, along with parishes in California, Indiana, and Virginia. 

With the beginning of the Advent season we hear several changes to our service music. Rather than Anglican chant, our psalmody is sung in a style called Fauxbourdon, which means “false-bass” or “false-drone.” This style took different forms depending on region and time period, but in England during the Renaissance it was often a simple harmonization of a plainsong chant. The psalm alternates between the plainsong version (single-line singing) and the harmonization. Before and after the reading of the Gospel, in place of the Alleluia verse, we will be singing verses from the “O Antiphons.” These are antiphons (responses) originally accompanying the Magnificat (the Song of Mary) during the days leading up to Christmas. They are most widely known as the text comprising the verses of the hymn “O come, O come Emmanuel.”

Our offertory verse is derived from Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, known in our hymnal as “Savior of the nations, come,” which we sing in full as the Sequence hymn this week. Martin Luther wrote the text as a paraphrase of the Latin hymn “Veni redemptor gentium” (“Come, redeemer of the nations”), and the chorale has remained a central part of Advent music ever since. Bach wrote numerous settings based on the chorale, including two cantatas, as well as the closing voluntaries we hear today. This organ utilizes dancing notes played by the hands on the manuals (keyboards), based on the opening motive of the hymn, which prepare the way for the low pedal entrance of the hymn tune. Our Sanctus is written by Douglas Buchanan, originally composed for St. Mark’s-on-the-Hill in 2008. The Fraction Anthem has changed, too: this music is by acclaimed African-American organist and composer David Hurd, whose “New Plainsong” service offers the quietude of plainsong with straightforward organ accompaniment.

At the offertory we hear Faye Chiao’s Invitation to Love, commissioned by St. David’s in 2017. Chiao is a Brooklyn-based composer whose work includes opera, musicals, choral, and chamber works. This composition utilizes secundal harmony; if you were to go to a piano and press several adjacent white keys together, you could hear a glistening sound much like what Chiao uses to harmonize her tuneful setting of the text by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Born in Ohio, Dunbar’s parents had been enslaved in Kentucky before the Civil War. His first poems were published at the age of 16, and his popularity quickly grew. In addition to poetry  both in “conventional” English and in dialect – he wrote short stories, novels, and the lyrics to the first all-African-American Broadway musical, In Dahomey.

At communion, we hear André Thomas’s setting of the African-American Spiritual Keep your lamps trimmed and burning. A reference to the parable of the wise and foolish maidens upon which “Sleepers wake!” is based, the text also reflects this week’s Gospel lesson. It was first recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1928; however, it may have derived from an early spiritual or work-song, in which case the text would likely have carried a double meaning as a mnemonic to aid enslaved people in escaping their imprisonment, much like the spiritual “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”

The Season After Pentecost 

11•23•25 | Last Sunday After Pentecost

Rhosymedre, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Pilgrim’s Hymn, by Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
Antiphon, from Five Mystical Songs, by Ralph Vaughan Williams 
Hymn to St. Cecilia, Part 1, by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) 
Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552 (“St. Anne”), by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

This Sunday is the last Sunday of the liturgical year (next week, the first Sunday of Advent, begins a new liturgical year). In some traditions, this Sunday is known as “Christ the King Sunday.” The concept of this day began following World War I, when Pope Pius XI instituted the celebration in 1925, his jubilee year; in doing so, he sought to combat concerns within the Catholic church regarding secularism and the rise of ultra-nationalism. Originally occurring in October, the date was moved to the end of the liturgical calendar in the 1970s. Although many other denominations which follow liturgical calendars (including Anglicans, Methodists, Lutherans) observe Christ the King as a feast day, it is not one of the seven principal feasts of the church (Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, and All Saints). To wit: today, you’ll hear some music nodding to the idea of Christ the King, though we are not officially observing it.

Stephen Paulus’ Pilgrim’s Hymn has become a popular choice for festival, collegiate, and church choirs ever since its debut in his opera The Three Hermits (tenor chorister Joshua Bornfield was at the premiere of this work). Paulus, who died tragically from a stroke in 2014, wrote the following regarding the piece, excerpted the work for his colleague Kathy Romey, conductor of the Minnesota Chorale.

The offertory anthem is a setting of the metaphysical poet and priest George Herbert by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The title Antiphon refers to the repeated refrain heard throughout the work: “Let all the world in every corner sing: My God and King!” 

Yesterday, November 22, was the Feast Day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of music and musicians. It was also the birthday of British composer Benjamin Britten. Cecilia is often portrayed with a small portable (“portative”) organ consisting of a keyboard and a single rank of pipes (though this image is likely due to a mistranslation of the Latin word organum, a plainchant melody). Britten had been searching for a Cecilian poem to set, and the writer Wystan Hugh Auden supplied this text for Britten in 1940, sending him sections of it throughout 1940. Auden was almost certainly in love with Britten, but Britten gradually distanced himself from the poet, who had a domineering personality (the letters containing the poem fragments also instructed Britten how Auden thought he could be a better artist). Britten’s long-time partner Peter Peers wrote:  “Ben was on a different track now, and he was no longer prepared to be dominated – bullied – by Wystan, whose musical feeling he was very well aware of. …Perhaps he may have been said to have said goodbye to working with Wystan with his marvelous setting of the Hymn to St. Cecilia.” We hear a variety of poetic and mythical allusions in the opening lines of the poem: the “black swan” linked to Cecilia’s martyrdom refers to a legend that a poet’s soul passes into a swan upon death; this image is contrasted with “blonde Aphrodite,” which calls to mind Botticelli’s Birth of Venus; and closing with a reference to the majestic yet soothing sounds of the pipe organ, the instrument symbolically linked to Cecilia. 

11•16•25 | Pent 23 | Proper 28 

Schafe können sicher weiden (“Sheep may safely graze”), from BWV 208, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
My Lord, What a Morning, by H.T. Burleigh (1866-1949)
Zion’s Walls, by Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
“Gratias agimus tibi,” from Mass in B minor, BWV 232, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Highland Cathedral, by Ulrich Roever (1934-1997) and Michael Korb (b. 1953)

In the Episcopal Church, which uses the Revised Common Lectionary – a three-year cycle of readings, with each year beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and ending on the Last Sunday after Pentecost – the last several weeks of each liturgical year focus on eschatology, the “study of last things” and of endings. We observe this in the reading from Isaiah: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” In this new world, “[t]he wolf and the lamb shall feed together…they shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.” The opening voluntary (“Sheep may safely graze”) offers a musical response to this. This organ transcription is of an aria movement from Bach’s cantata no. 208, one of Bach’s few secular cantatas. (A cantata means “a piece to be sung,” and in the Baroque era was a multi-movement work for instruments, soloists, and sometimes choir.)

Harry T. Burleigh was one of the early arrangers of African-American Spirituals, notating for choirs what had previously been preserved primarily by oral tradition. Some of his work is included in hymnals; in the Hymnal 1982, “In Christ there is no East or West” is one of his arrangement. My Lord, What a Morning and its refrain including “when the stars begin to fall…” embodies the eschatological ruminations we hear in Luke: “there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.”

November 14 was the 125th birthday of composer, conductor, and educator Aaron Copland. Although Copland wrote a number of works in a modernist style, it is his “Americana” works – Appalachian Spring, Lincoln Portrait, Fanfare for the Common Man, and his folk song settings – which are more widely known. The Walls of Zion is a revivalist song from the 19th century; this setting is from his Old American Songs, commissioned by composer Benjamin Britten for a choral festival in England. Today, we can hear the text as a response to Canticle 9: “Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy.”

Another cry of joy and of thanksgiving is heard during communion, where we hear the “Gratias agimus tibi” movement from J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor. (Mark your calendars for March 15 for the 50th annual Baltimore Bach Marathon, where the entire mass will be performed with orchestra.)

The closing voluntary, Highland Cathedral is a nod to this Sunday’s evensong, an early celebration of St. Andrew’s Day. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and this afternoon’s music will be filled with music from this Celtic country, featuring recitalists Kevin Elam (2019 All-Ireland Singing Champion) and Jesse Ofgang, Open-grade piper (the highest competition level of piping). Jesse closes the service today with Highland Cathedral, a popular bagpiping song written in 1982 for the Highland Games held in Germany. Highland Cathedral has joined Scotland the Brave and O Flower of Scotland as unofficial national anthems of Scotland.

11•9•25 | Pent 22 | Proper 27

The Quiet Church, by Mark Fax (1911-1974)
Church Going, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
How Can I Keep From Singing, Robert Lowrey (1826-1889), arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Panis Angelicus, by César Franck (1822-1890)
Toccata in C Major, by Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667)

Mark Fax’s The Quiet Church opens today’s service (don’t be fooled by the chimes here – it’s not time to stand up yet!). Fax was an African-American composer and Baltimore native who studied at Syracuse University and Eastman before joining the faculty of howard University. He also served as organist at Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C.

Today’s introit, Church Going, continues the theme of the “quiet church,” taking its text from the final stanza of Philip Larkin’s poem by the same title. The composition was written for Fr. Todd Bruce’s celebration of new ministry and the Bishop’s visitation in January in 2024. (The word “Bruce” is even hidden in the notes of the opening melodic gesture.) 

Yesterday – November 8 – was the 135th anniversary of the birth of César Franck, a Belgian-born composer active in France. Franck has had an enduring presence in organ and choral repertoire, with Panis Angelicus being one of his most-performed choral works. Beginning with a soprano solo, sung today by Soyoung Park, this setting of the penultimate stanza of Thomas Aquinas’ eucharistic hymn Sacris solemnis (“Our solemn feast”) later blossoms into lush choral accompaniment.

“How can I keep from singing” first appeared as a poem in The New York Observer in 1868. The author’s attribution was listed only as “Pauline T.” The tune was written by Robert Lowry, an American Baptist minister, and published in 1869. The hymn now appears in numerous hymnals, and is particularly popular in Quaker communities. Folk artists ranging from Pete Seeger to Enya have recorded the hymn. The original three verses are heard here, but a fourth verse was popularized during the folk revival movement, particularly by Seeger and his contemporaries:

 When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
   And hear their death-knell ringing,
  When friends rejoice both far and near,
   How can I keep from singing?
  In prison cell and dungeon vile,
   Our thoughts to them go winging;
  When friends by shame are undefiled,
   How can I keep from singing?

This verse was written by North Carolina author and songwriter Doris Plenn.

11•2•25 | All Saint’s

In Paradisum, by Daniel Lesur (1908-2002)
The Old Church Yard, English traditional, arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Faire is the Heaven, by William H. Harris (1883-1973)
Nunc Dimittis, from St. Catharine’s Service, by Sally Beamish (b. 1956)
Carillon de Westminster, by Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

The “Hallowtide triduum” surrounds November 1: All Hallow’s Eve (Hallowe’en) on October 31, All Saints Day on November 1, and All Souls Day on November 2. Each of these has a particular focus: on All Saints, for instance, we remember the saints of the church, known and unknown, while All Souls commemorates “all faithful departed.” The Feast of All Saints is one of the seven principal feasts of the Episcopal Church (also including Easter Day, Ascension Day, the Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Christmas Day, and the Epiphany). The Feast of All Saints may be celebrated either on November 1, or the Sunday following it – as we are doing today. Today’s music particularly focuses on themes of mortality.

Today’s offertory is by the French composer and organist Daniel Lesur, who held numerous notable positions in France, including as the organist at Ste. Clotilde, Paris and as the director of the Opéra National de Paris. He also worked together with prominent organist-composers Olivier Messiaen and Jean Langlais. In Paradisum uses the melody of the Roman rite chant of the same name from the liturgy of the Requiem mass. The text of the chant includes: “May the angels lead you into paradise…may you have eternal rest.” Lesur’s harmonic language alternates between lush, unsettling, and hopeful harmonies.

Director of Music Douglas Buchanan’s setting of The Old Churchyard is heard as the opening introit. This folk hymn comingles sorrow at the passing of friends and the hope pertaining to “that one bright day [when] sunshine will burst through these prisons of clay.” The final voluntary, Louis Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster, suggests this moment: drawing on the familiar chiming of Big Ben for its musical material, we hear the sonic suggestion of “wak[ing] up the dead in the Old Churchyard.”

William H. Harris’ Faire is the Heaven, a setting of Edmund Spenser’s sonnet of the same title, is one of the masterworks of the Anglican choral tradition. It is written for double choir, meaning there are eight separate lines which act independently. For our ensemble, this means that each singer acts as a soloist, intermingling their lines with the others to create an interwoven counterpoint which brings the text to life. Harris’ music evokes a journey through heavenly spheres, each modulation and increase in tempo bringing us closer and closer to the Godhead. Listen for the suggestion of trumpets at “Angels and Archangels,” and for the sudden reduction in texture at “As to the Highest they approach more near,” followed by the re-introduction of the full choir on a poignant harmony. This particular moment is known as a “salvation 6/4 chord,” and is frequently used in the Late- and Post-Romantic music of Strauss, Mahler, and others. For a full explanation of the harmony, feel free to catch the Director of Music following the service, but suffice it to say that this moment brings a long-awaited return to the opening key, albeit in an unresolved way – the music’s resolution is drawn out and does not finally come to rest until the final bar of the piece.

During communion we hear Scottish composer Sally Beamish’s setting of the Nunc Dimittis, or the Song of Simeon. The Choir of St. David’s offered the U.S. premiere of this work in 2017. This canticle from the Gospel of Luke consists of the last words of Simeon upon seeing Jesus as an infant. Listen for the luminous organ chords which appear at the word “light.” (You can hear more music by Sally Beamish, and other Scottish composers, at our St. Andrew’s Recital and Evensong on November 16.)

10•26•25 | Pent 19 | Proper 24

Ein feste Burg, by Barbara Harbach (b. 1946)
Ein feste Burg, arranged by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
Credo, from Mass in B Minor, BWV 232, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Wir glauben all an einen Gott, by Max Reger (1873-1916)
Toccata in D Minor, BWV 565, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

For churches with ties to the Protestant Reformation, the last Sunday in October is sometimes referred to as “Reformation Sunday,” recalling Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses on the door of the Scholsskirche (“Castle Church”) in Wittenburg, Germany on October 31. While we are not celebrating this event in any liturgical sense, this morning’s choral and organ selections nod to the wellspring of music which emerged from the Reformation.

Beginning our service are several versions of Ein feste Burg (“A mighty fortress is our God”), perhaps the most famous chorale written by Martin Luther. We hear it first as an organ prelude, written by performer, composer, and educator Barbara Harbach. Educated at Yale and at the Eastman School of MUsic, Harbach taught at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she founded Women in the Arts-St. Louis in order to bring to attention the work of women composers and performers. Her publishing company, Vivace Press, focuses on a similar mission. Listen for the hymn tune to emerge from the rapid notes in the organ’s upper register.

Before we sing “A mighty fortress” as a hymn, we hear Heinrich Schütz’s harmonization of it. You’ll notice that the rhythm is slightly different that what we sing, incorporating a slight lilt into the melody; the version in many hymnals has been made “isorhythmic,” i.e., with the rhythm “straightened out.”

The compositions sung during the Offertory and at Communion both take their texts from the Nicene Creed; the former begin a “Catholic” setting by a Lutheran, and the latter being a “Lutheran” setting by an (ex-) Roman Catholic. The offertory anthem is excerpted from J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor, one of his choral masterworks (mark your calendars for March 15 to hear the entire mass as part of the 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon). The first half of what we hear today utilizes a cantus firmus (a “fixed song,” i.e., a musical quotation) as the basis of what the choir is singing. Specifically, this cantus is taken from what would be chanted as the intonation for the Creed in the Roman Rite mass. During communion, we hear a brief setting of Wir glauben all, the German translation of the Creed, by 19th-century composer Max Reger. Reger is known for his adventurous chromaticism (the use of many sharps and flats, adding a great deal of color to his works) and virtuosic organ compositions. Originally from a devout Roman Catholic family, he was excommunicated from the church because his spouse was a divorced Protestant.

Closing our service today is another work by Bach, the brief Toccata from the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, associated with that other holiday which occurs on October 31, All Hallow’s Eve, which begins the Hallowtide triduum: All Hallow’s Eve (i.e., Hallowe’en), All Saint’s Day (i.e., All Hallow’s Day) and All Souls.

10•19•25 | Pent 19 | Proper 24

Nuite d’etoiles (“Night of stars”), by Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Von guten Mächten (“By gentle powers”), by Siegfried Fietz (b. 1946)
When Storms Arise, by Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)
No Storms Come, by The Innocence Mission
Excerpts from “Jupiter,” from The Planets, by Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Today’s lectionary readings focus on questions of justice and injustice, the strife that arises from the tension between these two extremes. The choral works heard today offer contemporary settings of poetry responding to strife and to crises of injustice.

Von guten Mächten is a poem by the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer, written in 1944 while he was imprisoned at the Tegel Prison in Berlin, where he had been placed for his dissidence against the fascist Nazi regime. The poem – which consists of several more stanzas than we hear today – has been set to music many times, though one of its most popular forms today is by the German singer-songwriter Siegried Fietz, who set it in the style of the Neue Geistliches Lied, or “New Spiritual Song,” in which newer texts are set to contemporary music for use in worship.

African-American composer Adolphus Hailstork studied with native Baltimorean Mark Fax, after which he studied with the famed French pedagogue Nadia Boulanger before earning his doctorate at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively for almost every type of concert ensemble, from opera to wind ensemble to orchestra. Often employing large forms of dramatic scope, his choral works seem to distill these large palettes into affecting miniatures. When storms arise sets the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Born in Ohio, Dunbar’s parents had been enslaved in Kentucky before the Civil War. His first poems were published at the age of 16, and his popularity quickly grew. In addition to poetry  both in “conventional” English and in dialect – he wrote short stories, novels, and the lyrics to the first all-African-American Broadway musical, In Dahomey.

No storms come is a setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ Heaven-Haven: A Nun Takes the Veil. You may have recently heard Samuel Barber’s setting of the same text at the Recital and Evensong celebrating Hildegard von Bingen. This setting is by The Innocence Mission, an indie folk band originating in Pennsylvania in the ‘80s, and arranged by John Guarente, Director of Choruses at South Puget Sound Community College.

10•12•25 | Pentecost 21 | Proper 23

Hózhó, by Connor Chee (b. 1987)
Seeke the Lord, by Justine Koontz (b. 1987)
Jubilate Deo, by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
O salutaris hostia, by Caterina Assandra (c, 1590-after 1618)
Azmon, by Davi Cherwien (b. 1957)

Today’s prelude is by Diné (Navajo) composer Connor Chee. It is one of the works you’ll hear this evening at our seventh annual Recital and Evensong commemorating Indigenous Peoples Day. Regarding Hózhó, composer Connor Chee writes:

“This piece was inspired by the traditional Diné (Navajo) concept of Hózhó, often translated as “balance and beauty.’ This concept permeates Diné life and culture, and reflects the state of harmony that binds all things together in the universe. When elements of the universe fall out of balance, nature will ultimately strive to achieve homeostasis and balance once again. In the same way, the Diné seek to achieve harmony and beauty in life each day, despite the inevitable times of imbalance.

As a child, my grandmother taught me that keeping balance and harmony in my life started with the simplest things. I was taught to always keep my necklaces hung neatly so they would not tangle, to keep my belongings in order, and even to make sure my shoes were untied when I took them off. The idea was that if I could keep balance in those fundamental things, it would permeate my spirit and inspire my life as a whole. Although I still struggle to keep the space where I live and work in perfect order, I know that when I feel overwhelmed or out of sorts, I can start by organizing the simple things to welcome balance back into my life.

Hózhó for Organ Solo presents a musical search for balance and beauty. At times, the music is unbalanced in form and meter, but seeks to return to a more harmonious state. The melodic content that opens the piece is presented again at the end, but in retrograde [backwards]. This symbolizes a balanced idea that surrounds the rest of the (sometimes unbalanced) musical content. It returns the listener to the beginning of the piece with a melody that is in essence the same, but transformed during the experience.”

Our introit is from a collection of works by Justine Koontz, Director of Music and Organist at Memorial Episcopal Church in the Bolton Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. St. David’s was one of the churches which commissioned this collection, along with parishes in California, Indiana, and Virginia. 

Benjamin Britten’s lively Jubilate Deo is a setting of the text of today’s psalm. The Jubilate is one the texts that is sung during Morning Prayer in the Anglican communion. Morning Prayer is a consolidation of two liturgical hours (the ritual of monastic prayer which occurred at regular intervals throughout the day), namely Matins (sung between midnight and dawn) and Lauds (sung at first light). Evensong – or Evening Prayer – is likewise a consolidation of the two liturgical hours Vespers (which occurs at sunset) and Compline (from the Latin completoreum, which refers to the “completion” of the day).

During Communion we hear the music of Caterina Assandra, a 17th-century Benedictine nun, composer, and organist from Pavia, Italy. Assandra published numerous two-part sacred works with instrumental accompaniment. This setting of St. Thomas Aquinas’ eucharistic hymn O Salutaris Hostia was arranged for four vocal parts by Douglas. Buchanan, with two of the instrumental parts being given text (a process called “contrafactum”) to match the two existing vocal parts. The work begins with a fanfare figure common in Italian instrumental works of the time and proceeds with other dance-like rhythms to create a joyous composition. 

10•5•25 | The Feast of St. Francis

All is Full of Love, by Björk (b. 1965)
O Wondrous Earth, by Merton Shatzkin (1929-2024)
For the Beauty of the Earth, by John Rutter (b. 1945)
Omaa biindig, by Andrew Balfour (b. 1967)
Improvisation on Lasst uns erfreuen, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)

To observe the Feast of St. Francis today, we hear several selections that emphasize our interconnectedness, both to each other and to the natural world.

Our opening voluntary is by the Icelandic musician Björk, taken from a collection of arrangements of her music she created for celeste, harpsichord, and organ. The original lyrics to the song echo certain elements that are held in common with St. Francis: “you’ll be given love; you have to trust it; maybe not from the sources you have poured yours; maybe not from the directions you are staring at; all is full of love.” Björk celebrates her 60th birthday this November.

At the introit, we hear Merton Shatzkin’s luminous setting of O wondrous earth, composed by Shatzkin in 2019, and with poetry by the composer. Shatzkin was (in addition to being a parishioner at St. David’s) an ardent scholar, performer, and composer.

Our offertory anthem is a setting of For the Beauty of the Earth by prolific British composer John Rutter. Rutter just celebrated his 80th birthday on September 24. His setting features a new melody for the text (the one Episcopalians may be familiar with is Dix, the same tune as “As with gladness men of old”) with harp-like accompaniment, creating a luminous, joyful composition.

During communion, we hear Andrew Balfour’s Omaa Biindig, from Balfour’s Nagamo series. Balfour, a Cree composer, writes:

“As a former choir boy brought up in the high Anglican choral tradition, growing up singing the glorious choral music of Tallis, Byrd, Gibbons, and Purcell, and traveling to England several times, singing in English cathedrals made lasting impressions on me. As a 60s scooper,* I was taken away from my Indigenous family when I was a baby, but luckily was raised in a loving and very musical family. I have spent most of my life trying to identify my Indigenous blood, culture, and language. Through my composing and collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists it has been a beautiful Ispiciwin (journey). Nagamo is a reimagining of history….In this fragile time in history, in the relationship between settler Canada and the Indigenous people of Turtle Island†, I feel Nagamo was a powerful and important step in reconciliation and healing. As well, I’d like to think this is only the first step of many more towards a deeper understanding of Indigenous healing and artistic perspectives on Mother Earth now, and in the future. Chi Miigwetch. [Big thank you.]”

* The Sixties Scoop refers to the period in Canadian history from the mid 1950s into the 1980s, when Indigenous children were forcibly “scooped” from their homes by child welfare authorities and adopted without their families’ consent into white, largely middle-class homes. This misguided policy had far-reaching ramifications with which Canada continues to reckon today. 

†Turtle Island is a non-colonial name used by some (but not all) Indigenous peoples for the continent more commonly known as North America.

9•28•25 | Pentecost 19 | Proper 21

“Angels, ever bright and fair,” from Theodora, by G.F. Handel (1685-1759)
Michael, coeli signifer, by Jacobus Gallus (1550-1591)
“Sanctus,” from Mass in B minor, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Factum est silentium, by Caterina Assandra (c. 1590-after 1618)
Carillon de Longpont, by Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Today is the eve of Michaelmas, the Feast of St. Michael the archangel. In angelology (the theological study of angels) Michael is considered the greatest of the angels for his defeat of the devil – often depicted as a dragon – during the war in Heaven. Today’s choral repertoire responds to this imagery. 

The Introit is a hymn for Michaelmas, calling upon the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, written by the Moravian composer Jacobus Gallus. Born as Jakob Petelin in Slovenia, he adopted both a Germanic and a Latin last name – “Handl” and “Gallus,” respectively. (“Petelin,” “Handl,” and “Gallus” all means “rooster.”)

At the offertory we hear the “Sanctus” movement from J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. The Sanctus text is linked with angelic imagery, taken from Isaiah 6:3, in which Isaiah describes a vision of six-winged seraphim singing the hymn to each other. The Mass in B minor – which you can hear in its entirety at the 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon on March 15 at 4 pm – was not written all at the same time. The opening of the Gloria, which we hear last week, was composed in 1733. The Sanctus, however, was the first movement composed for the Mass, completed in 1724. It was common for Bach to compile movements from previously completed works – almost every genre he wrote in has examples of his “borrowing” from himself.

During Communion we hear the music of Caterina Assandra, a 17th-century Benedictine nun, composer, and organist from Pavia, Italy. The text she sets, Factum est silentium (“There was silence in Heaven”) is one of the texts most frequently associated with Michaelmas. The music begins sedately, the longer note values and piano (“quiet”) dynamic acting as a “substitute silence.” Faster note values and a louder (forte) dynamic begin at the text “dum committeret bellum draco,” representing the commencement of the battle. These are known as “madrigalisms,” taken from the practice of madrigal composer using musical aspects to respond to the text of a piece. Further instances include the loude, block chords as “Audita est vox” and the rapid imitation implying many voices at “millia millium.” Although originally written for only three voice parts, the work has been adapted for modern four-part chorus by Dr. Buchanan.

9•21•25 | Pentecost 18 | Proper 20

Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (“To God alone on high be glory”), BWV 717, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Give Me My Scallop Shell of Quiet, by Kathryn Rose (b. 1980)
“Gloria,” from Mass in B minor, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Give Almes of Thy Goods, by Christopher Tye (c. 1505-before 1573)
Cwm Rhondda, by J. Bert Carlson (1937-2017)

Our service begins today with a chorale-prelude by J.S. Bach on the tune Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, which Episcopalians will know as “All glory be to God on high.” Chorale-preludes originated as a means to introduce the chorale tune prior to congregational hymn-singing in Lutheran churches. In other words, whereas you might hear a “play over” (an organ play-through of a hymn) prior to singing it, each hymn in Bach’s church would (likely) have been introduced by an ornamented piece based upon the chorale tune, such as this one. (Some of Bach’s chorale-preludes are so long an involved, however, that one must assume that they were meant for concert performance, pedagogical study, or individual devotional use.) In this prelude, there are two voices that state ornamented versions of the chorale, while another voice states it in long tones.

Composer Kathryn Rose – originally from Canada – now lives in the UK, where she is also a pianist, organist, horn  player, and serpentist (a type of hybrid woodwind-brass early music instrument). Her setting of an excerpt from Sir Walter Raleigh’s The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage is for sopranos and altos alone. The text hints at a spirit of humility that resonates with today’s Gospel text.

During the Offertory we here another Bach work that draws on a “Gloria,” this time the Gloria from the Mass ordinary (the parts of the Latin Mass that would “ordinarily” be said each Sunday – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei). This Gloria setting is from one of Bach’s most formidable compositions, the Mass in B minor, which you can hear at this season’s 50th Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon on March 15. The key of B minor as one of mystery and tension for Baroque composers due to tuning practices of the day (seek out Dr. Doug during coffee hour for a fuller explanation that may happen to involve both a discussion of physics as well as a metaphor regarding the difference between store-bought and off-brand Legos). However, Bach explored other keys throughout, like the majestic key of D major, which serves as home for this piece. Listen for the jubilant dance which sets the first line of text, followed by a more sedate (but still virtuosic!) imitative setting for the second line.

At communion we hear a brief composition by English Renaissance composer Christopher Tye, who served as Master of the Choir at Ely Cathedral. Give almes of thy goods is one of his frequently performed anthems, and echoes some aspects of the Gospel reading. He also composed the hymn tune Winchester Old, which is sometimes heard at Christmas, particularly in England, set to the text “While shepherds watched their flocks by night.” (If you felt an unexpected sense of Christmas-ness today, it may be because our opening hymn tune – Regent Square – is also often set to a Christmas text, “Angels from the realms of glory.”) Closing the service is a jubilant setting of Cwm Rhondda by the late American composer and pastor J. Bert Carlson.

9•14•25 | Pentecost 17 | Proper 19

Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl, by J.P. Sweelinck (1562-1621)
Caritas abundat in omnia, by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Sweet Prospect, by Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
The Lord is my Shepherd, by Howard Goodall (b. 1958)
Fantasia on “Wondrous Love,” by Carlotta Ferrari (b. 1975)

Today’s service begins with a bicinium by J.P. Sweelinck. Bicinia keyboard works for two “voices,” in other words, one “part” or “voice” per hand. Bicinia served as teaching pieces, and, for Sweelinck, often were based on Lutheran chorales (i.e., congregational hymns). The chorale today’s voluntary is based on is Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl, which is loosely translated as “The mouth of fools doth God confess”:

The mouth of fools doth God confess,
But while their lips draw nigh Him,
Their heart is full of wickedness,
And all their deeds deny Him.

“Fools,” foolishness, and questions regarding what is sinful abound in today’s readings, from Psalm 14 (where foolishness is explicitly mentioned) to Paul’s ruminations to Timothy. But, in some cases, what is seen to be foolishness is later observed to be wisdom, as in parable regarding the rescue of the 100th sheep. Responding to this is English composer Howard Goodall’s setting of Psalm 23, heard during communion. Fans of British comedies will recognize this work, which is featured during the title credits of The Vicar of Dibley. Only the beginning and ending of the work appears in the credit sequences; Goodall composed the middle section (“Though I walk through the valley…”) to flesh out the work. Goodall is also the composer of the Mr. Bean theme music (eagle-eyed listeners may make out the Latin text heard in the credits: “Ecce homo qui est faba,” or, “Behol the man who is a bean”) as well as a number of decidedly more serious compositions such as Eternal Light: A Requiem.

Further wisdom is imparted in the words and music of Hilegard von Bingen, whose feast day is September 17, and who is commemorated at our opening Recital and Evensong this afternoon at 4:30 pm. The choir sings Caritas abundat in omnia (“Love abounds in all”) during the introit. Hildegard wrote all her own texts, setting them to melodies of her own composition that were at variance with the chant styles of her day. Compared to the relatively sedate chants of her monastic peers, her melodies were tall, arching, and ecstatic. In addition to being a composer, poet, and abbess, she was a scientist, cryptolinguist (she created her own language called the “Lingua Ignota” or “Unknown Langauge”), visual artist, and a prolific writer. All these aspects were outgrowths of her visionary life, having experienced vibrant visions from a young age.

The messages of love, joy, and reunion are also heard in today’s re-imaginings of American hymnody, including Italian composer Carlotta Ferrari’s rhythmic fantasia on “What wondrous love is this” and the buoyant re-imagining of the hymn Sweet Prospect by former King’s Singer Bob Chilcott, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year.

9•7•25 | Pentecost 16 | Proper 18

Prelude in C Major (BWV 545), by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Draw us in the Spirit’s Tether, by Saunder Choi

Psalm: C.H.H. Parry (1848-1918)

Unclouded Day, by Shaun Kirchner (b. 1970)

Ego sum panis vivus, by G.P. da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594)

Fugue in C Major, BWV 545, by J.S. Bach

As the program year begins, it is a perfect opportunity to not only learn about the music we are hearing today, but also to mention how each piece of music functions in the course of the service. 

Our opening voluntary is from Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 545 (the “BWV” is a catalog number, similar to how later composers will have an opus, i.e., publishing, number alongside their works). The term “voluntary” originated in 15th century England, being a type of improvisatory piece that was “volunteered” prior to a service. Now, it refers to a composition (typically for organ) that is used to open or close the service. Here, listen for the dancing rhythms Bach used, building the entire piece from a simple upwards scale. 

Following the voluntary is an introit. In the Roman rite (the liturgical practice of the Roman Catholic Church) introits have a specific formula drawn from psalms and liturgical poetry, intended to reflect on the day’s readings and to accompany the entrance of the ministers. Outside the Roman rite, the introit’s preparatory function remains the same, but the content is more flexible: in addition to traditional introit chants, we often will sing American shape-note hymns, Lutheran chorales, or brief compositions like Filipino-Chinese composer Saunder Choi’s buoyant setting of Draw us in the Spirit’s Tether. 

After the opening hymn and Gloria, we hear a chanted psalm. Psalm-chanting is a practice that is several millennia old; the specific type of chant we typically hear in the Episcopal Church — Anglican chant — is relatively young, only 500 or so years old. In Anglican chant, a text is sung to patterns of 10 chords, which are repeated. Contrast this with plainsong chant, as heard in the Alleluia verse, the verse preceding the Gospel, which is made of only a single line without accompanying chords. (Because Anglican chant can be used for any unmetered text, some musicians get cheeky — search online for the Kings Singers singing a weather report, or Director of Music Douglas Buchanan conducting Anglican chant celebrations of the Orioles and the Ravens.) 

After the homily and the prayers is the offertory anthem. The word “anthem” is derived from “antiphon,” which is a response — in this case, one can view it as a response to the Priest’s offertory sentence. (Compare this with the fraction anthem, which we sing in response to the breaking of the bread.) In the Anglican choral tradition, anthems were typically accompanied by the organ, but here we use the term more loosely. As a case in point, today’s anthem is an unaccompanied (i.e., a cappella, literally “for the chapel”) arrangement by American composer Shaun Kirchner which has become a parish favorite. 

During communion, the choir sings a motet. Like “anthem” and “introit,” “motet” had a specific meaning which has now become a little more flexible. The term originates with the French word “mot,” meaning “word.” In Medieval France this referred to a musical setting of a text. The French motet evolved to be hyper-complex (piling multiple texts in multiple languages, sung simultaneously—the ultimate mash-up) before coming to refer simply to an unaccompanied work for voices (though you’ll hear plenty of instances of accompanied Communion music here). We hear an unaccompanied example this week, by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Palestrina – who was in charge of the choir at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome – was hugely influential in the 16th-century, so much so that the Renaissance style of counterpoint is often referred to as the “Palestrina style.” His 500th birthday was observed earlier this year. 

Following the final hymn is a closing voluntary, bookending the service with organ music. Today we hear the second part of BWV 545, the Fugue in C major. While a prelude was a very free piece, a fugue had a formalized process, first stating a melody, then imitating it in a variety of voices. For Bach, this was like a game; in fact, “prelude” literally means “before the game.” Listen for the original melody to be flipped upside down half-way through the work, then to enter climactically in the pedal, stretched out to twice its length.