'Program notes'

Richard Mix

I wonder how many of you write descriptive notes for anthems? Here's a sample of what I'll pin to the bulletin board tomorrow morning.

Music at St. David of Wales
The St David of Wales Parish Choir rehearses Thursdays 7:30 - 9:00 and Sunday 10:00 for the 11:00 - noon Mass, as well as announced Feast Days (usually 6:00 for 7:00 PM Mass). Beginners as well as experienced singers are welcome; if interested in joining please contact Richard Mix after a service or at RichardMix@hotmail.com.

June 12 Trinity the spirit of truth Mozart: Benedictus sit, K 117 +
This Offertory (along with the Mass in C major K 66) was composed for the ordination of Cajetan Hagenauer, son of the Mozarts’ landlord, a ceremony that lasted two hours. Today we sing the first of two movements.

June 19 Corpus Christi: Byrd: Ave verum**
William Byrd’s famous Eucharistic motet (“Hail True Body”) from the 1605 Gradualia makes striking use of cross relations, the contradictory inflections arising from simultaneous use of the melodic minor and harmonic minor scales.

June 26 to Jerusalem OT 13 A. Févin: Omnes gentes plaudite
Omnes gentes (“All ye people, clap your hands”, the Introit for Ordinary Time 13) is the second half of Benedictus Dominus Deus, a two part motet by Antoine Févin (c. 1470 – 1511), who worked at the French royal court in Blois and was estimed by contemporaries as “Josquin’s emulator”.

July 3 OT 14 milk of comfort Vaughn-Williams O taste and see+
This setting of Psalm xxxiii:9, the Communion verse for Ordinary Time 14, was composed and first sung for the Coronation of Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953, the year after her Accession.

July 10 OT 15 Samaritan A Scarlatti: Ad te Domine levavi+
Alessandro Scarlatti (uncle of the equally famous Domenico Scarlatti) wrote Ad te levavi (Psalm 24:1-4) for Advent, a season when the organ was silent. In the 1979 Roman Gradual it is now the Introit for Ordinary Time 15.

July 17 OT 16 Martha & Mary Corteccia: Optimam partem+
This setting of the last verse of todays Gospel (“Mary has chosen for herself the best portion”) is preserved in the choirbook of Florence’s Cathedral, where Francesco Corteccia (1507-1571) was a choirboy and chaplain before being appointed organist at San Lorenzo, the Medici’s chapel.

July 24 OT 17 Pater noster Stravinsky: Pater noster+
Stravinsky’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer (Отче наш 1926, latinized 1949) was the first of several pieces written for a Russian emigree congregation in Paris that worshiped upstairs from a dance hall. He relates that a special collection had to be taken to bribe the band into waiting to strike up until after the midnight Easter Proclamation.

July 31 OT 18 like the grass Brahms: Ach armer Welt**
Johannes Brahms composed Opus 110 No. 2 in 1889, setting an old German hymn: ‘Poor world, I realize you decieve me and yet cannot avoid you. You are false and your appearances fade, I know to my woe. Your glory, your goods all fail in true need, at death; your treasure is a counterfeit, therefore help me, Lord, to find peace.’

Aug. 7 OT 19 unexpected hour Tavener: The Lamb+
Sir John Tavener (1944-2013) was a descendant of the renaissance composer John Taverner (with an extra ‘r’) wrote The Lamb for the 1982 Chrismas Eve Lessons & Carols service at King’s College. Setting the poem (“Little Lamb who made thee?”) from William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience (1789), its opening melody is accompanied mirror-like by its own inversion.

Aug. 14 OT 20 father against son Josquin: Ave Maria**
So famous was ‘the prince of music’ to his contemporaries that Michelangelo was called ‘the Josquin of sculpture’. 500 years later the prestige of visual art has risen enough that it is more usual to hear Josquin’s Ave Maria called ‘the Mona Lisa of music’.

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Richard,

I've never done anything so entertaining and informative as you have in these short blurbs, in all my time as a parish musician.

Thank you for improving my evening.

Richard Mix

August notes

Ronn62353

I have been doing something similar for the last ten years, and they have generally been well received by the congregation. Mine tend to be written less for the musician in the congregation, but for the layperson, assisting them in getting some sense of where these texts and tunes have come from. Mine are a bit longer, but when space demands, I'll edit them down to a few sentences. An example:
Rise, O Church Like Christ Arisen was written by Susan Palo Cherwien,(1954-2021). Susan was a poet and musician. She received her bachelor’s degree in church music and voice from Wittenberg University; a Master of Liberal Studies from Mundelein College, Chicago, where she focused on spirituality, ritual, and the arts. Susan has composed numerous hymn texts which appear in denominational hymnals in the United States, Canada, and Europe. She served on the ELCA Language Consultation, whose work set language guidelines prior to the development of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. The tune, LAUDA ANIMA, was composed by John Goss (1800-1880). As a boy Goss was a chorister at the Chapel Royal and later sang in the opera chorus of the Covent Garden Theater. He was a professor of music at the Royal Academy of Music and organist of St. Paul Cathedral, London; in both positions he exerted significant influence on the reform of British cathedral music. Goss published Parochial Psalmody (1826) and Chants, Ancient and Modern (1841); he edited William Mercer's Church Psalter and Hymn Book (1854). With James Turle he published a two-volume collection of anthems and Anglican service music (1854).

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Richard,

Josquin has a liturgical commemoration? Which calendar?

Ronn,

I don't know why any Catholic publisher would use the work of Susan Cherwien, based on what you've listed as her pedigree, nor still why any musician would program her texts for singing in a Catholic parish, shrine, monastery or convent. Based on what you've written, may I guess that (when you wrote this) you work(ed) for the ELCA Lutherans?

CHGiffen

See p. 6 of this pdf for "Rise, O Church, Like Christ Arisen"

CGZ - Is this hymn unsuitable for Catholics?
(While we are at it) Are the hymns of Charles Wesley also unsuitable for Catholics since Wesley was not Catholic?

O Blessed Spring - Susan Palo Cherwien

1 O blessed spring, where word and sign
embrace us into Christ the Vine:
here Christ enjoins each one to be
a branch of this life-giving Tree.

2 Through summer heat of youthful years,
uncertain faith, rebellious tears,
sustained by Christ’s infusing rain,
the boughs will shout for joy again.

3 When autumn cools and youth is cold,
when limbs their heavy harvest hold,
then through us, warm, the Christ will move
with gifts of beauty, wisdom, love.

4 As winter comes, as winters must,
we breathe our last, return to dust;
still held in Christ, our souls take wing
and trust the promise of the spring.

5 Christ, holy Vine, Christ, living Tree,
be praised for this blest mystery:
that word and water thus revive
and join us to your Tree of Life.

And ... what about non-Catholic composers? - such as Holst (THAXTED) or Vaughan-Williams (DOWN AMPNEY), just to name two.

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Charles,

You illustrate my point, actually: based on pedigree alone, much would be left out which might be included, and much would be included which should be left out.

Now, the parts of the pedigree I find alarming are these:

Mundelein College, Chicago, where she focused on spirituality, ritual, and the arts.

hymn texts which appear in denominational hymnals in the United States, Canada, and Europe

the ELCA Language Consultation, whose work set language guidelines prior to the development of Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the text you bring to my attention.

I've asked repeatedly around here what place might be made for beautiful polyphony which originated outside the Catholic church, even vernacular music, without damaging the integrity of the Roman rite, and without resorting to "well, you just do include it, so get over it".

CHGiffen

Chris,

You illustrate my point by what appears to be an ad hominem attack based solely on pedigree, without so much as exploring what Susan Palo Cherwien (who lived relatively close to me, in the Twin Cities) actually wrote. Should I suppose her translation of Veni Sancte Spiritus might be something that you would find suspicious (based on her pedigree) if you hadn't read it or had foreknowledge of it?

Really, you should do a little research before attempting to discredit her in such knee-jerk fashion.

Chris Garton-Zavesky

I think you and I agree, actually. Works can and should be judged on their merits.

Richard Mix

Which calendar?

Gregorian, in our case, but see this thread.

Heath

"June 19 Corpus Christi: Byrd: Ave verum**
William Byrd’s famous Eucharistic motet (“Hail True Body”) from the 1605 Gradualia makes striking use of cross relations, the contradictory inflections arising from simultaneous use of the melodic minor and harmonic minor scales."

Richard, are these notes for your congregation? Do you have a lot of congregants that know what cross relations are? :)

Richard Mix

a lot of congregants that know what cross relations are?

I would guess very few; my aim is to intrigue listeners, who must be struck on some level by the extraordinary opening. How would you have written for your congregation, Heath?

Heath

A few things I would include off the top of my head:

-"surprise" chord to highlight the word "verum"
-harmonically rich (here's an opportunity to point out specific words that he highlights, such as the preceding "verum")
-use of "echo" in the "O pie" section
-use of polyphony in "miserere" section, which contrasts what came before (and yes, I always try to define polyphony in a clear, concise way)

...and anything interesting in a composer's bio.

Many of the other entries you composed above were less jargon-y; I'd tend in the direction of those rather than this Byrd entry. :)

Richard Mix

Well, three to four lines is a severe art. My other constraint is to speak to various levels of experience rather than a hypothetical common denominator. I think there are a substantial number of students who have been told about minor scales, and I chose to tug at that thread.

Schönbergian

I always write for the entirely unmusical reader and allow the music to speak for itself. If listeners are unable to comprehend the meaning of the music from your interpretation, then no attempt at textual explanation will do anything. Better to use that space to discuss aspects of the work that cannot possibly be understood solely through listening.

Richard Mix

write for the entirely unmusical reader

I know how I feel about that myself, as well as who supports the music program. But what would such a note look like, in 3 or 4 lines?

Richard Mix

Fall edition

Richard Mix

Eastertide '23

MichaelRaney

Sometimes I'm asked to write a short reflection in our bulletin related to the music for that Sunday. This was this past Sunday's:

Michael’s Musical Musings

“I am the Good Shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.” So begins the Gospel Acclamation for this Sunday, continuing the words of Jesus even after the reading of the Gospel. Christ is the New David, the true shepherd of His flock. The sheep knew David’s voice; all we, like sheep, know Christ’s voice.

Jesus, like all pious Jews in His time, reflects often on the Psalms of David. But David was not merely a shepherd, he was also a musician. In fact, the two professions are intimately connected. Often tending to his flock for days on end, David would sing to them and himself. When he would call his sheep he sang, for the voice carries much further that way. And as he sang, he composed psalms (“מזמור - mizmor” which is derived from the verb meaning “to pluck” as in plucking an instrument). I have to think Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd…”) was one of his favorites out in the fields.

His voice calmed and comforted his sheep. They knew him by his song. The New David, Jesus Christ our Lord, sings to us now. In fact, the whole of creation is but a beautiful love song that began with the love of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I pray that we attend to that heavenly music and lift up our hearts and voices in to join in praise of Him who shepherds us.

Richard Mix

last minute changes

Richard Mix

July notes (2nd try)

CHGiffen

Richard, it says July2023, but its contents are Eastertide.

Richard Mix

Here's some of this past summer:

May 24 Pentecost pax vobis Gallus: Stetit Jesus+
Publishing under a latinized name and called by the German form Handl in municipal documents, Jacobus Gallus (1550 – 1591) was born at the edge of the Holy Roman Empire before moving to first to the capital Vienna and later to Prague. It has been surmized that the Slovene word for ‘cockerel’, Petelin, might be the original form of his name. “Jesus stood amidst the disciples and said ‘Peace be with you’. They rejoiced to see the Lord.”

May 31 Trinity God so loved Stainer: God so loved the world+
Today’s anthem with text from John 3:16-17 is the centrepiece of The Crucifixion (1887), an oratorio by Sir John Stainer (1840-1901), then organist at St Paul’s Cathedral. Today he is especially remembered for the standard harmonizations of such hymns as "What Child Is This", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Good King Wenceslas" and "The First Nowell".

June 7 Corpus Xi Verily, except [Berkeley Festival] Tallis: Verily, except ye eat
Like his pupil William Byrd, Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) was a Catholic recusant whose music was especially prized by Elizabeth I. This motet sets John 6:53-56.

June 14 OT 11 sending 12 Ps100 Britten: Jubilate Deo in C
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed his Jubilate Deo in C in 1961 at the request of Elizabeth II’s husband, Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh for St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Psalm 100 is one of the Morning Canticles of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer as well as today’s Gradual Psalm.

June 21 OT 12 hairs of your head Haydn: O God of love
During his second visit to London Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) contributed six pieces for a volume of Improved Psalmody (1794). Today we sing one with Henry Baker’s hymn, written in 1861.
June 21 OT 12 hairs of your head Handel: His yoke is easy (from Messiah)
This chorus concluding Part I, the Nativity portion of Handel’s oratorio Messiah, was first performed 1743.

June 28 OT 13 lose/find Tomkins: Christ rising again+
Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) was the son of the organist at St David’s Cathedral and studied with William Byrd. He joined the Chapel Royal and after Orlando Gibbons suffered a stroke leapt in to compose this music for James I’s funeral and Charles I coronation.

July 5 OT 14 yoke J. S. Bach: Der aber die Herzen forschet (BWV 226)
This, the central movement of a motet written in 1729 for the funeral of Bach’s rector, is a double fugue on a text from Romans 8:27: “The searcher of hearts knows what the spirit intends, for he intercedes for the saints according to God’s will.”

Monday July 6 11:00 AM Funeral for Alice Virgil Thomson: My Shepherd will supply Fauré: In paradisum

Vaughn-Williams: O taste and see+
This setting of Psalm xxxiii:9, the Communion verse for Ordinary Time 14, was composed and first sung for the Coronation of Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953, the year after her Accession.
J. S. Bach: Ihr aber seid nicht fleischlich
Probably composed for a funeral service before 1735, Bach’s motet Jesu meine Freude (BWV 227) weaves hymn verses with passages from Romans. This, the 6th movement, is today’s Epistle: “You are not of flesh but rather of spirit, if the Spirit of God dwell in you. But who hath not the Spirit of Christ, is none of his.”

July 12 OT 15 the sower/waterer Morales: In illo tempore cum turba
Cristóbal de Morales (c.1500-1553) was born in Seville, spending the years 1535-1545 in Rome. This motet sets part of today’s Gospel: “At that time a multitude hastened from the cities to Jesus, who spoke in a parable: ‘A sower went forth to sow.’ And he cried out: ‘let those with ears to hear, hear.”

July 19 OT 16 Der Geist hilft/mustard Vaughn-Williams: O taste and see+
This setting of Psalm xxxiii:9, the Communion verse for Ordinary Time 14, was composed and first sung for the Coronation of Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953, the year after her Accession.
J. S. Bach: Der aber die Herzen forschet (BWV 226)
This, the central movement of a motet written in 1729 for the funeral of Bach’s rector, is a double fugue on a text from Romans 8:27: “The searcher of hearts knows what the spirit intends, for he intercedes for the saints according to God’s will.”

Monday July 6 11:00 AM Funeral for Alice Virgil Thomson: My Shepherd will supply Fauré: In paradisum

July 19 OT 16 Der Geist hilft/mustard Vaughn-Williams: O taste and see+
This setting of Psalm xxxiii:9, the Communion verse for Ordinary Time 14, was composed and first sung for the Coronation of Elizabeth II, 2 June 1953, the year after her Accession.

July 26 OT 17 pearl Lassus: Exaltabo te+
In 1553, before settling in Munich, Roland de Lassus established his reputation as Orlando di Lasso at Rome’s Saint John Lateran, where Palestrina succeded him in 1555. Exaltabo te (1582) sets the first verses of Psalm 30: “I will extoll you, Lord, for you have drawn me up and not let my enemies rejoice over me; O Lord, I cried unto you and you healed me.”

Aug. 3 OT 18 loaves come thirsty Mendelssohn: O come, everyone that thirsteth (Elijah)+
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote his second oratorio Elijah for the 1846 Birmingham Festival. The penultimate movement draws its text from Isaiah 55:1.

Wed. Aug. 5 Guillaume Dufay concert 7:10

Aug. 9 OT 19 walk on water Gombert: Domine, si tu es+
Probably born in the 1490’s, Nicolas Gombert is said to have studied with Josquin and traveled widely as a member of Charles V’s Imperial Chapel. In 1540 he was sentenced to hard labor in the galleys for sodomy, winning an early release in 1547 for his 8 Magnificat settings which were favorites of the emperor. Little is known of his later life. Domine, si tu es (“Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water”) is this Sunday’s Gospel.

Aug. 16 OT 20 Canaanite Josquin: Ave Maria**
So famous was ‘the prince of music’ to his contemporaries that Michelangelo was called ‘the Josquin of sculpture’. 500 years later the prestige of visual art has risen enough that it is more usual to hear Josquin’s Ave Maria called ‘the Mona Lisa of music’.

Aug. 23 OT 21 this rock Palestrina: Tu es Petrus**
Published in 1572, this is the second of Palestrina’s three settings of Matthew 16:18-19: ”You are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build My Church: and the gates of hell shall not overcome it and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you release upon earth shall be released in heaven.”

Aug. 30 OT 22 take up cross Monteverdi: Qui vult venire+
Qui vult venire appeared in the 15 year old Claudio Monteverdi’s first publication, Sacrae cantiunculae (1582). “Who would come after me, let them deny themself, and take up their cross and follow me, says the Lord” (Matt. 16:24)

Richard Mix

Fall 2026:

Sept. 6 OT 23 venite Stravinsky: Pater noster+
Stravinsky’s setting of the Lord’s Prayer (Отче наш 1926, latinized 1949) was the first of three pieces written for a Russian emigree congregation in Paris that worshiped upstairs from a dance hall. He relates that a special collection had to be taken to bribe the band into waiting to strike up until after the midnight Easter Proclamation.

Sept. 13 OT 24 merciless creditor Mendelssohn: Verleih uns Frieden**
This setting in Luther’s German of Da pacem (“Grant us peace in our time in your graciousness, for there is none other helper than you, Lord.”) was written in 1831 and published in 1839 when it was reviewed by R. Schumann: “This small piece deserves to be world famous and will become so in the future; the Madonnas of Raphael and Murillo cannot remain hidden for long.”

Sept. 20 [Yom Kippur] OT 25 Vineyard laborers Guerrero: Simile est+
Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) wrote a best-selling book about his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and capture by pirates, but spent most of his career as a composer at Seville. He set the parable of the laborers (Matt. 20) three times; today we sing the version published in 1570.

Oct. 4 [Francis] OT 27 vineyard Philips: O virum mirbilium
Besides being observed as the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, today marks the 800th commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi. Peter Philips’ setting of the Magnificat Antiphon was published in 1612: “O man marvelous for signs and miracles, driving away afflictions sent by the devil, giving ears and understanding to the birds of the forest when he preached! … Francis, make us citizens with those in heaven among those to whom you are already joined.”

Oct. 11 OT 28 homo quidam (SDoW dedication Oct 11) Bruckner: Locus iste*
Locus iste is the Gradual for the anniversary of the dedication of a church: “This place was made by God: a priceless sacrament, it is without reproach.” Bruckner’s motet was written in 1869 for the dedication of the new Votive Chapel attached to the Cathedral at Linz, where he had been organist.

Oct. 18 OT 29 Caesar’s due Lassus: Meditabor+
The Offertory for Ordinary Time 29 is from Psalm 119:47-48 “I delight in your commandments, which I dearly love. I lift up my hands to your commandments; I study your statutes, which I love.” Lassus’ setting was published in 1682.

Oct. 25 OT 30 Pharisee J. S. Bach: Siehe zu, BWV 179+
Bach’s Cantata No.179, first sung 8 August 1723 for the 11th Sunday after Trinity, opens with a double fugue on a verse from Sirach: “See that your fear of God be not hypocrisy, and do not serve God with a false heart! “

Nov. 1 All Saints Victoria: O quam gloriosum*
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) was educated and spent the first part of his career in Rome, returning to Spain in 1587 as chaplain to the Empress Maria. O quam gloriosum is the Magnificat antiphon for All Saints: “O how glorious is the kingdom in which all the saints rejoice with Christ, clad in robes of white they follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”

Sept. 27 OT 26 2 sons Lassus: Super flumina*
In 1553, before settling in Munich, Roland de Lassus established his reputation as Orlando di Lasso at Rome’s Saint John Lateran, where Palestrina succeded him in 1555. Super flumina (‘by the waters of Babylon’) was published in 1585.

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