sinden.org/blog

The BBC broadcast of Evensong this week is from the Eddington Festival of Music within the Liturgy.

Grant proposal: If anyone reading this has some money to give me, I'd love to blog from the festival next year.

Don't miss the this service which includes Stanford's double-choir Latin setting of the Magnificat (it's an interesting combination of Bach-motet-style and "I've been workin on' the railroad") and the festival commission: "Most glorious Lord of Lyfe" by Francis Jackson. Jackson celebrates his 92nd birthday in October.

Last year's commission was a setting of the Lord's Prayer by Nico Muhly.

There are a couple of great chants by Wesley.

The priory church is also home to the first performance of the "Eddington Service" of Grayston Ives. It was originally accompanied on the smallish organ heard on this broadcast.

Labels: church music, Francis Jackson, liturgy, Nico Muhly, Stanford, Wesley

(The other side-thought here is that church music has a wonderful built-in resistance to the horizontal expectation line because the music itself is pointing elsewhere. Church music isn’t saying, here here, listen to my wonderful five-part mass; instead, it’s saying, turn your thoughts to those around you, and upwards, while this wonderful music unfurls. Unless the music is distracting or terribly performed, it’s hard to run afoul of the basic contemplative program.)

"What to expect if you're expecting" from Nico Muhly's blog.

Click through for a delightful recording and analysis of John Blow's Salvator mundi (and follow along with a score from CPDL)

Labels: Blow, church music, Muhly

Harrison Oxley, former organist and choirmaster of St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk has died at age 76.

His introduction of girls into the choir of St Edmundsbury encouraged the formation of the girls’ choir at Salisbury and later at other important cathedrals. The mixed choir had come about as a result of needing extra singers for the instalment of a new bishop, which was going to be televised. Despite opposition, Oxley was allowed to involve eight girls to sing alongside the boys provided they were placed on the side of the choir where the television camera could not see them. Oxley later reported: “I have never been forgiven by some of my colleagues on the Cathedral Organists’ Association. But I do not see why we should bar half of humanity from the benefits and opportunities of cathedral choir membership. In the end most cathedrals will be obliged to follow our lead and will see it as the just and right way forward.” These were prophetic words.

Harrison Oxley: organist and choirmaster from The Times (London)

Labels: church music, girls' voices, Oxley

Howells is perhaps the quintessential Anglican Church music composer, having composed some twenty-odd settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis.

Interestingly, he wrote only one set of Preces and Responses. And I've never heard them sung.

Howells Preces and Responses were written in 1967, the same year he wrote Evening Services for Winchester, Chichester and St. Augustine, Birmingham.

They are included on the evensong webcast from St. John's College, Cambridge this week.

From the St. John's Choir, Decani Bass III writes:

Although we vary the canticles and anthem every day, there are, I suppose, about 6 or 7 settings of the Preces and Responses that get used in rotation. It is therefore always pretty refreshing to sing a new setting, and I had long wanted to sing this setting by Herbert Howells. We sing so much of his music and it had always seemed an omission that we had not tackled them before. Howells integrates the cantoring with the choral parts and they seem more organic and cohesive than many of the more conventional sets.

Check it out, especially that concluding Amen.

Labels: church music, Howells, St John's (Cambridge)

There is an art to picking a Mass setting for Palm Sunday.

The day is different, dramatic, and the music should reflect this drama with a certain liturgical je ne sais quoi.

After the festive procession, the service takes a dark turn with the reading/singing of the Passion Gospel and never quite recovers. For the end of the the service everything is raw and exposed. The temple veil is rent in twain and everything is laid bare.

So, when it comes time for the Sanctus -- the first sung part of the Mass ordinary on this day -- a special kind of "holy-ness" is required.

In my mind, a Mass setting that captures what I'm after is the Missa Brevis, Opus 57 of Lennox Berkeley (pronounced BARK-ley).

There's a kind of hopeful austerity in this writing. An encounter with the Holy that is more informed by journey than by destination.

The Hosanna section deliberately propels itself forward toward a wrenching, fateful climax, one explored further in the Benedictus. This climax is not shouting, but sighing, loudly. One might term this a meta-suspiratio.

It's interesting to note that St. Mary the Virgin in New York also sang Berkeley yesterday: his five-part Mass. St. Thomas in New York found a very similar aesthetic in a Mass by Jackson Hill.

Labels: Berkeley, church music, liturgy, Palm Sunday

If you're just joining us, we're twittering a rehearsal of St. John's College, Cambridge at Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut. They'll be rehearsing until 6:00 p.m.

Edit: This space held the most recent tweets as we posted them. Here is the stream in its entirety:

# Settling in for the concert. The Choir of St John's, Cambridge singing at Christ Church, New Haven.
7:55 PM Mar 23rd

# Now the encore. I'll keep this one a secret from you.
6:00 PM Mar 23rd

# RVW Let All the World. Some boys sing without scores. Handel Zadok the Priest. Beautiful and bouncy.
5:55 PM Mar 23rd

# Howells Gloucester Magnificat. Bad sightlines coming into play.
5:40 PM Mar 23rd

# Amazing, orchestral Howells singing.
5:25 PM Mar 23rd

# Byrd Mass for four voices.
5:12 PM Mar 23rd

# A Humfrey Verse Anthem. Great solos.
5:07 PM Mar 23rd

# MacMillan: A New Song. Stunning.
4:55 PM Mar 23rd

# Boys warmed up in the choir room. Now back in church.
4:48 PM Mar 23rd

# The choir is here.
4:28 PM Mar 23rd

# The whole floor of Christ Church, New Haven shakes from time to time. This seems odd.
4:24 PM Mar 23rd

# Chatted briefly with Mr. Nethsingha. Bad organ sightlines. Choir yet to arrive.
4:17 PM Mar 23rd

# The organist has moved on to Howells Gloucester Service.
4:00 PM Mar 23rd

# At Christ Church, New Haven. Reeks deliciously: incense and Vierne.
3:56 PM Mar 23rd

this is just the latest tweet from twitter.com / sinden

Labels: church music, St John's (Cambridge)

Today is a travel day.

We're headed to New Haven, Connecticut to take in an afternoon rehearsal of the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge, England. They'll also be performing a concert in New Haven at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Join us at 4:00 p.m. for some intensive Twittering of that rehearsal. You can follow the Twitter stream here by periodically refreshing sinden.org/blog, or you can follow us at twitter / sinden.

We are excited about hearing St. John's in person because they are one of the greatest choirs in the world. But we've also been excited to follow them online this academic year. The choir's website offers new service to listen to every week. These weekly webcasts (presented in a very useful interface, by the way) are accompanied by reflections by members of the choir on the music and the experience of singing it.

The whole thing is brilliant and a model how to make the heritage of Anglican choral music freely available.

More choirs should do this.

Labels: church music, St John's (Cambridge), transportation, web

September 12 marks the birth of English organist and composer Caleb Simper who was wildly popular a few years back.

Over five million copies had been sold by the 1920s and a few remain in print today, though Simper's musical style has long since fallen from fashion.

"Caleb Simper"

A stunning performance of Simper's King of King's from Australia:

[link to video updated 6 July 2009]

Labels: church music, Simper

More weird news from the cathedral in Sydney:

THE organist of St Andrew's Cathedral has been asked to tone down his loud musical flourishes at the end of Sunday services because members of the congregation have complained they cannot hear themselves think.

The organist's repertoire is now limited to quiet, slow-paced hymns and recessionals following the intervention of cathedral staff three weeks ago. The move has left some fans of traditional church music wondering about the future role of organ and choral music at Australia's oldest cathedral. But officials deny the cathedral's choir had also been banned from processing down the aisle during Sunday services to save time.

Morris, Linda. "Changes not music to purists' ears." Sydney Morning Herald 8 Sept 2008.

Labels: Australia, cathedrals, church music

You might have heard of Andrew Nethsingha, the new Director of Music of the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge. And you might know that his predecessor was David Hill. And you might own a couple CDs by David's predecessor Christopher Robinson. And from there, you probably know the name George Guest since he held the post for a mere 40 years. Robin Orr, Guests's predecessor, wrote quite a bit and you might have some of his music in your choir's library.

But what about before that? Cyril Rootham? Who's that? George Garrett? He doesn't even have a Wikipedia page!

(Until now.)

I love succession boxes, and Garrett boxes.

Mus.D. gown of George Mursell Garrett
c. 1867. Cream (decorated with floral design) and red silk. A label inside reads 'R. Buttress & Co Ltd' and bears the name 'Robin Orr'. This gown belonged to George Mursell Garrett (Mus.B. 1857, Mus.D. 1867), Organist of St John’s College 1857-97, and University Organist 1873-97. From Garrett the gown passed to Cyril Bradley Rootham (BA 1897, College Organist 1901-38) and from Rootham to Robin Orr (Mus.B. 1932, College Organist 1938-51).
Given by Mrs Doris Orr, April 2008. Garrett box.

And I thought my cassock smelled bad.

Labels: church music

Is it possible to come up with a description of Episcopal or Anglican music? Is it really distinct from the music of other churches? other religious traditions? other music?

Before answering this specific question, perhaps its scope ought to be widened: is it possible to come up with a definition for music itself? So many definitions of music, including that of the Oxford English Dictionary include words like beauty or words to that effect. Southern Harmony calls music a "succession of pleasing sounds".

I don't think that this really holds up in a post-modern milieu. The similarities between Lauridsen and Lordi essentially end under the umbrella term (terme générique parapluie) "music".

And we must be careful defining music as noise, for as John Cage proved in a work that turned the umbrella inside out (paraparapluie), 4'33", a piece of music need not have any sound at all.

The list of Anglican church choirs who perform this Cageian masterwork is surely a short one, but the contemporary Anglican liturgy is no stranger to silence. But how modern is the advent of silence in the liturgy?

Aside from the verse about the Lord being in his holy temple from Habakkuk 2:20, the American 1928 Book of Common Prayer contains no mention of this absence of noise. Rubrics in the 1979 book, however, allow for it in several places, including after each lesson.

Now if rubrics generally reflect changing practices between publication, there must have been an increase in mainstream Episcopal liturgical silence between 1928 and 1979. And if this is an example of the church naturally filling its role as a counter-cultural institution, it could have been responding to an increasing level of noise in our culture.

So if music is not a "succession of pleasing sounds" or even a succession of sounds, then perhaps music, at it's essence, is simply a succession.

In the Anglican tradition an integral succession is the Apostolic one. And the Apostolic succession contains the resonance of that hymn the disciples sang in the upper room.

In this way the Episcopal Church itself is music.

And its liturgy, and that of our lives, the succession of each journey, gathering, procession, reading, singing, preaching, believing, praying, greeting, eating and departing -- and especially the succession of silences within them -- is music.

He Who is infinite light is so tremendous in His evidence that our minds only see Him as darkness. Lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. (The Light shines in darkness and the darkness has not understood it.)

If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must pass beyond everything that can be seen and enter into darkness. Since nothing that can be heard is God, to find Him we must enter into silence.

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation (New Directions, 1972) p. 131.

Labels: church music, liturgy, Thomas Merton

Today at the Eddington Festival of Music within the Liturgy premieres "Pater noster" by Nico Muhly.

Labels: church music, liturgy, Muhly

Let's focus on a single verse from Sunday's Psalm lection, 95:11

So I swore in my wrath, *
      "They shall not enter into my rest."

Psalm pointing is the craft of divvying up the syllables of this ancient Hebrew poetry (that has since translated into English) so that it might be sung to a chant formula.

In the Anglican choral tradition, the chant formula is often what is known as Anglican chant, but plainsong chant formula is sometimes used (especially in Purple seasons).

Yesterday, Lent 3A, was an interesting case study in Episcopal plainsong psalm pointing. Bruce Ford has pointed settings in the Eucharistic Psalter and James Litton has edited the Plainsong Psalter. The pointing for Psalm 95:11 differs in these two books.

The solution for pointing first part of the verse is simple. This part includes the mediant, which is just a single change from the reciting tone. In this case, simply move on "wrath".

So I swore in my wrath *

Both Psalters agree on this.

The second part is a bit more complicated.

The termination consists of a few more changes from the reciting tone. In this case, a minimum of three pitches. Backing up three syllables gives us the simple answer, as is found in the Eucharistic Psalter.

"They shall not enter in-to my rest."

The other approach would be to nuance this slightly (for what reason? We'll get there). The Plainsong Psalter offers:

"They shall not enter in-to my rest."

In this case, the "my" and "rest" end up being on the same pitch, the last part of the termination.

So, the question at the end of this is, why?

Why wouldn't the first approach work all the time? Is there something inherently more musical or rhetorical about moving the termination back by a syllable? Is it more faithful to the word "rest" if the termination rests on the final syllable? But the verse says that "they shall not enter into my rest". So shouldn't we go with the first one?

Do different editors point psalms differently depending on what tone or chant they have in mind? (I think they do). If so, should they? Or should the pointing be such that it can fit any musical setting?

To what degree is Psalm pointing subjective? should it be subjective?

Labels: Anglican chant, church music, Psalms

I've seen some weird church musician position descriptions in my day but the one that I saw today from First United Methodist Church in McKinney, Texas is particularly a doozy.

Now, let me just add here that I understand that churches all have their own way of operating, but some of them jump off of the deep end in terms of institutional language, and this seems to me to be an instance of that.

It's one thing to list "essential duties and responsibilities", but it's quite another to list the "Performance Appraisal measurements" by which said duties will be evaluated.

Take a deep breath:

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned. Performance Appraisal (PA) measurements are noted in brackets [ ]. 1. Plans and selects vocal, instrumental, and recorded music suitable to type of program and to musicians who are to render selections. [PA: Appropriate and complete presentations consistently produced.] 2. Supervises Organist and Associate Director of Music and recruits volunteer staff. Issues assignments and provides leadership in such areas as rehearsing, scoring, arranging and copying music, lyric writing, and vocal coaching. [PA: Tasks completed by incumbent, staff or volunteers in a timely and complete manner.] 3. Auditions and selects vocal and instrumental talent for musical presentations. May also perform as soloist or with group in musical presentations. [PA: Appropriate presentations made at all times required.] 4. Auditions and hires musicians or orchestra personnel for special events. [PA: Appropriate presentations made at all times required.] 5. Positions members within choirs or musical groups to obtain balance among sections. [PA: Appropriate presentations made at all times required.] 6. Directs vocal choirs and bell choirs and musicians at rehearsals and performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance, dynamics, rhythms, tempos, and shadings. [PA: Appropriate presentations made at all times required.] 7. Directs and/or supervises children’s and youth choirs including handbell choirs. Works with youth minister to coordinate youth music program. [PA: Activities conducted in an appropriate and professional manner consistent with church needs.] 8. Transcribes musical compositions and melodic lines to adapt them to or create particular style for choirs. [PA: Appropriate presentations made at all times required.] 9. Schedules performances and arranges for proper publicity. [PA: Performances complete and appropriate with publicity arranged as needed.] 10. Oversees care and appearance of the choir room, choir robes, musical instruments and other accessories. [PA: Choir supplies and other musical supplies maintained in a clean and orderly manner.] 11. Maintains music library in an organized manner, assuring adequate and appropriate musical selections are provided for all musicians and choir members. [PA: Library maintained at all times with sufficient musical supplies.] 12. Serves ex officio on Music Committee and Worship Committee. [PA: Attends and participates at meetings, completing assignments in a timely manner.] 13. Attends church-sponsored training programs. [PA: Satisfactory participation, retention and application of training program subjects.] 14. Develops work area budget and administers all area budget expenditures. [PA: Expenditures are within budget amounts and are appropriate for the work area.] 15. Consults with the Choir Council to foster communication between the choir and the director. [PA: Attendance and participation in meetings.] 16. Oversees the church arts program [PA: Additional specific Arts responsibilities will be defined along with PA measurements. Part of the job responsibilities will be to develop these specifics.] 17. Attends weekly staff meetings. [PA: Attendance and participation in meetings.] 18. Other duties as assigned as needed. [PA: Efficient completion of assigned duty, responsibility or task.] SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES Directly supervises the Director of Children’s Choir and Organist. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems. QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE Master's degree (M. A.) or equivalent; or four to ten years related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

http://www.agohq.org/jobs/job_details.cgi?uid=5466&JobRegion=7, emphasis added

Aside from being one of the longer position descriptions I have ever read, this position description comes off as arrogant, disorganized and redundant. Of course the person hired will be expected to fulfill his essential duties and responsibilities. You have, in fact, already identified this with the word essential.

Putting in the performance assessments (or Per Asses, as I will refer to them here) raises the hood on what I can only assume is a bloated, numbers-based Sport Utility Church (SUC) atmosphere.

This wouldn't be all that surprising. MacTown, as McKinney is known, has doubled in population in the last six years, and the parish probably can't help but salivate at the rich fields of wheat springing up all around it.

Intrigued, I dug deeper via the web. The church's website boasts that "there are three Sunday morning [traditional] worship times to fit your life." And the adult choir is labeled as "outstanding" yet they are not given a page of their own on the site. In fact, given the description above, I found the dearth of music department information to be completely incongruent with their expectations.

The visitor's page is full of success expletives superlatives:

We have something for everyone and that’s what makes us unique!

visitors page

Yes, just like a shopping mall.

When you arrive, there are many opportunities to make you feel at home. If you have small children, we have a wonderful nursery where you can drop off your child with skilled workers who are doing what they love. You can also receive a pager when you drop off your little one to help you feel connected to your child while you worship.

Ah yes, the technicization of intimacy -- a cardinal Christian virtue.

We have exceptional programs for both our children and youth. Most recently, the youth program was nominated as the Best Youth Program in McKinney! We also offer a variety of adult Sunday school classes for all ages and walks of life! Outside of Sunday morning worship, we have a variety of exciting ministries, classes, opportunities for bible study, and fun-filled church events. The fellowship at First United is amazing, and there really is something for everyone! We truly want to welcome you to our church family, and would love to have you visit one of our worship services.

emphasis added

Did you catch all that? Exceptional! Variety! Amazing! Something for everyone! Love to have you visit!

I think we're only scratching the surface of what's going on with this church, but whatever it is, it has made its way to this hiring process. The part of the position description that said that one's ability "to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance, dynamics, rhythms, tempos, and shadings" would be appraised is extremely off-putting. One has to ask, who will do the appraising? The arm-chair music director?

Perhaps the music director's supervisor will ask that he wear a pager so that he can be notified mid-liturgy if the desired effects are not being achieved.

All of this makes me wonder, where is the gospel in all this? I am not sure that First United Methodist, McKinney and I understand church music to be the same thing. Whereas I understand it to be a imperfect yet thrilling and fluid exercise in creativity and grace, I think they see it as a more of a legalistic enterprise.

If the music director does wear a "pager", so to speak, he might then ask the choir members also to wear the device. (This is a nice thought, isn't it? During communion: "Altos: your entrance in m. 43 poor")

Ah yes. Pagers Per Asses.

Author's note: I am not actively looking for another job. I have always studied the American Guild of Organists position listings as a way of keeping abreast of the state of church music in this country. (Thanks Will!)

Labels: church music

(via Christus Vincit)

Labels: church music

An appeal for help from my loyal readers: many churches publish a "music list". Some are in PDF format while others are just on the web, but to my knowledge there is no complete list of these lists.

I think a repository of such lists would be a useful resource for anyone working in, studying or simply curious about Anglican Church music.

If you know of one, or you want to help, would you drop me a line?

Thanks.

Labels: church music

The compline hymn Christe Qui Lux es et Dies in a setting by John Redford might be performed in alternatim, with the organ "singing" stanzas one, three, five and seven.

O Christ, who art the Light and Day,
Thou drivest darksome night away!
We know Thee as the Light of light
Illuminating mortal sight.

All holy Lord, we pray to Thee,
Keep us tonight from danger free;
Grant us, dear Lord, in Thee to rest,
So be our sleep in quiet blest.

Let not the tempter round us creep
With thoughts of evil while we sleep,
Nor with his wiles the flesh allure
And make us in Thy sight impure.

And while the eyes soft slumber take,
Still be the heart to Thee awake,
Be Thy right hand upheld above
Thy servants resting in Thy love.

Yea, our Defender, be Thou nigh,
To bid the powers of darkness fly;
Keep us from sin, and guide for good
Thy servants purchased by Thy blood.

Remember us, dear Lord, we pray,
While in this mortal flesh we stay:
’Tis Thou Who dost the soul defend—
Be present with us to the end.

Blest Thee in One and One in Three,
Almighty God, we pray to Thee,
That Thou wouldst now vouchsafe to bless
Our fast with fruits of righteousness.

1981 Brombaugh
Fairchild Chapel, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
David Sinden, organ

Labels: church music, organ, sounds

If church music and Super/Fat Tuesday were to intersect, Sinden.org would be the one to bring that convergence to you.

From the two political donors who have identified their occupation as "organist", Barack Obama has received $250, while Mitt Romney has only received $225.

Expand the criteria to those who identify as "music directors", and there's a lot more money involved:

• Ricki Byars Beckwith, who lists herself as music director at Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, has given a whopping $2,300 to Barack Obama.
• John Demain of Madison, Wisconsin has given $500 to Obama.
• Karen Pieper, music director at All Saints Lutheran Church, Cottage Grove, Minnesota, has twice donated to the Obama campaign. Her contributions total $650.
• Robert Lansell, of Springfield, Virginia has given $350 to John McCain.
• Charmaine Nygaard, music director and liturgist at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, Greenlawn, New York, has given the unusual sum of $292 to Obama.
• Amy Lepak, music director at St. Anselm Catholic Church, Sudbury, Massachusetts, has given $250 to Obama.
• Adam Waite directs seven different ensembles at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township in New Jersey. He has given $250 to Obama.

There you have it. "Music directors" have given $4,242 to Barack Obama, and $350 to John McCain.

How do you like them pancakes?

Labels: church music, organists

Don't miss this stunning music list from Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal and Patrick Wedd, music director.

It's not uncommon for large parish churches and cathedrals to publish information about the service music in advance of the services. As more of these churches make better use of the internet, these lists are finding their way online.

Most of the time, these are plain text or PDF documents. The Montreal site, however, takes full advantage of its medium and is rife with program notes, pictures, biographical material and links to sound files (in many cases, more than one).

There are formatting issues, and the hymns aren't listed, but it's still worth a visit and worth keeping up with, I think.

In fact, I would say that the educational approach taken here is nothing short of prophetic and shows other music-listing institutions the heights to which they should aspire.

(thanks Aaron!)

Labels: church music

Looking for another Epiphany anthem? Check out Tribus miraculis (Three miracles).

We solemnly observe this day ornamented with three miracles:
today the star led the magi to the manger;
today wine was changed to water at the wedding;
today Christ desired to be baptized by John in the river Jordan so that He might save us,
Alleluia.

Labels: church music

In the 300^th anniversary of his death, one is likely to encounter a performance of the "Blow Ode", written, of course, by John Blow. The piece is officially titled "An Ode, on the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell" with the first line "Mark how the lark and linnet sing".

In 1680, Purcell succeeded his mentor, John Blow, as organist at Westminster Abbey. He held the post for some time until he "caught a chill after returning late from the theatre one night to find that his wife had locked him out" or "succumbed to chocolate poisoning" -- one of the two.

(A much less notable theory is that he contracted tuberculosis.)

In any case, he died in his mid-thirties as a result.

Previously in this series: Cooke, Robert (1768-1814)

Labels: church music, notable deaths

On the front page of the Arts section of today's New York Times is an article about the sudden departure of the director of music and organist at Trinity, Wall Street: "Director of Music at Trinity Steps Down".

Owen Burdick's departure is rather abrupt, leaving the Trinity choir and Rebel Baroque Orchestra leaderless for their upcoming Monteverdi Vespers performance at the end of the month.

In the Times article, Linda Hanick, vice president of communications at Trinity is quoted as saying "We’re going to be looking at how we’ll restructure the music program."

Churches of Trinity's caliber don't often use the word "restructure" in regard to the music program; usually, they just want to keep it going. But Hanick is blunt: she doesn't say the church will be looking at if or when they'll restructure the music program. Those two questions are implicitly answered in her statement. Yes to restructuring, and now! This led the staff of Sinden.org to speculate that some forces in the church are eager to depart from the professional chamber choir model.

So how will the Trinity program be "restructured"? Perhaps the Trinity Choristers, currently under the direction of Rob Ridgell, will have a more prominent role in the music of the church. Or perhaps their will be an increased focus on liturgical music rather than afternoon concerts.

There is also speculation about what this may mean for the organ in the church, which is a Marshall & Ogletree digital prototype dubbed a "virtual organ". Last summer Burdick wrote an "Open Letter to the Organ Community" in defense of the instrument.

Labels: church music, churches, organists, organs

• 21 hymns
• 18 choral accompaniments
• 3 Organs (all played, at one point, in the space of 10 minutes)
• 2 Noels
• 1 Christmas Toccata by Messiaen

Labels: church music

For the last few years about this time (two weeks before Christmas), King's College in Cambridge, England, quietly posts the leaflet for their Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

The 2007 leaflet [PDF - 247 KB] was posted today.

The bidding carol, "Glory, alleluia to the Christ Child!", is by Alan Bullard (b. 1947). You can view the first page of this carol [PDF - 50 KB] from Oxford University Press. An MP3 sample [785 KB] reveals a little more.

The first carol after the Second Lesson is accompanied by a note indicating that it was transcribed by Emma Disley while the choir was on tour.

The College's commissioned carol follows the Third Lesson. It is "Stardust and vaporous light" composed by Australian composer Brett Dean. The carol probably will not be available from Boosey & Hawkes until some time next year.

An Arvo Part commission from 1990 surfaces after the Fifth Lesson.

After the Sixth Lesson is Elgar's "I sing the birth was born tonight". We'll have to check past leaflets, but we think it has been some time since this carol has been part of the service. Perhaps its inclusion has to do with the sesquicentennial of Elgar's birth?

The new material doesn't stop with choral music. The second concluding voluntary is a "Sortie on 'In dulci jubilo'" composed for the service by David Briggs.

Labels: church music, King's College (Cambridge)

Two articles in tomorrow's New York Times are written with the cosmopolitain church nerd in mind.

First, the long overdue critique of churches' use of violent video games to lure young people through its doors: "Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except in a Game at Church"

And for the ecclesiastical traveler, there's a look at some of Paris's churches: "Worshiping Paris". A lot of the sites mentioned will be familiar to organists, though there are no mention of any organ in the article.

Labels: church music

Wow. I hope I can find a way down to Texas to take this in.

Tyler Music Coterie is scheduled to meet at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for a sacred music program and luncheon at First Baptist Church, 301 W. Ferguson St.

Hymn of the month is "When the Treetops Whisper," led by Sammye Woodward with Patti Long at the piano. June Mauer is program leader, Coterie spokes-person Dorothy Lomax said.

Other selections include "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing," with Dorothy Lomax at the piano; "When in Our Music God is Glorified," with Huey Harpe on the organ; "My Faith Has Found a Resting Place," with Myra Brown on oboe and June Shull on piano; "Blessed Assurance," with Sally Clemmons joining the above on flute; "What Wondrous Love Is This," with Patti Long at the piano; "The Lord Is My Shepherd," vocalized by Elsie Ahlgren with Eleanor Garvey on piano; "This Is My Father's World," with Vi Rhodes at piano; and three sacred selections with June Shull on piano and Jeffrey Ford on organ.

Tyler Music Coterie Plans Sacred Music Program

Labels: church music, randomness

I'm always on the lookout for organists with their own websites, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would find the composer of GENERAL SEMINARY has his own blog.

Here's his "about me" blurb:

Initially trained as a classical musician (organ, harpsichord, conducting, composition). After ordination, I taught for a few years at General Seminary in New York City before becoming Rector of a small parish in Brooklyn. Then to California & served parishes in San Diego, Beverly Hills, and ended up with 12 years as Chaplain & Director of Pastoral Care at Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, from which I retired in June 2003. There have been a few of my compositions published & recorded, and I wrote the music for two hymns in The Hymnal 1982: “King of Glory” (GENERAL SEMINARY) and “Baptized in Water” (POINT LOMA). My partner, Nam, is a Pharmacist, and we live happily in a beautiful section of Long Beach, not far from the ocean, with our much-loved four-legged little guy, Josh, a Shih Tzu.

Go read David Charles Walker's On the Beach. Then go sing hymn 382 in the Hymnal 1982

At least, that's what I'll be doing.

Labels: church music, web

Chuch music has been around for many thousands of years, but each church musician has only been around for a handful of decades. So, while the tradition will probably hold itself together, each individual laborer in the musical vinyard has to figure out the best way to harvest his or her own musical grapes.

I like to maintain an interdisciplinary approach to my work, and that's why I am drawn to the ramifications of design concepts -- like How Apple's small things influence their big things -- on church music, and more specifically, rehearsal technique.

Here, I think it's important that we pay particular attention to our small things: hymns. The trebles sing hymns at every service, but they are often relegated to the status of "small thing". Especially if the hymns are rehearsed all in a lump and all in the same way every week, the treble perceives them as second-tier.

This is fine. Musically, there's only so much material there. It's literally a small thing. But if a standard of excellence can be brought to the hymn -- focus, intonation, clarity of text, phrasing, musicality -- this standard will permeate the rest of the rehearsal and infect the larger things: the psalm, Mass setting, and anthem.

Labels: Apple, church music, design

Cooke served as Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey beginning in 1802.

Twelve years later, on August 13, 1814, he drowned himself in the Thames.

I can't be certain from the Psalter blurb, or from Grove's account, but I don't think this was an accidental drowning.

The New St Paul's Cathedral Psalter lists Robert Cooke (1768-1814) as the composer of chants for Psalms 7, 45 and Benedictus 4. These efforts seem quite deliberate, as does his burial in Westminster Abbey.

Labels: church music, notable deaths

Robert Parsons is remebered for two things: his Ave Maria and his death. The Oakham School cleverly combines these two things in a program note:

Many Catholics composed settings of the Ave Maria as it is one of the chief prayers, often said as one dies. Whether Robert Parsons (15277[sic]-1570) remembered to say this when he was drowning in the River Trent at Newark is unknown, but he did leave behind a luminous 5-voice setting which some see as the crown of Tudor polyphony.

from http://www.oakham.rutland.sch.uk/Activities/The_Arts/Music/CD/AveM_mc_par.htm

As a gentlemen at the Chapel Royal, Tallis and Byrd would have known Parsons. They would also probably be able to clear up some of the confusion over exactly when he drowned. Both 1570 and 1572 appear in the literature.

My guess is he was not in the process of drowning for two years.

More: Previously in the Notable Deaths of Notable Church Musicians Series.

Labels: church music, notable deaths

from his biography in The New St Paul's Cathedral Psalter:

In the course of an altercation with the night watchman in Salisbury, he received a blow on the head "which broke his skull, of the consequence whereof he died."

Kind of gives new meaning to the word wisecrack, doesn't it?

Labels: church music, notable deaths