October 25, 2009

Jeremiah, Abbaye de St-Pierre de Moissac, 1085-1115

For thus says the LORD: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel (NRSV, Jeremiah 31:7)."

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Click to go immediately to:

1) The
Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar


We are delighted to welcome the women and girls of the St. Cecilia Choir of Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto, and their Director of Music Melva Graham to sing Choral Eucharist and Evensong. It is always a pleasure to celebrate our sister parishes where music’s contribution to worship is valued.



The postlude for Choral Eucharist this coming Sunday is Marcel Dupré, Sortie. Click to listen to his Way of the Cross performed by Ton van Eck on the 1736 Picard organ of the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht.




Patrick Wedd

Banquet céleste

The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral invite you to a feast of contemporary sacred music, Banquet céleste, reflecting the spiritual in the heart of the city, on Friday, October 23rd, at 8:00 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral, 635 St. Catherine Street West (McGill Metro). Tickets: $20 adult; $15 students/seniors; $40 including reserved seating and wine and cheese reception. Information: (514) 843-6577.

Banquet céleste reveals the ability of sacred music to be both rooted in contemporary life and to give voice to the spiritual concerns of our time. It also celebrates the work of composers who have been inspired by the Cathedral and the great tradition of cathedral music. The concert includes a Toccata by Lynnwood Farnam, cast in the grand French style; a motet by his eulogist, Healey Willan; and John Burge’s melodic and moving Missa Brevis du Banquet céleste, which draws on the English cathedral tradition. It presents work by the Cathedral’s own Patrick Wedd, Director of Music, whose anthem, The Throne of God, was inspired by the text carved around the exterior of the Cathedral. The evening will also showcase work by young composers who are creating sacred music for the 21st century. Robin Davies, Jonathan Wild and Donald Hunt, are renewing, in very different ways, the tradition of cathedral music through work that expresses the conflicts, complexity and sheer energy of our time.


Programme for the Banquet céleste:

A Song to the Lamb Patrick Wedd

Missa ex machina Robin Davies
Gloria in excelsis
Agnus Dei

O King, to whom all things do live
Healey Willan [text] [listen]

Responses and Lord’s Prayer Jonathan Wild

Magnificat
Robin Davies

Intermission

Toccata “O filii et filiae”
Lynnwood Farnam [YouTube]

Magnificat Donald Hunt

Missa Brevis du Banquet céleste
John Burge
Gloria in excelsis
Sanctus
Agnus Dei


The Throne of God Patrick Wedd


Festival des couleurs de l'orgue français


Chapel of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal
2065 rue Sherbrooke Ouest


Sunday, October 25, 3 pm: Yves-G. Préfontaine

Admission Free.



Les Concerts Lachine: Frédéric Champion, organ (winner of the 2008 Canadian International Organ Competition)
Saint-Saëns, Widor, Robin, Florentz
Sunday
, October 25, 3:30 pm
Free admission (Voluntary contribution)
Église des Saints-Anges
1400 boulevard St-Joseph, Lachine, QC


2009 Commemoration: 200th anniversay of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47)


Click to go to a performance of Felix Mendelssohn, Psalm 42, by Eiddwen Harrhy, soprano; La Chapelle royale; Collegium Vocale; Ensemble orchestral de Paris; Philippe Herreweghe conducting.



Click to go to a performance of Domenico Scarlatti, Stabat Mater dolorosa, by the Choir of King's College, Cambridge; Daniel Hyde, organist; Stephen Cleobury conducting.





Click to go to a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 80, for Reformation Sunday, by Soprano: Catherine Bott; Counter-tenor: Daniel Taylor; Tenor: Jeffrey Thomas; Bass: William Sharp; American Bach Soloists (Choir & Orchestra); Jeffrey Thomas conducting.

October 18, 2009

Christ the High Priest, Bodruzal, district Svidnik, from the wooden Church of St. Nicholas, 1650-60

"You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (NRSV Hebrews: 5:6b)."

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Click to go immediately to:

1) The
Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar



The two organ voluntaries for Choral Eucharist this coming Sunday are by Lionel Rogg. Listen to a variety of his compositions performed by Lionel Rogg himself. [NML] & [NML] (info)
Listen to Lionel Rogg perform organ compositions by Max Reger. [NML] (info)




Patrick Wedd

Banquet céleste

The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral invite you to a feast of contemporary sacred music, Banquet céleste, reflecting the spiritual in the heart of the city, on Friday, October 23rd, at 8:00 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral, 635 St. Catherine Street West (McGill Metro). Tickets: $20 adult; $15 students/seniors; $40 including reserved seating and wine and cheese reception. Information: (514) 843-6577.

Banquet céleste reveals the ability of sacred music to be both rooted in contemporary life and to give voice to the spiritual concerns of our time. It also celebrates the work of composers who have been inspired by the Cathedral and the great tradition of cathedral music. The concert includes a Toccata by Lynnwood Farnam, cast in the grand French style; a motet by his eulogist, Healey Willan; and John Burge’s melodic and moving Missa Brevis du Banquet céleste, which draws on the English cathedral tradition. It presents work by the Cathedral’s own Patrick Wedd, Director of Music, whose anthem, The Throne of God, was inspired by the text carved around the exterior of the Cathedral. The evening will also showcase work by young composers who are creating sacred music for the 21st century. Robin Davies, Jonathan Wild and Donald Hunt, are renewing, in very different ways, the tradition of cathedral music through work that expresses the conflicts, complexity and sheer energy of our time.

Programme for the Banquet céleste:

A Song to the Lamb Patrick Wedd

Missa ex machina Robin Davies
Gloria in excelsis
Agnus Dei

O King, to whom all things do live
Healey Willan [text] [listen]

Responses and Lord’s Prayer Jonathan Wild

Magnificat
Robin Davies

Intermission

Toccata “O filii et filiae”
Lynnwood Farnam [YouTube]

Magnificat Donald Hunt

Missa Brevis du Banquet céleste
John Burge
Gloria in excelsis
Sanctus
Agnus Dei


The Throne of God Patrick Wedd


Festival des couleurs de l'orgue français


Chapel of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal
2065 rue Sherbrooke Ouest


Sunday, October 18, 3 pm: Federico Andreoni
Sunday, October 25, 3 pm: Yves-G. Préfontaine

Admission Free.


2009 Commemoration: 200th anniversay of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47)



Click to go to Felix Mendelssohn, Six Organ Sonatas, op. 65, performed by Heinrich Gurtner on the 1930 Kuhn organ (new Kuhn organ:1999) of the Berner Münster, Switzerland.



18th c. organ case, Berner Münster





Click to go to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Stabat Mater dolorosa performed by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge; Timothy Brown conducting.







Click to go to a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 170, by Mezzo-soprano: Bernarda Fink; Organ: Wolfgang Zerer; Vocalconsort Berlin / Freiburger Barockorchester; Petra Müllejans conducting.

October 11, 2009

Adriaen Janszohn van Ostade, Prayer before the Meal, British Museum, London, 1653

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone (NRSV, 1 Timothy 2:1).

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Thanksgiving Sunday

Click to go immediately to:

1) The
Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar

Patrick Wedd


Banquet céleste

The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral invite you to a feast of contemporary sacred music, Banquet céleste, reflecting the spiritual in the heart of the city, on Friday, October 23rd, at 8:00 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral, 635 St. Catherine Street West (McGill Metro). Tickets: $20 adult; $15 students/seniors; $40 including reserved seating and wine and cheese reception. Information: (514) 843-6577.

Banquet céleste reveals the ability of sacred music to be both rooted in contemporary life and to give voice to the spiritual concerns of our time. It also celebrates the work of composers who have been inspired by the Cathedral and the great tradition of cathedral music. The concert includes a Toccata by Lynnwood Farnam, cast in the grand French style; a motet by his eulogist, Healey Willan; and John Burge’s melodic and moving Missa Brevis du Banquet céleste, which draws on the English cathedral tradition. It presents work by the Cathedral’s own Patrick Wedd, Director of Music, whose anthem, The Throne of God, was inspired by the text carved around the exterior of the Cathedral. The evening will also showcase work by young composers who are creating sacred music for the 21st century. Robin Davies, Jonathan Wild and Donald Hunt, are renewing, in very different ways, the tradition of cathedral music through work that expresses the conflicts, complexity and sheer energy of our time.

Programme for the Banquet céleste:

A Song to the Lamb Patrick Wedd

Missa ex machina Robin Davies
Gloria in excelsis
Agnus Dei

O King, to whom all things do live
Healey Willan [text] [listen]

Responses and Lord’s Prayer Jonathan Wild

Magnificat
Robin Davies

Intermission

Toccata “O filii et filiae”
Lynnwood Farnam [YouTube]

Magnificat Donald Hunt

Missa Brevis du Banquet céleste
John Burge
Gloria in excelsis
Sanctus
Agnus Dei


The Throne of God Patrick Wedd




The prelude for Choral Eucharist this coming Sunday is by the Belgian composer, Joseph Jongen. Those with access to the Naxos Music Library and the Classical Music Library (info) can listen online to Joseph Jongen, Symphonie Concertante, op. 81, performed by Patrick Wedd, organist, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Mario Bernardi conducting. [CML] [NML]

Joseph Jongen


Festival des couleurs de l'orgue français


Chapel of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal
2065 rue Sherbrooke Ouest


Sunday, October 11, 3 pm: William Porter
Sunday, October 18, 3 pm: Federico Andreoni

Sunday, October 25, 3 pm: Yves-G. Préfontaine

Admission Free.



2009 Commemoration: 200th Anniversary of the Death of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)


Click to go to a performance of Joseph Haydn: Ave Regina Caelorum, Hob. XXIIIb:3, by Susan Gritton, soprano; Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox conducting.






Click to go to José de Nebra, Stabat Mater dolorosa; Greta de Reyghere and Katelijne van Laethem, sopranos; Petra Noskaiová, alto; Philip Defranck, tenor; Ensemble Capilla Principe de Viana; Ángel Recasens conducting.




Click to go to a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 169, by Mezzo-soprano: Bernarda Fink; Organ: Wolfgang Zerer; Vocalconsort Berlin / Freiburger Barockorchester; Petra Müllejans conducting.

October 4, 2009

Nicholas Maes, Christ blessing the children, National Gallery, London, 1652-53

"Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it (NRSV, Mark 10:15)."

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Click to go immediately to:

1) The
Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong

3) The Concert Calendar



Two movements from Percy Whitlock, Sketches for Organ on Verses From the Psalms, are the organ voluntaries at evensong this coming Sunday. Click to read about Percy Whitlock and listen to a wide variety of his organ music performed by Jennifer Bate and John Scott.




Festival des couleurs de l'orgue français

Chapel of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal
2065 rue Sherbrooke Ouest

Sunday, October 4, 3 pm: Frédéric Munoz
Sunday, October 11, 3 pm:
William Porter
Sunday, October 18, 3 pm: Federico Andreoni
Sunday, October 25, 3 pm: Yves-G. Préfontaine
Admission Free.


2009 Commemoration: The 250 aniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Last week's Choir Notes featured Henry Purcell's Te Deum and Jubilate. This week we turn to George Frideric Handel. Click to read about and listen to George Frideric Handel: Te Deum "Utrecht" and Jubilate, HWV 278. Click as well to go to George Frideric Handel: Te Deum in D major 'Dettingen', HWV283.




Click to go to Giovanni Felice Sances, Stabat Mater dolorosa; Maria Christina Kiehr, soprano; Ensemble Fenice, Jean Tubery conducting.





Click to go a performance of Cantata 26 by Soprano: Ursula Buckel; Contralto: Hertha Töpper; Tenor: Ernst Haefliger; Bass: Theo Adam; Münchener Bach-Chor / Münchener Bach-Orchester; Karl Richter conducting. Recorded at Herkules-Saal, München.