Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes

February 12, 2012

2012-02-03T14:23:00.001-05:00

Rembrandt van Rijn, Jesus heals a leper, Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam, 1657-60

Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean [NRSV, Mark 1:41]!"

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

February 12, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

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Patrick Wedd, director of music, will give a recital on the Wilhelm organ of Christ Church Cathedral this coming Saturday, February 11, at 4:30 pm. He will perform works by Stanford, Fricker, Statham, Grainger, and Whitlock. Admission free / voluntary contribution.

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Dr Joseph Parry in 1875

The organ voluntaries for Choral Eucharist are both variations on the hymn tune Aberystwyth.

Click to read about the town of Aberystwyth in North Wales.

Click to read about Joseph Parry and listen to his hymn tune Aberystwyth.

Charles Wesley, Jesus Lover of My Soul, sung to Parry’s tune Aberysthwyth, with text. [YouTube]

Healey Willan, Prelude on Aberystwyth, performed by Patrick Wedd at the 1915 Casavant Frères organ of the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Montreal. [BNQ; BM] (info)

David Evan Thomas, Prelude on the Welsh Hymn: Aberystwyth, performed by Marilyn Biery on the 1927 E.M. Skinner; 1963 Aeolian-Skinner organ of the Cathedral of St. Paul, Saint Paul, MN – Click here, then click on “0818 Part 1,” then hold button and slide to 6:44 (6 minutes and 44 seconds).

Don Hannah, Variations on Aberystwyth, premiere, performed by Paul Hesselink at the 2004 Beckerath organ in the Doc Rando Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV. Click here, then click on “0918 Hour 2,” then hold button and slide to 28:44 (28 minutes and 44 seconds).

Edwin T. Childs, Hymn Fantasy: Jesus, lover of my soul, performed by Brenda Heck Portman at the 1992 Schantz organ of College Church, Wheaton, IL. (Segues into O God, our help in ages past.) Click here, then click on “0918 hour 2," then hold button and slide to 20:11 (20 minutes and 11 seconds).

Ralph Vaughan Williams, Household Music: No. 3 Aberystwyth: Variations, performed by the Northern Sinfonia (Peter Francomb, horn), Richard Hickox conducting [BNQ; BM] (info)

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The organ voluntaries for evensong last Sunday were both composedby Johann Sebastian Bach for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Presentation of the Lord in the Temple) and were part of Bach’sOrgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book).

Clickto read about the Orgelbüchlein.

Click to listen to the entire Orgelbüchlein by James Kibbie at the 1717 Trost organ, St. Walpurgis, Großengottern, Germany

Performance by Ullrich Böhmeat the Bach Organ of theThomaskirche in Leipzig. [musicMe]

Performance by Bernard Lagacéat the1961 Beckerathorgan of the Immaculée-Conception Church in Montreal [BNQ;BM] (info)

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McGill free Friday organ recitals at 12:30 pm on the Wolff organ of Redpath Hall:

February 10: Kevin Komisaruk programme
February 17: Jean-Willy Kunz
March 2: Matthew Provost
March 9: William Porter
March 16: John Grew
March 23: Hans-Ola Ericsson

February 5, 2012

2012-02-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hans Memling, Presentation in the Temple, Museo del Prado, Madrid, c. 1470

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God [NRSV, Luke 2:28].

The Presentation of the Lord / Candlemas

February 5, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

Marcel Dupré

Traditionally the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord brings to a close the Christmas season.

Marcel Dupré composedthe Six Antiennes pour le temps de Noël, Op. 48 (Six Antiphons for theChristmas Season) in 1952.

Ecce Dominus veniet,et omnes sancti ejus cum eo: et erit in die illa lux magna, alleluia / Lo the Lord shall come, and all his saintswith him: and there shall be on that day great light, alleluia. (1^stSunday Advent)

Omnipotens sermo tuus,domine, a regalibus sedibus veniet, Alleluia. / Thy all-powerful word, Lord,shall come from the abodes of kings, alleluia. (4^th Sunday Advent)

Tecum principium, indie virtutis tuae in splendoribus sanctorum, ex utero ante luciferum genuitte. / Thine is the princedom in the day of thy virtue, amid the splendours ofthe saints, from the womb before dawn I engendered thee. (Christmas Day)

Germinavit radixJesse: orta est stella ex Jacob: Virgo peperit Salvatorem: te laudamus, Deus noster. / The root of Jessehas had seed: the star of Jacob has risen: the virgin has brought forth the Saviour:we praise thee, our God. (Circumcision)

Stella ista sicutflamma coruscate, et Regem Regum Deum demonstrat: Magi eam viderunt et magnoRegi munera obtulerunt. / That star shines as a flame, and shows God, the Kingof Kings: wise men saw it and offered gifts to the great king. (Epiphany)

Lumen ad revelationemgentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. / A light to lighten the gentiles, andthe glory of thy people Israel. (Presentation)

Click to hear Marcel Dupré, 6 Antiennespour le Temps de Noél, Opus 48, performed by Ben van Oosten at the 1915 Casavant Frères organ of the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Montréal. Michael Barone of Pipedreams gives a briefcommentary after the first antiphon.

Performance by Jeremy Filsell at the Harrison & Harrison organ of Ely cathedral[BNQ;BM] (info)

Performance by George Baker at the Aeolian-Skinner/Schudi/J-FDupont organ (2000) of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas [BNQ;BM] (info)

Marcel Dupré improviseson Lumen Ad Revelationem. Recorded in concert February 2,1964 at the organ of Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse. [YouTube]

Marcel Dupré, Lumen adrevelationem, performed by Rick Berg at the organ of Notre Dame Cathedral, Dax,France [YouTube]

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McGill free Friday organ recitals at 12:30 pm on the Wolff organ of Redpath Hall:

February 3: Jonathan Oldengarm (programme )
February 10: Kevin Komisaruk
February 17: Jean-Willy Kunz
March 2: Matthew Provost
March 9: William Porter
March 16: John Grew
March 23: Hans-Ola Ericsson

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Bach Cantatas for The Presentation of the Lord:

Laurentius, presbiter de Antwerpia, Presentation in the Temple, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hagure, c. 1350-60

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Ich habe genug / I have enough, Cantata 82, with thirteen different performances.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde / Joyful time in the new covenant, Cantata 83, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Komm, du süße Todesstunde / Come, sweet hour of death, Cantata 161, with eight different performances.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Bekennen will ich seinen Namen / I want to acknowledge his name, Cantata 200, with eight different performances.

January 29, 2012

2012-01-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him [NRSV, Mark 1:25]!"

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

January 29, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

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Luca della Robbia, Cantoria (detail), Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence, 1431-38

The Introit for Choral Eucharist for this coming Sunday is Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni (1657-1743), Cantate Domino.

Cantate Domino canticum novum; laus eius in ecclesia sanctorum. Laetetur Israel in eo qui fecit eum; et filii Sion exultent in rege suo.

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in his maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their king. (Psalm 149:1,2)

Guiseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Cantate Domino, performed by the Camerata a-cappella Augsburg [YouTube]

Claudio Monteverdi, Cantate Domino, performed by the Westminster Cathedral Choir, Stephen Cleobury conducting. [musicMe]

Arvo Pärt , Cantate Domino, performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tonu Kaljuste conducting. [musicMe]

Giacomo Moro da Viadana, Cantate Domino, performed by Nova Ars Cantandi, Giovanni Acciai conducting [musicMe]

László Halmos, Cantate Domino, performed by Die Regensburger Domspatzen [musicMe]

Giovanni Croce, Cantate Domino, performed by Musica Sacra, Chris Paraskevopoulos conducting [YouTube]

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Percy Whitlock

For the second Sunday the organ voluntaries for evensong are both by Percy Whitlock, again from his Plymouth suite.

The complete Plymouth Suite performed by Donald Hunt, retired director of music of Worchester Cathedral, at the Hill organ of Worchester Cathedral, is available for free online listening by the Naxos Music Library. Check with your librarian. Cardholders of La Bibliothèque de Montréal, ready to open their account online, click here: [BM]; cardholders of La Bibliothèque nationale du Québec click here: [BNQ].

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Bach Cantatas for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Giorgio de Chirico, Christ and the Storm (detail), Vatican Museum, 1914

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit / If God were not with us at this time,
Cantata 14, with performances by Gardiner, Koopman, Leonhardt and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen? / Jesus sleeps, what should be my hope?, Cantata 81, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt and Leusink.

January 22, 2012

2012-01-17T22:26:00.001-05:00

Henri Lindegaard, Jonah: The finger raises

Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown [NRSV, 1 Samuel 3:9]!"

Third Sunday after Epiphany

January 22, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

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Percy Whitlock

The organ voluntaries for evensong are both by Percy Whitlock from his Plymouth suite.

The complete Plymouth Suite performed by Donald Hunt, retired director of music of Worchester Cathedral, at the Hill organ of Worchester Cathedral is available for free online listening by the Naxos Music Library. Check with your librarian. Cardholders of La Bibliothèque de Montréal, ready to open their account online, click here: [BM]; cardholders of La Bibliothèque nationale du Québec click here: [BNQ].

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Duccio di Buoninsegna, Crucifixion, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena, 1308-11

Click to go to Girolamo Abos, Stabat Mater dolorosa
and a variety of other Stabat Masters.

Performance by Isabelle Poulenard (Soprano),Isabelle Desrochers (Soprano), Martin Oro (Countertenor), Stradivaria Ensemble, Daniel Cuiller conducting.

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Bach Cantatas for the Third Sunday after Epiphany

Rembrandt van Rijn, Jesus heals a leper, Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam, 1657-60

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Alles nur nach Gottes Willen / Everything according to God's will, Cantata 72, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Herr, wie du willt, so schick's mit mir / Lord, as you will, deal with me, Cantata 73, with performances by Gardiner, Leonhardt and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit / What my God wants, may it always happen, Cantata 111, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe / I stand with one foot in the grave, Cantata 156, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Leusink and Thomas.

January 15, 2012

2012-01-10T21:31:00.001-05:00

John Singleton Copley, Samuel and Eli, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, 1780

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place [NRSV, 1 Samuel 3:9].

The 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

January 15, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

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All four organ voluntaries this coming Sunday will be the work ofFelix Mendelssohn.

The complete organ works of Felix Mendelssohn performed by Ulrik Spang-Hanssen on the Stumm-organ of the Pauluskirche in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany, are available for free online listening by the Naxos Music Library. Check with your librarian. Cardholders of La Bibliothèque de Montréal, ready to open their account online, click here: [BM]; cardholders of La Bibliothèque nationale du Québec click here: [BNQ].

Click here for access online to selected organ works of Felix Mendellsohn performed by Peter Hurford on the 1978 Rieger organ of Ratzeburg Cathedral.

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Joos van Wassenhove, The Institution of the Eucharist, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, 1473-75

Ave verum corpus

Ave verum corpus by Robert Lucas de Pearsall, unfortunately not available for online listening, is the Communion anthem for Choral Eucharist this coming Sunday. It is a short Eucharistic hymn that has been set to music by various composers. It dates from the 14th century and has been attributed to Popes Innocent III, Innocent IV and Innocent VI.

During the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the host during the consecration. It was also used frequently during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The hymn's title means "Hail, true body", and is based on a poem deriving from a 14th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Reichenau, Lake Constance.

The poem is a meditation on the belief in Jesus's Real Presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and ties it to ideas on the redemptive meaning of suffering in the life of all believers [adapted from Wikipedia].

Ave verum corpus, natum

de Maria Virgine, [or: ex Maria Virgine]

Hail, true Body, born

of the Virgin Mary,

vere passum, immolatum

in cruce pro homine,

truly suffered, sacrificed

on the cross for humankind,

cuius latus perforatum

fluxit aqua et sanguine: [or: unda fluxit sanguine]

whose pierced side

flowed with water and blood:

esto nobis praegustatum

in mortis examine. [or: mortis in examine]

May it be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet]

in the trial of death.

O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie, O Iesu, fili Mariae.

Miserere mei. Amen.

Oh dear Jesus, Oh merciful Jesus, Oh Jesus, son of Mary,

have mercy on me. Amen.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's setting of Ave verum corpus (K. 618) is perhaps the best known of all. Of the many other settings of the poem, the best known are probably those by William Byrd and Sir Edward Elgar. There is a version by Camille Saint-Saëns. The text is even used in an opera, Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites.

Mozart's version, with instruments only, was adapted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as one of the sections of his Mozartiana, a tribute to Mozart.

The Vienna Boys' Choir (Wiener Sangerknaben) made some notable recordings of Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus in the 20th century.

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Gregorian chant

Monks of the Abbey of St. Maurice and St. Maur, Clervaux [listen]

Giovanni Vianini [YouTube]

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Orlande de Lassus, Ave verum corpus, Canticum [YouTube]

Lodovico da Viadana, Ave corpus verum, Cantabile Consort [YouTube]

William Byrd, Ave verum corpus, The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips conducting [YouTube]

William Byrd, Ave verum corpus, Choir of King's College, Sir David Willcocks conducting [listen]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ave Verum corpus, Vienna Boys' Choir [YouTube]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ave Verum corpus, Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Leonard Bernstein conducting [YouTube]

Charles Gounod, Ave verum corpus, performed by the Peiyang Chorus & Mao Yong [YouTube]

Francis Poulenc, Ave verum corpus, Sofia Vocal Ensemble [YouTube]

Gabriel Fauré, Ave verum corpus, Op. 65, No. 1, Cambridge Singers, John Rutter conducting; John Scott, organ [listen]

Sir Edward Elgar, Ave verum corpus, Op. 2, No. 1, Choir of Hereford Cathedral [YouTube]

Karl Jenkins, Ave verum corpus, sung by Chantelle Constable [YouTube]

Colin Mawby, Ave verum corpus, Brigham Young University [YouTube]

Colin Mawby, Ave verum corpus, Tewkesbury Abbey Choir, Nicholas, Benjamin, conducting [NML] [BM] (info)

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Franz Liszt composed a version for organ and choir in 1871 [Searle 44]. This had been preceded by a fantasy for piano on Mozart's Ave verum corpus, preceded by a version of Allegri's celebrated 'Miserere', under the title 'A la Chapelle Sixtine' [Searle 461 - two versions]. Versions of this fantasy for orchestra [Searle 360] and piano four-hands [Searle 633] follow closely the 2nd version for piano. The is also a version for organ [Searle 658] with the title 'Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine.'

Franz Liszt, A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere d'Allegri et Ave verum Corpus de Mozart) [1st version], S461, Leslie Howard, piano [CML] (info)

Franz Liszt, A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere d'Allegri et Ave verum Corpus de Mozart) [2nd version], S461, Leslie Howard, piano [CML] (info)

Franz Liszt, A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere d'Allegri et Ave verum Corpus de Mozart), S461, Valerie Tryon, piano [BNQ] [BM] (info)

Franz Liszt, Ave verum corpus, S44, for chorus and organ [ensemble not identified] [YouTube]

Franz Liszt, Ave verum corpus, S44, Stuttgart Sudfunkchor, Rubert Huber conducting [BNQ] [BM](info)

Franz Liszt, A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere d'Allegri et Ave verum corpus de Mozart), S360, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Hartmut Haenchen conducting. [BNQ] [BM](info)

Franz Liszt, A la Chapelle Sixtine (Miserere d'Allegri et Ave verum corpus de Mozart), S363, Elisabetta Dessì and Francesco Giammarco, S363 [BNQ] (info)

Franz Liszt, Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine, S658, performed by Olivier Vernet on 1888/2001 Rinckenbach/Aubertin organ in the church of Saint-Thiébaut in Thann, Haut-Rhin. [YouTube: Part I - Part II]

Franz Liszt, Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine, S658, performed by Christoper Herrick, on the 1878/2000 Lewis/Harrison organ of Ripon Cathedral [CML] (info)

Franz Liszt, Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine, S658, performed by Martin Hasselbock on the Ladegast organ of St. James Cathedral in Köthen [BNQ] [BM](info)

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Orchestral Suite No. 4 Op. 61 (Mozartiana) performed by The Chicago Symphony, Claudio Abbado conducting. [listen to entire work]

Mozartiana is in four movements and lasts approximately 20 minutes.

1) Gigue. Allegro (G major)After the Little Gigue for piano, K. 574. [listen]

2) Menuet. Moderato (D major)After the Minuet for piano, K. 355. [listen]

3) Preghiera. Andante ma non tanto (B flat major) After Franz Liszt's piano transcription of the Ave verum corpus, K. 618. (In 1862 Liszt wrote a piano transcription combining Gregorio Allegri's Miserere and Mozart's Ave verum corpus, published as "À la Chapelle Sixtine" (S.461). Tchaikovsky orchestrated only the part of this work that had been based on Mozart.) [listen]

4) Thème et variations. Allegro giusto (G major)After the piano Variations on a Theme by Gluck, K. 455. (The theme was the aria "Unser dummer Pöbel meint", from Gluck's opera "La Rencontre imprévue, or Les Pèlerins de la Mecque").
[listen]

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A recent version of this piece was recorded by the girl choristers that make up the group "All Angels"; the words set to the music from the ITV series Brideshead Revisited by Geoffrey Burgon. [YouTube]

[Information from Wikipedia.]

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Bach Cantatas for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Wedding at Cana, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena, 1308-11

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid / Ah God, how many a heartache, Cantata 3, with performances by Gardiner and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach,Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen / My sighs, my tears, Cantata 13, with performances by Gardiner, Leonhardt, Leusink and Richter.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange? / My God, how long, ah how long? , Cantata 155, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt and Leusink.

January 8, 2012

2012-01-02T23:35:00.001-05:00

Rogier van der Weyden, The Advent of Christ, Bladelin Triptych, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 1445-50

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes

January 8, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and the Festival of Lessons and Carols

3) The Concert Calendar

Both organ voluntaries for this Sunday's Festival of Lessons and Carols for Epiphany are based on Philipp Nicolai,Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern / How brightly shines the Morning Star.

Click to read about Philipp Nicolai and his famous chorale, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern / How brightly shines the Morning Star.

Click for the German text and English translation.

Choral Versions

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 1, based on Nicholai's chorale: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern / How brightly shines the morning star, performances by John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman, Pieter Jan Leusink, Karl Richter and Helmut Rilling.

Christoph Graupner, Cantata for Whitsunday - Choral: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern: performed by Les Idées heureuses, Geneviève Soly conducting. Click here, then click on the selection at the top of the page.

Johann Kuhnau, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, cantata performed by the King's Consort, Robert King directing. [YouTube: Part 1 - Part 2] Click to go to the text: page 9.

Michael Praetorius, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, performed by the Boston Camerata, Joel Cohen conducting. [YouTube]

Michael Praetorius, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, performed by the King’s Singers. [musicMe]

Organ versions

Dietrich Buxtehude Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223, performed by Simon Stella. [YouTube]

Dietrich Buxtehude, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223, Piet Kee on the Schnitger organ of St. Laurenskerk (Alkmaar) [YouTube]

Johann Sebastian Bach, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 739, performed by James Kibbie on the 1675 Behrendt Huß/Arp Schnitger organ, Ss. Cosmae et Damian, Stade, Germany. [listen]

Johann Pachelbel, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, performed by Joseph Sluys on the Stertzing organ of the St. Petri Church in Erfurt-Büßleben. [Grooveshark] [BNQ]

[BM] (info)

Andreas Armsdorf, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, by Alexander Koschel on the Felsberg Organ of the Parish Church of San Carlo in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) [YouTube]

Max Reger, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, Op. 67, performed by Marcel Gaul in Alsfeld (Walpurgiskirche) [YouTube]

Marcel Dupré, 79 Chorales Op. 28, Wie Schön Leuchtet Der Morgenstern, performed by Mary Preston on the Fisk organ of the First Prebyterian Church, Evansville, Indiana [BNQ] [BM] (info)

To listen to James Woodman, Little Partita for Epiphany (Variations on How brightly shines the morning star), performed by Peter Sykes on the 1989 Roche organ of the Old North Church, Nantucket Island, MA, click here, then click on "listen to the program," then hold button and slide to 25:36 (25 minutes and 36 seconds).

Pipedreams

For numerous additional interpretations of Wie Schön Leuchtet Der Morgenstern, go to two Epiphany programs on Pipedreams: 2006 - 2007.

January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

Sassetta, Ther Journey of the Magi, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, c. 1435

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem [NRSV, Matthew 2:1].

The Epiphany of the Lord

January 1, 2012

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist .

3) The Concert Calendar

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An engraving of the Thomaskirche, Bach's main church in Leipzig

Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort have attempted to create an Epiphany Mass as Bach might have experienced it. Read about it. Listen to it.

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California Boys' Choir

One of Benjamin Britten's very popular accomplishments is his Ceremony of Carols.

Click to read about the Ceremony of Carols.

Click to hear the Ceremony of Carols performed by the California Boys’ Choir.

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Fra Filippo Lippi and Workshop, The Nativity, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., c. 1445

Online performances of Johann Sebastian Bach, Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, with versions conducted by Georg Christoph Biller / Riccardo Chailly / Diego Fasolis / John Eliot Gardiner / Phillip Ledger / Karl Münchinger)

Cantata I for the 1st Day of Christmas

Cantata II for the 2nd Day of Christmas

Cantata III for the 3rd Day of Christmas

Cantata IV for New Year's Day

Cantata V for the Sunday after New Year

Cantata VI for the Feast of Epiphany

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Vittore Carpaccio, Flight into Egypt, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1500

Click to go to an online performance of Hector Berlioz, L'Enfance du Christ, about the flight into Egypt, with Nicolai Gedda, Victoria de los Angeles, Ernest Blan, Roger Soyer, the René Duclos Choir, l'Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, André Cluytens conducting.

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Bach Cantatas for Epiphany:

Salvador Dali, Seek the Lord while He may be found, Biblia Sacra, 1969

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen / They will all come from Sheba, Cantata 65, with performances by Leusink, McCreesh and Richter.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen / Dearest Immanuel, leader of the righteous , Cantata 123, with performances by Harnoncourt, Leusink and Suzuki.

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Click here to go to Heinrich Schütz, History of the Joyful and Merciful Birth of the Son of God and Mary, Jesus Christ, our only Mediator, Redeemer and Saviour (Die Weihnachtshistorien / The Christmas Story), performed by Franz-Josef Selig, Michael Volle, Peter Kooy, Thomas Herberich, Andrea Egeler, et al; Kammerchor Stuttgart, Musica Fiata Köln, Stuttgart Baroque Orchestra; Frieder Bernius conducting.

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Click on artist(s) for a wide selection of Christmas Carols:

American Boychoir (1996);

Bach Choir;

Bryn Terfel;

Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, etc. by King's College, Cambridge;

Clare College Singers and Orchestra, Cambridge (John Rutter) (1988);

Clare College Singers and Orchestra, Cambridge (John Rutter (2009)

Eileen Farrell;

Harrow Philharmonic Choir; Huddersfield Choral Society;

King's College, Cambridge (2003);

King's College, Cambridge (2004);

King's College, Cambridge (2007);

Taverner Consort (Andrew Parrott) (1999);

Taverner Consort (Andrew Parrott) (2007);

Trinity College, Cambridge (Richard Marlow);

Windsor Choir of St. George's Chapel.

December 24-25, 2011

2011-12-17T10:24:00.002-05:00

Martin Schongauer, Nativity, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, c.1475

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes

Christmas

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for the Festival of Lessons and Carols and for Choral Eucharist

3) The Concert Calendar

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The organ prelude for midnight Mass is Louis-Claude Daquin, Noël en dialogue. The postlude for Christmas Day Eucharist at 10:00 am is Noël suisse. Click to hear all 12 of Daquin's Noëls performed by PierreBardon play on the 18^th-century Isnard organ ofSaint-Maximin-en-Provence.

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Once in Royal David's City sung by Edward Burrowesand the St. Paul's Cathedral Choir, John Scottconducting. (The painting is by Piero della Francesca, 1470, and hangs in the National Gallery, London.)

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California Boys' Choir

One of Benjamin Britten's very popular accomplishments is his Ceremony of Carols.

Click to read about the Ceremony of Carols.

Click to hear the Ceremony of Carols performed by the California Boys’ Choir.

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Fra Filippo Lippi and Workshop, The Nativity, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., c. 1445

Online performances of Johann Sebastian Bach, Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, with versions conducted by Georg Christoph Biller / Riccardo Chailly / Diego Fasolis / John Eliot Gardiner / Phillip Ledger / Karl Münchinger)

Cantata I for the 1st Day of Christmas

Cantata II for the 2nd Day of Christmas

Cantata III for the 3rd Day of Christmas

Cantata IV for New Year's Day

Cantata V for the Sunday after New Year

Cantata VI for the Feast of Epiphany

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Vittore Carpaccio, Flight into Egypt, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1500

Click to go to an online performance of Hector Berlioz, L'Enfance du Christ, about the flight into Egypt, with Nicolai Gedda, Victoria de los Angeles, Ernest Blan, Roger Soyer, the René Duclos Choir, l'Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, André Cluytens conducting.

Click to go to a second performance with Yves Saelens, Miyaghi Osada, Olivier Lallouette,André Cognet, Gregory Reinhart, il Coro della Radio Televisione Svizzera Italiana (Diego Fasolis, chorus master); l'Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Serge Baudo conducting.

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Bach Cantatas for Christmas Day

Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Nativity, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena, 1475

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Christen, ätzet diesen Tag / Christians, engrave this day, Cantata 63, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Herreweghe, Koopman, Leonhardt, Leusink, Onofri,Pickett and Richter.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ / Praised be you, Jesus Christ, Cantata 91, with performances by Gardiner, Leonhardt and Leusink.

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Unser Mund sei voll Lachens / May our mouth be filled with laughter, Cantata 110, with performances by Gardiner, Harnoncourt and Leusink.

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Click on artist(s) for a wide selection of Christmas Carols:

American Boychoir (1996);

Bach Choir;

December 18, 2011

2011-12-08T15:20:00.001-05:00

Fra Angelico, The Annunciation, Convento di San Marco, Florence, 1430s

Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word [NRSV, Luke 1:38a].

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 18, 2011

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

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Edward Burne-Jones / William Morris, Nativity, Trinity Church, Saugerties, New York

Patrick Wedd will perform, Olivier Messiaen, La Nativité du Seigneur, on the Wilhelm organ ofChrist Church Cathedral, on Saturday, December 17, at 5:00 pm. Free admission / voluntary contribution.

Listen to La Nativité du Seigneur online performed by Messiaen himself, Jennifer Bate, Olivier Latry, and Simon Preston (click on name).

Click to listen to Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur from Pipedreams, Minnesota PBS, each movement performed by a different organist.

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Eric Gill: O

The O Antiphons are very much a part of Advent prayer. They had their origin as antiphons for the Magnificat in Roman Catholic vespers during the week before Christmas.

Click to read about he O Antiphons and listen to a number of different versions.

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The organ voluntaries for evensong this coming Sunday are both chorale preludes, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland.

Zanobi Strozzi (attrib.), Nativity, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1412-68

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (orig.: Nu kom der Heyden heyland, Engl.: Now come, Saviour of the gentiles) is a Lutheran chorale of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther, based on Veni, redemptor gentium by Saint Ambrose. The chorale was used as the prominent hymn for the first Sunday of Advent for centuries. It was used widely in organ settings by Protestant baroque composers. It is now best known as the base for Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 (1724) and the opening movement of his cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 (1714).

This chorale continues in modern usage, both in liturgically oriented Christian hymnals (for example, the Lutheran Book of Worship) and as the cantus firmus for organ compositions. (Wikipedia)

Veni, Redemptor gentium [Latin text] [English trans. by John Mason Neale]

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland [German text by Martin Luther]; [English trans. by William Morton Reynolds]

Johann Sebastian Bach, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Cantata 61 [listen]

Johann Sebastian Bach, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Cantata 62 [listen]

Johann Sebastian Bach, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Chorale prelude, BWV 659 [Kibbie: listen]

Dietrich Buxtehude, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Chorale prelude, BuxWV 211, [Vincenzo Ninci]: YouTube]

Johann Pachelbel, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Chorale prelude [Monika Koepke: YouTube]

Nicolaus Bruhns, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Chorale prelude [Jean-Luc Ho: YouTube]

Karl Stiller, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Chorale prelude [YouTube]

Michael Praetorius, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, chorale [La Capella Ducale: YouTube]

Georg Philipp Tellemann, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, chorale [Erie Renaissance Singers: YouTube]

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Bach Cantata for the 4th Sunday of Advent

Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn! / Prepare the ways, prepare the path!, Cantata 132, with performances by Leonhardt, Leusink, and Richter.

MaÎtre François, John the Baptist Preaching, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, c.1475-80

December 11, 2011

2011-12-04T19:56:00.001-05:00

Anton Raphael Mengs, St. John the Baptist, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, 1774

John said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said [NRSV, John 1:23].

The Third Sunday of Advent

December 11, 2011

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

The incipit for the Gregorian chant introit from which Gaudete Sunday gets its name.

This coming Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, has traditionally been known as Gaudete Sunday, after the introit of the Latin Mass. It will be chanted at Choral Eucharist. Rose vestments are sometimes worn and a rose candle is often lit on the Advent Wreath.

Gaudéte in Dómino semper: íterum dico, gaudéte. Modéstia vestra nota sit ómnibus homínibus: Dóminus enim prope est. Nihil solíciti sitis: sed in omni oratióne petitiónes vestræ innotéscant apud Deum. Benedixísti Dómine terram suam: avertísti captivitátem Jacob.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice; let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.(Philippians 4:4-6).

Giovanni Vianini, Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis, Milano, Gaudete in Domino,Tone 1 [YouTube] (preceded by BWV 722)

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The Annual Handel's Messiah Sing-Along will take place at Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday, December 10, at 5 pm, with the Cathedral Singers and orchestra, Patrick Wedd directing. Scores are available. Free admission / voluntary contribution.

A free live (and on-demand) performance of Handel's Messiah by the Trinity Church (Wall Street) Choir with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Julian Wachner, conductor, will be webcast on Sunday, December 11, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Program and text available. Click here just before it is scheduled to begin.

Click to read about Messiah with access to a number of free online performances.

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Edward Burne-Jones / William Morris, Nativity, Trinity Church, Saugerties, New York

Patrick Wedd will perform, Olivier Messiaen,La Nativité du Seigneur, on the Wilhelm organ ofChrist Church Cathedral, on Saturday, December 17, at 5:00 pm. Free admission / voluntary contribution.

Listen to La Nativité du Seigneur online performed by Messiaen himself, Jennifer Bate, Olivier Latry, and Simon Preston (click on name).

Click to listen to Messiaen's La Nativité du Seigneur from Pipedreams, Minnesota PBS, each movement performed by a different organist.

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1730 Trost organ of the stadtkirche in Waltershausen, Germany

Click to go to Advent organ music programmes archived by Pipedreams: 2009 - 2006 - 2004 - 2002 - 2001 - 2000 - 1998.

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December 4, 2011

2011-12-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

El Greco, St. John the Baptist, Fine Arts Mueums of San Francisco, c.1600

Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey [NRSV, Mark 1:6].

The Second Sunday of Advent

December 4, 2011

Click to go immediately to:

1) The Music Programme Homepage

2) The Music Calendar for Choral Eucharist and Evensong .

3) The Concert Calendar

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El Greco, Annunciation, Colección Santander Central Hispano, Madrid, 1608-14

The introit for choral Eucharist this coming Sunday is the Advent Prose. The introit for evensong is Rorate caeli desuper. Click to read about both of them and listen to a number of online versions.

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The organ voluntaries for evensong this coming Sunday are prelude, verset 1 of Jean Titelouze, Conditor alme siderum (Creator of the Stars of Night) and postlude, versets 3 and 5. These versets alternate with chanted versions of versets 2 and 4. Listen to Yves-Georges Préfontaine, organist of the Grand Séminaire of Montréal, performing at the 1699 Tribuot / 1991 Aubertin organ of l'Église Saint-Martin, Seurre, alternating versets with the Chantres du Roy [BNQ; BM] (info).

Click to read about the hymn Conditor alme siderum with access to numerous online versions.

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A free live (and on-demand) performance of Handel's Messiah by the Trinity Church (Wall Street) Choir with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Julian Wachner, conductor, will be webcast on Sunday, December 11, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Program and text available. Click here on the current choir notes just before it is scheduled to begin.

Click to read about Messiah with access to a number of free online performances.

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Edward Burne-Jones / William Morris, Nativity, Trinity Church, Saugerties, New York

Patrick Wedd will perform, Olivier Messiaen, La Nativité du Seigneur, on the Wilhelm organ of Christ Church Cathedral, on Saturday, December 17, at 5:00 pm. Free admission / voluntary contribution.

Listen to La Nativité du Seigneur online performed by Messiaen himself, Jennifer Bate, Olivier Latry, and Simon Preston (click on name).