October 26, 2008

Lord Frederic Leighton, Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1863-4

The LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there (NRSV, Deuteronomy 34:4)."

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes


The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost


Click to go directly to the home page of the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme.


Click to go to the Music Calendar for this Sunday’s Choral Eucharist and Evensong.


Click to go to this month’s Cathedral Concert Calendar.


Jean Langlais

2007 was the centenary of the birth of Jean Langlais, the composer of the Mass setting and all four organ voluntaries this coming Sunday, October 26.

Click to read about Jean Langlais and listen to a wide selection of his organ and choral music.






Da pacem, Domine, in plainsong, is the introit for Choral Eucharist this Sunday, October 26.

Click to hear the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos and watch an interesting 10-minute video with views of monks and monasteries.



Olivier Messiaen

Continuing the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme celebration of the Messiaen centenary:

Patrick Wedd will continue his reprise of the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen on the Wilhelm organ of Christ Church Cathedral this Saturday, October 25, at 5:00 pm, with a performance of L'Ascension and Messe de la Pentecôte. Free admission / voluntary contribution.

For preparation, click to go to the following online performances:

L’Ascension -
Jennifer Bate, Olivier Latry, Dame Gillian Weir

Messe de la Pentecôte -
Jennifer Bate, Olivier Latry, Dame Gillian Weir

Free performance by the Orchestre du Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal ; Louise Bessette, piano; Estelle Lemire, ondes Martenot; Raffi Armenian and Louis Lavigueur directing: Olivier Messiaen: Sept Haïkaï, Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine, on Monday, October 27, at 7:30 pm, at the Salle Pierre-Mercure, Centre Pierre-Péladeau, 300, boul. de Maisonneuve Est (Métro : Berri-UQAM).

For preparation, click to go to the following online performances:

Harawi, Song of Love and Death, by Yumi Nara, soprano, and Jay Gottlieb, piano.

Two performances of Les Trois Petites Liturgies
, by the Bath Festival with the Britten Sinfonia; Joanna MacGregor, piano; Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot; Bath Camerata and the Wells Cathedral School Chamber Choir; and a second performance by l'Ensemble instrumental de Grenoble; l'Ensemble vocal de Grenoble; Yvonne Loriod, piano; Jeanne Loriod, ondes Martenot.



St. John the Divine organ

Click to read in the New York Times of the rebuilding of the organ of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.



The Canadian International Organ Competition here in Montreal went from Wednesday, October 8, to Sunday, October 19.

Click for the winners of the CIOC 2008.

Vincent Van gogh, The Sower, Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, 1889

Click to go to Bach Cantatas for Online Listening and Johann Sebastian Bach Cantata 181, Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister / Scatterbrained frivolous people, performed by Boy Soprano: Alexander Raymann (Soloist of the Knabenchor Hannover); Alto: Paul Esswood; Tenor: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Max van Egmond; Knabenchor Hannover (Chorus Master: Heinz Hennig) & Collegium Vocale Gent (Chorus Master: Philippe Herreweghe) / Leonhardt Consort, Gustav Leonhardt conducting.

October 19, 2008



Tintoretto, The Eternal Father Appears to Moses, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice, 1577-78

And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The LORD'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live (Exodus 33: 19-20)."

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes


The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost


Click to go directly to the home page of the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme.

Click to go to the Music Calendar for this Sunday’s Choral Eucharist and Evensong.

Click to go to this month’s Cathedral Concert Calendar.

Eugène Gigout (1844-1925)

The organ voluntaries for Choral Eucharist this Sunday, October 19, will be by Eugène Gigout.

Click to read briefly about Eugène Gigout in Wikipedia and to listen to some of his music.

Herbert Howells (1892-1983)


Herbert Howells, whose Canticles in D and organ voluntaries will be performed at evensong this Sunday, October 19, was a prolific composer of Anglican Church music.

Click to read about Herbert Howells and to listen to some of his music.

Click to hear his Rhapsody #1 in D-flat performed by Christopher Dearnley on the Willis-Mander organ of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Click to go to a wide selection of Herbert Howells' canticles for evensong.



Dame Gillian Weir (b. 1941)

Dame Gillian Weir is serving as a member of the jury of the Canadian International Organ Competition currently being held in Montreal. Last Sunday, October 12, she gave an organ concert on the Casavant of Sts-Anges in Lachine.

Click to read about Dame Gillian Weir, to listen to conversations and performances on two full programmes of Pipedreams and to hear Dame Gillian perform major organworks of Olivier Messiaen on the Frobenius organ of Arhus Cathedral.


Click for the full programme of the Canadian International Organ Competition in Montreal, October 8-19.The third and last round of competition, with 5 finalists remaining, takes place at the Basilica of Notre-Dame, Place d'Armes, on Friday, October 17, at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Free Admission / $5 suggested donation.

Marie-Claire Alain will perform at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal on Sunday, October 19, at 3:00 pm. Admission free / voluntary contribution.

Closing gala concert of the CIOC/Montreal on Sunday, October 19, at 7:30 pm, at l'Église de St-Jean-Baptiste, Rachel and Drolet, with recitals by the top 3 winners. Free Admission / $5 suggested donation.


Continuing the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme celebration of the Messiaen centenary:

Patrick Wedd will begin his reprise of the the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen on the Wilhelm organ of Christ Church Cathedral this Saturday, October 18, with a performance of Le Banquet céleste, Offrande au Saint Sacrement, Apparition de L’église éternelle, Prélude. Free admission / voluntary contribution.

Click to go to the complete Messiaen by Olivier Latry for preparation.

Dieric Bouts the Elder, The Last Supper (detail), Sint-Pieterskerk, Leuven, 1664-67

The McGill Symphony Orchestra will perform Olivier Messiaen, Hymne au Saint-Sacrement, at its concert on Saturday, October 18, at 8:00 pm, and Sunday, October 19, at 3:00 pm. ($12.00).

Click to download, Olivier Messiaen, Hymne au Saint-Sacrement, performed by l'Orchestre de l'O.R.T.F., Marius Constant conducting.


John Singleton Copley, The Tribute Money, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1782

Click to go to Bach Cantatas for Online Listening and Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 139, Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott / Happy is the man, who to his God, performed by Boy Soprano: Alan Bergius (Soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor); Alto: Paul Esswood; Tenor: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Robert Holl; Tölzer Knabenchor (Chorus Master: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden) / Concentus Musicus Wien; Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting.

October 12, 2008

Michiel van der Borch, Spies return with grapes, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague, 1332


Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost / Thanksgiving



Click to go directly to the home page of the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme.


John Blow (1649-1708)




The canticles and both voluntaries for evensong on Sunday, October 12, will be the work of John Blow. October 1, 2008, was the three-hundredth anniversary of his death.

John Blow
was master of music at Westminster Abbey, the teacher of Henry Purcell and a significant composer in his own right.
Click to read about John Blow in Wikipedia and listen to two versions of his Ode on the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell as well as other compositions.


Continuing the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme celebration of the Messiaen centenary:




Bryce Canyon at Sunrise
Photograph by David Stanton copyright 2006
All rights reserved


Olivier Messiaen, Des Canyons aux étoiles, was commissioned by Alice Tully to celebrate the bicentenary of the American Declaration of Independence (1776). It was first performed in 1974 at Lincoln Center, New York, by the Musica Aeterna Orchestra, Frederic Waldmann directing.


As part of Automne Messiaen 2008, it will be perfomed by the Ensemble de la SMCQ at the Centre Pierre-Péladeau on Wednesday, October 8, at 8:00 pm ($25/12.50/10).


Click to to read about Des Canyons aux étoiles in Wikipedia and go to a performance by Marja Bon, piano; Hans Dullaert, horn; Ger de Zeeuw, xylorimba; Wim Vos, glockenspiel; Asko Ensemble; Schonberg Ensemble; Slagwerkgroep Den Haag; Reinbert de Leeuw conducting.


Click for the full programme of the Canadian International Organ Competition which begins in Montreal on Wednesday, October 8.The second round of competition, with 10 contestants remaining, stressing the works of Olvier Messiaen, takes place at l'Église St-Jean-Baptiste, rue Rachel and rue Drolet, on Monday, October 13, and Tuesday, October 14, at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Free Admission / $5 suggested donation.
Release of a new Atma Classique disc will be celebrated with a performance at the Chapelle historique du Bon Pasteur, 100, rue Sherbrooke Est, on Tuesday, October 14, at 8:00 pm. (free admission; laissez-passer required) Suzie LeBlanc, soprano; Laura Andriani, violin; Robert Kortgaard, piano. Olivier Messiaen, Vocalise, Trois mélodies, Thème et Variations, Chants de terre et de ciel.

Click to read about and listen to Chants de terre et de ciel and Vocalise performed by Dana Nigrim, piano, and Julieanne Klein, soprano.

Click to hear Theme et variations performed by Peter Oundjian, violin, and William Tritt, piano.


Illustrator of Petrus Comestor's 'Bible Historiale,' The Leper Returns, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1372


Click to go to Bach Cantatas for Online Listening and Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 17, Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich / Who gives thanks praises me, performed by Soprano: Malin Hartelius; Counter tenor: Robin Tyson; Tenor: James Gilchrist; Bass: Peter Harvey; Monteverdi Choir / English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner directing; live recording from the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, at Abbaye d’Ambronay.



October 5, 2008

Sir John Everett Millais, The Wicked Husbandmen, published 1864
Christ Church Cathedral Choir Notes
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
Click to go directly to the home page of the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme.




Charles Wood (1866-1926)
On this coming Sunday, October 5, the Introit at Choral Eucharist will be Charles Wood, Oculi omnium.

Click to read about Charles Wood in Wikipedia and listen to two versions of Oculi omnium, three of Hail, Gladdening Light, as well as several other of his anthems.
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)

Click to read about Camille Saint-Saens, listen to his Panis angelicus sung by Roberto Alagna, as well as listen to his Messe, Op. 4, the Requiem, Op. 54; Psaume XVIII, Op. 42; a number of his organ works, and The Symphony in C (The Organ Symphony) performed by l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Charles Dutoit conducting, with Peter Hurford at the organ.

The Canadian International Organ Competition here in Montreal runs from Wednesday, October 8, to Sunday, October 19, with opening organ concerts (tickets required) on Monday, October 6, and Tuesday, October 7. There will be two rounds of competition which will gradually eliminate two-thirds of the 15 participants, until five will compete in the final third round on Friday, October 17 (free admission/voluntary donation).

Dame Gillian Weir will perform at Sts.-Anges (Lachine) on Sunday, October 12, at 3pm and Marie-Claire Alain at the Grand Séminaire on Sunday, October 19, also at 3pm. Both concerts are admission free/voluntary contribution.
Click for complete information about the participants and all activities. The site is excellent: rollover key words to find the hyperlinks while listening to John Grew perform.



The 1990 Guilbault-Thérien organ of the Grand Séminaire
Festival des couleurs de l'orgue français: Four free organ concerts (voluntary contribution) at organ of the Grand Séminaire on the Sundays of October at 3pm: Jonathan Oldengarm, Yves-G. Préfontaine, Marie-Claire Alain, Monique Gendron.

Continuing the Christ Church Cathedral Music Programme celebration of the Messiaen centenary:


Olivier Messiaen & Jennifer Bate

Jennifer Bate was one of Olivier Messiaen's favorite students. It was she who was invited to premiere Le Livre du Saint-Sacrement.

Click to read about Jennifer Bate and to listen as she performs the major organ works of Olivier Messiaen.


The Publican

Click to go to Bach Cantatas for Online Listening and Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 179, Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei / See that your fear of God is not hypocrisy, performed by Treble: Helmut Wittek (Soloist of the Tölzer Knabenchor); Tenor: Kurt Equiluz; Bass: Robert Holl; Tölzer Knabenchor (Chorus Master: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden) / Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting.