I remember the first time I was introduced to Vaughan Williams’ O How Amiable, today’s offertory anthem. It was while I was living and teaching in Oklahoma. I had met my now, longtime friend Kevin, who at the time, was studying at the University of Oklahoma. He needed some musical assistance at Canterbury House, the Episcopal student […]

Hal Hopson, the composer of today’s offertory anthem, is a household name for most church musicians. There was a rumor that Hopson had composed so much music, that he had to start writing under various pseudonyms, because his music had saturated the market! I don’t know if that’s true, but Mr. Hopson is indeed, extremely […]

Today’s offertory is especially planned for Father’s Day. When it comes to finding good music for Father’s Day, there’s so much to choose from, but for Mother’s Day, it’s a totally different ballgame. As I got to thinking about this, I made a note to find a Mother’s Day anthem for next year. I think […]

The French word for lullaby is berceuse, which bears the title of today’s prelude. As you may know, a lullaby is a gentle song, intended to be sung to lull a child to sleep. Composers use this title for dreamy, or peaceful music. The image is very evocative. I think Vierne evokes the image of a doting […]

I was first introduced to the work of Peter Hurford while in my undergraduate studies at The University of Alabama. The organ students were required to read his book, Making Music on the Organ. When I was in my early 20’s, these kinds of books really bored me. I mean, who needs to read about “making music” […]

Since today is Trinity Sunday, I thought I would make mention of how the number three can be used in music, as you’ll see in a few examples this morning. First off, composers can use the number three in the designation of which key they chose to write in. Sometimes you’ll see at the beginning […]

“Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist” is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther. The melody is based on the Latin chant, “Veni Creator Spiritus,” hymn No. 502 in The Hymnal 1982. One of the questions that comes to mind when I contemplate what Bach was trying to portray in this piece is how […]

The communion anthem this morning is as universal of an anthem as most of them get. Harold Friedell’s Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether is a piece that you’d hear in just about any protest denomination that still uses traditional music. Unfortunately, many of the mainline denominations have discontinued the use of this sort of music. It […]

The prelude and the postlude this morning serve as historical bookends to what is known as the Baroque Era. I’ve spoken about music from this time period before, but specifically, I’d like you to notice how different these two compositions sound. Even though they basically come from the same time period, what makes them different […]

God is love. If God cannot be defined or objectified, neither can love. We all know what love it is, though. We’ve all experienced it, yet each time we try to define it – it dissipates! Every time you try to pin down a spiritual concept, by using words or images, it evades you. Music […]