Today’s offertory anthem comes from a cantata, which is a multi-movement piece for choir, soloists, and chamber orchestra. Cantatas, of which Bach wrote many, were performed in Lutheran services each Sunday. This one is entitled, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and mouth and deed and life), in 1723, during his first year […]

Harold Friedell was well known as a performer and educator, teaching at Juilliard and Union Seminary. He was a composer of a large number of choral anthems and solo organ pieces and was a prominent leader in the American Guild of Organists. His anthem, Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether, is probably his most famous […]

I’ve sung the praises of Felix Mendelssohn before, but let the praises continue! Today, you’ll hear two movements of one of his last compositions, part of a work called Christus, Op. 97. What survives from this oratorio (which is like an opera, but for church) is about sixteen minutes of music, including today’s offertory, a […]

Today’s music is all about contrast. Our two anthems could not be more different from each other. Although both of the texts are Marian, the differing musical styles offer valuable insight into the challenges of choral singing itself, and of course about life too. The offertory anthem is a setting of the Magnificat, written by […]

When you hear great music, or you read compelling writing, partly what makes it amazing is that it draws your attention with great clarity. The same applies to a dynamic speaker, you hang on their every word. When that happens, it’s the truth that captivates you. The music of Bach is like this, Howells is […]

Occasionally, my classes get sidetracked, and discussions go astray. One day, I asked the students what they would miss if suddenly it were “lights out,” and they were no longer in existence. Many of them said they would miss their families, their pets, or simple pleasures, like a warm blanket. But there was one student […]

In 1905, Civilla Martin and her husband were on a spring vacation when she came up with the words of today’s communion piece that Carolyn is singing. They struck up a friendship with the Doolittles on that trip. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nearly twenty years. Her husband had a disability that bound him […]

The worldview of death is that it’s a demise to be feared and avoided. A concert about death might seem macabre for some. But I can assure you, the music you’ll hear this evening doesn’t come close to embracing that concept. Tonight, we will celebrate the Feast of All Saints with a concert, to which […]

Loosely associated with Sicily, a sicilienne is supposed to evoke the natural wonder of the landscape. It’s a generic term applied to music that sounds pastoral with its lilting rhythms, arching melodic shapes, and supple harmony. Today’s prelude is a piece that I’ve played for a long time. It made me feel good to have […]

By the mid 1500’s, Vatican officials had become frustrated with how complex choral music had become in the church. The music was so elaborate that words had become indiscernible. Giovanni da Palestrina, an Italian composer who lived from 1525-1594, was one of the first to convince church officials that polyphonic choral music (multiple vocal lines, […]