Music Notes for Baptism of our Lord — January 12, 2025 - St James' Anglican Church Vancouver

Short communion service (Phrygian) – Charles Wood (1866-1926)

Colloquially known to choristers as “Wood in the Fridge” (a slang reference to the work’s Phrygian mode), this Sunday’s setting of the Mass ordinary in church, Charles Woods’ Short Communion Service in the Phrygian Mode for unaccompanied choir was composed by Wood in 1919. This is an essentially contemplative and deeply spiritual work, with a general lack of sharp or harsh dynamic and rhythmic contrasts.

Charles Wood was an Irish composer and teacher; his students included Ralph Vaughan Williams at Cambridge and Herbert Howells at the Royal College of Music. He is primarily remembered and performed as an Anglican church music composer, but he also wrote songs and chamber music, particularly for string quartet. All Wood’s a cappella music demonstrates fastidious craftsmanship and a supreme mastery of the genre; this morning’s concise, beautifully crafted Mass setting is no exception.