Music Notes for November 23, 2025

Music for Reign of Christ the King

 

Our hymns today remind us that “Christ the King” is about more than crowns and power. Our first hymn, “Jesus shall reign” remind us that human kingdoms have nothing that can compare with the world that is Christ’s domain. The offertory hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” dates back to the 16th century and barely refers to kingship, but rather expounds on the theme of the beauty of Christ and the Creation in an overflowing expression of praise. Our communion hymn is one that juxtaposes the King image with that of the humble Shepherd in a lovely paraphrase of Psalm 23.

In our last hymn, the call to “crown him with many crowns” is a simple and yet profound declaration that Christ is many things, and everything. He is Lord of all, to be crowned for many things that all add up to Him being Savior of the world. Each crown represents a different aspect of who Christ is – Lord of life, Lord of love, Lord of years, Lord of heaven, the Lamb upon the throne. Christ is King, Servant, Lamb, Shepherd, and we celebrate this all-encompassing, paradoxical nature of our Savior by crowning Him the Lord of all.

Brigid Coult

Solemn Mass takes place at St. James’ Anglican Church, Vancouver at 10:30 am every Sunday.

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Music Notes for November 16, 2025

Music for 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

 

One of the things I love about our Anglican musical heritage is how we draw on the richness of other traditions. Our opening hymn tune was written by one of the great leaders of the Reformation, Martin Luther, in 1529; two hundred years later J.S. Bach harmonised it for his Cantata No 80. Our offertory hymn has music by Orlando Gibbons, from the first century of the Anglican church; the beautiful text was by an American Unitarian minister of the mid-19th century.

At communion we sing a hymn that may not be so familiar; its communion-focused text comes from the Iona Community in Scotland, and its melody is a traditional French folk tune. And we end with a hymn from the preacher-poet William Williams who travelled Wales in the Calvinist Methodist tradition of the 19th century.

The service setting , colloquially known as “Wood in the Phryg” is one which owes much to the Renaissance polyphonic tradition, but which was written in 1919. Charles Wood was Irish by birth, but taught at Cambridge and in London.  The Phrygian Mode is essentially a minor scale with a flattened second note.  The motet is an arrangement of R.L. Pearsall’s Victorian madrigal “Lay A Garland”, in four parts with organ, rather than the original 8-part, and was adapted for a Lamb of God setting, rather as Samuel Barber’s famous Adagio for Strings is also set as a choral Agnus Dei.

Brigid Coult

Solemn Mass takes place at St. James’ Anglican Church, Vancouver at 10:30 am every Sunday.

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