Music for the Fifth Sunday of Easter — May 10, 2020

Cantate Domino canticum novum– Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643)

 

https://youtu.be/S53mgYN6bDk

 

The proper introit for this Sunday is drawn from the first verses of Psalm 98. The abundance of “alleluias” and references to the marvelous works of the Lord mark it as a jubilant song for Eastertide. Claudio Monteverdi, an Italian composer, string player, choir director and priest adapted the text for this setting for six voices liberally from this psalm, which shows up in the Propers around Christmas and Easter in celebration of the “new song” representing Christ. Monteverdi’s abbreviation of Psalm 98 focuses on the musical imagery of songs and instruments, and compresses the text into two groups of three verses, each ending with the phrase, “for He has done marvelous things.” It seems to borrow at least one idea from an earlier Monteverdi madrigal, and its playful echoing and give-and-take between the six parts make for a celebration in a distinctive madrigal style.

Cantate Domino canticum novum,
Cantate et benedicite nomini ejus:
Quia mirabilia fecit.
Cantate et exultate et psallite
in cythara et voce psalmi:
Quia mirabilia fecit.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing and give praise to his name:
for he has done marvelous things.
Sing and exult and praise.
in songs with the harp and the voice:
for he has done marvelous things.

 

Christ ist erstanden : Chorale Prelude, BWV 627 / Chorale Setting, BWV 276 – J. S. Bach (1685 – 1750)

 

https://youtu.be/Qny5MC42p5A

 

The German Easter hymn Christ ist erstanden (Christ is risen) is likely the oldest liturgical song to originate in the German vernacular. According to records, the first verse was sung as early as 1100 to venerate the cross. It has inspired music by composers from the sixteenth century through to the present day, growing to become cherished by German musicians for its long history and usage in both the Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions. The text, with a 1535 English translation by Myles Coverdale, goes as follows:

 

Christ ist erstanden
von der Marter alle.
Des sollen wir alle froh sein,
Christ will unser Trost sein.
Kyrieleis.

Wär er nicht erstanden,
so wär die Welt vergangen.
Seit daß er erstanden ist,
so loben wir den Herren Christ.
Kyrieleis.

Alleluja,
Alleluja, Alleluja!
Des soll’n wir alle froh sein,
Christus will unser Trost sein. Kyrieleis

 

Christe is now rysen agayne
From His death and all
His payne:
Therfore wyll we mery be,
And rejoyse with Him gladly.
Kirieleyson.

Had He not rysen agayne,
We had ben lost, this is playne:
But sen He is rysen in dede,
Let us love Hym all with spede.
Kirieleyson.

Now is tyme of gladnesse.
To synge of the Lorde’s goodnesse:
Therfore glad now wyll we be,
And rejoyse in Hym onely. Kirieleyson.

 

Bach uses this chorale to compose one of the most compelling chorale-preludes of the Orgelbüchlein, his unfinished collection of 46 organ chorales, originally intended as a chorale cycle of 164 pieces to cover the liturgical year. Unlike any other work of the set, Bach treats Christ ist erstanden to a longer, more complex and thrilling structure of three parts, marking the three verses of the chorale. The first section of the Christ ist erstanden simply, yet majestically, presents the chorale melody, derived from Victimae paschali laudes, the sequence for Easter by Wipo of Burgundy. The second section is noticeably more active, infused with Bach’s deft contrapuntal writing, while the third section combines the majesty of the first section with the contrapuntal flare of the second section, suggestive of the triumph of the Easter story. In this brilliant rendition, Helmuth Rilling and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, along with organist Gerhard Gnann, present the three verses of the organ chorale-prelude in alternation with the verses of this joy-infused Easter hymn.

 

Gerald Harder

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Music for the Fourth Sunday of Easter — May 3, 2020

The King of Love My Shepherd Is – Text: Ps. 23; para. Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) / Music: Irish melody (Petrie Collection, 1902); arr. John Rutter

https://youtu.be/fO-57y575jc

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is often referred to as “Good Shepherd Sunday”. The appointed psalm is Psalm 23 regardless of the lectionary year and during the three-year cycle the Gospel reading is drawn from various portions of John 10, in each of which Jesus describes himself as a shepherd. This paraphrase of Psalm 23 by Henry Baker is perhaps more highly valued by many than “The Lord’s my Shepherd”, another beloved paraphrase of this most beloved psalm. The author himself must have prized it; it is said that when he died, the lines of the third stanza were on his lips. Above all, we have him to thank for that one word, “home”: it is the primary metaphor of the hymn, the nucleus that gives meaning to all else. The tune, ST COLUMBA, is an ancient Irish hymn melody named for the Celtic saint who was said to have carried the gospel from Ireland to Scotland. It is arranged in this rendition for choir and harp by John Rutter, who also conducts the Cambridge Singers. This hymn is found in The New English Hymnal (our green book) at 457.

 

THE King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction, grace bestoweth:
And O what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth!

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house for ever.

 

He Shall Feed His Flock (Messiah, HWV 56 / Pt. 1 – 18a) – G. F. Handel (1685-1759)

https://youtu.be/fIBYV3uWWxM

Born the same year as Bach, in Halle, Germany, Handel nevertheless spent most of his career in Britain. Although he wrote a large number of instrumental works, he is known mainly for his Italian operas, oratorios (including Messiah, 1741), various anthems for church and royal festivities, and organ concertos. In the first part of the aria He shall feed his flock, the alto sings the text from Isaiah in F major. The soprano then takes up the same melody, now elevated by a fourth to B flat major, setting the words of Jesus, changed to the third person. Taken together, the words of this duet form a moving picture of the Saviour’s deeds as the Good Shepherd.

 

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd,

and he shall gather the lambs with his arm,

and carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)

 

Come unto him all ye that labour,

come unto him that are heavy laden,

and he will give you rest.

Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him,

for he is meek and lowly of heart,

and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

 

 

Fantasy: Easter Hymn – William H. Harris (1883-1973)

https://youtu.be/BYNgeMO8pQ8

Sir William Henry Harris was an English organist, choral conductor and composer who was organist at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and a professor of organ and harmony at the Royal College of Music for much of his career. This piece is based on the hymn tune EASTER HYMN (“Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”), which is found at 203 in our Common Praise (blue) hymnal. A musical “fantasy” (fantasia) has its roots in improvisation; it seldom follows the textbook rules of any strict musical form. Harris’ jubilant setting relies heavily on sequence, the restatement of a motif at a higher or lower pitch. Listen for the entrance of that most English of organ stops, the Tuba, at around 1:29 in this rendition by Daniel Cook on the organ of Durham Cathedral. Next year – Deo volenti – listen for this piece played as a postlude at St. James’ during the Easter season.

 

Gerald Harder

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