Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.
Worship at Home:
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Service Music:
Voluntary Improvisation on Rockingham
Silent Procession
Kyrie eleison S-84 Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor
Sequence Hymn 474 When I survey the wondrous cross Rockingham
Offertory Anthem Surely he hath borne our griefs Karl Heinrich Graun (1704-1759)
Text: Isaiah 53:4
Surely, surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.
In what is probably the best-loved Old Testament prophecy of Christ’s suffering, the prophet reveals the infamous role of the people in the unfolding drama of the Crucifixion: We were not attracted to him… We hid our faces from him… We thought him under God’s righteous judgement… We have each gone astray. It is in this context that the prophet sets the record straight. Christ is not guilty in the least: “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” Then Isaiah asserts – and here we can imagine his utter astonishment – that by his scourging we are healed. Graun depicts the grief and sorrow in this text by the use of melisma (one word, many notes) on the words grief and sorrow, chromaticism (half-step movement), and dissonance. The poignant resolution at the end of the work reminds us that the scourging is not in vain. Indeed, by it we are healed.
Sanctus Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme
Fraction Anthem Agnus Dei Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme
Communion Anthem Abide with me William Henry Monk (1823-1889), arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
Text: Henry Frances Lyte (1793-1897), found at Hymn 662
The setting of this timeless hymn by Moses Hogan melds his own harmonic language with the uncomplicated melody. Hogan masterfully drafted an arrangement using contemporary harmonies and stylistic devices such as sforzandos, suspensions, and dissonance resolving to consonance that effectively keep your ear interested and your heart totally engaged.
Hymn in Procession 473 Lift high the cross Crucifer
Voluntary Prelude in C minor, BWV 549 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)