Past Services

Inflame our senses with Thy light, pour Thy love into our hearts,
Strengthen our weak bodies with lasting power.

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Trumpet Tune in D    David N. Johnson (1922-1987)

Processional Hymn 208    Alleluia! The strife is o’er, the battle done    Victory

Song of Praise 417    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 206    O sons and daughters, let us sing    St. Thomas

Offertory Anthem    Eastertide Carol    Richard Proulx (1937-2010)
Words: St. John Damascene  (ca. 754)

Rise up in early morning; sing of the risen Savior.
Sing tidings of salvation with Alleluias ringing,
in cymbalis in cymbalis bene sonantibus.
(on beautiful sounding cymbals)
Go forth ye saints, to meet him;
light up your lamps of gladness.
Sing tidings of salvation.

Richard Proulx was an American composer and editor of church music, including anthems, service music, hymn concertatos, organ music and music for handbell choir. The pronunciation of his name is suggested by the section of his catalog entitled Noulx [new] from Proulx. He served as a consultant on several important hymnals, including The Hymnal 1982 of the Episcopal Church (United States), the United Methodist Hymnal and the Roman Catholic hymnals Worship II and Worship III. He had a long association with Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago.

Sanctus S125    Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    My master from a garden rose    Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)
Text: Gordon Young

My master in a garden lay, perfumed with spices rare,
for tender hands had laid him there to rest amid the roses.
Twas’ on a cross they laid him there, and kissed his hands with nails,
that we would then might live again and be with him in glory.
Alleluia!

My master from a garden rose, to go for us to heaven.
And he will come again to take us there, to be with him forever.
Alleluia! Amen.

Eleanor Daley is a Canadian composer, performer, and accompanist. She received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Organ Performance from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and holds diplomas in both organ and piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Trinity College in England. She has been the Director of Music at Fairlawn Heights United Church in Toronto since 1982. During that time she has established a thriving choral program for which much of her choral music has been composed. This lovely anthem was commissioned for Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Stuart Forster, Director of Music and Organist, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Dedication of the Church, 2011.

Communion Hymn 209    We walk by faith, and not by sight    St. Botolph

Closing Hymn 182    Christ is alive! Let Christians sing    Truro

Voluntary    Toccata    Flor Peeters (1903-1986)

Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Sonata III in A Major   Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Processional Hymn 175    Hail thee, festival day!    Salve festa dies

Song of Praise 417    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 199   Come, ye faithful, raise the strain     St. Kevin

Offertory Anthem    Christus vincit    Joseph Noyon (1888-1962), arr. Gerre Hancock (1934-2012)

Christ has conquered, Christ, our sovereign, Christ reigns forevermore!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and forevermore, world without end. Amen.

Sanctus S125    Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Alleluia    Randall Thompson (1899-1984)

Communion Hymn 305    Come, risen Lord    Rosedale

Closing Hymn 207    Jesus Christ is risen today    Easter Hymn

Voluntary    Toccata (Symphonie V)    Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Yingying Xia, organ scholar
Trumpeters: Tom Hintz, Jeff Higgins
Timpani: Ed Fast

Good Friday Liturgy at 12:00 noon, sung by the St. Johns Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Organ Voluntary    Meditation on Were you there    Evelyn Simpson-Currenton (b. 1953)

Anthem    God so loved the world (2014)    Brittney Boykin (b. 1989)
Text: John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Anthem    O saviour of the world    John Goss (1800-1880)
Text from the Good Friday liturgy

O Saviour of the world, who by thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us: Save us, and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord.

Hymn 160    Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow    Cross of Jesus

Holy Eucharist Rite II and Footwashing at 7:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Choral Dorien    Jehan Alain (1911-1940)

Jehan Alain was a French organist, composer, and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and composing until the outbreak of the Second World War 10 years later. His compositional style was influenced by the musical language of the earlier Claude Debussy, as well as his interest in music, dance and philosophy of the far east. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Alain became a dispatch rider in the Eighth Motorised Armour Division of the French Army; he took part in the Battle of Saumur, in which he was killed.

Kyrie Eleison S-84   Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 171    Go to dark Gethsemane    Petra

Song at the Footwashing    Ubi caritas    Jacques Berthier (1923-1994)
Words from the Maundy Thursday liturgy

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.

Where charity and love are, God is there. Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in him. Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.

French composer Jacques Berthier  was trained in music at the École César Franck in Paris. In 1955 Berthier was first asked to compose music for the Taizé Community, which was then just a monastic community of twenty brothers. Six years later he became organist at the Church of the Jesuits in Paris, Saint-Ignace, where he worked until his death. In 1975, Berthier was again asked to compose for Taizé, this time for chants to be sung by the increasing numbers of young people coming to worship there. Over nearly twenty years, Berthier built up a body of church music that has been utilized around the world.

Offertory Anthem  Pie Jesu from Requiem    Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)

Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem.
Dona eis requiem sempiternam requiem.

Merciful Jesus, Lord, grant them rest.
Grant them rest, eternal rest.

Sanctus    Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Agnus Dei    Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Hymn 325    Let us break bread together on our knees    Let Us Break Bread

Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Palm Procession from the Cloister Garden

Introit    Entrance into Jerusalem    Nancy Plummer Faxon (1914-2005)

Nancy Plummer Faxon was an American soprano, music educator, and composer of organ music. As a young soprano in Chicago, Nancy Plummer Faxon joined the Sorrentine Touring Opera Company in 1938 as a soloist. She also sang in the chorus of the Chicago Opera Company. From 1955 to 1980, she was a soprano in the professional choir at Trinity Church, Boston. She was a member of American Women Composers and wrote over a hundred choral and orchestral compositions, mostly for performance at Trinity Church.

Hymn in Procession 154    All glory, laud, and honor    Valet will ich dir geben

Sequence Hymn 158    Ah, holy Jesus!    Herzliebster Jesu

Offertory Anthem    Sanctus from Requiem    Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Text: Sanctus from the liturgy of the Eucharist

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

Moses George Hogan was an American composer and arranger of choral music. He was awarded a full scholarship to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Music degree. Immediately after graduation, he began graduate studies at the Juilliard School of Music, and later went to study classical music in Vienna. He is best known for his settings of spirituals. His works are celebrated and performed by high school, college, church, community, and professional choirs today. Over his lifetime, he published 88 arrangements for voice, eight of which were solo pieces.

Hymn in Procession 168    O sacred head, sore wounded    Passion Chorale

Bruce Henley, assisting organist
Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Movement in A-flat    Elisabeth Stirling (1819-1895)

Elizabeth Stirling was born in Greenwich, London, and studied piano and organ at the Royal Academy of Music. She served in positions as organist at All Saints Church, and at St Andrew Undershaft. Stirling was noted for her exceptional pedal playing. She published two grand voluntaries; six pedal fugues; eight slow movements and other organ-pieces, over fifty songs and duets, and arrangements of the works of Bach, Mozart and Handel.

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 151    From deepest woe I cry to thee    Aus tiefer Not

Offertory Anthem    Out of the depths    Alan Hovhanness (1911-2000)
Words: Psalm 130

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    Even when God is silent    Sumner Jenkins (b. 1962)
Anonymous text found on a basement wall in Cologne, Germany written by someone hiding from the Gestapo during the Nazi holocaust.

I believe in the sun
even when it isn’t shining.
I believe in love
even when feeling it not.
I believe in God
even when God is silent.
I believe in the silence.

Sumner Jenkins holds a BMus in Church Music and a MMus in Organ Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA and has done additional study with Dr. Wilma Jensen and Diane Meredith Belcher. He is an active member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the American Guild of Organists. Sumner joined St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lynchburg, VA in September, 2016. Prior to joining us, Sumner served St. John’s, Washington, CT. He also served 11 years at Calvary Episcopal Church, Memphis, TN.

Communion Hymn 309    O Food to pilgrims given    O Welt, ich muss dich lassen

Hymn in Procession 665    All my hope on God is founded    Michael

Voluntary    Paulus-Praeludium (2019)    Carson Cooman (b. 1978)

Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Walter McKenney.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 645    The king of love my shepherd is    St. Columba

Offertory Anthem    There is a balm in Gilead    William L. Dawson (1899-1990)
Words may be found at Hymn 676

William L. Dawson ran away from home to study music full-time as a pre-college student at the Tuskegee Institute (now University) under the tutelage of school president Booker T. Washington. Dawson paid his tuition by being a music librarian and manual laborer working in the school’s Agricultural Division. He later studied at the Chicago Musical College and the American Conservatory of Music where he received his master’s degree. Dawson developed the Tuskegee Institute Choir into an internationally renowned ensemble. His arrangements of traditional African-American spirituals are widely published in the United States and are regularly performed by school, college and community choral programs.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    O taste and see    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1951)
Words: Psalm 34:8
Catherine Emerick, treble soloist

O taste and see how gracious the Lord is: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

The compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century. One of the last of Vaughan Williams’ sacred pieces, this work was written for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The music is of distilled simplicity, with a pentatonic flavor that reminds us of the composer’s lifelong interest in folk-song.

Communion Hymn 339    Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness    Schmucke dich

Hymn in Procession    It is well with my soul    Ville du Havre

Voluntary    Fugue in C minor, BWV546ii    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio for Strings    Samuel Barber (1910-1981), arr. William Strickland (1914-1991)

Samuel Barber was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, “Probably no other American composer has ever enjoyed such early, such persistent and such long-lasting acclaim.” Barber was adept at both instrumental and vocal music. His works became successful on the international stage and many of his compositions enjoyed rapid adoption into the classical performance canon. In particular, his Adagio for Strings (1936) has earned a permanent place in the orchestral concert repertory, as has that work’s adaptation for chorus, Agnus Dei (1967) and arrangement for organ (1949).

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 167    There is a green hill far away    Horsley

Offertory Anthem    O how amiable    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Text from Psalms 84 and 90

O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of hosts!
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young:
even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house.
They will be alway praising thee.
The glorious majesty of the Lord our God be upon us;
prosper thou the work of our hands upon us.
O prosper thou our handiwork.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    A Gaelic blessing    John Rutter (b. 1945)
Words: Ancient Gaelic rune

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ,
of Christ the light of the world to you.
Deep peace of Christ to you.

Communion Hymn 313    Let thy Blood in mercy poured    Jesu, meine Zuversicht

Hymn in Procession 522    Glorious things of thee are spoken    Austria

Voluntary    Fugue in E-flat Major, BWV 552b (“St. Anne”)    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Fugue in E-flat is loaded with 3s – three sections with distinct themes, representing the strength of God the Father, the youth of God the Son, and the joyful dancing of God the Holy Spirit. There are three distinct meters, yet they all “work together,” suggesting unity of the three parts. It gets much more complicated than that, and I’ll be happy to show you some very daunting formulas that show how Bach literally embedded theological meaning into the notes. It is a coincidence (or is it?) that the Father section echoes the hymn-tune for O God, our help in ages past.

Ray Giolitto, assisting organist
Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary
Meditation on Liebster Jesu    George Thalben-Ball (1896-1987)
Canzona on Liebster Jesu    Richard Purvis (1917-1992)

Introit    Total Praise    Richard Smallwood (b. 1948)

Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hills
Knowing my help is coming from You
Your peace you give me in time of the storm

You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life
I lift my hands in total praise to you    Amen.

Richard Smallwood is an American gospel artist who formed The Richard Smallwood Singers in 1977 in Washington, DC. He graduated cum laude from Howard University with a dual B.A. degree in classical vocal performance and piano, in addition to graduate work in the field of ethnomusicology. Smallwood was a member of The Celestials, the first gospel group on Howard University’s campus. Among Smallwood’s most popular songs are Total Praise, composed in 1996 while he was experiencing sorrow in his life, and I Love the Lord popularized by singer Whitney Houston in the film, The Preacher’s Wife.

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 691    My faith looks up to thee    Olivet

Offertory Anthem    He watching over Israel from Elijah    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Words: Psalm 121:4, Psalm 138:7

He, watching over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps.
Shouldst thou, walking in grief, languish, he will quicken thee.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    God so loved (2014)    Brittney Boykin (b. 1989)
Text: John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

B.E. Boykin is a native of Alexandria, Virginia and graduated from Spelman College with a B.A. in Music. Ms. Boykin received her M.M. in Sacred Music with a concentration in Choral Studies from Westminster Choir College. She continued to compose music during her time at Westminster, and was awarded the R and R Young Composition Prize just a few months shy of graduating.

Ms. Boykin currently serves as Assistant Director/Accompanist for the Spelman College Glee Club. Her most recent commissioned work, “We Sing as One,” was commissioned to celebrate Spelman’s College’s 133rd Anniversary of its founding. Ms. Boykin’s instrumental and choral works are currently being published and distributed through her own publishing company, Klavia Press.

Communion Hymn 440    Blessed Jesus, at thy word    Liebster Jesu

Hymn in Procession 473    Lift high the cross    Crucifer

Voluntary    We all believe in one God, BWV 680    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Patrick Reardon, assisting conductor
Kari Miller, assisting organist
Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Praeludium    Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)

Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. Throughout his adult life, Kodály was very interested in the problems of many types of music education, and he wrote a large amount of material on teaching methods as well as composing plenty of music intended for children’s use. Beginning in 1935, along with his colleague Jenő Ádám, he embarked on a long-term project to reform music teaching in Hungary’s lower and middle schools. His work resulted in the publication of several highly influential books. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education.

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 142    Lord, who throughout these forty days    St. Flavian

Offertory Anthem    Introit and Kyrie from Requiem    Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Words: from Missa pro defunctis

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet in hymnus, Deus in Sion: et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.
Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Grant them rest eternal, Lord our God, we pray to thee:
and light perpetual shine on them for ever.
Thou, Lord, art worshipped in Sion; thy praises shall ever be sung in all Jerusalem.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
O hear us; O Lord God, hear thy faithful servants’ prayer; to thee shall all mortal flesh return.

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. Among his best-known works are his Pavane, Requiem, Sicilienne, nocturnes for piano and the songs “Après un rêve” and “Clair de lune.” Fauré said about his Requiem: “Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest.”

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Motet    Offertory from Requiem    Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Patrick Reardon, tenor

O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae
libera animas defunctorum
de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu.
O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex Gloriae
libera animas defunctorum de ore leonis
ne absorbeat eus Tartarus ne cadant in obscurum
Hostias et preces tibi Domine, laudis offerimus
tu suscipe pro animabus illis
quarum hodie memoriam facimus
Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eus.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hells and from the bottomless pit.
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
Deliver them from the lion’s mouth,
nor let them fall into darkness,
neither the black abyss swallow them up.
We offer unto Thee this sacrifice of prayer and praise
Receive it for those souls
whom today we commemorate.
Allow them, o Lord, to cross from death into the life which once Thou didst promise to Abraham and his seed.

Communion Hymn 559    Lead us, heavenly Father    Dulce carmen

Hymn in Procession 690    Guide me, O thou great Jehovah    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Ite, missa est from Organoedia ad missam lectam    Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)

Bruce Henley, assisting organist
Yingying Xia, organ scholar

Celtic Contemplative Service at 5:00pm in Hubbard Hall

This service is in-person only.

English composer and pianist Will Todd is well known for his beautiful and exciting music. His music is valued for its melodic intensity and harmonic skill, often incorporating jazz colours, and his choral music is much in demand from amateur as well as professional performers.

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary  Prelude on Quelle est cette odeur agréable (Whence is that goodly fragrance flowing?)    Dale Wood (1934-2003)

Dale Wood was a renowned composer, organist, and choral director best known for his church music compositions.  Wood began writing compositions at a young age. When he was 13 years old, he won a national hymn-writing contest for the American Lutheran Church.

Processional Hymn 640    Watchman, tell us of the night    Aberystwyth

Kyrie S-89    James McGregor, after Hans Leo Hassler

Sequence Hymn    Prepare the way (2015)    Zanaida Robles (b. 1979)
Text: Frans Mikael Franzen, adap. Charles P. Price

Prepare the way, O Zion,
your Christ is drawing near!
Let every hill and valley
a level way appear.
Greet One who comes in glory,
foretold in sacred story.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

He brings God’s rule, O Zion;
he comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom,
and justice, truth, and love.
Lift high your praise resounding,
for grace and joy abounding.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion;
your Savior’s rule embrace.
His tidings of salvation
proclaim in every place.
All lands will bow before him,
their voices will adore him.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Offertory Anthem    There is no rose    Philip Stopford (b. 1977)
Text: Anonymous, 14th century
Adult Choir, recorded Christmas Eve 2019

There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu;
Alleluia.

For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space;
Res miranda.  (Thing of wonder)

By that rose we may well see
There be one God in persons three,
Pares forma.  (Equal in form)

The angels sungen the shepherds to:
Gloria in excelsis deo:  (Glory to God in the highest)
Gaudeamus.   (Let us rejoice)

Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth;
Transeamus.  (Let us follow)

Philip Stopford is a contemporary English composer who began his career as a youth chorister at Westminster Abbey, singing under Simon Preston and Martin Neary. His music is equally popular with American choirs as it is with English ones, due to his accessible yet thought-provoking compositional style. Our Youth Choir (along with the choir of St. James’s Church and the Trinity College Chapel Singers) premiered Psalm 150 by Philip at the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival in October, 2017.

Communion Anthem    The waiting sky    Oliver Tarney (b. 1984)
Text: Lucinda Quinault (b. 1969)

The trees are bare,
green fields where puddles hold the waiting sky.
The cows move slowly,
their breathing clouds the air as they walk by.
What if the clouds smother the shining star?
We’ll know it’s there.
Warm light will fill the puddles,
and the cows will stop and stare.

Communion Hymn 324    Let all mortal flesh keep silence    Picardy

Hymn in Procession 72    Hark! the glad sound!    Richmond

Voluntary    Toccata in F    Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Two settings on Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)

Emma Lou Diemer’s music has been published since 1957 and ranges from hymns and songs to large chamber and orchestral works. She is a native of Kansas City and received her composition degrees from Yale and from Eastman. She is professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has served as organist in various churches, most recently at First Presbyterian in Santa Barbara. Diemer is a keyboard performer and over the years has given concerts of her own organ works at Washington National Cathedral, The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Grace Cathedral and St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, and others. Her compositional style over the years has varied from tonal to atonal, from traditional to experimental. She has over 150 compositions to her name, and continues to write – at the age of 94.

Processional Hymn 56    O come, O come, Emmanuel    Veni, veni Emmanuel

Kyrie S-89    James McGregor, after Hans Leo Hassler

Sequence Hymn    People, look East    Besancon Carol

Offertory Anthem    I wonder as I wander, 2001    Carl Rütti (b. 1949)
Words: John Jacob Niles (1892-1980)

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus ’twas in a cow’s stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God’s heaven, a star’s light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing.
Or all of God’s Angels in heaven to sing,
He surely could have it, ’cause he was the King.

Rütti is from Switzerland and studied music at the Zürich Conservatoire, finishing in 1975 with a Solisten-diploma in piano and organ. He has composed a steady output of largely religious choral works, including Alpha et Omega, a Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, the 11-part Missa Angelorum and a setting of O magnum mysterium. His compositions also include this setting, with a new tune, of the carol I Wonder as I Wander, which has been performed several times in recent years as part of King’s College Cambridge’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Rütti’s music blends the English choral tradition with other genres including jazz and the blues.

Communion Anthem    Child of the stable’s secret birth    Samuel Rathbone
Text: Timothy Dudley-Smith

Child of the stable’s secret birth,
The Lord by right of the lords of earth,
Let angels sing of a King newborn,
The world is weaving a crown of thorn;
A crown of thorn for that infant head
Cradled soft in the manger bed.

Eyes that shine in the lantern’s ray;
A face so small in its nest of hay,
Face of a child who is born to scan
The world he made through the eyes of man:
And from that face in the final day
Earth and heaven shall flee away.

Voice that rang through the courts on high,
Contracted now to a wordless cry,
A voice to master the wind and wave,
The human heart and the hungry grave:
The voice of God through the cedar trees
Rolling forth as the sound of seas.

Infant hands in a mother’s hand,
For none but Mary may understand
Whose are the hands and the fingers curled
But his who fashioned and made the world;
And through these hands in the hour of death
Nails shall strike to the wood beneath.

Child of the stable’s secret birth,
The Father’s gift to a wayward earth,
To drain the cup in a few short years
Of all our sorrows, our sins, and tears-
Ours the prize for the road he trod:
Risen with Christ; at peace with God.

Communion Hymn 81    Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming    Es ist ein Ros

Hymn in Procession 616    Hail to the Lord’s anointed    Es flog kleins Waldvögelein

Voluntary    Prelude in G Major, BWV 550a    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bruce Henley, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Chorale Fantasia on Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, verse 1    Dieterich Buxtehude (ca. 1637 – 1707)

Dieterich Buxtehude was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal and instrumental idioms, Buxtehude’s style greatly influenced other composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach. Historically, Buxtehude is among the important composers of the mid-Baroque period in Germany.

Processional Hymn 57    Lo! He comes, with clouds descending    Helmsley

Kyrie S-89    James McGregor, after Hans Leo Hassler

Sequence Hymn 68    Rejoice! rejoice, believers    Llangloffan

Offertory Anthem    O radiant dawn    James MacMillan (b. 1959)

O Radiant Dawn, Splendour of eternal Light,
Sun of Justice:
come, shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.
Isaiah had prophesied,
‘The people who walked in darkness have seen the great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.’
Amen.

Communion Anthem    Prepare the way (2015)    Zanaida Robles (b. 1979)
Text: Frans Mikael Franzen, adap. Charles P. Price

Prepare the way, O Zion,
your Christ is drawing near!
Let every hill and valley
a level way appear.
Greet One who comes in glory,
foretold in sacred story.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

He brings God’s rule, O Zion;
he comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom,
and justice, truth, and love.
Lift high your praise resounding,
for grace and joy abounding.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion;
your Savior’s rule embrace.
His tidings of salvation
proclaim in every place.
All lands will bow before him,
their voices will adore him.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance. Authentic interpersonal connection and relationship-building are core principles of her teaching and performance methods. Born, raised, and educated in Southern California, she is in demand as a vocalist, conductor, clinician and adjudicator for competitions, festivals, and conferences related to choral and solo vocal music. Her film and television credits include “Glee,” “Tinkerbell: Pirate Fairy,” “Godzilla,” “Minions,” “Creed,” Lego Movie,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Venom,” “Smallfoot,” “Frozen 2,” “Underwater,” and “Mulan.” 

Hymn in Procession 61    “Sleepers, wake!” A voice astounds us Wachet auf

Voluntary    Chorale Fantasia on Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, verse 2    Dieterich Buxtehude

Douglas Johnson, guest organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:00 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Cantabile from Trois Pièces    César Franck (1822-1890)

Opening Hymn 290    Come, ye thankful people, come    St. George’s, Windsor

Sequence Hymn 291    We plow the fields and scatter    Wir pflugen

Offertory Music    Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 199    Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Communion Hymn 433    We gather together    Kremser

Closing Hymn 397    Now thank we all our God    Nun danket alle Gott

Voluntary   Praise: Now Thank We All Our God     Robert Edward Smith (b. 1946)

Ted Babbitt, guest organist

Celtic Contemplative Service at 5:00pm in Hubbard Hall

This service is in-person only.

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Air    Florence Price (1887-1953)

Florence Price was an American classical composer, pianist, organist and music teacher. Price was educated at the New England Conservatory of Music, and was active in Chicago from 1927 until her death in 1953. Price is noted as the first African-American woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra. Price composed over 300 works. In 2009, a substantial collection of her works and papers was found in her abandoned summer home.

Processional Hymn 290    Come, ye thankful people, come    St. George’s, Windsor

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 421    All glory be to God on high    Allein Gott in der Hoh

Offertory Anthem    Since by man came death from Messiah    George Frederick Handel (1685-1759)
Text: I Corinthians 15:21-22

Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

George Frederick Handel was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age. Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks remain steadfastly popular. One of his four coronation anthems, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every British coronation since 1727. He died a respected and rich man, and was given a state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Motet    Ave verum corpus    Edward Elgar

Communion Hymn 478    Jesus, our mighty Lord    Monk’s Gate

Hymn in Procession 544    Jesus shall reign where’er the sun    Duke Street

Voluntary    Trumpet Tune in D    David N. Johnson (1922-1987)

Bruce Henley, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Wer nur en lieben Gott    Mark Fax (1911-1974)

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mark Fax was a child prodigy. By age fourteen, he was employed as a theater organist and church organist. Fax studied at Syracuse University where he earned a B.Mus. in 1933, then at Eastman earning a Master’s degree in composition, studying with Howard Hanson. He founded and chaired the music department at Paine College in Georgia. In 1942 Mark studied piano at Bennington College in Vermont, where he wrote music for the Martha Graham Dance Troupe. From 1947 to 1972, Fax taught music theory at Howard University and served as director of the School of Music. Later, Fax became Acting Dean of Howard’s College of Fine Arts. Concurrently, he served as music director at Washington’s famed Asbury Methodist Church Washington, DC. Fax composed works for chorus, symphony, chamber ensemble, voice, piano, and organ, in addition to two full-length operas.

Processional Hymn 7    Christ, whose glory fills the skies    Ratisbon

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 635    If thou but trust in God to guide thee    Wer nur en lieben Gott

Offertory Anthem    Christ is our cornerstone    Noel Rawsthorne (1929-2019)
Text: translated from the Latin by J. Chandler

Christ is our cornerstone, on him alone we build; with his true saints alone
The courts of heaven are filled; on his great love our hopes we place of present grace and joys above.

Here, gracious God, do thou forevermore draw nigh; accept each faithful vow,
And mark each suppliant sigh; in copious shower on all who pray, each holy day, thy blessings pour.

O then with hymns of praise these hallowed courts shall ring; our voices we will raise
The three in one to sing; and thus proclaim in joyful song both loud and long, that glorious name.

At the age of eight Noel Rawsthoorne became a chorister at Liverpool Parish Church which started his interest in the pipe organ. He became Organist of Liverpool Cathedral in 1955, and served in this capacity until 1980. While there, he composed many choral works, such as the Festive Eucharist which is still sung regularly by churches across the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool. His work with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra included supervision of the refurbishment of the organ in the Philharmonic Hall and he sustained substantial friendships, personal and professional, with successive Maestros of the Philharmonic.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    With what shall I come before the Lord    Jane Marshall (1924-2019)
Text: Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come before the Lord when I bow before the God on high?
Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Communion Hymn 592    Teach me, my God and King    Carlisle

Hymn in Procession 397 Now thank we all our God    Nun danket alle Gott

Voluntary    Chorale Fantasia on Nun danket alle Gott    Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Walter McKenney.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio    Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751)

Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. He is best remembered today for a work called Adagio in G minor, attributed to him but largely written by Remo Giazotto, a 20th century musicologist and composer, who was a cataloger of the works of Albinoni.

Processional Hymn 287    For all the saints, who from their labors rest    Sine Nomine

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 293    I sing a song of the saints of God    Grand Isle

Offertory Anthem    Agnus Dei from Requiem    Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

French composer, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), is regarded as one of the greatest masters of art song. His contribution to the genre has impacted countless other artists in the twentieth century. As a composer of sacred music, Fauré’s output is significantly smaller, totaling only eight opuses, among them the popular Requiem, Op. 48. Between the ages and thirty-five and forty-five, Fauré struggled with depression. Although he enjoyed a rather successful career, a broken engagement caused his personal life to become unstable, ultimately impacting his output as a composer.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Motet    In Paradisum from Requiem    Gabriel Fauré

In paradisum deducant te Angeli;
In tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,
Et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
Et cum Lazaro quondam paupere,
Aeternam habeas requiem.

May the angels lead you into paradise;
May the martyrs receive you at your arrival,
And lead you to the holy city Jerusalem.
May the choirs of angels receive you,
And with Lazarus, once poor,
May you have eternal rest.

Communion Hymn 253    Give us the wings of faith to rise    San Rocco

Hymn in Procession 556    Rejoice, ye pure in heart!    Marion

Voluntary    Choral Song    Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876)

Kari Miller, assisting organist

All Saints Eucharist at 7:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio for Strings    Samuel Barber (1910-1981), arr. William Strickland (1914-1991)

Processional Hymn 286    Who are these like stars appearing    Zeuch mich, zeuch mich

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 620    Jerusalem, my happy home    Land of Rest

Offertory Anthem    Justorum anime    Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Text: Book of Wisdom

Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt, et non tanget illos tormentum mortis. Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, illi autem sunt in pace.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die; but they are in peace.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    Crossing the Bar    Rani Arbo (b. 1968)
Test: Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

Hymn in Procession 618    Ye watchers and ye holy ones    Lasst uns erfreuen

Voluntary

Ray Giolitto, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    from Suite Gothique    Léon Boëllmann (1637-1897)
Introduction – Choral
Menuet gothique
Prière à Notre-Dame

Processional Hymn 546    Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve    Siroë

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 382    King of glory, King of peace    General Seminary

Offertory Anthem    The Beatitudes    Bob Chilcott, 2006
Words: Matthew 5:3-11

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Bob Chilcott has been involved with choral music all his life, first as a Chorister and then a Choral Scholar at King’s College, Cambridge. Later, he sang and composed music for 12 years with the King’s Singers. His experiences with that group, his passionate commitment to young and amateur choirs, and his profound belief that music can unite people, have inspired him both to compose full-time and, through proactive workshopping, to promote choral music worldwide.This beautiful setting of the Beatitudes from Matthew’s gospel exemplifies the composer’s skill and versatility in writing for mixed voices. He leads the choir smoothly through a range of keys and moods, from the gentle simplicity of the opening “Bless’d are the poor in spirit’ to the more dramatic and colourful ‘Bless’d are ye, when men shall revile you”.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Motet    Ave verum corpus    Stephanie Martin
Words attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine, esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed with blood, Be for us a foretaste in the test of death.

An award-winning composer and conductor, Stephanie Martin has wide musical interests ranging from Gregorian chant to gamelan; from Froberger to folksong. A guardian of musical heritage and a creative collaborator, she is known for imaginative programming and for creating sustainable musical communities.

Communion Hymn 301    Bread of the world, in mercy broken    Rendez a Dieu

Hymn in Procession 688    A mighty fortress is our God    Ein feste Burg

Voluntary    Toccata  from Suite Gothique    Léon Boëllmann

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Intermezzo from Symphony VI    Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Processional Hymn 665    All my hope on God is founded    Michael

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn    Healing river of the Spirit    Beach Spring

Offertory Anthem    O How Amiable    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Text from Psalms 84 and 90

O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of hosts!
My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found her a house and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young:
even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house.
They will be alway praising thee.
The glorious majesty of the Lord our God be upon us;
prosper thou the work of our hands upon us.
O prosper thou our handiwork.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) is regarded as the greatest English composer since Purcell (who died in 1695—a long time in between “greats”). His compositions span the entire breadth of styles and genres, from symphonies and oratorios to folksong collections. He served as editor of the 1906 English Hymnal, with Percy Dearmer. Vaughan Williams composed this simple anthem for a pageant in aid of the church of Abinger in 1934, with the subtitle: “Anthem for the dedication of a church or other festivals.” The homophonic texture and inclusion of the first verse of O God our help in ages past at the end of the piece make it an accessible and inclusive work.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Motet    Nunc dimittis in C    Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen.

Communion Hymn 314    Humbly I adore you    Adoro devote

Hymn in Procession 680    O God, our help in ages past    St. Anne

Voluntary    Fantasy on St. Anne    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)

Concert and recording artist Christa Rakich performs widely throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. She is Visiting Professor of Organ at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. She maintains two Artist-in-Residencies: here at St. John’s and the Congregational Church of Somers. Past Artist-in-Residencies have included the University of Pennsylvania and First Lutheran Church in Boston. She has won particular acclaim for her interpretation of early music and the works of J.S. Bach. This delightful fantasy is from a set of variations written in the style of Johann Pachelbel (yep, the Canon guy).

Celtic Contemplative Service at 5:00pm in Hubbard Hall

This service is in-person only.

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin

Service Music:

Voluntary    from Kleine Intermezzi: Maestoso, Andante sostenuto    Hermann Schroeder (1904-1984)

Processional Hymn 372    Praise to the living God!    Leoni

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 630    Thanks to God whose Word was spoken    Wylde Green

Offertory Anthem    I hear a voice a prayin’    Houston Bright (1916-1970)

I hear a voice a-prayin’, Lord, Hallelujah,
I hear a voice a-cryin’, oh Lord, save-a my soul.
Every time I hear a sinner pray, I wonder if I’m ready for the Judgment Day.
Every time I hear a sinner cry, I wonder where I’m goin’ when I come to die.
Every time I hear the parson preach, I wonder if salvation is in-a my reach.

Houston Bright, son of a Methodist minister and long-time professor of music at what is now West Texas A&M University, composed over a hundred choral works, but ‘I Hear a Voice’ is by far his most famous, and one of the few pieces written in this Gospel style.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Listen, sweet dove    Katherine Burk (b. 1990)
Sung by the Choir School
Text: George Herbert

Listen sweet Dove unto my song,
and spread thy golden wings in me;
hatching my tender heart so long,
till it get wing, and flie away with thee.

The sunne, which once did shine alone,
hung down his head, and wisht for night,
when he beheld twelve sunnes for one
going about the world, and giving light.

Such glorious gifts thou didst bestow,
that th’earth did like a heav’n appeare;
the starres were coming down to know
if they might mend their wages, and serve here.

Lord, though we change, thou art the same;
the same sweet God of love and light:
restore this day, for thy great name,
unto his ancient and miraculous right.

Katherine Burk is an organist, conductor, vocalist, and composer pursuing the Doctor of Music degree in organ performance at Indiana University. She currently serves as Organ Scholar at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. Katherine has recently been named to the Diapason’s “20 Under 30” list of high-achieving young musicians in the fields of organ and church music.

Communion Hymn 631    Book of books, our people’s strength    Liebster Jesu

Hymn in Procession 530    Spread, O spread, thou mighty word    Gott sei Dank

Voluntary    from Kleine Intermezzi: Poco vivace    Hermann Schroeder

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prayer (An Offertory)    George Walker (1922-2018)

Processional Hymn 1    Father, we praise thee, now the night is over    Christe Sanctorum

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 397    Now thank we all our God    Nun danket all Gott

Offertory Anthem    Restless is the heart    Bernadette Farrell (b. 1957)
Text: Based on Psalm 90:1–2, 4–6, 12, 14

Refrain:
Restless is the heart until it comes to rest in you.
All the earth shall remember and return to our God.

Lord you have been our refuge through all time, from one generation to the next;
before the mountains were born, or the earth brought forth, you are God, without beginning or end. (Refrain)

To your eyes a thousand years are like a day, no more than a watch in the night.
You sweep us away like a dream, like the grass that springs green in the morning, but faded by night. (Refrain)

Make us know our life’s shortness, that we may gain true wisdom of heart.
In the morning full us with your love. (Refrain)

Bernadette Farrell is one of the most beloved composers of music for worship on both sides of the Atlantic. Many of her songs such as “Christ, Be Our Light” and “O God, You Search Me” are worship staples in the hymnals of every denomination. She has a gift for composing richly meaningful, often challenging lyrics and comforting, prayerful melodies. 

Bernadette has always had a passion for social justice and that comes to the fore in many of her songs. She is a community organizer for UK Citizens, which advocates for fair housing, a living wage, proper community policing and health care access.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Lord, make me to know    William Byrd (1543-1623)

Lord, make me to know thy ways, O Lord.
O Lord, teach me thy paths, O Lord.
O lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
for thou art the God of my salvation.

William Byrd as an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard, and consort music. Although he produced sacred music for Anglican services, sometime during the 1570s he became a Roman Catholic and wrote Catholic sacred music later in his life.

Communion Hymn 655    O Jesus, I have promised    Nyland

Hymn in Procession 493    O for a thousand tongues to sing    Azmon

Voluntary    Miserere    William Byrd (1543-1623)

Douglas Johnson, guest organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Fugue in D Major, BWV 532b    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn 541    Come, labor on    Ora Labora

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 671    Amazing grace! how sweet the sound    New Britain

Offertory Anthem    Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace    Peter Niedmann (b. 1960)
Words: Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Peter Niedmann is Director of Music and Organist at Church of Christ, Congregational, in Newington, and composition coach for Scott Lamlein. He is a published composer with hundreds of works in print, and former Dean of the Hartford American Guild of Organists. His choral music has been sung at The White House and a Papal Mass for Pope John Paul II.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    O Lord increase my faith,    Allen Bevan (b. 1951)

O Lord, increase my faith.
Strengthen me and confirm me in thy true faith;
endue me with wisdom, charity, chastity and patience
in all my adversity.
Sweet Jesus, say Amen.

Communion Hymn 488    Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart    Slane

Hymn in Procession    Great is thy faithfulness    Faithfulness

Voluntary    Toccata on Great Day    Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)

Adolphus Hailstork is an American composer and educator. He grew up in Albany, New York, where he studied violin, piano, organ, and voice. As a child, he joined the choir of the Episcopalian cathedral. From this experience he developed an interest in vocal melodic writing that asserts itself in his choral works and art songs. Hailstork is of African-American ancestry and his works blend musical ideas from both the African-American and European traditions. His principal teachers were H. Owen Reed (Michigan State University), Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond (Manhattan School of Music), Mark Fax (Howard University) and Nadia Boulanger (American Institute at Fontainebleau).

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio from Symphony VI    Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Processional Hymn 438    Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!    Woodlands

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 705    As those of old their first fruits brought    Forest Green

Offertory Anthem    Beati quorum via    Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Words: Psalm 119:1

Beati quorum via integra est: qui ambulant in lege Domini.  
Blessed are they whose way of life is wholesome: who walk in the law of the Lord.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    You are the center    Margaret Rizza (b. 1929)

You are the center, you are my life, you are the center, O Lord, of my life.
Come, Lord and guide me, Lord of my life; send me your spirit, Lord of my life.
Come, Lord and heal me, Lord of my life; come, Lord and teach me, Lord of my life.
Give me your spirit and teach me your ways, give me your peace, Lord, and set me free.
You are the center, you are my life, you are the center, O Lord, of my life.

Born in 1929, Margaret Rizza only began to compose in 1997. Since then she has become a major personality in the world of sacred choral music, with substantial sales of both her printed and recorded music, which includes chart topping Taizé chants. All this followed an illustrious career as an opera singer spanning 25 years, under the name Margaret Lensky, working with conductors such as Britten, Stravinsky and Bernstein.

Communion Hymn    Love divine, all loves excelling    Blaenwern

Hymn in Procession 494    Crown him with many crowns    Diademata

Voluntary    Prelude in D Major, BWV 532a    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bach biographer Philipp Spitta (1841-1894) considered the Prelude and Fugue D Major, BWV 532 to be “one of the most dazzlingly beautiful of all the master’s organ works.” Composed in Weimar during Bach’s early years, the work is notable for its charm, drama, and virtuosity of the pedal line. The full work is presented in a series… You’ll need to wait for next Sunday to hear the Fugue!

Sept 18 Pentecost 15 1030amHoly Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Plein Jeu – Récit de cromorne    François Couperin (1668-1733)

Processional Hymn 390    Praise to the Lord, the almighty    Lobe den herren

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 676    There is a balm in Gilead    Balm in Gilead

Offertory Anthem    O ye that love the Lord    Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Born to a white English mother and a father from Sierra Leone, Coleridge-Taylor achieved such success that he was referred to by white New York musicians as the “African Mahler.” By 1896, Coleridge-Taylor was already earning a reputation as a composer. He was particularly known for his three cantatas on the epic poem Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Coleridge-Taylor premiered the first section in 1898, when he was 22. After Charles Villiers Stanford conducted the full premiere of the work in 1898, Coleridge-Taylor proved to be highly popular and made three tours of the United States. He participated as the youngest delegate at the 1900 First Pan-African Conference held in London, and met leading Americans through this connection, including scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    Songs from Silence    Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979)
Words: Brian Newhouse

If the song of my heart falls silent to me, sing to me.
When our voices stir the embers, my heart remembers our song again.

Songs from Silence is dedicated to the choral community in hope of healing during times of silence and distance.
Elaine Hagenberg’s compositions are performed worldwide and frequently featured at national and regional American Choral Directors Association Conferences, All-State festivals, Carnegie Hall, and other distinguished international concert halls from Australia to South America and throughout Europe.

Communion Hymn 345    Savior, again to thy dear Name we raise    Ellers

Hymn in Procession 368    Holy Father, great Creator    Regent Square

Voluntary    Fantasy on Lobe den herren    Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)

Emma Lou Diemer’s music has been published since 1957 and ranges from hymns and songs to large chamber and orchestral works. She is a native of Kansas City and received her composition degrees from Yale and from Eastman. She is professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has served as organist in various churches, most recently at First Presbyterian in Santa Barbara. Diemer is a keyboard performer and over the years has given concerts of her own organ works at Washington National Cathedral, The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Grace Cathedral and St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, and others. Her compositional style over the years has varied from tonal to atonal, from traditional to experimental. She has over 150 compositions to her name, and continues to write – at the age of 94.

Bruce Henley, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary     Sinfonia (Cantata 29)    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), arr. Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)

Processional Hymn 410    Praise, my soul, the King of heaven    Lauda Anima

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

The Rev’d Benjamin Straley is rector of S. Stephen’s Church in Providence, former organist of Washington National Cathedral, and a noted concert organist who performed here in 2020. He wrote this song of praise for the Cathedral, and our choir had the honor of premiering it while singing there in July, 2019. His tempo marking is “with much verve,” so listen once to the refrain and then help us make a joyful noise to God!

Sequence Hymn 645    The King of love my shepherd is    St. Columba

Offertory Anthem    I was glad    C. Hubert. H. Parry (1848-1918)
Words from Psalm 122

I was glad when they said unto me: we will go into the house of the Lord.
Our feet shall stand in thy gates; O Jerusalem, Jerusalem is builded as a city that is at unity in itself.
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    The Road Home    Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
Text by Michael Dennis Browne

Tell me where is the road I can call my own,
That I left, that I lost, so long ago?
All these years I have wandered, oh, when will I know
There’s a way, there’s a road that will lead me home?

After wind, after rain, when the dark is done,
As I wake from a dream in the gold of day
Through the air there’s a calling from far away,
There’s a voice I can hear that will lead me home.

Rise up. follow me, come away is the call,
With love in your heart as the only song;
There is no such beauty where you belong,
Rise up, follow me, I will lead you home.

Communion Hymn 439    What wondrous love is this    Wondrous Love

Hymn in Procession 665    All my hope on God is founded    Michael

Voluntary    Carillon de Longpont    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Bruce Henley, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Cwm Rhondda    Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Opening Hymn 632    O Christ, the Word Incarnate    Munich

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn    Have thine own way, Lord!    Adelaide

Offertory Music    Adagio, from Sonata No. 1 in F minor    Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 594    God of grace and God of Glory    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Procesión Alegre    Garry Cornell (b. 1940)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Summer Singers, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Jesu, joy of man’s desiring    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 376    Joyful, joyful, we adore thee    Hymn to Joy

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 568    Father all loving, who rulest in majesty    Was lebet

Offertory Motet    Ave verum corpus    Edward Elgar (1901-1930)
Words attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine, esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed with blood, Be for us a foretaste in the test of death.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 344    Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing    Sicilian Mariners

Voluntary    Andante Largo in D for Trumpet    John Stanley (1713-1786)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Summer Singers, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Bunessan    Fred Bock (1939-1998)

Opening Hymn 8    Morning has broken    Bunessan

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 315    Thou, who at thy first Eucharist didst pray    Song 1

Offertory Anthem    My shepherd will supply my need    American Folk Melody, arr. Virgil Thomson (1896-1989)
Text: Isaac Watts (1674-1748), para. Psalm 23, found at Hymn 664

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 624    Jerusalem the golden    Ewing

Voluntary    Offertorio    Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Summer Singers, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Air for Organ    William B. Cooper (1920-1993)

Opening Hymn 546    Awake my soul, stretch every nerve    Siroë

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 490    I want to walk as a child of the light    Houston

Offertory Anthem    God be in my head    Walford Davies (1869-1941)
Words: Sarum Primer, 1514, found at Hymn 694

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem     Be Known to us, Lord Jesus     Gary James (b. 1957)

Closing Hymn 552    Fight the good fight with all thy might    Pentecost

Voluntary    Flourish in G (2018)    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Summer Singers, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Variations on St. Anne    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)

Opening Hymn 68    Rejoice! rejoice, believers    Llangloffan

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 510    Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove    St. Agnes

Offertory Anthem    Lord, lead us still    Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 680    O God, our help in ages past    St. Anne

Voluntary    Variations on St. Anne – Final Variation    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Hope Eakins.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Largo from Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”    Dvořák, Antonin (1841-1904)

Opening Hymn 408    Sing praise to God who reigns above    Mit Freuden zart

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 516    Come down, O Love divine    Down Ampney

Offertory Music    Chorale et Variations (2008)    Rachel Laurin (b. 1961)
Tempo ordinario – Quieto – Giocoso

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 594    God of grace and God of glory    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Short Prelude ad Fugue in G Major, BWV 557    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, BWV 691    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 410    Praise, my soul, the King of heaven    Lauda anima

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 674    Forgive our sins as we forgive    Detroit

Offertory Music    Adoration    Florence Price (1887-1953)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 635    If thou but trust in God to guide thee    Wer nur den lieben Gott

Voluntary    Toccata ex D    Johann Krieger (1652-1735)

Guest organist: Douglas Johnson

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Bill Eakins.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Jesus Christus herrscht als König    Ernst Pepping (1901-1981)

Opening Hymn 495    Hail. thou once despised Jesus!    In Babilone

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 711    Seek ye first the kingdom of God    Seek Ye First

Offertory Music    Gelobt sei Gott im höchsten Thron    Ernst Pepping (1901-1981)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 488    Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart    Slane

Voluntary    Grand jeu, from 2nd Book of Organ Music    Louis Marchand (1669-1732)

Guest organist: Douglas Johnson

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Marche religieuse, Op. 15/2    Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911)

Opening Hymn 304    I come with joy to meet my Lord    Land of Rest

Sequence Hymn 660    O Master, let me walk with thee    Maryton

Offertory Music    Prière à Notre-Dame, from Suite Gothique    Leon Boëllmann (1862-1897)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 657    Love divine, all loves excelling    Hyfrydol

Voluntary    Rigaudon    André Campra (1660–1744)

Guest organist: Christopher Houlihan

Morning Prayer Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by Paul Shaker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Siciliènne    Robert Edward Smith (b. 1946)

Opening Hymn 535    Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim    Paderborn

Closing Hymn 608    Eternal Father, strong to save    Melita

Voluntary    Fugue, from Variations on the Star Spangled Banner    Dudley Buck (1839-1909)

Guest organist: Christopher Houlihan

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Todd Fitzgerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Choral, from Symphony No. 2, op. 20    Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

Opening Hymn 525    The Church’s one foundation    Aurelia

Sequence Hymn 655    O Jesus, I have promised    Nyland

Offertory Music    Lied, from 24 Pièces en Style Libre, Op 31, no. 17    Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 564    He who would valiant be ‘gainst all disaster    St. Dunstan’s

Voluntary    Carillon de Westminster, from 24 Pièces de Fantaisie, Opus 54/6    Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

Guest organist: Christopher Houlihan

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Allegro, from Sonata No. 1 in F minor    Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)

Opening Hymn 372    Praise to the living God!    Leoni

Sequence Hymn 653    Dear Lord and Father of mankind    Repton

Offertory Music    Adagio, from Sonata No. 1 in F minor    Felix Mendelssohn

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 686    Come, thou fount of every blessing    Nettleton

Voluntary    Allegro assai vivace, from Sonata No. 1 in F minor    Felix Mendelssohn

Guest organist: Christopher Houlihan

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    The peace may be exchanged from Rubrics, 1988    Dan Locklair (b. 1949)

Processional Hymn 362    Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!    Nicaea

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 367    Round the Lord in glory seated    Rustington

Offertory Anthem    Dear Lord and father of mankind    Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918)
Text by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), found at Hymn 652

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Locus iste    Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Text: Latin gradual for the dedication of a church

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est.
This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.

Communion Hymn 512    Come, Gracious Spirit, heavenly Dove    Mendon

Hymn in Procession 379    God is love, let heaven adore him    Abbott’s Leigh

Voluntary    Prelude in D Major, BWV 532    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Guest organist and choirmaster: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio in C Major, from BWV 564    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn 225    Hail thee, festival day!    Salve festa dies

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 513    Like the murmur of the dove’s song    Bridegroom

Offertory Anthem    Pentecost Carol    Richard Proulx (1937-2010)
Text: George Timms (1910-1997) alt., found at Hymn 230

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Breath of God, 1984    Dorothy Howell Sheets (1915-2011)

Breath of God, life bearing wind,
waking matter into birth,
planting promise, prompting hope:
with your life renew the earth.

Breath of God, word bearing wind,
truth-revealer, prophet’s speech,
guide to vistas of the mind:
let your word excite and teach.

Breath of God, fire bearing wind,
source of power, love, and light,
melting fears and joining tongues:
with your fire our hearts ignite.

Breath of God, song bearing wind,
stirring wonder to rejoice,
yearning’s echo, grace’s dance:
let your song give our prayers voice.

Communion Hymn 504    Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire    Veni Creator Spiritus

Hymn in Procession 516    Come down, O Love divine    Down Ampney

Voluntary    Fugue in A Minor, from BWV 543    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Guest organist and choirmaster: Christopher Houlihan
Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Master Tallis’s Testament    Herbert Howells (1892-1983)

Processional Hymn 435    At the name of Jesus    King’s Weston

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1,2,3    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 483    The head that once was crowned with thorns    St. Magnus

Offertory Anthem    Christ is our cornerstone    Noel Rawsthorne (b. 1929)
Text: translated from the Latin by J. Chandler

Christ is our cornerstone, on him alone we build; with his true saints alone
The courts of heaven are filled; on his great love our hopes we place of present grace and joys above.

Here, gracious God, do thou forevermore draw nigh; accept each faithful vow,
And mark each suppliant sigh; in copious shower on all who pray, each holy day, thy blessings pour.

O then with hymns of praise these hallowed courts shall ring; our voices we will raise
The three in one to sing; and thus proclaim in joyful song both loud and long, that glorious name.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Ave verum corpus    Stephanie Martin
Words attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine, esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed with blood, Be for us a foretaste in the test of death.

Communion Hymn 305    Come, risen Lord, and deign to be our guest    Rosedale

Hymn in Procession 494    Crown him with many crowns    Diademata

Voluntary    Toccata    Leo Sowerby (1895–1968)

Guest organist and choirmaster: Christopher Houlihan
Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Apparition de l’Église éternelle    Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

Processional Hymn 657    Love divine, all loves excelling    Hyfrydol

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1,2,3    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 550    Jesus calls us; o’er the tumult    Restoration

Offertory Anthem    The Lord is my shepherd    Howard Goodall (b. 1958)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Bread of the world, in mercy broken    John Abdenour (b. 1962)
Text: Reginald Heber (1783-1826), found at Hymn 301

Communion Hymn 345    Savior, again to Thy dear Name we raise    Ellers

Hymn in Procession 405    All things bright and beautiful    Royal Oak

Voluntary    Toccata on Great Day    Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)

Guest organist and choirmaster: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Grave, Adagio, Allegro Maestoso e Vivace
from Sonata No. 2 in C minor    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Processional Hymn 477    All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine    Egelberg

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1,2,3    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 604    When Christ was lifted from the earth    San Rocco

Offertory Anthem    Sing my soul    Sarah MacDonald (b. 1968)

Sing my soul, his wondrous love,
who from bright yonder throne above
ever watchful o’er his race,
still extends to us his grace

Heaven and earth by him were made,
all is by his scepter swayed,
what are we that he should show
so much love to us below,
so much love to us below?

God, the merciful and good,
bought us with the Savior’s blood,
and to make salvation sure
guides us by his Spirit pure,
guides us by his Spirit pure.

Sing my soul, adore his name!
Let his glory be thy theme:
praise him till he calls thee to his love
for all to come, trust love for all to come.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    If ye love me    Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585)
Text: John 14:15–17

If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another comforter,
that he may bide with you for ever, ev’n the spirit of truth.

Communion Hymn 487    Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life    The Call

Hymn in Procession 544    Jesus shall reign where’er the sun    Duke Street

Voluntary    Fugue, from Sonata No. 2 in C minor    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Guest organist and choirmaster: Christopher Houlihan
Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Walter McKenney.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Toccata in C Major, from BWV 564    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn 366    Holy God we praise thy Name    Grosser Gott

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1,2,3    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 646    The King of love my Shepherd is    Dominus regit me

Offertory Anthem    My shepherd will supply my need    American Folk Melody, arr. Virgil Thomson (1896-1989)
Text: Isaac Watts (1674-1748), para. Psalm 23, found at Hymn 664

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Draw us in the spirit’s tether    Harold W. Friedell (1905-1958)
Text attributed to Percy Dearmer (1867-1936)

Draw us in the Spirit’s tether; for when humbly, in thy name,
Two or three are met together, thou art in the midst of them:
Alleluya! Alleluya! Touch we now thy garment’s hem.

As disciples used to gather in the name of Christ to sup,
Then with thanks to God the Father break the bread and bless the cup,
Alleluya! Alleluya! So knit thou our friendship up.

All our meals and all our living make as sacraments of thee,
That by caring, helping, giving, we may true disciples be.
Alleluya! Alleluya! We will serve thee faithfully.

Communion Hymn 691    My faith looks up to thee    Olivet

Hymn in Procession 522    Glorious things of thee are spoken    Austria

Voluntary    Toccato, from Suite for organ    Florence B. Price (1887-1853)

Guest organist and choirmaster: Christopher Houlihan
Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Naïades, from 24 Pièces de Fantaisie, op. 55    Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

Processional Hymn 180    He is risen, he is risen!    Unser Herrscher

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1,2,3    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 256    A light from heaven shone around    Cornish

Offertory Anthem    I will arise   arr. Robert Shaw, Alice Parker

I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh! there are ten thousand charms.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.
Come, thou fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh! there are ten thousand charms.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks    Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Text: Psalm 42: 1-3

Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks,
so longeth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul is athirst for God,
yea, even for the living God.
When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they daily say unto me,
“Where is now thy God?”

Communion Hymn 185    Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands    Christ lag in Todesbanden

Hymn in Procession 535    Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim    Paderborn

Voluntary    Final, from Symphony No. 6, op. 59    Louis Vierne

Guest organist and choirmaster: Christopher Houlihan
Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola.

Click here for details.

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Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with Easter Lessons and Carols.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Berceuse    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Alborada    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Opening Hymn 208    Alleluia! The strife is o’er    Victory

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1,2,3    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Lessons and Carols for Easter

In the same tradition that we employ in Advent and Christmas, the story of Easter is illuminated through meaningful scripture readings punctuated by song. This liturgy is shared without commentary, allowing the meaning of the words and music to dwell in your heart and find their own personal meaning.

Jeremiah 31: 1-6 – God’s everlasting love is proclaimed to his people
__Hymn 458, vv 1, 2, 7   My song is love unknown    Love unknown
Isaiah 52:7-10, 13-15 – The prophet foretells the coming of the Savior
__Hymn 178, vv. 1, 2, 4    Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord   Alleluia No. 1
Revelation 21:1-7 – Saint John speaks of the New Jerusalem
__Hymn 182, vv. 1, 2, 5     Christ is alive!    Truro
Luke 24:1-9 – The women find the empty tomb
__Sequence Hymn 204    Now the green blade riseth   Noël nouvelet
John 20:19-31 – Jesus reveals himself to the disciples and to Thomas
__Hymn 206    O sons and daughters, let us sing    O filii, O filiae

Offertory    Lied    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Sanctus S125    Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Hymn 324    Let all mortal flesh keep silence    Picardy

Closing Hymn 205    Good Christians all, rejoice and sing    Gelobt sei Gott

Voluntary    Fantasy on Gelobt sei Gott    Healey Willan (1880-1968)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. sung by the Choir School and Adult Choir with brass and timpani, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Variations: Allegro vivace from Symphonie V    Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Processional Hymn 207    Jesus Christ is risen today   Easter Hymn

Song of Praise 417    This is the feast   Festival Canticle (10:30 only)

Sequence Hymn 199   Come, ye faithful, raise the strain     St. Kevin

Offertory Anthem    Offertory Anthem    Hallelujah from Messiah   Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ,
And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings, and Lord of lords.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem   Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    My master from a garden rose    Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)
Text: Gordon Young

My master in a garden lay, perfumed with spices rare,
for tender hands had laid him there to rest amid the roses.
Twas’ on a cross they laid him there, and kissed his hands with nails,
that we would then might live again and be with him in glory.
Alleluia!

My master from a garden rose, to go for us to heaven.
And he will come again to take us there, to be with him forever.
Alleluia! Amen.

Communion Hymn 305   Come, risen Lord   Rosedale

Closing Hymn 210   The day of resurrection   Ellacombe

Voluntary    Toccata (Symphonie V)    Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Music: The St. John’s Adult Choir (8:00), The Saint John’s Choir School and Adult Choir (10:30)
Organist/Choirmaster: Scott Lamlein
Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt
Trumpeters: Tom Hintz, Jeff Higgins
Timpani: Ed Fast

Good Friday Liturgies:
12 noon at St. John’s with hymns;
7:00 p.m. at St. James’s, sung by the combined choirs.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Organ Voluntary (noon)    Adagio from Symphony V    Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Hymns (noon):

441    In the cross of Christ I glory    Rathbun

160    Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow    Cross of Jesus

172   Were you there when they crucified my Lord    Were You There

Anthems (7:00 p.m. at St. James’s)

God so loved the world    John Stainer (1840-1901)
Words: John 3:16-17

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; that whoso believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

Crown of roses    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

When Jesus Christ was yet a child
He had a garden small and wild
Where-in he cherished roses fair
And wove them into garlands there

Now as the summertime drew nigh
There came a troop of children by
And seeing roses on the tree
With shouts they plucked them merrily

“Do you bind roses in your hair?”
They cried in scorn to Jesus there
The boy said humbly “Take I pray
All but the naked thorns away”

Then of the thorns they made a crown
And with rough fingers pressed it down
Till on his forehead fair and young
Red drops of blood like roses sprung

Holy Eucharist Rite II and Footwashing at 7:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    O Mensch, bewein dein sünde gross, BWV 622    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Kyrie Eleison S-84   Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 171    Go to dark Gethsemane    Petra

Song at the Footwashing    Stay with me     Jacques Berthier (1923-1994)

Offertory Anthem    When Jesus wept    William Billings (1746-1800)

When Jesus wept, the falling tear
In mercy flowed beyond all bound;
When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear
Seized all the guilty world around.

Sanctus    Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Agnus Dei    Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Hymn 315    Thou, who at thy first Eucharist didst pray   Song 1

Hymn in procession 167    There is a green hill far away    Horsley

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Palm Procession from the Cloister Garden

Hymn in Procession 154    All glory, laud, and honor    Valet will ich dir geben

Sequence Hymn 158    Ah, holy Jesus!    Herzliebster Jesu

Offertory Anthem    God so loved (2014)    Brittney Boykin (b. 1989)
Text: John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

B.E. Boykin is a native of Alexandria, Virginia and graduated from Spelman College with a B.A. in Music. Ms. Boykin received her M.M. in Sacred Music with a concentration in Choral Studies from Westminster Choir College. She continued to compose music during her time at Westminster, and was awarded the R and R Young Composition Prize just a few months shy of graduating.

Ms. Boykin currently serves as Assistant Director/Accompanist for the Spelman College Glee Club. Her most recent commissioned work, “We Sing as One,” was commissioned to celebrate Spelman’s College’s 133rd Anniversary of its founding. Ms. Boykin’s instrumental and choral works are currently being published and distributed through her own publishing company, Klavia Press.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    Heilig (Holy)    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Text: Sanctus from the liturgy of the Eucharist
St. John’s Choir of Youth & Adults with the Choir of St. Paul’s-on-the-Green, Norwalk

Heilig, heilig, heilig ist Gott, der Herr Zebaoth!
Alle Lande sind seiner Ehre voll.
Hosianna in der Höh’!
Gelobt sei, der da kommt im Namen des Herrn!
Hosianna in der Höh’!

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

Mendelssohn’s posthumously published Three Sacred Pieces were composed towards the end of 1846. Mendelssohn was never physically the most robust of men, and the years of constant traveling, performing, composing and conducting were now taking their toll on his fragile frame—he was to pass away the following year. His letters of the period are brimful of references to his state of exhaustion, and by the time he came to compose these short choral works, he had already begun pulling out of upcoming performances. This perfectly conceived miniature is typical both in terms of its sheer mastery of choral writing and effortless command of musical expression and structure.

Communion Hymn 170    To mock your reign, O dearest Lord    The Third Tune

Hymn in Procession 168    O sacred head, sore wounded    Passion Chorale

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Allegro cantabile from Symphony V    Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 382    King of glory, King of peace    General Seminary

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    We shall walk through the valley    Spiritual, arr. Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989)

We shall walk through the valley in peace;
we shall walk through the valley in peace.

Refrain:
If Jesus himself shall be our leader,
we shall walk through the valley in peace.

There will be no sorrow there;
there will be no sorrow there. Refrain

Undine Eliza Anna Smith Moore, the “Dean of Black Women Composers,” was an American composer and professor of music in the twentieth century. Moore was originally trained as a classical pianist, but developed a compositional output of mostly vocal music—her preferred genre. Much of her work was inspired by black spirituals and folk music. Undine Smith Moore was a renowned teacher, and once stated that she experienced “teaching itself as an art.”

Communion Hymn 474    When I survey the wondrous cross    Rockingham

Hymn in Procession 473    Lift high the cross    Crucifer

Voluntary    Litanies     Jehan Alain (1911-1940)

Jehan Alain, a Parisian composer whose life was cut short when his plane was shot down during WWII, wrote this morning’s closing voluntary. Litanies is a breathless and relentless prayer. The desperation of prayer in time of deep need is illustrated by a repetitive litany and rhythms written while traveling on a train – all building to a frenzy. Alain writes, “When the Christian soul in its despair can no longer find any new words to implore the mercy of God, it repeats the same incantation over and over again in blind faith. The limits of reality are surpassed and faith alone continues upward.”

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    from Sonata II    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Grave, Andante Sostenuto, Allegro maestoso e vivace

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 470    There’s a wideness in God’s mercy    Beecher

Offertory Anthem  Even when God is silent    Sumner Jenkins (b. 1962)
Anonymous text found on a basement wall in Cologne, Germany written by someone hiding from the Gestapo during the Nazi holocaust.

I believe in the sun
even when it isn’t shining.
I believe in love
even when feeling it not.
I believe in God
even when God is silent.
I believe in the silence.

Mr. Jenkins holds a BMus (1985) in Church Music and a MMus (1987) in Organ Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA. and has done additional study with Dr. Wilma Jensen and Diane Meredith Belcher. He is an active member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the American Guild of Organists. Sumner joined St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lynchburg, VA in September, 2016. Prior to joining us, Sumner served St. John’s, Washington, CT. He also served 11 years at Calvary Episcopal Church, Memphis, TN.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Motet    Ave verum corpus    William Byrd (1543-1623)
Words attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine, esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed with blood, Be for us a foretaste in the test of death.

Communion Hymn    It is well with my soul    It is well

Hymn in Procession 690    Guide me, O thou great Jehovah    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Fugue from Sonata II    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Andantino quasi allegretto from Symphony V    Charles Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn    Crashing waters at creation    Restoration

Offertory Anthem    You are my God    Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
Text: David Adams, 2005
St. John’s Youth and Adult Choirs

You are the light that guides my way, you are the seeker when I stray,
You are my strength and my friend, you are the peace that keeps me calm,
You are my love and my sure light, you are the presence when hope is gone,
You are with me, I am never alone, you are the power that’s always there,
You are my God beyond compare, you are the one to whom I pray,
You are the Lord with me this day, you are my strength to my life’s end,
You are my God.

As a composer, conductor, and singer, Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong association with choral music, first as a chorister and choral scholar in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and for 12 years as a member of the King’s Singers.  He became a full-time composer in 1997, embracing his career with energy and commitment, and producing a large catalogue of music for all types of choirs which is published by Oxford University Press. He is well known for his compositions for children’s choirs, including Can You Hear Me?, which he has conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Estonia, Latvia, Germany, and the Czech Republic. He is associated with the New Orleans Children’s Chorus and the Crescent City Festival in New Orleans, for which he wrote A Little Jazz Mass, Happy Land, This Day, Be Simple Little Children, and I Lift My Eyes.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    Bread of the world, in mercy broken    John Abdenour (b. 1962)
Words: Reginald Heber (1783-1826), found at Hymn 301

John Abdenour, B. A., B. Mus., J.D., sang as a boy in the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Detroit and began organ study at the cathedral. He subsequently received degrees in Organ Performance and American History from Oberlin College. After pursuing a brief career as an attorney, he returned to his first love, sacred music. He undertook further study of Anglican choral training in 1996, when he spent a month in St Albans, singing with and studying the Choir of St Albans Cathedral, then directed by Barry Rose. John is the Director of Music at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fairfied, CT. He is a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and has served as Dean of the Fairfield-West Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and has served as a faculty member of the Bridgeport AGO Pipe Organ Encounter. John lives in New Haven with his wife Margaret and son Michael.

Communion Hymn 439    What wondrous love is this    Wondrous Love

Hymn in Procession 401    The God of Abraham Praise    Leoni

Voluntary    Fantasia in G minor, BWV 542b    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Chorale et Variations    Rachel Laurin (b. 1961)

Rachel Laurin is a Canadian organist, composer and music educator living in Quebec. Laurin studied organ at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. In 1985, she received the McAbbie Foundation scholarship and, in the following year, the Bourse d’excellence Wilfrid-Pelletier. She has performed in Canada, the United States and France. She has received the Conrad-Letendre scholarship five times. From 1986 to 2002, she was assistant organist at Saint Joseph’s Oratory. In 1988, she started teaching at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. From 2002 to 2006, she was titular organist at Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa.In 2008, she received the Holtkamp-AGO Composition Award. In 2009, she was awarded first place in the Marilyn Mason New Organ Music  Competition.

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 455    O Love of God, how strong and true    Dunedin

Offertory Anthem    Be not afraid from Elijah    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

“Be not afraid,” saith God the Lord, “be not afraid, thy help is near!”
God, the Lord, thy God, saith unto thee: “Be not afraid!”
Though thousands languish and fall beside thee,
and tens of thousands around thee perish,
yet still it shall not come nigh thee.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    A Gaelic blessing    John Rutter (b. 1945)
Words: Ancient Gaelic rune

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of Christ,
of Christ the light of the world to you.
Deep peace of Christ to you.

Communion Hymn    My Jesus, I love thee Gordon

Hymn in Procession 688    A mighty fortress is our God Ein feste Burg

Voluntary    Fantasy on Ein feste Burg    Calvin Hampton (1938-1984)

(George) Calvin Hampton was a leading American organist and sacred music composer. From 1963 to 1983 Hampton was organist and choirmaster at Calvary Episcopal Church in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. His  “Fridays at Midnight” organ recital series, which ran from 1974 to 1983, was among the most well-known and popular organ recital series in American history.

Before Hampton’s death, Erik Routley, an authority on church music, called Hampton “the greatest living composer of hymn tunes.” His settings of the Episcopal liturgy are also used in Catholic churches, and his choral works are innovative and challenging pieces of sacred music.

Hampton eventually stopped working at the church to concentrate on composition and organ consulting. He contracted AIDS but remained active until the final few weeks of his life.

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary     Contemplation on Wondrous Love    Rebecca Groom te Velde (b 1956)

Today is Woman Composer Sunday, which was launched in 2021 to provide a platform for some of the wonderful music composed for organ by women composers. The day went from an initial idea to a successful event in little over 8 weeks. The event is sponsored by the Royal College of Organists (UK), the American Guild of Organists, and the Society of Woman Organists. 

Rebecca Groom te Velde (b. 1956) is a third-generation professional organist, following both parents and her grandfather. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University and received the M.Mus in organ literature and performance from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. The Region VIII winner of the AGO National Playing Competition in 1979, she was selected to participate in the Flor Peeters International Master class at Mechelen, Belgium. She has performed in numerous states as well as in Germany, England and Canada, and has published articles with The Musical Times and The American Organist. In 1991 she assumed her present position as organist of First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, OK. She is an active performer, composer, clinician, and adjunct instructor of music at Oklahoma State University.

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Lent brings us an opportunity for deeper reflection, as we take a break from musical fanfares and descants, and replace them with a silent procession and meditative chant. The service music that we will sing during Lent is all from the Gregorian Missal; both the Sanctus and Agnus Dei were famously set in Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem.

Sequence Hymn 529    In Christ there is no East or West    McKee

Offertory Anthem    Kyrie eleison from Requiem    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Communion Anthem    Lacrimosa from Requiem    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.

Sorrowful day,
When rising from the dust,
Guilty man to be judged.
God have mercy,
Compassionate Lord Jesus,
Grant them peace. Amen.

Communion Hymn 343    Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless    St. Agnes

Hymn in Procession 142    Lord, who throughout these forty days    St. Flavian

Voluntary    Fantasy on O God our help in ages past    Christa Rakich (b. 1960)

Christa Rakich (b. 1952) is St. John’s Organ Artist-in-Residence, an international concert organist and recording artist, and professor of organ at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. 

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II with Imposition of Ashes at 7:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary     Antiphon III     Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)

Processional Hymn 143    The glory of these forty days    Erhalt uns, Herr

Offertory Anthem    Create in me a clean heart, O God    Carl Mueller (1892-1982)
Words: Psalm 50:10–13

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me, uphold me with thy free Spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will be converted unto thee.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Carl F. Mueller studied organ with Wilhelm Mittleschulte, Clarence Eddy, and Clarence Dickinson, was an organ recitalist, taught at Union Theological Seminary’s School of Sacred Music, and earned a fellowship at Westminster Choir College. Create in me a clean heart, O God has sold over two million copies, and is one of his over 500 published compositions. He was organist and choir director at First Presbyterian Church in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Communion Motet    Ave verum corpus    William Byrd (1543-1623)
Words attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine, esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed with blood, Be for us a foretaste in the test of death.

Hymn in Procession 674    Forgive our sins as we forgive    Detroit

Organ Scholar: Ted Babbitt

Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. sung by Alchemy.

Click here for details.

Service Leaflet

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Tim Hodapp.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Outer Hebrides: Variations on three Celtic melodies    Paul Halley (b. 1952)

Processional Hymn 137    O wondrous type! O vision fair    Wareham

Gloria S280    Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 488    Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart    Slane

Offertory Anthem    Christ whose glory fills the skies    T. Frederick H. Candlyn (1892-1964)
Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788), found at Hymn 7

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    O nata lux    Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)

O nata lux de lumine,
Jesu redemptor saeculi,
dignare clemens supplicum
laudes preces que sumere.
Qui carne quondam contegi
dignatus es pro perditis,
Nos membra confer effici,
tui beati corporis.

O born light of light,
Jesus, redeemer of the world,
mercifully deem worth and accept
the praises and prayers of your supplicants.
Thou who once deigned to be clothed in flesh
for the sake of the lost ones,
Grant us to be made members
of your blessed body.

Morten Lauridsen was composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (1994–2001) and has been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than 40 years. In 2007 he received the National Medal of Arts from the President in a White House ceremony, “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide.”  O nata lux, a text for the Feast of the Transfiguration, is certainly no exception.

Communion Hymn    Spirit of the living God    Iverson

Hymn in Procession 618    Ye watchers and ye holy ones    Lasst uns erfreuen

Voluntary    Fanfare    John Cook (1918-1984)

A trumpet mardi gras for organ! This is the last time we’ll hear the Trompette-en-Chamade (horizontal trumpet over the main entrance) and Trompette Harmonique (high pressure trumpet in the chancel) in worship until Easter Sunday, as Lent begins this coming week.

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary     Chant de Paix (Song of Peace)   Jean Langlais (1907-1991)

Jean Langlais became blind due to glaucoma when he was two years old and was sent to the National Institute for Blind Children in Paris, where he began to study the organ. From there he progressed to the Paris Conservatoire, obtaining prizes in organ and studied composition, and improvisation. After graduating, Langlais returned to the National Institute for Blind Children to teach, and also taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris from 1961 to 1976. Many of his students went on to become important musicians, including organists and composers.

It was as an organist that Langlais made his name, following in the footsteps of César Franck and Charles Tournemire as organist at the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris in 1945, a post in which he remained until 1988. He was much in demand as a concert organist, and widely toured across Europe and the United States.

Processional Hymn 657    Love divine, all loves excelling    Hyfrydol

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 674    Forgive our sins as we forgive    Detroit

Offertory Anthem    Teach me o lord    Thomas Atwood (1765-1838)

Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes;
and I shall keep it unto the end.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    Blessed Jesus, at thy word    Johann Rudolph Ahle (1625-1684)
Text may be found at Hymn 440

Hymn in Procession 568    Father all loving, who rulest in majesty    Was lebet

Voluntary    Fugue in G major, BWV 541    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Ted Babbitt, organist and choirmaster

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Choir School and Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Choral Prelude on Wer nur den lieben Gott    Mark Fax (1911-1974)

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mark Fax was a child prodigy. By age fourteen, he was employed as a theater organist and church organist. Fax studied at Syracuse University where he earned a B.Mus. in 1933, then at Eastman earning a Master’s degree in composition, studying with Howard Hanson. He founded and chaired the music department at Paine College in Georgia. In 1942 Mark studied piano at Bennington College in Vermont, where he wrote music for the Martha Graham Dance Troupe. From 1947 to 1972, Fax taught music theory at Howard University and served as director of the School of Music. Later, Fax became Acting Dean of Howard’s College of Fine Arts. Concurrently, he served as music director at Washington’s famed Asbury Methodist Church Washington, DC. Fax composed works for chorus, symphony, chamber ensemble, voice, piano, and organ, in addition to two full-length operas.

Processional Hymn 544    Jesus shall reign where’er the sun    Duke Street

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 635    If thou but trust in God to guide thee    Wer nur den lieben Gott

Offertory Anthem    The Beatitudes    arr. Richard Proulx (1937-2010)
Text: Matthew 5:3-12

Remember your servants, Lord, when you come in your kingly power. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn; for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’s sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when the world reviles you and persecutes you; and utters all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake: rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven. Remember your servants, Lord, when you come in your kingly power.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    Lasst uns singen von der Gnäde des Herrn    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
From the oratorio St. Paul

Lasst uns singen von der Gnäde des Herrn
und seine Warheit verkündigen. Ewiglich.

Let us sing of he grace of the Lord
and his truth proclaim. Forever.

Hymn in Procession 296    We know that Christ is raised and dies no more    Engelberg

Voluntary    O God our help in ages past    Mark Fax (1911-1974)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Air for Organ    William B. Cooper (1920-1993)

William B. Cooper was a native of Philadelphia. He received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Philadelphia College or Performing Arts and a Doctorate of Music from Columbia Pacific University (California). He served on the music faculties of Bennett College (Greensboro, NC) and Hampton University (Hampton, VA) as well as 26 years in the New York City School System. Cooper also served as Minister of Music at historic Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church (1953-74) and Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church (1974-88) in Harlem.

Processional Hymn 362    Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!    Nicaea

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 686    Come, thou fount of every blessing    Nettleton

Offertory Anthem    Deep waters    Pepper Choplin (b. 1957)
Words based on: Luke 5:1-11

Their fishing nets were empty when they first saw the Lord.
All night they had been fishing in the waters by the shore.
The Lord said, “Go to deep waters, cast your nets once more.”
And because they obeyed, they would never be the same.

Go to deep waters, deep waters, where only faith will let you go.
Go out to deep waters, deep waters, harvests of faith will overflow. Go.

They cast their nets and almost before they could begin,
their nets were overflowing and they had to pull them in.
And though this was their greatest catch their fishing days would end.
For they abandoned all when they heard the master’s call.

Pepper Choplin is a full-time composer, conductor and humorist. He has gained a reputation as one of the most creative writers in church music today. With a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he went on to earn a Master of Music degree in composition from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

With a diverse musical background, Choplin incorporates varied styles such as folk, Gospel, classical, and jazz. His published works includes over 300 anthems for church and school choir with 23 church cantatas and two books of piano arrangements.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    My God, thy table now is spread    Edward Miller (1731-1807)
Text may be found at Hymn 321

Hymn in Procession 48    O day of radiant gladness    Es flog eins kleins Waldvogelein

Voluntary    Flourish in G (2018)    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Abbott’s Leigh, 1991    Carl D. N. Klein

Carl Klein received his MM and DMA degrees at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. After a 35 year career playing the organ for church and concerts, he joined the firm of CB Fisk to build organs. His usual tasks at the shop include the making of reeds, the preparation, shop voicing, and tonal finishing both flues and reeds, and duties as shop archivist. Dr. Klein has been an organist/choirmaster in the Episcopal Church for over 30 years and currently serves at the Parish of the Good Shepherd in Waban, MA. He maintains membership in the Association of Anglican Musicians and in the American Guild of Organists, and is administrator of the Boston AGO Organ Library and Archive.

Processional Hymn 569    God the Omnipotent! King who ordainest    Russia

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 630    Thanks to God whose Word was spoken    Wylde Green

Offertory Anthem    Jesu, joy of man’s desiring    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,
holy wisdom, love most bright;
drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
with the fire of life impassioned,
striving still to truth unknown,
soaring, dying round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,
hark, what peaceful music rings;
where the flock, in Thee confiding,
drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;
theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
in the love of joys unknown.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Motet    Ubi caritas    Jacques Berthier (1923-1994)
Words from the Maundy Thursday liturgy

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.

Where charity and love are, God is there. Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in him. Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.

Hymn in Procession    Lord you give the great commission    Abbot’s Leigh

Voluntary    Ev’ry time I feel the Spirit (1992)    Judith L. Maggs

Judith L. Maggs lives in Western NY and enjoys playing, singing, and writing music. She holds a degree in Music Education from SUNY College at Potsdam, Crane School of Music. Judith taught private piano for over 30 years, and loves to write pieces for her students, sometimes as motivation, sometimes to fit their current needs, and sometimes just for pure fun. Maggs is the Music Director at her local church, and has written several anthems for the choir. She strives to make her pieces very accessible for small choirs, always trying to avoid the “big dramatic high endings.”

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola.

Click here for details.

Service Leaflet

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Reverie for Celestes from Suite Sebastienne    Thomas H. Kerr (1915-1988)

Thomas Henderson Kerr, Jr., born in Baltimore, Maryland, was raised in a musical family. His father was a famous orchestra leader and composer. From a young age, Kerr played the piano, even teaching himself how to play the organ. At the age of 14, he was playing for churches and in nightclubs. Kerr dreamed of attending the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, but African American students were not admitted during that period of time. He, instead, attended Howard University for one year before continuing his musical studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester where he completed his Bachelor of Music degree in piano and theory, as well as his Master’s degree in theory. Kerr received honors and prizes in composition and performed many times as piano soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Processional Hymn 427    When morning gilds the skies    Laides Domini

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 529    In Christ there is no East or West    McKee

Offertory Anthem    The Road Home    Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
Text by Michael Dennis Browne

Tell me where is the road I can call my own,
That I left, that I lost, so long ago?
All these years I have wandered, oh, when will I know
There’s a way, there’s a road that will lead me home?

After wind, after rain, when the dark is done,
As I wake from a dream in the gold of day
Through the air there’s a calling from far away,
There’s a voice I can hear that will lead me home.

Rise up. follow me, come away is the call,
With love in your heart as the only song;
There is no such beauty where you belong,
Rise up, follow me, I will lead you home.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Motet    Nunc Dimittis    Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
Text: The song of Simeon, Luke 2:29-32

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, Amen.

Hymn in Procession 539    O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling    Tidings

Voluntary    Carillon de Longpont from Pièces en style libre    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

In 1913, Louis Vierne spent the summer with the De Montesquiou family at their chateâu in Longpont, a town northeast of Paris. On August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, Vierne accompanied hymns during the procession, using a harmonium, mounted on a cart drawn by two donkeys. Later that day, he composed Carillon du Longpont based on the theme of the peal of the three bells and a clock bell in the belfry of the chateâu’s small chapel. Vierne dedicated the piece to his brother, Rene, also an organist. Sadly, Rene was killed in a battle during the First World War, waged east of Longpont.

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola and the Hot Cat Jazz Band, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    The Hot Cat Jazz Band
Down By the Riverside
His Eye Is On the Sparrow
This Little Light of Mine

By now you have noticed that things are a little different this morning! Our music today is led by the Hot Cat Jazz Band, a local Dixieland-style band that specializes in Jazz worship – they do many of these services throughout Connecticut every year. Two of our choral anthems are in traditional a capella style, paying tribute to the Rev’d Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But everything else, including and especially the hymns, are a time for you to tap your toes, move about, and sing praise with freedom and joy. 

Processional Hymn    Mine eyes have seen the glory

Gloria S280    Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sequence Hymn    He’s got the whole world in his hand

Communion Anthem    Precious Lord, take my hand    George Allen, arr. Roy Ringwald (1910-1955)
Words by Thomas A. Dorsey, adapted by Joyce Merman following the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Candy Green, soloist

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Bring me home through the night,
Through the dark, through the storm, to thy light.
I have been to the mount, I have seen the promised land,
Precious Lord, precious Lord, take my hand.

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Bring thy child home at last,
Where the strife and the pain are all past:
I have dreamed a great dream that thy love shall rule our land,
Precious Lord, precious Lord, take my hand.

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Take thy child unto Thee,
With my dream of a world that is free;
For that day when all flesh joins the glory thou hast planned,
Precious Lord, precious Lord, take my hand.

Hymn in Procession    We shall overcome

Voluntary    When the saints go marching in

The Hot Cat Jazz Band:
Trumpet: Ross Tucker
Clarinet: Andy Sherwood
Trombone: Tom Boates
Guitar: Sonny Landolfi
Bass: Donn Doucette
Drums: Sal Ranniello

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by The Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude for Organ: Tonality of Time    Francesco Blackmore (b. 1991)

Born in Jamaica, Francesco Blackmore is a Connecticut composer and organist, currently serving as Director of Music at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Windsor. He was an award-winning composition and theory student at CCSU, and recently was composer-in-residence at West Avon Congregational Church. Scott was honored to play the premiere of this work on our Pipes Alive! series in 2019.

Processional Hymn 76 vv. 1, 2, 5    On Jordan’s bank, the baptist’s cry    Winchester New

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 513    Like the murmur of the dove’s song    Bridegroom

Offertory Anthem    The Lamb    John Tavener (1944-2013)
Words: William Blake (1757–1827)

Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    Shall we gather at the river    Robert Lowry (1826-1899)

Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod;
With its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God?

Yes, we’ll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.

On the margin of the river, washing up its silver spray,
We will walk and worship ever, all the happy golden day.

Ere we reach the shining river, lay we ev’ry burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver, and provide a robe and crown.

Soon we’ll reach the shining river, soon our pilgrimage will cease,
Soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.

Hymn in Procession 135, vv. 1, 2, 4    Songs of thankfulness and praise    Salzburg

Voluntary    Trumpet Tune in D    John Stanley (1713-1786)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with the St. John’s Youth Choir and Schola, sermon by The Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Variations on a Basque Noël, 2017    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Processional Hymn 109    The first Nowell the angel did say    The First Nowell

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Sequence Hymn 124    What star is this, with beams so bright    Puer nobis

Offertory Anthem    Ding, dong, merrily on high    arr. Charles Wood (1866-1926)

Ding dong merrily on high
in heav’n the bells are ringing;
ding dong! verily the sky
is riv’n with angel singing.
Gloria Hosanna in excelsis!

E’en so here below, below,
let steeple bells be swungen;
and “io, io, io!”
by priest and people sungen.
Gloria Hosanna in excelsis!

Pray you, dutifully prime
your matin chime ye ringers;
May you beautifully rhyme
your eve’time song, ye singers.
Gloria Hosanna in excelsis!

Communion Anthem    My eyes for beauty pine    Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Text: Robert Bridges (1844-1930)

My eyes for beauty pine, my soul for Goddes grace,
No other care or hope is mine, to heaven I turn my face.

One splendour thence is shed from all the stars above;
‘Tis named when God’s name is said, ’tis love, ’tis heavenly love.

And every heart that burns with true desire,
Is lit from eyes that mirror part of that celestial fire.

Communion Hymn 517    How lovely is thy dwelling-place    Brother James’s Air

Hymn in Procession 119    As with gladness, men of old    Dix

Voluntary    Fugue on From heaven above    Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by The Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Greensleeves    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Opening Hymn 102    Once in royal David’s city    Irby

Sequence Hymn 98    Unto us a Boy is Born    Puer nobis nascitur

Offertory Music    Go tell it on the mountain    Eugene W. Hancock (1929-1994)

Communion Hymn 82    Of the father’s love begotten    Divinum mysterium

Closing Hymn 115    What chid is this, who, laid to rest    Greensleeves

Voluntary    Fantasy on Joy to the World    Wilbur Held (1914-2015)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by The Rev’d Walter McKenney.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 (Savior of the heathen, come)    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn 76    On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry    Winchester New

Kyrie Eleison    from Litany of the Saints    adapt. Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Sequence Hymn 66    Come, thou long-expected Jesus    Stuttgart

Offertory Anthem    People, look east, 1982    Christopher Steel (1938-1991)
Words: Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965)

People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.

Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.

Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.

Communion Anthem    The Lamb    John Tavener (1944-2013)
Words: William Blake (1757–1827)

Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.

Communion Hymn    Steal away

Hymn in Procession 436    Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates    Truro

Voluntary    Prelude in G Major, BWV 550    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir and Schola, sermon by The Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Choral-Improvisation on Vom Himmel hoch (From heaven above)    Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)
Prelude on Psalm 42    Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Processional Hymn 59    Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding    Merton

Kyrie Eleison    from Litany of the Saints    adapt. Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Sequence Hymn 65    Prepare the way, O Zion    Bereden väg för Herran

Offertory Anthem    No small wonder    Paul Edwards (b. 1955)
Text: Paul Wigmore (1925-2014)

Small wonder the star,
Small wonder the light,
The angels in chorus,
The shepherds in fright;
But stable and manger for God –
No small wonder!

Small wonder the kings,
Small wonder they bore
The gold and the incense,
The myrrh, to adore:
But God gives his life on a cross –
No small wonder!

Small wonder the love,
Small wonder the grace,
The power, the glory,
The light of his face;
But all to redeem my poor heart –
No small wonder!

Communion Anthem    Prepare the way (2015)    Zanaida Robles (b. 1979)
Text: Frans Mikael Franzen, adap. Charles P. Price

Prepare the way, O Zion,
your Christ is drawing near!
Let every hill and valley
a level way appear.
Greet One who comes in glory,
foretold in sacred story.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

He brings God’s rule, O Zion;
he comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom,
and justice, truth, and love.
Lift high your praise resounding,
for grace and joy abounding.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion;
your Savior’s rule embrace.
His tidings of salvation
proclaim in every place.
All lands will bow before him,
their voices will adore him.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance. Authentic interpersonal connection and relationship-building are core principles of her teaching and performance methods. Born, raised, and educated in Southern California, she is in demand as a vocalist, conductor, clinician and adjudicator for competitions, festivals, and conferences related to choral and solo vocal music. Her film and television credits include “Glee,” “Tinkerbell: Pirate Fairy,” “Godzilla,” “Minions,” “Creed,” Lego Movie,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Venom,” “Smallfoot,” “Frozen 2,” “Underwater,” and “Mulan.” 

Communion Hymn 81    Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming    Es ist ein Ros

Hymn in Procession 67    Comfort, comfort ye my people    Psalm 42

Voluntary    Toccata in F    Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by The Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Three Settings of Veni Emmanuel
Prelude    Paul Manz (1919-2009)
Cortege    Pietro Yon (1886-1943)
Fantasy    Wilbur Held (1914-2015)

Processional Hymn 56    O come, O come, Emmanuel    Veni, veni, Emmanuel

Kyrie Eleison    from Litany of the Saints    adapt. Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Sequence Hymn 61    “Sleepers wake!” A voice astounds us    Wachet auf

Offertory Anthem    There is no rose    Jessica Nelson (b. 1983)
Text: Anonymous, 14th century

There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu;
Alleluia.

For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space;
Res miranda.  (Thing of wonder)

By that rose we may well see
There be one God in persons three,
Pares forma.  (Equal in form)

The angels sungen the shepherds to:
Gloria in excelsis deo:  (Glory to God in the highest)
Gaudeamus.   (Let us rejoice)

Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth;
Transeamus.  (Let us follow)

Jessica Nelson holds degrees from Millsaps College and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, as well as the Colleague Certificate from the American Guild of Organists. She currently serves as organist/choirmaster of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, MS. She directs the Mississippi Conference on Church Music and Liturgy, which draws participants from all over the United States and from beyond the Episcopal Church. In 2015, she was appointed to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of the Episcopal Church in the United States and also serves on the board of the Leadership Program for Musicians. Jessica has taught on the music faculties of the University of North Alabama and Northeast MS Community College and composes in her spare time.

Communion Anthem    Creator of the stars of night
The text may be found at Hymn 60.

Communion Hymn 601    O day of God draw nigh    St. Michael

Hymn in Procession 57    Lo! he comes with clouds descending    Helmsley

Voluntary    Fanfare on Wachet auf     Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:00 a.m. sung by Cleveland Williams, sermon by The Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prière à Notre Dame from Suite Gothique    Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897)

Opening Hymn 290    Come, ye thankful people, come    St. George’s, Windsor

Sequence Hymn 433    We gather together    Kremser

Offertory Music      Great is thy faithfulness    William Runyan (1870-1957)
Words: Thomas Chisholm  (1866-1960)
Cleveland Williams, soloist

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Closing Hymn 397    Now thank we all our God    Nun danket alle Gott

Voluntary    Carillon de Longpont    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir and Schola, sermon by The Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Fugue in D Major, BWV 532    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn 435    At the name of Jesus    King’s Weston

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 494    Crown him with many crowns    Diademata

Offertory Anthem    Sing my soul    Sarah MacDonald (b. 1968)

Sing my soul, his wondrous love,
who from bright yonder throne above
ever watchful o’er his race,
still extends to us his grace

Heaven and earth by him were made,
all is by his scepter swayed,
what are we that he should show
so much love to us below,
so much love to us below?

God, the merciful and good,
bought us with the Savior’s blood,
and to make salvation sure
guides us by his Spirit pure,
guides us by his Spirit pure.

Sing my soul, adore his name!
Let his glory be thy theme:
praise him till he calls thee to his love
for all to come, trust love for all to come.

Sarah MacDonald FRCO is a Canadian-born organist, conductor, and composer, living in the UK, and currently holds the positions of Fellow and Director of Music at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and Director of the girl choristers at Ely Cathedral. She has been at Selwyn since 1999, and is the first woman to hold such a post in an Oxbridge Chapel. In 2018 MacDonald was given the honorary award of Associate of the Royal School of Church Music (ARSCM).

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    How can I keep from singing    arr. Georgeann Weaver (b. 1944)

My life flows on in endless song,
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the real though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.

Refrain:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since love prevails in heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

What though the tempest round me roars,
I know the truth; it liveth.
What though the darkness round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth. [Refrain]

When tyrants tremble as they hear
The bells of freedom ringing,
Then all the earth will conquer fear;
At last a new beginning.

I’ll turn to take my neighbor’s hand
And place my trust as offering.
When gathered friends around me stand,
How can I keep from singing.

Georgeann M. Weaver  was born in Manchester, Connecticut. She settled in the Boston area after graduating from Boston University in 1967 with a Bachelor Degree in Music Education. She taught music in public schools for two years before raising her family. During the next several years she stayed very active in music by teaching piano, conducting various choirs, composing on a small scale, and singing in the Masterworks Chorale, a 120 voice ensemble which performs in Cambridge, Mass.

Communion Hymn 324    Let all mortal flesh keep silence    Picardy

Hymn in Procession 290    Come, ye thankful people, come    St. George’s, Windsor

Voluntary    Now thank we all our God    Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)

Organ scholar: Ted Babbitt

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by The Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude in D Major, BWV 532    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Processional Hymn 48    O day of radiant gladness    Es flog ein kleins wladvogelein

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 686    Come, thou font of every blessing    Nettleton

Offertory Anthem    Come Sunday    Duke Ellington (1899-1974), arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)

Come Sunday, oh come Sunday, that’s the day.

I believe that God put sun and moon up in the sky.
I don’t mind the gray skies ’cause they’re just clouds passing by.

Lord, dear Lord above, God almighty, God of love,
please look down and see my people through.

I believe God is now, was then, and will always be.
With God’s blessing we can make it through eternity.

Lord, dear Lord above, God almighty, God of love,
please look down and see my people through.

Duke Ellington played a key role in elevating jazz to an art form on the same level as other traditional musical genres. The most recorded jazz composer of all time, Ellington was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1999 in recognition of his achievements. “Come Sunday” is taken from Black, Brown and Beige, a jazz symphony that debuted at Carnegie Hall on 23 January 1943.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    With what shall I come before the Lord    Jane Marshall (1924-2019)
Text: Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come before the Lord when I bow before the God on high?
Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Communion Hymn 307    Lord enthroned in heavenly splendor    Bryn Calfaria

Hymn in Procession    Great is thy faithfulness

Voluntary     Great is thy faithfulness    Mark Hayes (b. 1953)

Mark Hayes was raised in a creative musical environment, beginning piano lessons at age ten and developing his improvisational skills at an early age. He earned a B.M. in piano performance, magna cum laude, from Baylor University. During his college years his dream of becoming a composer and arranger was born and nurtured. Now an internationally known writer, conductor, and concert pianist, his career has blossomed into international tours to Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa and Canada.

Assisting pianist: Pi-Hsun Shih

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir and Schola, sermon by The Right Rev’d Laura Ahrens.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Solemn Processional      Robert A. Harris (b. 1938)

Dr. Robert A. Harris is currently a Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He also serves as Director of Music and Choirmaster at the Winnetka Congregational Church in Winnetka, IL. Dr. Harris held the position of Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Organizations at NY from 1977 to 2012. Active as a conductor, composer, clinician, lecturer and adjudicator, he has also held guest professorships in conducting at Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Texas in Austin, and the University of South Africa in Pretoria. 

Processional Hymn 287    For all the saints, who from their labors rest    Sine Nomine

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 293    I sing a song of the saints of God    Grand Isle

Offertory Anthem    Lacrimosa from Requiem    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Lacrimosa dies illa
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.

Sorrowful day,
When rising from the dust,
Guilty man to be judged.
God have mercy,
Compassionate Lord Jesus,
Grant them peace. Amen.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    God be in my head    Henry Walford Davies (1869-1941)
Words: Sarum Primer, 1514, found at Hymn 694

The apparent simplicity of God be in my head, with its repetition of the key phrase, suddenly gives way to very effective harmonic sophistication on the word ‘heart’ that lays the path for the twilit ambience of the final phrase. H. Walford Davies was composer and musical director at the University of Wales as well as Organist at, among others, Temple Church, where his student Leopold Stokowski (later one of the leading conductors of the 20th century) assisted him.

Communion Hymn 253    Give us the wings of faith to rise    San Rocco

Hymn in Procession 618    Ye watchers and ye holy ones    Lasst uns erfreuen

Voluntary    Toccata    Flor Peeters (1903-1986)

Organ Scholar: Ted Babbitt

All Souls Eucharist at 7:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Psalm-Prelude Set 1, No. 3, Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death    Herbert Howells (1892-1983)

Processional Hymn 358    Christ the Victorious, give to your servants    Russia

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 645    The King of love my Shepherd is    St. Columba

Offertory Anthem    Souls of the Righteous    T. Tertius Noble (1867-1953)
Text: based on Wisdom 3:1-8

Souls of the righteous in the hand of God,
Nor hurt nor torment cometh them anigh;
O holy hope of immortality.
Souls of the righteous in the hand of God,
to eyes of men unwise, they seem to die;
They are at peace, O fairest liberty.
Souls of the righteous in the hand of God.
On earth as children chasten’d by Love’s rod,
As gold in furnace tried, so now on high
they shine like stars, a golden galaxy:
Souls of the righteous in the hand of God.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Hymn in Procession 266    Who are these like stars appearing    Zeuch mich, zeuch mich

Voluntary    Marche Funèbre    Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)

St. John’s Schola: Candy Green, Kara Hart, Nancy Skeele, Abby White, Michael Mei, Odanice Olibrice, Rich Barstow, Ram Tysoe

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Woodland Sketches Op. 51    Edward MacDowell (1860-1908)
No 2, Will o’ the wisp – No 4, in Autumn – No 1, To a wild rose
Pi-Hsun Shih, piano

Processional Hymn 372    Praise to the living God!    Leoni

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn    For the fruit of all creation    Ar Hyd y Nos

Offertory Anthem    Oh, be swift to love    Nancy Grundahl (b. 1946)
Words by Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Oh, be swift to love, to love,
and make haste, make haste,
to be kind, to be kind.

Nancy Grundahl is a conductor, composer and soloist and holds vocal performance degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota. In addition to her position with the Riverside Singers of Augsburg University, she is the conductor of the Angelica Cantanti Concert Choir, a youth choir based in Bloomington, Minn. and is the Director of Music at Mayflower U.C.C. in Minneapolis. More than sixty of her arrangements and compositions for choirs have been published.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Come, renew us    Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)
Words: David Adam

Eleanor Daley is a Canadian composer, performer, and accompanist. She received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Organ Performance from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and holds diplomas in both organ and piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Trinity College in England. She has been the Director of Music at Fairlawn Heights United Church in Toronto since 1982. During that time she has established a thriving choral program for which much of her choral music has been composed. This lovely anthem was commissioned for Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Stuart Forster, Director of Music and Organist, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Dedication of the Church, 2011.

Communion Hymn    Ubi caritas    Berthier

Hymn in Procession 495    Hail, thou once despised Jesus!    In Babilone

Voluntary    Toccata from Suite Gothique    Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897)

Ted Babbitt: organ scholar
Pi-Hsun Shih: assisting pianist

Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir.

Click here for details.

Service Leaflet

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd Fitzgerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Variations on New Britain (2015)    Peter Niedmann (b. 1960)

Processional Hymn 410    Praise, my soul, the King of heaven    Lauda anima

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn 671      Amazing grace! how sweet the sound    New Britain

Offertory Anthem    The Call    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Text: George Herbert, 1633

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a way as gives us breath;
Such a truth as ends all strife;
Such a life as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a light as shows a feast;
Such a feast as mends in length;
Such a strength as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a joy as none can move;
Such a love as none can part;
Such a heart as joys in love.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) is regarded as the greatest English composer since Purcell (who died in 1695—a long time in between “greats”). His compositions span the entire breadth of styles and genres, from symphonies and oratorios to folksong collections. He served as editor of the 1906 English Hymnal, with Percy Dearmer. The Call is part of his collection of Five Mystical Songs, originally written for baritone soloist. Here we can enjoy the rich tapestry of sound and meaning that Vaughan Williams weaves around Herbert’s poem, employing plainsong, the modal patterns and intimate textures of English folk music, and the harmonic colors of late Romanticism.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Ave verum corpus    Stephanie Martin
Words attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362)

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit sanguine, esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body born of the Virgin Mary, who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,
Whose pierced side overflowed with blood, Be for us a foretaste in the test of death.

An award-winning composer and conductor, Stephanie Martin has wide musical interests ranging from Gregorian chant to gamelan; from Froberger to folksong. A guardian of musical heritage and a creative collaborator, she is known for imaginative programming and for creating sustainable musical communities.

Communion Hymn    Taste and see   Taizé

Hymn in Procession 535    Ye servants of God, your master proclaim    Paderborn

Voluntary    Ite, missa est from Organoedia ad missam lectam    Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Chant de Paix (Song of Peace)   Jean Langlais (1907-1991)

Processional Hymn 665    All my hope on God is founded    Michael

This hymn’s popularity increased when its pairing with the tune Michael by the English composer Herbert Howells became more widely known. Howells’ son, Michael, born in 1925, had died in childhood in 1935 from spinal meningitis. It is believed that shortly after this, in 1936, Howells received a request for a new hymn tune in the morning’s post, and he is said to have written the tune, which he named after his late son, over breakfast.

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Sequence Hymn    Are ye able said the master

Offertory Anthem    Swing low, sweet chariot    Spiritual, arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)

Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see
A band of angels coming after me
Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down
Sometimes I’m almost to the ground

Alice Parker is a national treasure: America’s reigning queen of choral music. – American Record Guide
My twenty-years’ experience with Robert Shaw, an immersion in folk music of many kinds, has had a profound effect on my own understanding of song. I learned to see each tune as a small universe, setting up its own rules of pitch and rhythm, mood and dance. If I understand that universe, and work within it for my setting, the result is an organic whole that allows the original melody to flourish. – Alice Parker

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Sing my soul, his wondrous love    David Ashley White (b. 1944)

Text: Anonymous, ca. 1800

Sing my soul, his wondrous love,
who, from you  bright throne above,
ever watchful o’er our race,
still to us extends his grace.

Heav’n and earth by him were made;
all is by his scepter swayed;
what are we that he should show
so much love to us below?

O God, the merciful and good,
bought us with the Savior’s blood,
and to make our safety sure,
guides us by his Spirit pure.

Sing my soul, adore his Name!
Let his glory be thy theme:
praise him till he calls thee home;
trust his love for all to come.

Communion Hymn 328    Draw nigh and take the body of the Lord    Song 46

Hymn in Procession 580    God, who stretched the spangled heavens    Holy Manna

Voluntary    Emporer’s Fanfare    Antonio Soler (1729-1783)

Ted Babbitt, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Berceuse    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Louis Vierne was the blind organist of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from 1900 until his death at the organ console in 1937. His tender Berceuse, an arrangement of a traditional French lullaby, was written in 1913 and dedicated to his daughter.

Processional Hymn 680    O God, our help in ages past    St. Anne

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

William Mathias was a Welsh composer best known for his music for choir and organ. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and began composing at the age of five. His festive and exciting settings of the Gloria and Sanctus have been mainstays of the Episcopal liturgy since they were written, in 1975.

Sequence Hymn 684    O for a closer walk with God    Caithness

Offertory Anthem    I will arise   arr. Robert Shaw, Alice Parker

I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh! there are ten thousand charms.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.
Come, thou fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh! there are ten thousand charms.

Sanctus S128    William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Communion Anthem    Treasures in heaven    Joseph Clokey (1890-1960)
Text: Matthew 6:19-21, 7:7-8

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Communion Hymn 325    Let us break bread together on our knees    Let Us Break Bread

Hymn in Procession 601    O day of God, draw nigh    St. Michael

Voluntary    Toccata pour Grand Orgue    Gaston Bélier (1863-1938)

Ted Babbitt, organ/choirmaster

Schola: Candy Green, Anne Harney, Catherine Barr, Abby White, Odanice Olibrice, Ram Tysoe, Rich Barstow, John Nowacki

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Dance Prelude on Lasst uns erfreuen    David Schack (b. 1947)

Processional Hymn 405    All things bright and beautiful    Royal Oak

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 593 vv. 1-3    Lord, make us servants of your peace    Dickinson College

Hymn at the Blessing of the Animals 400    All creatures of our God and King    Lasst uns erfreuen

Offertory Anthem    Bring us peace (2020)    Michele Hecht

Bring us peace, give us hope.
Send the silver light of angels’ wings into the darkest night.
Bring us peace, give us hope.
We need to feel the tenderness and warmth of your embrace,
a gentle touch, an easy smile.
We long for signs of love lost to the world for just a while.
Send your light, give us joy!
We long to feel the stir of life, the flutter, the spark,
the gathering of captive hearts released into the wild.
Overjoyed we run and dance and sing,
overjoyed, our voices strong and free.
We lift our hearts up to the sun.
We lift our hands up to the sky.
We close our eyes in grateful wonder and we breathe.
Breathe. Breathe.
Bring us peace, give us hope, give us love.

Michele Hecht is the Director of Music Ministry at First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, IL, where she directs the adult choir, children’s choir and supervises music staff and volunteers. Michele is the current President of the United Church of Christ Musicians Association (UCCMA), a national organization that serves church musicians. This piece is a prayer of hope for the choirs of the world who have been silenced by the global pandemic.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    Silent, Surrendered    Margaret Rizza (b. 1929)
Words: Pamela Hayes and Margaret Rizza

Silent, surrendered, calm and still, open to the word of God.
Heart humbled to his will, offered is the servant of God.
Come, Holy Spirit, bring us light, teach us, heal us, give us life.
Come, Lord, O let our hearts flow with love and all that is true.

Born in 1929, Margaret Rizza only began to compose in 1997. Since then she has become a major personality in the world of sacred choral music, with substantial sales of both her printed and recorded music, which includes chart topping Taizé chants. All this followed an illustrious career as an opera singer spanning 25 years, under the name Margaret Lensky, working with conductors such as Britten, Stravinsky and Bernstein.

Communion Hymn 345    Savior, again to thy dear Name we raise    Ellers

Hymn in Procession 482    Lord of all hopefulness    Slane

Voluntary    Carillon, 2010    Scott Lamlein (b. 1972)

Ted Babbitt, organ scholar

Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola.

Click here for details.

Service Leaflet

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Two Pieces    João W. Faustini (b. 1931)
Clarinada
When Breaks the Dawn

Born in Bariri, São Paulo, Brazil, João Wilson Faustini is a Presbyterian pastor, choir director, organist, singer, composer, translator, arranger and publisher of largest collection of Sacred Music in the Portuguese language. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, Union Theological Seminary, and Princeton University. From 1982 to 1996 he was Pastor at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) Newark, the oldest Brazilian Presbyterian Church in the USA.

Processional Hymn 657    Love divine, all loves excelling    Hyfrydol

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn    What a friend we have in Jesus    Converse

Offertory Anthem    I will sing of thy great mercies    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
From the oratorio St. Paul
Sung by the Youth Choir

So they, being filled with the Holy Ghost, departing thence delayed not, and preached the word of God with joyfulness. I will sing of Thy great mercies, O Lord, and of Thy faithfulness evermore, my Savior.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    The Road Home    Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
Text by Michael Dennis Browne
Sung by the Youth Choir and Schola

Tell me where is the road I can call my own,
That I left, that I lost, so long ago?
All these years I have wandered, oh, when will I know
There’s a way, there’s a road that will lead me home?

After wind, after rain, when the dark is done,
As I wake from a dream in the gold of day
Through the air there’s a calling from far away,
There’s a voice I can hear that will lead me home.

Rise up. follow me, come away is the call,
With love in your heart as the only song;
There is no such beauty where you belong,
Rise up, follow me, I will lead you home.

Stephen Paulus was a prolific composer of classical music. His music continues to be frequently performed and described by critics as rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, and uniquely American. The New Yorker characterizes his music as having “impeccable technique and well-honed audience appeal,” while The New York Times says “Mr. Paulus often finds melodic patterns that are fresh and familiar at the same time…His scoring is invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments.” 

Communion Hymn 309     O Food to pilgrims given    O Welt, ich muss dich lassen

Hymn in Procession 344    Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing    Sicilian Mariners

Voluntary    Postlude on Sicilian Mariners, 2018    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Ted Babbitt, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Passagalia    David Hurd (b. 1950)
Air from Water Music    Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

David Hurd was Professor of Sacred Music and Director of Chapel Music at the General Theological Seminary, Chelsea, New York City, for 39 years. He is presently the Director of Music at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Times Square, New York City. Hurd’s sacred compositions can be found in many hymnals, including the Episcopal Hymnal 1982. He’ll be featured here in concert this coming Saturday, celebrating the 25th birthday of our Austin pipe organ.

Processional Hymn 390    Praise to the Lord, the almighty    Lobe den Herren

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn    Lead me, guide me

Offertory Anthem    Round in common time    Laura Mazza-Dixon, 2020
For all of the essential workers in the pandemic, from all of us.
Sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir

Take all our strength into your hands, our love into your hearts,
And go where love is calling you though we must be apart.
Let every prayer surround you,
Protect you from all harm.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Anthem    Only for these I pray    Peter Niedmann, 1996
Words: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Only for these I pray, pray with assurance strong.
Light to discover the way, power to follow it long.
Let me have light to see, light to be sure and know,
When the road is clear to me willingly I go.

Let me have power to do, power of the brain and nerve,
Though the task is heavy and new willingly I will serve.
My prayers are lesser than three, nothing I pray but two;
Let me have light to see, let me have power to do.

Peter Niedmann is Director of Music and Organist at Church of Christ, Congregational, in Newington, and composition coach for Scott Lamlein. He is a published composer with hundreds of works in print, and Dean of the Hartford American Guild of Organists. His choral music has been sung at The White House and a Papal Mass for Pope John Paul II.

Communion Hymn 301    Bread of the world in mercy broken    Rendez à Dieu

Hymn in Procession 477    All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine    Engelberg

Voluntary    Prelude in G major, BWV 541    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Ted Babbitt, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    A Pause for Thought, April 2021    Jon Raybould
Nancy Skeele, flute; Heywood Alexander, piano

A Pause for Thought, by Englishman Jon Raybould, is dedicated by the composer “to all those affected by the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, 2020 – 2021.” 

Processional Hymn 427    When morning gilds the skies    Laudes Domini

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

The Rev’d Benjamin Straley is rector of S. Stephen’s Church in Providence, former organist of Washington National Cathedral, and a noted concert organist who performed here in 2020. He wrote this song of praise for the Cathedral, and our choir had the honor of premiering it while singing there in July, 2019. His tempo marking is “with much verve,” so listen once to the refrain and then help us make a joyful noise to God!

Sequence Hymn 455    O Love of God, how strong and true    Dunedin

Offertory Anthem    Locus iste    Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Words: Latin gradual for the dedication of a church
Sung by the Youth Choir and Schola

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est.
This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.

Although mostly known for his nine symphonies, Anton Bruckner’s compositional output includes sacred masterworks as well. Bruckner assiduously studied the music of Renaissance Italian polyphonic masters such as Palestrina and German Baroque composers, especially Bach. Locus iste was written in 1869, to celebrate the dedication of the votive chapel of the cathedral at Linz, where Bruckner had been the cathedral organist. (Notes courtesy Ryan Turner)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Communion Motet    A grateful heart, 1977    Mary Plumstead (1905-1980)
Sung by the Youth Choir
Words: George Herbert (1593-1632)

Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.
Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.

Communion Hymn 325    Let us break bread together on our knees    Let Us Break Bread

Hymn in Procession 525    The church’s one foundation    Aurelia

Voluntary    Hommage à William Walton (2021)    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)

Christa Rakich, assisting organist
Ted Babbitt, organ scholar

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Partita on Christe Sanctorum    David Dahl (b. 1937)

Christa Rakich commissioned this piece from Tacoma composer David Dahl in 2017. The collection of 8 variations includes “Ethereal Chords” and “Duet for the Feet to Play.” The Finale honors the three angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.

Opening Hymn 1    Father, we praise thee, now the night is over    Christe sanctorum

Sequence Hymn 493, vv. 1,2,3    O for a thousand tongues to sing    Azmon

Offertory Anthem    Heal me, hands of Jesus    Michael A. Perry (1942-1996)
Odanice Olibrice, soloist

Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain;
restore my hope, remove my fear, and bring me peace again.

Cleanse me, blood of Jesus, take bitterness away;
let me forgive as one forgiven and bring me peace today.

Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin;
dispel the memories of guilt and bring me peace within.

Fill me, joy of Jesus; anxiety shall cease,
and heaven’s serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace!

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 493, vv. 4,5,6    O for a thousand tongues to sing    Azmon

Voluntary    Finale – Fuga Angelorum 3 voci    David Dahl

Christa Rakich, organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Brendon Gallagher, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Lighthouse Song (2019)    Carson Cooman (b. 1978)

Opening Hymn 423    Immortal, invisible, God only wise    St. Denio

Sequence Hymn 436, vv. 1, 2    Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates    Truro

Offertory Anthem    Kyrie eleison (after Adagio from New World Symphony)      Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Brendon Gallagher, soloist

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 436, vv. 4, 5    Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates    Truro

Voluntary    Paulus-Praeludium (2019)    Carson Cooman

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:00 a.m., sung by Abby White, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker. Note service time change due to Hurricane Henri.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Now pray we to the Holy Spirit    Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Opening Hymn 321, vv. 1, 2    My God, thy table now is spread    Rockingham

Sequence Hymn 321, vv. 3, 4    My God, thy table now is spread    Rockingham

Offertory Anthem    You satisfy the hungry heart    Omer Westendorf (1916-1997)
Abby White, soloist

Refrain: You satisfy the hungry heart with gift of finest wheat,
Come give to us o saving Lord, the bread of life to eat.

As when the shepherd calls his sheep, they know and heed his voice;
So when You call your family Lord, we follow and rejoice. (Refrain)

With joyful lips we sing to You, our praise and gratitude,
That You should count us worthy Lord, to share this heavenly food. (Refrain)

Is not the cup we bless and share the Blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare our oneness in the Lord? (Refrain)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 522    Glorious things of thee are spoken    Austria

Voluntary    Grand Choeur on Austria    Richard Purvis (1917-1992)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Cleveland Williams, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Quodlibet on Slane, 2020    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)
Hommage à Gershwin

Opening Hymn    All who hunger, gather gladly    Holy Manna

Sequence Hymn 325   Let us break bread together   Let Us Break Bread

Offertory Anthem    Panis Angelicus    César Franck (1822-1890)
Text: St. Thomas Aquinas
Cleveland Williams, soloist

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis cœlicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.

Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.
Amen.

Thus Angels’ Bread is made
the Bread of man today:
the Living Bread from heaven
with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
the poor and lowly may
upon their Lord and Master feed.

Thee, therefore, we implore,
o Godhead, One in Three,
so may Thou visit us
as we now worship Thee;
and lead us on Thy way,
That we at last may see
the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.
Amen.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 488    Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart    Slane

Voluntary    Carillon    Herbert Murrill (1909-1952)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Michael Mei, sermon by the Rev’d Todd FitzGerald.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Rhosymedre (“Lovely”)    Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Opening Hymn 48, vv. 1, 2    O day of radiant gladness    Es flog ein kleins Waldvogelein

Sequence Hymn 48, vv. 3, 4    O day of radiant gladness    Es flog ein kleins Waldvogelein

Offertory Anthem      Taste and See    James E. Moore (b. 1951)
Michael Mei, soloist

Refrain:
Taste and see, taste and see
the goodness of the Lord.
Oh, taste and see, taste and see
the goodness of the Lord, of the Lord.

I will bless the Lord at all times.
Praise shall always be on my lips;
my soul shall glory in the Lord;
for God has been so good to me. (Refrain)

Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us all praise God’s name.
I called the Lord, who answered me;
from all my troubles I was set free. (Refrain)

Worship the Lord, all you people.
You’ll want for nothing if you ask.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
in God we need put all our trust. (Refrain)

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 344    Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing    Sicilian Mariners

Voluntary    Praeludium in F    Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)

Fanny Mendelssohn was four years older than her brother, Felix. A very talented musician, she could play Bach’s entire Well-tempered Clavier from memory by age thirteen. In 1829, Fanny married the painter Wilhelm Hensel. Felix was to have composed their wedding match. Legend has is that he procrastinated and procrastinated, until, finally, Fanny wrote it herself.

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by John Nowacki, sermon by Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio from Sonata I    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Opening Hymn 527    Singing songs of expectation    Ton-y-Botel

Sequence Hymn 383   Fairest Lord Jesus    St. Elizabeth

Offertory Anthem    O bread of life from heaven    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
John Nowacki, soloist

O bread of life from heaven,
O food to pilgrims given,
O manna from above:
feed with the blessed sweetness
of your divine completeness
the souls that want and need your love.

O fount of grace redeeming,
O river ever streaming
from Jesus’ wounded side:
come now, your love bestowing
on thirsting souls, and flowing
till all are fully satisfied.

We love you, Jesus, tender,
in all your hidden splendor
within these means of grace.
Oh, let the veil be riven,
and our clear eye in heaven
behold your glory face to face.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 690    Guide me, O thou great Jehovah    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Toccata on Great Day    Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)

Adolphus Hailstork is an American composer and educator. He grew up in Albany, New York, where he studied violin, piano, organ, and voice. As a child, he joined the choir of the Episcopalian cathedral. From this experience he developed an interest in vocal melodic writing that asserts itself in his choral works and art songs. Hailstork is of African-American ancestry and his works blend musical ideas from both the African-American and European traditions. His principal teachers were H. Owen Reed (Michigan State University), Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond (Manhattan School of Music), Mark Fax (Howard University) and Nadia Boulanger (American Institute at Fontainebleau).

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Richard Barstow, sermon by Rev’d Margie Baker.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Land of Rest    George Shearing (1919-2011)

Opening Hymn 635    If thou but trust in God to guide thee    Wer nur den lieben Gott

Sequence Hymn 304, vv. 1, 2, 3    I come with joy to meet my Lord    Land of Rest

Offertory Anthem    I am the bread of life    Suzanne Toolan (b. 1927)
The text may be found at Hymn 335, vv. 1, 2, 4
Richard Barstow, soloist

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 304, vv. 4, 5    I come with joy to meet my Lord    Land of Rest

Voluntary    Wer nur den lieben Gott, BWV 642    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Michael Mei, sermon by Rev’d Bill Eakins.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Lotus Blossom    Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967), arr. Alec Wyton (1921-2007)

Billy Strayhorn was a young, black, gay musician who composed much of Duke Ellington’s music. Of this piece, Ruth Ellington Boatwright said, “During his Rainbow Grill engagements, my brother, Duke Ellington, would play “Lotus” as a little private prelude to each show. He would go silently to the piano, while the stage was dark, and softly play it. It was like a little whispered tribute to Billy – perhaps even a little prayer for his soul – knowing that God was listening.”

Opening Hymn 537, vv. 1, 2    Christ for the world we sing    Moscow

Sequence Hymn 537, vv. 3, 4    Christ for the world we sing    Moscow

Offertory Anthem    Dear Lord and father of mankind    Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918)
Words by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), found at Hymn 652
Michael Mei, soloist

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Closing Hymn 708    Savior, like a shepherd lead us    Sicilian Mariners

Voluntary    Processional    Robert Paoli (b. 1991)

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Erica Shippee, sermon by Rev’d Hope Eakins.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Leoni    Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Opening Hymn 372 vv 1, 2   Praise to the living God    Leoni

Sequence Hymn 372 vv 3, 4    Praise to the living God    Leoni

Offertory Anthem    Ave verum corpus    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Erica Shippee, soloist

Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine,
vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine,
cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine:
Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.

Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary,
which having truly suffered, was sacrificed on the cross for mankind,
whose pierced side flowed with water and blood:
May it be for us a taste of things to come in the trial of death.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias (1934-1992)

Closing Hymn 686     Come, thou font of every blessing    Nettleton

Voluntary    Prelude in G major, BWV 550    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by Rev’d Molly James.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Variations on America    Charles Wesley (1757-1834)

Opening Hymn 657     Love divine, all loves excelling    Hyfrydol

Sequence Hymn 482    Lord of all hopefulness    Slane

Offertory Anthem    Lead me, guide me    Doris Akers (1922-1995)
Odanice Olibrice, soloist

Refrain:
Lead me, guide me, along the way,
for if you lead me, I cannot stray.
Lord, let me walk each day with thee.
Lead me, O Lord, lead me.

I am weak and I need thy strength and power
to help me over my weakest hour.
Help me through the darkness thy face to see.
Lead me, O Lord, lead me.   Refrain

I am lost if you take your hand from me,
I am blind without thy Light to see.
Lord, just always let me thy servant be.
Lead me, O Lord, lead me.   Refrain

Sanctus S128   William Mathias (1934-1992)

Closing Hymn 717      My country,’tis of thee    America

Voluntary    Marche-Sortie    Théodore Dubois (1827-1924)

Josh Ziemski, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Brendon Gallagher, sermon by Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Cwm Rhondda    Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Opening Hymn 594 vv 1, 2    God of grace and God of glory    Cwm Rhondda

Sequence Hymn 594 vv 3, 4    God of grace and God of glory    Cwm Rhondda

Offertory Anthem    Then shall the righteous shine forth from Elijah    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Brendon Gallagher, soloist

Then, then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in their heavenly Father’s realm,
shine forth as the sun in their heavenly Father’s realm.

Joy on their head shall be for everlasting, joy on their head shall be for everlasting,
And all sorrow, all sorrow and mourning shall flee away for ever.

Then, then shall the righteous shine in their heavenly Father’s realm,
Shine forth, shine in their heavenly Father’s realm.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias (1934-1992)

Closing Hymn 705     As those of old their first fruits brought    Forest Green

Voluntary    All glory be to God on high, BWV 615    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Anne Harney, sermon by Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 546    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 564    He who would valiant be    St. Dunstan’s

Sequence Hymn 608 vv. 1, 2     Eternal Father, Strong to Save    Melita

Offertory Anthem    Over the chaos of empty waters    Robert Roth (b. 1928)
Anne Harney, soloist

Over the chaos of the empty waters
hovered the Spirit, bringing forth creation;
so from the empty tomb the Second Adam
issued triumphant.

By the same Spirit we, regenerated
into the body of our risen Savior,
seek through the power of the new creation
life everlasting.

By the same Spirit we are called to worship
God our Creator, Savior, Sanctifier,
of whom the glory, in both earth and heaven,
is manifested.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias (1934-1992)

Closing Hymn 608 vv. 3, 4    Eternal Father, Strong to Save    Melita

Voluntary    Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist, BWV 667    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
“Come, God Creator, Holy Ghost”

Zachary Schurman, guest organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by John Nowacki, sermon by Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prière après la communion from Livre du Sainte-Sacrement    Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

Olivier Messiaen was one of the major composers of the 20^th century, an ornithologist, and organist at Sainte-Trinité in Paris for 61 years. This morning’s voluntary is from his last composition, Livre du Sainte-Sacrement (Book of the Blessed Sacrament). It is a monumental work, with 18 movements and roughly follows the liturgical path of the Roman Catholic Mass. “Prière après la communion” (Prayer after communion) represents the culmination of a life of research and noting various birdcalls throughout the world. In this case, Messiaen noted birdcalls while in Jerusalem and uses them in a “call-and-response.” In this haunting piece, the two birds seem to be reflecting on having just received the Blessed Sacrament.

Opening Hymn 524 vv 1,3,5    I love thy kingdom, Lord    St. Thomas (Williams)

Offertory Anthem    Breath of God, 1984    Dorothy Howell Sheets

Breath of God, life bearing wind,
waking matter into birth,
planting promise, prompting hope:
with your life renew the earth.

Breath of God, word bearing wind,
truth-revealer, prophet’s speech,
guide to vistas of the mind:
let your word excite and teach.

Breath of God, fire bearing wind,
source of power, love, and light,
melting fears and joining tongues:
with your fire our hearts ignite.

Breath of God, song bearing wind,
stirring wonder to rejoice,
yearning’s echo, grace’s dance:
let your song give our prayers voice.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias

Closing Hymn vv. 1,2,4    God be with you till we meet again    Randolph

Voluntary    Toccata in F    Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Ray Giolitto, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Britt Emerick, sermon by Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Aborada (Serenade), 2020    Carson Cooman (b. 1978)

Opening Hymn 381 vv. 1, 4    Thy strong word did cleave the darkness    Ton-y-botel

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Offertory Anthem    Christ be our light    Bernadette Farrell (b. 1957)
Britt Emerick, soloist

Longing for light, we wait in darkness
Longing for truth, we turn to You.
Make us Your own, Your holy people
Light for the world to see.

Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in Your church gathered today.

Longing for peace, our world is troubled
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has pow’r to save us.
Make us your living voice.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 620 vv. 1,2,5    Jerusalem, my happy home    Land of Rest

Voluntary    Toccata on Holy God, we praise thy name    Matthew H. Corl (b. 1965)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Claudia Ayer, sermon by Rev’d Walter McKenney.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Fantasy & Fugue in G minor, BWV 541       Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 362 vv. 1,2,4    Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!    Nicaea

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Canticle S236    Glory to you    John Rutter (b. 1945)

John Rutter is perhaps the best-known English composer of church music – a household name in the Episcopal Church. Rutter was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, where he also served as director of music from 1975 to 1979, at which point he determined to focus his energy on composition. In 1981 he founded the Cambridge Singers, which he also conducted. Although initially Rutter had formed the group in order to record a collection of choral works—both his own and those of others—the group began giving live performances as well.

Offertory Anthem    Benedicta sit Sancta Trinitas    Plainsong
Claudia Ayer, soloist

Benedicta sit Sancta Trinitas, atque indivisa Unitas:
confitemur et, quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam.
Domine Dominus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra.
     Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Alleluia. Benedictus es domine deus patrum nostrorum et laudabilis in saecula.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 719    O beautiful for spacious skies    Materna

Voluntary    We all believe in one God, BWV 680    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Cate Emerick, sermon by our graduating Seniors.

Worship at Home:

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude in F, BWV 927     Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)   Kathy Roqueza, organ
Rejoice greatly, O my soul   Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)   Kelly Roqueza, organ

Opening Hymn 225 vv. 1, 2    Hail thee, festival day!    Salve festa dies

Gloria in excelsis S278    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Offertory Anthem    Gracious spirit, dwell with me    K. Lee Scott (b. 1950)
Text: Thomas T. Lynch, 1855
St. John’s Youth Choir

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me, I would gracious be;
Help me now thy grace to see, I would be like thee;
And, with words that help and heal, thy life would mine reveal;
And, with actions bold and meek, for Christ, my Savior, speak.

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me, I would truthful be;
Help me now thy truth to see, I would be like thee;
And, with wisdom kind and clear, thy life in mine appear;
And, with actions brotherly, speak Christ’s sincerity.

Holy Spirit, dwell with me, I would holy be;
Show thy mercy tenderly, make me more like thee;
Separate from sin, I would and cherish all things good,
And whatever I can be give him who gave me thee.

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me, I would mighty be;
Help me now thy pow’r to see, I would be like thee;
‘Gainst all weapons hell can wield, be thou my strength and shield;
Let thy word my weapon be, Lord, thine the victory.

Sanctus S128   William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei    Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn     Spirit of the living God    Iverson

Voluntary    Festive Trumpet Tune    David German (b. 1954)    Ted Babbitt, organ

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Cleveland Williams, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Fugato on Hyfrydol    June Nixon (b. 1942)

One of Australia’s best-known organists, choir trainers, and composers, June Nixon was the first woman to be granted the John Brooke prize for the Choir Training Diploma at the Royal College of Organists in London. In 1968 she was the winner of the Australian National Organ Competition, and in 1973, was appointed Organist and Director of Music at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne. She retired from this position in February 2013 and is now Organist Emerita. Nixon is a widely published composer, both in the USA and England, writing music that is accessible and enjoyable for both musicians and listeners. Several cathedral choirs have recorded her works, and her arrangement of the traditional carol The Holly and the Ivy was included in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kingʼs College, Cambridge.

Opening Hymn 460 vv 1,3    Alleluia! sing to Jesus!    Hyfrydol

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Offertory Anthem    The Lord’s Prayer    Albert Hay Malotte (1895-1964)
Cleveland Williams, soloist

Albert Hay Malotte sang at Saint James Episcopal Church in Philadelphia as a choir boy, then studying the organ at home and in Paris. His career as an organist began in Chicago where he played for silent pictures, and he later concertized throughout the US and Europe. His setting of the Lord’s prayer was composed in 1935, and recorded by many notable singers. According to his New York Times obituary: “Mr. Malotte’s musical setting of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ was the first one that achieved popularity, although the prayer had been set to music many times before.”

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 494 vv 1,2,5    Crown him with many crowns    Diademata

Voluntary    Carillon    Scott Lamlein (b. 1972)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sermon and music by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    The peace may be exchanged from Rubrics, 1988    Dan Locklair (b. 1949)

The inspiration for Dan Locklair’s five-movement suite,  Rubrics, was the italicized rubrics (instructions) found within the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Finding power within these simple notes, Dan brings them to life in music. The peace may be exchanged is a beautiful, lyric peace-prayer, using the warm string and diapason sounds of the organ. 

Opening Hymn 400 vv 1,4,7    All creatures of our God and King    Lasst uns erfreuen

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Offertory Anthem    Loving spirit    Fiona Vidal-White, arr. John L. Hooker (b. 1944)
Words: Shirley Erena Murray (b. 1931)
Margie Baker, soloist

Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be;
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

Like a mother, you enfold me,
hold my life within your own.
Feed me with your very body,
form me of your flesh and bone.

Like a father you protect me.
Teach me the discerning eye.
Hoist me up upon your shoulder,
let me see the world from high.

Friend and lover, in your closeness
I am known and held and blest:
in your promise in my comfort,
in your presence I may rest.

Loving Spirit, loving Spirit,
you have chosen me to be;
you have drawn me to your wonder,
you have set your sign on me.

Fiona Vidal-White is a transplanted Brit who, after studying to be a singer for 15 years, moved through church music with children and adults to Christian education and teaching in schools. She has worked in many churches as church musician, Christian educator, and consultant, and currently serves as Director of Christian Formation at the Church of Our Savior in Arlington, MA. She is the author of the hymnal My Heart Sings Out and its companion leader’s guide, designed as a musical resource for all-age worship.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 412 vv 1,2,3    Earth and all stars, loud rushing planets    Earth and All Stars

Voluntary    The Prince of Denmark’s March    Jeremiah Clarke (1674-1707)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Erica Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Largo from Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”    Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

Antonin Dvořák wrote his Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” soon after arriving in America in 1893.  A yearning melody from the second movement took on a new life as a popular American song that continues to be reinvented. One of Dvorak’s students, William Arms Fisher, put words to the longing melody from the second movement. He called the new song, “Goin’ Home,” and had it published 1922. It has been recorded and arranged numerous times since then, and appears frequently in popular culture. The transformation of Dvořák’s music is a fitting legacy for his symphony about the New World, a work with a message that transcends any one culture.  “Instead of being something that’s about only one aspect of our world,” says Yannick Nézet-Séguin, “it’s something that gives a message of unity.”

Opening Hymn 379 vv 1 & 2    God is love: let heaven adore him    Abbott’s Leigh

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2    This is the feast    Festival Canticle

Offertory Anthem    Deep River    arr. Alan Bevan (b. 1951)
Words and Melody: African-American Spiritual
Erica Maas Shippee, soloist

Deep River,
My home is over Jordan.
Deep river, Lord,
I want to cross over into campground.

Oh, don’t you want to go,
To the Gospel feast;
That Promised Land,
Where all is peace?

First popularized by the Jubilee Singers, pictured here, Deep River is an anonymous African-American spiritual, popularized by Harry Burleigh in his 1916 collection Jubilee Songs of the USA. The song was first mentioned in print in 1876, when it was published in the first edition of The Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their Songs, by J. B. T. Marsh. By 1917, when Harry Burleigh completed the last of his several influential arrangements, the song had become very popular in recitals. It has been called “perhaps the best known and best-loved spiritual.”

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn vv 1,2,4    I love to tell the story    Hankey

Voluntary  Rigoudon from Idoménée      André Campra (1660-1774)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Petit Canon    Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)

The music teacher who taught leading musicians, composers and conductors like John Eliot Gardiner, Quincy Jones, Aaron Copland and Philip Glass, Nadia Boulanger is considered one of the best music teachers of the 20th century. She was also a world renowned composer and conductor who performed as a pianist and organist. Boulanger was the first woman to conduct many major orchestras in America and Europe, including the BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, Hallé, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia orchestras. She conducted several world premieres, including works by Copland and Stravinsky.

Opening Hymn 518 vv. 1,2,3    Christ is made the sure foundation    Westminster Abbey

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2   This is the feast   Festival Canticle

Offertory Anthem    Brother James’s Air    arr. Gordon Jacob (1895-1984)
Odanice Olibrice, soloist

The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want;
he makes me down to lie
in pastures green; he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.

Yea, though I walk through death’s dark vale,
yet will I fear none ill,
for thou art with me; and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.

My table thou hast furnished
in presence of my foes;
my head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
shall surely follow me;
and in God’s house forevermore
my dwelling place shall be.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 645 vv 1,2,5,6    The King of love my shepherd is    St. Columba

Voluntary    Trumpet Tune in D Major    David N. Johnson (1922-1987)

David N. Johnson was an American organist, composer, educator, choral clinician, and lecturer. He studied organ and composition at Curtis Institute of Music. Between 1942 and 1946 he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps/Air Corps in India, Burma, and China, receiving a Meritorious Service Award and campaign ribbons. He continued his music studies at Trinity University (Texas) and Syracuse University. In addition to organ works, several hymn tunes are credited to him, including Earth and all stars.

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sung by Michael Mei, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Air for Organ    William B. Cooper (1920-1993)

William B. Cooper was a native of Philadelphia. He received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Philadelphia College or Performing Arts and a Doctorate of Music from Columbia Pacific University (California). He served on the music faculties of Bennett College (Greensboro, NC) and Hampton University (Hampton, VA) as well as 26 years in the New York City School System. Cooper also served as Minister of Music at historic Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church (1953-74) and Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church (1974-88) in Harlem.

Opening Hymn 205 vv 1,3,4    Good Christians all, rejoice and sing!    Gelobt sei Gott

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2   This is the feast   Festival Canticle

Offertory Anthem    Hear my words    Stephen Paulus (1949-2014)
Words from Psalm 5
St. John’s Youth Choir

Hear my words, O gracious Lord, to my thoughts attentive be;
Hear my cry, my King and my God. I will make my prayer to thee.
With the morning light, O Lord, thou shalt hear my voice arise;
And expectant I will bring, prayer as morning sacrifice.
Thou art Holy, O my God, thou delightest not in sin;
Evil shall not dwell with thee, nor the proud thy favor win.

Stephen Paulus was a prolific composer of classical music. His music continues to be frequently performed and described by critics as rugged, angular, lyrical, lean, rhythmically aggressive, original, often gorgeous, moving, and uniquely American. The New Yorker characterizes his music as having “impeccable technique and well-honed audience appeal,” while The New York Times says “Mr. Paulus often finds melodic patterns that are fresh and familiar at the same time…His scoring is invariably expert and exceptionally imaginative in textures and use of instruments.” 

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn    To God be the glory

Voluntary    Postlude on Gelobt sei Gott    Healey Willan (1880-1968)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with Easter Lessons and Carols, sung by Brendon Gallagher.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude & Fugue in C minor, BWV 549    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 208 vv. 1,2,5    Alleluia! The strife is o’er, the battle done

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2   This is the feast   Festival Canticle

Lessons and Carols for Easter

In the same tradition that we employ in Advent and Christmas, the story of Easter is illuminated through meaningful scripture readings punctuated by song. This liturgy is shared without commentary, allowing the meaning of the words and music to dwell in your heart and find their own personal meaning.

Jeremiah 31: 1-6 – God’s everlasting love is proclaimed to his people
__Hymn 458, vv 1, 2, 7   My song is love unknown    Love unknown
Isaiah 52:7-10, 13-15 – The prophet foretells the coming of the Savior
__Hymn 178, vv. 1, 2, 4    Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the risen Lord   Alleluia No. 1
Revelation 21:1-7 – Saint John speaks of the New Jerusalem
__Hymn 182, vv. 1, 2, 5     Christ is alive!    Truro
Luke 24:1-9 – The women find the empty tomb
__Sequence Hymn 204    Now the green blade riseth   Noël nouvelet
John 20:19-31 – Jesus reveals himself to the disciples and to Thomas
__Hymn 206    O sons and daughters, let us sing    O filii, O filiae

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 180 vv. 1,2,4    He is risen, he is risen!    Unser Herrscher

Voluntary  Carillon de Longpont from Pièces en style libre  Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Ted Babbitt, assisting organist

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., sung by Erica Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

The 10:30 service will be livestreamed. The 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. services will be identical and both will include the music listed below. There is also a shorter outdoor service on Easter morning at 8 a.m., which will include hymns sung by a cantor.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Gavotte from Partita in E Major, BWV 1006      Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Leonid Sigal, violin

Opening Hymn 207 vv. 1,2,4     Jesus Christ is risen today     Easter Hymn

Song of Praise 417 vv. 1 & 2   This is the feast   Festival Canticle

Sequence Hymn 199 vv. 1,2,3     Come, ye faithful, raise the strain     St. Kevin

Offertory Anthem    I know that my redeemer liveth from Messiah    Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Text: Job 19: 25-26, I Corinthians 15: 20
Erica Shippee, soprano; Leonid Sigal, violin

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.
For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep.

Sanctus S125   Richard Proulx (1937-2010)

Fraction Anthem    Christ our Passover    Jeffrey Rickard (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 210   The day of resurrection   Ellacombe

Voluntary    Toccata (Symphonie V)    Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Good Friday Liturgy at 7:00 p.m., sung by Richard Barstow, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Meditation on Passion Chorale    David Bednall (b. 1979)

Hymn 160 vv 1,2,4    Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow    Cross of Jesus

Hymn 458 vv 1,2,7    My song is love unknown    Love unknown

Hymn 172 vv 1,2,4    Were you there when they crucified my Lord    Were You There

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 7:00 p.m. sung by Cleveland Williams, sermon by the Rev’d Hope Eakins.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Meditation on Wondrous Love    Judith Maggs, 1990

Kyrie Eleison S-84   Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 171    Go to dark Gethsemane    Petra

Anthem    My Father, look upon my anguish    Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Cleveland Williams, baritone

My Father, look upon my anguish; be merciful in this, my need.
My heart will break. Behold, my spirit is sorrowful, to death decreed!

The weight of sin upon me falls; they number me among transgressors;
Although I seek and save the lost, men hide their faces from me;
I am rejected and despised by those whose sins I came to bear.
And if beyond all other trials, I must thy wrath, O Father, suffer,
Of all my pains the worst to bear, then can no sorrow equal mine.

My Father, if indeed it may be, then let this cup now pass away!
Yet not my will, but thine, be done.

Sanctus    Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Agnus Dei    Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Hymn 325    Let us break bread together on our knees    Let Us Break Bread

Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. sung by the St. John’s Schola.

Click here for details.

Service Leaflet

Because a family member of a singer was exposed to COVID-19, we are instead presenting an encore Evensong from February, 2018.

Music includes:
Allan Lewis: Seek him who made the Pleiades
Thomas Tallis: Dorian Service Magnificat and Nunc dimittis
Alfred Baynon: When rooks fly homeward

Organ:
Olivier Messiaen: Apparition de l’église éternelle (Ray Giolitto, organist)
Maurice Duruflé: Fugue sur le thème du Carillon des Heures de la cathédral de Soissons

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Solemn Processional    Robert A. Harris (b. 1938)

Dr. Robert A. Harris is currently a Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. He also serves as Director of Music and Choirmaster at the Winnetka Congregational Church in Winnetka, IL. Dr. Harris held the position of Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Organizations at NY from 1977 to 2012. Active as a conductor, composer, clinician, lecturer and adjudicator, he has also held guest professorships in conducting at Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Texas in Austin, and the University of South Africa in Pretoria. 

Opening Hymn 154 vv. 1,3,5    All glory, laud, and honor    Valet will ich dir geben

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 158 vv 1,2,5    Ah, holy Jesus!    Herzliebster Jesu

Anthem    Heilig (Holy)    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Text: Sanctus from the liturgy of the Eucharist
St. John’s Choir of Youth & Adults with the Choir of St. Paul’s-on-the-Green, Norwalk

Heilig, heilig, heilig ist Gott, der Herr Zebaoth!
Alle Lande sind seiner Ehre voll.
Hosianna in der Höh’!
Gelobt sei, der da kommt im Namen des Herrn!
Hosianna in der Höh’!

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

Mendelssohn’s posthumously published Three Sacred Pieces were composed towards the end of 1846. Mendelssohn was never physically the most robust of men, and the years of constant traveling, performing, composing and conducting were now taking their toll on his fragile frame—he was to pass away the following year. His letters of the period are brimful of references to his state of exhaustion, and by the time he came to compose these short choral works, he had already begun pulling out of upcoming performances. This perfectly conceived miniature is typical both in terms of its sheer mastery of choral writing and effortless command of musical expression and structure.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn 168 vv 1,2,4    O sacred head, sore wounded    Herzlich tut mich verlangen

Voluntary    Prelude on Herzliebster Jesu     Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Erica Maas Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Adagio from Sonata II     Felix Mendessohn (1809-1847)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 170    To mock your reign, O dearest Lord    The Third Tune

Anthem    He shall lead his flock from Messiah      George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Text: Isaiah 40:11, Matthew 11:28-29
Erica Maas Shippee, soloist

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn 473 vv 1, 2, 4    Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim    Crucifer

Voluntary    Allegro maestoso e vivace from Sonata II     Felix Mendessohn

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Brendon Gallagher, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary   Introit and Kyrie from Organoeidia ad missam lectam    Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Help, God, that we succeed, BWV 624 (Hilf, Gott, daß mir’s gelinge)   Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 671 vv. 1, 2, 5    Amazing grace! how sweet the sound    New Britain

Anthem    If with all your hearts ye truly seek me from Elijah    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Text: Deuteronomy 4:29, Job 23:3

If with all your hearts ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me, thus saith our God.
Oh! that I knew where I might find him, that I may even come before his presence.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn 690    Guide me, O thou great Jehovah    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Fugue in C Major, BWV 545b    Johann Sebastian Bach

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Richard Barstow, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude & Fugue in A Major, BWV 536    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 676    There is a balm in Gilead    Balm in Gilead

Few chapters in the Bible may have resonated with the souls of enslaved Africans in North America as Jeremiah 8 did. Israel was in exile. The exiled Jews are forced to live in a “far country” (Jeremiah 8:19). They wondered what they had done to deserve this. It is the most desperate and despondent time in Israel’s history. Then the chapter ends with these three rhetorical questions: “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:22, KJV) The refrain of this spiritual offers encouragement and dares to respond with hope in the face of hopelessness, showing courage in the face of despair. African American theologian Howard Thurman (1899-1981) discusses the refrain of this spiritual: “The slave caught the mood of this spiritual dilemma and with it did an amazing thing. He straightened the question mark in Jeremiah’s sentence into an exclamation point: ‘There is a balm in Gilead!’ [italics in original] Here is the note of creative triumph.” (Notes courtesy C. Michael Hawn)

Anthem    I will sing of thy great mercies    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
From the oratorio St. Paul
St. John’s Youth Choir; Frances Eikel, soloist

So they, being filled with the Holy Ghost, departing thence delayed not, and preached the word of God with joyfulness. I will sing of Thy great mercies, O Lord, and of Thy faithfulness evermore, my Savior.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn 151    From deepest woe I cry to thee    Aus tiefer Not

Voluntary    Prelude in C, BWV 545a    Johann Sebastian Bach

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by John Nowacki, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Elegy    William Grant Still (1895-1978)

Many exceedingly talented musicians of color have contributed to our classical music culture, and William Grant Still may be the greatest of them all. He was born into a musical golden era – early 20th-century America, where jazz, pop, classical, and even film music overlapped as never before – just as he was born into the vile system we now call Jim Crow. Because of all the firsts he managed to achieve, he became known as the Dean of African American Composers. Get to know his music at https://tinyurl.com/4623lywl.

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 455 vv 1,2,4    O Love of God, how strong and true    Dunedin

Anthem    I will arise   arr. Robert Shaw, Alice Parker
St. John’s Adult Choir

I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh! there are ten thousand charms.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of Thy redeeming love.
Come, thou fount of ev’ry blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms.
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh! there are ten thousand charms.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn vv. 1,2,4    It is well with my soul

Voluntary     Litanies     Jehan Alain (1911-1940)

Jehan Alain, a Parisian composer whose life was cut short when his plane was shot down during WWII, wrote this morning’s closing voluntary. Litanies is a breathless and relentless prayer. The desperation of prayer in time of deep need is illustrated by a repetitive litany and rhythms written while traveling on a train – all building to a frenzy. Alain writes, “When the Christian soul in its despair can no longer find any new words to implore the mercy of God, it repeats the same incantation over and over again in blind faith. The limits of reality are surpassed and faith alone continues upward.”

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Brendon Gallagher, sermon by the Rev’d Linda Spiers.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Hommage a J.S. Bach: Variations on Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, 2021    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 150 vv 1,4,5    Forty days and forty nights    Aus der Tiefe rufe ich

Anthem    Agnus Dei    Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

The “Agnus dei” credited to Georges Bizet is based on the Intermezzo from the “L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2” taken from Bizet’s 1872 music to Alphonse Daudet’s play. Bizet had only made one suite out of his L’Arlesienne music and four years after the death of the composer the publisher commisioned Bizet’s close friend Ernest Guirard to compile another. Apart from preparing this second suite Guirard extracted the Intermezzo movement and added the catholic Latin text of the “Agnus Dei” to it. It was published as another “new” work of Bizet.

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn 439    What wondrous love is this    Wondrous Love

Voluntary    Hommage a J.S Bach.: Variations on Aus der Tiefe rufe ich (final variation)    Christa Rakich

Concert and recording artist (and St. John’s member) Christa Rakich performs widely throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. She is currently Visiting Professor of Organ at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. Near her home in Connecticut, she maintains two Artist-in-Residencies: St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford and the Congregational Church of Somers. Past Artist-in-Residencies have included the University of Pennsylvania and First Lutheran Church in Boston. 

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 7:00 p.m. sung by Ted Babbitt, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Chant de Paix    Jean Langlais (1907-1991)

Silent Procession

Kyrie eleison S-84    Gregorian Chant, Orbis factor

Sequence Hymn 142    Lord, who throughout these forty days    St. Flavian

Sanctus     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Fraction Anthem     Agnus Dei     Gregorian Chant, Deus Genitor alme

Closing Hymn 674    Forgive our sins as we forgive    Detroit

Voluntary    Prelude in E minor, BWV 533    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Ted Babbitt, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Cate Emerick and Anne Harney, sermon by the Reverend Bill Eakins.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Fanfare    John Cook (1918-1984)

A trumpet mardi gras for organ! This is the last time we’ll hear the Trompette-en-Chamade (horizontal trumpet over the main entrance) and Trompette Harmonique (high pressure trumpet in the chancel) in worship until Easter Sunday, as Lent begins this coming week.

Opening Hymn 427 vv. 1,2,5    When morning gilds the skies    Laudes Domini

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem      Oculi omnium    Charles Wood (1866-1926)
Words: Psalm 144:15
St. John’s Schola: Kara Hart, Erica Maas Shippee, Brendon Gallagher, John Nowacki

Oculi omnium in te spirant Domine: et tu das illis escam in tempore opportune. Gloria tibi Domine. Amen.
The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord: and thou givest them their meat in due season. Glory be to thee, O Lord. Amen.

Irish composer Charles Wood. He studied with Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music in London, and he would himself become a Professor of Music there, where his pupils would include Ralph Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells. Wood is chiefly remembered for his Anglican church music, but his earlier years brought a number of choral works. He also left half a dozen string quartets, part-songs, solo songs and a series of organ preludes.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 460 vv. 1,3    Alleluia! sing to Jesus!    Hyfrydol

Voluntary    Fantasy on Praise to the Lord, the almighty   Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)

Emma Lou Diemer’s music has been published since 1957 and ranges from hymns and songs to large chamber and orchestral works. She is a native of Kansas City and received her composition degrees from Yale and from Eastman. She is professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has served as organist in various churches, most recently at First Presbyterian in Santa Barbara. Diemer is a keyboard performer and over the years has given concerts of her own organ works at Washington National Cathedral, The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Grace Cathedral and St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, and others. Her compositional style over the years has varied from tonal to atonal, from traditional to experimental. She has over 150 compositions to her name, and continues to write – at the age of 93.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by the Reverend Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, Glory to God in the highest, BWV 663    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 135 vv. 1,2,4    Songs of thankfulness and praise    Salzburg

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem    You are my God    Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
Text: David Adams, 2005
St. John’s Youth and Adult Choirs

You are the light that guides my way, you are the seeker when I stray,
You are my strength and my friend, you are the peace that keeps me calm,
You are my love and my sure light, you are the presence when hope is gone,
You are with me, I am never alone, you are the power that’s always there,
You are my God beyond compare, you are the one to whom I pray,
You are the Lord with me this day, you are my strength to my life’s end,
You are my God.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 529    In Christ there is no East or West    McKee

“Spirituals,” said Harry T. Burleigh, “are hymns of soulful depth and rhythm that express the profound faith of slaves in the face of unspeakable injustice.” The first black composer instrumental in developing characteristically American music, Burleigh introduced Antonín Dvořák to Black American music, which influenced some of Dvořák’s most famous compositions and led him to say that Black (and American Indian) music would be the basis of an American classical music. Learn more at www.burleighsociety.com/history

Voluntary    Carillon on Salzburg    Alan MacMillan (b. 1947)

Born in Nyack, New York, Connecticut composer and St. John’s music fan Alan MacMillan learned violin from the age of 9. He holds degrees from Boston University (B.Mus., 1st prize for composition, later M.Mus.) and Harvard (Ph.D.). He spent two years in special education for mentally handicapped children, then taught music at Boston University from 1977. He was Composer in Residence and Assistant Director of Music at the Community of Jesus, Orleans, Massachusetts. Over thirty of his musical compositions are published by Paraclete Press.

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Britt Emerick, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Fugue in G minor, BWV 542b    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor, and thousands of keyboard works, especially organ. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Certainly one of the most influential composers, none of the music we know today would exist without his innovations.

Opening Hymn 339 vv 1,2    Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness    Schmücke dich

Gloria S280Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem    Prayer of St Patrick    arr. William M. Schoenfeld (b. 1949)
St. John’s Youth Choir

Christ be with me, Christ be within me, Christ be behind me,
Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 535 vv 1,2,4    Ye servant of God, your Master proclaim  Paderborn

Voluntary    Come, Christians, join to sing    Sondra K. Tucker (b. 1957)

Sondra Tucker is Director of Music/Organist at Christ Church Presbyterian in Bellaire (metro Houston), Texas. She began composing and arranging in 1991, and writes music for handbells, organ, vocal choir, and flute ensemble. In demand as a conductor and clinician, she has directed massed ringing at denominational and AGEHR events around the country. She self‑publishes her flute music through her own QuickSilver Publications.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Michael Mei, sermon by Mike Corey.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary     Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (Glory to God in the highest), BWV 662    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 381 vv. 1, 4    Thy strong word did cleave the darkness    Ton-y-Botel

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem    Deep waters    Pepper Choplin (b. 1957)
Words based on: Luke 5:1-11
St. John’s Adult Choir; Odanice Olibrice, soloist

Their fishing nets were empty when they first saw the Lord.
All night they had been fishing in the waters by the shore.
The Lord said, “Go to deep waters, cast your nets once more.”
And because they obeyed, they would never be the same.

Go to deep waters, deep waters, where only faith will let you go.
Go out to deep waters, deep waters, harvests of faith will overflow. Go.

They cast their nets and almost before they could begin,
their nets were overflowing and they had to pull them in.
And though this was their greatest catch their fishing days would end.
For they abandoned all when they heard the master’s call.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of piano and chamber music. His Deutsche Messe, from which these arrangements come, was intended for liturgical use, but was at the outset banned from use in the Roman Catholic church due to censorship.

Closing Hymn    Soon and very soon vv. 1, 2, 3

Voluntary     Postlude on Vida e Luz (Life and Light)     João W. Faustini (b. 1931)

Born in Bariri, São Paulo, Brazil, João Wilson Faustini is a Presbyterian pastor, choir director, organist, singer, composer, translator, arranger and publisher of largest collection of Sacred Music in the Portuguese language. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, Union Theological Seminary, and Princeton University. From 1982 to 1996 he was Pastor at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) Newark, the oldest Brazilian Presbyterian Church in the USA. 

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Erica Maas Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Deep River    Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)

Introit    MLK    Words and music by U2, arr. Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
St. John’s Schola: Erica Maas Shippee, Mary Beth Lamlein, Michael Mei, Scott Lamlein, John Nowacki
Recorded February 10, 2019

Sleep, sleep tonight
And may your dreams be realized
If the thundercloud passes rain
So let it rain
Rain on him 

MLK is a song by Irish rock band U2, and is the tenth and final track on their 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire. An elegy to Martin Luther King Jr., it is a short, pensive piece with simple lyrics. It was because of this song and “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, another tribute to King, that lead vocalist Bono received the highest honor of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, an organization founded by Coretta Scott King.

Opening Hymn 7    Christ, whose glory fills the skies    Ratisbon

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem    Nunc Dimittis    Eugene W. Hancock (1929-1994)
Words: The song of Simeon, Luke 2:29-32
Erica Maas Shippee, soloist

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, Amen.

Eugene Hancock attended the University of Detroit where he studied music, and then went on to the University of Michigan for a M.Mus. degree. He earned the Doctorate in Sacred Music from Union Seminary in New York City. Hancock was a professor of music at Manhattan Community College and held positions in a number of churches in New York City, including the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and St. Phillip’s. From 1984-1990, Hancock was Director of Music at West End Presbyterian Church. He is best known for vocal pieces, Absalom and Nunc Dimittis, his choral work Introit, and his organ work, The Wrath of God.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn    We shall overcome

Voluntary    Marching to Zion    Gordon Young (1919-1998)

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Cleveland Williams, sermon by the Rev’d Canon Lee Ann Toltzmann.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Praeludium    Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)

Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály believed that everyone is capable and has a right to musical literacy. Music, after all, belongs to everyone. By 1929 he was determined to reform the teaching of music and to make it an integral part of education. Music education should begin with very young children all of whom can be taught musical concepts. “Let us take our children seriously! Everything else follows from this…only the best is good enough for a child.” Kodály became internationally known for his approach to music education, which became the widely taught Kodály Method.

Opening Hymn 119 vv 1,2,3    As with gladness men of old    Dix

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem    Shall we gather at the river    arr. Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Text: Robert Lowry (1826-1899)
Cleveland Williams, soloist

Shall we gather by the river,
Where bright angel’s feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?

Refrain Yes, we’ll gather by the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Gather with the saints by the river
That flows by the throne of God.

Ere we reach the shining river
Lay we every burden down,
Praise our spirits will deliver
And provide our robe and crown.  Refrain

Soon we’ll reach the shining river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease,
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace.  Refrain

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 616 vv 1, 5    Hail to the Lord’s Anointed    Es flog ein keins Waldvogelein

Voluntary    Carillon    Herbert Murrill (1909-1952)

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Sofia Jones and John Nowacki, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Variations on a Basque Noël (2017)    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Opening Hymn 98    Unto us a boy is born!    Puer nobis nascitur

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem   The three kings    Healy Willan (1880-1968)
Text: Laurence Housman (1865-1959)
Adult Choir, recorded January 5, 2020

“Who knocks tonight so late?”
the weary porter said.
Three kings stood at the gate,
each with a crown on his head.

The serving man bowed down,
the Inn was full, he knew.
Said he, “In all this town
is no fit place for you.”

A light in the manger lit;
there lay the Mother meek.
This place is fit.
Here is the rest we seek.

Come, come. They loosed their latchet strings,
so stood they all unshod
“Come in, come in, ye kings,
and kiss the feet of God.”

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 96    Angels we have heard on high    Gloria

Voluntary    Variations on Puer nobis nascitur (2020)    Christa Rakich (b. 1952)

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by cantor Richard Barstow, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Partita on Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen    James Woodman (b. 1957)

Opening Hymn 82    Of the Father’s love begotten    Divinum mysterium

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem  O magnum mysterium  Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
Sung by the Youth and Adult Choirs, recorded January 6, 2019

O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum jacentem in praesepio. O beata Virgo, cuius viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Jesum Christum. Alleluia.

O great mystery and wonderful sacrament, that beasts should see the new-born Lord lying in a manger. O blessed virgin, whose body was worthy to bear the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 115    What chid is this, who, laid to rest    Greensleeves

Voluntary  In dulci jubilo (In quiet joy), BWV 729    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Christa Rakich, assisting organist

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:00 a.m., sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    In dulci jubilo (In quiet Joy)    Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)

Opening Hymn 78    O Little town of Bethlehem    Forest Green

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 100    Joy to the world, the Lord is come    Antioch

Voluntary    Fantasia on Antioch   Wilbur Held (1914-2015)

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 11:00 p.m. sung by cantor Rev’d Margie Baker, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Prelude begins at 10:45pm, and features Susan Knapp Thomas, harpist, and features carols from around the world.

People, look East    arr. Megan Metheney
Sing we now of Christmas    arr. Gary Shocker
In the bleak midwinter (England)    arr. Ray Pool
Good King Wenceslas (England)    arr. Kim Robertson
The Huron carol (Canada)    arr. Ray Pool
Good Christian men, rejoice (Germany)    arr. Ray Pool
Tu scendi dalle stelle (Italy)     arr. Ray Pool
Sleep of the infant Jesus (France)     arr. Ray Pool
El Decembre congelat (The Icy December, Spain)     arr. Ray Pool

Choral Introit    O radiant dawn    James MacMillan (b. 1959)
Adult Choir, recorded Christmas Eve 2018

O Radiant Dawn, Splendour of eternal Light,
Sun of Justice:
come, shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.
Isaiah had prophesied,
‘The people who walked in darkness have seen the great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.’
Amen.

Opening Hymn 87    Hark! the herald angels sing    Mendelssohn

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Anthem    There is no rose    Philip Stopford (b. 1977)
Text: Anonymous, 14th century
Adult Choir, recorded Christmas Eve 2019

There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu;
Alleluia.

For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space;
Res miranda.  (Thing of wonder)

By that rose we may well see
There be one God in persons three,
Pares forma.  (Equal in form)

The angels sungen the shepherds to:
Gloria in excelsis deo:  (Glory to God in the highest)
Gaudeamus.   (Let us rejoice)

Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth;
Transeamus.  (Let us follow)

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 111   Silent night    Stille Nacht

Voluntary    Carillon-Sortie    Henri Mulet (1878-1967)

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 4:00 p.m. sung by cantor Daaé Ransom, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Organ Voluntary    Meditation on Quelle est cette odeur agréable?    Dale Wood (1934-2003)

Choral Introit     The Lamb     Scott Lamlein, 2009
Words: William Blake (1757–1827)
Youth and Alumnae Choir, recorded Christmas Eve 2019

Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.

Opening Hymn 87    Hark! the herald angels sing    Mendelssohn

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b. 1932)

Anthem    Brightest and best     arr. Malcolm Archer (b. 1962)
Words: Reginald Heber (1783-1826)
Youth and Alumnae Choir, recorded Christmas Eve 2018
Soloists: Britt Emerick, Emma Evica

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall.
Angels adore Him in slumber reclining,
Maker and Monarch and Savior of all.

Shall we not yield Him, In costly devotion
Odors of Edom and offerings divine,
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?

Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gifts would His favor secure.
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 111   Silent night    Stille Nacht

Voluntary    Carillon-Sortie    Henri Mulet (1878-1967)

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by cantor Erica Maas Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Wake, awake, for night is flying), BWV 645    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Meine Seele erhebet den Herrn (My soul doth magnify the Lord), BWV 648    Johann Sebastian Bach

Opening Hymn 438 vv. 1,2,4    Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord    Woodlands

Kyrie S-89    James McGregor, after Hans Leo Hassler

Anthem    No small wonder    Paul Edwards (b. 1955)
Text: Paul Wigmore (1925-2014)
Sung by the Youth and Adult Choirs

Small wonder the star,
Small wonder the light,
The angels in chorus,
The shepherds in fright;
But stable and manger for God –
No small wonder!

Small wonder the kings,
Small wonder they bore
The gold and the incense,
The myrrh, to adore:
But God gives his life on a cross –
No small wonder!

Small wonder the love,
Small wonder the grace,
The power, the glory,
The light of his face;
But all to redeem my poor heart –
No small wonder!

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 76 vv. 1,2,5    On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry    Winchester New

Voluntary     Fugue in C minor, BWV 546B    Johann Sebastian Bach

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Trio: From heaven above to earth I come    Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Veni Emmanuel    Pietro Yon (1886-1943)

Opening Hymn 56 vv. 1,2,7   O come, O come, Emmanuel    Veni, veni Emmanuel

Kyrie S-89    James McGregor, after Hans Leo Hassler

Anthem    Comfort Ye from Messiah    George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Text: Isaiah 40:1-3
Odanice Olibrice, soloist

Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness; prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for Our God.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 72 vv. 1,2,4   Hark! the glad sound! the Savior comes    Richmond

Voluntary    Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 661    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Savior of the nations, come

Assisting Organist: Christa Rakich

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by cantor Brendon Gallagher, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary     Two settings of Lo, how a rose e’er blooming
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)

Opening Hymn 57 vv. 1,2,4    Lo! He comes, with clouds descending    Helmsley

Kyrie S-89    James McGregor, after Hans Leo Hassler

Anthem    Prepare the way (2015)    Zanaida Robles (b. 1979)
Text: Frans Mikael Franzen, adap. Charles P. Price
Brendon Gallagher, soloist

Prepare the way, O Zion,
your Christ is drawing near!
Let every hill and valley
a level way appear.
Greet One who comes in glory,
foretold in sacred story.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

He brings God’s rule, O Zion;
he comes from heaven above.
His rule is peace and freedom,
and justice, truth, and love.
Lift high your praise resounding,
for grace and joy abounding.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide your gates, O Zion;
your Savior’s rule embrace.
His tidings of salvation
proclaim in every place.
All lands will bow before him,
their voices will adore him.
Oh blest is Christ that came
in God’s most holy name.

Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance. Authentic interpersonal connection and relationship-building are core principles of her teaching and performance methods. Born, raised, and educated in Southern California, she is in demand as a vocalist, conductor, clinician and adjudicator for competitions, festivals, and conferences related to choral and solo vocal music. Her film and television credits include “Glee,” “Tinkerbell: Pirate Fairy,” “Godzilla,” “Minions,” “Creed,” Lego Movie,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” “Venom,” “Smallfoot,” “Frozen 2,” “Underwater,” and “Mulan.” 

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God    Franz Schubert

Closing Hymn 66 vv. 1,2,3   Come, thou long expected Jesus    Stuttgart

Voluntary     Postlude on Stuttgart (2020)    Peter Niedmann (b. 1960)

Peter Niedmann is Director of Music and Organist at Church of Christ, Congregational, in Newington, and composition coach for our own Scott Lamlein. He is a published composer with hundreds of works in print, and his choral music has been sung at The White House and a Papal Mass for Pope John Paul II. No stranger to St. John’s, he has been featured on our Music at the Red Door series as a composer, organist, and conductor at various times. We look forward to his Pipes Alive! recital next Sunday that will feature his own new works for Advent and Christmas.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:00 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Kremser    John Ferguson, 2001

Opening Hymn 433    We gather together    Kremser

Closing Hymn 397    Now thank we all our God    Nun danket alle Gott

Voluntary    Postlude on Nun danket    Robert Edward Smith, 1996

Nov 22 Christ the King 1030amSpiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Cate Emerick and John Nowacki, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Lied    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Opening Hymn 494 vv. 1,2,5    Crown him with many crowns    Diademata

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Anthem    How can I keep from singing    arr. Georgeann Weaver (b. 1944)
Text: Robert Lowry, last verse by the composer
Sung by the Youth Choir

Sanctus S128     William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 290 vv. 1,2,4    Come, ye thankful people, come    St. George’s, Windsor

Voluntary    Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 533    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor, and thousands of keyboard works, especially organ. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Certainly one of the most influential composers, none of the music we know today would exist without his innovations.

Organ Scholar: Ted Babbitt
Assisting Pianist: Nancy Eaton

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by cantor Michael Mei, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on St. Anne    Robert Edward Smith (b. 1946)

Robert Edward Smith has written music for vocal and instrumental ensembles of all sizes ranging from unaccompanied viola to symphony orchestra.  He has been Composer in Residence at Trinity College Chapel since 1979. Also a distinguished harpsichordist, he is the first person since the eighteenth century to perform in public the complete harpsichord literature of François Couperin. His touring harpsichord was on loan to St. John’s for several years.

Opening Hymn 9 vv. 3, 4, 5    Awake, awake to love and work    Morning Song

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Anthem    We shall walk through the valley    Spiritual, arr. Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989)
Quartet: Claudia Ayer, soprano; Erica Shippe, alto; Brendon Gallagher, tenor; John Nowacki, bass

We shall walk through the valley in peace;
we shall walk through the valley in peace.

Refrain:
If Jesus himself shall be our leader,
we shall walk through the valley in peace.

There will be no sorrow there;
there will be no sorrow there. Refrain

Undine Eliza Anna Smith Moore, the “Dean of Black Women Composers,” was an American composer and professor of music in the twentieth century. Moore was originally trained as a classical pianist, but developed a compositional output of mostly vocal music—her preferred genre. Much of her work was inspired by black spirituals and folk music. Undine Smith Moore was a renowned teacher, and once stated that she experienced “teaching itself as an art.”

Sanctus S128     William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 680 vv. 1, 2, 3    O God, our help in ages past    St. Anne

Voluntary    Now thank we all our God    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
arr. Virgil Fox

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Sofia Jones and Brendon Gallagher, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary     Chant de Paix (Song of Peace)    Jean Langlais (1907-1991)

Opening Hymn 620 vv. 1, 2, 5    Jerusalem, my happy home    Land of Rest

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Anthem    Swing low, sweet chariot    Spiritual, arr. Alice Parker (b. 1925)
Sung by the Youth and Adult Choirs

Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Coming for to carry me home

I looked over Jordan, and what did I see
A band of angels coming after me
Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down
Sometimes I’m almost to the ground

Alice Parker is a national treasure: America’s reigning queen of choral music. – American Record Guide
My twenty-years’ experience with Robert Shaw, an immersion in folk music of many kinds, has had a profound effect on my own understanding of song. I learned to see each tune as a small universe, setting up its own rules of pitch and rhythm, mood and dance. If I understand that universe, and work within it for my setting, the result is an organic whole that allows the original melody to flourish. – Alice Parker

Sanctus S128     William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 690    Guide me, O thou great Jehovah    Cwm Rhondda

Voluntary    Postlude on Cwm Rhondda    Paul Manz (1919-2009)

Paul Manz was was an American composer for choir and organ, and a champion of hymn singing.  Manz was most famous for his celebrated hymn festivals. Instead of playing traditional organ recitals, Manz would generally lead a “festival” of hymns from the organ, in which he introduced each hymn with one of his famously creative organ improvisations based on the hymn tune in question. The congregation would then sing the hymn with his accompaniment. 

Outdoor Service at 2:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Erica Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Marche Funèbre    Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)

Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade was a French composer and pianist. In 1913, she was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, a first for a female composer. Her first experiments in composition took place in very early days, and in her eighth year she played some of her music to Georges Bizet, who was much impressed with her talents. She gave her first concert when she was eighteen, and from that time on her work as a composer gained steadily in favor. She wrote mostly character pieces for piano, and salon songs, almost all of which were published.

Opening Hymn 287 v. 1-4    For all the saints, who from their labors rest    Sine Nomine

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Anthem    Pie Jesu from Requiem    Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Erica Shippee, soloist

Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem.
Dona eis requiem sempiternam requiem.

Merciful Jesus, Lord, grant them rest.
Grant them rest, eternal rest.

Sanctus S128     William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 293    I sing a song of the saints of God    Grand Isle

Voluntary    Toccata from Suite Gothique    Léon Boëllmann (1862-1897)

During the sixteen years of his professional life, Boëllmann composed about 160 pieces in all genres. Faithful to the style of Franck and an admirer of Saint-Saëns, Boëllmann yet exhibits a turn-of-the-century Post-romantic esthetic, which especially in his organ works, demonstrates “remarkable sonorities.” His best-known composition is Suite gothique (1895), now a staple of the organ repertoire, especially its concluding Toccata, a piece “of moderate difficulty but brilliant effect,” with a dramatic minor theme and a rhythmic emphasis that made it popular even in Boëllmann’s own day. Before his untimely death at age 35, Boëllmann became known as “a dedicated teacher, trenchant critic, gifted composer and successful performer…who coaxed pleasing sounds out of recalcitrant instruments.”

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Cate Emerick and Richard Barstow, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Air for Organ    William B. Cooper (1920-1993)

William B. Cooper was a native of Philadelphia. He received his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Philadelphia College or Performing Arts and a Doctorate of Music from Columbia Pacific University (California). He served on the music faculties of Bennett College (Greensboro, NC) and Hampton University (Hampton, VA) as well as 26 years in the New York City School System. Cooper also served as Minister of Music at historic Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church (1953-74) and Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church (1974-88) in Harlem.

Opening Hymn 450 vv. 1,2,3    All hail the power of Jesus’ Name    Coronation

Gloria in excelsis S278     William Mathias (1934-1992)

Anthem     There is a season    Alfred Fedak (b. 1953)
Words: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Sung by the St. John’s Schola

To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and time to uproot;
a time to kill and time to heal;
a time to break down and time to build up;
to everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under heaven,
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and time to dance;
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones together,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
to everything there is a season,
a time to seek and time to lose;
a time to keep and time to cast away;
a time to rend and time to sew;
a time to keep silent and time to speak;
a time of love and a time of hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
To everything there is a season.

Alfred V. Fedak is a widely-published and well-known composer of church music. He has over 200 choral and organ works in print, and his hymntunes appear in hymnals and collections in the US, Canada, England, Scotland, New Zealand, China and Japan. Seeing a far greater need to inspire the hearing of these powerful words, Fedak has crafted a melody that allows the choir to communicate the deep meaning of the text clearly and with great feeling.

Sanctus S128     William Mathias

Fraction Anthem S166    Agnus Dei     Gerald Near (b. 1942)

Closing Hymn 602 vv. 1,2,3    Jesu, jesu, fill us with your love    Chereponi

Voluntary    Processional    William Mathias (1934-1992)

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Claudia Ayer, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Concerto in A minor (after Vivaldi), BWV 593    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Allegro – Adagio

Opening Hymn 665 vv. 1,2,5    All my hope on God is founded    Michael

This hymn’s popularity increased when its pairing with the tune Michael by the English composer Herbert Howells became more widely known. Howells’ son, Michael, born in 1925, had died in childhood in 1935 from spinal meningitis. It is believed that shortly after this, in 1936, Howells received a request for a new hymn tune in the morning’s post, and he is said to have written the tune, which he named after his late son, over breakfast.

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Anthem    O Virtus Sapientiae    Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

O virtus Sapientiae, quae circuiens circuisti
comprehendendo omnia in una via, quae habet vitam,
tres alas habens, quarum una in altum volat,
et altera de terra sudat, et tertia undique volat.
Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet, O Sapientia.

O strength of Wisdom who, circling, circled,
enclosing all in one lifegiving path,
three wings you have: one soars to the heights,
one distils its essence upon the earth, and the third is everywhere.
Praise to you, as is fitting, O Wisdom

Hildegard of Bingen OSB was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is one of the best-known composers of sacred monophony, as well as the most-recorded in modern history. She has been considered by many in Europe to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. There are more surviving chants by Hildegard than by any other composer from the entire Middle Ages, and she is one of the few known composers to have written both the music and the words.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Closing Hymn    I want Jesus to walk with me    Sojourner

Voluntary    Trumpet Tune in D    David N. Johnson (1922-1981)

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Michael Mei, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Choral on Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness    Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Opening Hymn 556 vv. 1, 2, 3    Rejoice, ye pure in heart    Marion

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Anthem    The Lord is my shepherd    Howard Goodall (b. 1958)
Sung by the Youth Choir

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. Goodall’s setting of Psalm 23 is better known as the theme to the BBC show, “The Vicar of Dibley.” His intent to write a piece of church music that could have a life of its own beyond the TV show was successfully realized with this very popular anthem.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Gary James has served as organist/choirmaster at St. Paul’s, Seattle, since 1997. A native of Texas, he has worked on the West Coast since 1980. His music was sung at both the opening and closing Eucharists of the 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City in the summer of 2015, and at the installation of the Most Reverend Michael B. Curry as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on All Saints Day 2015.

Closing Hymn 7    Christ, whose glory fills the skies    Ratisbon

Voluntary    Choral on Out of the depths I cry to Thee    Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)

Douglas Johnson, Guest Organist

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Sofia Jones and Erica Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    The peace may be exchanged from Rubrics     Dan Locklair, 1988

Opening Hymn 405 vv. 1, 2, & 4    All things bright and beautiful    Royal Oak

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Anthem    Silent, Surrendered    Margaret Rizza (b. 1929)
Words: Pamela Hayes and Margaret Rizza
Sung by the Adult Choir

Silent, surrendered, calm and still, open to the word of God.
Heart humbled to his will, offered is the servant of God.
Come, Holy Spirit, bring us light, teach us, heal us, give us life.
Come, Lord, O let our hearts flow with love and all that is true.

Born in 1929, Margaret Rizza only began to compose in 1997. Since then she has become a major personality in the world of sacred choral music, with substantial sales of both her printed and recorded music, which includes chart topping Taizé chants. All this followed an illustrious career as an opera singer spanning 25 years, under the name Margaret Lensky, working with conductors such as Britten, Stravinsky and Bernstein.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Closing Hymn 400 vv. 1, 2 & 7    All creatures of our God and King    Lasst uns erfreuen

Voluntary    Toccata on Great Day    Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)

Adolphus Hailstork is an American composer and educator. He grew up in Albany, New York, where he studied violin, piano, organ, and voice. As a child, he joined the choir of the Episcopalian cathedral. From this experience he developed an interest in vocal melodic writing that asserts itself in his choral works and art songs. Hailstork is of African-American ancestry and his works blend musical ideas from both the African-American and European traditions. His principal teachers were H. Owen Reed (Michigan State University), Vittorio Giannini and David Diamond (Manhattan School of Music), Mark Fax (Howard University) and Nadia Boulanger (American Institute at Fontainebleau).

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Odanice Olibrice, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Trumpet Voluntary    Henry Heron (1727-1789)
Movement in A-flat    Elizabeth Stirling (1819-1895)

Elizabeth Stirling was born in Greenwich, near London. While in her teens, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. By 1851, the first of a significant number of her part-songs had been published. In 1858, Stirling was appointed organist of St. Andrew Undershaft, a prominent London church. In 1863, her England’s Prayer for the Prince and Princess of Wales, was published. Stirling’s organ works, while varied, frequently include a challenging pedal part, placing her among the avant-garde as both a performer and composer.

Opening Hymn 477 vv 1,2,5    All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine    Engelberg

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 325    Let us break bread together on our knees    Let Us Break Bread

Anthem    What wondrous love is this    The Southern Harmony, 1835
Ordinice Olibrice, soloist

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Voluntary    The Emporer’s Fanfare    Antonio Soler (1729-1783)

Antonio Francisco Javier José Soler Ramos, usually known as Padre Antonio Soler, known in Catalan as Antoni Soler i Ramos, was a Spanish composer whose works span the late Baroque and early Classical music eras. He is best known for his keyboard sonatas, an important contribution to the harpsichord, fortepiano and organ repertoire. Soler took holy orders at the age of 23, and embarked on an extremely busy routine as a Hieronymite in El Escorial, Madrid with 20-hour workdays, in the course of which he produced more than 500 compositions.

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Cate Emerick and John Nowacki, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude for Organ: Tonality of Time    Francesco Blackmore (b. 1991)

Born in Jamaica, Francesco Blackmore is a Connecticut composer and organist, currently serving as Director of Music at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Windsor. He was an award-winning composition and theory student at CCSU, and recently was composer-in-residence at West Avon Congregational Church. Scott was honored to play the premiere of this work on our Pipes Alive! series in 2019.

Opening Hymn 410 vv. 1,2,4    Praise, my soul, the King of heaven    Lauda anima

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

The Rev’d Benjamin Straley is rector of S. Stephen’s Church in Providence, former organist of Washington National Cathedral, and a noted concert organist who performed here in 2020. He wrote this song of praise for the Cathedral, and our choir had the honor of premiering it while singing there in July, 2019. His tempo marking is “with much verve,” so listen once to the refrain and then help us make a joyful noise to God, even from the comfort of your home!

Sequence Hymn    For the fruit of all creation    Ar hyd y nos

Anthem    Locus iste    Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Words: Latin gradual for the dedication of a church
Adult and Youth Choirs

Locus iste a Deo factus est, inaestimabile sacramentum, irreprehensibilis est.
This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Voluntary    Fantasy in G minor, BWV 542    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Spiritual Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by Erica Shippee, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Subscribe to St. John’s podcasts at PodcastPeople or on iTunes

Service Music:

Voluntary    Fanfare    Percy Whitlock (1903-1946)

Opening Hymn 397    Now thank we all our God    Nun danket alle Gott

Song of Praise    Dignus es    Benjamin P. Straley (b. 1986)

Sequence Hymn 671 vv. 1,4,5    Amazing grace! How sweet the sound    New Britain

Anthem    How beautiful are the feet of them from Messiah   George Frederick Handel (1685-1759)
Text: Romans 10:15
Erica Shippee, soloist

How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Sanctus    Land of Rest, arr. Annabel Morris Buchanan (1889-1983)

Annabel Morris Buchanan  was an American composer and folklorist. The author of the book Folk Hymns of America (1938) as well as myriad journal articles, Buchanan (along with John Powell) helped found a festival which promoted music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains. Buchanan’s documenting practices are credited for preserving many folk songs that might have otherwise gone on unrecorded. She harmonized and produced many hymntunes familiar to us, including Land of Rest.

Fraction Anthem    Be Known to us, Lord Jesus    Gary James (b. 1957)

Voluntary    Marche Triomphale: Now thank we all our God    Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)

If an organ composer wants to be recognized in Germany, he writes music based on chorales (i.e., German hymns). Such was the case of Karg-Elert when he composed his 66 Chorale Variations, Op. 65, in which this setting is found. He was influenced by the music of Bach (no surprise there; every composer is influenced by Bach!), Claude Debussy, and Max Reger. This is perhaps his most famous composition for organ. Fragments of the tune are heard in the soprano voice, but in a disguised manner. Flourishes and chromaticism abounds, though within the strict parameters of tonality – hallmark traits for this romantic / impressionistic / expressionistic composer.

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., sermon by Michael Corey.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Morning Prayer Rite II at 10:30 a.m., sermon by Michael Corey.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., with music by Scott Lamlein, piano. Sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Morning Prayer Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Margie Baker.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565    Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Opening Hymn 435, vv. 1 & 4    At the name of Jesus     King’s Weston

At the name of Jesus ev’ry knee shall bow,
ev’ry tongue confess him King of glory now.
‘Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,
who from the beginning was the mighty Word.

In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue
all that is not holy, all that is not true;
crown him as your Captain in temptation’s hour:
let his will enfold you in its light and pow’r.

Hymn 707, vv. 1 & 2    Take my life, and let it be consecrated    Hollingsdale

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.

Voluntary    Fugue from Sonata II    Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Outdoor Service at 5:00 p.m., with music by Ted Babbitt, piano. Sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

The Service will be held on the west lawn, weather permitting.

Click here for Service Bulletin.

Music:

Clair de lune     Claude Debussy

Song without words (Op. 18, No. 4)     Felix Mendelssohn

Morning Prayer Rite II at 10:30 a.m. with hymns, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Worship at Home:

Click here: Service Bulletin – Sermon Text

Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Jerusalem, my happy home    George Shearing (1919-2011)

Opening Hymn 522, vv. 1 & 2    Glorious things of thee are spoken    Austria

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
he whose word cannot be broken
formed thee for his own abode;
on the Rock of Ages founded,
what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
thou may’st smile at all thy foes.