Service Previews, Recordings & Sermons

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth Choir, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

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Service Music:

Voluntary    Prelude on Land of Rest     George Shearing (1919-2011)

Choral Introit    Non nobis, Domine   William Byrd (1543-1623)
Text: Psalm 113:9

Non nobis, Domine
Sed nomini,
Tu o da gloriam

Not unto us, O Lord
But to Your name
May all the glory be

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

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sequence Hymn    You have come to the lakeshore, stanzas 1 and 2    Pescador

Offertory 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.

Herbert Howells completed this anthem on Boxing Day, December 26, 1925. The chorus maintains a modest and humble unison texture until the “splendour” that is shed from above is revealed as God’s name, which is heavenly love.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction Anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God     Franz Schubert

Communion Hymn    You have come to the lakeshore, stanzas 3 and 4    Pescador

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

Voluntary    Carillon    Herbert Murrill (1909-1952)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Adult Choir, sermon by Mr. Joel Lohr.

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Service Music:

Voluntary
Prelude    Robert Paoli (b.1991)
Prelude on Picardy    James Southbridge (b.1969)

Processional Hymn 324    Let all mortal flesh keep silence    Picardy

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sequence Hymn 35    Christ, mighty Savior, Light of all creation    Mighty Savior

Offertory Anthem    Set me as a seal    René Clausen (b. 1953)
Text: from Song of Solomon, 8:6a; 8:7a

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death.

Many waters cannot quench love;
neither can the floods drown it.

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death.

After the loss of his child, Rene Clausen, composer of Set me as a seal wrote: ‘Normally, when I am asked about the “inspiration” process, I laugh and deny inspiration in favor of work and effort. In this case, however, I just sat down and wrote the piece. I don’t know what is wrapped up inside these few, simple notes. I can say actually very little about the piece. Whenever I return to it, however, I am struck by the phrase “for love is strong as death,” because when I wrote it my actual feeling was “for love is stronger than death”; abiding, all-encompassing love absorbs even the pain of death. If the piece is about anything, it is about the simple but powerful conviction of permanent love that seeks to overflow the boundary between life and death. I can’t imagine a choir singing it without open hearts.’

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction Anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God     Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    Nunc dimittis    Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Words: 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.

Thomas Tallis wrote choral music under four different monarchs with widely differing religious practices. Under Edward VI (1547-1553), it was decided that all sacred choral music should be in English and be succinctly composed.

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

Voluntary    Processional    Robert Paoli (b. 1991)

Celtic Contemplative Worship at 4:30 p.m., beginning with silent meditation.

Worship at Home:

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Note that the webcast recording will include the full service, which includes lengthy periods of silence. You can use that time for personal meditation, or use the fast-forward feature to move ahead.

The monthly Celtic service centers on contemplation, connections to the earth, and healing and transformation through meditation and prayer. The service, featuring brief readings and reflections, beautiful music from a variety of traditions, and prayers, is held on the first Sunday of the month, October through June, at St. John’s. The service begins at 4:30 with a period of silence for reflection and preparation.

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth and Adult Choirs, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

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Service Music:

Voluntary
O for a closer walk with God (2015)    Craig Phillips (b. 1961)
Meditation on Slane (2015)    June Nixon (b. 1942)

Processional Hymn 381    Thy strong word did cleave the darkness    Ton-y-Botel

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sequence Hymn 505    O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God    O heiliger Geist

Offertory Anthem    Lead, kindly light    William Harris (1883-1973)
Text: John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, lead thou me on;
the night is dark, and I am far from home; lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead thou me on.
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on,
o’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
and with the morn those angel faces smile, which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction Anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God     Franz Schubert

Communion Anthem    O for a closer walk with God    Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Words: William Cowper (1731-1800), found at Hymn 683

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

Voluntary    Carillon de Longpont    Louis Vierne (1870-1937)

Assisting Organist: Bruce Henley

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    Aria    Flor Peeters (1903-1986)

Processional Hymn 474    When I survey the wondrous cross    Rockingham

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sequence Hymn 674    “Forgive our sins as we forgive”    Detroit

Offertory Anthem    Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace    Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.
The darkness is no darkness with thee, but the night is as clear as the day.
The darkness and the light to thee are both alike.
God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
O let my soul live and it shall praise thee.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for evermore.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.

Samuel Sebastian Wesley seemed destined for the life of a church musician, as his middle name was taken from Johann Sebastian Bach. He did not disappoint: in a time that English church music had become less than satisfactory, Wesley was largely responsible for raising this standard through his own work as a composer and organist. In all his music, Wesley strived for an expressive and accessible sound, as evidenced in this anthem. The exquisite Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace remains one of the most-loved anthems in the repertoire.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction Anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God     Franz Schubert

Communion Motet    Tantum ergo    Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921)
Words: St. Thomas Aquinas, c. 1264

Tantum ergo Sacramentum veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui:
Præstet fides supplementum sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio. Amen.

Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! o’er ancient forms departing newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail.

To the Everlasting Father, and the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Ghost proceeding forth from Each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing, might, and endless majesty. Amen.

Deodat de Severac descended from a noble family in the former French province of Languedoc. His music is greatly influenced by the musical traditions the region. He moved to Paris and studied piano with Vincent d’Indy, organ with Alexander Guilmant, and worked as an assistant to the composer Isaac Albéniz. He is known for his choral music, which includes settings of texts in his native Occitan language. His solo piano compositions have won critical acclaim.

Hymn in Procession 344    Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing    Sicilian Mariners

Voluntary    Voluntary on Sicilian Mariners, 2018    Carson Cooman (b. 1982)

Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:30 a.m. sung by the St. John’s Youth and Adult Choirs, sermon by the Rev’d Susan Pinkerton.

Click here for Service Bulletin.

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Service Music:

Voluntary
Tuba Tune on Laudate Dominum (2015)    June Nixon (b. 1942)
Andantino    Charles Tournemire (1870-1939)

Processional Hymn 432    O praise ye the Lord!    Laudate Dominum

Gloria S280     Robert Powell (b.1932)

Sequence Hymn 137    O wondrous type! O vision fair    Wareham

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

T. Fredrick H. Candlyn was a Briton who emigrated to the U.S. to undertake church music in New York, first at St. Paul’s, Albany and later at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue. His style is in line with the Wesley family and other very “tuneful” composers. One of his most beloved works, Christ, whose glory fills the skies uses a soaring melody for the first and final stanzas, while the second stanza is a completely different four-part texture. Text painting occurs at words such as “unaccompanied” when the organ stops playing.

Sanctus  S130    Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Fraction Anthem S164    Jesus, lamb of God     Franz Schubert

Music at Communion    O nata lux    Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)

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.

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.

Assisting Organist: Bruce Henley