Issue 9 - The Shepherd and ... the Duke?

This week's prelude, Sheep May Safely Graze, was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. You may recognize this piece as something you've heard at weddings... it's widely requested by brides. I chose to play this piece because 1) it's great music and 2) the original text to the aria goes well with the lessons for the day about Jesus as the shepherd, keeping his sheep secure. The text of the Bach aria, upon which the organ prelude is based, reads:

Sheep may safely graze where a good shepherd watches.
Where rulers govern well, one senses peace and harmony
And that makes for blissful nations.

Hmm. This starts out sounding like a text related to scripture. But, "rulers governing well" and "blissful nations"? In truth, this is not one of Bach's sacred cantatas; rather, it's secular. It was composed in 1713 after being commissioned by his employer, Duke Wilhelm Hurst, in Weimar. It was a ceremonial gift to Duke Christian of Sachsen-Weissenfels. No doubt, Bach is most certainly referencing the parable of the Good Shepherd, those who heard the cantata for the Duke would have made this connection easily. However, Bach uses the parable as a reference to the earthly relationship between the Duke and his subjects. Quite an honor for the Duke to be referenced as the Good Shepherd! Well, whether secular or sacred, it's a beautiful aria - and for this Sunday, I'll choose to hear the parable in it and will leave the Duke of Sachsen-Weissenfels out of my mind!

At the 11:00 service this Sunday, the Cathedral Choir will sing John Rutter's The Lord is My Shepherd. It's one of my favorite pieces by Rutter (which the choir sings SO gorgeously). I thought it would be fun to do a postlude by John Rutter (b. 1945) to correspond. You may notice in the choir anthem, during the middle section of the piece, a mixed meter section (this happens while they sing "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."). Well, this is a signature compositional tool for Rutter. Mixed meter refers to an alternation between two different time signatures (like 3/8 to 4/8) or it can also refer to an irregular time signature like 7/8. Well, it's fitting that the postlude I chose by Rutter is named "Toccata in Seven" because, once again, Rutter is at it with mixed meters. The time signature 7/8 gives this Toccata quite the festive character!

(Image: Academy in Weissenfels, 1786)

Issue 8 - Why organists love Mendelssohn!

This Sunday's prelude and postlude are both by Felix Mendelssohn. The prelude music is the Prelude in G and the postlude is the Allegro Maestoso from Sonata II for organ. There's much to say about Mendelssohn and his importance in music history as the resurrector of J. S. Bach's music. His personal history is worth exploring as well. This won't be the last time that I play music of Mendelssohn; so today, I'm choosing to focus just on his importance as a composer of works for the organ.

I had the great honor of studying some with William A. Little while at Eastman. He is the foremost scholar on the organ works of Felix Mendelssohn. He eloquently writes about the dire situation of organ music in Germany in the introduction to his edition of Mendelssohn's organ works, published by Novello:

"Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was the first composer of international stature to address the organ after the death of J.S. Bach. A span of nearly a century fell between 1750 [Bach's death year] and the appearance of [Mendelssohn's] Opus 65 in September of 1845. It was in very real terms an Interregnum in the history of organ music. To be sure, the practice of organ composition never actually died out, but fundamental liturgical changes had taken place in Germany which radically diminished the role of the organ in the church service. Simultaneously, the social and cultural fabric of German life was undergoing a profound secularization - not a surprising concomitant to the general European Enlightenment - from which not even the sacrosanct organ-loft was exempt. ...the organ attracted none of the major composers of the time. Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, all of them ...competent performers on the organ, ...yet among them, they left not single significant work for the instrument."

Sounds pretty hopeless, huh? Well, even though the organ in Germany was going through a sad time, Mendelssohn's prowess on the organ was loved in England. He performed in London often and for a short period of time, played during Sunday services at St. Paul's Cathedral. His first compositions for the organ, Opus 37 (Three Preludes and Fugues) from which Sunday's prelude is taken, was actually dedicated to Thomas Attwood, the organist at St. Paul's. The Three Preludes and Fugues are wonderful pieces. However, eight years later, Mendelssohn composed his Opus 65, Six Sonatas for Organ - and these are truly the crowning achievement of his organ compositions. (More on the sonatas in another [Bookends]!)

(Image: Felix Mendelssohn)

Issue 7 - "Blest are they who have not seen..."

This Sunday's prelude and postlude are both based upon the 15th Century hymn O Filii et Filiae which is translated as "O Sons and Daughters of the King" (LBW 139). The hymn's text is a Latin poem written by Jean Tisserand, a Franciscan priest (d. 1494). We do not know who composed the tune but it dates back to 1623 --- it is incredibly popular in French Catholic churches and is used often as liturgical music (but with different words set to it).

We will sing the hymn following the sermon - it celebrates the Gospel text about Thomas' incredulous response to his encounter with Jesus after the resurrection. It is in this hymn (which recites the Gospel story) that we get to cry out with Thomas in belief, "You are my Lord and God!"

The prelude is composed by Wilbur Held, an American composer born in Chicago in 1914 who taught as Professor of Organ and Church Music at Ohio State University for over thirty years. Held composes for all nine verses of the hymn - each has a different personality and paints the text of hymn beautifully. Make sure to follow along in your LBW 139 so you can hear how Held depicts "An Easter morn, at break of day" and "An angel clad in white" -- or my favorite is how he sets Jesus' words "My pierced side, O Thomas, see".

The postlude, in its entirety, has nine verses as well. However, it lasts just a little too long, so I'm cutting a few out (organist's prerogative, I guess)! Jean-François Dandrieu (1682-1738) is a composer of the French Classical style. You can see from his dates, that he was a contemporary of J.S. Bach --- but you won't mistake this music for that of Bach's, trust me! French Classical organ music typically explores the different colors of the organ - and you will indeed hear the variety of sounds in this postlude. However, what always strikes me (literally) about organ music from this nation and time is its flamboyant and noisy nature!

(Image: Caravaggio's "Christ with the Doubting Thomas")

Issue 6 - Good Friday and Easter

Prelude music for Good Friday services is Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. It is probably the most popular of all modern American classical music. Widely used in several motion pictures, you may remember it from Platoon, Scarface or Amélie. I've chosen this piece as the prelude music for Good Friday because in 1967, Samuel Barber (1910-1981) actually arranged his moving piece, which was originally for strings only, for eight-part choir to the words of the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). I couldn't imagine a better choice for St. John's "Behold, The Lamb of God" Holy Week.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace.

The following are excerpts from The Impact of Barber's 'Adagio for Strings' - an NPR story which aired November 4th, 2006 (on the piece's 70th anniversary):

"In November 1938, conductor Arturo Toscanini led the NBC Symphony Orchestra in the premiere performance of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings." The concert was broadcast from New York to a radio audience of millions across America.

"The year 1938 was a time of tumult. America was still recovering from the Depression and Hitler's Germany was pushing the world towards war. Toscanini himself had only recently settled in America after fleeing fascist Italy. The importance of the broadcast performance during this time is noted by Joe Horowitz, author of Understanding Toscanini: "Toscanini's concerts in New York... once he was so closely identified with the opposition to Mussolini, the opposition to Hitler -- these were the peak public performances in the history of classical music in America. I don't think any concerts before or since excited such an intense emotional response, and I don't think any concerts before or since evoked such an intense sense of moral mission."

""You never are in any doubt about what this piece is about," says music historian Barbara Heyman. "There's a kind of sadness and poetry about it. It has a melodic gesture that reaches an arch, like a big sigh... and then exhales and fades off into nothingness.""

Charles-Marie Widor's Toccata from Symphony No. 5 for Organ: Shortly after I accepted the post as organist at St. John's, a choir member remarked at how I needed to make sure to get this ready for Easter! Well, thanks for the reminder! It's been 6 years since I've played this piece --- and I'm glad to be getting it back into my fingers... enjoy!

(Image: Samuel Barber)