Twitter users may be aware of the recent hugely popular "World Cup" of Evensong Canticles, run by @TheEvensongCup account. The canticles cup was won by Howells' Gloucester Service (no, I didn't vote multiple times, nor bribe anyone!) but most importantly the process introduced many choral music lovers to canticles they had not heard previously, new composers, and of course gave us all a wonderful opportunity to enjoy and discuss old favourites at a time when most of us would cut off our right arm to be back in church singing them with our choirs....
The account is now hosting a "World Cup" of evensong anthems, and after much discussion and preliminary voting, the two page list below has been put together. Voting has (only just) begun, and there is a pinned thread to explain the process here.
Because I obviously don't have anything better to do (what could be better than listening to hours of evensong anthems?!) I have put together a Spotify playlist of all but the most recent compositions which are yet to make it to Spotify. You can click the image below and it should take you to my playlist, which is public. I found most of the missing anthems on Youtube with little effort - I highly recommend Sarah MacDonald's "Crux Fidelis" which is on Soundcloud and Anna Thorvaldsdottir's "Heyr þú oss himnum á".
Franz Joseph Haydn (born 31/03/1732 in Rohrau, Austria - died 31/05/1809 Vienna) was an Austrian composer who was one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style in music during the 18th century. Haydn helped establish the forms and styles for both the string quartet and the symphony and is often referred to as the "Father" of both. He was also instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio. He was the principal engineer of the classical style.
Biography
Having exhibited an unusual talent for music at an early age, Haydn left home at 5 years old to live with his cousin who was principal of a school in Hainburg and a choirmaster there. He was never to return to his home except for rare brief visits.
Haydn's life changed decisively when he was eight years old and the musical director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna invited him to serve as chorister in 1740, an offer which his parents accepted. He stayed at the choir school for nine years, acquiring an enormous practical knowledge of music by constant performances but to his disappointment he received little instruction in music theory. When his voice changed, he was expelled from both the cathedral choir and the choir school.
George Friderick Handel was born on 23 February 1685 in Halle, in Brandenburg-Prussia. He was a German (later naturalised British in 1727) Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London. Handel is well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi and organ concertos.
"Handel received important training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712. Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with works such as Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks remaining steadfastly popular. " Wikipedia
Handel's "Water Music" is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, which premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames. It is frequently played at garden parties in "high society" to this day, and would in my view by a wonderful accompaniment to any "Stay at Home" garden parties planned for this Friday as we celebrate VE day. VE Day is not, as the jingoistic press would have us believe, "Victory OVER Europe", but Victory IN Europe, by a massive combined effort from the Allies against the tyranny of Nazism. VE Day should celebrate - and represent - the success of partnership and working together for the common good, something not only worth celebrating from an historical perspective but extremely relevant today as we battle together to fight COVID-19. Born a German and naturalised as an Englishman, Handel epitomises the fluidity of nationality, the need to adapt and the focus on end results rather than isolation and protectionism.
Messiah - originally written to be performed at Easter
On Easter Sunday our choir would have sung the "Hallelujah Chorus" as our eucharist anthem.
The Hallelujah Chorus appears in the baroque oratorio “Messiah” composed in 1741.
Yesterday was 1st May and I thoroughly enjoyed the virtual "May Morning" recorded by Magdalen College, Oxford's choir. It was featured on the BBC here.
I had been aware of the tradition but had little knowledge of it's background. The event starts early at 6 a.m. with bells ringing, followed by the Choir singing the Hymnus Eucharisticus from the top of Magdalen Tower. It's a tradition which stretches back over 500 years and is extremely popular within the city with bars and restaurants often staying open all night to provide refreshments for those choosing to stay up until 6am. Morris dancing and folk singing has also featured in Radcliffe Square as the choir "sing in" the Spring in this unique Oxford tradition.
The choir traditionally also sings a madrigal, "Now Is the Month of Maying" following prayers for the city led by the Dean of Divinity. Large crowds of both students and Oxford residents normally gather under the tower, along the High Street, and on Magdalen Bridge. Students and fellows of Magdalen College gather in the college cloisters and on top of the other towers within the college grounds. According to Wikipedia in 2017 the event took place during the Bank Holiday weekend, and a record 27,000 people gathered to hear the choir.
Yesterday the college celebrated virtually, releasing the video below:-
The origins of the May morning celebration date from around 1505 when the Great Tower at Magdalen College was completed.
The event has taken place each year in its current form since the 17th Century when "Hymnus Eucharisticus" was written by Benjamin Rogers, 17th Century Magdalen Choirmaster, musician and composer with an interesting biography.
The last section of the climb to the top of the tower is reportedly only a ladder, and not for the faint-hearted! For this reason choristers only wear short surplices over uniform rather than cassocks...
There is more on Magdalen College's own website about their virtual May morning.
Following on from my previous post on Bach Cantatas for Easter this post focusses on the fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as "Good Shepherd Sunday". The name derives from the gospel reading for the day, which is taken from the tenth chapter of John's Gospel. In this reading Christ is described as the "Good Shepherd" who lays down his life for his sheep.
From what I can ascertain, the fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Jubilate Sunday, although there seems to be some contradiction on the Wikipedia page . In the first paragraph says Jubilate Sunday is indeed the fourth Sunday of Easter, then in the table below on the same page says it is the third Sunday of Easter! There are online dates for both 26th April 2020 and 3rd May 2020 for Jubilate Sunday. I would love to hear from anyone who can offer clarification!
Cantatas for Good Shepherd Sunday
Bach was able to compose three Good Shepherd cantatas, all alluding to Psalm 23;
Cantata 104, “Du Hirte Israel, höre" (You Shepherd of Israel, Give Ear), in 1724;
Cantata BWV 85, “Ich bin ein gutter Hirt” (I am a Good Shepherd), composed in 1725,
Chorale Cantata BWV 112, “Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt” (The Lord is my faithful Shepherd), completed in 1731 for a special Easter presentation of otherwise previously-composed church-cycle cantatas, the only time of Bach documented repeat performances following the Good Friday premiere of the St. Mark Passion, BWV 247.
Cantata 104 offers contrasts of hope and joy with doubt, reflecting the mood of the apostles when Christ appeared to them after his resurrection. Cantata 112 in Wolfgang Meuslin's alternate setting of the melody "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" (To God alone on high be glory) and offers a pastoral mood of calm to meet the increasing anxiety of the disciples. Cantata 112 is the only complete chorale setting for Easter that Bach composed, although he composed chorale choruses and internal settings in other cantatas.
In BWV 85 “Ich bin ein gutter Hirt” The poet opens the cantata with the beginning from the Gospel, verse 11. The second movement explains that being a Good Shepherd was realised in the Passion and is a paraphrase of Psalm 23. The only recitative is a miniature sermon, accompanied by the strings which accent phrases of the text. Movement 5 is the only movement in the cantata which has a pastorale rhythm. The tenor part frequently appears as the highest part, beginning with three times "Seht" (look). This is reminiscent of an alto aria (movement 60) of the St Matthew Passion, Sehet, Jesus hat die Hand, The similarities in both the theme "pastoral love emanating from the cross", and the music, described as "rich, flowing melody and gently rocking rhythm" were described by Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE. The closing chorale is a four-part setting.
There is a recording of BWV 85 directed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt below:-
For Good Shepherd Sunday our choir have this week recorded "The Lord is my Shepherd" by Howard Goodall (with permission), a beautiful arrangement of Psalm 23.
Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I won't lie, this is an incredibly emotional piece for me this week. Amidst a pandemic bringing premature death to hundreds of thousands of people this Spring, it's going to be emotional listening for anyone. A beautiful arrangement and one of my favourites.
Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
John MacLeod Campbell Crum (1872-1958) wrote this text to be paired with the popular French carol melody "Noël Nouvelet", sometimes referred to as "French Carol".
During his life, Crum was highly active in the Church of England. After his education at Eton and New College in Oxford, he took Holy Orders becoming Deacon in 1897. He held various positions including chaplain to the Bishop of Oxford, Francis Paget (1901-1910), assistant curate at Windsor, vicar of Mentmore at Ledburn (1910-1921), and finally canon at Canterbury (1928-1943).
While serving the church, Crum worked in a variety of theological areas and wrote on biblical and architectural topics, as well as studying historical works, and writing children's books. He wrote many hymns which ranged from translation of Latin hymns by the fourth-century poet Aurelius Clemens Prudentius to children's hymns. He published a "Songs of Praise for Boys and Girls" in 1929 and a play (The Play of St. George in 1911), and a pageant, (Children's Missionary Pageant in 1910) with musical score.
This hymn text first appeared in the 1928 edition of the Oxford Book of Carols. For those in the northern hemisphere who live in areas where springtime usually coincides with Easter, the image of growing plants and vegetation speaks clearly as a metaphor for Jesus' resurrection.
The vivid imagery of the hymn is biblically based on selected verses. 1 Corinthians 15:37-38 connects the image with the resurrection: "And that which sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body." (KJV)
Notably, in the fourth verse, Crum emphasises that no matter what we are going through, "Jesus' touch can call us back to life again."
Our choir have recorded a multi-tracked version of "Now the Green Blade Riseth" arranged by Terry.
Johann Sebastian Bach (March 1685 – 28 July 1750) 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. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
Below is a whistle-stop-tour of Bach Cantatas, of which I'm no expert! I've thoroughly enjoyed my research for this post however and have listened to some beautiful music in the process.
Cantatas
Cantata means "sung" or "to sing". It is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata; other cantatas can be indicated as secular cantata. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas.
The Bach Cantatas are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. J. S. Bach composed cantatas for both secular and sacred use, his church cantatas composed for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year.
Bach started composing cantatas around 1707, when he was still an organist in Arnstadt. Bach's early cantatas are "Choralkonzerte" (chorale concertos) in the style of the 17th century, different from the recitative and aria cantata format that he began to use for church cantatas in 1714 when in Weimar.
The texts for the early cantatas were drawn mostly from biblical passages and hymns. These early cantatas include 17th-century elements such as motets and chorale concertos. Recitatives and arias on contemporary poetry were not yet present, although Bach may have heard them in oratorios by Buxtehude who was his teacher, or even earlier. His early cantatas often begin with an instrumental sinfonia or sonata. Bach worked at the ducal court in Weimar from 1708 to 1717 and from 1714-1717 he was commissioned to compose one church cantata a month. In the course of almost four years there he thus covered most occasions of the liturgical year. These cantatas have become known as the "Weimar Cycle".
Bach was appointed Thomaskantor, (director of music) in Leipzig 1723, and was responsible for the Thomasschule and the church music at these main churches. A cantata was required for the service on Sundays and additional church holidays of the liturgical year, and Bach composed many, preserved in five annual cycles. The Lutheran church of Bach's time prescribed the same readings every year, a Gospel passage and, recited before this, a corresponding section from an Epistle. A connection between the cantata text and the readings (or at least one of the prescribed hymns for the occasion) was the aim, facilitated by repetition and prescription with readings and hymns linked to the church cantata for each occasion.
A typical Bach cantata from his time in Leipzig follows the pattern below:
Opening chorus
Recitative
Aria
Recitative (or Arioso)
Aria
Chorale
The opening chorus is usually a polyphonic setting, with the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophonic setting of a traditional melody.
Eastertide
Eastertide is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, celebrated as one great event. Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter. Following the Sunday of the Resurrection, they are named Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, etc. up to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, concluding with Pentecost Sunday. Bach wrote cantatas each year for each of these Sundays whilst in Leipzig. Our girl choristers recorded "Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt" (BWV 4) for the first Sunday after Easter, embedded below:-
Misericordias Domini
This Sunday (26th April) is the Third Sunday of Easter, known as Misericordias Domini Sunday.
The gospel readings for Misericordias Domini is Luke 24:13-35 (Walk to Emmaus) and a suggested Bach Cantata for this reading is Cantata 66, "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen" (Rejoice, you hearts)
Bach composed this cantata for the Second Day of Easter in Leipzig and first performed it on 10 April 1724. The cantata was Bach's first composition for Easter as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, first performed in Köthen on 10 December 1718. You can read more about it here and listen below! A translation is available here.
My inbox has been flooded with opportunities to sing at home during the lockdown. Granted, it's absolutely not the same singing alone in front of your computer, and my heart yearns to sing with my choir here in church again, but in the current situation I have found them a reasonably good alternative!
Most of these options are linked from the home page of this blog, but to update you all on some exciting new opportunities I have included the following update:-
Apologies for the radio silence, I took a few days off!! Another favourite today - John Ireland. Pupil of Stanford, teacher of Benjamin Britten and with a significant compositional repertoire, his music ranges through choral, orchestral, chamber, song, organ and piano genres, with over 200 published pieces and around 400 CDs already made representing his work.
Biography
John Ireland was born August 13, 1879, in Bowdon, Cheshire. His father, Alexander Ireland, was a publisher and newspaper proprietor, John was the youngest of five children from Alexander's second marriage, and Alexander was already aged 69 at John's birth. John's mother died when he was 14, and his father a year later, leaving the young John with sufficient means to study music at the Royal College of Music.
Born in London on 14 August 1810, Samuel Sebastian was the son of the celebrated organist and composer Samuel Wesley, grandson of Charles Wesley the hymn writer and great nephew of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church. (His middle name was given as a sign of his father's lifelong admiration for the music of Bach.) Despite the stigma attached to being illegitimate – a very considerable burden at the turn of the nineteenth century – Samuel Sebastian Wesley was to become the most important English church composer between Purcell and Stanford.
His father Samuel frequently found himself in debt, burdened by substantial maintenance payments, with an ever-growing family and an inability to live within his means. In 1817 he jumped from a first floor window to escape imagined creditors and for his own safety was placed in a private asylum for close on twelve months. It was then that his seven year old son’s formal musical education began with his acceptance as a Child (chorister) of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, by the Master of the Children, William Hawes.
Although beginning to make a name for himself in London at the time, Samuel Sebastian accepted an appointment as organist at Hereford Cathedral in 1832. During his career he held appointments at Leeds Parish Church (now Leeds Minster), Winchester Cathedral, Winchester College and Gloucester Cathedral. In 1839 he received both his Bachelor of Music degree and a Doctor of Music degree from Oxford, becoming Professor of Organ at the Royal Academy of Music in 1850. He died at his home in Gloucester on 19 April 1876 aged 65 and is buried next to his daughter in St. Bartholomew's Cemetery in Exeter by the old City Wall. There is a wonderfully full and interesting biography of his life here on The Church Music Society.
Music
Famous in his lifetime as one of his country's leading organists and choirmasters, he composed almost exclusively for the Church of England, which continues to cherish his memory. Wesley himself considered that his best work was the 1853 collection of Anthems and all of these pieces would become cornerstones of the Anglican Church repertoire. Wesley produced 38 anthems in all, and almost 20 works for the organ. He composed service music in both Latin and English, secular songs, a tiny bit of orchestral music, and a handful of works for the piano. Certainly the originality of Wesley’s work stands out, but rather than blaze a trail he tempered his originality with conservatism as he represented the summit of old traditions of composition, musical technique and organ composition. One notable feature of his career is his aversion to equal temperament, an aversion which he kept for decades after this tuning method had been accepted on the Continent and even in most of England. Despite this he made substantial use of chromaticism in several of his published compositions which would have sounded quite different from a performance on a modern organ. SS Wesley, with Father Willis, can be credited with the invention of the concave and radiating organ pedalboard, this joint idea was adopted as an international standard for organs.
His better-known anthems include "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace" and "Wash me throughly". He also wrote several rather late examples of verse anthems, which contrast unison and contrapuntal sections with smaller passages for solo voice or voices. Blessed be the God and Father is an example of this and a favourite here.
Blessed be the God and Father Wesley composed this piece to be sung at Easter Sunday 1834 in Hereford Cathedral where only a small number of trebles and a solitary bass was available to sing. Rumour persists that the only bass present was in fact the Dean's butler! It sets the verses from I Peter i. 3-5, 15-17, 22-25 in the Bible to music and reminds us of Jesus' final commandment to his disciples at The Last Supper to love one another. I have extremely fond memories of my youngest son singing the treble solo in this wonderful verse anthem three years ago.
Today is Maundy Thursday - also known as Mandatum Thursday, Holy Thursday and Commandment Thursday. Maundy is the name of the Christian rite of footwashing, which traditionally occurs during Maundy Thursday church services. Most scholars agree that the English word maundy in that name for the day is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum (also the origin of the English word "mandate"), the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.") This statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John 13:34 by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.
Another theory is that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maundsor baskets" or "maundy purses" of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, "maund" is connected to the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg.
Holy Thursday is the beginning of the Easter "Triduum" which commemorates the passion, death and ressurrection of Jesus. Our choir would have been singing Shephard's "A new commandment" and Morley's "Nolo mortem peccatoris" at our Maundy Thursday Eucharist of the Last Supper this evening. Instead, our online choir have separately recorded Tallis' "O Salutaris Hostia" which our multi-talented music director has multitracked into the recording below.
So proud of our Choral Scholars! Here is a verse from Allegri's "Miserere Mei", which they recorded individually and sent to our Music Director to be multitracked.
