Music at All Saints Parish Sunday, December 10, 2006
Advent 2
From All Saints Music Director Donald Teeters
On this second Sunday of Advent the adult choir turns over the reigns of choral leadership to Keith Glavash's excellent Schola. Here are his comments about what they will sing:
"Choral music by the Schola will include two pieces commemorating the Virgin Mary's motherhood of Jesus. At the Offertory you'll hear a wonderful two-part, treble setting of the Magnificat by Nicholas White, who until recently was Music Director at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in New York City. "My soul doth magnify the Lord..." This text, perhaps the most common feature of a traditional Anglican Evensong, is Mary's song of thanks and praise to God for choosing her to bear the Savior of the World. At the Communion, backing up just a bit in the story line, we hear about Gabriel's appearance and announcement to Mary. "Hail! Blessed Virgin Mary" is an arrangement of an Italian Carol by the British composer Charles Wood (1866-1926). It will be sung by the high school girls alone." KG
All three of today's hymns expand on the Gospel theme. Echoing the prophecy of Isaiah, John the Baptist hears and responds to the "voice in the wilderness" as preparation for the coming of Christ.
Hymn #67 - "Comfort, comfort ye my people." Although this hymn only joined the repertoire of Episcopal congregations with the publication of The Hymnal 1982, both tune and text date from the 16th century. The tune first appeared in the Genevan Psalter in 1551. It was the great popularity of the hymn among Lutheran congregations in America that spurred the compilers of our hymnal to finally admit it for usage by Episcopalians - just a bit belatedly.
Hymn #75 - "There's a voice in the wilderness crying." Another hymn based on Isaiah (40:3-11), here we have a hymn in which both words and music date from recent times. Both are the creations of prominent Canadian churchmen: words by James Lewis Milligan (1925) and music by Hugh Bancroft (1938), tune name Ascension. This has quickly become one of the most popular of the new hymns in our 1982 Hymnal.
We end the service with Hymn #76. "On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry" has for many years been a staple of the Advent hymnody in the Episcopalian tradition. One reason for that, aside from the fact that it is truly a great hymn, is that in the Hymnal 1940, and in earlier editions, it was virtually the only hymn that dealt with the ministry of John the Baptist. By comparison with its companion hymns in this service, and by a quick search of our '82 hymnal for other hymns dealing with the same theme, you will note that that neglect has now been corrected.