Music at All Saints Parish Sunday, February 25, 2007
First Sunday in Lent
From All Saints Music Director Donald Teeters
At All Saints we sing The Great Litany in procession twice a year, on the First Sundays of Advent and Lent. It is especially appropriate for Lenten use, but it is also a fitting way to acknowledge the beginning of the liturgical year (Advent I). The Litany, in the comprehensiveness of its concerns and the beauty of its language, is one of the great treasures of the Church. Its earliest English usage even pre-dates the creation of the first Book of Common Prayer. To quote from The Hymnal 1982 Companion, the monumental four-volume scholarly accompaniment to our hymnal, the Litany breaks down into four sections consisting of: "the invocation of the Trinity, the deprecations or petitions for deliverance from disaster and evil, the obsecrations of pleading of the person and merits of Christ, and the intercessions, concluding with the Agnus Dei...." when it precedes the Holy Eucharist, as it does at All Saints.
The simple chant tune associated with the Litany since the 16th century may have been composed by John Merbecke (or may not). The complementary harmonizations that the choir sings as it makes its stately way around the nave were composed by Thomas Tallis.
On this significant Sunday, the first in the penitential season that culminates in the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, the choir will perform anthems by two of the greatest composers who have lent their brilliance (at least on occasion) to the composition of works for use in the Church. Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) was a prominent and widely honored church musician during his lifetime. He also composed elegant secular works for keyboard and viols, and madrigals for various combinations of voices. At the communion we will sing Gibbons's lovely motet appropriate to the season and the day. The text: O Lord, increase my faith, strengthen me and confirm me in thy true faith; endue me with wisdom, charity, and patience, in all my adversity, sweet Jesus, say Amen.
At the Offertory the choir sings one of Brahms' most remarkable anthems, Lass dich nür nichts nicht dauren mit Trauren (Let nothing ever afflict you with sorrow). This is an amazing piece not only in its beauty but in the craftsmanship it demonstrates. I won't go into a detailed description of its technicalities except to say that throughout the work two strict canons are maintained simultaneously. (A round is a rudimentary canon, very rudimentary when compared with this work!) This is a feat that only composers of extraordinary intellect dare to attempt; Bach turned them out with some distinguished frequency. To accomplish this kind of complicated mathematical feat while at the same time making music of great beauty is an example of rarest genius, and Brahms brings it off with superb skill and artistry. The listener doesn't need to know about the complexities of this work in order to appreciate it and be moved by it - it is deceptively friendly to the ears.
Because the Litany takes the place of an opening hymn at this service, we will sing only two this week. They are:
#150 - Forty days and forty nights. A perfect introduction to the themes and disciplines of Lent, this tune and text have been joined together since the early 1860s, and from the first became essential adjuncts to Anglican/Episcopalian Lenten worship.
#559 - Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us. This is another 19th century text in this case coupled with a tune that seems to have no identifiable father. Again, a strong pairing that carries a stimulating message that urges us to go out and get on with God's work in this troubled world.