Fourth Sunday of Advent
A common myth in Advent lore is that the third Sunday of Advent is associated with the virgin Mary. When the Advent candles are displayed each year, the third one is pink in many sets. Many people, and even many churches associated that pink candle with Mary.
There are literally dozens of possibilities and historical anecdotes that explain the pink candle, but the one that seems to stand up the firmest is actually tied to the Catholic church and the Lenten tradition. When the whole idea of "church year" and "seasons" started to take form, Lent was really the only season at the time, signified by the color purple. Despite the Lenten season being used as a time for reflection and preparation for the crucifixion and death of Jesus, there are still overtones of joy, which foreshadow the resurrection and return. This joy was manifest in the color pink. During Lent, this was acknowledged on the third Sunday, where priests would sometimes wear pink vestments, and even the Pope would distribute pink roses to certain citizens.
As the church year continued to evolve, the seven Sundays of Lent were the model that was used to base the similar four Sundays of Advent. Like the third Sunday of Lent was associated with pink, so was the third Sunday of Advent.
The first clue that Advent 3 isn't associated with Mary is that the seminal Mary story from Luke 1: 39-55 is the scripture associated with Advent 4 in the New Revised Common Lectionary. This is the story we celebrate this Sunday, and that we also celebrated on Wednesday night as a part of "Joy From Heaven To Earth Come Down."
PRELUDE
Magnificat noni toni - Dietrich Buxtehude
Let's get the simple thing out of the way first. "Noni toni", meaning "ninth tone," describes the psalm tone that this Magnificat setting would have been sung with. That is not to be confused with a mode, or a scale on which a piece, or tone, or melody is based. Where we normally think of just major and minor scales, there are actually scales based on each note of a base major scale. If you think of the seven white notes in each scale on a piano, starting with C, you have Aeolian (traditional major scale), Dorian (minor scale with a raised sixth degree), Phrygian (minor scale with a lowered second), Lydian (major scale with a raised fourth), Mixolydian (major scale with a lowered seventh), Ionian (a natural minor scale), and the mysterious Locrian mode (which some argue isn't a true mode at all since it doesn't contain a perfect fifth, and its tonic triad creates a dissonance).
In using these modes for composition, it creates a unique sound that is sometimes difficult to wrap one's ear around initially, but these modes transcend our modern ears and give music written before 1700 that mysterious, unknown quality. The Dorian mode is minor at its core, but the raised sixth degree gives it a glimmer of hope. Sounds a lot like Advent, I think.
That was quite a digression. I also said that was the easy thing to explain. Maybe that only applies to me, because as I have studied the church modes and psalm tones for years, they come as second nature to me. Perhaps non musical people have their eyes crossed in confusion at this point, and that's okay. The mystery for me in Buxtehude's Magnificat settings is why are they called Magnificats? If I didn't know the title of it, there's nothing in the piece that would indicate a Magnificat setting on the surface. There isn't any obvious tone painting or "feminine" characteristics in the music.
After doing a fair amount of research, it turns out that Buxtehude's Magnificat settings were intended to be used in alternation with a choir chanting the Magnificat text, which in ancient church tradition, is done every evening at Vespers, or evening prayer. The Magnificat setting on the ninth (psalm) tone would be sung by a choir in alternation with the organ playing these brief settings. This is similar in concept to J.S. Bach's chorale settings, where at times each phrase of a chorale would be broken up by a short interlude or flourish of organ color. The composition does in fact match the ninth psalm tone (which begins with a minor third up and down). It also explains why most of Buxtehude's Magnificat settings are multiple movements. This Sunday we will hear just the first movement of Buxtehude's Magnificat on the Ninth Psalm Tone (noni toni).
OPENING HYMN
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
This hymn as we know it today is a translation of the metrical setting of the O Antiphons. Regardless of the language they are presented in today, each starts with the word "O." Traditionally, they are sung on each day of the week in the seven days before Christmas. Since we don't go to church that often, we'll have to settle selecting the more impactful, hopeful stanzas as we gather the day before Christmas Eve.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Canticle Of The Turning
Over the last twenty years, this paraphrase of the Magnificat has become most people's first choice for expressing the Song of Mary in a congregational setting. As you trace the Magnificat itself, you can see how it is interpreted in the paraphrase. Each stanza has its own character, whether it be the innocence of Mary, the changing of the world, or the comfort we take in a world of strife.
The tune has a very intriguing history. The original song, "Star of County Down," is an Irish folk song that tells an intriguing story that we don't really need to go in to here. The tune is almost identical to the English tune KINGSFOLD, which has been made famous by many composers, most notably Ralph Vaughan Williams. Though there doesn't appear to be any scholarly evidence of it, I can't imagine that these two tunes didn't derive from the same source.
COMMUNION HYMNS
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Charles Wesley, father of Methodism, penned this beautiful Advent hymn in the mid-18th century. It is one of Wesley's only Advent hymns that survives in our ELW.
Though the text is universal throughout various hymnals, the tune is commonly different. We usually associate a hymn with the first tune we hear it with. For me, I first associated this text with the tune HYFYRDOL (Love Divine, All Loves Excelling) from the Presbyterian Hymnal. In the ELW, it is set to the tune JEFFERSON, which originated in the early American Southern Harmony hymnal. These tunes are extremely different, yet they both compliment this text in different ways, particularly on the third line of the JEFFERSON tune. The phrase reaches its peak on the words "Israel's strength and consolation," which is very dramatic.
Savior Of The Nations, Come
These two hymns during Communion contain a very similar message. The original form of this text is attributed to Ambrose of Milan, but was "modernized" by Martin Luther during the reformation and set to a German chorale. The imagery of this text really doesn't need an explanation... the text and translation themselves do it enough justice. Evocative lines such as "mystic breath of God," which gives birth to the Savior, or the first line of stanza four describing the pipeline from God to us and back, or the fifth which foreshadows the birth capture the idea of God arriving at earth better than just about anything imaginable.
CLOSING HYMN
Joy To The World
It is a long standing debate of whether this hymn should be an Advent hymn or Christmas hymn. I personally think this paraphrase of Psalm 98 by the "father of English hymnody" Isaac Watts is truly an Advent hymn. The entire first stanza is a stanza of preparation; we are getting the earth ready for the Lord to come. The remaining three stanzas aren't really specific to Christmas or Advent, but rather general stanzas of praise for Jesus.
Whether you feel this belongs in the Advent or Christmas sections, we're doing it in a position that bridges the gap between Advent and Christmas.
POSTLUDE
Savior Of The Nations, Come - J.S. Bach
Bach wrote several settings of this chorale for organ. This setting uses the first eight notes of the chorale tune and turns it into a four voice fugue, imitating and repeating the subject throughout. Scholastically, it may be more of an invention, since there aren't really any periods of development or expansion on the subject. Either way, it is a fine example of Bach's short form fugal writing based on a chorale tune.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Music Notes: December 16th, 2012
Third Sunday of Advent
Our Gospel lesson for the Third Sunday of Advent continues where last week's left off. In talking to the crowd, John the Baptist heralds the One who will be coming soon. People were confounded and asked a lot of questions. John warned them all that they should be generous, rich in integrity, and honorable to those around them. He then baptized them with water, proclaiming the good news that their Messiah would soon be arriving.
PRELUDE
Prelude from "Suite for Organ, op. 50" - Robert Below
The tone of this piece throughout is one of mystery and expectation, just like Advent. This opening section of the work spends a good majority of the time oscillating between two chords. It expands significantly in the middle, but never really settles into a tonal center. As the piece concludes, we hear a fragment of the plainsong Conditor Alme Siderum (Creator of the Stars of Night).
OPENING HYMN
Fling Wide The Door
Many Advent hymns, both in and out of the ELW, talk of preparation for the coming of Christ. The choral anthem Two Kings by Joseph Clokey describes the preparation of the banquet hall for the arrival of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. This hymn is in a similar vein, as the doors and gates are opened so the King of Glory may enter. Stanzas one through three could be just as appropriate for Christ the King Sunday. The Advent message comes in stanza four. I joked with Stephanie the other night about how if a hymn has the word "come" in it, and that "come" relates to Jesus in some way, it could be an Advent hymn. In most cases, it's actually true!
This tune is a delightful, dance like German tune (one of the few that actually dances!) from the 18th century. I think it's interesting that they included a four part harmonization in the hymnal, since this tune is much more effective when sung strongly in unison.
HYMN OF THE DAY
On Jordan's Banks The Baptist's Cry
The PUER NOBIS tune (written even earlier than our previous one) is wonderful for shorter texts like this one. Each stanza contains two short phrases, some of which are complete sentences, and others which make up one sentence each stanza.
The text, which is sourced from our Gospel reading for the day, tells the story of John the Baptist announcing the coming of the Lord. Stanza two even references the baptismal covenant he promises ("Then cleansed be every life from sin..."), as well as a reference to Isaiah 40, where we make straight the crooked paths. The closing stanza contains when of the few Advent-Trinitarian statements in the hymnal, as the coming Son joins the ever present Father and Holy Spirit.
COMMUNION HYMN
Around You, O Lord Jesus (7:45 AM Only)
We moved from Germany to Austria, and now we head to Denmark where this tune came from. Though the tune is of Danish origin, the text comes from poet Frans Mikael Franzen, who is of Finnish and Swedish origin. He is most known for the Advent hymn we sang last week, "Prepare the Royal Highway."
Unlike "On Jordan's Banks..." which generally ends each stanza with a complete thought, stanzas one and two of this hymn are a continuous thread of thankfulness and acknowledgement of the Communion rite. The third stanza concludes with a petition of discipleship and gratefulness that we will show Jesus for the rest of our lives.
CLOSING HYMN
Hark, the Glad Sound
We continue our journey through Europe where we end in jolly ol' England with the team of Doddridge and Haweis. Despite collaborating on several hymns, "Hark The Glad Sound" is the only one that survived to make it into our ELW hymnal. The text and tune are uniquely appropriate for each other. The opening four notes are a wonderful statement of excitement, as is the anticipatory nature of the ascending sequence throughout the second half of the tune.
POSTLUDE
Scherzo and Dance from "Suite for Organ, op. 50"- Robert Below
Despite being called "Scherzo," it doesn't really have the characteristics of a standard scherzo. A scherzo is traditionally a very fast dance in 3/4 time. Normally this 3/4 is at such a quick tempo that it actually sounds like each measure is its own beat, usually grouped into four measures which sound like four big beats.
This movement of the suite actually goes through an amazing number of time signature changes, usually revolving around mixed meters (5/8, 7/8, etc...). The piece concludes in grand style with a freely composed chorale repeated three times.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Music Notes: December 9th, 2012
2nd Sunday of Advent
I am going to continue to work on my brevity in Music Notes again this week. We'll see if we can keep it to under two printed pages.
The primary message in our Advent scriptures this week is "prepare the way." We hear it in Malachi, the Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79), and the Gospel reading later in Luke. The music reflects this, featuring the great preparatory Advent hymn "Prepare the Royal Highway" as well as a paraphrase of the Zechariah canticle in the form of "Blessed Be The God Of Israel."
PRELUDE
3 Settings of Comfort, Comfort- Flor Peeters, Gerald Near, and Egil Hovland
These three short settings all interpret this dance like tune from the Genevan Psalter (1551) in different ways. Flemish composer and organist Flor Peeters offers the most straightforward setting, with Brahms-ian echoes of the tune sounding on different areas of the organ. Near's setting is the most expansive, using a canonical motive interspersed with the tune throughout. Finally, Hovland's setting is the shortest and most intriguing, using only two musical lines over a perpetual pedal point. One line plays the tune with no alterations, while the other decorates and colors the tune while using fragments from it. It is quite striking to hear what Hovland accomplishes with a minimum of material.
OPENING HYMN
Blessed Be The God of Israel
Carl Daw created this paraphrase of the Canticle of Zechariah, set to the tune FOREST GREEN. The paraphrase is very effective in that it is able to shorten the scripture while still maintaining, and in many ways, enhancing the meaning of it. The beginning of the third stanza contains the words "prepare the way," which is the primary Advent message for this Sunday.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Prepare the Royal Highway
The combination of this text and this Swedish folk tune created one of the more charming combinations in the hymnal. The celebratory text with the dance like tune meld together wonderfully. The scriptural references here are plentiful, quoting not only our Luke 3 Gospel reading this Sunday, but also portions of all the other Gospels as well as Psalm 24. There's even a reference to the fulfillment of the prophesy referenced in Zechariah in the refrain, "Hosanna to the Lord for he fulfills God's Word." Thanks to stanza two, this hymn is even appropriate for Palm Sunday.
OFFERING
And The Glory of the Lord (Messiah)- G.F. Handel
While the Chancel Choir will be doing this with strings and harpsichord at the Advent Festival, we've decided to do it here as well accompanied by the organ. This short chorale happens near the beginning of the work, and is preceded by a tenor solo on the text "Every valley shall be exalted." Like many of Handel's works in 3/4, there is a prevalent use of hemiola throughout. As that is difficult to explain on paper, come find me and ask if you are curious!
COMMUNION HYMNS (9:00 AM only)
Comfort, Comfort, Now My People
The primary source of this hymn is the first several verses of Isaiah 40 (which will also play a large part of the Advent Festival). As mentioned previously, the tune is sourced from the Genevan Psalter from 1551.
What Feast Of Love
Delores Dufner penned this text to recognize both Holy Communion and to show the image of the Light of Christ coming to earth. The exterior stanzas use imagery of bread and wine, and the interior second stanza is the light stanza. It is set to the old English tune GREENSLEEVES. Dufner, a nun of the Order of St. Benedict (hence the OSB usually listed after her name), is widely published as both a hymn writer and librettist.
O Lord How Shall I Meet You
Paul Gerhardt is one of the most prolific hymn writers to come out of the Reformation. Nearly a dozen of his several hundred hymns still survive today in the ELW alone. While most Advent hymns have some aspect of anticipation in them, none may have more than this one. For the first several stanzas, we struggle to understand why we are even worthy of seeing the descended Lord when he comes. Though the first two lines of the concluding stanza contain some rather strong language, I think the ultimate goal of it is that we can see just how holy and wonderful the coming Christ is.
CLOSING HYMN
There's a Voice In The Wilderness Crying
This service just wouldn't be complete without hearing about preparing the way for God one more time! This mid-20th century tune has many characteristics of 19th century tune writing, complete with a primarily diatonic, step-wise melody, with cadences in the dominant twice.
There is a very crucial phrase that continues from stanza two to stanza three. The word "But" at the beginning of the third stanza is a very important clue for this. At the conclusion of the second stanza, we speak the realization that we are all to fall and perish like flowers, but at the beginning of the third, we hear that the Word of the Lord will last forever.
POSTLUDE
Prepare the Royal Highway- Paul Manz
Much like his well known improvisation on "God of Grace and God of Glory," Paul Manz's improvisation on this hymn implores a ritornello structure surrounded by statements of the tune in the tenor range of the trumpet. Our St. Paul's organ trumpet is just strong enough to proclaim the tune with the grandeur that the piece calls for.
I am going to continue to work on my brevity in Music Notes again this week. We'll see if we can keep it to under two printed pages.
The primary message in our Advent scriptures this week is "prepare the way." We hear it in Malachi, the Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79), and the Gospel reading later in Luke. The music reflects this, featuring the great preparatory Advent hymn "Prepare the Royal Highway" as well as a paraphrase of the Zechariah canticle in the form of "Blessed Be The God Of Israel."
PRELUDE
3 Settings of Comfort, Comfort- Flor Peeters, Gerald Near, and Egil Hovland
These three short settings all interpret this dance like tune from the Genevan Psalter (1551) in different ways. Flemish composer and organist Flor Peeters offers the most straightforward setting, with Brahms-ian echoes of the tune sounding on different areas of the organ. Near's setting is the most expansive, using a canonical motive interspersed with the tune throughout. Finally, Hovland's setting is the shortest and most intriguing, using only two musical lines over a perpetual pedal point. One line plays the tune with no alterations, while the other decorates and colors the tune while using fragments from it. It is quite striking to hear what Hovland accomplishes with a minimum of material.
OPENING HYMN
Blessed Be The God of Israel
Carl Daw created this paraphrase of the Canticle of Zechariah, set to the tune FOREST GREEN. The paraphrase is very effective in that it is able to shorten the scripture while still maintaining, and in many ways, enhancing the meaning of it. The beginning of the third stanza contains the words "prepare the way," which is the primary Advent message for this Sunday.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Prepare the Royal Highway
The combination of this text and this Swedish folk tune created one of the more charming combinations in the hymnal. The celebratory text with the dance like tune meld together wonderfully. The scriptural references here are plentiful, quoting not only our Luke 3 Gospel reading this Sunday, but also portions of all the other Gospels as well as Psalm 24. There's even a reference to the fulfillment of the prophesy referenced in Zechariah in the refrain, "Hosanna to the Lord for he fulfills God's Word." Thanks to stanza two, this hymn is even appropriate for Palm Sunday.
OFFERING
And The Glory of the Lord (Messiah)- G.F. Handel
While the Chancel Choir will be doing this with strings and harpsichord at the Advent Festival, we've decided to do it here as well accompanied by the organ. This short chorale happens near the beginning of the work, and is preceded by a tenor solo on the text "Every valley shall be exalted." Like many of Handel's works in 3/4, there is a prevalent use of hemiola throughout. As that is difficult to explain on paper, come find me and ask if you are curious!
COMMUNION HYMNS (9:00 AM only)
Comfort, Comfort, Now My People
The primary source of this hymn is the first several verses of Isaiah 40 (which will also play a large part of the Advent Festival). As mentioned previously, the tune is sourced from the Genevan Psalter from 1551.
What Feast Of Love
Delores Dufner penned this text to recognize both Holy Communion and to show the image of the Light of Christ coming to earth. The exterior stanzas use imagery of bread and wine, and the interior second stanza is the light stanza. It is set to the old English tune GREENSLEEVES. Dufner, a nun of the Order of St. Benedict (hence the OSB usually listed after her name), is widely published as both a hymn writer and librettist.
O Lord How Shall I Meet You
Paul Gerhardt is one of the most prolific hymn writers to come out of the Reformation. Nearly a dozen of his several hundred hymns still survive today in the ELW alone. While most Advent hymns have some aspect of anticipation in them, none may have more than this one. For the first several stanzas, we struggle to understand why we are even worthy of seeing the descended Lord when he comes. Though the first two lines of the concluding stanza contain some rather strong language, I think the ultimate goal of it is that we can see just how holy and wonderful the coming Christ is.
CLOSING HYMN
There's a Voice In The Wilderness Crying
This service just wouldn't be complete without hearing about preparing the way for God one more time! This mid-20th century tune has many characteristics of 19th century tune writing, complete with a primarily diatonic, step-wise melody, with cadences in the dominant twice.
There is a very crucial phrase that continues from stanza two to stanza three. The word "But" at the beginning of the third stanza is a very important clue for this. At the conclusion of the second stanza, we speak the realization that we are all to fall and perish like flowers, but at the beginning of the third, we hear that the Word of the Lord will last forever.
POSTLUDE
Prepare the Royal Highway- Paul Manz
Much like his well known improvisation on "God of Grace and God of Glory," Paul Manz's improvisation on this hymn implores a ritornello structure surrounded by statements of the tune in the tenor range of the trumpet. Our St. Paul's organ trumpet is just strong enough to proclaim the tune with the grandeur that the piece calls for.
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