Music Notes: March 31st, 2013

Easter Sunday

PRELUDE

This Glorious Day- Susan Geschke

Bells of Praise will kick us off this Sunday with a joyous original composition for handbells.  While "This Glorious Day" could refer to any day, it seems particularly appropriate on Easter Morning, the most glorious day of this year.

This piece is based around a four phrase melodic motive which primarily outlines a C major triad.  There is a B phrase as well that moves into the relative minor, growing through a popular harmonic sequence that leads back to C major.  Use of martellato in the upper and lower bells help punctuate the melody as it is played.  The final page of the piece is actually a snapshot of what came before it.  It acts as a summary before the conclusion of a staccato unison C.

OPENING HYMN

Jesus Christ Has Risen Today

This hymn has become required repertoire on Easter morning.  Perhaps it is because of the rampant use of the word "Alleluia," which has been forbidden from the church lexicon for the last six weeks.  Despite this being a rather "long" hymn by most standards, the primary reason for that is that half of the tune is taken up by Alleluias.  The rest of the hymn is a joyful, accessible celebration of the events of Easter morning.  Each stanza contains four lines with the rhyme scheme AABB.  When read out loud with no music, skipping the alleluias, it sounds rather pedestrian.  Interestingly enough, the "A" couplets in stanzas one and two refer to the resurrection, and the "B" couplets look back at the passion.  In the final two stanzas, this organization is carefully reversed.

While the authors of both this text and tune are still relatively unknown today, there is no question that they have created something that will be truly immortal and everlasting.

HYMN OF THE DAY

Thine Is The Glory

Surrounding the refrain of, "Thine is the glory, risen conquering Son.  Endless is the victory thou o'er death has won!" is an extremely strong message of hope and thankfulness.  In stanza two, much like Mary and the disciples experienced, the experience of being face to face with Jesus is described.  In gratefulness of this, we arise to sing hymns of praise throughout the entire church. 

Interestingly enough, both the composers of the words and music of this hymn are well known, unlike our first one. The composer of the text was Edmund Budry, who lived in the early 20th century as a Swiss minister and author.  The text was originally composed in French, and was later translated into the English version we all know.  The text was set to a tune written over 150 years before by the great Baroque composer G.F. Handel.  The tune was excerpted from the oratorio Judas Maccabeus, and today carries that title as its tune name.  The tune is very march like, comprising mainly of tonic and dominant harmonies. 

OFFERING

It Is Well With My Soul- arr. Rene Clausen

This is one of the newest published pieces by Rene Clausen, noted composer and long time Director of Choral Activities at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.

The piece travels through several key changes, rising higher and higher, signifying the resurrection.  Stanza three is all about how the sacrifice of the crucifixion nails our sins to the cross so that we no longer have to bear them.  Rising one final half step for the final stanza, a soprano descant soars above the hymn tune, bringing the whole piece to a conclusion with a classic "Amen" cadence.

COMMUNION HYMNS

Alleluia!  Sing To Jesus 

What separates this out from the plethora of other Easter hymns in the ELW is stanza three, which references the sacrament of communion.  It is a brief allusion, but still an important one, given how communion is one of our most crucial ways of connecting Jesus and his sacrifice to us.  It is referenced again at the end of stanza four at the conclusion, using the phrase "eucharistic feast."

Day Of Arising

This is a wonderful collaboration of one of the finest text writers and finest hymn tune composers of our time.  Tune first... Carl Schalk hymn tunes are typically very flowing and legato with primarily quarter note, stepwise motion.  That is primarily the case here.  The tune has a "rising" characteristic though, first a fourth, then a fifth, then finally up a whole octave.  This paints the text wonderfully.  The tune also mirrors itself from the first half to the second half, with only the ending cadence differing.  This instantly makes a possibly newer tune more accessible due to its repetition.

With the text, this hymn is all about seeing Christ in our lives, recognizing him as we take communion, walking along the road, and in other situations.  We are assured of this promise in stanza three, where we hear that Christ is with us in the bread and wine.  The hymn concludes with Christ giving us hope for the journey to come.

Hallelujah! Jesus Lives!

Another Easter text... this is one that is surprisingly straightforward.  Up until stanza three, we are merely recounting parts of the story.  Stanza three switches the scope to us, where we are being told directly that we await life eternal where we will be joined with Christ.  The concluding stanza functions as a sort of Doxology, where our voices come together singing Glory to God for this Easter day.

POSTLUDE

Toccata from Symphony No. 5- Charles-Marie Widor

This is one of the most famous organ pieces played in the church, second possibly to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D.  Typically reserved for Easter morning,  surely hundreds of organists across the country will be attempting this large and rather difficult organ showcase.

In terms of form, the piece is quite simple, based on a nine note melodic figure.  As is typical of a toccata, the excitement comes not from the melody, but from the rhythm, as it contains constant sixteenth notes from the beginning to the final chords.  This motor rhythm is punctuated by the prominent rhythmic motive, which if typed out, would sound something like... dat-dat, da-da-dat-dat, da-dat-dat, da-da-dat-dat... etc... if you say that, leaving the "da"s shorter than the "dat"s, you'll probably get it.

Harmonically the piece is very complex, heading through an amazing number of key areas before finally arriving back in F major for its recapitulation with the organ in its full glory.