Easter 2 - Sunday April 15, 2012

• Organ Prelude: Dolcezza – Percy Whitlock 
• Opening Hymn 205 “The day of resurrection”
• Offertory Hymn 378 “Crown him with many crowns” 
• Organ Music During Communion: 
• Air (from Orchestral Suite in D) – J.S. Bach 
• Bist du bei mir (Be Thou with me) – J.S. Bach 
• Concluding Hymn 619 “Fairest Lord Jesus” 
• Organ Postlude: “Heute triumphieret Gottes Sohn” (Today the Son of God triumphs) – J.S. Bach 
•  (no choir)

Easter Day - Sunday, April 8, 2012

Organ Prelude: Prelude on 'The Easter Hymn' - Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
Hymns:

• Processional Hymn 203: Jesus Christ is Risen Today - Easter Hymn 
• Offertory Hymn 231: That Eastertide with joy was bright - Lasst uns erfreuen 
• Communion Hymn 84: Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour - St. Osmund 
• Communion Hymn 569: Come, my way, my truth, my life - The Call 
• Recessional Hymn 216: Ye choirs of New Jerusalem - St. Fulbert 

Anthem: Alleluia (from cantata Der Herr is mit mir - God is with me – Dietrich Buxtehude
Organ Postlude: Toccata - Johann Pachelbel

Sunday, April 1, 2012 - Palm Sunday / Sunday of the Passion

• Procession of Palms – Malcolm Williamson 
• Processional Hymn 181 All Glory, Laud and Honour (St. Theodulph)
 
• Offertory Hymn 184 My Song is Love Unknown (Love Unknown) 
• Communion Hymns 
• 202 “There is a Green Hill” (Horsley) 
• 56 “I am the Bread” (Picket Wood) 
• Recessional Hymn 187 “As Royal Banners” (Gonfalon Royal) 
• To emphasize the transition from the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to the solemnity of Holy Week, there is no organ postlude. Please take a minute in silence to ponder and pray about the events of the week ahead. 

PROCESSION OF PALMS – MALCOLM WILLIAMSON 

In the late 1960s I was introduced to Procession of Palms by my organ teacher who had the confidence to ask me to accompany his choir in a Palm Sunday service. Since that time I’ve incorporated it into several Palm Sunday services in different ways, the most effective being at the start of the service in place of an organ prelude and preceding the traditional procession. The work is a bit longer than the usual anthem, being in 5 sections and using words familiar to us all. It begins with a contemporary musical setting of “Ride on, ride on in majesty”, followed by a jaunty “All glory, laud and honour”. Then comes a more somber setting of the text “O Saviour of the world, who by thy cross and precious blood …..”, sung by 2 soloists. A beautiful “Benedictus qui venit” (Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord) follows, and the work ends with rousing shouts of “Hosanna” from the choir.

Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003) was Australian born but spent his working life in the UK where he was Master of the Queen’s Musick from 1975 until his death. He composed Procession of Palms in 1961.

Neil Houlton

Sunday, March 25, 2012 - The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Organ Prelude: Prelude in G - Felix Mendelssohn
Hymns:

• Processional Hymn 564 - Lead us, heavenly Father - Mannheim 
• Offertory Hymn 185 - Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle - Oriel 
• Recessional Hymn 438 - O Jesus, I have promised - Wolvercote 

Organ Postlude: Fugue in G - Felix Mendelssohn

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Music Notes

Next Sunday (Palm Sunday) the choir is singing a longer-than-usual piece of music in an unusual place in the service.  Instead of an organ prelude, the service will begin with a wonderful work called Procession of Palms by Malcolm Williamson, an Australian born, UK based composer who was Master of the Queen's Musick until his death in 2003.  It is a very fitting way in which to begin the exuberance of Palm Sunday.

Sunday, March 18, 2012 - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Organ Prelude: Psalm Prelude Set 1 No. 1 - Herbert Howells
Hymns:

• Processional Hymn 607 “ Come, let us to the Lord our God" - St. Bernard
• Offertory Hymn 551 “My faith looks up to thee” -Olivet
• Communion Hymn 72 “Bread of Heaven" - Jesu, meine Zuversicht
• Recessional Hymn 398 “Let us with a gladsome mind” - Monkland

Solo: Jesus, Savior, I am Thine (from ‘St. Matthew Passion’) - J. S. Bach (Virginia Wright, mezzo-soprano)
Service Music: Missa L’Hora Passa – Ludovico da Viadana
Communion Motet: Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz - Brahms
Organ Postlude: Divertimento - Frederick Karam

Sunday, March 11, 2012 - The Third Sunday in Lent

Organ Prelude Ich ruf zu dir (I call to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ) - J. S. Bach
Hymns

• Processional Hymn 629 “Jesus, thy blood and righteousness” (Walton)
• Communion Hymn 479 “O Christ, the master carpenter”(Albano)
• Recessional Hymn 306 “O for a thousand tongues” (Richmond)

Communion Motet Ave verum corpus - Sir Edward Elgar
Organ Postlude Prelude on ‘Rhosymedre’ - Ralph Vaughan Williams

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Music Notes:

Both quintessential British composers who contributed significantly to the music of the church, Edward Elgar (1857-1934) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) were very different men.

Elgar was a devout Roman Catholic who was a parish organist early in his career, writing several choral pieces for that church and later in life composing large-scale oratorios for choir, soloists and orchestra (i.e., “The Dream of Gerontius” to a text by Cardinal Newman).

Vaughan Williams, the son of a priest, was described by his second wife, Ursula, as "an atheist ... [who] later drifted into a cheerful agnosticism." One of RVW’s most significant contributions to the Church of England was his editorship of the English Hymnal in 1904, and throughout his career he composed several choral works, hymn tunes (the one we use for “For all the saints” is one example), and a smattering of pieces for solo organ.

Sunday, March 4, 2012 - Second Sunday in Lent

MORNING PRAYER
Hymns:

• Opening Hymn 7 “New every morning is the love” 
• Hymn 542 “Out of the depths” (Sandon) 
• Offertory Hymn 532 “What a friend we have in Jesus” (Friendship)
• Recessional Hymn 537 “In the cross of Christ” (Cross of Jesus)