There will be settings of 2 familiar hymns for the prelude, the first being a Peter Pindar Stearns setting of hymn 685, "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me". Mr. Stearns, 1931-2016, was from a prominent and musical New England family whose roots go back to 1650. Among many other interests and accomplishments (and compositions in multiple genres), he taught for a number of years at the Mannes School of Music in New York.
Read MoreThe hymn tune for the prelude (O Waly Waly -- "When Love Is Found"), though not in our hymnal, will be totally familiar (I think!) to everyone. What may be of note is that the setting is by a most prolific and well respected contemporary female American composer, Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927). Some of her compositions were played at Penn State when I was on the faculty there. She has written a great deal of choral, organ, as well as piano music, and also performed as organist at some of the major churches in this country, including The National Cathedral.
Read MoreOtho Hoyte will be the organist this Sunday and for the prelude will be playing a Dale Wood (contemporary American of whom I have written before) setting of "Beneath the cross of Jesus", which is hymn 498 in our hymnal. The familiar tune is called "St. Christopher" and is by Frederick C. Maker (1844-1927).
Read MoreThe trumpeter, William Ross, who many of you know from his years playing at Calvary Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday -- and also playing 2 benefit concerts with the Biltmore Brass -- has volunteered to play this Sunday. The prelude, arranged for trumpet and organ by the contemporary American, David Howard Pettit, is a hymn tune many of you will recognize -- "Here I Am, Lord".
Read MoreBoth prelude and postlude music this Sunday is based on very familiar hymn tunes, settings by the American composer, Dale Wood (1934-2003), a California man his entire life and a musician whose music is depended on by many organists. There will be arrangements of two well-loved hymns for the prelude: "Brother James' Air" (517 in our hymnal) and "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" (691). The postlude will be a setting of "When Morning Gilds the Skies" (427).
Read MoreThe prelude is based on the most familiar "I am the bread of life", 335 in our hymnal, and is an arrangement by Ron Schmoltze (1936-2018), a graduate of the famous music school at Oberlin College and an organist who had several volumes of published organ preludes. After a calm and introspective introduction, you will recognize the melody immediately.
Read MoreThe "Meditation" prelude is based on hymn 11, "Awake, my soul, and with the sun", a hymn appropriate for the day; it is by the contemporary American, Franklin D. Ashdown (b. 1942), who enjoyed 3 decades as both composer and medical doctor. Now he is retired from medicine and just writing music!
Read MoreIn keeping with the Fourth of July celebrations, there will be two Dale Wood settings of traditional American hymn melodies as prelude music: "God, who stretched the spangled Heavens" and "The gift to be simple". I have written about Mr. Wood (1934-2003) before. You might be interested that at the age of 13 he won a national award for hymn writing! He was a very prolific composer, and, although he was always closely associated with the Lutheran Church, his music is widely used.
Read MoreThe prelude has 5 short settings of the hymn, "The king of love my shepherd is" (645 in our hymnal), presumably one for each verse, although our rendition has 6 verses. The composer is Edwin T. Childs, who has his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music and resides, teaches, and composes in the Chicago area.
Read MoreThe prelude is a setting of the hymn, "Draw Us In the Spirit's Tether", which you will probably recognize because the choir sings a setting of it from time to time; however, it is unfortunately not in our hymnal. The arrangement is by the contemporary, James Biery (b. 1955), who has served in cathedrals in Hartford, Conn, and St. Paul, Minn.; currently he serves in a large Presbyterian Church in Michigan. Both he and his wife are organists and composers!
Read MoreThe prelude is two settings of familiar hymn tunes, 587 and 339 in our hymnal, and are by a contemporary American, Jacob B. Weber, who in addition to composing many settings of hymns is cantor at a large Lutheran church and also Associate Editor of Music and Worship at Concordia Publishing Co., widely known and used by church musicians. He is based in Dearborn, MI.
Read MoreThe prelude Sunday is based on a hymn some of you may recognize, "I received the living God". The setting is by a contemporary American composer, Edwin T. Childs, who is based in the Chicago area and holds advanced degrees from various schools, including the Eastman School of Music.
Read MoreMost people are probably familiar with the hymn tune on which the prelude is based — "This Is My Father's World", though it is not in our hymnal (sadly). The setting is by the prolific and talented American composer, Dale Wood (1934-2003), of whom I have written before.
Read MoreThe prelude is a setting of "Veni, Creator Spiritus", which is hymn 502 in our hymnal. It is "plainsong", or sometimes called "Gregorian chant", all from the 6th and 7th centuries and the Roman Church of course, and all originally having Latin texts. This is a setting many people like and one I have played many times for Pentecost; it is by the contemporary American, Wilbur Held.
Read MoreThe prelude is 2 settings of probably familiar hymn tunes — "Bread of Life" and "Lead Us O Father" — by Seth Bingham (1882-1972), who was a prolific composer educated at Yale and a fine organist, having served for 35 years at the famous Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in NYC.
Read MoreThe hymn tune used in the prelude, "On Jordan's Stormy Banks", is one many of you may recognize-- but it is not in our hymnal. Most unusual — the setting is by "Tom Birchwood", but this is just one of 6 pseudo names used by Lani Smith for his some 1000 compositions and arrangements. Why, I don't know! Mr. Smith was American (1934-2015) and educated at the University of Cincinnati.
Read MoreThe prelude Sunday, "Choral with Interludes", by Courtlandt Palmer, comprises of a hymnlike section at the beginning and end, with several short variations (hence "interludes") between. Mr. Palmer (1876-1951) was an American mostly known as a pianist who studied in Italy with a pupil of Franz Liszt. The piece is typical of a lot of music of the period, being in the neo-romantic style, despite what else was going on — like with Debussy, Ravel, and even Schoenberg!
Read MoreYou might check out the notes for last week, as Henry G. Ley (important to get the "G" in there as there are other musicians in his family), who wrote the arrangement -- but not the melody -- for last week's anthem, also composed the arrangement of this Sunday's prelude, which is based on the hymn tune, "St. Columba", 645 in our hymnal. You know the tune well, and the words are a paraphrase of Psalm 23. At the Gospel, we will sing this text to another tune (663), which is harmonized in 4 parts.
Read MoreWe are pleased to welcome Otho Hoyte as guest organist this Sunday. The prelude will be a set of variations on the 15th-century Easter hymn, "O Filii et Filiae" (O sons and daughters), which is both 203 and 206 in our hymnal. The tune is known to most people. The variations are by the English composer and organist, John E. West (1863-1929), who grew up in a very musical family and, among other musical accomplishments, founded the Northeast London Academy of Music.
Read MoreThe tune for the prelude is "Holy Manna", familiar to many, The setting is by the American composer Lynn L. Peterson (b. 1962) currently teaching at Carroll College in Montana but, beside composing (and sometimes delving into jazz), she travels often for festivals and workshops.
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