Something exciting happened this past Sunday; the Youth Band played for the first time and I thought that they did a great job. I am so pleased that this group has emerged at St. Andrew's and that we have youth who are interested in bringing instrumental music to us. I hope everyone is looking forward to future performances by them.
The adult choir sang a piece call "Oh day of peace that dimly shines." It's such a nice tune, possibly familiar to you because it was in Chariots of Fire. It is actually in our hymn book and the congregation will be singing it next week.
The sermon discussed the biblical text that talks about stoning women for sexual activity outside of what society deemed to be acceptable. This verse brought out the feminist in me and I decided that the prelude and postlude for this week should be composed by women. Depending on how closely you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that I always do at least one organ piece, and it is usually the prelude. You may have also noticed that there was no organ piece (besides the hymns) this week. This is because it is really hard to find classical music written by women. There certainly were female composers, but they are few and far between and were generally not present in my (somewhat large) music library. I finally found some stuff online (public domain) by Clara Schumann, a brilliant musician, worth reading up on. She, however, was a pianist and wrote for piano. So, no organ this week, all my organ music was by men. The postlude was an arrangement of The Church is One Foundation by Cindy Berry. This choice was inspired by our Anniversary Sunday last week.
Monday, 2 November 2015
Friday, 16 October 2015
The Music This Week: October 18th, 2015
Sermon Topic: “He cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.” (2 Kings 2:24)
Prelude: The Last Rose of Summer – By Thomas Moore, Arr. By Jane Holburne
Fall is my favourite season by a long shot and this song reminds me of fall and the beauty of it. So this time of year brings "The Last Rose of Summer" into my head and I thought it might be appreciated because of St. Andrew's heritage. But why are we doing it in church? It's a secular song! Well, first of all, as far as I am concerned all music is sacred. Something so glorious and wonderful, whether or not one likes the style, is clearly a gift. Second of all, to me, any song that talks about nature and its beauty has an obvious place in church and relates very directly to hymns like "For the Beauty of the Earth" and "All Things Bright and Beautiful." Beyond that, I think the themes of loneliness and companionship reflect part of a Christian experience; finding companionship with God or with others in the church community.
Musical Reflection: You Shall Have a Song – Harriet Ziegenhals
I'm delighted that the women from the adult choir will be singing this little piece. I'm excited because it brings a little variety to what we hear each week. Obviously it's nice to sing with the men too, but an all-female ensemble has a distinct sound that is nice to hear once in a while. The text of the piece is a simple little poem about finding gladness and joy in God. It doesn't relate directly to the sermon, but I challenge you to find a piece about she-bears mauling children that anyone would want to sing.
Offertory: Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep May Safely Graze) – J.S. Bach
When I was leafing through my books to find the prelude, offertory, and postlude for this week, I was struck by this piece. (The text is below for your referral, on Sunday it will either be played or sung) I find 2 Kings 2:24 to be rather disturbing. Violence towards children is not how I like to think of God. To me, Sheep May Safely Graze is one of the most comforting pieces and I hope that it can provide reassurance to us that God is a protector and cares for humankind
Sheep may safely graze and pasture
In a watchful Shepherd's sight.
Those who rule with wisdom guiding
Bring to hearts a peace abiding
Bless a land with joy made bright.
Postlude: What a Friend We Have in Jesus – By Charles C. Converse, Arr. By Robert Schultz
I chose this song for pretty much the same reasons that I chose Sheep May Safely Graze. I also felt that it would provide stylistic contrast from the other pieces.
Hope you find the music spiritually meaningful this week.
Sermon Topic: “He cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.” (2 Kings 2:24)
Prelude: The Last Rose of Summer – By Thomas Moore, Arr. By Jane Holburne
Fall is my favourite season by a long shot and this song reminds me of fall and the beauty of it. So this time of year brings "The Last Rose of Summer" into my head and I thought it might be appreciated because of St. Andrew's heritage. But why are we doing it in church? It's a secular song! Well, first of all, as far as I am concerned all music is sacred. Something so glorious and wonderful, whether or not one likes the style, is clearly a gift. Second of all, to me, any song that talks about nature and its beauty has an obvious place in church and relates very directly to hymns like "For the Beauty of the Earth" and "All Things Bright and Beautiful." Beyond that, I think the themes of loneliness and companionship reflect part of a Christian experience; finding companionship with God or with others in the church community.
Musical Reflection: You Shall Have a Song – Harriet Ziegenhals
I'm delighted that the women from the adult choir will be singing this little piece. I'm excited because it brings a little variety to what we hear each week. Obviously it's nice to sing with the men too, but an all-female ensemble has a distinct sound that is nice to hear once in a while. The text of the piece is a simple little poem about finding gladness and joy in God. It doesn't relate directly to the sermon, but I challenge you to find a piece about she-bears mauling children that anyone would want to sing.
Offertory: Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep May Safely Graze) – J.S. Bach
When I was leafing through my books to find the prelude, offertory, and postlude for this week, I was struck by this piece. (The text is below for your referral, on Sunday it will either be played or sung) I find 2 Kings 2:24 to be rather disturbing. Violence towards children is not how I like to think of God. To me, Sheep May Safely Graze is one of the most comforting pieces and I hope that it can provide reassurance to us that God is a protector and cares for humankind
Sheep may safely graze and pasture
In a watchful Shepherd's sight.
Those who rule with wisdom guiding
Bring to hearts a peace abiding
Bless a land with joy made bright.
Postlude: What a Friend We Have in Jesus – By Charles C. Converse, Arr. By Robert Schultz
I chose this song for pretty much the same reasons that I chose Sheep May Safely Graze. I also felt that it would provide stylistic contrast from the other pieces.
Hope you find the music spiritually meaningful this week.
Saturday, 4 July 2015
My Music
One of the questions frequently asked at job interviews for music leadership positions is, "What type of music do you like?" The short answer is that my heart lies with early music (music written between 500 and 1750 or 1800, depending on who you ask/approximately), particularly Baroque music (1650-1750 ish) and 20th-century/contemporary classical. (Please rest assured that those two things will not be a focus at St. Andrew's) BUT! I have a less stodgy side, I promise, and two of my favourite pop artists are Ben Harper and Jason Mraz.
Our voting leaned pretty heavily to pop songs before 1980 and country music, so I've taken the liberty of mixing things up a bit with some newer stuff. Last week we got to hear some Miley Cyrus, who is ultimately after my time, but this week I'm bringing some pieces that have resonated with me.
The first is Ben Harper's Morning Yearning. To me, this piece is like a prayer. I hear it as the singer pleading for relief from various aspects of life. I trust that this will fit well with the sermon, "Bad Things Happen." I love Ben Harper because while most of his work is secular, there are a lot of Christian elements that pop up. A good portion of his work advocates for social justice and pacifism. He has also recorded gospel albums with the Blind Boys of Alabama and on his secular CDs there is often enough a spiritual song. Lyrics here.
The second song is Quiet by Jason Mraz. Jason Mraz is probably most famous for I'm Yours, if you are trying to place the name. I would say that this song is probably supposed to be a love song. The gist of the song is "In the midst of our noisy world, every thing is quiet with you." However, that message is reminiscent of a relationship with God to me. Peace provided in the chaos. Lyrics here.
Our voting leaned pretty heavily to pop songs before 1980 and country music, so I've taken the liberty of mixing things up a bit with some newer stuff. Last week we got to hear some Miley Cyrus, who is ultimately after my time, but this week I'm bringing some pieces that have resonated with me.
The first is Ben Harper's Morning Yearning. To me, this piece is like a prayer. I hear it as the singer pleading for relief from various aspects of life. I trust that this will fit well with the sermon, "Bad Things Happen." I love Ben Harper because while most of his work is secular, there are a lot of Christian elements that pop up. A good portion of his work advocates for social justice and pacifism. He has also recorded gospel albums with the Blind Boys of Alabama and on his secular CDs there is often enough a spiritual song. Lyrics here.
The second song is Quiet by Jason Mraz. Jason Mraz is probably most famous for I'm Yours, if you are trying to place the name. I would say that this song is probably supposed to be a love song. The gist of the song is "In the midst of our noisy world, every thing is quiet with you." However, that message is reminiscent of a relationship with God to me. Peace provided in the chaos. Lyrics here.
Bach: All Music Is Sacred
On June 21st, Martin was kind enough to play a prelude full of Bach's music for us.
I asked him to do this because when looking at where sacred and secular music intersect, JS Bach is an interesting figure to consider. He worked for churches, so almost his entire compositional output was sacred music, but beyond that, Bach believed that all music was sacred. Because of this, "secular" tunes would make their way in to Bach's sacred work. This viewpoint resonates with me and I would argue that all music is sacred, although, not all music is appropriate for church.
Music is such a wonderful gift with so much power to touch the soul. I think that all music can be understood and appreciated in relation to spirituality, God, and Religion.
I think that it is fabulous that I have had the chance to play and sing so much"secular" music for you through this series, but also before that, when Scott preached about Jaws, Star Wars, when we've had the Academy Awards, and other times that it fit with the service.
I asked him to do this because when looking at where sacred and secular music intersect, JS Bach is an interesting figure to consider. He worked for churches, so almost his entire compositional output was sacred music, but beyond that, Bach believed that all music was sacred. Because of this, "secular" tunes would make their way in to Bach's sacred work. This viewpoint resonates with me and I would argue that all music is sacred, although, not all music is appropriate for church.
Music is such a wonderful gift with so much power to touch the soul. I think that all music can be understood and appreciated in relation to spirituality, God, and Religion.
I think that it is fabulous that I have had the chance to play and sing so much"secular" music for you through this series, but also before that, when Scott preached about Jaws, Star Wars, when we've had the Academy Awards, and other times that it fit with the service.
Monday, 8 June 2015
Sacred and Secular: Week 1
On Sunday, June 14th, Scott and I will begin our first week of looking at where sacred and secular intersect. I, of course, am presiding over the music side of this. Music very much has a long history of sacred and secular overlapping and stealing from each other.
The winner from our voting this week was "You Raise Me Up." Of all the secular pieces that we voted on, this one is the "most sacred" in my opinion. It does not directly refer to God or other religious aspects and could certainly be interpreted as a love song (which I definitely did when the boy I had a crush on in high school sang it at the school assembly), but if anything, the words make more sense when they are referring to God rather than a sweetheart. What I find interesting is that the song becomes even more blatantly sacred (though not literally) when you add the second verse which is not included in the most popular version by Josh Groban (another high school crush, my goodness, maybe it was just the song). You can take a look at the lyrics here.
Our offertory this week will be "Agnus Dei" from Missa entre vous filles by Orlando di Lasso. This piece was written in in the 16th Century and is what we call a parody mass or an imitation mass. In the 16th century there were different approaches that composers would use to write a mass. One was to take a preexisting song and use that tune to compose the mass. Missa entre vous filles uses the tune from Jacob Clemens non Papa's Entre vous fille de quinze ans or "Oh you fifteen year old girls." And yes, the text of the piece goes where you think it is going and is incredibly obscene. Yet the mass using its tune, which everybody would have known, was sung in church. I love this piece because it is a great example of how ridiculously scandalous our "stuffy" classical music is! Text below:
Agnus Dei Lamb of God
Qui tollis peccata mundi You take away the sins of the world
Miserere nobis Have mercy on us
The winner from our voting this week was "You Raise Me Up." Of all the secular pieces that we voted on, this one is the "most sacred" in my opinion. It does not directly refer to God or other religious aspects and could certainly be interpreted as a love song (which I definitely did when the boy I had a crush on in high school sang it at the school assembly), but if anything, the words make more sense when they are referring to God rather than a sweetheart. What I find interesting is that the song becomes even more blatantly sacred (though not literally) when you add the second verse which is not included in the most popular version by Josh Groban (another high school crush, my goodness, maybe it was just the song). You can take a look at the lyrics here.
Our offertory this week will be "Agnus Dei" from Missa entre vous filles by Orlando di Lasso. This piece was written in in the 16th Century and is what we call a parody mass or an imitation mass. In the 16th century there were different approaches that composers would use to write a mass. One was to take a preexisting song and use that tune to compose the mass. Missa entre vous filles uses the tune from Jacob Clemens non Papa's Entre vous fille de quinze ans or "Oh you fifteen year old girls." And yes, the text of the piece goes where you think it is going and is incredibly obscene. Yet the mass using its tune, which everybody would have known, was sung in church. I love this piece because it is a great example of how ridiculously scandalous our "stuffy" classical music is! Text below:
Agnus Dei Lamb of God
Qui tollis peccata mundi You take away the sins of the world
Miserere nobis Have mercy on us
Children's Choir & Frozen
Yesterday, June 7th, was the Children's Choir last performance this year. The group is new to St. Andrew's and I have had some much fun working with them. They are great little singers and we had a good time singing music from Frozen. For me, it was a sort of unofficial start to Scott and I's upcoming series on the intersections of sacred and secular (which officially starts next week, look for blog posts!). Frozen isn't directly or obviously related to Christianity, but what a fun way to bring our children's world into worship. Frozen is by far the most popular children's movie from the past couple years, so I thought it would be perfect for our Academy Awards.
Side note: Children's Choir will begin again in late September. I can't wait to work with them again. Look forward to them singing more often with us during worship.
Side note: Children's Choir will begin again in late September. I can't wait to work with them again. Look forward to them singing more often with us during worship.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
The Music This Week - Holy Week: Easter Sunday
Easter
Sunday
I
don't want to say a lot about the music for Easter Sunday other than,
the choir has been working hard and sounds great, we're delighted to
be welcoming Adam Spiers, a Laurier trumpet student, and I am very
excited!
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