Music Notes for April 3

The sacred organ music repertoire is historically rich and represents the works of the art’s greatest composers. Much of the music portrays a specific regional/national style of composition in a specific musical/worship context. We would need a time machine to return and witness such in order to fully understand. Further, organ music titles are not easily understood even if we can accurately translate the French or Italian, such as our prelude titles- “Recit de tierce” (Third Tale) by François Couperin and “Toccata” (Touch piece) by Johann Pachelbel. The Couperin comes from his French Organ Mass for Convents and was played at an important part of the liturgy. “Recit de tierce” refers to a specific organ registration and the use of highly ornamented melodies and frequent key changes. In Pachelbel’s “Touch Piece” is it the organ keys that are touched in rapid succession in a late 17^th c. Northern German flourish style called “stylus fantasticus.” The exuberant German toccata was often played as organ voluntaries in Lutheran worship.

Thank you St. Paul's Music Ministers!

The Second Sunday of Easter produces my heartfelt and deep appreciation for all St. Paul's ministers of music who recently presented outstanding musical offerings for the five liturgies of Holy Week and Easter -- Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Day. This is truly a magnificent offering of time and talent from our choirs, soloists and instrumentalists. It blesses us to make music in worship because God is the audience and we are blessed co-beneficiaries in that offering. The blessings come from at least two sources: 1) self actualization that we have God-given talent to return to our maker; and 2) the spiritual reality that God gladly accepts our offering and gives back to us the gladness our maker receives from us. This summarizes the blessing of being a musician, a cycle of giving and receiving back even in greater measure the thrill of speaking the language of Heaven that is "Music." As my father always said, "You cannot out-give God." As a music director I like to add, "but you do no harm in at least trying."

Friends of Music Concert

Please join Voces Solis, Choral Artists in Residence at St. Paul’s, on April 10^th, at 7:00 pm as they present Words: Obsession of the Genius and the Fool. Featured works include Benjamin Britten’s inimitable Rejoice in the Lamb set to Christopher Smart’s famous poem Jubilate Agno written during his confinement in St. Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics. Other explorations of words in music will include Anders Edenroth’s Words, composed for The Real Group, and John Tavener’s Mother of God, Here I Stand, which serves as the focal point for his 7-hour All Night Vigil.

Admission for this event is just $10.00, and there will be a wine and cookie reception following the concert in the Undercroft. Voces Solis is a recognized 501c3 organization, and any charitable giving is fully tax deductible. Ask Bryan Sable how to support their mission of spreading the love of choral music around the Southwestern Pennsylvania region!