Music for Trinity Sunday
John Taverner (c.1490-1545) is one of the most important English composers of the first half of the sixteenth century. He was the first organist and master of the choristers at Christ Church, Oxford (when it was named Cardinal College after its founder, Cardinal Wolsey). After Wolsey’s fall from grace in 1528, the political situation seemed to inhibit his musicianship and he retired to Lincolnshire in 1529 where he spent the rest of his days as a gentleman farmer.
Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas is one of three six-part festal Masses by Taverner. It is a cantus firmus Mass based on a psalm antiphon from Second Vespers of Trinity Sunday. Those with keen ears will be able to hear the plainsong melody being passed from voice to voice. In the Sanctus, for instance, this generally happens between the basses and altos.
Apart from being an outstanding work in its own right, this Mass gave rise to an English instrumental genre, the “In Nomine”. Taverner’s setting of the text “In Nomine Domini” from the Benedictus was so admired that it was often transcribed separately for instruments, and a great many composers wrote original instrumental fantasias based on the same cantus firmus, There are two examples in the viol fantasias of Henry Purcell.
In many respects Taverner’s Mass is a continuation of the aesthetic found among the older generation of English composers whose works are in the Eton Choirbook (c1505). It is a style that cultivates an otherworldly ecstasy, unfolding the text with solemn deliberation. Single syllables are spread out over long periods of time, (these are called melismas, which have their root in the music of the ancient Middle East) and the phrases soar in an often un-predictable manner.
Apart from the fact that this Mass was composed for the feast, it seems particularly appropriate to sing such music for the Holy Trinity; mysterious feast for which Taverner seems to have found exactly the right voice. As the choir sings, one hopes the listener will be able to meditate on the wonderful gift of God’s love through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Given the length of this Mass setting, we shall only be singing the Sanctus and Benedictus, with the latter being sung during Communion. The congregation may want to kneel during the Sanctus for comfort.
CB 29th May 2010
I have never met the late Michael Foot, but very nearly did when staying with a friend in Hampstead during university holidays. He would walk his dog quite early in the morning and not being a naturally morning person I missed my opportunity.
I could not pretend to share his politics, but I cannot help feeling that our political life is poorer without the likes of people such as Michael Foot. It was curious to hear politicians describe him as representing a nobler age in British political life; the standard of oratory in the House of Commons doesn’t seem to be what it was in the heady days of the early eighties.
I will leave it to other commentators to try and judge why the character and atmosphere of the House has changed. I remember in my teens buying a set of ‘Great Parliamentary Speeches’ from the earliest days of recording the House of Commons. Some of them were simply electrifying and evoked strong passions and reactions. Would such a recording be possible now? I doubt it.
I share many of the concerns expressed about the behaviour of politicians, but still believe that politics is an honourable profession. The sad antics of some politicians can easily become an excuse for us to say to believe that they are all as bad as each other. This is simply lazy thinking and has lead to a damaging attitude of suspicion towards public institutions.
It was said that Michael Foot was not concerned with his image. I feel sorry for politicians today who are wanting to serve and yet are hampered with obsessive concerns for how they appear and having to be all things to all people.Yet truthful living commends itself. It may not always make us feel comfortable, but it helps build trust.
It would be a missed opportunity if the memory of Michael Foot was confined to the obituary columns. Whatever his views may have been he has given us an example of courageous and principled political life shaped by deep compassion and hope. His life has shown us what is possible.
Schubert composed his Mass in G Major in five days, between the 2nd and 7th March 1815. It is a slight development on the conventional “Viennese Mass” which was normally composed for two violins and cello, in that the strings were a full quartet. The music is, however, typically Viennese, with a lilting Kyrie in 3 time and a long, extended Benedictus (which, for considerations of time, we are singing during the communion). The Agnus Dei, again typically, starts in E minor, with an anguished accompaniment for the words, Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, before relaxing back into G major and a peaceful ending at the words, grant us peace.
After Mass this Sunday, there will be a short recital given by one of the teenagers in our choir. Ashley Thomas-Ower will be singing Finzi’s Let us Garlands bring. A beautiful short cycle of five Shakespeare songs, perfect for St Valentine’s Day.
Colin Baldy, February 2010
This Sunday evening, our new assistant organist, Stephen Moore takes up his position. Stephen is organist and Assistant Director of Music at Felsted School. Previously, he was organ scholar at Salisbury Cathedral.
It is a particular joy that we now have an organist of Stephen’s calibre on the staff as it means that the choir’s repertoire can be widened considerably. I have started by programming a long-wished for addition; Herbert Howells’ Evening Canticles written for the choir of Kings College, Cambridge.
Howells (1892-1983), like Vaughan Williams, merges the style of English music from the Tudor period with his own, contemporary harmonies and melodic language. The result is haunting, and breathtakingly beautiful. It is also extremely spritual in effect. For me, this music comes closest to the mystery of the sacred as expressed in ancient plainsong.
The canticles are partnered by another representative of English choral music; Charles Wood (1866-1926). Wood represents the previous generation of English composers (although, strictly speaking, he was Irish). His anthem, O Thou the Central Orb is truly representative of Victorian Britain. After all, we all knew that God was an Englishman.
Colin Baldy
January 31st. Palestrina Missa Aeterna Christi munera and Tallis, Nunc dimittis (The Short Service).
Palestrina (full name, Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina) is known as the father of modern music, having laid down the rules governing composition in the middle of the sixteenth century. He lived from c.1525 to 1594 and composed around 104 Masses, 300 motets, 68 Offertories, 35 Magnificats, 72 Hymns and much, much more. The absolute beauty of his melodic lines, and the way in which each voice weaves in and out of the others, is unparalleled. His music must surely have been the main reason why popes were still prohibiting all other types of music from being sung in church at the end of the nineteenth century. Indeed, even the current Pope has made known his opinion that Gregorian chant and polyphony should be the music of the church.
Thomas Tallis (c1505-1585) was a lifelong Roman Catholic. This didn’t, however, stop him from composing for the newly-established Church of England. His ability to transfer his skills for composing Latin polyphony in the style of Palestrina to that of writing beautiful but clear and concise settings in English, was unparalleled. This morning’s music gives us an opportunity to hear how the upheavals in the church in the sixteenth century expressed themselves in music.
Colin Baldy
Adrian Batten (c1591-1637) was, like Gibbons, one of the earliest English composers to have been born after the Elizabethan settlement and, therefore, having known only the Church of England, wrote music solely for its services. Although he was a prolific composer, most of his music has been lost, which explains the relative lack of knowledge about him. His music tends to be somewhat understated, adhering to Merbeck’s exhortation that church music should be simple and “to each syllable a note”. Batten was born at Salisbury and was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral. He also started playing the organ at Winchester. In adulthood, he sang and played the organ at both Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Thomas Tallis (c1505-1585) was one of the first composers to respond to Marbeck’s dictum. This beautiful motet is made all the more powerful by the fact that every note really does have a syllable. It is a real sign of Tallis’ obvious talent that he was able to abandon the polyphony of the pre-reformation and still produce great music.
CB January 2010
This Sunday, we sing the earliest polyphonic Mass in our repertoire, the Missa à Quator Vocibus (Four voice Mass) by Fogliano.
The music of Ludovico Fogliano (c1490- c1538) is not terrbily well known, yet he was enormously important and influential in music history. Fogliano was born in Modena in northern Italy and sang as a boy in the cathedral choir there. He later joined the choir of the capella Giulia (the choir of St Peter’s in Rome) and became a priest. He spent a large part of his life working on his theories of the impact of mathematics on music and published his Musica theorica in 1529. This largely established the principles of dissonance (clashes) and consonance in music.
We can hear the maths in his four-part Mass which we sing this Sunday. We can also hear how it pre-dates the music of the sixteenth century masters such as Palestrina and Victoria, with whom we are so familiar. The rules of composition had still not settled in the fifteenth century. As a result, the music has a wonderfully “earthy” quality to it. It is interesting to think that this Mass was composed at approximately the same time as the beautiful fifteenth century window was installed in the north wall of St Mary’s.
Viadana (c.1560-1627) also played an important part in music history. He is widely considered to have laid down the rules for figured bass, the compositional method employed in the baroque period. This morning, then, we have two composers who opened the door to a new period of composition; Fogliano setting rules for polyphony and Viadana those for the baroque.
Colin
This Sunday evening, we shall be anticipating the Epiphany with Choral Evensong at 6pm. Charles Wood (1866-1926), whose settings of the canticles in E minor we shall be singing, was one of the most important and influential musicians in Victorian society. He was professor of Music at Cambridge University and also taught composition at the Royal College of Music in London, numbering Vaughan Williams and Herbert Howells amongst his students.
Wood was originally from Armagh, where he was a chorister in the Church of Ireland cathedral of St Patrick. He developed a keen knowledge and understanding of Anglican choral music and this comprises the vast bulk of his writing. This simple setting of Evensong is a perfact example of his craft, with no unnecessary embellishment but with each note counting and playing its part. Next month (Feb 7th), we shall be singing his great anthem, O Thou The Central Orb; showing his ability to cope with larger forces and emotions.
Peter Cornelius (1824-1874) originally composed his The Three Kings for baritone soloist and piano accompaniment. It was an immediate success and he arranged the accompaniment for choir shortly thereafter. It is amusing to note that this piece, so well-known as an Epiphany anthem, contains a most obvious error within it. The accompaniment is based around the Chorale, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern; How Brightly Beams the Morning Star. Cornelius evidently thought this appropriate to the journey of the Magi as they followed the star. Unfortunately, the Morning Star is about the arrival of Christ and is, in fact, an Advent chorale. Still, this error does nothing to diminish the beauty and the effect of this loveliets of Christmas pieces.
Colin Baldy
Firstly, can I take this opportunity to wish everyone a (belated) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. As I’m sure all the parishioners know, the choir of St Mary’s released a CD at the beginning of December of music for the Advent and Christmas period, samples of which can be heard on this site by going to the “A Maldon Christmas” page on the website.
However, in an effort to raise awareness of St Mary’s on a larger scale, we have released a couple of the full tracks from the CD on YouTube. Here is one of the videos:
As time goes by, more will be uploaded as material becomes available and time permitting (it can be a lengthy process). This isn’t just about the choir mind you. These days there are plenty of things happening at St Mary’s and if any of this should be captured on video that anyone would like to share with the world then please contact me.
Why not ad our channel on Youtube to your bookmarks and if you’re a member, why not subscribe so you know when new videos are uploaded.
Just one more thing: Father Louis and myself have recently been in discussion about improving and redesigning the St Mary’s Website. The site as it is has had a great run and in its brief life over the last 12 months has enjoyed a staggering 20,000 recorded unique visitors from around the world. Just this month alone we have received visits from people in countries such as: Spain, Turkey, Australia and Mexico. However, there’s always room for improvement and that is the aim here.
You can expect to see this new site around the middle of February at the same address as always. I will keep you informed of developemets as they happen. In the mean time, why not e-mail with suggestions of what you’d like to see in the new site or better still, get a discussion going by leaving a comment on this blog post.
That’s all for now, have a great new year everyone.
Regards.
Kieran Sampson
By Haydn and Mozart’s time (the mid eighteenth to early nineteenth centruries), Masses had come to be set in one of two styles. The Missa Brevis (short Mass), normally used for everyday celebrations of the Mass, contrasted with the longer, more formal Missa Solemnis (Solemn Mass), used for special occasions.
The Little Organ Mass is a Missa Brevis and was composed sometime between 1770 and 1778. Saint John of God (1495-1550), to whom the Mass is dedicated, was the founder and patron saint of The Brothers of Mercy, a religious Order devoted to providing medical services to the poor. The Esterhazy family, Haydn’s patrons, was a generous supporter of the Order, and this particular Mass was written for the Brothers’ church in Eisenstadt. Haydn was contracted to compose sacred music for the Esterhazy family. However, in practice, the prince was much more interested in instrumental music and opera so Haydn’s output in this area was relatively modest. It is, therefore, odd that a Mass written specifically for the the Brothers of Mercy, should have been only a Missa Brevis. The explanation for this could lie in the fact that the Order’s church was, in reality, little more than a tiny chapel. The organ loft accommodated a very small organ and had space for only a few singers and instrumentalists; one theory as to the origin of this Mass’s nickname, the “Little Organ Mass.”
Haydn uses the standard instrumentation for a Missa Brevis of the classical period; two violins, organ, and ‘cello in addition to the choir. This most intimate of Haydn’s masses begins with a simple, beautiful Kyrie. The Gloria that follows is a total contrast and very short, being less than a minute long. Haydn achieves this remarkable feat by getting each of the four voices in the choir to sing a different section of the text at the same time. The demand with a Missa Brevis, at that time, was for the longest sections of the Mass, the Gloria and the Credo, to be as short as possible (although this practice of simultaneous settings of the text was later banned by the Pope as being not entirely respectful of the text). Haydn employs the same technique for the Credo, which starts at the same upbeat speed as the Gloria. Suddenly, however, the mood changes and becomes hushed and respectful. The tempo slows and the choir sings the same words together as they reach the central Et incarnatus; and was incarnate. The tenors and basses introduce the words singing quietly in octaves, emphasising the mystery of the incarnation. Then sopranos and altos sing a beautiful, lyrical tune in thirds; a device which emphasises the beauty of God’s gift to us. This happens twice, before the entire choir sings emphatically, de spiritu sancto; by the Holy Spirit. Lyricism continues with the beautiful setting of the words ex Maria vergine; of the Virgin Mary. Haydn’s use of lyricism at this point emphasises the beauty and the generosity of the Mother of God in bearing Jesus for our sake. Haydn then uses word painting in his setting of the words, et homo factus est; and was made man, as the choir sings a descending phrase to the words, emphasising God’s descent from Heaven to join mankind on earth. This mood is continued as the choir sings, in hushed tones, of the death of Jesus under Pontius Pilate, and of his burial in the tomb. This central section of the Credo so perfectly encapsulates the very thing which we celebrate at Christmas, so perfectly illustrates the miracle of Christ’s birth at Bethlehem, that it is an ideal choice for Midnight Mass. For the final section of the Gloria, the music returns to the brisk and jolly nature of the opening. It is a party of celebration at Christ’s birth. Or does the entire Credo also illustrate the paradox of our modern lives? We start at an almost breakneck pace, only finding a moment of peace when we recall the incarnation. Surely this peace, this “time out” is what we all seek and need in today’s world? So we pause and reflect on the wonder of Christ’s birth during the Et incarnatus. Then it seems that we simply can’t help ourselves and, once again, we are rushing around as though nothing has happened. Haydn’s setting of the Et incarnatus gives us pause and, in this Christmastide, should be the song which we sing the most.
The Sanctus reflects the mood and length of the Gloria, with imitative entries starting with the basses. Haydn follows contemporary practice, growing much more expansive in the lovely Benedictus, which we shall be singing during the communion. In this movement, the organ and soprano soloist perform a duet, although the writing for the organ is almost that of an organ concerto. Another theory suggests that this is the movement which gives the Mass its nickname.
The Mass closes with an Agnus Dei almost mysterious in nature. The basses announce the words Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi; Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, in a sort of reverential fear. Again, the mystery of the incarnation is brought home to us by Haydn’s musical genius. The closing Dona nobis pacem; grant us peace, once more uses tenors and basses and then sopranos and altos in thirds. It is a device which creates music so much at peace in itself that the words almost jump off the page unspoken. So a peaceful and Happy Christmas to all.
Colin Baldy, December 2009