St Barnabas with Christ's Chapel
This Sunday, our Harvest Festival Family Communion Service will be sung by the St Barnabas choristers:
253, For the beauty of the earth, tune i (England’s Lane) – Introit
270, Come, ye thankful people, come – Gradual
John Bell, I will sing a song of love – Anthem after the sermon
Hubbard, O Holy Spirit – During communion
273, We plough the fields and scatter- Final hymn
For this Sunday I bring you two works to celebrate the Ascension, one more familiar to you as a congregation and one which is not (yet) in the church’s repertoire. I will be performing the Philips at the morning service.
Peter Philips (1560-1628) – Ascendit Deus
Peter Philips is one of the greatest composers, alongside William Byrd, of the Counter Reformation. He was born and educated in Britain (he was a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral
For the feast of the Ascension we return to 20th-century England, to one of the finest British composers of his generation.
Gerald Raphael Finzi (1901-1956) – God is gone up
Gerald Finzi is one of Britain’s most-loved composers. His specialism was in the form of the art song, where he focused on setting his favourite poets
For this Sunday’s musical offering we return to the world of Tudor England, and to one of its most famous sons, Thomas Tallis.
Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) – If ye love me)
Thomas Tallis is one of England’s most successful composers. He began his career as a jobbing organist, a career which took
For this Sunday’s anthem we travel to northern France, to a composer who is often overlooked in favour of the two musical giants of his era, Josquin and Palestrina.
Jean L’Heritier (c.1488-1552) – Surrexit Pastor Bonus (The good shepherd has arisen)
L’Heritier was born in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais, in the late 15th century. Little is known about his upbringing, aside from him being a pupil of the famous composer Josquin
GF Handel – Worthy is the Lamb (from The Messiah)
This Sunday’s anthem is one of the finest final choruses in the history of music. I will never tire of performing The Messiah: in my opinion it’s one of the greatest pieces of music ever written.
George Frideric Handel is one of Britain’s stand-out composers, in spite of the small issue of him being German
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) – Easter (part 1 – Rise Heart, thy Lord is risen)
Ralph Vaughan Williams is another of my musical heroes. He attended my secondary school (Charterhouse) as a pupil, so his influence was all around me as I was growing up. The music building at the school is still called the Ralph Vaughan Williams building. His writing encapsulates and builds upon
Happy Easter! We celebrate Jesus rising again with two gloriously joyous pieces of music, with one very special change to previous music lists (at the end of the page, for those who want to get there without reading my notes first!!).
Norman Caplin – Gloria in Excelsis Deo (from Missa Omnium Sanctorum)
Norman Caplin was an extremely talented organist and
Holy Saturday is a difficult day for which to choose music. We are between the drama of the Crucifixion and the Vigil service, where we celebrate the light of Christ once again. For me, the message in this short space of time is one of hope: we return to a similar place to where we were in Advent, waiting for the coming of Christ to bring his glory and healing to us. In these unusual times we need hope, courage, and faith more than ever.
For today’s music list we have two contrasting works, each showing the horror of the crucifixion in their own way.
Antonio Lotti (1667-1740) – Crucifixus
A staple of music lists of many Cathedrals and churches up and down the country, Lotti’s famous setting of the Crucifixus is not actually a stand-alone setting. It is from a larger work, Credo in F, which in turn was placed by Lotti into a full mass setting, his Missa Sancti Christophori. The piece has
We are offering two pieces of music for Maundy Thursday, an Offertory motet and a Communion motet.
Offertory motet: Maurice Duruflé – Ubi Caritas
Maurice Duruflé’s (1902-1986) oeuvre is relatively limited: he was, as many musicians are, a perfectionist, and one who frequently scrapped many of his compositions due to them not being good enough in his eyes.