16 March - Palm Sunday

This comes a couple of days late ... you can say my empathy kicked in again. A friend's computer died on him, and he was in the midst of getting a grant proposal out. I know how stressful grant-writing time is (it's certainly a life I didn't feel very keen to follow, which is why I'm in the position of discerning what I want to do with my life at this point ...) so I agreed to let him borrow my laptop for a few days.

As usual ... my music lists for Sunday services. As the folks at Duke University have just returned from Spring Break, there was no service at the Episcopal Centre at Duke University. Instead, I sang with the Parish Choir at the 5.15 pm service at Chapel of the Cross.

St. Joseph's Episcopal Church. Numbers are out of The Hymnal 1982.

March 16: Palm Sunday:

Prelude: Two settings of Herzliebster Jesu (J.C. Oley and J. Brahms, Op. 122, No. 2)

At the Blessing of the Psalms:
Psalm: 157 Psalm 118 (Gallican Chant)
Pro: 154 All Glory, Laud and Honor (VALET WILL ICH DER GEBEN)

Psalm: Ps 31 (Guimont; I set the text (9-16; BCP 623) to Guimont's psalm tone myself)
Seq: 158, Ah holy Jesus, how has thou offended (HERZLIEBSTER JESU)
Off: 162, The royal banners forward go (VEXILLA REGIS PRODEUNT)
Sanctus: S-124 New Plainsong (D. Hurd)
Lord's Prayer: chanted (S-119 in Hymnal 1982)
Fraction Anthem: S 161 New Plainsong (D. Hurd)
Comm: 458, My Song is Love Unknown (LOVE UNKNOWN, with alt. accompaniments and descant by Donald Busarow)
Re: 168, O Sacred Head, sore wounded (HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN)

I tried a couple of interesting things here. The Busarow setting of My Song is Love Unknown is one of them. I would have wanted to try the Rutter descant ... but on further reflection decided against it. It was a descant Rutter wrote especially for a member of Chapel of the Cross' Senior Choir for her wedding several years ago, and ever since then, whenever that hymn was programmed, the Senior Choir would use that descant for the seventh verse ("Here might I stay and sing, No story so divine ...)

For the plainchant Vexilla Regis, I had the choir and congregation chant verse 5 a cappella. What a wonderful sound! The last, for O Sacred Head, taking the idea from someone who proposed it on PIPORG-L, I decreased the registration as we went from verse to verse, and then finally on the last verse, the congregation sang it, a cappella. It was a nice effect. I received lots of compliments from the congregation on my handling of the music ... even more for some of the choices made in programming the music.

Chapel of the Cross

March 16: Palm Sunday, 5.15 pm:

My friend Mike drew the organist playing duties for this service. I don't believe he played a prelude; when I nipped back into the chapel briefly, the priest was already doing the Laying On of Hands (as is traditional before the 5.15 pm service), and Mike wasn't playing anything. Van did ask him to draw out the introduction for All Glory, Laud and Honor though, which he did a fine job of doing.

With that, the music, including Mike's voluntary pieces.

At the Blessing of the Psalms:
Anthem: Hosanna Filio David (Tomàs Luis de Victoria)
Pro: 154 All Glory, Laud and Honor (VALET WILL ICH DER GEBEN)

Seq: 158, Ah holy Jesus, how has thou offended (HERZLIEBSTER JESU)
Off: Surely He Has Borne Our Griefs (Carl Heinrich Graun)
Sanctus: S-125 Community Mass (R. Proulx)
Communion Voluntary: Chorale prelude O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig (Pachelbel)
Communion Hymn: 313, Let thy Blood in mercy poured (JESUS, MEINE ZUVERSICHT)
Re: 168, O Sacred Head, sore wounded (HERZLICH TUT MICH VERLANGEN)
Postlude: Herzlich tut mich verlangen (J. Brahms, Op. 122, No. 9)

Hmmm. I guess Van was on a Cruger kick. By the way, for both the service at St. Joseph's as well as that at Chapel of the Cross, the accompaniment for Herzliebster Jesu was taken from the Hymnal 1940. I'm not sure what the editors of the Hymnal 1982 did with the accompaniment, but I just found it easier to follow in the 1940 as opposed to the 1982. My choristers agreed with me and were happy to make the switch.

Compline at Chapel of the Cross.

We've been using the Order for Compline, as set by David Hurd. Our little additions:

Popule meus (Victoria; sung as Introit)
Hymn 162, The royal banners forward go (VEXILLA REGIS PRODEUNT)
In manus tuas (Sheppard; sung in addition to "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit ...)
Ave Regina Cælorum (Marian antiphon right after the Dismissal)
Ave Maria ... virgo serena (des Prez)