OUR MUSIC TODAY
SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2020
The gradual anthem is “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder”, sung this week by members of the Children’s Choir. After learning to create harmony through round singing, they have now moved towards singing independent melodic lines in two-part harmony – an important step on the way toward full choral singing. The spiritual “Jacob’s ladder” now has a number of printed verses and variants in addition to others that may have been improvised. The first two are the best known (“We are climbing Jacob’s ladder” / “Every round [rung] goes higher, higher”), revealing the song as an expression of hope among the enslaved peoples of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States.
St. John’s Chancel Choir: Our Chancel Choir is open and welcoming to all adults and high-schoolers, as well as any middle schoolers who can read music well enough and would like to learn the art of choral singing. The choir meets on Thursday evenings at 7pm.
St. John’s Children’s Choir: Our congregation is blessed with a number of gifted and lively young singers who make up this choir. The choir is open to elementary-school children and is preparing for a handful of appearances at the 10am service – culminating with Easter Sunday and beyond. We practice each Sunday (important!) after the 10am service while parents are enjoying the coffee hour. Prospective members please contact David Montgomery (david@stjohnsross.org) for the schedule and further information!
St. John’s Children’s Choir, Spring 2019
CHRISTMAS 2019, BELOW
The 2019 St. John’s Christmas Choir sings the Choral Prelude, Christmas Eve.
Benjamin Britten: from A Ceremony of Carols (text: Antiphon to the Magnificat)
Hodie Christus natus est; Hodie Salvator apparuit:
Hodie in terra canunt angeli Laetantur archangeli
Hodie exsulant justi dicentes: Gloria in excelsis Deo,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves (text: William Dix, 19th c.)
Peter Warlock: Adam lay ybounden (text: 15th c. English)
Adam lay ybounden, bounden in a bond;
Four thousand winter thought he not too long.
And all was for an apple, an apple that he took.
As clerkës finden written In their book.
Ne had the apple taken been,the apple taken been,
Ne had never Our Lady, a-been heaven’s queen.
Blessed be the time that apple taken was!
Therefore we may singen Deo gratias!
Peter Warlock (text: Bruce Blunt), from Bethlehem Down. Betsy Bennett-Smith, soprano
When He is king they will clothe him in gravesheets,
Myrrh for embalming, and wood for a crown,
He that lies now in the soft arms of Mary
Sleeping so lightly on Bethlehem Down.
Here he has peace and a short while for dreaming,
Close huddled oxen to keep him from cold,
Mary for love, and for lullaby music
Songs of a shepherd by Bethlehem fold.
Gustav Holst (Richard Proulx / text: Michael Perry), O God, beyond all praising (on Thaxted)
Adolphe Adam (English text: J.S. Dwight), O Holy Night. Betsy Bennett-Smith, soprano
Franz Xaver Gruber/Carl Reinecke (Joseph Mohr) Silent Night (congregational hymn)
OUR ORGAN
In 1961 the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston installed the two-manual, 34-stop forerunner of our present sanctuary organ. In 2001 J. Nelson and Company enriched the instrument by the addition of 61 digitally-sampled voices and a 3-manual console from the Allen Company in Pennsylvania, allowing the performance of repertoire ranging in style from baroque to contemporary. The dedicatory concert of the present organ was given by the late Dr. Philip Hahn, then Music Director at St. John’s. Images of the instrument may be viewed here.
