Praying Twice

The Second Sunday of Easter April 28, 2019 The Easter season is marked by festive music and joyful worship. The Great Fifty Days of Easter continue through the Day of Pentecost. "Alleluias" have returned and appear throughout the liturgy from the opening acclamation to the dismissal. The Paschal candle burns brightly throughout the season. The season is set apart through our service music which is used throughout the Great Fifty Days. We sing the Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) and Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) from the festive mass setting by William Mathias. The Fraction Anthem (sung at the breaking of the bread) specifically refers to the resurrected Jesus: "The disciples knew the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread." The alleluias sung or spoken in the dismissal are only allowed during the Great Fifty Days of Easter. This gives us one final reminder to keep the Easter feast as we go forth into the world. During the Easter seas...

Easter Day April 21, 2019 Easter Day at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is filled with joyful music for congregation, choir, brass, and organ as we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. In addition to rousing hymn arrangements by Richard Webster (Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston), our Cathedral Choir and brass quintet look forward to offering several festive anthems each year. In last year's blog post, I discussed Samuel Barber's remarkable "Easter Chorale," which we are singing again this year. Read that post here:  Easter Day 2018 Our second anthem, "Introit for Easter (Christ Is Arisen)"," is by Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1556-1612), an Italian Renaissance composer who worked at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. He is best known for his compositions for choir and brass that utilize antiphonal techniques - alternating and then combining various groups of singers and instruments for sonic effect. This year, we are singing "Christ the L...

Sunday, April 14, 2019 The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday Today marks the beginning of Holy Week. In this morning's liturgy, we literally step into the story of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We wave palm branches and sing "Hosanna to the Son of David." Trumpet fanfares sound, and the mighty organ soars. The mood then quickly shifts as we join in a dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel. We remember Jesus' final days on earth and his betrayal by his friends. We walk with Jesus to Golgotha and watch him die on the cross. Episcopalians sing what we believe. Today's Holy Week hymns have lasted for centuries because of their ability to communicate the greatest story ever told in ways that move us beyond words. For many of us, these texts and tunes are deeply embedded in our memory: All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King! t o whom the lips of children their sweet hosannas ring. Ah, holy Jesus...by foes...

The Fifth Sunday in Lent April 7 , 2019 When creating The Hymnal 1982 , the Standing Commission on Church Music called for the creation of new Lenten hymns. Hymns were needed that reflected the Church's reclaiming of "the historic function of Lent as a time of preparation of catechumens for the sacrament of baptism." ( The Hymnal 1982 Companion , p. 298) One of those new hymns closes our liturgy today: "Eternal Lord of love, behold your church," number 149 in The Hymnal 1982 . The sturdy tune dates to the sixteenth century and was particularly popular in Scotland. The hymn poet, Thomas H. Cain (1931-2003), focuses on the upcoming renewal of our baptismal covenant at the Easter Vigil - the point of our Lenten pilgrimage: So daily dying to the way of self, so daily living to your way of love, we walk the road, Lord Jesus, that you trod, knowing ourselves baptized into your death: so we are dead and live with you in God. Notice the direct conne...