A proposal: could we just refer to Proper 8 as "Foundation Sunday"?
The collect:
O Almighty God, who hast built thy Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we may be made an holy temple acceptable unto thee; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
By design, Proper 8 falls near the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, and Peter was "the rock" on which Jesus was to build the church.
Reports conflict, however, regarding whether or not the church is actually resting on St. Peter. Flying buttresses are at issue. A full report is due out later this year.
Appropriate hymns are:
- Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
- How Firm a Foundation
- The Church's One Foundation
And really, Psalm 87 would be better than Psalm 89
Labels: liturgy
Today marks 101 years since the T. S. Eliot's conversion to Anglicanism.
Labels: literature, randomness
Speaking of ST MAGNUS (written by Clarke, you know), there's the St. Magnus Festival in Orkney (where?).
Gillian Weir played, and wouldn't you know it
. . . a sour note on the organ - a crucial one in Messiaen's Dieu Parmi Nous - rather hampered her performance. Intended for BBC Radio 3's festival coverage, it will have to be re-recorded if it is to be broadcast.Smith, Rowena. Music: St Magnus Festival, Orkney. The Herald 23 June 2008.
So, that means the organ was out of tune? I find that easier to believe than Gillian Weir missing a note.
In an article that references the "slow death of organ music", the New York Times profiles the 50-year veteran organist of the College World Series.
And "French pipe organist" Michel Bouvard plays the largest pipe organ in Asia.
Labels: organists
92% of Americans believe in God these days, which might explain how He can be selling cocaine near a church in Florida. (thanks Janey!)
Labels: randomness
Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary is heard nearly every time a bride walks down the aisle of a church.
When Clarke wrote this and and a couple of hymn tunes, most notably ST MAGNUS, he was probably infatuated with one of his pupils: a woman who was rather well-to-do, more well-to-do than, say, the organist at the Chapel Royal.
Though he contemplated hanging or drowning himself, eventually Clarke's infatuation drove him to put a bullet in his head.
Previously: Purcell, Henry (1659-1695)
Labels: Clarke, notable deaths
The Topmost Apple reminds us that Ut Queant Laxis is the appropriate hymn for this afternoon.
Quick, there's still time to dust off your Titelouze setting!
One hundred years ago today, June 24, 1908, German composer Hugo Distler was born.
I find Distler's unique voice particularly compelling. John Lienhard from the University of Houston describes it this way:
He brought the declamatory joy of baroque composers like Heinrich Schütz to the foursquare old melodies of the German Reformation. His music was quirky but beautiful, tonal yet chromatic. He made the old melodies dance with delight. It is a sound utterly unlike any other. Once you hear it, you don't forget it.Engines of our Inenuity No. 1584: Hugo Distler
But beneath his technique lies something more profound. Distler had a sincere liturgical sensibility that permeates his works' structure and influences their direction.
In particular, I am thinking of Distler's Totentanz (Dance of Death) a performance piece for narrators and choir.
The visceral liturgical movement in this work points to Distler's grasp of things beyond.
And as a young man, the beyond was never very far away. The Nazis came to power when Distler was 25 and at 34 he took his own life. It was an oppressive time, and the tension of Lutheran religious life and Nazi allegiance was impossible to bear. Four months after Distler's death, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler.
And so this beautiful, introverted voice collapsed on itself, leaving us precious few glimpses of God's beauty through the window of his soul.
O God, whom saints and angels delight to worship in heaven: Be ever present with your servants who seek through art and music to perfect the praises offered by your people on earth; and grant to them even now glimpses of your beauty, and make them worthy at length to behold it unveiled for evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Labels: Distler
This afternoon is the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. John is the man who heralded Jesus' coming.
Today is also just about as far away as we can get from Christmas. The festivities of Christmas 2007 seem a distant memory, while Christmas 2008 is surely a long way off.
So what better day to announce a bit of Nativitytide fun in spreadsheet form:
The King's College Festival of Lessons and Carols (1997-2007)
YELLOW - hymns
PINK - In Dulci Jubilo settings (because there's at least one a year, right? but they move around)
asterisk (*) - denotes a commissioned carol
Labels: King's College (Cambridge)
Edgar Bainton (1880-1956)
and his daughter
It is now 80 years old.
Labels: Bainton
I ran a stop sign yesterday.
I haven't subscribed to the Atlantic for a little over a year now.
And let me say that I'm a good driver. I'm sure someone can point to a statistic about most drivers saying that they're better than average, but I really am.
I picked one up in the airport, and I realized what I had been missing. There's a good bit of material in there, so it can be hard to find the time to get through, but it's definitely worth it.
Anyway, all this is to say that I ran a stop sign, but I didn't mean too. And it's not like I was cruising around looking for an address or anything. I ran it at a good 30 mph. I should have known it was there -- I'd driven that street before -- but I missed it.
And there it was, in this month's Atlantic:
I began to think that the American system of traffic control, with its many signs and stops, and with its specific rules tailored to every bend in the road, has had the unintended consequence of causing more accidents than it prevents.Staddon, John. "Distracting Miss Daisy". The Atlantic July/August 2008.
If you are from my auto insurance company, please disregard this article
Previously: engineering - Christmas carol, December 2004.
Labels: transportation
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