blog.sinden.org

Lent, 2024

30 April 2011
Iula

Stop, collaborate and listen - Episode 4: Iula

The Craighead-Saunders "Casparini" Organ
at Christ Church, Rochester, New York

The instrument in this episode is a "research copy" of the 1776 Adam Gottlob Casparini instrument at Holy Ghost Church in Vilnius, Lithuania. Read more about this instrument and see full specifications here.

This instrument is part of the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI).

Stop: Iula 8'
Organ: The Craighead-Saunders Organ, Christ Church, Rochester, New York
Organist: Jonathan Wessler


MP3

Thanks, Jonathan!

Labels: , ,

 
29 April 2011
royal wedding liturgy - video of

Already online via "The Royal Channel".

I've embedded two copies of the video below. Each is queued cued up to start at the beginnings of the two newest works.

Rutter This is the day the Lord has made begins at 26:30 (see below)

Mealor Ubi caritas begins at 39:00 (see below)

WARNING After the motet, after the words "let us pray" the sound goes beserk and the picture goes out. If you are wearing headphones, you'll want to take them off before this.

Labels: , , ,

 
reviews - royal wedding music, Rutter, Paul Mealor

When . . . you have a choral society in Tokyo dedicated solely to the performance of your music, you don’t have to worry.

Rutter’s music has always been of the easy-listening variety: tuneful, popular, conservative and sweet-toothed. Classic FM as opposed to Radio 3. It’s also music that declares its sources without shame. You hear it and think: ah yes, the Bernstein bit, the Britten, Walton, Faure. But that said, it’s immaculately crafted; it’s loveable (I’d man the barricades for at least one of his Christmas carols, What Sweeter Music which, I’m afraid to say DOES reduce me to tears); he has a gift for melody that most “serious” composers would kill for (if they were honest); and his music touches people’s lives in a way that most contemporary writing doesn’t. It’s no wonder that the musical establishment regards him with suspicion; but then, he hardly needs its accolades. When your international profile is so huge that you have a choral society in Tokyo dedicated solely to the performance of your music, you don’t have to worry. So I don’t suppose it will bother him that the real hit of the wedding music turned out to be another new-ish piece – not a commission – by a little known composer called Paul Mealor.

Few outside the British choral tradition will have heard of him, but he’s fairly young (born 1975 in Wales), teaches at a Scottish university, and writes music less ingratiating than John Rutter’s but still easy to assimilate.

For contemporary church musicians it’s a stroke of luck: a chance to ride a moment when their culture acquires a sudden spotlight.

The Ubi Caritas setting they did this morning had an austere resonance of plainsong that then flowered into the kind of cloudy harmonic suspensions of a Morten Lauridsen or Eric Whitacre: the two figures that seem to define where-it’s-at choral writing at the moment. So, not terribly original, but well put together and effective. And I confidently predict that Mealor will now leap to sudden fame on the back of it. His Ubi Caritas was certainly the closest this wedding got to the nerve-touching John Tavener moment at the last big royal ceremonial that broadcast to the world: Diana’s funeral.

Music at a royal Abbey occasion can’t help having a significance. For future generations it will stand as evidence of past taste: who was in or out of favour. For contemporary church musicians it’s a stroke of luck: a chance to ride a moment when their culture – these days relatively marginal in public consciousness – acquires a sudden spotlight.

White, Michael. "Paul Mealor's Ubi Caritas was the real hit of the wedding music". The Telegraph 29 April 2011

John Rutter’s This is the day wasn’t undignified or poppy, but its easy tunefulness did border on the slick and saccharine - give it some new words, and one could imagine Elaine Paige belting it out at the tear-jerking climax of a West End musical.

A young Welsh composer Paul Mealor (not, I confess, someone whose name or work I was previously acquainted with`) contributed a well-crafted motet Ubi caritas et amor. Lachrymose and meditative in mood, it is an exercise in the minimalist school of spirituality, heavily influenced by Tavener, Part and Gorecki, and Classic FM’s favourite Karl Jenkins. Pleasant enough, I thought, but not memorable.

Christiansen, Rupert (Opera Critic). "Royal wedding music: a magnificent Pageant". The Telegraph 29 April 2011.

The two new commissions were "This Is the Day" by John Rutter and a setting of the "Ubi caritas" text by Welsh composer Paul Mealor. The Rutter was, well, Rutter. Pretty enough, easy for amateur choirs to sing, but immediately forgettable. There's nothing wrong with Rutter's compositions per se, it's just that once you've heard one, you've heard them all, so there's very little point to a new commission.

Considering the popularity of the lovely "Ubi caritas" setting by Maurice Duruflé, Paul Mealor had big shoes to fill. His music is gently dissonant and reminiscent of Eric Whitacre's work.

Adair, Marcia. "Royal wedding: what the music says about William and Kate" LA Times Culture Monster blog 29 April 2011.

Mealor on his "Ubi caritas"

The composition is for choir and is gentle, delicate and meditative. The ancient, 6th century plainchant of Ubi Caritas is blended with 21st century harmony to create a work that, I hope, is both new and reflective of the past.

Mealor, Paul. "Royal wedding music: a 'delicate and meditative' composition" The Guardian 29 April 2011

Website of Paul Mealor

Labels: , , ,

 
Williams, Rowan - on Royal Wedding

Labels:

 
28 April 2011
Rutter, John - This is the day which the Lord hath made

The text of the anthem commissioned for the royal wedding tomorrow is available in the service leaflet

This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.
O praise the Lord of heav’n: praise him in the height.
Praise him, all ye angels of his: praise him, all his host.
Praise him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.
The Lord himself is thy keeper: the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;
so that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in: from this time forth for evermore.
He shall defend thee under his wings.
Be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and put thou thy trust in the Lord.
John Rutter (b 1945) 
specially commissioned 
by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster for this service

Psalms 118: 24; 148: 1–3, 5a;
91: 4a, 11; 121: 5–8; 27: 16b

Extract from The Book of Common Prayer, the rights in which are vested in the Crown,
is reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Labels: , ,

 
27 April 2011
Farnum [sic], Lynnwood - famous Toccata of

Lynnwood Farnam was a Canadian organ virtuoso. He was also able to spell his name correctly.

His Toccata on "O filii et filiae" ("O sons and daughters") is probably his best known work.

This hymn is, of course, über appropriate for the Second Sunday of Easter. So, therefore, is this toccata.

Learn at your own risk.

Labels: ,

 
26 April 2011
Sagan, Carl - Earth Day message

And now a belated Earth Day (yes, that was Good Friday this year -- we can relate/equate those two another time) message from Carl Sagan:

Labels:

 
21 April 2011
bell - alarm

21 Apr 1861 (150 years ago today) - The State Capitol alarm bell was rung because of the reported approach of the Federal gunboat "Pawnee" to Richmond. The bell apparently sounded at the end of Dr. Minnigerode's sermon. It was a false alarm.

Labels: ,

 
18 April 2011
children's sermon - the ideal

Let's face it. All children's sermons should be like this, really.

Labels:

 
17 April 2011
suffering - cheerfully to

Labels: , ,

 
15 April 2011
music - poetry and

Labels: , , , , ,

 
choir - vested, St. Paul's (Richmond)

The first appearance of a vested choir at St. Paul's, Richmond would have been on Easter Sunday, which was April 15 in 1895.

Happy 116th, vested choir!

Labels: ,

 
11 April 2011
The American Organist - an open letter to

Dear The American Organist, periodical journal of the American Guild of Organists,

You and I have had our issues about graphic design before, but this time you've really crossed the line.

Upon retrieving my latest issue (April, 2011) from the mailbox, I was surprised to see this offensive image:

The cover of your periodical would be rather lovely this month if not for the fact that the image of the face of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is fully obscured by the logo.

Congratulations on decapitating Jesus.

Given that the name of the church is Church of the Ascension, did you realize that the subject of the John La Farge painting you obscure is, in fact, Jesus Christ himself in the act of ascending into heaven?

How can you expect your readers to maintain artistic integrity in their fields, if your logo obscures the subject of one of the greatest murals in America?

It's clear what you want the subject of this photo to be: the organ -- but not even the organ case is fully pictured on this cover.

I just don't get it!

And, are you aware that many Christians are celebrating the Feast of the Resurrection (also known as "Easter") this month (24 April), a celebration that centers on the figure of Jesus Christ?

Interestingly, many Americans are Christian (about 78.4% last I checked), and many American Organists (presumably the ones your publication is named for) work at Christian Churches. Just to bring it full circle for you, these same churches are celebrating Easter.

Could you be any more insensitive?

I mean, really, how are we supposed to take the stuff you say about clergy-organist relations seriously when you behead the Savior on the cover of your journal?

I really do look forward to reading why you did this in a future issue of your magazine.

Sincerely (with much more sincerity about the graphic design than any religious issues),

David Sinden
Proprietor, Sinden.org
The Jean Julius Christian Sibelius Chair of Musicology and Christian Polemics (Emeritus), University of Blogaria

Labels: , , , ,

 
08 April 2011
Lenten Music Notes - Special Edition: Voluntary in D minor - Purcell

Here's a Special Edition of the Lenten Music Notes podcast that includes a complete performance of Henry Purcell's Voluntary in D minor.

My memory was that I had recorded the Voluntary for Double Organ (which was performed at the Lenten Preaching Service at St. Paul's, Richmond yesterday), but these pieces are so very similar that I had in fact recorded its single organ counterpart.

This recording comes from the three-manual Taylor and Boody organ at Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis.

For those who are interested: this was performed on the Rückpositiv using the Quintedena 8' and the Rohrflöte 4'

Download MP3

Subscribe with iTunes

Labels: , , ,

 
Lenten Music Notes - Week of 4 April

The latest "Lenten Music Notes" podcast is up, finally. These audio guides are designed to provide context and commentary on the organ pieces performed as voluntaries for the Preaching Services.

In this week's podcast, David Sinden discusses music by Bach, Buxtehude, Purcell & Alain.

Have you heard about how Purcell tried to make some extra money from his "position" at Westminster Abbey? I mention it in the podcast . . .

Download MP3

Subscribe with iTunes

Labels: , , , , ,

 
06 April 2011
Dalí, Salvador - collaboration with Walt Disney

Now that I've heard The Shaggs, I finally understand Destino, the film on which Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí collaborated.

Labels: , ,

 
05 April 2011
foot - foot

Now that I've discovered The Shaggs, I think I understand popular music.

Labels: ,

 
04 April 2011
wood - touch

Gravitational xylophone. Lovely. And a good way to think about rubato.

Labels: ,

 
Lent 4, 2011 - tweets from

 
03 April 2011
Sibelius, Jean - Symphony No. 4, 100th anniversary of the premiere

Jean Sibelius's dark, brooding Symphony No. 4 in A minor was premiered on April 3, 1911.

Labels:

 

©MMXVII Sinden.org: a site for fun and prophet

Organ and church music, esoteric liturgics, and a site that changes color with the liturgical year.

Archetypes

Looking for Carol Spreadsheets?

Hungry? Try the Liturgical Guide to Altoids Consumption

Thirsty? Try the Tibia Liquida

The Eric Harding Thiman Fan Page: The greatest composer you've never even heard of.

Infrequently Asked Questions

picture of a chicken

Questions? Problems? email the sexton.

Archon

The author of this website is an organist whom the New York Times calls “repeatedly, insisting that he pay for his subscription”. He likes to read parking meters, music, Indianapolis Monthly, and weather forecasts in Celsius, particularly whilst wearing cassock and surplice. He serves lasagna, overhand, as an example to many, and on ecclesiastical juries. He mixes salads, drinks, and metaphors. He takes photos, lots of dinner mints, and a little bit of time to get to know.

about

contact

Archbishops

Anglicans Online
Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise
Book of Common Prayer
Brain Pickings
The Daily Office
The Lectionary Page
Sed Angli
Ship of Fools
The Sub-Dean's Stall
Vested Interest - Trinity Church in the City of Boston

Archenemies

Andrew Kotylo - Concert Organist
Aphaeresis
Anne Timberlake
Bonnie Whiting, percussion
conjectural navel gazing: jesus in lint form
Friday Night Organ Pump
Halbert Gober Organs, Inc.
in time of daffodils
Joby Bell, organist
Musical Perceptions
Musings of a Synesthete
My Life as Style, Condition, Commodity.
Nathan Medley, Countertenor
Notes on Music & Liturgy
The Parker Quartet
Roof Crashers & Hem Grabbers
Steven Rickards
That Which We Have Heard & Known
This Side of Lost
Wayward Sisters
Zachary Wadsworth | composer

Archenemies Aviary

@DanAhlgren
@dcrean
@ericthebell
@jwombat
@larrydeveney
@nmedley
@samanthaklein
@sopranist
@voxinferior

Arches

Advent (Medfield MA)
All Saints, Ashmont (Boston MA)
All Saints (Indianapolis IN)
Atonement (Bronx NY)
Broadway UMC (Indianapolis IN)
Cathedral of All Saints (Albany NY)
Christ Church (Bronxville NY)
Christ Church (Madison IN)
Christ Church (New Haven CT)
Christ Church Cathedral (Indianapolis IN)
Christ's Church (Rye NY)
Church of St. Stephen (Hamden CT)
Congregational (Belmont CA)
Coventry Cathedral (UK)
First UMC (Lancaster SC)
Gloria Dei ELCA (Iowa City IA)
Immanuel Lutheran (St Paul MN)
Immanuel Lutheran (Webster NY)
John Knox PCUSA (Houston TX)
St Andrew (Marblehead MA)
St Andrew's, Oregon Hill (Richmond VA)
St Bartholomew the Great, (London, England)
St James's (Lake Delaware NY)
St James's (Richmond VA)
St James Cathedral (Chicago IL)
St Mary's Cathedral (Memphis TN)
St Matthew and St Timothy (NYC)
St Paul's (Cleveland Heights OH)
St Paul's (Indianapolis IN)
St Paul's Cathedral (Buffalo NY)
St Paul's, K Street (Washington DC)
St Peter's (Lakewood OH)
St Peter's ELCA (NYC)
St Stephen's (Richmond VA
St Thomas (New Haven CT)
St Thomas ELCA (Bloomington IN)
Second PCUSA (Indianapolis IN)
Towson Presbyterian Church (MD)
Tremont Temple Baptist (Boston MA)
Trinity (Indianapolis IN)
Trinity on the Green (New Haven CT)

Auraling

BBC Radio 3 Choral Evensong
New College (Oxford, England)
St John's College (Cambridge, England)
St Thomas (New York NY)

Argyle

Like the site? Buy the shirt.

Areyou . . .

selling diphthongs?
Yes, but they're not the kind you buy on Wheel of Fortune.

the owner of a bower at Bucklesfordberry?
Full daintily it is dight.

interested in touch lamps?
And fountain pens.

Archives
this site used to be better:

March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
April 2012
May 2012
June 2012
July 2012
August 2012
September 2012
October 2012
December 2012
January 2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
November 2013
December 2013
January 2014
February 2014
March 2014
April 2014
May 2014
June 2014
August 2014
September 2014
October 2014
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
January 2016
February 2016
March 2016
April 2016
June 2016
July 2016
August 2016
September 2016
October 2016
November 2016
December 2016
January 2017
February 2017
March 2017
April 2017
May 2017
June 2017
July 2017
August 2017
September 2017
October 2017
November 2017
December 2017
January 2018
February 2018
March 2018
April 2018
May 2018
June 2018
August 2018
September 2018
October 2018
December 2018
February 2019
March 2019
October 2019
December 2019
September 2020
December 2020
January 2021
September 2021
October 2021
December 2021
November 2022
December 2022
March 2023
July 2023
March 2024