As we draw ever closer to the 2024 United States presidential election, this sermon from the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, seems more timely than ever.
Curry was preaching at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City, on Ascension Day this year. At this point in his sermon he is talking about the Latin motto of the United States: "E pluribus unum" ("Out of many, one"):
Richard Gowers, one of the King's Organ Scholars, introduces the service. He speaks of the music of his grandfather, Patrick Gowers. He also touches on Count Basie and William Walton. Charmingly, he notes that any mistakes he makes in the "fiendishly difficult" Patrick Gowers Trio Sonata are "still Gowers".
Patrick Gowers pieces in this service include the fairly well-known Ascension anthem "Viri Galilaei" (let me clarify that by "fairly well-known" I don't mean to suggest that it is within the grasp of many choirs. For one thing, the piece requires two organists!), the Toccata, and the above-mentioned Trio Sonata.
Collect for the Sunday after Ascension Day from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to thy kingdom in heaven: We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless, but send us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us to the same place where our Savior Christ is gone before; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
I have searched every year for the past several years for the following information: what carol does the Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge sing from the Chapel Tower on Ascension Day?
Today, via the Choir's Facebook page, I found a definitive answer:
Every year since 1903 the Choir has ascended the Chapel Tower to sing the Ascensiontide Carol.
At 163 feet the Tower is the highest point in Cambridge and, once the bells have struck midday, the Choir sings each year to a massed crowd down below in First Court.
Praetorius - The Lord Ascendeth up on High
Marenzio - O Rex Gloriae
"The Lord ascendeth up on high" is found in the Episcopal Hymnal 1982 at hymn 219, Words by Arthur T. Russell (1806-1874), altered, and music by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621).
The answer to this puzzle has been within easy reach lo these many years!
There are, of course, other carols for this major feast -- the American Prayer Book calls it a "Principal Feast" -- of the church.
You can find a few more in the Cowley Carol Book (1922), compiled by G. R. Woodward
The second anthem (not a carol) seems to change, as a YouTube video shows the choir singing Stanford's "Coelos Ascendit Hodie" in a previous year.
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
A Thursday five weeks hence will commemorate the Ascension of our resurrected Lord.
The following Howells anthem could be sung:
This anthem is No. 4 of Howells's "Four Anthems" in time of war, (why not tempore belli? Howells loved Italian) though he later stripped the war-time designation from the collection.
The best known of the set is "Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks", and "O pray for the peace of Jerusalem" isn't too far behind.
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.
