Yesterday was Advent 1, so we changed Mass settings. Yay—we're doing the same new one at both of the services I do, so I don't have to learn multiple pieces. We're doing Richard Proulx's Missa Emmanuel, which is putting everything to chant taken from "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Pretty straightforward. Except for the Agnus Dei, which has an atonal accompaniment that I'm sure made the congregation wonder why they are paying me.
I've already forgotten what we did as the anthem at the 11. Some weird chant thing with handbells.
A personal journey through faith as a moderate Christian and former choir boy.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Evensong tonight
Tony and I are just in from Evensong at Trinity Episcopal. The Tulsa Boy Singers, who rehearse at Trinity, served as the choir tonight. They did Martin Neary's Preces and Responses and Herbert Sumison's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in G. The anthem was "If Thou Love," by Stephen Tappe, organist/choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. John in the Wilderness in Denver, formerly of Trinity. The officiant was the rector's wife, who happens to be a trained opera singer who was in the choir at the wedding of TRH the Prince and Princess of Wales. Following Evensong, the parish hosted a birthday party cocktail reception for Saint C.S. Lewis, whose birthday is on the morrow. I drank too much wine.
Drunk again at church
Today is Christ the King Sunday, so we were a bit festive at Mass this morning, what with it being the patronal festival and all. The choir was joined by a professional brass quintet with typani to good effect. They played an extended prelude, with an interestingly slow version of Sine Nomine arranged for brass quintet, then they were joined by the organist to play Eugene Gigout's "Grande Choer Dialogue." The choral offertory was Witherope's "Look Ye Saints! The Sight Is Glorious." For communion, the brass did an arrangement of the hymn tune Crimond, then the choir sang the "Agnus Dei" from Paul Basler's Missa Kenya, accompanied by fluegal horn. The postlude was organ and brass playing Vaclav Nelhybel's Concertato: All Creatures of Our God and King. After Mass, they had champagne brunch in the parish hall.
Tony was up and dressed when I got home and wanted to go eat, so we landed at the Palace Cafe for a couple of bloody Marys, then we decided to eat. We converted to mimosas when the food arrived.
Assuming we don't fall asleep beforehand, we're planning to go to Evensong at Trinity Episcopal this afternoon at five to hear the Tulsa Boy Singers. Tomorrow is Saint C.S. Lewis's birthday, so they are planning a cocktail reception and birthday cake after Evensong in honor of St. C.S.
You know, one of the oddest things about getting to be over 40 is that I still get drunk just as much as ever, but now I always do it at church!
Tony was up and dressed when I got home and wanted to go eat, so we landed at the Palace Cafe for a couple of bloody Marys, then we decided to eat. We converted to mimosas when the food arrived.
Assuming we don't fall asleep beforehand, we're planning to go to Evensong at Trinity Episcopal this afternoon at five to hear the Tulsa Boy Singers. Tomorrow is Saint C.S. Lewis's birthday, so they are planning a cocktail reception and birthday cake after Evensong in honor of St. C.S.
You know, one of the oddest things about getting to be over 40 is that I still get drunk just as much as ever, but now I always do it at church!
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Wesleys
Whatever is offered to God should be as faultless as man can make it. Music should not be compelled to bring her worst gift to the altar!
I always like that quote on Sundays when I've sung in a contemporary Catholic church. :-)
Samuel Sebastian Wesley isn't the Wesley, you know, the John Wesley who was the Anglican priest who founded Methodism, which led to the Methodist Church in the United States, or even John's brother Charles, who was the prolific hymn writer, but rather he is Charles's son Samuel's bastard child with the housekeeper!
This morning was odd. I played the last half of the 9:30 and sang the 11, and my playing at 9:30 and the organist's playing at the 11 were both unusually sloppy! Musta been the weather. Anyway, the choir had James Mulholland Day. Both anthems were hymns tunes he'd arranged into performance pieces, with "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" at the offertory and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" at communion. I thought the choir sounded good today, though, even with only two tenors this morning.
—Samuel Sebastian Wesley
I always like that quote on Sundays when I've sung in a contemporary Catholic church. :-)
Samuel Sebastian Wesley isn't the Wesley, you know, the John Wesley who was the Anglican priest who founded Methodism, which led to the Methodist Church in the United States, or even John's brother Charles, who was the prolific hymn writer, but rather he is Charles's son Samuel's bastard child with the housekeeper!
This morning was odd. I played the last half of the 9:30 and sang the 11, and my playing at 9:30 and the organist's playing at the 11 were both unusually sloppy! Musta been the weather. Anyway, the choir had James Mulholland Day. Both anthems were hymns tunes he'd arranged into performance pieces, with "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" at the offertory and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" at communion. I thought the choir sounded good today, though, even with only two tenors this morning.
Sunday, November 7, 2004
Hiccup....A-men!
Is it holyer to get drunk at church than other places?
I'm just in from Evensong at Trinity Episcopal downtown, and as always, they had wine and cheese in the parish hall after the service. In fact, they had a lot more than just wine and cheese tonight, with some yummy canapes of pate and pesto on small sourdough slices, new potato halves scooped out and filled with bacon, herbs, tomato, sour cream, and two cheeses, lots of fresh fruit and crudites (including some steamed sugar snap peas!), and I think some cookies, brownies, and other sweets. The white wine was a surprisingly good Gallo Sonoma Valley "white wine" and the red was a Tinfield Hall cabernet, which I'd never seen or tasted before.
Evensong was charming as always. The choir is so good there. I miss singing with them. They did the Stanford Mag and Nunc in C, Gerre Hancock's Preces and Responses, John Barnard's Psalm 34, Thomas Matthews' "Souls of the Righteous" for an introit and then for the anthems at the end of the office they did the Randall Thompson "Alleluia" and the Faure "Cantique de Jean Racine." Casey Cantwell, the organist, did a fabulous improvisation for the recessional. I was kind of surprised that he opted to play the accompaniment to the Faure on the piano, rather than using the organ (it's only 83 ranks, so I can't imagine using that little toy! ;-) ).
At Christ the King this morning, we did the Lacrymosa from the Mozart Requiem for the offertory and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring for communion, with one of the high school boys from Cascia Hall accompanying both anthems on his violin. He also played Bach's Double Concerto for the prelude. The kid is only 15, but he's phenonmenally good for a high school violinist. I had a hard time tuning the choir during warm ups this morning. Must be the weather. I noticed the reeds on the organ sounded a little whanky today, too. Mass went well, and the sermon was short, which is always the case with Fr. Bill, who I like a lot, and who also happens to be a math professor at TU.
I'm just in from Evensong at Trinity Episcopal downtown, and as always, they had wine and cheese in the parish hall after the service. In fact, they had a lot more than just wine and cheese tonight, with some yummy canapes of pate and pesto on small sourdough slices, new potato halves scooped out and filled with bacon, herbs, tomato, sour cream, and two cheeses, lots of fresh fruit and crudites (including some steamed sugar snap peas!), and I think some cookies, brownies, and other sweets. The white wine was a surprisingly good Gallo Sonoma Valley "white wine" and the red was a Tinfield Hall cabernet, which I'd never seen or tasted before.
Evensong was charming as always. The choir is so good there. I miss singing with them. They did the Stanford Mag and Nunc in C, Gerre Hancock's Preces and Responses, John Barnard's Psalm 34, Thomas Matthews' "Souls of the Righteous" for an introit and then for the anthems at the end of the office they did the Randall Thompson "Alleluia" and the Faure "Cantique de Jean Racine." Casey Cantwell, the organist, did a fabulous improvisation for the recessional. I was kind of surprised that he opted to play the accompaniment to the Faure on the piano, rather than using the organ (it's only 83 ranks, so I can't imagine using that little toy! ;-) ).
At Christ the King this morning, we did the Lacrymosa from the Mozart Requiem for the offertory and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring for communion, with one of the high school boys from Cascia Hall accompanying both anthems on his violin. He also played Bach's Double Concerto for the prelude. The kid is only 15, but he's phenonmenally good for a high school violinist. I had a hard time tuning the choir during warm ups this morning. Must be the weather. I noticed the reeds on the organ sounded a little whanky today, too. Mass went well, and the sermon was short, which is always the case with Fr. Bill, who I like a lot, and who also happens to be a math professor at TU.