An Advent Procession with Lessons and Carols
St. Paul's Parish–K Street, Washington, D.C.
Sunday 29 November 2009
St. Paul's Parish–K Street, Washington, D.C.
Sunday 29 November 2009
Matin Responsory: "I look from afar," music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Choir Hymn: "Come, thou Redeemer of the earth," Puer nobis nascitur (adapt. Michael Praetorius).
Invitatory: "Come, thou long-expected Jesus," music by Robert McCormick (b. 1978).
First Lesson: Zechariah 2:10–13
Motet: "Vigilate, nescitis enim quando dominus domus veniat," music by William Byrd.
Responsorial Hymn: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," Veni Emmanuel.
Second Lesson: Isaiah 11:1–10
Anthem: "Never weather-beaten sail," music by C. Hubert H. Parry (from Songs of Farewell).
Third Lesson: Isaiah 40:1–8
Congregational Hymn: "On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry," Winchester New.
Anthem: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," music by Edward Elgar (prologue to The Apostles, Op. 49).
Fourth Lesson: Baruch 4:36–5:9
Congregational Hymn: "Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding," Merton.
Anthem: "Creator of the stars of night," music by Malcolm Archer (b. 1952).
Fifth Lesson: Luke 1:26–38
Choir Carol: "Angelus ad Virginem subintrans in conclave," 13th century melody, arr. Andrew Carter (b. 1939).
Sixth Lesson: Jeremiah 31:31–34
Congregational Hymn: "Rejoice! Rejoice, believers," Llangloffan.
Anthem: "O sing unto the Lord a new song" (Psalm 96), music by James MacMillan (b. 1959).
Seventh Lesson: Revelation 21:5–7; 22:12–13, 20
Congregational Hymn: "Wake, awake, for night is flying," Wachet auf.
Vesper Responsory: "Judah and Jerusalem, fear not, not be dismayed," Tone III; falsobordone attr. to Palestrina.
Congregational Hymn: "Lo! he comes, with clouds descending," Helmsley.
Organ Voluntary: Toccata on Veni Emmanuel by Andrew Carter (b. 1939).
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Happy new year! It's the first Sunday of Advent, and the first day of the Church's liturgical year. We observed the day by going to the always-wonderful lessons and carols service at St. Paul's K Street. As usual, the church was packed half an hour before the service started.
The two highlights for me in the service were two anthems with which I was not familiar. First was a newish anthem by the contemporary Scot composer James MacMillan called "O sing unto the Lord a new song." It was very modern in its tonality, yet quite pleasant. I detected bits and pieces of the influence of fellow British composer John Taverner in some of the harmonies. The second anthem was Edward Elgar's Prologue to The Apostles, Op. 49, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." As is typical of Elgar, it had that touch of melancholy about it whilst still maintaining his British sense of pageantry.
The choir made an interesting journey during the service. They began the Matin Responsory out in the atrium, where they had a "distant" sound to those of us in the nave. Then, they moved to the narthex for a while. Eventually they processed up and stood on the chancel steps. Later, they moved into the choir stalls. Towards the end of the service, they moved into the sanctuary and stood on the altar steps. And, finally, they processed out down the center aisle during the recessional hymn. I suppose there was some sort of allegorical significance to their relocations, but it evaded my simple little mind.
Oh, did I mention the wonderfully obnoxious antiphonal 8' tuba mirabilis on the final hymn? LOL
My only less-than-positive observation about the service is that the parish is mixing their girls and boys in a treble choir, and the presence of the girls totally changes the timbre and purity of the traditional boys' voices. I know it's politically correct these days to let the girls sing, too, but the musical sound just isn't the same.
After the service, we went upstairs to the parish hall for wine and snacks. Twas a lovely evening and a nice start to our season of Advent, preparing us for Christmas later next month.
