2017-2018 Sundays in Song
This page offers a complete reference for the musical offerings in liturgy held throughout the year, from our Homecoming service on September 10, 2017 through Trinity Sunday on May 27, 2018. Please also feel free to peruse past seasons and visit our YouTube channel and SoundCloud page to hear performances of the Choir of St. David's and guest musicians.
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The Season After Pentecost
September 10: Homecoming/St. David’s Day, Transferred
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, by William Mathias (1934-1992)
Ego sum panis vivus, by G.P. da Palestrina (1525-1594)
September 17 (Proper 19)
With a voice of singing, by Martin Shaw (1875-1958)
My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord, by Godfrey Sampson (1902-1949)
September 17 – Evensong for the Feast of Hildegard von Bingen (Transferred)
Preces & Responses: Thomas Morley (1557-1602)
Gradual: Adapted from Hildegard von Bingen’s Caritas abundant in omnia
Canticles: St. Catherine’s Service, by Sally Beamish (b. 1956) (North American Premiere)
Anthem: Brigid’s Flame, by Amy Williams (b. 1969) (World Premiere)
September 17, 2017
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 19 A
Opening Voluntary: “Tiento (Offertoire)” from “Suite Médiévale,” by Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
Processional Hymn: Father, we praise thee (Christe sanctorum)
Gloria: Setting by William Mathias (1934-1992)
Gradual: Psalm 103:8-13, setting by Kellow J. Pye (1812-1901)
Offertory Anthem: “With a voice of singing,” by Martin Shaw (1875-1958)
Offertory Verse: All people that on earth do dwell (Old 100th), first and last stanzas
Sanctus: Setting by William Mathias
Communion Motet: “My song shall be always,” by Godfrey Sampson (1902-1949)
Communion Hymn: Forgive our sins as we forgive (Detroit)
Postcommunion Hymn: God is love, let heaven adore him (Abbot’s Leigh)
Closing Voluntary: “Prelude,” by Jean Langlais
The Service of Evensong, for the Feast of Hildegard von Bingen (transferred)
Prelude Recital: “Wings,” by Joan Tower (b. 1938) and “Living in the Body,” by Lori Laitman (b. 1955), performed by Tyrone Page, Jr., Saxophone, and Tayler Hillary Boykins, Mezzo-Soprano
Processional Hymn: I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath (Old 113th)
Preces and Responses: Thomas Morley (c. 1558-1602)
Phos Hilaron: O gracious light, setting by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Gradual: Psalm 96, setting adapted from Bingen’s “Caritas abundant in Omnia”
Canticles: St. Catherine’s Service, by Sally Beamish (b. 1956), American Premiere
Anthem: “Brigid’s Flame,” by Amy Williams (b. 1969), World Premiere
Closing Hymn: When in our music God is glorified (Engelberg)
Closing Voluntary: Improvisation on Hildegard von Bingen’s “Caritas abundant in omnia,” Douglas Buchanan, organ
As the scriptures for this Sunday feature mercy and forgiveness, so to do our musical offerings. Reflected in our hymnody, we first hear “Father, we praise thee, now the night is over”—not only a morning hymn, but a hymn from the release of mourning. God’s loving-kindness is emphasized, too, in both the Psalm (set by Kellow J. Pye, the first student at the Royal Academy of Music, London) and in our closing hymn, “God is Love.” This message is also reflected in the communion motet, “My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord.” In Sampson’s setting a mellifluous Edwardian style, filled with parallel first-inversion triads that float downwards from a gentle flute melody. This is picked up first by the sopranos, and then repeated by the full choir, a cappella—occasional tinges of color add brightness to the work.
These tinges pale in comparison to the prismatic harmonies of Langlais’ “Suite Médiévale,” however. The opening voluntary, amidst a shifting harmonic backdrop, quotes the Kyrie (specifically, the Kyrie “Fons Bonitas”)—again, an emphasis on mercy which resonates with our communion hymn “Forgive our sins, as we forgive.” Langlais’ exuberant Prelude to the Suite closes the morning liturgy.
The service of Evensong for the Feast of Hildegard von Bingen opens the 2017-2018 music series at St. David’s featuring works of women composers in honor of the first recorded composer in Europe, Hildegard, a truly visionary artist, poet, and musician. The service begins with a prelude recital offered by Tyrone Page, Jr., saxophone, and Taylor Hillary Boykins, mezzo-soprano. The recital begins with the solo saxophone work “Wings,” by Pulitzer prize-winning composer Joan Tower. The duo continues with Maryland composer Lori Laitman’s song cycle “Living in the Body.”
Following the recital, the service of Evensong continues, featuring the American premiere of Sally Beamish’s “St. Catherine’s Service.” The Magnificat alternates between exuberant, eight-part exhortations and placid, monophonic lines, creating an expansive palette from which emerges a joyous Gloria Patri. The Nunc Dimittis features a minor, modal-tinged line for basses with a pseudo-pizzicato organ line. The voices build to an exuberant, but somewhat dark, climax. This setting pairs well with Amy Williams’ “Brigid’s Flame,” a work evoking the ancient traditions of Celtic Christianity. (Williams, Professor of Composition at the University Pittsburgh, is currently on a Fulbright grant to Ireland.) An extended organ prelude, fitfully dancing across the keyboard like foxfire, prepares the choir’s entrance. The choir sings a combination of two texts: a lorica, or “breastplate” (like the hymn St. Patrick’s Breastplate) to St. Brigid, imploring protection. Intoned by two soprano soloists, this prayer has as its counterpoint a 7th-century hymn by St. Ultan of Ardbraccan, “Christus in nostra insula”:
“Christ was made known to men on our island of Hibernia by the very great miracles which he performed through the happy virgin of celestial life, famous for her merits through the whole world.”
The theme of celestial music continues with a closing improvisation by Director of Music Ministries Douglas Buchanan, based on Hildegard von Bingen’s ecstatic chant “Caritas abundant in omnia,” also an example of Hildegard’s poetry:
Love abounds in all,
from the valleys
to the most excellent one above the stars,
Exquisitely loving all,
to the ultimate King
she gives the kiss of peace.
September 24 – Proper 20 - St. David’s Singers
For the Dedication of the St. Nicholas Chapel: Santa Nicolas, by Godric the Mystic (1065-1175)
Praise, by George Dyson (1883-1964)
Love Divine, W.A. Mozart (1756-1791), arr. by Arthur Hutchings (1906-1989)
October 1 – Feast of St. Francis of Assissi
I love all beauteous things, by Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Gaelic Blessing, by John Rutter (b. 1945)
October 8 – Proper 22
Christ is the world’s true light, by W.K. Stanton (1891-1978)
Draw us in the Spirit’s tether, by Harold W. Friedell (1905-1958)
George Sack, Guest Organist
Joshua Wilson, Guest Director
October 15 – Proper 23
My Shepherd will supply my need, by Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656)
Audivi vocem, by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
October 15 – The Service of Evensong
Preces & Responses: Humphrey Clucas (b. 1941)
Canticles: Collegium Sancti Johannes Cantabrigiense. By Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Anthem: I love all beauteous things, by Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
October 22
The St. David’s Chorister Choir
October 29 – Reformation 500: A Celebration
Cantata 80, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Komm heiliger Geyst, from the Wittinbergish Gesanbüchli by Johann Walter (1496-1570)
Closing Voluntary: Symphony no. 5 (“Reformation”), IV, by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), arr. for organ by William T. Best (1826-1897)
November 5 – All Saints
And I saw a new heaven, by Edgar Bainton (1880-1956)
All Glorious God, by Ned Rorem (b. 1923)
November 12 – Proper 27
Keep your lamps trimmed and lighted, Spiritual, arr. by Andre Thomas (b. 1952)
My eyes for beauty pine, by Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
November 12 – Evensong, in Commemoration of Veterans’ Day
Preces & Responses: William Smith (1604-1645)
Canticles: Magnificat, by Charles Theodore Pachelbel (1653-1706), and Nunc Dimittis, by Brian Bartoldus (b. 1985)
November 19 – Proper 28
Psalm 98 – Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)
O Sacred Feast, by Healey Willan (1880-1968)
Leo Wanenchak, Guest Organist
Lucy McVeigh, Guest Director
November 26 – Christ the King
With Voices Rise: A Baltimore Choir of Hope
The Season of Advent
December 3 – The First Sunday of Advent
Rorate coeli, by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Audivi vocem, by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
December 10 – The Second Sunday of Advent
The St. David’s Singers
December 17 – The Third Sunday of Advent – A Festival of Lessons and Carols
Introit: Matins Responsory, by G.P. da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Invitatory Carol: Illuminare, Jerusalem by Judith Weir (b. 1954)
Carols During the Service:
The Lord at first did Adam make, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
O Praise the Lord, All Ye Nations, by Amy Beech (1867-1944)
O magnum mysterium, by Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
Rorate coeli, by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Nu komm, der Heyden Heyland, by Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)
The Holly and the Ivy, arr. by Reginald Jacques (1894-1969)
And a newly-commissioned work by Faye Chiao (b. 1983)
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December 24 – The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Carols as we Gather:
Nu komm, der Heyden Heyland, by Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654)
Hymn to the Virgin, by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Swéte Jesu, by Nicholas Maw (1935-2009)
The Cherry Tree Carol, arr. Stephen Cleobury (b. 1948)
Noel nouvelet, arr. John Rutter (b. 1945)
No sad thought his soul affright, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
In dulci jubilo, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Offertory Anthem: O beatum et sacrosanctum diem, by Peter Phillips (1560-1628)
Communion Motet: O magnum mysterium, by Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
~ Two-Week Choral Hiatus ~
The Season of Epiphany
January 14 – The Second Sunday after the Epiphany
My Soul’s Been Anchored, arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
Amen, by Jester Hairston (1902-2000)
January 14 – Evensong, for the Feast of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Preces & Responses: Tariq Al-Sabir (b. 1989)
Canticles: Thomas Morley (1557-1602)
Anthem: My Soul’s Been Anchored, arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
January 21 – The Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Be still, my soul, by Percy W. Whitlock (1903-1946)
Benedic, anima mea, by Claudin de Sermisy (1495-1562)
January 28 – The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, and the Annual Congregational Meeting
“Let all the world in every corner sing,” from Five Mystical Songs, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Jesu, the very thought of thee, by Edward C. Bairstow (1874-1946)
February 4 – The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
Ye shall have a song, by Randall Thompson (1899-1984)
Behold, the tabernacle of God, by W.H. Harris (1883-1973)
February 11 – The Last Sunday after the Epiphany
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, by Edward C. Bairstow (1874-1946)
Creation, by William Billings (1746-1800)
February 11 – The Service of Evensong
Preces & Responses: Thomas Morley (1557-1602)
Canticles: Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
Anthem: Guard My Tongue, by Julia Wolfe (East Coast Premiere) (b. 1958)
The Season of Lent
February 14 – Ash Wednesday
Blessed is the one unto whom the Lord imputeth no sin, by S.S. Wesley (1810-1876)
Ave, verum corpus, by William Byrd (1538-1623)
February 18 – The First Sunday in Lent
Look down, O Lord, by William Byrd (1538-1623)
Ave, verum corpus, by William Byrd (1538-1623)
February 25 – The Second Sunday in Lent
“Timor et tremor,” from Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence, by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Ave, verum corpus, by Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
March 4 – The Third Sunday in Lent
“Vinea mea electa,” from Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence, by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Ave, verum corpus, by Faye Chiao (commissioned by St. David’s Episcopal Church)
March 11 – The Fourth Sunday in Lent
The St. David’s Singers
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, by Robert Twynham (b. 1932)
Ave, verum corpus, by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
March 18 – The Fifth Sunday in Lent
“Tenebrae factae sunt,” from Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence, by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Ave, verum corpus, by Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921)
March 18 – The 42nd Annual Baltimore Bach Marathon
Including Vergnugte rüh, BWV 170, and featuring the Choir of St. David's performing the Johannes-Passion, BWV 245, with orchestra.
Holy Week
March 25 – Palm/Passion Sunday
“Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine,” from Johannes-Passion, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Tristis est anima mea, from Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence, by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
March 28 – The Service of Tenebrae
Chanted psalms
March 29 – Maundy Thursday
Ubi caritas, by Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
In manus tuas, by John Sheppard (1515-1558)
Here’s one, arr. William Grant Still (1895-1978)
March 30 – Good Friday Noonday Service
The Passion According to John, adapted from Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
The Reproaches, by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
God so loved the world, by John Stainer (1840-1901)
March 30 – Music for Good Friday
God so loved the world, by John Stainer (1840-1901)
“Crucifixion,” from Passion-Symphony, by Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
Guard my tongue, by Julia Wolfe (b. 1958)
Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence, by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
The Dream of the Rood, by Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984) (World Premiere)
Lo, the full, final sacrifice, by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)
March 31 - The Great Vigil of Easter
Valiant-for-Truth, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Alleluia, by Randall Thompson (1899-1984)
The Season of Easter
April 1 – Easter Day
Ride on, King Jesus, arr. Douglas Buchanan (b. 1984)
Alleluia, by Randall Thompson (1899-1984)
April 8 – The Secondary Sunday of Easter
Valiant-for-Truth, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Rise up, my love, my fair one, by Healey Willan (1880-1968)
April 15 – The Third Sunday of Easter
Herz und mund und Tat und Leben, I, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
O Sacred Feast, by Healey Willan (1880-1968)
April 22 – The Fourth Sunday of Easter
The St. David’s Singers
You have searched me out and known me, by David Hurd (b. 1950)
April 29 – The Fifth Sunday of Easter
I sat down under his shadow with great delight, by Edward C. Bairstow (1874-1946)
Jesu, bleibet meine Freude, by J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
May 6 – The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Psalm 98, by Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594)
St. Enoch (Psalm 98), by William Billings (1746-1800)
May 13 – The Seventh Sunday of Easter
Ascendens Christus in altum, by G.P. da Palestrina (1525-1594)
O rex gloriae, by Luca Marnezio (1554-1599)
May 13 – The Service of Evensong
Preces & Responses: by Ben Hawker (World Premiere)
Canticles: by Ben Hawker (World Premiere)
Anthem: One foot in Eden, still I stand
Pentecost & Trinity Sundays
May 20 – Whitsunday/The Day of Pentecost
Veni, Sancte Spiritus, by William Byrd (1538-1623)
Communion, by Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967)
May 27 – Trinity Sunday
Der du bist Drey, by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Hymn to St. Cecilia, by Herbert Howells (1892-1983)