November 29th | 4:00 p.m.

Featuring

.. on Organ & Piano

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with Advent and Christmas favorites for all ages!

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Featuring Dr. Adrienne Wiley A recital of works for organ and piano featuring well known and favorite Advent and Christmas selections

Noel Fanfares from A Christmas Suite Charles Callahan (b. 1951)

The King Shall Come setting by Charles Ore (b. 1936)

Savior of the Nations Come

What Child is This? Arr. by Marilyn Thompson

In the Bleak Midwinter Joseph Martin (b. 1959)

Mary, Did You Know? Jay Rouse

A Maid Most Gentle setting by Andrew Gant

O Come Little Children setting by Dale Wood (1934-2003)

Noel Nouvelet setting by Michael Burkhardt Theme Pastoral Dance

O Come, O Come Emmanuel Joseph Martin

Today’s program offers a variety of works for organ and piano featuring Advent and Christmas selections. The pieces on this program were selected to offer up musical moments of preparation and reflection in the anticipation and joy of knowing that Christ will come again.

The Christmas Suite, by Charles Callahan, features several movements based on Christmas Carols, notably Greensleeves (What Child is This), Silent Night, and the Christmas Rondel which features snipits of The First Nowell, Puer natus in , and Adeste Fideles. The first movement, “Fanfare,” heralds tunes such as Joy to the World, Angels we Have Heard on High, and From Heaven Above. The beautiful Letourneau organ provides a hefty reed chorus that does justice to this work.

Savior of the Nations Come, or by the German name “Nun komm der Leiden heiland,” was written and originally attributed to Saint Ambrose (349-397). Martin Luther later set the text to music in the 16th century. The text recognizes the coming of the Savior. In this setting, Ore provides an introductory statement, the theme is in the left hand, then proceeds to set the melody in the pedals with manuals as a compliment.

The text to What Child is This? was written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. At the time of writing this text, he was an insurance company manager and had been struck down by a serious illness. The illness promoted a spiritual renewal which led to writing several hymns, in particular this one, that was eventually set to the tune of “Greensleeves, “ a familiar English folk song. Thompson’s setting is poignant and virtuosic: she offers up a section with the melody in the left hand set against sweeping arpeggiations in the right hand.

Charles Callahan’s setting of The King Shall Come is based upon John Wyeth’s setting found in the Repository of Sacred Music, Part II dating from 1813. The opening verse provides a tone for the piece: The King shall come when morning dawns, And light triumphant breaks; When beauty gilds the eastern hills, And life to joy awakes. Ore presents the hymn tune in A-B-A form: Section A features the tune in a straight-forward manner; Section B “noodles” around, so to speak; and Section A returns to a full statement of the hymn tune.

In the Bleak Midwinter is based upon a poem by the English poet Christina Rosettei, and was later found to be published under “A ” in the 1872 issue of Scribner’s Monthly. The poem would later appear set to music in in 1906, setting by Gustavo Holst. Martin’s setting, cast in d minor, features a section that he states is “quasi una dulcimer”—like a dulcimer. Martin draws the listener in again at the end to conclude this piece in D major-- possibly providing a sense of calm and return to order in life.

Mary Did You Know? is a favorite pop-Christmas song written by Mark Lowry in 1984 and set to music in 1991 by Buddy Greene. The lyrics invite the listener to ponder what Mary DID know: did she know she was raising Christ who would come to save all? Did she know that he would be the ultimate sacrifice to save humankind? Did she feel the anguish and despair of knowing that her child would be sacrificed? What did she NOT know? And the listener is invited to contemplate the relationship between Mary, the mother, of the Divine Son who would save the world. I selected this piece as many church friends have requested it every year, and it is “hello moment” to reflect upon the meaning and impact of raising a son that is destined to perish for all humanity. Jay Rouse cleverly includes Silent Night as a reflective moment in the middle of the piece.

A Maid Most Gentle, the original text by the Benedictien monk, Venerabe Bede (673-735), was later paraphrased and set to a well known French tune by Andrew Carter (b. 1935). The text recognizes Mary, a maiden most gentle, and the story of the coming of Christ.

Away in a Manger, a child’s favorite, was a Christmas carol published in the early 19th century. Two musical settings exist, one by William Kirkpatrick (1895) and another by James Ramsey Murray (1887). Ore’s setting is to Kirkpatrick’s tune (not the more familiarly sung version) and features a more syncopated version of the hymn tune.

O Come, Little Children was written by Christian von Schmid (1768-1854) who was an educator and writer of children’s stories. The text invites children to the manger to see the Baby Jesus, pure and holy. Wood’s spritely setting features the Letourneau’s clarinet stop on the solo division.

Burkhardt’s setting of Noel Nouvelet (“Sing we Now of Christmas”), based upon the 15th century French Carol, is a set of Theme and Variations. The text points to the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem and celebrates all the figures in the Creche. This was and would have been sung by families at home or in community gatherings, and became part of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. The Letourneau provides a fine display of many colors.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Latin, originated over 1200 years ago in the monastic life during the 8th and 9th centuries. The first translation appears in 1851, and subsequent translations appeared later, most notably was the 1861 translation by John Mason Neale from Hymns Ancient and Modern. The hymn tune, “Veni Emmanuel,” can be found in the English-language Hymnal Noted, 1851. Martin’s setting provides for reflection and thought.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s program. It was an honor to present musical settings of Advent and Christmas selections for you today and I hope that our journey to Christmas is a splendid one!