Choral Evensong Celebrating Artists and Writers November 10, 2013 4:00 P.M
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Choral Evensong Celebrating Artists and Writers November 10, 2013 4:00 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 6050 North Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN 46208 317.253.1277 www.stpaulsindy.org Welcome to St. Paul’s. We invite you to join us as an active participant in the worship of God. Evensong is one of the oldest services in the Anglican Church. It dates back to the original Prayer Book of 1549 written by Thomas Cranmer. To create Evensong, Cranmer combined the monastic offices of Vespers (sung at sunset) and Compline (sung just before bedtime) into one rite to be sung in the evening. The structure of Evensong is closely related to Morning Prayer (Matins). Lessons from the Old and New Testaments combine with psalms and canticles to provide a biblical base for our worship. The Apostles' Creed, the Collects and other prayers complete this liturgical expression of praise. Evensong reflects the great Christian tradition that singing is the normative form for liturgical expression. Evensong is a beautiful and sacred method of giving praise to the Lord. The tradition of daily liturgical prayer puts us in touch with our Judaic and Christian roots. As we raise our voices to the Lord, think about participating in a tradition that goes back thousands of years—a tradition that is alive and well today. Prelude Sonata V in C Major Johann Sebastian Bach Allegro Largo Allegro Ryan Brunkhurst, Organist The people stand, as they are able, as acolytes, choir, and officiant enter the church. Procession Invitatory Anthem Jubilate Deo Benjamin Britten Written in 1961 at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh for St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Opening Sentences The Officiant says Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:3 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. Psalm 96:9 Preces Sung by all. 1 Hymn S-60 Phos hilaron Ronald Arnatt Hymn 680 (Paraphrase of Psalm 90) St. Anne 2 The people are seated for the reading of the Lesson. Lesson 1 Chronicles 29:14b-19 For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are aliens and transients before you, as were all our ancestors; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep for ever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts towards you. Grant to my son Solomon that with single mind he may keep your commandments, your decrees, and your statutes, performing all of them, and that he may build the temple for which I have made provision. After the reading the reader says The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. The people stand, as they are able, for the canticle. Magnificat Service in A Charles Villiers Stanford The people are seated for the reading of the Lesson. Lesson 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. After the reading the reader says The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. The people stand, as they are able, for the canticle, and remain standing for the Creed and Prayers. Nunc Dimittis Service in A Charles Villiers Stanford The Apostles’ Creed (Sung in unison by all) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. 3 The Lord’s Prayer (Sung by all) Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen. The Prayers (Sung by all) A Collect for Artists and Writers Eternal God, light of the world and Creator of all that is good and lovely: We bless your name for inspiring Benjamin, Christopher, and all those who with images and words have filled us with desire and love for you; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 4 A Collect for Sunday Lord God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ triumphed over the powers of death and prepared for us our place in the new Jerusalem: Grant that we, who have this day given thanks for his resurrection, may praise you in the City of which he is the light, and where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. A Collect for Mission O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore: Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you, all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The people ar e seated. Cantata Rejoice in the Lamb Benjamin Britten Shortly after his return to England in 1942, Britten was offered a commission for the composition of a cantata. The commission was offered by a parish clergyman, Reverend Walter Hussey, who was organizing the forthcoming jubilee celebration of St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton. Hussey was extremely proud of the excellent choir at St. Matthew’s and was eager to feature it in the fiftieth anniversary observances. He had first offered the commission of William Walton, who refused it. Britten was offered the project and accepted it eagerly, noting that the occasion warranted “something lively.” Britten had been introduced to Christopher Smart’s manuscript during his expatriate days in America and set about selecting and arranging verses from it. The text comes from a poem Jubilate Agno. The resulting libretto is a powerful poetic entity. I. Opening Hymn – Choir Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues; give the glory to the Lord, and the Lamb. Nations, and languages, and every Creature, in which is the breath of Life. Let man and beast appear before him, and magnify his name together. This straightforward passage uses language reminiscent of Isaac Watts’s paraphrases of the psalms. It proclaims a God of universal nature and christianizes Old Testament thought by identifying “the Lord” and “the Lamb” as recipients of worship. Having paired God with the Lamb, Smart calls forth a great processional of Old Testament characters, each paired with an animal with which the character shares some direct or generic association. Processional – Choir Let Nimrod, the mighty hunter, bind a Leopard to the altar, and consecrate his spear to the Lord. Let Ishmael dedicate a Tyger, and give praise for the liberty in which the Lord has let him at large. Let Balaam appear with an Ass, and bless the Lord his people and his creatures for a reward eternal. Let Daniel come forth with a Lion, and praise God with all his might through faith in Christ Jesus. Let Ithamar minister with a Chamois, and bless the name of Him, that clotheth the naked. Let Jakim with the Satyr bless God in the dance. Let David bless with the Bear, The beginning of victory to the Lord to the Lord the perfection of excellence--- These characters represent, in turn, the following: Nimrod, archetype of the imperial ruler; Ishmael, a gentile cast out from the Hebrew community only to be blessed of God; Balaam, a poet who struggles between allegiance to God and political powers; Daniel, a prophet condemned for his public faithfulness; Ithamar and Jakim, two Temple priests, one entrusted with temple property, the other responsible for rites of worship; David, the shepherd-poet-musician chosen to unify and lead the Hebrew nations. Brief descriptions of the characters show how Smart might have viewed them in light of his own experience and circumstance. 1. Nimrod was the son of Cush, “a mighty hunter before Yahweh” and founder of the Kingdom of Babylon (Genesis 10:8-9). As a hunter he is the opposite of the divine ideal of king as shepherd.