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 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, , and officiant enter the church.

Procession

Invitatory Anthem 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 . 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. Whereas a hunter gratifies himself at the expense of his victim, the shepherd expends himself for the good of the subjects under his care.

2. Ishmael was the son of Abraham by his wife’s Egyptian servant Hagar (Genesis. 16:1-4). Abraham’s wife, Sarah, has Hagar and Ishmael banished to the desert. As they lay thirsting and dying, God appears to Hagar, comforts her, and leads her to water, promising that her son will never know enslavement. God will instead make a great nation to him (Genesis. 21:15-20). God’s appearance to Hagar is cited by theologians as the Bible’s first promise of salvation to the Gentiles.

3. Balaam was a poet and prophet who acknowledged that his powers were derived from God. Balaam was summoned by Moabite rulers to denounce the people of Israel. He mounted his donkey and began the journey to engage them in discussion. But “God’s anger was kindled against him, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him” (Numbers 22:22). Balaam could not see the angel, but the ass he was riding did and would not proceed. The spiritual acuity of the ass prevented Balaam from being slain by God or manipulated for political purposes. Balaam then speaks for God in a series of oracles (Numbers 23-25).

5 4. Daniel was sentenced to be fed to the lions for his unswerving observance of Jewish faith in a foreign land. God honored his faithfulness and sent an angel “to close the mouths of the lions.” Daniel emerged unharmed (Daniel 6).

5. Ithamar was the fourth son of Aaron. He was consecrated to the priesthood (Exodus 6:23; Numbers 3:2; 1 Chronicles 6:3). The property of the tabernacle (the curtains, hangings, pillars, cords, and boards) was placed under his charge. The chamois is a goatlike anetlope whose skin is used to make soft leather clothing.

6. Jakim was one of the sons of Shimhi, a Benjamite resident at Jerusalem (I Chronicles. 8:19). He was appointed Head of the twelfth course of priests as arranged by David (I Chronicles. 24:12). The satyr is a Greek mythological creature, half man and half goat. He assisted in the rites of Bacchus, which were characterized by great merriment.

7. David slayed a lion and a bear in defense of his father’s flocks. David cites this as a qualification for facing Goliath (I Samuel 17:34-37).

Hymn – Choir Hallelujah from the heart of God, and from the hand of the artist inimitable, and from the echo of the heavenly harp in sweetness magnifical and mighty.

Having gathered these characters and animals, Britten has them join in the great hymn of creation that flows from the heart of God. This hymn is perceived as something eternal and lovely, “the echo of the heavenly harp.”

II. Animistic Praise

Treble For I will consider my cat Jeoffry. For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him. For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way. For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness. For he knows that God is his Saviour. For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements. For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest. For I am possessed of a cat, surpassing in beauty, from whom I take occasion to bless Almighty God.

Alto For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valour. For this a true case—Cat takes female mouse—male mouse will not depart, but stands threat’ning and daring. If you will let her go, I will engage you, as prodigious a creature as you are. For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valour. For the Mouse is of an hospitable disposition.

Tenor For the flowers are great blessings. For the flowers have their angels even the words of God's Creation. For the flower glorifies God and the root parries the adversary. For there is a language of flowers. For flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ.

One of the influences on the religious thinking of Smart was animism, the belief that all life is produced by a spiritual force separate from matter and those natural phenomena and objects such as rocks, trees, and the wind are alive and have souls. It is difficult to know to what extent this section reflects those animistic influences and to what extent Smart was simply employing poetic device. The Scriptures frequently enjoin waters to “clap your hands.” Mountains to “leap with joy,” and rocks to “cry out the glory of the Lord” (Psalms. 98 and 114). The biblical story of Balaam referenced earlier even offers an account of a talking donkey (Numbers 22:28).

Having identified the Lord with the Lamb and the Old Testament characters with various animals, Smart must pair himself with some animal in order to join the worshiping community. He chooses his cat, Jeoffry. For Smart, each creature of God celebrates the gift of life and worships its giver by being faithful and happy in that which it was created to be. Smart recognizes Jeoffry’s peace and acceptance as indicative of true worship. This comforts the troubled poet.

Next, just as some of the earlier characters were joined with animals presumed to be their enemies, the cat is confronted with the mouse. If one professes a belief in the sanctity of all life, it must follow that all creatures even one’s enemies possess some saintly qualities. Jeoffry concedes that “the mouse is a creature of great personal valour.”

The text to this point has moved down a chain of creation, beginning with God and proceeding to humans and beasts. It next considers plant life. In the space of five remarkable lines, Smart accomplishes three things. He evokes the aesthetic force of flowers; he suggests the animistic principle that flowers have some consciousness of creation; and he alludes to one of the central images of Christianity, the death, burial, and resurrection cycle. Hence, “flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ.”

III. Lament – Choir For I am under the same accusation with my Saviour. For they said, he is besides himself. For the officers of the peace are at variance with me, and the watchman smites me with his staff. For Silly fellow! Silly fellow! Is against me and belongeth neither to me nor to my family. For I am in twelve HARDSHIPS, but he that was born of a virgin shall deliver me out of all.

6 This section of narrative is loosely patterned after the biblical genre of lament. In that genre, the writer first acknowledges the authority of God; second, identifies his cause with that of God; and, third, expresses his distress over the threat his situation poses to the cause of God. The formula concludes with an expression of trust in God and assurance that God will intervene on behalf of the faithful. Smart begins his lament by equating his struggles against religious and civil authorities with those of Jesus. In the asylum Smart was beaten and abused by those who knew nothing about him, who cared only about how they might profit from him. Indeed, the “silly fellow” of the original manuscript is identified as a buzzard in lines not used by Britten: “Let Bukki rejoice with the Buzzard, who is clever, with the reputation of a silly fellow.”

Several other lines not selected by Britten poignantly describe Smart’s “twelve hardships.” The poet acknowledges his struggles with madness, expressing a sense of being adrift at sea. But even in his anguish, he blesses “the Lord Jesus through whom I am making to the shore day by day,” “who advances the building of harbours” The poet expresses gratitude for those who help him, “for all light-houses, beacons and buoys.” It represents a heart-rending record of a man’s desperate fight for recovery. The lament concludes with Smart’s confession of faith in the intent of God to deliver him out of his crisis.

IV. Mystic Praise – and Choir For H is a spirit and therefore he is God. For K is king and therefore he is God. For L is love and therefore he is God. For M is musick and therefore he is God. For the instruments are by their rhimes. For the Shawm rhimes are lawn fawn moon boon and the like. For the harp rhimes are sing ring string and the like. For the cymbal rhimes are bell well toll soul and the like. For the flute rhimes are tooth youth suit mute and the like. For the Bassoon rhimes are pass class and the like. For the dulcimer rhimes are grace place beat heat and the like. For the Clarinet rhimes are clean seen and the like. For the trumpet rhimes are sound bound soar more and the like. For the TRUMPET of God is a blessed intelligence and so are all the instruments in HEAVEN. For GOD the father Almighty plays upon the HARP of stupendous magnitude and melody. For at that time malignity ceases and the devils themselves are at peace. For this time is perceptible to man by a remarkable stillness and serenity of soul.

The opening lines of this section are taken from the most esoteric of the manuscript fragments, which makes many allusions to numerological and alphabetical systems. Britten draws his incantation from one of these. Mystic praise begins with the intoning of four letters, each of which invokes a different manifestation of God: H; “God is a spirit,” K; “God is king,” L; “God is love,” M; “God is music.” Britten uses this last manifestation to introduce Smart’s vision of a cosmic music generated by God and echoed by the sympathetic vibration of the created. In lines not set by Britten, Smart writes: For the spiritual music is as follows. For there is the thunder-stop, which is the voice of God direct. For the rest of the stops are by their rhimes.

An extended section of poetical scat singing follows in which Smart spins off a long list of musical instruments and accompanying sounds. Smart suggests that as instruments of creation we are defined by and therefore limited to those things with which we have some natural affinity. These are our gifts and talents, our rhymes. The trumpet of God, on the other hand, has no such boundary. It is not confined. “His tune is a work of creation.” It is impulse, not rhyme. It is the source of all power and peace; it is “the harp of stupendous magnitude and melody.” The section closes with a soothing description of oneness with creation. One might recall the “sweet peace” of Jeoffry or the notion of axis mundi, that experience when we sense ourselves connected to the very center of creation, the place where motion and stillness meet, where the temporal and the eternal touch. It is a moving statement from a man who suffered the scorn of the world, a man who wrestled valiantly with the demons within him.

V. Closing Hymn – Choir Hallelujah from the heart of God.

Britten closes the cantata with a reprise from the opening section. It serves both as closing hymn and benediction. Program Notes by Mark Riddles.

Welcome and Announcements

Anthem Festival Te Deum, Op 32. Benjamin Britten

Britten’s second setting of the Te Deum is completely different from the C major one he wrote eleven years earlier. It was composed for the centenary Festival of St. Mark’s Church in Swindon—an Anglo-Catholic church with a strong choral tradition which continues to this day. The structure of the piece is also different from the earlier work. A lengthy first section in unison which, while carefully notated in a variety of time signatures so that it feels as if it has the freedom of Gregorian chant, is accompanied by static organ chords in a regular 3/4 metre. It is a really imaginative approach, and is actually very simple to perform. While the organ chords continue, the choir breaks up into simple imitative phrases at ‘The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee’ but soon returns to the unison lines of the opening. The central section (‘Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ’) has fanfare-like phrases from the choir interspersed by short dramatic outbursts from the organ which then subside into a rhythmic piano section with an important ostinato pedal part for the organ. These two ideas are then mixed together before the opening organ chords return and a treble/ soloist sings a lovely line. The choir joins and takes the canticle to its gentle conclusion with the soloist having the last word. 7 This setting is more straightforward than the earlier one. It does, however, have rhythmic issues which have to be mastered fully to do it justice. The choir, for instance, must not be pulled off course by the different time signature for the organ part in the opening and closing sections. It is all very straightforward in reality, it just looks complicated. Britten has thoughtfully annotated the vocal rhythm throughout the organ part for safety. The organist needs to be a confident musician. Where Britten may write eminently practically for the abilities of a parish church choir, he does not make similar allowances for the organist and the accompaniment is key to the success of a performance of this and many other such works.

The people stand, as they are able.

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Officiant

Let us pray. Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Concluding Versicle and Response V. Let us bless the Lord. R. Thanks be to God.

All say together The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.

Hymn 420 Engelberg

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Procession Psalm 150 (sung by the choir) George S. Talbot

Copyright permission granted by the following: OneLicense.net #A-702801.

All are invited to a reception in the Lilly Room located down the hall to your left.

Assisting with the Liturgy

Officiant, The Reverend John Denson, D.Min., Rector The Choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Frank W. Boles, Organist and Director of Music Brad Hughley, Associate Organist and Choir Director Verger, Brad Messamore

Promotions for this Evensong are thanks in part to WFYI and WICR Public Radio, Indianapolis

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was a unique force in British music. Of the fine composers among his contemporaries, none wrote such a wide variety of music across such a broad spectrum of genres and for such a range of ages and abilities. In many ways, though he might have been surprised by the comparison, he was the natural successor to Vaughan Williams, whose instincts for community and the nurture of amateur musicians brought him an almost cult-like status in Britain. Britten did not devote himself so wholeheartedly to these things, but a sizeable proportion of his choral music is easily within the reach of a good ordinary choir, another part is well within the grasp of a reasonable church choir, and there is, of course, all the music he wrote specifically for children. Among the 60 or so non-operatic choral works there are also works which are exceptionally demanding and perhaps best left to professionals and outstanding amateurs. The range of this output and the frequency of performance of the better-known works underline Britten’s ubiquity in the world of choral singing, not just in the English-speaking community but far beyond.

As with many composers who have devoted themselves to writing a large corpus of music for one particular genre, Britten has suffered from being too well-known for a few familiar pieces. Rejoice in the Lamb, , Hymn to the Virgin, , Jubilate Deo in C and others have tended to obscure the fuller picture of Britten’s choral output. Schools, or of upper or lower voices, will find music of wonderful quality which rarely sees the light of day. Similarly, there is a genuine mix of sacred and secular and some useful blurring of the edges where words can be equally appropriate in either context.

Britten was a practical composer. He knew that the music he wrote was performable because he himself was an accomplished professional musician. This is, again, where the Vaughan Williams analogy holds true. To be there, in among those doing the singing, directing the performance, advising other conductors and acquiring great expertise and experience over a creative lifetime, gave him an unusual insight into what choirs enjoy singing. He discovered what levels were attainable by different types of group, and did much to encourage that sense of ambition which has led to a genuine rise in the quality of amateur choral music-making.

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Britten was also a practical composer because he gave his performers all the information they needed to deliver a convincing and ‘authentic’ performance – his scores have clear and unambiguous performance directions throughout. He is known to have remarked that, if musicians follow his instructions to the letter (and can play or sing the notes in an accurate and musical fashion) they will give a performance of which the composer would approve. So, the principal instruction to choral directors is to prepare the score thoroughly prior to embarking on rehearsals. Read the words in order to understand Britten’s setting of them, and mark, learn and inwardly digest Britten’s clear instructions about speed, dynamics, phrasing, and, often most importantly, articulation. The mood of a piece so often comes from the composer’s approach to the text. Britten tended to choose texts which were not widely set by other composers. But to compare, for instance, his two connected settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ God’s Grandeur in A.M.D.G. and The World of the Spirit with Kenneth Leighton’s version is to clearly demonstrate the point. No two responses could be more different and yet each excitingly shows the composer’s individual reaction to the poem. To examine Britten’s popular Jubilate Deo in C alongside Howells’ Collegium Regale setting of the same words written some fifteen years earlier is, again, to emphasize how their idiomatic interpretations of the text helped shape each piece.

Britten’s style grew out of the English choral tradition he knew so well. He had not been a cathedral chorister but had boarded at Gresham’s School from the age of 14. There he was exposed to the standard repertoire of the Anglican Church and his earliest well-known piece, A Hymn to the Virgin, was written when he was only 16 and still a schoolboy. It unequivocally shows his feeling for the beauty and potential of choral sound, so it is no wonder that such precocious talent should develop to the extent it did. While there are pieces from his output which are more stylistically searching, this early gem sets the scene for a choral output that is essentially approachable, tonal, lyrical, and pleasing to both performer and listener. It is a remarkable legacy. Paul Spicer, Lichfield, 2011

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