19 February Music

The Last Sunday After the Epiphany Year B February 19, 2011 Today’s Mass Setting: Mass for five voices — William Byrd Voluntary Opening Hymn (135) Songs of thankfulness and praise Salzburg Psalm 50:1-6 Anglican Chant—George Thalben-Ball The congregation remains seated as the choir chants the psalm. (50 in Bb/red bk) The Lord, even the Most Mighty God, hath spoken, * and called the world, from the rising up of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Sion hath God appeared * in perfect beauty. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; * there shall go before him a consuming fire, and a mighty tempest shall be stirred up round about him. He shall call the heaven from above, * and the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; * those that have made a covenant with me with sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; * for God is Judge himself. At the Offertory—Motet Francesco Soriano In illo tempore assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum et Joannem fratrem eius: et duxit illos in montem excelsum seorsum: et transfiguratus est ante eos. Et resplenduit facies eius sicut sol, vestimenta autem eius facta sunt alba sicut nix. Et ecce apparuerunt illis Moyses et Helias cum eo loquentes respondens autem Petrus dixit ad Jesum, Domine: bonum est nos hic esse. Si vis, faciamus hic tria tabernacula tibi unumMoysi unum et Heliae unum. Adhuc eo loquente, ecce nubes lucida obumbravit eos. Et ecce vox de nube dicens Hic est filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui, ipsum audite. Et audientes discipuli ceciderunt in faciem suamet timuerunt valde et accessit Jesus et tengit eos: dixitque eis. Surgite, surgite et nolite timere. Levantes autem oculos suos neminem viderunt: Nisi solum JesumEt descendentibus illis de monte precipit eis Jesus dicens:Nemini dixeritis visionem hanc: donec filius hominis a mortuis resurgat. At that time, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Text: Gospel for the Transfiguration, Matthew 17:1-9 Offertory Hymn (129) Christ upon the mountain peak Mowsley During Communion—Motet Thomas Tallis O nata lux de lumine, Jesu redemptor saeculi, dignare clemens supplicum laudes preces que sumere. Qui carne quondam contegi dignatus es pro perditis, nos membra confer effici, tui beati corporis. O born light of light, Jesus, redeemer of the world, mercifully deem worthy and accept the praises and prayers of your supplicants. Thou who once deigned to be clothed in flesh for the sake of the lost ones, grant us to be made members of your holy body. Text: Hymn at Lauds, The Transfiguration (first two verses). Communion Hymn (133) O Light of Light, Love given birth Elmhurst Closing Hymn (137) O wondrous type! O vision fair Wareham Voluntary Music Notes: William Byrd (c. 1540-1623) must have greatly impressed Elizabeth I: not only was he permitted to write music appropriate to Roman Catholic worship—which had recently been made illegal in England as part of the progress of the Reformation—he was also allowed, along with his friend and colleague Thomas Tallis, to publish it free from persecution. Perhaps Elizabeth recognized him as one of the finest composers England has ever produced and felt that such talent should be allowed to flourish regardless of Royal Policy on political and religious matters. As it was, Byrd’s work was likely to have been performed in secret, for example in the great houses of the gentry who still maintained a secret Catholic faith. Francesco Soriano (ca. 1548-1621) was an Italian composer of the Renaissance. He was one of the most skilled members of the Roman School in the first generation after Palestrina. Soriano was born at Soriano, near Viterbo. He studied at the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome with several people including Palestrina, became a priest in the 1570s and by 1580 was maestro di cappella at S. Luigi dei Francesi, also in Rome. In 1581 he moved to Mantua, taking a position at the Gonzaga court there; but in 1586 he moved back to Rome where he spent the rest of his life working as choirmaster at three separate churches, including the Julian Chapel at St. Peter’s. Soriano worked with Felice Anerio to revise the Roman Gradual in accordance with the needs of the Counter- Reformation; this work was left incomplete by Palestrina. Stylistically, Soriano’s music is much like Palestrina’s, but demonstrates some influence from the progressive trends prevalent around the turn of the century. He adopted the polychoral style, while retaining the smooth polyphonic treatment of Palestrina, and he had a liking for homophonic textures, which generally made it easier to understand sung text. He wrote masses, motets (some, like today’s Offertory, for eight voices), psalms, settings of the Passion according to each of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Marian antiphons, and several books of madrigals. His Passion settings are significant predecessors of the more famous settings from the Baroque era, for instance those by Bach; they are set in a restrained but dramatic style, with some attempt at characterization. In some ways they are predecessors of the oratorio—mixing solo voice, chorus, and non-acted character roles—but in a style more related to Palestrina than to anything Baroque. Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) was reeminent among the composers at the time of the English Reformation. His reputation was so great that Elizabeth I granted him and his student William Byrd exclusive rights to print and to sell music for 21 years. Fame came to Tallis largely because of his contrapuntal skill, producing in one famous case a motet for 40 voices. In O nata lux however, polyphonic interest gives way to simple homophonic treatment and the listener’s ear is drawn more towards the expressive word painting. .

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