February 26, 2012


William Blake, The Baptism of Jesus, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 1816-20


In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan [NRSV, Mark 1:9].

The First Sunday of Lent 
February 26, 2012

Click to go immediately to:




__________________




Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

The organ voluntaries during Lent will be the work of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.
Click to go to a collection of virtual performances of Sweelinck's work created by James Pressler.

________________


The Comunion motet for this coming Sunday is Cristóbal de MoralesPeccantem me quotidie.



Fra Angelico, Penitent St. Jerome. Princeton University, c.1424

Peccantem me quotidie
et non penitentem,
Timor mortis conturbat me.

I sin every day
and am not penitent;
the fear of death upsets me:

Quia in inferno nulla est redemptio. 
Miserere mei, Deus, et salva me.

Because in hell there is no redemption.
Have mercy upon me, O God, and save me.

[Deus, in nomine tuo salvum me fac,
et in virtute tua libera me.

O God, save me for Thy name's sake
and deliver me in Thy strength.]


William Byrd: Performance by The Deller consort [YouTube]

William Byrd: Performance by AlamireDavid Skinner conducting [BNQ; BM] (info) [YouTube]

William Byrd: Performance by the Cardinall’s Musick, Andrew Carwood conducting [Grooveshark]

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Performance by the Westminster Cathedral Choir, Stephen Cleobury conducting [musicMe]

Carlo Gesualdo: Performance by the Oxford Camerata, Jeremy Summerly conducting. [YouTube]

Carlo Gesualdo: Performance by the Empire Brass (transcribed for winds by Peter Maxwell Davies) [Grooveshark]

Carlo Gesualdo: Performance by Chanticleer [Grooveshark]

Gregorian chant: [YouTube]

Gregorian chant: Performance by the Voices of Tranquility [Grooveshark]

Martín Gorostidi: Performance by La Escolanía del Escorial, Gustavo Sánchez conducting [YouTube] (begins at 1:45)

Cristóbal de Morales: Performance of the Coro Averroes [YouTube]

Tómas Luis de Victoria: Performance of the Hilliard Ensemble [YouTube]

___________________


McGill free Friday organ recitals at 12:30 pm on the Wolff organ of Redpath Hall:


March 2: Matthew Provost
March 9: William Porter
March 16: John Grew
March 23: Hans-Ola Ericsson
 




_______________



Master of the Parlement de Paris, Crucifixion, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los  Angeles, 1490s

Arvo Pärt : Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem (Passio)

Click to read about Arvo Pärt.

Click to read about Passio.

Text in Latin with an English translation: John 18John 19.

Performance by Michael George (Bass), David James (Countertenor), John Potter (Tenor), Rogers Covey-Crump (Tenor), Gordon Jones (Baritone), Elizabeth Layton (Violin), Christopher Bowers-Broadbent (Organ), Mary Seers (Soprano), Melinda Maxwell (Oboe), Elisabeth Wilson (Cello), Catherine Duckett (Bassoon);  Hilliard Ensemble,  Western Wind Chamber Choir; Paul Hillier conducting.  [YouTube]

Performance by  Mark Anderson (Tenor), Robert MacDonald (Bass), Tonus Peregrinus, Antony Pitts conducting [BNQBM] (info)  Booklet: [BNQBM] (info)

_______________


Click to read about  Arvo Pårt, Stabat Mater, and access performances by  Christopher JacksonDag JanssonKristjan JärviGidon KremerAndrew Parrott.

_______________

Arvo Pårt, Miserere, performed by Hilliard Ensemble,  Western Wind Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier conducting. [text] [Grooveshark] 

February 19, 2012




Theophanes the Greek, Transfiguration, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow,1408


 Jesus was transfigured before them,  and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them[NRSV, Mark 9:2b-3a].

The Last Sunday after Epiphany /Transfiguration Sunday,
February 19, 2012, 
and Ash Wednesday, 
February 22, 2012

Click to go immediately to:




________________


Olivier MessiaenAlléluias seriens, the 2nd movement of L'Ascension, is the prelude this coming Sunday for Choral Eucharist.               


Garofalo, The Ascension of Christ, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome, 1510-20

Olivier Latry performs
L'Ascension / The Ascension


1) Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire a son Père  (Majesty of Christ Praying that His Father should glorify Him) [YouTube]

2) Alléluias sereins d'une ame qui désire le ciel  (Serene Alleluias from a Soul Longing for Heaven) [YouTube]

3) Transports de joie d'une ame devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne  (Transports of Joy from a Soul before the Glory of Christ which is its Own Glory) [YouTube]

4) Prière du Christ montant vers son Père (Prayer of Christ Ascending towards His Father) [YouTube]

_______________




The Choir of St. Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide, South Australia, rehearsing O bone Jesu in St. Peter's Square on a recent trip to Italy.

O Bone Jesu is a short hymn of supplication and thanksgiving for the bitter passion Christ suffered for us.  The communion motet for Ash Wednesday is a version by Louis Halsey.

O bone Jesu,
miserere nobis,
quia tu creasti nos,
tu redemisti nos
sanguine tuo praetiosissimo.

O good Jesus,
Have mercy on us,
Because you created us,
You have redeemed us
With your most precious blood.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, O bone Jesu, by the Choir of Santo Stefano (Mozzanica -BG- Italy), Mariuccia Morbini conducting [YouTube]

Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, O bone Jesu, by the student Choir of Conservatoire Brno, Czech Republic, František Lavička conducting. [YouTube]

Richard Dering, O bone Jesu, sung by Paul Dutton and Tom Hunt, trebles. [YouTube]

Johannes Brahms, O bone Jesu, by the North German Figural Choir, Jorg Straube conducting. [BNQ; BM(info)


_______________






The postlude for Ash Wednesday Choral Eucharist,, O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß / O world, bemoan your grievous sin, BWV 622, is taken from the lenten section of Johann Sebastian Bach, Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book).

Click to read about the Orgelbüchlein.

Click to listen to the entire Orgelbüchlein byJames Kibbie at the 1717 Trost organ, St. Walpurgis, Großengottern, Germany

Performance by Ullrich Böhme at the Bach Organ of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. [musicMe]


_______________


McGill free Friday organ recitals at 12:30 pm on the Wolff organ of Redpath Hall:



February 17: Jean-Willy Kunz
March 2: Matthew Provost
March 9: William Porter
March 16: John Grew
March 23: Hans-Ola Ericsson



_______________


Bach Cantatas for Estomihi, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday:



Unknown Catalan Master, Christ and the Twelve, Barcelona, c. 1100


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach,  Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe / Jesus took the twelve to himself, Cantata 22  with performances by GardinerKoopmanLeonhardt and Leusink.


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn / You true God and son of David,
Cantata 23, with performances by GardinerKoopmanLeonhardtLeusink, and Richter.



Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott / Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man, Cantata 127, with performances by Gardiner, Leonhardt and Leusink.


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Sehet! Wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem / See! We are going up to Jerusalem, Cantata 159, with performances by Gardiner, Leonhardt and Leusink.


_______________


Bach Cantatas for Sexagesima Sunday, second Sunday before Ash Wednesday:



Vincent Van Gogh, Enclosed Field with a Sower in the Rain, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 1890


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt / Just as the rain and snow fall from heaven, Cantata 18, with performances by GardinerJürgensKoopmanLeusink and Thomas.


Click to go to Johann Sebastian BachErhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort / Preserve us, Lord, with your word, Cantata 126, with performances by GardinerHarnoncourtLeusinkRichter and Rilling.


Click to go to Johann Sebastian Bach, Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister / Scatterbrained frivolous people,
Cantata 181, with performances by GardinerLeonhardt and Leusink.