Vespers Order of Service Sunday, 16 March 2014 4:00 pm Christ Presbyterian Church in Canton Chancel Choir, Organ & Chamber Orchestra Soloists: Jean Burnquist, soprano; Molly Shearrow, mezzo Adam Holcomb, tenor; Britt Cooper, baritone/cantor David J. Kienzle, conductor Kindly, please remember to silence all communication devices. Prepare for worship in silence. All orchestral music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Church Sonatas KV. 67, 68 & 241 Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV. 339 SONATA in E b Andantino SONATA in B b Allegro All who are able are invited to stand and sing from the purple hymnal: HYMN IN PROCESSION No. 679 Let the Whole Creation Cry (Psalm 148) Music: SALZBURG Text: Stopford A. Brooke Versicle: Deus, in adjutorium meum intende. O God, make speed to save us. Response: Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina. O Lord, make haste to help us. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, As it was in the beginning, is now and will be et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. for ever and ever. Amen. Seated; congregation may join in singing: PHOS HILARON Music: CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM Hymn No. 671 O Radiant Light, O Sun Divine Text: 3 rd Cent; trans. Storey PSALMODY Antiphon Domine, quinque Psalm 110: Dixit Dominus Antiphon Domine, quinque
Antiphon Euge serve bone Psalm 111: Confitebor tibi Antiphon Euge serve bone Antiphon Fidelis servus Psalm 112: Beatus vir Antiphon Fidelis servus Antiphon Beatus ille servus Psalm 113: Laudate pueri Antiphon Beatus ille servus Antiphon Serve bone Psalm 117: Laudate Dominum Antiphon Serve bone GOSPEL READING Mark 3:31-4:9 The True Kindred of Jesus and The Parable of the Sower Silence is observed. All who are able are invited to stand and sing: HYMN 459 Music: MUNICH; adapted, Mendelssohn O Word of God, Incarnate Text: William Walsham How (Seated) RESPONSORY Cantor: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Choir: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Cantor: For you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth. Choir: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. ANTIPHON Hic vir MAGNIFICAT Magnificat anima mea (Luke 1:46-55) ANTIPHON Hic vir PRAYERS Cantor: That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful, Cantor: That thy holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and goodwill, Cantor: That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins and offenses,
Cantor: That there may be peace to thy Church and to the whole world, Cantor: That we may depart this life in thy faith and fear, and not be condemned before the great judgment seat of Christ, Cantor: That we may be bound together by thy Holy Spirit in the communion of all thy saints, entrusting one another and all our life to Christ. All chanting in monotone: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. CONCLUDING VERSICLE & RESPONSE Cantor: Let us bless the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. Cantor: The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. People: Amen. (remaining seated) HYMN No. 675 All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night TALLIS CANON Stanzas 3 & 4 sung in canon: treble voices begin, low voices enter after one measure. SONATA in G Allegro The ushers standing at the exits will receive your offering to defray expenses for this service. All are invited to a reception in Westminster Hall to greet the musicians. ORCHESTRA VIOLIN I CELLO TRUMPETS Justine Lamb-Budge, concertmaster Paul Miahky, principal Scott Johnston, principal Amelia Giles Michael G. Koscso Kenneth Piatt Linda Nagy-Johnston Timothy Staron BASS TIMPANI Brian Del Bianco John Curtis VIOLIN II Margaret Matuska, principal ORGAN Kevin Smith Chad Pittman
Vespers & Mozart Vespers is the name of the daily worship service for early evening. The monastic tradition of the canonical hours included 7 to 9 daily prayer services for which the community would gather, a custom well established by the sixth century by St. Benedict. The office of vespers has the theme of reflection on the day and on Creation. The final service of the evening is known as Compline, comprising prayers for protection against the forces of darkness. Each of the daily services has standard texts to be used consistently according to the time of day. Certain hymns, responses, antiphons, and prayer litanies would be known well by the community, as a result of the daily or seasonal repetition. The entire psalter is divided appropriately so that all 150 Psalms would be sung weekly, or monthly, depending on the particular rota for each religious tradition. Cathedrals and large parish churches, as well as academic institutions have continued to follow this tradition. Over the centuries the Protestant churches have adapted the Catholic service appropriately to their own particular theological guidelines. In the Anglican Church, the services of vespers and compline were combined into one, to form the tradition known as Evensong. The details of the order and appointed texts for all of these services have morphed throughout history and cultures, not the least of influences being the Second Vatican Council. Especially these liturgies for Matins, Vespers, and Evensong have engendered great Western musical treasures from great composers, fashioning these standardized texts into sublime works of art: Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Mozart, Bruckner, and the famous Rachmaninoff settings for the Eastern Orthodox Church, as prime examples of larger choral works for vespers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) struggled through a lifelong quest to be successful as a freelance musician and composer, rather than being dependent upon the auspices of nobility, the state, or the church. This plight is fodder for much drama and angst in his creative output, as so many famous stories attest. Mozart worked hard to become respected outside his hometown of Salzburg, travelling often and attempting to set down roots in Vienna, Mannheim, and Paris, but meeting with little satisfaction according to letters and historical accounts. When he decided to return to Salzburg, he formally petitioned Archbishop Hieronymous Colloredo to be appointed organist, with duties to include playing in the cathedral, at court, and in the chapel, composing as required, and instructing the choirboys. But his letter to his father before arriving was quite terse about his low level of tolerance for expectations to please the personal whims of the new boss. The required brevity of the newly composed works for most events was always a limitation which frustrated the young genius. Mozart constantly struggled to reconcile this pressure to follow the orders of his authorities with his deeper desire to follow his muse.
The conciseness required in the musical mass settings, as dictated by the Prince Archbishop, also determined the compact structure of the Vesper psalms which are offered in our worship this evening. According to canon, each Psalm must end with the Gloria patri ( Glory be to the Father, and... ). This offers the composer the logical opportunity to wrap the movement with a return of opening thematic material for the final several measures of music. He had composed settings of the required Psalms 110, 111, 112, 113 and 117, as well as the standard Magnificat text (Song of Mary from Luke s Gospel) for normal Sunday Vespers in 1779. The following year in August, he composed settings of the same texts for a Vespers on the day appointed to commemorate a lesser saint, or a confessor. Thus, the second of the two vespers collections, Vesperae solennes de confessore, KV. 339, turned out to be Mozart s last composition for the Salzburg Cathedral; three years later he wrote to his father from Vienna to send to him the music of KV. 339, because he had remembered the pieces fondly An upward view of the high dome of Salzburg Cathedral. and wanted to use them again. The standard instrumentation for church music in Salzburg (and Vienna) during the Classical Era is known as the church trio : Violins I & II, cellos, basses, bassoon, and organ continuo, with the additional trumpets & timpani for festive occasions. In addition to the SATB choral writing, there will often be soloists to exhibit the more florid and decorative lines as desired. Similarly, the Epistle Sonatas three of which are offered this evening as prelude and postlude music were very short sinfonias played for the Sunday morning mass between the Epistle and Gospel. Since brevity was important at many liturgical events, according to the Archbishop s edict, the mass had to be no longer than 45 minutes; therefore, much of Mozart s sacred music lacks his inimitable developmental style. The service this evening offers a rare opportunity to hear Mozart s sacred music in its somewhat authentic context, whereas in modern times, it is more customary to perform his sacred works in concert. It is important to experience the exuberant settings of these psalms in Mozart s intended aesthetic and religious backdrop: each one coupled appropriately with the appointed antiphon (refrain/response) sung in traditional Gregorian chant framing the psalm as well as the Magnificat.