FROM DR. DAVID HURD: SOME THOUGHTS ON MUSIC AND THE THEMES OF THE EASTER SEASON

One access point to the common themes of the Easter season which have generated liturgical foci in scripture, preaching, and musical expression, is found by looking at the collects assigned to the seven Sundays from Easter Day until Pentecost.

The three collects for Easter Day focus on the resurrection event itself, the church’s baptismal response, and the hope of rising with Christ through the Spirit. The drama and excitement of this day is expressed in the annual singing of such hymns as “Jesus Christ is risen today” (#207), “The strife is o’er” (#208), “At the Lamb’s high feast we sing” (#174). Other hymns for Easter Day which have been in Episcopal hymnals for more than a century include “Welcome happy morning” (#179), a paraphrase of the same sixth-century text by Venantius Honorius Fortunatus which also yielded “Hail thee, festival day” (#175) and an earlier form in the 1916 hymnal with the first line “Hail! festal day” (which did not catch on). “Come, ye faithful, raise the strain” (#199/200) and “He is risen” (#180) also have long been in the Anglican Easter Day hymn repertoire. Hymns in the 1982 edition which are specific to Easter Day and have a long history in Christian worship but have only more recently arrived in Episcopal hymnals are settings of the Easter Sequence, Victimae Paschali laudes, “Christians, to the Paschal victim.” This medieval Sequence, which parallels the Exsultet sung at the outset of the Easter Vigil, is not only found in its traditional plainsong setting at #183, but also in its paraphrase translated from sixteenth-century German, Christ ist erstanden (“Christ the Lord is risen again!”), and sung to a chorale melody of similar vintage, found at #184. In addition, Martin Luther’s somewhat freer reflection, Christ lag in Todesbanden, (“Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands”), with its distinctive chorale melody derived from the medieval plainsong, is found at #185/186. With this latter chorale, we begin to bridge from hymns specific to Easter Day to those suitable for singing well into the fifty days. One with a long history in the Episcopal hymnal is “That Easter Day with joy was bright” (#193). In the 1916 Hymnal, this hymn had the opening couplet, “Joy dawned again on Easter Day, the sun shone out with fairer ray,” and it was printed in a section labeled “Carols.” In the fourth stanza of this hymn, the 1916 edition’s reference to “Easter Festival” is changed in the 1940 edition to “joyful Eastertide,” reflecting an increasing sense of a seasonal Paschal observance rather than a single festal day. The nine-stanza “O sons and daughters let us sing” also appeared in the “Carols” section of the 1916 Hymnal and the Easter section of the 1940 Hymnal. In the 1982 edition, this hymn was helpfully broken into two versions, one designed for Easter Day (#203) and the other featuring the stanzas regarding Thomas’s initially disbelieving encounter with the risen Lord, which is the focus of the second Sunday of Easter. This year at Saint Mary’s we sang both these settings on the appropriate Sundays.

It is worth noting that there are forty-eight musical settings of forty-one different texts categorized for the Easter Season (including Ascension) in The Hymnal 1982. This comprises 6.6% of the hymnal’s entire contents and, curiously, it is the same percentage devoted to hymns categorized for “Holy Eucharist.” Many of the hymns classified under “Easter” in the Hymnal are not specific to Easter Day but are suitable for singing throughout the fifty days. Likewise, many hymns found outside of the “Easter” section of the Hymnal strongly support the themes of the season.

The collect for the Third Sunday of Easter mentions Jesus making himself known in the breaking of the bread and prays for the opening of the eyes of our faith. The Eucharistic hymn “Come, risen Lord, and deign to be our guest” (#305/306), the final line of which is “be known to us in breaking of the Bread,” comes quickly to mind for the Third Sunday of Easter. Many other Eucharistic hymns support the theme of this day. “We walk by faith and not by sight” (#209), which is also very much to the point on the Second Sunday of Easter with its references to Thomas’s upper-room experience, is also well suited to the Third Sunday’s emphasis on faith.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter, the collect for which identifies Jesus as the good shepherd of God’s people, is often referred to as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” There are many choral settings of the antiphon Surrexit pastor bonus (“The good shepherd has arisen”) as well as parody Masses based upon settings of this antiphon but, most years, I find myself returning to the five-voice setting by Orlando di Lasso on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Of course, there are countless choral settings of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd,” as well as hymn paraphrases which may be sung. The paraphrase “The King of love my shepherd is” (#645/646) has a long history in the Episcopal Church. A more recent addition to the Episcopal Hymnal, but ecumenically well-known, is Isaac Watts’s paraphrase “My shepherd will supply my need” (#664). The Hymnal 1982 classifies both of these psalm settings under the heading “The Christian Life.” “Jesus, our mighty Lord” (#478), classified under the heading “Jesus Christ our Lord” also strongly references “Jesus as good shepherd” in its second stanza. That same stanza goes on to say “You are yourself the Way,” which leads into the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

In the collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, the church prays to know Jesus to be the way, the truth, and the life. The hymn “Thou art the Way, to thee alone from sin and death we flee” (#457) devotes a stanza each to Way, Truth, and Life, and a fourth stanza to all three together, following the pattern of a Trinitarian doxology. This hymn dates back over a century of Episcopal hymnals and fits this Sunday well. W.H. Auden’s more recent “He is the way” (#463/464) also takes an excursion, in three stanzas, through the Way, Truth, and Life. George Herbert’s poem, The Call (“Come my Way, my Truth, my Life”), has made its way into countless choral settings and, notably, was set as a solo song by Ralph Vaughan Williams as the fourth of his Five Mystical Songs, published in 1911. This elegantly simple setting has been distilled into a hymn format at #487 in The Hymnal 1982.

In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Sunday we now recognize as the Sixth Sunday of Easter was called “The Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly called Rogation Sunday.” Although the present Prayer Book does not recognize “Rogation Sunday” as such, the collects of both BCP editions acknowledge God as the source of all good things, and even those good things which exceed our desires. As such, the spirit of Rogationtide and thanksgiving for creation, particularly as springtime manifests its beauty in our midst, is not unwelcome at this time. The theme of resurrection remains at the center, but such hymns as “The spacious firmament on high” (#409), “We sing of God, the mighty source” (#386/387), “All things bright and beautiful” (#405), and “I sing the almighty power of God” (#398) are welcome on the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Song of Solomon 2:10–13 is also sung in a variety of choral settings on this day; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree puts forth her green fig, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.

By the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Ascension has been celebrated and themes of that celebration carry over to that Sunday. The collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter affirms God’s exaltation of Jesus to heaven but also anticipates Pentecost in praying to God to send the Holy Spirit. Many hymns, in addition to those in the “Ascension” section of the Hymnal, celebrate the glory of God and the eternal kingship of Christ. These include “Rejoice, the Lord is King” (#481), “Crown him with many crowns” (#494), “Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendor” (#307), and others which might also have been sung on Ascension Day. The second stanza of “Alleluia, sing to Jesus” (#460/461), which centers on the Ascension, however, really brings it all together, remembering the resurrection faith to which we are called to walk, and clearly looking forward in that faith to Pentecost and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! he is near us, faith believes, nor questions how:
though the cloud from sight received him, when the forty days were o’er,
shall our hearts forget his promise, “I am with you evermore”?

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

We pray for the sick, for those in any need or trouble, and for all those who asked us for our prayers. We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week; for those who are traveling; for the unemployed and for those seeking work; for the incarcerated; for those living with drought, storm, frigid weather, flood, fire, and earthquake.

We pray for all LGBTQ+ people who are being persecuted, slandered, and threatened—in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Russia, the United States, and in many other places around the world—that justice may be done, hatred may cease, and knowledge and understanding increase.

We pray for Anglicans everywhere in this time of great division. May the Lord give us wisdom and patience as we stumble through this fog of mistrust, disappointment, and estrangement.

We pray for all who are in pain and trouble and all who suffer from injustice and oppression of any kind. We pray, too, that God may forgive us for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty.

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine, Sudan, Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar.

We give thanks for the gift of music and for parish’s musicians who strengthen our faith and fill our hearts with joy.

We pray for Anthony, Barbara, Penny, Mark, Liz, Keith, Brent, Carl, Phoebe, Thomas, James, Jennifer, Susan, Sylvia, Harka, Bethel, Gigi, Julie, Carole, Suzanne, Sharon, Pat, Liduvina, José, Carmen, Lauren, Isla, Theo, Akeem, Karl, Margaret, Carlos, Christopher, Greta, Quincy, Ava Grace, Willard, Phyllis, Jim, Charlotte, Bruce, Barbara, Robert, Abe, Gypsy, Hardy, Margaret, Derek, and Allan, priest; give them courage and hope in their troubles and bring them the joy of your salvation.

Akathist of Thanksgiving: Glory to God for All Things
from the Antiochian Orthodox Church

Kontakion 3
It is the Holy Spirit who helps us to find joy in each flower: the exquisite scent, the delicate color, the beauty of the Most High in the tiniest of things. Glory and honor be to the Spirit, the Giver of Life, Who covers the fields with their carpet of flowers, crowns the harvest with gold, and gives to us the joy of gazing at it with our eyes. O be joyful and sing to Him: Alleluia!

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Our regular daily liturgical schedule, Monday through Friday, is Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Holy Hour is offered on Wednesday at 11:00 AM and Thursday’s Mass includes a Healing Service. On Saturdays, Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer is prayed at 5:00 PM. On Sundays, Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM.

Commemorations during the Week of April 30: Said Mass at 12:10 PM in the Lady Chapel

Monday, May 1, Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles.
Tuesday, May 2, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 373
Thursday, May 4, Monnica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo, 387

READ THESE! NEWS, NOTICES AND REQUESTS FOR HELP

We learned this week that the Reverend William Willoughby III, rector of the Collegiate Church of Saint Paul, Savannah, Georgia, is retiring after serving at Saint Paul’s for nearly thirty-seven years. Between 1984 and 1987, Father Willoughby served as an assisting priest here at Saint Mary’s, while also serving as chaplain at the School of Saint Hugh and Saint Hilda on the Upper West Side. We are told that during his years in Savannah Father Willoughby often spoke about Saint Mary’s and the impact the parish and its people had on him. We prayed for Father Willoughby’s intentions at Mass on Wednesday and wish him and his family many blessings in all the years to come.

Dr. David Hurd, organist and music director, will be away from the parish this coming Sunday, April 30. He will be at the Church of Saint Andrew, Fort Pierce, Florida, playing at the dedication of that church’s new organ. Parishioner Clark Anderson will play the organ and conduct the choir here at Saint Mary’s in David’s absence.

The Adult Education Forum continues this Sunday, April 30, at 9:30 AM in the parish hall. After a brief Easter break, adult education resumed last week, continuing our year-long series on the Holy Eucharist. During these last four weeks before summer break, Father Matt is looking at the Eucharist from the perspective of several fourth-century texts that record Easter Week addresses to the newly baptized. Last week, we discussed some key aspects of fourth-century history and then began to analyze the Eucharistic theology of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. Father Matt will continue with Cyril this week and focus on the Eucharistic liturgy in Jerusalem during his episcopate. On May 7 and 14, we’ll travel back west to examine some of the writings from Saint Ambrose of Milan on the Eucharist. All are welcome!

Sunday, April 30, Holy Land Presentation. On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 30, towards the end of Coffee Hour, around 1:00 PM in Saint Joseph’s Hall, there will be an informal presentation and discussion of the recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, led by Father Sammy and Renee Wood. Members of the parish who joined the Woods on the pilgrimage will be present to answer questions and join in the discussion.

Sunday, May 7: May Crowning & Annual Meeting of the Parish: On the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Solemn Mass ends with devotions at the Shrine of Our Lady. Immediately following Mass that day, the parish’s Annual Meeting will convene in Saint Joseph’s Hall. Reports from guilds and members of staff will be received. Members of the parish will nominate two parishioners to serve as delegates to the 247th convention of the Diocese of New York, which will take place on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Reports should be delivered to the Parish Office by noon on Monday, May 1.

Sunday, May 7: Evensong and Benediction at 5:00 PM. The music will include works by David Hurd (b. 1950), Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848–1918), Thomas Hunt (c. 1580–1658), and Adrian Batten (1591–1637).

AIDS Walk 2023: Sunday, May 21: Thanks to your support, we raised over five thousand dollars this week and beat our initial goal of $40,000! We have raised $41,460 so far and, given this great momentum, we increased our goal to $60,000. Please help us to have a strong finish going into the Walk in three weeks. To join or to contribute to the Team, visit our page on the AIDS WALK website. Additional detail about our team’s history can also be found on the parish website. Our team captains—MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, and Father Matt Jacobson—welcome your questions.

Neighbors in Need: Our most recent Drop-by distribution event took place on Friday, April 21. As usual, numbers drop a bit as the warmer weather arrives. Still, we served over thirty people. Next month’s event will take place on Friday, May 19. Our biggest needs now are clothing, especially shoes (sneakers or athletic shoes and other sturdy shoes), men’s and women’s pants and tops, and coats for next winter as well as jackets, t-shirts, polo shirts, and women’s tops suitable for spring and summer. And, of course, donations help us to purchase toiletries and underwear. Please contact us at neighbors@stmvnyc.org for more information about volunteering, making a donation, or about the goals, work, and methods of Neighbors in Need.

Donations for altar flowers may be made for Sunday, May 7 (Easter 5 and May Crowning); May 18 and 21 (Ascension Day and Easter 7); Sunday, May 28, the Day of Pentecost; Sunday, June 4, Trinity Sunday; and Sunday, June 11, Corpus Christi. To inquire about available dates and to arrange a donation for the altar flowers for a Sunday or a particular feast day, please contact Chris Howatt. For questions about flowers or the Flower Guild, please speak with Brendon Hunter.

Coming Up: Thursday, May 18, Ascension Day. Organ Recital at 5:30 PM. Mickey Thomas Terry, Howard University, Washington, D.C., will be the recitalist. Procession and Solemn Mass follows the recital at 6:00 PM. Father Sammy Wood will preach at the Solemn Mass . . .  Saturday, May 20, 11:00 AM, Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, the Ordination and Consecration of the Reverend Matthew F. Heyd as Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of New York . . . On Saturday, May 20, at 5:30 PM, the members of the AIDS Walk Team will gather in the Lady Chapel for a Vigil Mass. Father Matt Jacobson will celebrate. This will allow them to participate fully in the Walk the following day, Sunday, May 21 . . . Sunday, May 28, The Day of Pentecost, Procession and Solemn Mass at 11:00 AM . . . Sunday, June 4, Trinity Sunday, Solemn Mass and Te Deum 11:00 AM . . . Sunday, June 11, The Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Corpus Christi, Solemn Mass and Procession to Times Square with the Blessed Sacrament 11:00 AM.

Father Jay Smith will be away on retreat between May 9 and May 14.

Father Matthew Jacobson will be away from the parish on vacation from Monday, June 12, until Thursday, July 6.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE CONFIRMED OR RECEIVED INTO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH?

On Saturday, June 10, at 10:30 AM at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, one of our diocese’s bishops will preside at a Mass during which he or she will confirm and receive candidates into the Episcopal Church. These are important and moving sacramental rites that recall the gift of the Holy Spirit at Baptism and allow the adult candidate to make a public affirmation of his or her faith. If you would like us to present you for confirmation or reception on June 10, please speak to Father Sammy or Father Jay so we can discuss preparing you to receive the sacrament and answer any questions you might have.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, APRIL 30, 2023

To celebrate the upcoming coronation of the new Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Sunday’s organ voluntaries come from two of the great figures in English church music. Charles Villiers Stanford and Herbert Howells, teacher and pupil, composed in very different styles but still with a certain “Englishness” that remains evident to us today. Howells wrote “Saraband for the Morning of Easter” in 1940 as the second of Six Pieces for Organ, dedicated to the organist/composer Herbert Sumsion. A triple-meter dance that originated in Spain in the sixteenth century, the sarabande is elegant and stately in style, characterized by a slight stress on the second beat of the bar, an emphasis much in evidence here. Howells uses the form to create a work of compelling intensity and power, repeatedly building anticipation into outbursts of joy, even at one point conjuring up a peal of bells. The postlude, based on the familiar tune Easter Hymn (#207 in our hymnal), is more straightforward. It also comes from a group of six pieces, Six Occasional Preludes, Op. 182, written late in Stanford’s career. Though Stanford was much honored in his lifetime, only his church music is still regularly performed today. — Clark Anderson

The image of the Lord as shepherd is a familiar one, from Psalm 23 through to the Gospel according to Saint John and beyond. Sunday’s collect, appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is addressed to God “whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people.” The motet sung during Communion on Sunday echoes this reference. Surrexit pastor bonus (“The Good Shepherd has arisen”) is the second Matins responsory for Easter Monday. Its text declares and rejoices that the good shepherd, who has laid down his life for his sheep, has risen indeed. Orlando di Lasso (c. 1532–1594), also known as Orlande de Lassus, was one of several composers of his time to set this responsory text, as he did in his 1562 collection of sacred songs for five voices published in Nuremberg. The motet begins with an upward sweeping phrase sung by the highest three voices. The two lower voices then echo the same. The two soprano parts joyfully weave among one another through the motet, and it concludes with many alleluias.

The musical setting of Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Easter is the Missa Brevis by Andrea Gabrieli (c. 1533–1585). Andrea Gabrieli, uncle of the even more prolific Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1556–1612), is credited with bringing international stature to the Venetian musical compositional culture, where the Netherlands school had previously been dominant. Andrea Gabrieli, composer and organist, is principally associated with Saint Mark’s, Venice, where he was organist from 1566 until his death. It is in this post that his reputation as a composer soared, and he became known especially for his ceremonial music. Gabrieli’s style included mediating the juncture of polyphonic and homophonic textures, use of voices and instruments together in choirs, and setting multiple choirs of musicians in vibrant dialogue with one another. The Missa Brevis is a relatively modest work in four voices. While much of the text of this setting is declaimed in rhythmic unison, imitative counterpoint and flowing melodic lines are also very much in evidence. The Agnus Dei has two independent tenor parts and, thus, the enhanced richness of a five-voice texture.

Our guest organist on Sunday is parishioner Clark Anderson. Clark took his first job as church organist at the age of thirteen and went on to hold a variety of organist and music director positions over the following thirty years, until his day job as a banker forced him to retire from the organ bench. Since then, he has performed and accompanied periodically, and he is always happy to be at the Saint Mary’s console. Clark holds degrees from Princeton University (where he was University Organist and Assistant Conductor) and Pomona College. Clark and his husband Zachary have been members of Saint Mary’s since 2014. — David Hurd

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Jay Smith, except as noted. Father Matt Jacobson also edits the newsletter and is responsible for formatting and posting it on the parish website and distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt, parish administrator, and parish volunteer, Clint Best.