Summer

Today marks the beginning of ‘Summer Choir,’ which is really the year-round choir with one big exception – we rehearse ONLY on Sunday mornings, at 10:30, in the Choir Room. This is the perfect opportunity for those interested in finding out what musical leadership is like to come and dip in that first, cautious toe…

Please join us for any and all Sundays in June, July and August – we shall be moving full speed ahead the entire time!

Harold Friedell (1905-1958), native of Queens, N.Y. and a revered figure in mid-20th century church music, left us, in his disarmingly straightforward treatment of the Communion text ‘Draw us in the Spirit’s tether,’ an example of what a superb ‘hymn-anthem’ should be – lilting, clear, varied and supportive of the sense of the words. Note how idiomatic the organ part sounds…

The Last Supper section of the ‘Brockes Passion’ of George Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) ends with this lovely string-accompanied setting of an old Lutheran chorale. The English translation here is by Paul Bunjes.

Jane Marshall wrote ‘The Blessing of the Trinity’ on commission from the First Presbyterian Church of Warren, MI. The Celtic text is from:

- Prayers and Praises in the Celtic Tradition, Templegate Publishers

One of her best pieces, the writing combines deft harmonic flavorings with true fluidity of line and careful, loving prosody – truly ‘three in one…’

Please join in on the singing of ‘TASTE AND SEE,’ in observance of the traditional Gospel performance style. Upstairs, we’re trying to sound like a good recording-studio back-up choir – singing with clear pitches and straight tone and a certain verve…!

Also, please mark your calendars NOW for the recital that Julia Fox and I will be offering here in the Sanctuary on June 27th… You won’t want to miss this. Called ‘Houston between Winters,’ the program includes amazing music concerning Spring [just a little bit…], Summer [a whole lot] and Fall [just a little bit….]. 7:30pm. Festive reception to follow…

-Keith Weber