Worship this Memorial Day weekend begins with a work from Ned Rorem's "A Quaker Reader" in "There is a spirit that delights to do no evil..." Inspired by the last words of a devout Quaker named James Naylor in 1660, the piece exudes a peace and calm in its assurance of God's goodness and grace. At the Offertory, the 18th century German chorale "Renew Me, O Eternal Light" is given a gentle ethereal treatment by Paul Manz. To close, the idiosyncratic musical stylings of Daniel Pinkham are playfully present in his "Festive March."
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We celebrate the role and spiritual nourishment of music in worship this Sunday and offer a thankful farewell to Blair Carpenter for her four-year tenure as Plymouth's Staff Singer.
At 9:00 a.m., an eclectic blend of music from the jazz, Celtic, and pop/rock idioms featuring the Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine" will be presented. Blair Carpenter sings Hall Johnson's "Give Me Jesus," an artful setting of the traditional African-American spiritual. Bassist Peter Strening and guitarist Alan Skowron join us for this lovely Eastertide early morning service. At 11:00 a.m., a reprise of the Hall Johnson work begins worship. Two arrangements of the Charles Villiers Stanford composed hymn "When in Our Music God Is Glorified" follow in a choral setting by Hal Hopson for organ and handbells (and you the congregation!) and "Fughetta on 'Engelberg'" (the tune of the hymn) by Richard Proulx at the Postlude. This Sunday also marks the end of the 2021-22 Chancel Choir season and the first complete season we were able to offer since the start of the pandemic. Here's to many more...Soli Deo Gloria. A new creation through the resurrection vision of Eastertide.
At 9:00 a.m., a reprise of the Easter hymn "Now the Green Blade Rises" greets you this fine morning in an arrangement by yours truly. Cantor Blair Carpenter, bassist Peter Strening, and ukulelist Stuart Yoshida join us for music of the resurrection and new life. At 11:00 a.m., two hymn settings of the Paschal season from the organ: "That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright" by 19th century Austrian composer Heinrich von Herzogenberg in a neo-Baroque style and a blistering "Toccata on Gaudeamus Pariter" by James Biery on a tune associated with the Easter text "Come, Ye Joyful, Raise the Strain." The Chancel Choir offers the beloved "Hymn of Promise" by Natalie Sleeth. Celtic-inspired expressions of Psalm 23 on this Fourth Sunday of Eastertide.
Harpist Alaina Bongers and flutist Rebecca Quillen return to Plymouth for both morning services with Celtic offerings celebrating the wonder of nature and the solace it gives to our being. The "Prayer of Jesus," the text based on an adaptation of The Lord's Prayer by John Philip Newell, will be sung at both services as we anticipate the Celtic scholar's visit to Plymouth on May 11. At the 11:00 service, the Chancel Choir sings a paraphrase of Psalm 23 from the Scottish Psalter (1650) in "Brother James' Air" arranged by Stan Pethel. Come join us this Sunday in a Celtic feast for the ears and soul. |
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