"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street, New York
Music Notes: January 19, 2003
The Second Sunday After the Epiphany:
Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the
Consecration of the Church of the Transfiguration
Anton Bruckner (1824-96) began his musical career at the age of 13 as a boy chorister at the monastery of St. Florian in his native Austria. His studies there also included the organ, violin and music theory, and this instruction together with his exposure to the daily choral liturgies observed within the monastery profoundly influenced his later life. In 1851 he became organist of the abbey church at St. Florian, and four years later he accepted an appointment as organist at Linz Cathedral. Later he traveled to Paris and London as an organ virtuoso, and eventually settled in Vienna as a teacher of music at the university. Although best known as a composer of symphonies, Bruckner often turned his attention to the composition of sacred choral works. Many of these are distinguished by a reverent and liturgical approach, with the music carefully crafted to convey a clear sense of the text. Locus Iste is a fine example of this liturgical sensitivity. The text is a Latin gradual for the dedication of a church or chapel, and Bruckner's music is perfectly wedded to the text, its predominantly chordal construction and gentle melodic lines combining to create a sense of the sanctity of the house of God.
Henry Purcell (1659-95) also began his career as a boy chorister, when he joined the Chapel Royal in the late 1660's, upon the restoration of the monarchy. Cromwell's Commonwealth (1649-1660) severely disrupted the English choral tradition, and throughout his all too brief life, Purcell played a leading role in the rebuilding and further development of that tradition. O God, Thou Art My God was composed for the Chapel Royal, and is a splendid example of the genre known as the full anthem. Incorporating a technique of the verse anthem, the full anthem contrasts groups of solo voices with the full choir. The text is taken from Psalm 63, and Purcell shows great sensitivity to it in his choice of passages set for solo groupings and those taken up by the full choir. The extended setting of Alleluia which concludes the anthem has been adapted as a popular hymn tune (Westminster Abbey), often set to the text Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.
The well-known Communion Service in F was composed by Harold Darke (1888-1976) in 1926, for his London parish. It is a restrained work, conceived entirely within the framework of the Anglican liturgy. Extended solo passages are avoided, but the work is richly expressive through changing dynamics, passages of modal harmony, a wide melodic range and contrasting resources.
Henry Purcell (1659-95) also began his career as a boy chorister, when he joined the Chapel Royal in the late 1660's, upon the restoration of the monarchy. Cromwell's Commonwealth (1649-1660) severely disrupted the English choral tradition, and throughout his all too brief life, Purcell played a leading role in the rebuilding and further development of that tradition. O God, Thou Art My God was composed for the Chapel Royal, and is a splendid example of the genre known as the full anthem. Incorporating a technique of the verse anthem, the full anthem contrasts groups of solo voices with the full choir. The text is taken from Psalm 63, and Purcell shows great sensitivity to it in his choice of passages set for solo groupings and those taken up by the full choir. The extended setting of Alleluia which concludes the anthem has been adapted as a popular hymn tune (Westminster Abbey), often set to the text Christ is Made the Sure Foundation.
The well-known Communion Service in F was composed by Harold Darke (1888-1976) in 1926, for his London parish. It is a restrained work, conceived entirely within the framework of the Anglican liturgy. Extended solo passages are avoided, but the work is richly expressive through changing dynamics, passages of modal harmony, a wide melodic range and contrasting resources.
