Music Notes for Advent 2 Dec 9 2018

Prelude

Wachet auf         J. S. Bach

Introit (choir)

Daughter of Zion: behold thy salvation cometh. The Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard: and ye shall have gladness of heart. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock.

Offertory

(choir) Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people my rejoice in Thee; show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation.

(organ) Prelude on “Munich”  René Frank

Postlude

Creator alme siderum    J. S. Bach

During Advent, we will sing from the oldest musical setting of the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer. Adapted from Gregorian chant, this was composed in 1549 by John Merbecke, organist at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. In addition, the choir will chant the Introit and Offertory sentences from the Propers (liturgy that changes each Sunday).

The Offertory is a setting of the 17th century German tune (sung today as the Processional) by René Frank (1910-1965), a German Jew who converted to Christianity and taught music and art at Fort Wayne Bible College in Indiana.

Approximately two-thirds of the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685-1750) are preludes on the chorales (hymns) of the Lutheran Church.

His setting of Hymn #3 is his own arrangement of a movement from his cantata (#140) on this hymn. “Wachet auf” is a hymn whose text and tune were composed in 1599 by Philip Nicolai, a German Lutheran pastor. The chant “Creator of the stars of night” (Hymn #6) is the basis for Bach’s short prelude with the tune in the soprano.