Tag: church music

This Thursday, 25 March, is the Feast of the Annunciation, when the Christian Church remembers how the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a son, as recounted in Luke 1:26-38 and previously foretold in Isaiah 7:14. Unlike the dates of Lent and Easter, which shift according to the lunar calendar, […]

Psalm 130, the sixth Penitential Psalm, concludes positively with reassurances of God’s ‘plentiful redemption’ but begins as a gloomy lament in which the penitent cries out for mercy ‘de profundis’, ‘from the depths’—presumably the depths of despair where the light of hope is extinguished. While there is nothing in its text that marks it as […]

Psalm 102, the fifth Penitential Psalm, is a lengthy lament (see its 28 verses here). The first part, verses 1-11, is the prayer of an individual who, weak and tearful, worn down in a time of great trouble, pours out his own desperate pleas to God: ‘… Do not hide your face from me … […]

Psalm 51, the Miserere, occupies the central position of the seven Penitential Psalms and probably remains the one most frequently read or sung today. Being a deeply personal text for self-examination—it uses the first person throughout: have mercy on me … cleanse me … deliver me … open my lips—it does not easily adapt for […]

After Pentecost, on Trinity Sunday the Christian Church globally celebrates the Holy Trinity: the belief in one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is the central tenet that unites all the orthodox Christian denominations across both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity: first adopted at the fourth-century councils of […]

For Pentecost, when the Church remembers how the followers of Jesus Christ first received the Holy Spirit, some of the best music is by Thomas Tallis (c1505-1585), the most admired English composer of the sixteenth century. He managed to pursue his long career as an organist, singer, composer and Gentleman of the Chapel Royal through […]

An anthem regularly sung in Anglican services at Eastertime is this one in six parts by Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623), composed during the period from 1602 when he was employed as organist at Chichester Cathedral. Its words, by an unknown author, are packed full of less-than-subtle references to good music-making: to finding the ideal register and […]

For Easter Day. This is the final post in a series of eight for Holy Week and Easter, 2020. After the austerity of Lent and the solemness of Holy Week, music for the Christian church on Easter Day bursts forth with great brightness and effusive praise to celebrate Christ’s victory over death. Multiple and repeated […]

For Holy Saturday. This is the seventh post in a series for Holy Week and Easter Day, 2020. The liturgy of Tenebrae, in the tradition of the Roman Catholic church, was until 1955 celebrated at Matins and Lauds over three days, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. In addition to psalms and prayers, it […]

For Tuesday of Holy Week. This is the third post in a series for Holy Week and Easter Day, 2020. Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms sometimes referred to as simply the Miserere, is frequently said or sung during Lent in both Roman Catholic and various Protestant traditions, notably as part of Tenebrae services […]