Choral Service Music List | SFE Choir | SFE Pipe Organ
|
|
|
The eleventh season of Choral Evensongs at St. Francis Episcopal Church will conclude on June 13, 2010, with Choral Evensong for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, at 5:30 p.m. Music for choir, chamber orchestra, and organ by James Hurd, Grayston Ives, and Charles Callahan will be offered. G.F. Handel's Coronation Anthem II: Let thy hand be strengthened, and A Dowland Suite by John Ireland (1879-1962) will be the featured works.
Please note that the previously announced Choral Evensong on April 25 has had to be cancelled, with regrets, due to a scheduling conflict.
The current season began with Choral Evensong for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. Music for chamber orchestra, choir and organ by Russell Schulz, Bryan Kelly, and Robert Powell was offered. The featured choral work was Beatus vir (Psalm 112) by Claudio Monteverdi (1556-1643). The orchestra played Ancient Airs & Dances, Suite I by Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936).
Evensong for Thanksgiving Eve took place on Wednesday evening, November 25, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. This service featured music for choir, oboe, and organ by William Bradley Roberts, Johann Ludwig Krebs, Paul Bouman, and Carl Schalk. A highlight was the Litany of Thanksgiving with congregational hymns.
On February 7, Choral Evensong for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany featured music for string quintet, choir, and organ by Russell Schulz, Gerald Near, and Daniel Pinkham. The anthem was Misericordias Domini, K. 222 ("I will sing forever of God’s mercies," Psalm 89) by Wolfgang Mozart, and the strings and organ played the Divertimento for Organ and Strings by Charles Callahan (b. 1951).
In Choral Evensong words and music come together, each enriching the other, in order that our senses and intellects, hearts and minds, may help us to draw closer to God. At each Evensong, the choir sings the Psalms to Anglican Chant or Plainsong settings, the Evensong Canticles in choral settings from the Anglican tradition, one or more anthems, and an orison. The congregation joins in singing hymns, Plainsong Psalms, and the Suffrages. Program notes on the music and composers, as well as liturgical notes, illuminate the musical and liturgical offerings. A reception with sherry and other refreshments takes place in the Guild Hall following each Evensong.
Evensong photos by Michael Devitt. All rights reserved. Used by permission.