From the Organist & Choirmaster
The parish choir is only six days away from their UK residency. Each day builds with more and more anticipation as we put the finishing touches on music, begin packing our suitcases, and flesh out the final plans for our trip. I invite everyone to coffee hour after the 10:30 Mass this coming Sunday, June 2 to wish the Parish Choir a safe journey and send them off with prayers and well wishes!
I am most excited for the parish choir to experience Evensong together at Croydon Minster, as Evensong is not an office we observe often at Saint Andrew’s. It may be one of my favorite offices to offer as a choral office, as the settings of the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis have hundreds, if not thousands of different settings. Choral Evensong springs out of our tradition, rotted in the Book of Common Prayer in the Episcopal Church, and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in the Church of England. It will begin with Stanford’s Beati quorum via as the introit, a setting of Psalm 49 in Anglican Chant by Martin How (who was organist laureate at Croydon Minster), Joanna Forbes L’Estrange’s King’s College Service, and Herbert Howells’ Like as the hart. In the mix we will also sing hymns from the New English Hymnal, and also use William Smith’s Preces and Responses. It will be a lovely treat to direct the choirs together at Croydon Minster and will make for a beautiful evening of choral prayers.
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange is a Scottish born composer. She received her Master of Arts in Music at Oxford University where she began her career as soprano and musical director of the five-time grammy award winning a cappella group The Swingle Singers and her compositions reflect her love of choral music, close harmony, and even some jazz. She writes songs, sacred anthems, Christmas carols, and collaborates with her husband Alexander L’Estrange. She is a passionate advocate for gender equality and has become the go-to composer for songs about women. L’Estrange has beautifully composed a setting of two canticles used at Evensong, the Magnificat (or The Song of Mary), and the Nunc Dimittis (or The Song of Simeon). The text of the Magnificat is taken from Luke’s Gospel (1:46-55) and is one of the eight oldest Christian Hymns and perhaps one of the earliest Marian hymns. The Nunc Dimittis is taken from Luke 2:29-32 and hints to Isaiah as well in its text “Because mine eyes have seen thy salvation". The Nunc has been sung in Christian services of Vespers, Evensong, and Compline since the fourth century.
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange (b. 1971)
L’Estrange’s setting emphasizes the Biblical texts in new and glorious ways, starting with an energetic phase in the soprano line that is repeated in other voices throughout the canticle. It builds throughout the first part of the text by adding choral parts that express Mary’s attitude towards herself and Elizabeth who bears John the Baptist in her womb. L’Estrange, through dissonance, expresses Mary’s understanding of her canticle at the text “throughout all generations” where the music splits grandiosely into seven parts rather than the more simple four part harmony after which the music speeds up at bit and then slows again. It picks up tempo again at “He hath put down the might from their seat,” and adds the full choir back in to finish the canticle.
The Nuns Dimittis may be my favorite canticle and L’Estrange does not hold back on her understanding of text painting at all! It begins with a tenor solo in a minor key, which switches to a major key when the soloist sings Simeon’s word “peace.” She introduces the choir still in the slower tempo at “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,” and takes an large ritard (or slowing down) before the organ introduces a new key and tonal center when the choir loudly sings “to be a light to listen the Gentiles.” Many composers place an emphasis on this part of the canticle as it exhorts the role humanity has in God’s salvation. L’Estrange explores many different tonal centers along with decrescendos (or quieting) to get us back to the original key before the canticle finishes. Take a listen to the Nuns Dimittis below!