Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven    
Fra Angelico depicts Christ bearing the banner of resurrection,
surrounded by the angelic host with the seven
angel trumpeters of the apocalypse

A concert of music, poetry, Lutheran chorales and Gregorian chant: 

Organ playing is the manifestation of a will filled with the vision of eternity. So spoke Widor to Albert Schweitzer in the Parisian church of Saint Sulpice. This concert is more than just an organ recital. Equally important are the vocal solos and poetry examining the theology and spirituality of music by Bach and Messiaen. The programme opens with everybody singing Angel voices to reflect the theme of the opening group of pieces and concludes with Father, Lord of all creation to draw together the ideas and underline the references to Pentecost. The programme attempts to capture the numinous in a series of reflective meditations moving from the Incarnation, via the real presence of the eucharist to the wind of Pentecost, fusing the respective media to focus our thoughts both in response to the music, and to use the music as a means of reflecting upon the theological content.

The concert is preceded by a 40-minute lecture illustrated with musical examples and images from, amongst others, the Issenheim Altarpiece. This explores aspects of the Incarnation, Pentecost and the Apocalypse to prepare us for the concert. The vocal contribution is both in Lutheran chorales and Gregorian chant, sometimes harmonised and adorned, sometimes unaccompanied in beautiful contrast to the organ music.

The three chorales are Vom Himmel hoch, Allein Gott and the hauntingly serene An Wasserflüssen Babylon, which are performed in various ways: in alternatim with elaborated verses from the organ; as postludes to the organ pieces or preceding the piece to present words and melody before the piece itself. The three plainchant excerpts are all beautiful and elaborate, either related textually to the subsequent music, or being used thematically and structurally in the pieces. These chants are the offertory Stetit angelus, the alleluia Adorabo ad templum and the communion Factus est repente.

The poetry draws on many traditions. From Alcuin in the eighth century: Thou wert seen in the Temple of God/A censer of gold in thy hands/And the smoke of it fragrant with spices/Rose up till it came before God, via writers such as William Dunbar: Celestial foulis in the air/Sing with your nottis upon hicht and even an ancient Japanese poem: The plovers that dwell on the beach at Shio-no-yama/Are calling to affirm an everlasting life, finishing with T.S. Eliot's paraphrase of Mother Julian: And all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well/When the tongues of flames are in-folded into the crowned knot of fire/And the fire and the rose are one.

This concert was first performed as part of the Daphne DuMaurier Festival of Arts and Literature on 9th May 2005 and pieces from it in Truro Cathedral on 18th August 2006 and 9th April, 2010. There is an accompanying CD of some of this music, together with a book examining the history and techniques of the pieces involved.

Chorale Vom Himmel hoch
attr. Martin Luther, 1539 arr. Samuel Scheidt in Das Görlitzer Tabulaturbuch, 1650

Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her BWV 769a   J. S. Bach
per canones à 2 claviers et pédale                   

1 Canone all' ottava
2 Canone alla quinta
3 Canto fermo in canone: alla sesta e al rovescio, alla terza, alla seconda, alla nona
4 Canone alla settima Cantabile
5 Canon per augmentationem

Chorale Lob, Ehr' sei Gott im Höchsten Thron (arr. Scheidt)

poetry by William Drummond of Hawthornden

Offertory: Stetit angelus  (plainchant mode i)

L'Ange aux Parfums    Olivier Messiaen                
La fumé des parfums, formés des prières  des saints, monta de la main de l'ange devant Dieu

poetry by Alcuin

Joie et Clarté des Corps Glorieux   Olivier Messiaen
Alors les justes resplendiront comme le soleil dans le royaume de leur Père

reading from the Vita Christi of Ludolph of Saxony

 

Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr   J. S. Bach               
from Clavierübung III :              

1 à 3 Canto fermo in Alto   BWV 675

2 à 2 Clavier et Pedal         BWV 676

3 manualiter                        BWV 677

poetry by William Dunbar

Verset pour la fête de la Dédicace     Olivier Messiaen

poetry by Thomas Hardy

La Sainteté de Jésus~Christ              
(from Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité)

ancient Japanese poem

Prière avant la communion
Seigneur, je ne suis pas digne . . . mais dis seulement une parole. . .
(from Livre du Saint Sacrement)

poetry by George Herbert

An Wasserflüßen Babylon BWV 653b    J.S.Bach                                    
à 5 parti con 2 tastiere e pedale doppio

poetry by St. John of the Cross

 

from Messe de la Pentecôte:          Olivier Messiaen
Communion (Les oiseaux et les sources)
Sources d'eau, bénissez le Seigneur; oiseaux du ciel, bénissez le Seigneur 

poetry by  Roger Michael

Sortie (Le vent de l'Esprit)                                                                             
Un souffle impétueux remplit toute la maison