Mount Calvary
A Roman Catholic Parish
The Personal Ordinariate of S. Peter
Eutaw Street and Madison Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland
Rev. Albert Scharbach, Pastor
Andrew Johnson, Organist and Music Director
Advent I
November 29, 2020
8:00 A.M. Said Mass
10:00 A.M. Sung Mass
This mass will be livestreamed
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Organ Prelude
“Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 659)” J.S. Bach
These two settings of the chorale, “Savior of the Nations, Come,” are among Bach’s Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes. The first setting features the chorale highly ornamented in the right hand, while in the postlude we hear the chorale unmistakably in the pedal below a three-voice fugue.
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Organ Postlude
“Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (BWV 661)” J.S. Bach
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Offertory Anthem
“Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” arr. Gary Guth
We are grateful to Ezra Melchor for sharing his musical talents with us this morning. The sound of bagpipes also reminds us that November 30th is St. Andrew’s Day, the official national day of Scotland.
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Communion Anthem
“Thou Shalt Know Him,” Mark Sirett
Thou shalt know him when he comes,
Not by any din of drums,
Nor his manners, nor his airs,
Nor by anything he wears.
Thou shalt know him when he comes,
Not by his crown or by his gown,
But his coming known shall be,
by the holy harmony which his coming makes in thee.
Thou shalt know him when he comes. Amen.
Mark Sirett (b. 1952) is an internationally recognized composer, conductor, pianist, and organist. Having studied conducting at the University of Iowa, Dr. Sirett is now active as a choral clinician in Canada. He sets this anticipatory text with an innocent soprano melody supported by rich harmonies in the lower voices.
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Hymns
Lo, He comes with clouds descending is by John Cennick (1718–1755) and Charles Wesley (1707–1788). The content of the text and particularly the title are derived from Rev 1:7, which tells of the Second Coming. As the liturgical year approaches the coming of Christ at the Nativity, we keep in mind His coming that we await, when He shall come as Judge to make known the truth about the entire history of the human race and indeed of the universe. How will we respond when He shows us the truth about our lives and how they are part of His whole plan of salvation? With wailing or exultation?
The tune HELMSLEY is by Thomas Olivers (1725–1799), who heard the tune whistled in the street and derived his melody from the music, a short melody that is repeated at a different pitch level. In this case (“Alleluia! alleluia! alleluia!”), the melody is repeated once a step lower and then a step higher. Such repetition intensifies the text that is repeated.
Jesus Christ, remember is by Edward Caswall (1814–1878), an Anglican clergyman who became a Roman Catholic and joined John Henry Newman at the Oratory in Birmingham. This hymn connects the Second Coming with Jesus’ coming in the Eucharist and His presence on the altar. NYLAND is a Finnish folk melody.
Savior of the nations, come (NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND) is an English translation by William M. Reynold’s (1812-1876) of Martin Luther’s German adaptation of St. Ambrose’s Veni, redemptor gentium. The tune is based on a 12th C. plainchant melody. It is ABCA and is presented in a minor tonality utilizing diatonic notes. The melodic intervals are primarily steps and the tessitura is only a fifth. Rhythmically, each phrase consists of quarter, eighth, and half notes, with one dotted-quarter note making an appearance in the second phrase.
No more pianos ♂️