|
Godmusic---> music for 2011-12 at Faith UMC
in Champaign, Illinois
This page contains the music, bulletin notes, and additional
commentary (online only) for the organ and piano music for traditional services
at Faith United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois. It is a work in
progress--each week during the 2011-12 season new music and commentary will be
added as we journey through the year together. The music is designed to
compliment the rest of the service.
Music for September 11
"Does Satan exist?"
Toccata
and Fugue in d minor
J. S. Bach
Adagio for Strings
Barber (arr. Strickland)
|
It may not be possible
to hear the arresting opening of Bach's Toccata and
Fugue in d minor without thinking of haunted houses and
other fearful things--in which case, Hollywood has done
a very good job of repackaging. But Bach's piece
probably served a far different function. Bach spent
most of his life in the service of the church, about 200
years after Luther, whose great hymn speaks about a
world 'with devils filled.' In a more rationalist age,
Bach was often invited to inspect organs for other
churches, and it is possible that the opening toccata,
with its short flourishes and frequent pauses between
them (time to pull different stops?) may have been a
good way to put a new organ through its paces. One
could imagine Bach, as was his custom, playing the
opening passage, and declaring to those present while
the room reverberated, "It's got a good set of lungs!"
We cannot know for sure whether this more prosaic reason
was at the heart of the piece's composition, or whether
Bach was simply exercising his ability to craft a fine
piece of music with no philosophical overtones (a view
that went decidedly out of fashion in the following
century when music was thought to express feelings or
ideas). There are some contemporary voices who doubt
whether Bach wrote this piece at all. It is also
possible that the man who so often signed his
manuscripts 'To the Glory of God' was thinking, not of
things evil, but of the awesome, and perhaps fearful
power of God. But associations die hard; nevertheless I
invite you this morning to experience this piece in a
new way. |
What was I thinking? The thought more than crossed my mind as I
considered the standard response to September 11th and the fact that we
were going to discuss Satan and evil and that I was going to attempt to
challenge a very popular way of looking at a piece of music that most
people would think clearly does not belong at a church service in the
first place (largely because of those manufactured associations, I would
argue, but what can you do?)
And, in fact, our pastor, when I told him what I was playing, asked
whether I might not want to play the "Adagio for Strings" instead. I
imagine that organists across the country will be playing it on Sunday;
as I mentioned last October when I played William Strickland's organ
arrangement of the piece as we dealt with the Babylonian captivity--an
epic national disaster for the people of Israel--this music has become a
kind of national anthem of mourning--the go-to piece in times of great
bereavement and loss for our country. It is the obvious thing to play.
Barber himself probably would have been less than overjoyed; he did not
want the piece played at his own funeral because "it is too banal a
thing to do." In other words, a cliché. But sometimes people need
clichés. I decided our pastor was right--I am including the piece again
at our services this weekend before we have a moment of silence: I hope
it is a healing moment for many.
The Bach, on the other hand, clearly is swimming upstream. Challenging
popular associations about pieces of music is a tough thing to do. If I
were in a more conservative church I would expect somebody to come up to
me after word and accuse me of letting the devil loose on the sanctuary
or something. An organist I know once had a man approach him about using
too much bass in the service, which made him think of the devil. The
organist explained that in fact he was using a lot of bass in the
service that morning intentionally; it was, rather, a foundation, as in
Christ is the firm foundation. The man responded "I still don't like
it!"
But reclaiming the piece from all those ghosts and goblins is exactly my
point in playing it. If I understand the pastor correctly, this week's
sermon on the existence of the devil will go like this: short answer:
the devil, no. Evil, yes. So what is evil exactly? long answer. Not a
force, but a series of choice to harm rather than to affirm--something
like that. I haven't seen a draft yet so I hope I'm not doing too much
violence to his position.
At any rate, doing the expected thing is sometimes necessary and
good--but taking risks and challenging the ordinary is, at the least,
far more interesting. And, often, productive. Last week's service was
also a reminder of that. I was on 'improvisation sabbatical' and the
sermon was called 'the world: when did it begin and when will it end?'
(short answer: it didn't and it won't) I decided to illustrate this with
music that had no beginning or end. About a half an hour before the
first service I wedged a hymnal (with a Bible on top for ballast) into
the pedal board so that a quiet low D continued to sound throughout the
sanctuary while I went off to rehearse with the band for the
contemporary service. Thus before anyone entered, the music had begun.
The postlude reversed the process; the sound continued until after
everyone had left the building.
The reason I bring this up is that everybody, including the pastor,
thought the organ was broken! As soon as they entered and heard that
sound, they all said the same thing (who was it that said, "Given the
freedom to think however they wish, most people think alike?"). It seems
to have occurred to no one that it might be intentional. Once I
explained it to the pastor, though, he loved the idea, and explained it
to everyone else (except the late comers!) at the start of both
traditional services. Thus the past two weeks have really been a study
in basic assumptions. Unfortunately, religion is very much at the heart
of untested assumptions, despite what Paul said about 'testing
everything.' But it usually takes somebody willing to test them. Our
pastor is going out on a theological limb this fall, so I'm out there
with him!
By the way, the organ pedal yielded some fascinating results. For one
thing, after the service I went out in the gathering area. With the door
open, you could still hear the pedal reverberating throughout the
building. You could even feel the note going right through you. There
was one sweet spot right by the coat rack.
Between services I had planned to turn the organ off, but when I
returned about 20 minutes after the 8 o'clock service to do so, I found
that the ushers had left a few lights on, dimmed. The effect of the
empty sanctuary with soft lighting and a quietly humming low note was
amazing! I hope some folks wandered in to pray between services,
although we aren't much given to quiet meditation as a congregation. I
left the organ on and returned to the contemporary service across the
hall. |
Music for September 18
"Is God All-Powerful?"
Grand Choeur Dialogue
Gigout
O Haupt voll blut und wunden
Telemann
|
Composers in past
centuries have frequently found it profitable to answer
'yes' to the question of an all-powerful God, for a very
practical reason: their boss was often the king of
something, and tied his own power in direct line to that
of the heavenly king (Shakespeare has Richard II assert
that treason against the king is treason against God).
This musical propaganda is evident when, for example,
Bach arranges the opening of his 'Christmas oratorio' to
celebrate the birth of the King of Kings by reusing
music written a few years earlier for the coronation of
a very earthly king. By the time of Eugene Gigout's
"Grand Choeur Dialogue," the French monarchy had ended,
but in this grand conversation between alternating
"choirs" with its stiff, regal rhythms and pompous
displays of majestic loudness it is clear that Gigout is
working within a style inherited from a time when a
deliberate blurring of the power of God with the power
of the king was fashionable (and safe). In direct
contrast is Telemann's setting of "O Sacred Head Now
Wounded." The affirmation of God's authority is not
without a price: is God therefore remote or uncaring? In
tension with this "Lordly" image is that of the
suffering God, the 'fully human' incarnation, which
Telemann invokes in this simple setting of the 'Passion
Chorale.' |
"pompous displays of majestic loudness." Sorry, but I
found that amusing late at night when I wrote it. You too, perhaps?
Music for September 25
"Where Does Sin Come From?
Durch Adams fall ist ganz verderbt
Telemann
|
Two of the candidates
for Cantor of the St. Thomas school and town musical
director in Leipzig in 1723 could not have been more
unlike. The conservative musical theologian Bach and the
progressive dramatist Telemann seem to have had a
friendly relationship, although Telemann had been a
thorn in the side of Bach's predecessor for several
years while in Leipzig, enjoying an easy success with
his operatic group and the public favor for his church
cantatas. Unlike
Bach's setting of this hymn, which I played
last fall, a setting which emphasizes the stain of sin
with its discomfiting slithering inner voices and
continuous falling gestures in the pedal, Telemann's is
straightforwardly tense and dramatic. Augustine's
reading of Paul's Letter to the Romans ("Since sin
entered the world by one man..." 5:12) provides much of
the doctrinal impetus behind this hymn, as well as the
concept of 'Original Sin' which has dominated church
teaching for centuries. Thus also the title, which
translates "Through Adam's Fall Everything has been
Spoiled/Corrupted/Ruined!" |
So here's the 64 ducat question: Is Telemann taking
this hymn less seriously? Is he the popular composer, giving the people what
they want--a Lutheran chorale with a nice beat they can dance to? Or is he
getting at something else in this ancient tale of woe? I haven't found any
evidence that Telemann worked very hard at his chorale settings--he was, in
fact, one of the most prolific composers in history, so he probably didn't spend
all that much time writing anything. And most of his other short 2-voice
settings of chorales adhere to the same formula: The tune itself is one voice,
and against that, he takes a short, usually buoyant, gesture that can be
manipulated by sequence--repeating it starting on different pitches. Run through
the tune once and you are done, usually in under 2 minutes. Just add water, and
you pretty much could write your own Telemann chorale setting. Still, it's
effective. And it gets at something dramatically that the Bach doesn't, which shows the richness
of the Biblical sources. One approach, musical or otherwise, won't cover
everything.
Music for October 2
"World Communion Sunday"
Theme and Variations
unknown Chinese composer
|
Today Christians
around the world celebrate World Communion Sunday. It is
easy for us to grasp that idea in the abstract without
really pausing to reflect on the diversity of cultures
and countries that make up such an vast undertaking.
That is true for many events outside church as well--for
example, I have often seen concerts advertised as
"Around the World in Music" when, in fact, a look at the
program shows that the music is all from Western Europe!
Today's selection comes from the other "end" of the
world. It is part of a collection of Chinese piano music
I was given when playing concerts in Taiwan ten years
ago. My host informed me that the names of the
individual composers were suppressed, apparently because
the mainland Chinese Communist government felt that
individual achievement should not be recognized. A
beautiful theme treated to 9 short variations, it is
also an example of cultural fusion: the piano is a
Western (Italian) invention, as is the form (a set of
variations) and the use of musical expression and tempo
marks (in Italian); all these show an Asian musician
expressing his or her own cultural identity using native
melodic motives and expressive devices with the help of
a European
instrument and
notational system. It is music from a people who are
also welcome around the communion table this morning and
are celebrating with us: in fact, they've probably
gotten a 12-hour head start! |
Music for October 9
"Did the Miracles Actually Happen?"
Nocturne in Eb, Op. 36
Gabriel Faure
|
Miracles are rare in
music--moments of genuine interruption to introduce
ideas that have not been foreshadowed by previous
moments or that presage others are usually considered
lack of discipline on the part of the composer. In a
work of genius even the most mundane musical moments can
generally be traced to a piece's principal materials, as
if in fulfillment of the piece's consistent and knowable
laws.
This is not to suggest that moments of surprise don't
occur in good compositions. Beethoven, in particular,
specializes in instances of disruption in which our
expectations are upset; but in retrospect, those places
generally turn out to be an important part of the
overall architecture of the composition, not a violation
of the piece's structural logic. In Gabriel Faure's
Nocturne in Eb the 'miracle' may well be in the ear of
the beholder. Beginning with a simple, contented song,
the nocturne takes a melancholy turn into the darkness
of Eb minor, complete with tolling bells, but then
introduces a melody which evokes hope and joy. It is
after the ecstatic climax that the music relaxes into
the serenity of the opening tune, that the 'miracle'
occurs. A return to the beginning, the musical 'topic
sentence,' is about as standard, and may be as
architecturally necessary, as food and water. And yet,
it seems to me that dramatically Faure makes this return
as beautiful and deeply fulfilling as it is possible for
such a moment to be. In analytical terms, there is
nothing special about it. But experiencing the piece as
it unfolds in time and psychology is something else
entirely: perhaps here is an example of a miracle of the
ordinary! |
Music for October 16
In Festive Mood
Scarmolin
Threefold Doxology
arr. Wilson
Marietta Bigler, piano
Michael Hammer, organ |
Music for October 23
Karen Ranney, flute
Sonata in Eb J. S. Bach
Allegro Moderato
Siciliano |
Music for October 30
"Does God have everything mapped out?"
4' 33"
John Cage
Psalm IX
(version
1,
version 2,
version 3)
Marteau
because this piece can be played
an infinite number of ways, I am including three
versions of it here!
|
John Cage's famous (or infamous) 4' 33" is perhaps the
quintessential piece without a map--although Cage
claimed that the piece's original (lost) version
contained notes, all of which were 'silent,' the
so-called "first tacet" version of the score simply
instructs the performer or performers to allow some
length of time to elapse before the piece is over
with the instruction 'tacet 'under the titles of each of
three movements (a standard Italian musical mark telling
the performer to 'be silent'). The point perhaps being
that whatever happens during that time is the
piece. It is therefore a surrender of any artistic
control on the part of the composer, the performer, and
possibly the audience to the moment, an experience of
the mundane as special, simply because we treat it that
way, or a moment of acceptance without the need to make
something happen within a particular frame of time. As
Cage wrote, "Why isn't that suddenly sneezing isn't
considered profound?" The spiritual dimensions of this
realization may be implied by an earlier, unrealized
'version' of the piece, whose title was to be "Silent
Prayer." This might in fact be a useful guide if you
find yourself "without something to do" for four and a
half minutes!
"Psalm IX' consists of 9 discrete musical gestures to be
played in no particular order. The pianist is allowed to
linger on a particular 'verse,' repeating it several
times before going on, or to return to a previously
played 'verse' as seems good. This mirrors a meditative
reading of the Psalms, specifically a practice known as
'lectio divina.' For today's rendering, however, members
of the congregation drew numbers from a hat before the
service to determine the order of the 'verses.' The
pianist, however, reserves the right to repeat them at
will or to recall previous gestures.
|
Another one of those weeks when
the organist at Faith UMC goes off the deep end...(and how far he's fallen, too!
One glance at the archives from last year shows that on this Sunday folks got to
hear the mighty Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor. And this year?
Silence.
Well, not really. Cage's piece has been talked about a lot since 1951. What is
it about? What isn't it about? Is it just a gag? Is it art?
Interestingly enough, Cage originally thought he'd call the piece "Silent
prayer" and sell it to the Muzak corporation. I doubt they'd have been
interested. Given the lengths radio stations (and even web players) go to avoid
even a second or two of silence between pieces (I have to add it on to every
piece I post now) it is not likely that they would feel that a piece of music
that didn't actually fill the 'void' with sounds of some kind (any kind! please!
now!) would be a big sell. And I had to wonder how the piece would work with a
bunch of Methodists on Sunday morning. By the way, I wonder if this was the
North American (or even world) premiere of this piece during a church service!
We Methodists don't do silence really well. Even our silent prayers usually
involve background music, and last only about 15 seconds. The other week at our
Saturday night service I suggested that we take the time to actually pray
silently, and allowed 3 or 4 minutes to go by before I interrupted it with
music. (We have Taize services at our church occasionally, but silence is still
a rare thing here).
Anyhow, the piece wasn't about silence--not really. Cage said that people
"missed the point" on that. He pointed out that there is noise all around us all
the time, even when we're alone. Body noises--breathing sounds, blood rushing
through veins, alpha brain waves, and so on. If the piece is about anything, it
is about a changed way to listen. The performer doesn't get to control the
content of the piece--only the borders. The music is whatever happens during
that time. It might cause you to listen--really listen--to what is happen in the
space, noises you would normally filter out as not being part of the piece, not
important enough to notice.
By the way, the pastor suggested that next week he might preach a sermon called
20'21". I told him I couldn't wait to hear it! I'd also mentioned to the
secretary that I was not going to be able to miss any notes for the opening
voluntary this week, which was a nice feeling going in. (There aren't many
pieces you have no way to screw up!) We like to have a little fun around here,
but I took the performance seriously. True, somebody snickered at the 8o'clock
service when I dusted the keyboard off with my handkerchief between movements
and then closed the lid again (the piece actually contains three movements, and
I played all of them!). Well, what's wrong with "suddenly snickering" in a
church? It became part of the performance. Most of the rest was predictable:
people sat in silence, mostly; you could hear the organ blower, the noises of
the people out in the "gathering" (lobby area) fellowshipping, latecomers taking
their seats (one lady said to my wife when she came in and saw me sitting with my
head bowed: "Did somebody die?"), the rustling of bulletins, and the low murmurs
of people 'explaining' the piece to each other, or talking about something
unrelated. I don't get the sense that anything profound happened. But that was
something I needed to struggle against: the idea that something 'special' or
extraordinary could or should happen. What happened, happened. That was all that
was needed.
As Jeremy Begbie wrote "Music enlarges us in the very waiting...."
Here is an interesting essay I shared in the church email the next week:
http://www.rosewhitemusic.com/cage/texts/WhatSilenceTaughtCage.html
---
the offertory was of course, also unscripted, although it could pass for a kind
of new age/musacky piece by contrast; if you don't know how the piece is
generated, it may not seem like anything of any notice. Maybe that's also the
point. At the 10:30 service the pastor was already giving announcements by the
time I had a chance to get the hat out, so I had people from the 9:00 service
who were out in the Gathering draw the numbers (the old butterfly in Brazil
effect!) to determine (partly) what the people were going to hear during the
10:30 offertory.
Music for November 6
"Is there an actual heaven or hell?"
Prelude to the Heroic Gate of Heaven
Erik Satie
|
Music for November 13
music of Thanksgiving:
Nun Danket alle Gott (Now Thank we All our God)
J. S. Bach |
Music for November 20
"Are There Really Angels?"
|
Scherzo, op. 2
Durufle |
Music for November 27
Advent Theme: Waiting
Musica Ricerta:
I. Sostenuto--Misurato--Prestissimo
Ligeti
Silence
Marteau
|
|
SILENCE
The composer calls this piece a "study in silence"
though, in contrast to last month's four-and-a-half
minute block of no intentional musical sounds (John
Cage's 4'33"), this short piece contains quite a few;
however, the lack of any familiar harmonic moorings and
the relative quiet and brevity of the musical events
creates an unusual awareness of the space between those
notes. Buried within those notes is the tune "Let All
Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" (UMH 626) though it is spread
throughout the seven octaves of the piano and it is
unlikely you will hear it. What will be very obvious,
however, is the sudden "irruption" that occurs when
"Christ the Lord descendeth" to become man. In the
traditional harmonization, this moment of incarnation is
represented by the first major chord of the piece (the
tune takes its name, PICARDY, from this musical
technique). Here, the effect is heightened because it is
also the first recognizably tonal chord as well, and the
loudest. This sets off a few moments of pianistic
pandemonium, after which comes a sudden retreat into the
silence from which it came.
The opening voluntary might well be thought of as a
study in waiting. After two minutes of the note A,
rhythmically inventive and various, the final note of
the piece is at last a D. This caused me to nearly laugh
out loud at a concert some twenty years ago, because it
seemed (according to rules of traditional harmony) as
though Ligeti were playing a joke; that elongated single
note was, after all, a harmonic preparation for the D,
and what appeared to be simply a very cagey
demonstration of what you can do with only one note all
turned out to be musical prophecy. D also happens to be
the first note of the tenor solo for "Prepare Ye the Way
of the Lord" so the introit this morning will follow
without pause. |
Music for December 4
choir Sunday: Longing for God in word and song |
Music for December 11
unified Christmas drama: And He shall be
called...Emmanuel |
|
There will be no solo organ/piano music on either of
these Sundays.
|
|
Music for December 18: Come, Savior of the
Gentiles Redford |
Music for December 24
Cradle Song
Grieg
Gloria Patri
Cavezzoni
|
Music for December 25
Ricercare on the Seventh Tone
Diruta
How Brightly Shines the Morning Star
Buxtehude
Fantasia on the Sixth Tone
Gabrielli |
| Music for January 1:
unified service in worship and life center (TBD;
probably improvised) |
spring semester
michael@pianonoise.com
|
| Music for 2011-12 at Faith UMC |
mp3 files from our sanctuary
Michael Hammer, organ and piano
(last year:
2010-11)
sermon series: Faith seeking understanding
September 11, 2011
"Does Satan exist?"
Toccata and Fugue in d minor
J. S. Bach
Adagio for Stings
Barber
September 25, 2011
"Where Does Sin Come From?
Durch Adams fall ist ganz verderbt
Telemann
October 2, 2011
"Is Christianity the 'Only Way' to Salvation?"
Theme and Variations
unknown Chinese composer |
October 9, 2011
"Did the Miracles Actually Happen?"
Nocturne in Eb
Faure
October 16, 2011
"When Did God Decide to Forgive Us?"
In Festive Mood
Scarmolin
Threefold Doxology
arr. Wilson
Marietta Bigler, piano
Michael Hammer, organ
|
October 23, 2011
"Can a Christian Be Saved Outside the Church?"
Karen Ranney, flute
sections TBD
October 30, 2011
"Does God Have Everything Mapped Out?"
4'33"
John Cage
Psalm IX
(version
1,
version 2,
version 3)
Marteau
because this piece can be played an infinite
number of ways, I am including three versions of it here! |
November 6, 2011
"Is There an Actual Heaven and Hell?"
Prelude to the Heroic Gate of Heaven
Satie
November 13, 2011
"When Did Jesus Become Christ?"
Now Thank We All Our God
J. S. Bach, Bwv 657a |
November 20, 2011
Scherzo, Op. 2
Durufle
November 27, 2011
Advent Theme: Waiting
Musica Ricercata:
I. Sostenuto--Misurato--Prestissimo
Ligeti
Silence
Marteau |
December 4, 2011
choir Sunday:
Longing for God with word and song
December 11, 2011
unified Christmas drama: "And He shall be
called...Emmanuel"
|
December 18, 2011
Come, Savior of the Gentiles
Redford
December 24, 2011
Christmas Eve (7 and 11pm)
Cradle Song
Grieg
Gloria Patri
Cavazzoni
December 25, 2011
Christmas Day
Ricercare on the 7th tone
Diruta
How Brightly Shines the Morning Star
Buxtehude
Fantasia on the 6th tone
Gabrielli
|
January 1, 2012
Unified service in Worship and Life center
(no selections)
Spring Semester
January 15, 2012
February 12, 2012
February 26, 2012
March 11, 2012
March 25, 2012
April 8, 2012
April 22, 2012
May 6, 2012
May 20, 2012
summer 2012
June 3, 2012
June 17, 2012
July 1, 2012
July 15, 2012
July 29, 2012
August 12, 2012
|