CATHEDRAL NOTES

 

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REFLECTIONS ON SUNDAY'S MUSIC
By Christopher Powell 

This week, we will hear music composed by two gifted church musicians who have a great deal in common despite the two very different times and places in which they lived and ministered. Richard Wayne Dirksen, the composer of the tune of our processional hymn, Decatur Place, was born in 1921 in Illinois. While a student of Virgil Fox at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Dirksen was appointed assistant organist at the Washington National Cathedral in 1942. During his tenure, Dirksen assumed numerous roles in the musical life of the Cathedral until his retirement as Precentor in 1991. He died in 2003. It is inspiring to reflect on Dirksen's 300 compositions, his countless performances and rehearsals at the National Cathedral, and his dedication to his role and ministry in his 49 years of service. It is likely that many of us have heard his music quite often on nationally televised services and radio broadcasts. Decatur Place sets the words, We the Lord's people, beautifully in a dignified yet tender way. Both of these elements are hallmarks of Dirksen's distinctly Episcopal style of church music; it is a style that has become part of the fabric of our musical culture along with other Anglican/Episcopal composers such as Leo Sowerby, Alec Wyton, Calvin Hampton, Gerald Near, and David Hurd.

 

Our Offertory music this week is an organ solo, Capriccio Pastorale, by Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643). A very important composer of organ and keyboard music, Frescobaldi was renowned during his lifetime as a virtuoso. He was organist of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome from 1608 until 1628, and again from 1634 until 1643 for a total of 29 years of service. Frescobaldi is revered as a father of Italian music. He published bold and important collections of organ music that still hold challenges for modern performers - one even requires the keyboardist to sing while playing! This Sunday, we will hear one of Frescobaldi's quiet and agile works. Listen to the gentle flutes of the organ as they dance freely and quickly to evoke the sounds of shepherds' pipes in the Capriccio Pastorale.

 

While our two highlighted composers are very different, they both held similar positions in their respective lifetimes and locations. Both musicians held high positions at churches of great importance, and both left outstanding legacies. Let us appreciate and ponder the work of these two people. Let us reflect on how they gave their best and, in doing so, they created beautiful things that we enjoy today. How can we give our best to God and others in our Cathedral ministries, in our music, and in our own lives?  

 

CATHEDRAL PRAYERS

We pray for...

Members:
Brink Brinkley, Dunn Chandler, John Wade Thurber, Nick Nichols, Butch Trawick, George Gartman, Billie van der Giessen, Peter van der Giessen, Patti Biel, Alice Carwie, Raymond Fields

Friends & Family:
Janie Houser, Michael McMaken, Leland Moore, Sr., Deborah Beverley, Peggy Naughton, Gary Davis, Harrison Leff, Michael Cameron, Nancy & Don Cameron, Rob & Amy Archer Ellis, Dottie McCord, Joyce Lee, Davis Nelson, Michael Sumrall, Dot Smith Ditsworth, Sheri Neely, Gwen Cook, Alfred Showers, Michael Daves, Michael Sumrall, Jim Elia, Anne Brown, Mark Brown, Harriett Lillich, Bonnie Orillion, Dave Carlyn Block, Scott Craver, Rachel McClanahan, Beverly Schubert, Tom Cunningham, Francis Grace Hirs, Anna Laura Plovanich, Norma Beazley, Curtis Bullock, Valerie Boatman, Brian McArdle, Ann Jones, Hank Wozniek, Lisa Thompson, Stella Phillips, James Thomas, Ted Fraiche, Mark Miles, Susan Guilian, Rhett Travis, Noel Fell, Tot Swanson, Art Swanson, Chris, Anne & Philip Gill, Hayden Jenkins, Maggie Jenkins, Betty Ruth Patek, Carolyn Pryor, Merle Findley, Louise Douglas, Shirley & Dunlap Peeples, Steve Harris, Sandy Fortner, Carole Graf, Johnny McLeod, Marian Macpherson Currie, Jim McCall, Mary Lou Peake, Bill Goodloe, Karen Sharpe, Kit & Roger Geil and the Geil family, Marie Harrison, Angel & Larry Torres, Kathy Boucvalt, Bill Stevens, Mancil Lee, Ginger Simpson, Peggy Thigpen, Carrier Yankie, Karen Sentilles, Melody Williams, Lila Sisk, Kendall Stanton, Tracey Johnson, Charlie Mae Moree, Gen Austin, Joe Lowrey, Viva Weeks, Temple Webber, Dianne McCall, Celeste Hall, Charles Thigpen, Joel Hopper

For Those Serving in the Military:
Darrien Gibson, Kelley Hood, Evan Sizemore, Robert McNeil, The Rev. Bowen Woodruff, Daniel White-Spunner Reed, Jonathan Duralde, Ron Lansong, Sam Garcia, Chris Marslender, Jerry Olin, Abby Hutchins, Tyler Gamble, Todd Mouthaan, Jean-Michael Lemieux, Albert Robinson IV, Michael Nassar, Josh Power, Ryan Anthony Thomas, Randy Johnson, Susan Reniewicz, Brian Caselton, Brian Hudson, Keith Moss, Ryan Walker, Tyler Oubre, Brian Pennell, John Snyder, Louis Coggin, Jason Norris, Conner Thigpen, Zack Miller

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
The Anglican Church of South India

Cathedral Cycle of Prayer:
St. Mary's, Andalusia, Alabama; Sara Phillips, Pastoral Leader, St. Mary's, Coden

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer:
The Church in the Pacific Islands, and Samuel Chapel AME Church, Mobile

Prison Ministry Cycle of Prayer:
Pike County Jail, Troy, Alabama