Sunday's Bulletin
Cathedral Notes & Prayers
  

 

The Day of Pentecost   May 24, 2015

 

The fire of the Holy Spirit burns brightly at Christ Church Cathedral this week as we celebrate Whitsunday, the Day of Pentecost. Our music centers on this theme. The concept of hymns and how they are woven into our service is an interesting one, to me. The liturgy flows with common themes found in the readings and prayers, but hymns have the power to focus our thoughts toward the theme of the day, offer a new idea for our consideration, or, if chosen poorly, distract us from the day's importance and message. Aptly selected hymns give us the opportunity to take a moment of reflection on our identity and why we are present during worship. Most hymns are prayers that offer praises or ask blessings from God, and they are an ever-changing, ever-new part of our worship together.

     Consider Sunday's processional hymn, Come Down, O Love divine. The text invokes the Holy Spirit not simply in a corporate sense, but in a personal way. Verse one of the text, by Bianco da Siena (died 1434), is printed below.

 

Come down, O Love divine,

seek thou this soul of mine,

and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;

O Comforter, draw near,

within my heart appear,

and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

 

      The offertory features an anthem by Richard Proulx (1937-2010), Christ Sends the Spirit. This piece musically creates swirling effects to symbolize the "great wind" that entered the dwelling of the apostles on Pentecost. The text is colorful and vivid in its images referring to the Holy Spirit as the "singing fire of life."

 

     Finally, our prelude will be the Fantasy and Fugue in a minor, attributed to J. S. Bach (1685-1750). While this is not one of Bach's well known works, it is fast, virtuosic, and filled with musical figurations conducive to images of fire and wind. Some historians doubt that Bach was indeed the author, but new research is indicating he was. If Bach was indeed the composer, it would have been written during his younger years, possibly while in Arnstadt, his first true organist position. Many of Bach's works from this period are dazzling in speed and texture. In short, they bear the calling card of a young virtuoso organist/composer. Most organists and musicologists prefer Bach's later works for their extraordinary depth, but his earlier pieces are, at times, very refreshing! Hopefully, you will find inspiration in this work as you arrive at church on Sunday.

 

Christopher Powell

 

Organist and Choir Master