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MUSIC NOTES
Like last week, we again we have two loved anthems from two different centuries. At the offertory is Hans Leo Hassler’s setting of Psalm 96:1-3. The music is forthright, and captivating, and because of that it always reminds me of a brass choir. There is a march at the beginning and end, with a waltz in the middle.
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, and bless his name: announce his salvation from day to day.
At communion the anthem is by Harold Friedell, “Draw us in the spirit’s tether.” As we leave Eastertide, we can look to the final line of each stanza and sum up the Easter experience. We have touched Jesus’s garment; we are knit together in Christ, and we can be confident disciples just by praying, eating, and giving.
1
Draw us in the Spirit’s tether,
For when humbly in Thy name,
Two or three are met together
Thou are in the midst of them;
Touch we now Thy garment’s hem.
2
As the people used to gather
In the name of Christ to sup,
Then with thanks to God the Father
Break the bread and bless the cup,
So knit Thou our friendship up.
3
All our meals and all our living
Make as sacraments of Thee,
That by caring, helping, giving
We may true disciples be.
We will serve Thee faithfully.
At the prelude, soprano Laura Thomas will sing another cherished piece of music from Handel’s Messiah. This solo, “I know that my Redeemer liveth” opens the third part of Handel’s oratorio. The words are taken from the Bible, Job 19:25-26, and the service for the Burial of the Dead. Laura sings this piece with a confidence that draws the listener to a new understanding of very old words.
I know that my redeemer liveth and he shall stand at the latter day, upon the earth.
And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God
For now, is Christ risen from the,dead, the first fruits of them that sleep.
Louise Mundinger
Music Director
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