Archives 2008-2009
See the brochure for the 2008-2009 season at this link (a PDF file).
Music at St. Peter's 2008-2009 Concerts and Services
Summer 2009 Concert: The Choir of Christ's College, Cambridge
Photos and audio clips from the July 9th, 2009 Christ's College Cambridge (UK) concert are now online at the MorristownGreen.com site: "The British Invasion, Part 2: Cambridge choristers conquer Morristown."
On Thursday, July 9th, at 7:30 p.m., Music at St. Peter's presents The Choir of Christ's College, Cambridge, on tour in the United States to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the founding of Cambridge University. The tour repertoire spans the range of English and European choral traditions from the Renaissance to the 20th century and includes Scarlatti's Stabat Mater, motets by J.S. Bach, Parry's Songs of Farewell, and Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb and Hymn to St Cecilia.
The choir offers some recordings of their work on the web; click a link below to listen to their glorious sound (these are mp3 files, and will open a new browser window):
- The Gloria from Zoltan Kodaly's Missa Brevis
- Bruckner's Locus Iste
- William Mundy's O Lord, the maker of al thing
- William Croft's I am the Resurrection and the Life from the Funeral Sentences
- C H H Parry's There is an old belief
Justin David Miller, Organ
St. Peter's talented Assistant Organist Justin Miller gives an Organ Recital on Sunday, May 17th, at 4:30 p.m. The program includes the Sixth Symphony by Charles-Marie Widor, Te Deum by Jeanne Demessieux, selected spirituals with Hope Osborn, soprano, and "Revelations of St. John the Divine" for organ and prepared electronic tape, by Larry King. Suggested donation: $15; students and seniors: $10; under 12: free. A reception follows. This is the last Music at St. Peter's concert for the 2008-2009 year, and also represents Justin's (near-)swan song at the parish, as he will be leaving in July to take up his new duties as Organ Scholar at Blackburn Cathedral in England.
The Boys' Choir of the Church of the Transfiguration visits for Evensong
On Sunday, May 3, the Choir of Men & Boys of St. Peter's welcomes the Boys' Choir of the Church of the Transfiguration, New York (the 'Little Church'), as they sing Evensong together.
The Annual Young Organist Concert
The annual Young Organist Concert, sponsored by the Wheeler Endowment, is on Sunday, April 19th, at 4:30 p.m. This year, St. Peter's presents Stephen C. Price, a senior at Western Connecticut State University, where he studies with Stephen Roberts. Stephen is also Organ Scholar at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Norwalk, CT. The program includes music of J.S. Bach, Louis Vierne and Franz Liszt.
The Great Vigil of Easter
The first Eucharist of Easter occurs at the Easter Vigil - a festive Easter Eve celebration which often includes baptism (as it will year). The Great Vigil begins in the hours of darkness between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Day; this year we celebrate it on Saturday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. The Vigil is the most important service of the liturgical year and opens the fifty-day long celebration of the Easter season with candlelight and song and incense and the joy of Christ's resurrection. It features the return of the word "Alleluia," which has not been heard at all during the penitential season of Lent.
The service begins in the dark and quiet church, as the New Fire is lit from which all present light their own candles. The first part of the service is chanted, but the church soon explodes with noise and organ music and the joy of Easter. The service is sung by The Choir of Men & Boys and The Early Music Schola, accompanied by brass, timpani and organ. A Champagne reception follows the service in the Great Hall.
Weekday Evensong during Lent
During Lent, the Boys' and Girls' Choirs sing weekday Evensongs on a rotating basis.
Boys' and Girls' Choir Festival
On Saturday, April 4 at 3 p.m., the Boy and Girl Choristers from St. James' Church, NYC and St. Peter's come together to sing a Choir Festival Evensong. Over 100 years ago, when St. Peter's Choir of Men & Boys was in its infancy, it joined together with St. James' Choir of Men & Boys for a Choir Festival. We renew that tradition this year. (And you can open this PDF file to see a scanned copy of the original 1890 service!)
Passion Vespers
On Sunday, April 5 at 4:30 p.m., the Choir of Men & Women present a service of Passion Vespers-a sequence of prayers, Gospel readings, anthems and hymns. A Holy Week journey begins with this contemplative and moving service.
The American Muse: Choral Masterpieces
On Sunday, March 15 at 3:00 p.m., Music at St. Peter's presents The American Muse: Choral Masterpieces. The program includes the world premiere of Antiphon, a setting of a George Herbert poem by Director of Music Brian Harlow. The concert also includes Brian's Missa Brevis for men's voices, and works by Hancock, Hanson, Rorem, Randall Thompson, and Virgil Thomson. The Choir of Men & Women are accompanied by brass, percussion, organ and piano.
March 1: Evensong for the First Sunday in Lent
The Early Music Schola offers plainchant settings of the Evening Canticles and music by Palestrina and Shepherd at Evensong on March 1 at 4:30 p.m.
February 25: Ash Wednesday
Choral Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes in the Church. The Men's Choir sings music by Thomas Morley and Thomas Thomkins, and a mass setting - the Missa Brevis - composed by Director of Music Brian Harlow.
Robert Deutsch, Cello
With Helen Krotoff, piano and Brian P. Harlow, organ. Sunday, February 22, 2009. The ensemble offers music of J.S. Bach, Karl Höller, and Daniel Pinkham.
Evensong for the Eve of the Presentation
This service, offered as our regular First Sunday Evensong, takes place on February 1 at 4:30 p.m. The Parish Choir of Christ Church, New Brunswick, sings a setting of canticles by the sixteenth-century composer Robert Parsons, as well as works by William Byrd and Robert Twynham.
Music for Two Organs
More than a hundred people were on hand on Sunday, January 25th, 2009, to hear Brian Harlow and Christopher Jennings perform works for two performers at one organ along with works for two performers on two organs; the men also played a piece for organ and piano. Brian rented a small chamber organ for the occasion, as Brian and Christopher offered rarely performed works of Wesley, Pasquini, Moore and Hampton.
Evensong for the Feast of the Epiphany
Advent Lessons and Carols
On Sunday, December 7 at 4:30 pm, the Girls' Choir and Schola sing a service of Lessons & Carols for Advent, focusing on the preparation of our hearts for the coming of Jesus, both as a child in the manger, and at the second coming. The Schola sings a new English translation of the Great "O" Antiphons.
St. Peter's Girls' Choir: Christmas concert at the Library
On Tuesday, December 9 at 5:00 pm, the St. Peter's Girls' Choir sings a Christmas concert at the Morristown Public Library, South Street and Miller Road.
Welcome Yule!
Harmonium Choral Society, Anne Matlack, Artistic Director, present "Welcome Yule," featuring Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor and other works by English composers including Howells, Weelkes, Mathias and othersm on Saturday, December 13, at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 14, at 3:00 p.m. See this review of the concert in QOnStage.com - a review that includes some appreciative comments about the ambiance at St. Peter's as well. A sample:
This gothic wonder was built during the period of 1887 through 1907 on the site of the original church, whose active congregation had outgrown it. The stained glass windows all around the nave and the especially beautiful western window behind the glorious pipe organ and the choir area bathed the performers in a glorious banner of light.
During these dire economic times, traditional Holiday songs are comfort food for the soul. This comfort, like being held and rocked by a loving parent, was found in full measure at St. Peter's. Audience members ranging in age from babes-in-arms to grandparent found general admission seats in the solemn sanctuary. There was a palpable joy in the room.
Christmas Lessons and Carols
On Wednesday, December 17 at 5:30 pm, the boys of the Choir of Men & Boys sing a service of Christmas Lessons & Carols. Traditional carols - including "Ding Dong, Merrily on High" (an mp3 recording), sung by the boys - are sung by the choir and by the congregation. A photo, taken after the service, of the boys, with Jason and Brian, is below:
L-R: Andrew Halkyard, Ben Cutler, Michael Kane, David Halkyard, Geoff Lareau; in the back: Associate Rector Jason Haddox and Music Director Brian Harlow.
See About Lessons & Carols for more about the history of this unique service.
(Photo and recording by Kevin Coughlin.)
Adult Choir Festival: Sunday, November 9 at 4:30pm
New: Read a review of the Fauré Requiem concert, complete with a video clip of the performance of the Cantique de Jean Racine.
The St. Peter's Choir of Men & Women, and the choir of Trinity Church, Princeton - together almost a hundred voices strong - join forces to sing the beloved Requiem of Gabriel Fauré for Remembrance Sunday.
According to these "Notes on the Faure Requiem":
As a choirmaster and organist, Fauré constantly sought to create a new kind of church music. He wanted something different than the operatic bel canto style which was popular in Paris at the time, and different than the outsized, large-scale Germanic Romantic style which dominated the rest of Europe. Along the way, he helped to establish a distinctive French style which set the stage for the development of the Impressionist style of Debussy and Ravel.
For example, the composers of the day tended to write for progressively bigger and bigger orchestras, with thicker, more complicated textures, and phrases which stuck slavishly to the divisions of the bar line. Fauré, on the other hand, opted for smaller ensembles and spare orchestrations, omitting violins and winds in the Requiem, for instance, when he felt they were unnecessary.
Fauré also thought on a smaller, more intimate scale than many of his contemporaries. There are none of the larger-than-life, outsized statements of a Wagner or a Berlioz here; the entire Requiem has some 30 bars of fortissimo singing, and most of it doesn't rise above mezzoforte. Instead, Fauré uses subtle gradations in dynamic, color, and harmony to achieve the effects that he wants. And in the Requiem, these gradations often follow the central points of emphasis in the text.
Quoting again:
Fauré was interviewed by Louis Aguettant on July 12, 1902. The following excerpt on the Requiem was originally published in Comoedia (1954, p. 6). The English translation is taken from Robert Orledge's biography:
"It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience. The music of Gounod has been criticized for its overinclination towards human tenderness. But his nature predisposed him to feel this way: religious emotion took this form inside him. Is it not necessary to accept the artist's nature? As to my Requiem, perhaps I have also instinctively sought to escape from what is thought right and proper, after all the years of accompanying burial services on the organ! I know it all by heart. I wanted to write something different."
The choirs will first sing the Requiem at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton at Evensong, at 4:30 p.m. on November 2. The two consecutive Sundays, All Saints Sunday (as well as the following day, which is the observance of All Souls' Day, transferred) and Remembrance Sunday, are both dedicated to remembering the dead. The former celebrates the memory of the saints; the latter commemorates the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in time of war, coming as it does just before Veterans' Day.
The program will also include Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine and César Franck's Psalm 150. Suggested admission for the November 9th concert in Morristown is $15, and $10 for seniors and students. There is no charge for the religious service in Princeton.
Jazz Cabaret Evening
Listen to a clip of our Jazz Cabaret Evening with the Eric Mintel Jazz Quartet here.
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