"The Little Church Around the Corner"
One East 29th Street, New York
MUSIC NOTES:
Pentecost 21 - October 28, 2001
Last Sunday, George Oldroyd's (1893-1956) Mass of the Quiet Hour, composed in 1928, was paired with the music of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and César Franck (1822-1890). Today the same Mass setting is paired with an anthem by Oldroyd's slightly elder contemporary, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). A comparison of the respective pairings quickly reveals the extent to which Oldroyd's music shares the expansive, romantic spirit of the earlier 19th century rather than the concise, tonally adventurous style prevailing in the early 20th century, a style that is masterfully handled by Vaughan Williams.
Each of these two composers, Oldroyd and Vaughan Williams, approached his craft from a very different perspective. Oldroyd was steeped in the beliefs and traditions of Victorian Anglicanism, and his music is shaped by these aspirations. By contrast, Vaughan Williams, a descendent of the Wedgwood and Darwin families, espoused a deep and sophisticated humanism that informed and inspired his music. He never embraced the Christian faith, though he had a profound appreciation for its literary and musical heritage. "Visionary" is a word often used in discussing Vaughan Williams' music, and the word is particularly apt when applied to his religious music. From his position on the outside looking in, he strips away all that is extraneous and superfluous to religion, leaving what might be seen as its essence: the humble human soul acknowledging its dependence on a power greater than and outside of itself.
Keenly interested in any situation in which music was needed, Vaughan Williams composed the music for the Pageant of Abinger in 1934 in aid of the Abinger Church Preservation Fund. The anthem O How Amiable is among the pieces composed for this event. It was originally written for military band accompaniment, but later arranged by the composer for organ. It is hymn-like in its conception, and deftly dovetails at its conclusion into a unison rendition of the popular hymn St. Anne. The parish of Abinger consists of several small villages and hamlets clustered around the slopes of Leith Hill in Surrey, in the present-day Diocese of Guildford. Some of the churches date from Norman times, and the Pageant was part of a fund-raising effort to restore and rejuvenate these ancient houses of worship. Given the history of this anthem, and its apt text drawn from Psalms 84 and 90, we might adopt it as our own parish's prayer as work begins in earnest on the restoration of our north wall.
Each of these two composers, Oldroyd and Vaughan Williams, approached his craft from a very different perspective. Oldroyd was steeped in the beliefs and traditions of Victorian Anglicanism, and his music is shaped by these aspirations. By contrast, Vaughan Williams, a descendent of the Wedgwood and Darwin families, espoused a deep and sophisticated humanism that informed and inspired his music. He never embraced the Christian faith, though he had a profound appreciation for its literary and musical heritage. "Visionary" is a word often used in discussing Vaughan Williams' music, and the word is particularly apt when applied to his religious music. From his position on the outside looking in, he strips away all that is extraneous and superfluous to religion, leaving what might be seen as its essence: the humble human soul acknowledging its dependence on a power greater than and outside of itself.
Keenly interested in any situation in which music was needed, Vaughan Williams composed the music for the Pageant of Abinger in 1934 in aid of the Abinger Church Preservation Fund. The anthem O How Amiable is among the pieces composed for this event. It was originally written for military band accompaniment, but later arranged by the composer for organ. It is hymn-like in its conception, and deftly dovetails at its conclusion into a unison rendition of the popular hymn St. Anne. The parish of Abinger consists of several small villages and hamlets clustered around the slopes of Leith Hill in Surrey, in the present-day Diocese of Guildford. Some of the churches date from Norman times, and the Pageant was part of a fund-raising effort to restore and rejuvenate these ancient houses of worship. Given the history of this anthem, and its apt text drawn from Psalms 84 and 90, we might adopt it as our own parish's prayer as work begins in earnest on the restoration of our north wall.
