Posted on 08/17/2007 7:15:04 PM PDT by mgstarr
I’m shocked the New York Times would report the request for the 1928 prayer book. Good show, Brooke! May flocks of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Prayers for the repose of Mrs Astor’s soul.
The Wm Croft funeral sentences are among my favorite choral works.
A summary of the music:
ORGAN PRELUDE
Music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig, BWV 656
Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731
Vor deinen Thron tret ich, BWV 668
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654
1st hymn: "O God Our Help In Ages Past" (St. Anne)
Psalm (Anglican Chant by Sir Walford Davies): Levavi oculos (I will lift up mine eyes)
2nd hymn: "Rock of Ages" (Toplady)
3rd hymn: "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" (Hyfrydol)
Anthem: "Salvator Mundi" Thomas Tallis (one of the very greatest of the English Renaissance composers)
4th hymn: "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" - words by Whittier, sung to the tune "Rest" which is not commonly recorded. You can hear it here.
Recessional: "Amazing Grace" on the pipes (sionnsar, you should like that . . . ;-) ).
Postlude: Toccata (V Symphony) Charles-Marie Widor
A very reverent and beautiful program of music for an absolutely perfect "old fashioned Anglican" funeral service. Very befitting this grande dame of Old New York.
I Am The Resurrection and the Life
The best funeral sentences have to be Purcell's, though, for Queen Mary's funeral (and used for his own).
Your link for the Croft goes to Widor’s Toccata.
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Croft - 'I Am the Resurrection'
Funny thing about this album though. It's supposed to be a recording of Croft's music as sung at St. Paul's . . . but the 'Thou Knowest Lord' audio clip is clearly the Purcell setting. No mistaking it, even in the short excerpt -- I've only sung it for 30 years or so . . . .
Croft said he could not equal the work of Purcell. He didn’t write his own piece for Thou Knowest Lord he included the Purcell in his work as a tribute. Funny the things one remembers from music history classes in college all those years ago. ;)
Thus Mr. Croft: “In that service, there is one verse composed by my predecessor, the famous Mr. Henry Purcell, to which, in justice to his memory, his name is applied. The reason why I did not compose that verse anew (so as to render the whole service entirely of my own composition) is obvious to every Artist; in the rest of that service composed by me, I have endeavoured as near as I could, to imitate that great master and celebrated composer, whose name will for ever stand high in the rank of those who have laboured to improve the English style.”
(It IS a good setting - for balance, for choral sound, for correct emphasis on the English words and their meaning, the best I've ever heard. In fact, I'm not sure anybody has ever had the nerve to try to improve on it.)
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