Welcome to Sundays at Home
Good morning and welcome to Trinity! So glad you are tuning in virtually for today’s service. As we worship remotely, each week you’ll find Sundays at Home with Trinity Episcopal Church. We will be featuring the full service recording, as well as the sermon and anthem on their own.
If you would like to join us for an in-person service we have started Holy Eucharist in the Courtyard each Sunday at 10am. Simply bring a chair, mask, and a heart for worship.
Once again, thank you for tuning in and for being faithful with your time, talents, and treasures.
Grace and Peace!
Rev. Jonathan V. Adams
Worship for April 25, 2021
Please view the embedded video of our service below by clicking on the grey arrow in the middle of the image.
About the Music:
Good Shepherd Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays of the church year, because there is so much beautiful music written on the 23rd Psalm and on the theme of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The Trinity Choir will sing one of the definitive settings of Psalm 23 ever written, the arrangement by the Pulitzer Prize winning American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson (1896-1989).The text is a paraphrase of the Psalm (1674-1748) by Isaac Watts, regarded as the father of American hymnody. The tune arranged by Thomson, known as Resignation, is of unknown origin. It first appeared in print in 1828, and in 1854-55 was included in the collection known as Southern Harmony.
Our treble section leaders, Sarah Kitts, soprano, and Hannah Glass, alto, will sing the duet “He Shall Feed His Flock” from George Frideric Handel’s beloved oratorio, Messiah, composed in 1741. The text, supplied by Charles Jennens, is a compilation of words from both Isaiah and Matthew. The Old Testament part "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd" (Isaiah 40:11), is sung by the alto in music in 12/8 time which moves first down, then up. The New Testament part, in the Gospel words of Jesus, are changed to the third person "Come unto Him, all ye that labour" (Matthew 11:28–29). The soprano sings the same melody, but elevated by a fourth from F major to B flat major.
Our hymn for this week is #343, “Shepherd of souls, refresh and bless.” The text is by British poet and hymn writer James Montgomery (1771-1854), author of some 400 hymns, and the music is by the well-known British organist and Anglican priest John B Dykes (1823-1876), composer of 300 hymn tunes. This Communion hymn was first published in A Collection of Hymns (Philadelphia) in 1823.
Both of this week’s organ voluntaries are by well-known British organists and composers. Percy Whitlock (1903-1946), a student of Ralph Vaughan Williams, was Assistant Organist at Rochester Cathedral and later Organist of St. Stephen’s, Bournemouth. He was also an avid railway enthusiast. His peaceful and melodic “Pastorale” is an interpretation of Psalm 23:1. The “Fanfare” by William Mathias (1934-1992), a Welsh composer best known for his choral works, was composed in 1987. This non-traditional piece is bitonal, a composition technique developed by Igor Stravinsky in the early 20th century. The music is in two keys at once: the right hand is in one key and the left hand in another, with the pedal combining both keys.