Music Events
Evensong, February 12
5:00 p.m.
The Choirs of St. Catherine’s School and St. Christopher’s School
Always a highlight of the musical program year, the choir of St. Catherine’s School, under the direction of Kerry Flanigan, and the choir of St. Christopher’s School, under the direction of Greg Vick, will present a beautiful midwinter Evensong program.
WomanKind Healing Service and Family Eucharist, February 18 & 19
2:45 p.m., Saturday, and 9:00 a.m., Sunday
The Woman’s Choir of Alfred Street Baptist Church
Music for the 2012 WomanKind Eucharist and the Family Eucharist the following day will be provided by the Women’s Gospel Choir from Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, one of the nation’s oldest and foremost African-American congregations. The choir is directed by Dr. Joyce Garrett, who also is music director of the Kennedy Center’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. concerts.
Joint Concert with the Choirs of St. James’s, St. Stephen’s, and St. Paul’s Churches, February 24
7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 815 E. Grace Street
The concert will feature The Crucifixion, an oratorio by John Stainer. St. Paul’s Minister of Music David Sinden will conduct the hour-long concert accompanied by St. Paul’s Associate Organist Karen Harris. The soloists will be Matthew Hassmer, tenor, and Branch Fields, bass.
This performance will commemorate the 125th anniversary of the premiere of The Crucifixion in London in 1887. Not only is this anniversary concert taking place 125 years to the day of the premiere, but it also represents a kind of liturgical anniversary of the first performance: the 1887 performance was on the Thursday after Ash Wednesday; this year’s performance is on the Friday after Ash Wednesday.
The Crucifixion is perhaps best known for one of its central choruses, “God so loved the world.” This simple, heart-wrenching setting of John 3:16 is regularly heard in Christian worship the world over. Hymn 160 in our hymnal, “Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,” was also written for The Crucifixion, and has been published in the hymnals of many denominations.
John Stainer (1840-1901) took part in the British premiere of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and likely drew on its structure in writing his setting of the passion. Stainer’s work consists of biblical narrative, often sung by soloists, and poetry reflecting on these events and theology of Jesus’ sacrifice. In place of Lutheran chorales, however, Stainer includes a series of hymns for all present. This approach blurs the distinction between audience and congregation, and creates a choral masterwork in which all participate.
This year will not be the first time that The Crucifixion has been performed at St. Paul’s. In 1894 Richmond’s Wednesday Club Musical Society, a choir of 160 amateur voices, performed the work at St. Paul’s to an overflow crowd. A newspaper account describes aspiring audience members straining to hear the performance through the windows on Ninth Street. The organist for that performance was Jacob Reinhardt, the organist and choirmaster of St. Paul’s from 1878-1914.