We are very fortunate to have Stephen Rothwell as our organist
He has produced a book ‘Interludes for Organ’ , published in Dec 2020. Please go to his website www.aldermusic.co.uk for more information and online ordering.
The piece is a chorale prelude by Brahms ‘O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen’ (Oh, how blest are ye whose toils are ended). It’s one of the set of 11 pieces he wrote at the end of his life and not published till after his death. Indeed the last of the set is his very final composition. More information on the chorale, text and translation is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://<!– wp:paragraph –> <p>The piece is a chorale prelude by Brahms 'O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen' (Oh, how blest are ye whose toils are ended). It’s one of the set of 11 pieces he wrote at the end of his life and not published till after his death. Indeed the last of the set is his very final composition. More information on the chorale, text and translation is here <a href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale495-Eng3.htm">http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale495-Eng3.htm</a></p> <!– /wp:paragraph –>" data-type="URL" data-id="<!– wp:paragraph –> <p>The piece is a chorale prelude by Brahms 'O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen' (Oh, how blest are ye whose toils are ended). It’s one of the set of 11 pieces he wrote at the end of his life and not published till after his death. Indeed the last of the set is his very final composition. More information on the chorale, text and translation is here <a href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale495-Eng3.htm">http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Texts/Chorale495-Eng3.htm</a></p> here
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (My soul magnifies the Lord) is Martin Luther’s translation of the Magnificat canticle. It is traditionally sung to a German variant psalm tone in Gregorian chant.
See Hymn 55 in our hymn books – Be thou my guardian and my guide, and hear me when I call:
‘Jesus Christus unser Heiland’ by Dietrich Buxtehude. I have added the chorale text to the video, but full details of this hymn are here . It seems that in Lent of 1524 was Luther was explaining his views on the Eucharist in a series of sermons. Further info about Buxtehude here
‘Erbarm dich mein, O Herre Gott’ (Have mercy on my O God) is a versification of Psalm 51, by J.S. Bach. The tune is set against an accompaniment of repeating chords unique in Bach’s keyboard writing which give it it’s popular name of the ‘heartbeat’ chorale. This projects a sense of almost hypnotic gravitas. The solemn feel is balanced by Bach’s harmonic language, which incorporates certain unexpected turns that suggest hope of divine forgiveness expressed by the psalmist. This sense of forgiveness is also hinted at by the final bar, in which dissonance is resolved peacefully onto a major chord. More detailed Info on the tune is here. Interesting as it gives the English text in Coverdale’s translation of Psalm 51 with all the olde English spellings.
Jesu Meine Freude – is a hymn in German, written by Johann Franck in 1650. A translation of the hymn is here and more details here . Composer info is here
“Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten” (He who allows dear God to rule him) is a 1641 hymn by Georg Neumark, who also composed the melody for it. It has seven verses and deals with the Christian putting their trust in God. – for more – see Wikipage here
St James Church, Alderholt 