17th Sunday after Pentecost (September 16, 2018)

Photograph source: unknown, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license

Writing organ works based on chorales is a time-honored tradition among composers for the organ, serving practical purposes for service use as well as creative variations on a theme for the concert hall. Sigfrid Karg-Elert produced his 66 Chorale Improvisations, Op. 65, dedicated to French organist Alexandre Guilmant, between 1906-1908 in six volumes encompassing chorales from the entire liturgical year. An Wasserflüssen Babylon (By the rivers of Babylon), a meditation on Psalm 137, begins the morning services. And from his compilation 20 Preludes and Postludes (1912), a postludium on the chorale Sollt ich meinem Gott nicht singen (I will sing my maker's praises) completes the services. Gabriel Fauré's setting of Pie Jesu, from the famous Requiem in D Minor, will be sung at the early service by soprano Blair Carpenter, who also serves often as cantor for the 6:00 p.m. service and sings with the Chancel Choir regularly as part of the Choral Section Leader Program. At 11:00 a.m., the Chancel Choir will present Blessed Be the Lord, My Rock by composer Abbie Betinis, a work conceived on September 12, 2001 as a response to the national tragedy a day prior and a prayer to the victims and survivors.    

At the 6:00 p.m. service, the music will take on a distinctive Hawaiian flair with  steel guitarist Chris Kennison and Plymouth's resident ukulele guru Stuart Yoshida.