19th Sunday after Pentecost (10/20/19)

By Glenn Brunette - IMG_8878, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7608835

Webster's Dictionary provides two definitions of a fanfare: "a short and lively sounding of trumpets" and "a showy outward display." Fanfares have been used in art music since the 14th century as introductions and exciting instrumental flourishes with or without the traditional brass instrumentation. This Sunday morning, three fanfares will be presented in three very different ways though all expressing the character of a fervent musical announcement.  

Italian organ virtuoso/composer Marco Enrico Bossi concertized  and wrote prolifically for the organ until his untimely death in 1925. His Piccola Fanfara (translated as "little fanfare") is a brief work that is both playful and exclamatory, expressing characteristics of a scherzo. Gopsal, one of only three hymn tunes composed by G.F. Handel, is the subject of a British-style fanfare treatment by Sir David Willcocks. An opening toccata with the melody underlaid in the pedal leads to a Tuba stop punctuation of the closing phrase, culminating in a grand long final chord. The Plymouth Ringers offer Fanfare Allegro by Jeff Batdorf. Beginning with a regal chordal statement, the piece then introduces a Latin-flavored rhythm pulsing under a florid melodic motif which continues throughout this quirky light-hearted work.

The Chancel Choir sings The Splendour of the House of God by famed Iona Community composer John Bell. Arranged for chorus by Frikki Walker, the anthem was commissioned for the restoration of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Glasgow, Scotland. You, the congregation, will be invited to sing on the refrain of this hymn-anthem declaring the glory of God's church on earth.

At 6:00 p.m., Bobby and Blair will be joined by harpist Alaina Bongers and flutist Rebecca Quillen for an evening of contemplative and Celtic sounds.