Sounds of liberation from the world over this Jubilee Sunday morning.

The "eclectic" 9:00 a.m. service returns with an international offering of jubilant sounds including trumpet calls and folk hymns from Jamaica and the Caribbean. Plymouth's new Staff Singer Lucas Jackson joins bassist Peter Strening, ukulelist Stuart Yoshida, and I for a joyous worship hour.

At the 11:00 a.m. service, a trumpet call based on the hymn tune "Aurelia" ("The Church's One Foundation") greets worshipers in a fanfare-like blast from the organ. The exuberant "St. Peter's Postlude" by Hans-André Stamm closes the service on a triumphant note. Commissioned for a jubilee in the English Lancaster St. Peter's Cathedral, the work employs driving rhythms and catchy melodic lines leading to an exciting finish.   

The Chancel Choir begins their program year by offering "Jubilate" by Betty Hartland, a lyrical work calmly, yet confidently, expressing the joy of the kingdom of God.      

"How to approach the holy?" This is a question asked by each soul in his or her own way, knowingly or unknowingly, over the millennia. The providence of God revealed, loudly, in the blast of horns. It's the Jubilee! To Leviticus we go this Sunday morning.

"Soliloquy" by David Conte has become an oft-performed work in the organ repertoire since its publication in 1997. It is dedicated to Walter "Chick" Holtkamp, Jr., and was premiered at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1996 as part of "ChickFest," a festival celebrating his forty years of organ building. In Conte's words, this wistful work is "in simple ABA form. The principal idea is an angular, lyrical melody, at once both proud and shy, first stated in the solo flute and accompanied by a gently pulsing ostinato. The central section becomes more animated and rises to a declamatory climax. The character of the opening music returns in the final section.".

The beautiful concept of God as caretaker of all creation is perhaps expressed most clearly in the traditional spiritual "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."  Soprano Andrea Weidemann offers a flowing setting of the song by Moses Hogan. Known for his ambitious and thrilling choral arrangements of traditional spirituals, this solo work takes on a very different air: calm dignity barely concealing a brimming joyful conviction.

The trumpet shall sound with David Johnson's jaunty "Trumpet Voluntary in E Flat Major" at the Postlude. Composed in homage to the Baroque trumpet voluntary, the form is clear and concise. The solo trumpet theme alternates with a response on the Great Organ. A minor key 'B' section briefly interrupts the festivities before inviting the return of the main theme, its final reiteration on Full Organ. Classic.