June 23

Bliss divided the middle of his career between London and California, where he taught at Berkeley during 1939–1941. He returned to England to become director of music at the BBC, was knighted by George VI in 1950, and became Master of the Queen’s Music in 1953.

Postlude        Sonata in g: Allegro moderato by C. P. E. Bach

9 June 2002 

Toccata and Fugue in d ("Dorian") by J. S. Bach

Bach’s Dorian toccata is a dialogue between the basic full organ sounds of the two manuals, showing how they complement one another although differing in weight and brightness. The long fugue that follows, while not one of his virtuoso showpieces, is one of his most sonorous and musically compelling.

Prelude        Chorale preludes  by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Postlude      Toccata and Fugue in d ("Dorian") by J. S. Bach

2 June 2002 

Anthem: Psalm 23 by Roy Hamlin Johnson (b.1929)

Roy Johnson is retired from the piano and composition faculty at the University of Maryland in College Park. He wrote the anthem we hear today in 1999 for the choir of the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Hyattsville MD, near his home; the soprano solo part was intended for his wife Jan.

26 May 2002 

Anthem: If ye love me by Thomas Tallis (c.1505–1585)

Tallis, raised a Catholic, responded faithfully when asked to write music for the reformed Church of England. Today we hear his elegant response to demands that the words be easy to understand in choral music. He begins by presenting the text in simple chords, then introduces flowing but completely lucid polyphony. This work was originally written for four-part men’s choir, singing at a slightly lower pitch.

Prelude         Selected short preludes, opus 51 by Carl Nielsen (1865–1931)

Postlude       Two short preludes, opus 51 by Carl Nielsen

12 May 2002 

Anthem: I will lift up mine eyes by Leo Sowerby (1895-1968)

Sowerby was organist/choirmaster at St James’ Episcopal Church, and professor of organ and composition at the American Conservatory, both in Chicago, from the 1920s until his retirement in the early 1960s. He then moved to Washington DC where he founded, and until his death directed, the College of Church Musicians at the Washington Cathedral. He is one of the dominant figures in American organ and choral music in the 20^th century. The anthem that we hear today, published when he was 25, makes dramatic use of both the alto soloist and the alto section, in a rich context of impressionistic harmony.