Music Notes - September 28, 2025

Music Notes – September 28, 2025

This Sunday’s service begins and ends with French music for the organ that frames our worship with both reverence and brilliance. 

The Prelude is César Franck’s (1822–1890) beloved Cantabile from his Trois Pièces (1878). Written after he had become organist at the newly built Cavaillé-Coll organ of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, this work is a tender song without words. Its lyrical lines unfold with warmth and devotion, inviting us to rest in the shelter of God’s presence. Much like this week’s Psalm 91, which promises that those who dwell in the shadow of the Almighty will find refuge, Franck’s Cantabile embodies that sense of quiet trust and consolation in God’s care.

Our Anthem is “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” in a setting by Canadian composer R. Nathaniel Dett Casurella (pictured above). This beloved African American spiritual, rich with imagery of deliverance and eternal rest, has carried generations of singers and hearers through hardship and hope. Its refrain of being carried “home” echoes the psalmist’s confidence that God’s angels guard and guide the faithful. Both psalm and spiritual express the deep trust that, even in the face of danger and uncertainty, God’s faithful presence will bring us safely into rest and freedom.

At Communion, the choir sings Sergei Rachmaninov’s (1873–1943) “To Thee, O Lord” (Tebe Poyem) from his Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31 (1910). This serene choral prayer has a hushed intensity and soaring legato vocal lines. The music reflects themes found throughout today’s scriptures—faith, hope, and trust in God’s steadfastness—drawing us into a moment of quiet assurance as we receive the sacrament.

For the Postlude, the organ bursts forth in Théodore Dubois’s (1837–1924) Toccata from Twelve Pieces for Organ(1886). A favorite in the French Romantic organ repertoire, this toccata is full of energy and rhythmic drive, sending us out with a spirit of joy and vitality.

Finally, I warmly encourage you to mark your calendars for a special occasion next Sunday afternoon. On October 5 at 4:00 p.m., the Choir of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Philadelphia will sing Choral Evensong at the Episcopal Cathedral. This is a beautiful opportunity not only to hear our choir in a different sacred space, but also to experience the timeless richness of Anglican worship in the majestic setting of our Episopcal cathedral in Philadelphia. Please join us and bring a friend—it will be a service of beauty, prayer, and community not to be missed.

Fun Fact: Théodore Dubois, though now best remembered for this jubilant Toccata, was Director of the Paris Conservatoire from 1896 to 1905. His conservative style drew some criticism in his day, but his works remain beloved by organists worldwide.

Did you know? “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is widely attributed to Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in Oklahoma Territory before the Civil War. Inspired by Elijah’s ascent into heaven (2 Kings 2:11), the song also carried coded meaning for enslaved people, symbolizing the hope of escape and freedom through the Underground Railroad.