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All Saints Day Music Notes - from Director of Music Alex Benestelli

11/1/2022

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Picture
 
All Saints’ Day is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year, and the Schola Cantorum of St. James has prepared a special Mass setting and Motet by the Spanish Renaissance composer, Tomas Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611), for this week’s celebration.

Victoria is generally regarded as representing the height of 16th century Spanish music. At the same time, his fame and influence were more international in that he spent his formative adult years, from 1565 to 1587, in Rome. His fame spread throughout Europe thanks to an improved skill in printing editions of music. Victoria had many of his works printed in the new folio style, whereby the manuscripts displayed all the music together rather than in separate part-books, which had been the practice up to and during this time.

During communion, the choir will sing the choral motet, O Quam Gloriosum, first published in 1572. It is a brief expression of the composer’s talent for drama in the setting of a text for use on All Saints’ Sunday. His exquisite motets are generally short, stark, largely homophonic works that reveal the influence of Palestrina, with whom he studied. The Latin text translates as:

                O how glorious is the kingdom, where all the Saints rejoice with Christ!
                Dressed in white robes, they follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes. Alleluia!

The material for this motet was recast as a mass setting of the same title. This is one of the 15 of his 20 published Masses known as a “parody” Mass. The typical 15th century Mass was built around a cantus firmus, a pre-existing melody, such as a chant or other song. Usually heard in the tenor part and often moving at a slow rate, the tune was embellished as the other voices wove more florid contrapuntal lines above and below. By the 16th century, however, the “parody”, or what might more accurately be called the “imitation” Mass became very popular. In this case, rather than quote an entire melody, the composer makes use of shorter motifs or fragments, adding or removing voices from the original, or using a fragment only at the beginning of each movement.
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The Missa O Quam Gloriosum was published in 1583 and was dedicated to King Philip II of Spain. The various melodic and harmonic devices used in the Mass are clearly derived from the motet. This setting is probably the most popular of all Victoria’s masses. It is relatively brief and contains moments of great brilliance and profoundly beautiful reflection.

(Sample some of the music in the Spotify window above.)

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First Event of "Pulling Out All the Stops" Organ Funding Campaign

5/6/2022

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On May 1, 2022 Walter DuMelle delivered a solo concert to kick-off the "Pulling Out All the Stops" organ funding campaign. This is the recording of the event which raised over $30,000 toward the fund. Feel free to make your contribution using the button below. Read the program HERE.
Donate Toward the Organ
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Alex's Playlist - Earth and Stars

6/9/2021

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Music captures the beauty of God's creation all around us. This week's playlist is comprised of choral music about nature: the ground, the water, and the stars.

Play all the music HERE, 

or sample each piece in the player below. 
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Alex's Playlist - I Bind Unto Myself Today

5/26/2021

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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the mystery of God in three persons is difficult to explain. Over the centuries, people have turned to art and music to make sense of it. This week, enjoy some of the great trinitarian works across the ages.

Play all the music HERE,

​or sample each piece in the player below. 
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Alex's Playlist - A Song to the Lamb

5/18/2021

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This week's playlist comes in the form of a brand-new recording released this week. The music of beloved former organist/choirmaster, Gerre Hancock, was recorded by the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys to celebrate the legacy of choral music in worship.

Listen to all the music HERE, 

or sample ​each piece in the player below.
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Alex's Playlist - Morten Lauridsen

5/10/2021

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It was this time in 2018 that the Choir of St. James was joined by the American composer, Morten Lauridsen. Here is a playlist of the exact program they sang -- a memorable experience for all. Enjoy!

Play all the music HERE,

or sample each piece in the player below.
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Alex's Playlist - Howells and Friends

5/3/2021

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This week we have a group of three mass settings in the Anglican tradition by the prolific composers, Herbert Howells, Harold Darke, and Kenneth Leighton. Each one takes the same ancient text and brings it to life as a new and fresh artistic expression.

Play all the music HERE,

​or sample each piece in the browser below. 
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Alex's Playlist - Haec Dies – This Is The Day

4/26/2021

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The Anglican tradition has some beautiful music for the Easter season from the English reformation to the Victorian era, all the way to the present day. Enjoy this album of favorites from the Choir of St. Thomas’ Church, New York City.

Enjoy all the music HERE, 

or sample each piece in the player below.
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Alex's Playlist - Easter Oratorio by J.S. Bach

4/20/2021

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Many are familiar with the famous St. John and St. Matthew Passions composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, but equally impressive is the Easter Oratorio, written around the same time.


Listen to all the music HERE

or sample each piece in the player below.
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Continuo Organ Brings First Sound of New Pipes

4/17/2021

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PictureGeorge Damoose with the organ
The sound of organ pipes can be heard once again in St. James' Church thanks to the gift of a beautiful new continuo organ crafted by Bennett & Giuttari located in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. A continuo organ is primarily used for baroque and early music as part of a "continuo group" of instruments that form the foundation of the ensemble. It also accompanies choirs, solo voices, and solo instruments and can be part of a chamber orchestra.

The new continuo organ will be used on Sunday mornings to accompany choral and solo music. Additionally, this will be the primary instrument for smaller services held in the chapel. The organ is on wheels and travels easily between spaces.

It will also be used in performance by the St. James Music Series and our community partners who present baroque and early music concerts at St. James by-the-Sea.

George Damoose and his children, Alison and Christopher, gave this beautiful new instrument in memory of their late wife and mother, Cari Sweeney Damoose (1942-2020). George and Cari have long been patrons of the arts in La Jolla, and we are grateful for their generosity and love for music at St. James and the St. James Organ Project. 

Read more and see more pictures HERE.

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Alex's Playlist - The Lord Is Risen Indeed!

4/6/2021

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This week we celebrate Easter Day, a time of great fanfare and beauty. Some of the most majestic music written for the church can be heard in these varied recordings. Enjoy the grandeur of this feast!

Listen to all the pieces HERE,

​or sample each in the player below.
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Alex's Playlist - Crux Fidelis

3/30/2021

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This week's playlist is a meditation on Holy Week. Some of the most beautiful and stirring choral music has been written on texts for Holy Week, such as "Crux Fidelis," which translates to "Faithful Cross, noble tree beyond compare."

Listen to all the music HERE,

​or sample each piece in the player below.
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Alex's Playlist - All Glory, Laud and Honor

3/23/2021

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This week we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David!" and "All Glory, Laud and Honor!"

Listen to all the music HERE,

or sample each piece in the player below.
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Alex's Playlist - God So Loved the World

3/16/2021

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Sunday's Gospel contained the famous quote from John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Here are several beautiful settings of that text as it has been set through the centuries.

Listen to all the music HERE

or sample each piece in the player below.
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Organ Project Conversations - Ric Parsons

3/2/2021

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Organ Project Progress!

A lot is happening with the St. James Organ Project these days. Construction is underway, and we are regularly receiving updates from Parsons Pipe Organ Builders in Canandaigua, New York. Final designs are coming together, and decisions have been made about keyboards, draw knobs, and layout. Many components of the organ have been ordered from suppliers around the globe.
Read more
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