So! - what are we all playing?

[S_L]

Presumably we are all working at Christmas - so what are you planning to play/sing/accompany?

I'll kick off:

Christmas Midnight Mass is at ................... Midnight!!! The Nuns sing the Office of Vigiles at 21h45.

Mass begins in silence, no organ music, followed by the Introit: Dominus Dixit - (II tone)

The Mass setting is: Mass IV Cunctipotens Genitor Deus (The Plainsong is accompanied -  reading from a Four-line stave!!!!)

Credo III

At the Offertory: Daquin - Noel X

Adeste Fideles - at the end of Mass

Sortie: Karg-Elert - 'Adeste Fideles' - from 'Cathedral Windows' Op. 106

Christmas Morning is interesting - to say the least!

Again a silence followed by the Plainsong Introit: Puer natus est nobis - VII Tone

The Mass setting is in French:  Messe du Carmel by Ph. Robert - strange music!!

The Credo is by Stephanie Caillat - hugely dissonant - I can't imagine this ever being sung in an English Parish church!!!

At the Offertory - Il est ne le Divin Enfant

Sortie: In Dulci Jubilo - Bach BWV 729 

 

Wishing everyone a Happy and Holy Christmas - and an excellent New Year - when it comes!!

[Tony Newnham]

Hi

Rather more traditional English here!  I've already played for 2 Carol Services.  The first at St Edmund, Thurlaston last Saturday evening.  The organ in that small church is a Casson Positive - just 3 1/2 octave keyboard, and not in the best of health - but they do have a reasonable upright piano, so I played both during the evening.  Opening voluntary was the Brahms "Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen" - with  few "fudges" to keep within the F-compass of the organ - and a few more because the low F decided not to speak on the common 8ft bass rank!

 

Closing was Liszt "Adeste Fidelis" (The March of the 3 Kings" - played on the piano.  About half of the small congregation sat and listened - and applauded at the end!  (I also got a round of applause on Sunday morning at St Peter, DUnchurch - closing voluntary was the D minor Prelude & Fugue from the Bach (or whoever actually wrote them) "little 8).

Sunday evening was our carol service at Wolston Baptist.  Opener was a Guilmant Elevation.  Solo spot in the service was Guilmant again - "Introduction & Variations on an Ancient Polish Carol", and closer the inevitable Bach Fantasia on "In Dulci Jubilo"

This afternoon's family service has been cancelled, otherwise the Liszt would have got another outing.

St Peter, Dunchurch (2mp Grant, Deagans & Bradbeer organ) Midnight Eucharist this evening.  Opening with a setting of "O Holy Night" (there is a reason for me choosing to play this.0  During communion I'll start with Jan Swart's fun miniatures on SIlent Night & then improvise around carol melodies for as long as it takes - no idea what sort of numbers might be there!).  Closer will be the Guilmant Polish Carol variations (I think I can make them work fairly well on the neo-Baroque organ!)  Should be fun - but the last time I played for an ANglican midnight Eucharist was 2001 or 2002!

Sunday morning at Wolston will probably start with O Holy Night again, and I've not yet decided what to play at the end - possibly the Liszt - or maybe not.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas

Tony

[Martin Cooke]

I have 'Crib & Christingle' this afternoon and then Midnight and a 1000hrs tomorrow morning. I haven't really finalised my choices yet which is unlike me as I like to get everything included on the service papers, but I haven't been able to make myself do it this time! For this afternoon it will either me the Lefébure-Wély Sortie in E flat, a rather jolly prelude on God rest you merry by Margaret Howard, or We need a little Christmas - I know... I know... I can't believe it either!! EDIT post the event... in the end, I played Rutter's own arrangement (for piano) of his Angels' Carol.

At Midnight and tomorrow, it will be Bach and Karg-Elert Chorale Preludes, before and during together with James Biery's Mendelssohn  and Alan Bullard's Stille Nacht organ preludes from the OUP Hymn Settings for Organists series. There will also be the Ireland Holy Boy and some Lloyd Webber, I expect. And at the end, it will be one of BWV 729, Widor or the Vierne Carillon de Longpont. 

[Keitha]

First Mass of Christmas - prelude on a series of Christmas Carols arranged for organ (back by popular request after last year's outing), traditional carols during Mass.  Sortie - Toccata on 'Von Himmel Hoch by Marko Hakanpää (first seen mentioned on this forum, bought some of his pieces...and now I have to play them every year - whatever happened to Dieu Parmi Nous?). Predictive text's 'Parmigiano' spotted just in time!

Night Mass - prelude on John Rutter carols arranged for organ (again by popular request!), traditional carols, Mass Setting - Belmont Chant Mass by Christopher Walker, Proper Antiphons, Responsorial Psalm and Alleluia and the sortie will be Hakanpää's take on 'Adeste Fideles' (followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the parish room for all).

Day Mass - improvisation on Plainchant introit.  Mass setting pretty much as per the Night Mass, but no antiphons, sortie '`In dulci jubilo' - JSB (that one!).

Sunday Holy Family (not St Stephen in the RC Church this year!) - Mass from the Ordinariate's 'Divine Worship" - setting is Merbecke, plus antiphons, psalm etc.  Sortie will be the Sinfonia from Cantata 29 (JSB arr Dupré).

Then start working up for next Saturday (New Year Mass) & Sunday, Epiphany Eve Nine Lessons & Carols, and Mass for the Epiphany.

[DaveHarries]

I am not an organist or DoM but will be in my local cathedral on the 25th on volunteer duty. The setting was to be W.A Mozart's "Missa Brevis in B flat" (KV 275) but the Cathedral choir has been stood down as the lay clerks are all out with COVID-19. The music at the end of the service is expected to be Garth Edmundson's "Toccata on Vom Himmel Hoch" which is one of my favourite pieces for this time of year but it won't be much of a service without the choir along with the brass and string players who normally accompany them on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas all,
Dave

[Martin Cooke]

14 hours ago, DaveHarries said:

I am not an organist or DoM but will be in my local cathedral on the 25th on volunteer duty. The setting was to be W.A Mozart's "Missa Brevis in B flat" (KV 275) but the Cathedral choir has been stood down as the lay clerks are all out with COVID-19. The music at the end of the service is expected to be Garth Edmundson's "Toccata on Vom Himmel Hoch" which is one of my favourite pieces for this time of year but it won't be much of a service without the choir along with the brass and string players who normally accompany them on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas all,
Dave

Sorry to hear all of this, Dave. I am sure everyone is very disappointed.

[handsoff]

We had congregation of 7 plus 2 celebrants and 1 organist at 9am BCP Communion in a very cold and draughty church where the organ is at the West end under the tower and belfry leading to a mass of cold air landing on my head. Short pieces were therefore the order of the day and I did a 5 minute improv on Adeste Fideles interspersed with Good King Wenceslas before the service, nothing for the communion (no time!) and the one page voluntary on While Shepherds Watched by Alec Rowley. 

Then out into the marginally warmer  fresh air!

 

 

[DaveHarries]

13 hours ago, Martin Cooke said:

Sorry to hear all of this, Dave. I am sure everyone is very disappointed.

Indeed we were. The central part of the nave was still full and we had replacements for the Gloria, etc. and the part during communion where the choir should have been singing was filled (very nicely) with two pieces by Buxtehude which were played by the Organist & Master of the Choristers and he got a round of applause for the Edmundson at the end.

Credit to Norwich though whose midnight service I caught the end of on a live stream using YouTube last night: no lay clerks but just the boys & girls and the music I heard while watching that was excellent. Well done to all involved there.

Dave

[sbarber49]

My selection of short and easy pieces this year:

Carol Service
Tracey        Improvisation on Hereford
Dandrieu    Où s'en vont ces gais Bergers
Dandrieu    Si c'est pour ôter la vie
    
Midnight Mass
Buxtehude    In Dulci Jubilo 
Bach              In dulci Jubilo (BWV 729)
    
Christmas Morning
Barber         Prelude on Away in a manger
Dandrieu    A minuit fut fait un Reveil
Held           God rest you merry, gentlemen
    
Christmas 1
Bach             Jesu, meine Freude (Orgelbuchlein)
Karg-Elert    Pastorale: Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein
Pachelbel    Vom Himmel Hoch (P52 - trio)

[Andrew Butler]

Haven't been on here for a while so only just seen this.  At my gaff in France (Confolens, Charente) faulty pedal contacts have reduced me to manuals-only (Church say it sounds fine so why bother getting them repaired?!)

Christmas Eve:  Preludes: Early German chorale preludes + Daquin "Noel sur les Flutes"  Postlude: Renaissance Rondel (Andrew Fletcher) fudged manuals only version

Christmas Day: Preludes: Various French Noels  Postlude: Allegro Maestoso (Merkel) Again, fudged manuals only - played by request