The opening voluntary for the Lord’s Day Service on the Third Sunday in Lent is “Psalm XIX” (the lectionary psalm for the day) by Italian composer, poet and parliamentarian Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739).  Marcello was never a professional musician and regarded himself as a dilettante, but he was highly trained in music and ably crafted a notable body of work.  His  masterpiece is a collection of paraphrases on the first fifty Psalms.  Marcello’s Psalms were composed  for voices, instruments and organ; however many have been adapted for solo organ performance.  The organ setting you will hear is by E. Power Biggs.

The offertory is “Aria Pastorella.”  The composer is Valentin Rathgeber (1682-1750).

The closing voluntary is a liturgical canon by Thomas Tallis (1520-1585).  A contemporary of Shakespeare and a “Gentleman of the Chapel Royal” in Elizabethan England, Tallis wrote musical settings for the new Anglican ritual and consequently became known as the “father of English Cathedral music.”

– Gail

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In Psalm 19 we read of God’s majesty and grandeur in nature. Both our Choral Call to Worship and our Anthem for this Sunday reflect that theme. Holy is the Lord, from the 1826 Deutsche Messe by Franz Schubert, contains the phrase “Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory”. The Heavens are Telling, based on a German art song or “lied” by Ludwig van Beethoven (1779-1827), echos those sentiments in greater detail. In response to God’s presence in the physical world, we are called “to serve, adore, and sing His praise”.

On March 18, regular rehearsals of the Covenant Kids and the Sanctuary Choir will continue, although UA and Shelton State are closed for Spring Break.

– Glinda