Music

Van Quinn, Organist and Choirmaster

The Feast of the Annunciation

Thursday, March 25, 2004
8:00 p.m.

Solemn Evensong with J.S. Bach's Magnificat

And (the angel) came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!... Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus..."

An often unnoticed part of Lent's rich spiritual tapestry is the way in which apparently conflicting theological realities impinge upon one another in particular moments of liturgical time. Every Sunday, for example, is a "little Easter," although the texture and tone of our celebration of the Easter reality will differ within the seasons of the liturgical year. Accordingly, unlike the Sundays of Advent, the Sundays that fall between Ash Wednesday and Easter are the Sundays in Lent, they are not of it. The reality of every Sunday is the presence of the Risen Lord in and through the sacramental fellowship of His people. Consider Palm Sunday. The liturgy of that day engages the worshipper in a wrenching shift of realities after the Epistle, from the triumphant acclamation of Jesus as the Messiah to the cries of "Crucify him!" The hymn we sing after the Passion Gospel brings this home: "'Twas I, Lord Jesus," the palm-waver, "I crucified thee." At the end of the Maundy Thursday service the starkness of the stripped down altar and darkened church provides a stunning contrast to the radiant beauty of the white hangings and flowers and the sung Gloria in excelsis (the singular exception to the rubrics for Lenten observance) of the Eucharist.

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the few Holy Days that have fixed dates and March 25 almost always falls during Lent, although it can fall on or after Easter (which has happened, according to my count, only three times between 1900 and 2004). It is, perhaps, surprising that the liturgical celebration of this joyful moment (which, after all, set in motion that series of events by which the salvation of all humankind would be accomplished) should fall during the church's time of penitence, self-examination, and sorrow for the sufferings of our Redeemer. Although this date was obviously determined by the traditional date of the Nativity rather than some theological convolution, this juxtaposition of theological realities does help us to see the unity of salvation history, to see the teleology of that 'history' as events move toward that great 'end' which God intended from its beginning. Mary's response to Gabriel's announcement of her role in salvation history, her fiat, can be the model for every Christian's answer to the call of God. "Let it be to me according to your word." In the words of Hymn 475, "Let my soul, like Mary, be thine earthly sanctuary."

This year we will mark this important Holy Day with a Solemn Evensong that will include one of J.S. Bach's most brilliant and engaging large-scale works, the Magnificat in D Major. With the exception of the Saint Matthew Passion (which requires two full choirs, a third unison choir, two orchestras, and numerous soloists), no work of Bach requires greater performing forces: a massive five-part choir, soloists, and an orchestra which includes a full complement of strings, plus two oboes, two flutes, three trumpets, and tympani. While countless musical settings of the Song of Mary (Luke 1) have been composed over the centuries, none approaches that of Bach in grandeur of conception, variety of musical invention, and sheer beauty of sound. Bach's treatment of the text unfolds through 12 relatively short movements. Approximately symmetrical in structure the piece is framed by two large movements in the Italian concertante style in which passages written for the full orchestra and choir alternate with passages for pairs of voices (e.g., first and second sopranos, altos, and tenors). In a conventional musical pun the final movement returns to the musical style of the first at the words sicut erat in principio ("as it was in the beginning..."), beginning and ending in a glorious blaze of trumpet sound and tympani rolls. In between lies some of Bach's most beautiful and challenging writing for both soloists and choir. Bach constantly shifts the combinations of instruments and voices in order to being out nuances in the text and generate an ongoing level of interest for the listener. For example, at the end of a haunting duet between soprano and oboe as the soloist sweetly sings "...henceforth I shall be called blessed" the chorus and orchestra break in abruptly with the words "by all generations" in a staggering, rather intoxicating five part fugue in which the sections of the choir and orchestra pile up layer upon layer of sound, creating the impression that all humankind reaching out to the end of time is passing before your eyes. At another ravishing point the three upper voices of the choir entwine themselves around a simple oboe tune which every member of Bach's congregation would have instantly recognized, the tune to which the Magnificat was sung by the congregations in German churches. The service will also include "Annunciation," a large-scale motet by contemporary British composer John Tavener.

A nursery will be provided for infants and small children.