The sound slipped into the sanctuary of St. Luke’s Church on Wednesday night the way a subtle draft might come in through the door, quietly but with enough force to make its presence known. It is more an echo of a choir than the sound of a choir itself.
“Now no more can death appall. Now no more the grave enthrall.”
It was a musical whisper that traveled a long way, from the practice room in an annex down two corridors and then up the steps, through the cracks in some thick wood doors and into the church itself. The acoustic qualities of this little Evanston church are so good the sound bounced around a bit, which made the darkened space seem mysterious and other-worldly.
On this particular night, the distant voices came from men and boys who were working hard on a very big piece of music. Edward C. Bairstow’s “Sing ye to the Lord,” is a golden oldie of Episcopal Church music written in 1911 for soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
Mix it up with St. Luke’s powerful pipe organ and the expanded choir and it becomes immediately apparent that something spectacular is under way.
As indeed it was.
They were preparing for this morning’s service.
Easter Sunday.
It has nothing at all to do with fluffy little yellow marshmallow peeps, chocolate eggs, fuzzy yard rodents, bonnets or baskets full of jelly beans. Instead, it is about the most important event in all of Christianity.
The commercial trappings of Easter are fine, of course. Pagan ritual and Christianity have always marched hand in hand and thus it is no surprise that vestiges of spring festivals would seep over the ages into religious holidays.
After all, look what the process did to Christmas.
But what they amount to is a collection of nagging distractions that pulls attention away from the main event. Even for the non-believer, Easter must carry a great deal of historical weight if for no other reason than the fact that so much has been constructed upon its story of resurrection.
St. Luke’s is one of those places where history and religion are so deeply mixed that you can’t separate one from the other. By the time services are completed Sunday morning, the congregation will have marched all the way back through some 11 centuries of church music, lost for a brief time in the thematic messages strongly conveyed in the liturgy and the music.
That is intentional.
Richard Webster, choir master and organist at St. Luke’s, said all of Holy Week has been aimed at Easter Sunday, with the music and the liturgies well coordinated to send the right messages.
“This church will be packed with people Sunday morning. It is one of the two times a year when a lot of people go to church. We need to offer something in the way of music that grabs these people, that allows them a glimpse of what the resurrection can mean in their lives,” Webster said.
“I don’t know what moves them to come to church twice a year, and it is our job to give them something to carry away. It is a very serious thing for me. We will do our very best anthems, dress up the hymns with descants from the choirs. Put our best foot forward. We hope that with a very powerful mixture of music, liturgy and preaching that these people will be provoked and stimulated to want to explore their own faith a little more deeply.”
This is a big challenge in a world full of noise and glitter, which is why Webster turned to Bairstow for ammunition.
Edward C. Bairstow knew all about the importance of Easter Sunday. How else could he have written the words to this “Full anthem for Easter,” which includes a spectacular collection of images of God, including the casting of Pharaoh’s chariots into the sea, the conquering from above of hell’s vast powers, the delivery of light to those in darkness, the freedom from the fear of death, the opening of the gates of paradise, the rising from the dead of all of the saints and a whopping great hallelujah before, exhausted, the piece finally takes its bow with a very spunky amen.
Sir Edward Bairstow was organist and choir master of York Minister, one of England’s two or three most important cathedrals. He held the job from 1913 until 1946 and was a most prolific composer. Webster chose Bairstow’s “Sing Ye” because it presents such a strong message of deliverance.
“It is all about Christians being delivered from slavery because of the crucifixion and the resurrection. Besides that, it is a rather grand and glorious piece. It uses the trumpets on the organ (which, it should be noted, are loud and brassy enough to force the reluctant from the back to the front of the church). It is a rather dazzling piece for Easter day.”
And most of all, it is traditional, an important part of the message sent this Easter Sunday at St. Luke’s.
There is no need to add any more logs to the fire of criticism that has swept across church music over the past few decades. Suffice it to say that fluff has played a powerful role in the driving out of substance. A modern artist might depict it arriving on a guitar-shaped wagon. Perhaps the idea was to get rid of big organs because they were old fashioned and hard to play. Guitars are not hard to play.
But they are particularly hard to play well.
Webster views this trend in church music as an attempt to “wrap the word of God in very attractive packaging. I have a real problem with that kind of music passing for church music. It is hopelessly mired in sentimentality or it has become pure entertainment, a serious disservice. What they are being fed is spiritual junk food when what they need is something to take away that has some substance and doesn’t leave them feeling squishy.”
The intention for Easter Sunday was to have no entertainment and no squishy feelings at St. Luke’s. Just to make certain everyone gets the right message, before the gospel the choir will sing that most traditional of Easter hymns “Victime Paschale Laudes,” written, Webster notes, by Wipo of Burgundy, who died in 1050. What is great about this song is that Wipo produced not only the words, but also the music.
“It is a wonderful tune, a profound text that sums up the whole message of salvation,” Webster said. “It’s a difficult song to sing, but it is important to keep alive some of the lasting treasures of our heritage.”
Wipo’s original hymn was in Latin. But here is a translation of what he said of Easter about a thousand years ago.
“Christians, to the Paschal Victim, offer your thankful praises.
“A lamb the sheep redeems, Christ, who only is sinless.
“Reconciles sinners to the Father.”
Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumph’d gloriously…
Mighty Victim from the sky, Hell’s fierce pow’rs beneath Thee lie;
Thou hast conquer’d in the fight,
Thou hast brought us life and light;
…Now no more can death appal,
…Now no more the grave enthral,
…Thou hast open’d Paradise,
…And in Thee Thy Saints shall rise.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
– Exerpts from “Sing ye to the Lord” by Edward C. Bairstow
