The musical highlights for Holy Week continue! Maundy Thursday will feature THREE beautiful choral anthems, including Maurice Duruflé’s much-loved “Ubi caritas” and Colin Mawby’s majestic “Ave verum corpus.” Good Friday’s bilingual evening service will feature a heart-wrenching arrangement of the African-American Spiritual “Take my mother home” during the veneration of the cross.

Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter mean lots of dramatic choir anthems coming your way! For Palm Sunday at 9:00 am, Stephen Paulus’ “Carol of the Hill” will be sung by the St. Michael’s Singers, depicting the crucifixion through the scope of springtime and the hope of rebirth.

March 10 is Woman Composer Sunday, as recognized by organizations like the American Guild of Organists and the Society of Women Organists. The choir will sing a communion anthem by the Canadian composer Stephanie Martin (b. 1962), while the organ voluntaries are by Rebecca Groom te Velde (b. 1956) and Adela Douglas-Pennant (1858-1955).

On Sunday, March 3, we will have the pleasure of hearing Rev. R. Scott Painter at the piano for the prelude at 9:00 and 11:00 am, offering variations on the hymn tune “‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.”

To close out Black History Month, we’ll feature music by African-American composers at both the 9:00 am and 11:00 am services on Sunday, February 25.

On Sunday, February 11, our recognition of Black History Month continues with an organ prelude by Robert A. Harris (b. 1938). Harris is a Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University and has served nationally and internationally as a conductor, composer and clinician.

The St. Michael’s music program recognizes Black History Month in February by programming at least one work each Sunday by an African-American composer. Undine Smith Moore’s arrangement of the Negro spiritual We shall walk through the valley is our pick for the 9:00 am offertory anthem on February 4.

Some of this Sunday’s music was chosen in recognition of MLK Day on January 15. The choir’s offertory anthem is an arrangement of the African American spiritual “Hush! Somebody’s callin’ my name,” which employs a simple, rhythmic pattern to highlight the last two letters of each “hush.”