Music at WPC-
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Proper 15
Voluntary: I Will Sing New Songs Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) Ronnie Dailey, Soloist
Offertory: The Call Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Ronnie Dailey, Soloist
Voluntary: Thaxted Gustav Holst (1874-1934) Setting by John Behnke (b. 1953)
Hymns
Opening Hymn: 439- In Christ There Is No East or West ST. PETER
Sequence Hymn: Insert- For Everyone Born FOR EVERYONE BORN
Closing Hymn: Insert- Take Me To the Water TAKE ME TO THE WATER
Next Week's Music at WPC:
Sunday, August 15: Nik Stackpole, Organ
Prelude- About the Music
Antonín Dvořák’s I Will Sing New Songs (Biblical Song No. 5) comes from his Biblical Songs, Op. 99, a deeply personal set of ten songs composed in 1894 while Dvořák was living in the United States. Drawing its text from the Psalms, the song opens with the joyful declaration, “I will sing new songs of gladness,” offering praise to God through music and thanksgiving. Dvořák’s setting balances a confident, almost proclamatory character with moments of warmth and lyricism, allowing the words of praise to remain at the center of the music. The Biblical Songs were written during a period when Dvořák was far from his native Bohemia and experiencing both homesickness and the deaths of people close to him, giving the collection an unusual mixture of faith, longing, consolation, and hope. In I Will Sing New Songs, that faith takes on an especially exuberant form: music itself becomes an act of worship, expressing the psalmist’s conviction that praise can rise even amid the uncertainties and sorrows of life.
Offertory- About the Composer
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) was one of England's most influential composers, celebrated for creating music that captures both the grandeur of the English landscape and the richness of its musical heritage. A passionate collector of English folk songs, Vaughan Williams wove the melodies and rhythms of traditional music into his orchestral works, chamber music, operas, and sacred compositions, helping to shape a distinctly English musical voice in the twentieth century. His deep love for congregational singing also left a lasting mark on church music through his work as musical editor of The English Hymnal (1906), which transformed hymn singing for generations. Among his many beloved vocal works is The Call, a setting of George Herbert's seventeenth-century poem from The Temple. Composed as part of his Five Mystical Songs (1911), The Call is cherished for its simple yet expressive melody and heartfelt text, inviting believers to seek Christ in every aspect of life. Though widely known for masterpieces such as The Lark Ascending, the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, and his nine symphonies, Vaughan Williams believed that music should belong to everyone- not only the concert hall. His works continue to inspire listeners with their warmth, nobility, and profound sense of humanity.
Offertory- About the Music
The hymn tune THAXTED comes from one of the most beloved melodies of English composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934). Its origins are found in the majestic central section of “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” from Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets, composed between 1914 and 1916. Several years later, Holst adapted the sweeping melody into a hymn tune for Cecil Spring Rice’s text “I Vow to Thee, My Country,” naming it THAXTED after the Essex village where Holst lived for many years. The tune’s broad phrases and gradual rise to a soaring climax give it a remarkable sense of dignity, warmth, and hope, helping it become one of the most recognizable hymn melodies of the twentieth century. Since its first association with Spring Rice’s text, THAXTED has been paired with numerous sacred texts, including “O God Beyond All Praising,” allowing a melody born in the concert hall to find an enduring home in congregational worship.