𝄞 Hail! Bright Cecilia!

Hail! Bright Cecilia! (Z 328), Henry Purcell’s beautiful and rarely-heard Ode to the patron saint of music and musicians, was composed in 1692 for the Musical Society of London’s annual St Cecilia Concerts. Those concerts, begun in 1693, expressed a British fascination with St Cecilia that continues to this day, and in particular her patronage of music. Purcell contributed Welcome to all the pleasures (Z 339) to the very first St Cecilia concert in 1693, and continued to do so regularly until 1694, the Te Deum laudamus and Jubilate Deo morning canticles, just prior to his death. Hail! Bright Cecilia!, based on a text by Nicholas Brady based in turn on John Dryden’s 1687 Song for St Cecilia’s Day, remains Purcell’s best-known work created for these concerts. In addition to celebrating the 3rd century Roman martyr and her Feast Day of November 22nd it promotes her long association in art with the organ, and the preposterous but attractive idea that she invented it. The Dryden’s poem and Brady’s adaptation celebrates music by placing it in the popular concept of the British forests, but quickly turns to extolling the organ above the other instruments as they vainly challenge its perfection and beauty.

See the bottom of this page for the detailed schedule of offerings of the music of this unique and captivating work by RPC soloists and their Director of Music through August 2025, which culminates September 7th with the return of the full RPC Choir for its rousing final chorus.

~ Christopher Dawes, Director of Music

The Full August 2025 Word & Music List may be found here.

SUN, AUGUST 3, 2025

Guest Minister Rev Harry Klassen
Soloists Rebecca Genge, Alessia Naccarato, Charles Fowler, Taylor Gibbs
Prelude Sarabande with Division Z654 – H Purcell
Anthems II. Hail, Bright Cecilia – H Purcell, VI. Thou tun’st this world – H Purcell
Postlude Verset in F major Z716 – H Purcell

NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S MUSIC

According to tradition, Cecilia was a 3rd century Roman Christian forced to marry against her vow of virginity.  Her role as Patron Saint of Music and Musicians derives from her “singing to God in her heart” through the ceremony.  Her husband Valerian respected her vow, but the couple were eventually martyred for their faith.  In the late 17th century composers began commemorating Cecilia with musical compositions, often marking her November 22nd Feast Day (which, unusually among Presbyterians, RPC commemorates). Purcell’s Ode to St Cecilia (1692) based on the poetry of Nicholas Brady (based in turn on “A Song of St Cecilia” by John Dryden), was written for the Musical Society of London’s annual St Cecilia’s Day concerts, begun in 1683.  Also included today is Purcell’s hymn tune “Westminster

 ~ 

SUN, AUGUST 10, 2025

Guest Preacher  David Kim
Soloists Nancy Olfert, Mikhail Shemet

Prelude Voluntary in D minor Z719 – H Purcell
Anthems               III. ‘Tis nature’s voice, IV. Hark! Each tree its silence
Postlude               Corant in G Z 644 – H Purcell

NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S MUSIC

Last week’s choruses from Purcell’s Ode to St Cecilia represent Dryden and Brady’s establishment of a kind of setting for the celebration of music and instruments their text represents.  Having settled in Hail! Bright Cecilia! the matter that Britain’s forests ought to be filled with loving music, and thus deserve the fame of the fictional Dodona's Grove a well-known poetic allegory of Europe, particularly England (Dodona was the ancient Hellenic oracle of Zeus in Epirus), Thou tun’st this World credits Music (or possibly Cecilia, or even God Godself with making the earth and heavens to move in harmony.

Today’s arias build on last week’s sylvan setting.  Hark! Hark each Tree seems to bring into being, by manner of the trees’ speech, the Violin and the Flute, and inspiring the birds to fly to the Thracian Lyre – these are the first, but far from the only instruments to be celebrated, critiqued, later even pitted against one another(!) in this flowery and passionate text.  Meanwhile ‘Tis nature’s voice steps back and proposes Music as the Universal Tongue by all creatures understood – yea, even to express our passions, incite grieving, hating, joy and love; bind the Fancy, charm the Sense and captivate the Mind. – CD

 ~ 

SUN, AUGUST 17, 2025

Guest Preacher  Rev Victor Kim
Guest Organist   Daniel Webb
Soloists Alessia Naccarato, Charles Fowler, Taylor Gibbs

Prelude Pavane in Bb major Z750 – H Purcell
Anthems              VII. With that sublime celestial lay, X. In vain the am’rous flute and soft guitar
Postlude              Voluntary in G major Z720 – H Purcell

NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S MUSIC

Last week Brady (and Purcell) established a nature-blessed sylvan setting for Music’s British follies, and even thrown three instruments (the violin, the flute and the lyre) into action.  This week the action becomes more competitive: With that sublime celestial lay plays the proverbial Trump card (forgive the use of this idiom) in what will become a struggle among all of Music’s instruments in their diverse voices to offer fitting praise to God and to God’s Patroness of music.  Perhaps it is no surprise(?), that card is the organ, whose supremacy will be challenged (unsuccessfully) by the other instruments in the next few weeks, beginning with In vain the am’rous flute and guitar – who though not without beauty, cannot compete. – CD

 ~ 

SUN, AUGUST 24, 2025

Guest Preacher  Elizabeth Albrecht-Bisset
Guest Soloist      Nancy Olfert

Prelude Prelude in A minor Z652 – H Purcell
Anthems             IX. The airy violin, XI. The fife and all the harmony of war
Postlude              Voluntary in C Major Z717 – H Purcell

NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S MUSIC

Purcell provides us this week two more ‘vain challengers’ to the Organ. Yet in the case of The airy Violin and lofty Viol, they seem to give up immediately, ‘quitting the Field’ since they are directed to the service of the wealthy and the royal, while the Organ’s consecrated Lays are to more noble Uses bent.  Dryden, Brady and Purcell make it a bit confusing for us, and more than a little insulting to the other instruments, by not only making their struggle against the Organ’s nobility a vain one, but also making backward text references to the organ in what we might expect to be unique movements dedicated to the other instruments.  The Fife and all the Harmony of War fairs little better, as its (again, vain) attempt the Passions to alarm pales while the Organ’s Sounds compose and charm same.  The Fife seems an inobvious choice to personify war – but we might miss that in the 17th century the drum was considered far more an instrument of war than of music – this idea may also explain the conspicuous absence of the trumpet – also deeply associated with war and royalty. – CD

~ 

SUN, AUGUST 31, 2025

Guest Preacher  Rev Victor Kim
Soloists Taylor Gibbs, Mikhail Shemet

Prelude A Ground in Gamut Z645 – H Purcell
Anthems              VIII. Wondrous machine, XII. Let these amongst themselves contest
Postlude              Voluntary in A Major on “Old 100th” Z721 – H Purcell

NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S MUSIC

The Dryden/Brady/Purcell smear campaign against the instrument runners-up continues this week as the Wondrous Machine, the organ receives yet another propaganda boost while the Warbling Lute (though us’d to Conquest) is forced to yield. The Bass duet, Let these amongst themselves contest that brings this tournament to a close seems to strike the final blow in the organ’s favour by crediting it with all the other instruments’ Graces, a Consort of them all within itself.  If this has all felt a bit tongue-in-cheek, stay tuned for next week, where we hear and Hail Bright Cecilia once more, as the RPC Choir returns for another year of beautiful music in the service of our worship. – CD