May 30th, 2021

François Couperin (1668-1733) was the preeminent harpsichordist and composer of his era, serving as court harpsichordist to Louis XIV and church organist at Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais in Paris. His compositional output includes several organ masses, as well as a large number of pieces for harpsichord and for chamber ensembles. This brief prelude was originally composed for the harpsichord, included in his instructional manual on harpsichord playing as a good introduction to longer pieces.

Our opening hymn is the classic “Holy, holy, holy.” The text was written by Bishop Reginald Heber and originally published in 1826, and first published with its memorable tune in 1861. The tune, called “Nicaea” after the council that defined the doctrine of the Trinity, was specifically written for this text by John Bacchus Dykes. Written simply because no other “suitable music” was available for this hymn, this tune is considered by many to be the best Victorian hymn tune.

“Immortal, invisible, God only wise” was written by Walter Chalmers Smith, first appearing in 1867, and later edited by the priest, author, and hymnologist Percy Dearmer. The tune this text is set to, “St. Denio,” is a 19th century Welsh folk hymn which was selected by the great composer Ralph Vaughn Williams as a perfect match to this text for the first edition of the English Hymnal.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 –1791) is without a doubt one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time. His many compositions include operas, symphonies, chamber music, sacred music, and numerous works for solo piano. Today’s postlude, the first movement of Mozart’s sonata in C KV 330, is a joyous allegro with tinges of operatic vocal colors in the melodic lines. A cornerstone of many pianist’s repertoire, this sonata was written when Mozart was only 27 years old.