Brass Notes (Ordination 2025)
Gents, once again, thank you for agreeing to play for us. I’m compiling this list with some basic information and audio samples to help give you context for your parts if you need/want it.
Warmups will begin at 8:30am Saturday, and I will have chairs and stands ready for you. I will also have spare copies of all parts, as well as corrected copies of Jesu Joy (which is lacking a proper key signature) and the recessional hymn, which has now been paired down from 4 verses to 3.
Dress code is concert black if you have it, otherwise, black slacks and white top with suit coat if you have one.
What follows is more/less the order we will proceed, with various notes and sample audio.
Prelude: (Trombone I / Organ only)
Processional Hymn: Come Holy Ghost (Lambilotte)
—main thing of note here is the repeat structures, and then V5 is a reharmonization. We briefly flirt with the minor mode as we sing “drive far away our deadly foe”. Give it a brassy bite.Kyrie & Gloria you are silent.
Psalm 89: it is unmetered music based on chant. This will likely be an unusual experience for you as a player. To get a sense of the flow, please check out this demo; note the “boop” at the beginning of each refrain.
Gospel Acclamation: Chepponis’ famous Festival Alleluia:
Offertory: Totus tuus — the sequence is: gentle brass intro, the cantor demos it once with organ, we all repeat the refrain back, and then commences the march of verse/refrain/verse/refrain. Once the verses start, every subsequent refrain is sung through twice each time, and you play on the repeats (second pass).
The choir will then do the heavy lifting for the next long while until communion begins. You can just relax for a while.
Communion I: Jesu, Joy / Jesu Bleibet. The classic Bach; brass plays the chorale with the singers, punctuated by the interludes on the organ which carry the other orchestral parts. I will give cues to the choir for each entrance so they don’t have to track the organ part so closely. Your entrances are all the same.
There will be a brief hymn in burmese with just a cantrix and myself.
Communion III: Laudate Dominum — same as during Totus Tuus: brass intro, cantrix + organ demo, all respond including brass, then verse/refrain/verse/refrain. While your playing can be full-bodied, I would like to make sure you stay behind the choir so their singing in parts can be heard.
Recessional Hymn: O God Beyond All Praising; if you are familiar with Holst’s The Planets then you know this hymn. Your parts included 4 verses, however it’s been paired down to 3. (music is the same). I will have appropriate copies for you so we stay in sync. Basic intro, and then an interlude and fancy verse 3; pretty standard fare. We will really lean in on this one, especially the final verse.
Postlude: Finale Jubilante by Healey Willan. Here’s a basic recording so you can get a sense of the piece; NB: I’ve transposed it down to a better key so the trumpets are not playing in B major.
Here is a key-correct demo in case you want to practice your entrances with it:
