Music for this Sunday
29th in Ordinary Time, Year C — Oct 19, 2025
The prelude this week continues with an in alternim setting of the Kyrie Orbis factor, but this time with the music of Giovanni Battista Fasolo OFM (1598-1664). He was known for his works which were intended for smaller parish churches. His music is more in the Venetian style of the period although he was the maestro di cappella for the Archbishop of Monreale in Sicily.
Our Entrance Hymn is O God, Our Help in Ages Past to the tune, Saint Anne, probably one of the best known hymns in the English language. Originally written by Isaac Watts and published in his The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament (1719), a collection of all but 12 of the Psalm in metered verse. It is based on Psalm 90 and originally had 9 verses. John Wesley included it in his hymnal of 1738, A Collection of Psalm and Hymns; however, he changed the original first word—Our—to O, and it has been thus ever since.
The tune, Saint Anne, was probably composed by William Croft (1678-1727), again, probably when he was organist at Saint Anne’s in Soho, London, England. Croft had an exceptional career. He was educated in the Chapel Royal under John Blow and remained a chorister at the Chapel Royal until 1698. He then became organist at Saint Anne’s, Soho, and 2 years later was made a ‘Gentleman Extraordinary’ at the Chapel Royal. In 1707, he took over the position of Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal, a post left vacant by Jeremiah Clarke. He then became organist at Westminster Abbey. He composed the funeral music for Queen Anne (1714), and the for the coronation of George I (1715). Occasionally at large funerals here, you will hear some of Queen Anne’s funeral music which the cantors keep as ‘emergency’ music. You may hear it here.
At Communion, the anthem is an Ave verum Corpus by Léon Boëlmann (1862-1897), a Frenchman from Alsace. At 9, he entered the École Niedermeyer in Paris, a classical religious music school where he studied under Eugène Gigout, who later adopted him. He died at an early age from tuberculosis.
Ave verum Corpus, translated as Hail, True Body, dates to the 13th century and is attributed to one of the Popes—either Innocent III, IV, V, or VI. During the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the Blessed Sacrament during consecration.
The postlude is by Bob Lind. Lind studied at North Park College and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He worked with Leo Sowerby, known as the Dean of American Church music. He succeeded Sowerby at the Cathedral of Saint James, Chicago, before serving in Vietnam. Lind has composed extensively.