Holy Week from ‘St Paul of the Cross Little Organ Book’

Yesterday (Saturday 29th March) I was fortunate to have some time to record some of the most recent additions to my ‘St Paul of the Cross Little Organ Book’ project on the Grand Organ of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. There are a few extraneous noises – the cathedral was open for visitors at the time – but I hope they don’t detract too much from the music.

The theme of the pieces recorded was ‘Holy Week’. First was my Prelude on ‘Rockingham’ – the setting we use at church for the hymn ‘When I Survey The Wondrous Cross’, which is dedicated to longtime stalwart of the Pilgrim Cross Easter pilgrimage Damien Sweeney, who passed away earlier this year to complete his own earthly pilgrimage.

Next are two tunes we have used at church to sing the Good Friday Reproaches. First is a Prelude on ‘Finlandia’, Jean Sibelius’s great hymn tune.

Next is a Meditation on Thomas Tallis’s Third Mode Melody – combined with a setting of the text by my wife Gail, this is the version we currently use at church on Good Friday.

Finally, I have included a Prelude on ‘Now The Green Blade Riseth’ which I sketched out on a recent trip to Boston, Massachusetts. While the Right Hand plays the melody of the hymn, the Left Hand plays a melody inspired by the Easter Introit ‘Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, alleluia’. It is dedicated to the Organist and Director of Music at The Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Richard J. Clark.

I hope to add a Flourish on the hymn tune for ‘Thine Be The Glory’ once I have played it at the end of the Easter Vigil, along with a few other hymn tune settings that either need some finishing touches or just need a bit more practice playing!

To find out more about my ‘St Paul of the Cross Little Organ Book’, click here.