Extended Works
Choral Graduals for the
Church Year – Dennis Northway
Composed for and dedicated to the St. Paul Kantorei. The second edition was done in 1989.
Texts:
GRADUAL FOR PENTECOST 11 - 19
Oh the depths of the riches
of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable his judgements and his paths beyond tracing out! For from him and through him and to him are
all things. To him be the glory forever.
Amen. [SDG 14 August, 1987 @
GRADUAL FOR PENTECOST 20 to the SUNDAY OF THE
FULLFILLMENT
These
are they that have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. [SDG
GRADUAL FOR THE FEAST OF THE REFORMATION
Great
is the Lord and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy
mountain. Walk about
GRADUAL FOR A DAY OF SPECIAL OR NATIONAL
THANKSGIVING
The
eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open you hand and satisfy the desires of
every living thing. Praise the Lord, O
my soul and forget not all his benefits.
[SDG
GRADUAL FOR ADVENT
Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of
GRADUAL FOR THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
For
us a child is born, for us a son is
giv’n, and the government shall, and he will be called: wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Sing to the Lord a new song for he has done
marvelous things. [SDG
GRADUAL FOR EPIPHANY
Alleluia! Praise the Lord all you nations, extol him
all you peoples. For great is his love
toward us and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Ascribe to the the Lord the Glory due his
name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Alleluia!
[SDG
GRADUAL FOR LENT
Oh
come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfection of our faith;
who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
GRADUAL FOR HOLY WEEK
Christ
entered the most Holy Place once and for all by his own blood, having obtained
eternal redemption. He is the mediator
of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance. He provided redemption for
his people; he ordained his covenant forever.
[SDE
GRADUAL FOR EASTERTIDE
Christ
has risen from the dead. God the Father
has crowned him with glory and honor. He
has made him ruler over the works of His hands; He has put everything under His
feet.
[SDG
GRADUAL FOR THE DAY OF PENTECOST
I
will pour out my Sprit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
It is with the heart that man believes and is justified, and it is with
his mouth that he confesses and is saved.
[
GRADUAL FOR SUNDAYS AFTER PENTECOST
Great
is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness, no one can fathom. I will meditate on your wonderful works, and
I will proclaim your great deeds.
[SDG 15 May, 1988 @
The Passion according to
I am profoundly proud of this exceptional and
powerful work. It employs a narrator
treble trio singing in tone clusters, and a recommended female Jesus. Jesus speaks in chorale tunes and the choir
parts are elegant and accessible. The
work is unaccompanied. The text is the
historic Passion reading for Good Friday which encompasses John chapters 18
& 19. The translation used is the
Revised Standard Version. I strongly
recommend your consideration of this work.
Composed for Holy Week 1988 for
Text:
The
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the holy evangelist
At that time, Jesus went out with
his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and
his disciples entered. Now Judas, who
betrayed him, also knew the place; for
Jesus often met there with his disciples.
So Judas, procuring a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief
priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and
weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that
was to befall him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of
Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with
them. When he said to them, "I am
he," they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, "Whom do you
seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am
he; so, if you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfil the word which he had
spoken, "Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one." Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it
and struck the high priest's slave and cut off his right ear. The slave's name
was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter,
"Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup which the
Father has given me?" So the band
of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and
bound him. First they led him to Annas;
for he was the father-in-law of Ca'iaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Ca'iaphas who had given counsel to the
Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did
another disciple. As this disciple was
known to the high priest, he entered the court of the high priest along with
Jesus, while Peter stood outside at the
door. So the other disciple, who was
known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the maid who kept the door, and
brought Peter in. The maid who kept the
door said to Peter, "Are not you also one of this man's disciples?" He said, "I am not." Now the servants and officers had made a
charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming
themselves; Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about
his disciples and his teaching. Jesus
answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in
synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together; I have said nothing
secretly. Why do you ask me? Ask those
who have heard me, what I said to them; they know what I
said." When he had said
this, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying,
"Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken
wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you
strike me?" Annas then sent him
bound to Ca'iaphas the high priest. Now
Simon Peter was standing and warming himself.
They said to him, "Are not you also one of his
disciples?" He denied it and said,
"I am not." One of the
servants of the high priest, a kinsman of the man whose ear Peter had cut off,
asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Peter again denied it; and at once the cock
crowed. Then they led Jesus from the
house of Ca'iaphas to the praetorium. It
was early. They themselves did not enter
the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the
passover. So Pilate went out to them
and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered him, "If this man were
not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over." Pilate said to them, "Take him
yourselves and judge him by your own law."
The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to
death." This was to fulfil the
word which Jesus had spoken to show by what death he was to die. Pilate entered the praetorium again and called
Jesus, and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this of
your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have
handed you over to me; what have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingship is not of
this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I
might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the
world." Pilate said to him,
"So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a
king. For this I was born, and for this
I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of
the truth hears my voice." Pilate
said to him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to
the Jews again, and told them, "I find no crime in him. But you have a custom that I should release
one man for you at the Passover; will you have me release for you the King of
the Jews?" They cried out again,
"Not this man, but Barab'bas!"
Now Barab'bas was a robber. Then
Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And
the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him
in a purple robe; they came up to him,
saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again, and said to them,
"See, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no crime
in him." So Jesus came out,
wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them,
"Behold the man!" When the
chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him,
crucify him!" Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law,
and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of
God." When Pilate heard these
words, he was the more afraid; he entered the praetorium again and said to
Jesus, "Where are you from?"
But Jesus gave no answer. Pilate
therefore said to him, "You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release
you, and power to crucify you?"
Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had
been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater
sin." Upon this Pilate sought to
release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are not
Caesar's friend; every one who makes himself a king sets himself against
Caesar." When Pilate heard these
words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called
The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gab'batha.
Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about the
sixth hour. He said to the Jews,
"Behold your King!" They cried out, "Away with him, away with
him, crucify him!" Pilate said to
them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but Caesar."
Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing
his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew
Gol'gotha. There they crucified him,
and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the
cross; it read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this title, for the
place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in
Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. The
chief priests of the Jews then said to Pilate, "Do not write, `The King of
the Jews,' but, `This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" Pilate answered, "What I have written I
have written." When the soldiers
had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each
soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic
was without seam, woven from top to bottom;
so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for
it to see whose it shall be." This
was to fulfil the scripture, "They parted my garments among them, and for
my clothing they cast lots." So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his
mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Mag'dalene. When Jesus saw his mother,
and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother,
"Woman, behold, your son!" Then
he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to
his own home. After this Jesus, knowing
that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), "I
thirst." A bowl full of vinegar
stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to
his mouth. When Jesus had received the
vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave up
his spirit. [SPOKEN] Since it was the
day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross
on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that
their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of
the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he
was already dead, they did not break his legs.
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there
came out blood and water. He who saw
it has borne witness -- his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the
truth -- that you also may believe. For
these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone
of him shall be broken." And again
another scripture says, "They shall look on him whom they have
pierced." After this Joseph of
Arimathe'a, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him
leave. So he came and took away his body.
Nicode'mus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in
linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified
there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been
laid. So because of the Jewish day of
Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
NOTE! Click on the sound file below first, then
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