PROLOGUE REFLECTIONS AND JUBILATION

Composer: BIERY, JAMES

In Biery s search for possible material on which to base this commission for The Congregational Church of Green s Farms, Westport, Connecticut, he came across the hymn O Lord, Almighty God, Thy Works. The history of the text coupled with the quirky angularity of the melody proved irresistible. The hymn was one of several hymns and spiritual songs found in the third edition (1651) of the Bay Psalm Book. The Bay Psalm Book was published by the Congregationalist settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony; in 1640 it was the first book published in English in North America. O Lord, Almighty God was popularly known as The Song of Moses and the Lamb and was sung at the first great council of Congregational churches in New England, the Cambridge Synod of 1648. The hymn is sung to the tune YORK, which is one of the twelve Common Tunes from the Scottish Psalter of 1615. At one time in England it was second only to OLD HUNDREDTH in popularity. Even though the Prologue, Reflection, and Jubilation is based on the tune YORK, the entire melody is not heard until the third movement. The Prologue is a tribute to one of Biery s favorite 20th century composers, Maurice Durufl . The running figuration heard throughout is built upon the first four notes of the hymn. The main theme, played on the