The Easter Season fills April at St Michael’s Mount Dinham with joyful Sundays, with readings of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples, and uplifting Hymns, Mass settings and Motets. Please join us; all are welcome.

Sunday 24 April, Easter 5/IV, 10.45am. Mass in the Phrygian Mode by Charles Wood published in 1923.

A splendid, thrilling, multi-verse Anthem “Ye Choirs of new Jerusalem”. Composed by C V Stanford in 1910, the words are by St Ful­bert of Chartres (952-1028) Chor­us no­vae Je­ru­sa­lem; trans­lated into Eng­lish by Ro­bert Campbell in 1850, modified by Hymns Ancient & Modern and made famous through H J Gauntlett’s hymn tune ‘St Fulbert’. Stanford’s anthem uses entirely original material, alternating between two contrasting thematic ideas, one in G major in a lilting triple time (‘Ye choirs of New Jerusalem’), the other in the minor in quadruple time (‘Devouring depths of hell their prey’).

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem, Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn In strains of holy joy.  ( 3/4  Sopranos set out the main theme in G major, repeated later harmonised)

For Judah’s Lion bursts His chains, Crushing the serpent’s head;
And cries aloud through death’s domains To wake th’imprison’d dead.  ( 3/4  SATB modulate from D minor, A, E, back to G)

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem, Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn In strains of holy joy.  ( 3/4  SATB G major main theme harmonised)

Devouring depths of hell Their prey at His command restore;
His ransom’d hosts pursue their way Where Jesus goes before.  ( 4/4  SATB Fugue, second subject, G minor to E flat)

Triumphant in His glory now, To Him all power is given;
To Him in one communion bow All saints in earth and heaven.  ( 4/4  SATB modulate from E flat back to D minor)

While we, His soldiers, praise our King, His mercy we implore,
Within His palace bright to bring And keep us evermore.  ( 3/4  Bass tune, mixed trios, G, C, back to D major)

Ye choirs of new Jerusalem, Your sweetest notes employ,
The Paschal victory to hymn In strains of holy joy.  ( 3/4  SATB G major theme sung a third time)

All glory to the Father be, All glory to the Son,
All glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee, While endless ages run.  ( 4/4 TB/SA alternate, SATB, second subject transformed to G major)

Alleluia! Amen.

Sunday 3 April, Easter 2/Low Sunday, 10.45am. Sung Mass, and maybe an Easter Bonnet parade afterwards. Mass in E by Harold Darke, and Easter Anthem by William Billings.

Sunday 10 April, Easter 3 of/II after, 10.45am Mass singing Harris in F and Surrexit Christus Dominus by Michael Praetorius.

Sunday 17 April, Easter 4/III, 10.45am. Missa “O Quam Gloriosum” by Victoria and Exultate Deo by Palestrina. Also “Vocation Sunday”, a time for thinking and praying about one’s own and other people’s callings, perhaps to something new.