Rupert Lang has been Organist and Director of Music at Christ Church Cathedral since 1986. In addition to leading the Cathedral Choir, he is the founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Children’s Choir. A sought after composer, his works have been commissioned by choirs all over North America, performed world-wide, and published by Boosey & Hawkes (New York). Earth Teach Me Commissioned by Central Bucks High School West Choir – Pennsylvania. Dr. Joseph Ohrt, Director. The only stipulations for this commission were that it be “a cappella” and that it use a First Nations text. It was premiered by the choir at a choral festival in Toronto in 2006. | Soloists: Anna Collins, James Emery | Text: Prayer from the UTE Nation | Recording Engineer: Stuart Tarbuck | I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say This work was commissioned as a surprise by Cora Van Wyck and West Vancouver United Church for Gerald Van Wyck’s 20th anniversary as Organist and Director of Music. Before writing this piece, I asked Cora if there were any favourite biblical texts and/or composers that Gerald relates to. She said that the Matthew 18 text was dear to his heart as well as the music of Thomas Tallis. I managed to incorporate the Matthew text and some quotations for Tallis’ famous “Third Mode Melody”. The Matthew text was sung in Dutch for the premiere as an acknowledgement of Gerald’s heritage. | Instrumentalists: Eric Hominick (piano), Paul Luchkow (violin) | Text: Hymn – Horatius Bonar (1808-1889), Matthew 18 – adapted by Rupert Lang | Recording Engineer: Stuart Tarbuck | Creator of the Ends of the Earth This was commissioned for the Cathedral Choir by Hilda Gregory, a faithful and very active member of the congregation. Several years ago, she experienced a life threatening illness. After recovery, she wanted to do something to reflect her thanksgiving to God for her return to health. This text had become meaningful for her during her healing process. | Soloist: Ray Horst | Instrumentalist: Rupert Lang (pipe organ) | Text: Isaiah 40: 27-31 | Recording Engineer: Ryen Froggatt | Bell Mass This miniature mass setting was originally written for “low” summer Sundays where I often have fewer singers in the choir. Completed on Father’s Day in 1984, I dedicated it to my father for teaching me to appreciate and love great choral and organ music as much as he did. | Soloist: Bruce Hoffman | Instrumentalist: Rupert Lang (bells) | Text: Traditional (Book of Common Prayer) | Recording Engineer: Ryen Froggatt | Kontakion The Director of Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, Diane Loomer, commissioned me to write a piece for one of their Remembrance Day concerts. She included a request that the audience be able to participate in some form. I thought that the best way to include the audience would be to include a refrain that they could sing a few times throughout the piece. The Kontakion is a form of hymn performed in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The word was originally encountered in Byzantine hymnography whose origins date back as far back as the 6th century AD, and possible earlier. The main body of the Kontakion was chanted by a cantor after the Gospel reading, while the congregation joined in the refrain. I chose this text as it satisfied the requirements requested by Diane.Although this setting was written for use on Remembrance Day, it is also suitable for All Saints Day in the church calendar as well as funerals or memorial services. | Soloists: Bruce Hoffman, Stuart Tarbuck, Karen Mang | Instrumentalist: Rupert Lang (organ and piano) | Text: from the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy | Recording Engineer: Stuart Tarbuck | Agneau de Dieu This work was written for a CBC choral competition. I decided to write my own piece because, at that time, I could not find a suitable work that would fulfill the French language and Canadian composer requirements for the church choir category. Meeting a tight deadline, it was written, rehearsed and recorded in just a few days. I dedicated this work to a chorister in my choir, Francine Panet-Raymond, a native of Montreal, in appreciation for all her support of the music program at the Cathedral. | Soloist: Bernard Cayouette | Text: traditional | Recording Engineer: Stuart Tarbuck | We Sing a Love In 2004, the Vancouver School of Theology (VST) commissioned an “a cappella” choral work to commemorate the opening of Sommerville House, a new student residence at VST. The commission and the naming of the residence honoured Archbishop David Somerville and his long association with the school: first as a student (along with my father who was also a student at VST during this time) and later as a professor and chaplain. The work was premiered on May 26, 2005 at Christ Church Cathedral by the Cathedral Choir and the Vancouver Children’s Choir under my direction. | Soloist: Anna Collins | Instrumentalist: Rupert Lang (pipe organ) | Text: Herbert O’Driscoll | Recording Engineer: Ryen Froggatt | Come Home Commissioned by the British Columbia Boy’s Choir, their director – Tony Araujo – gave me no specific requirements. I then searched for a text that might be appropriate not only for a boy’s choir; but a BC boy’s choir. A collection called Pioneer Poets of B.C. was my source, where I found a poem written by a young girl, Emma Moberly, expressing her deep sadness at missing her brother, Walter Moberly. He left home to be an exploere in the early pioneer days of British Columbia. She had obviously mailed her new poem to her wandering brother, because she included his answer at the end of her poem: “Answer, W. to E. A restless spirit, a ceaseless wish Debars one from a home of bliss. W.M.” | Soloists: Kim Hardy, Byron Hanson | Text: An Invitation to Return Home, poem by Emily Moberly | Recording Engineer: Stuart Tarbuck | Missa Terra Nova: Kyrie, Sanctus and Lord's Prayer | Synthesizer arrangements: Peter Allen and Rupert Lang | Instrumentalist: Rupert Lang (piano) | Text: Traditional (Book of Alternative Services | Recording Engineer: Ryen Froggatt | This congregational mass setting was commissioned by Christ Church Cathedral for their Centennial celebrations in 1989. It was written for the season of Advent. Jim Cruickshank, who was Dean of the Cathedral at the time, requested that the music be rooted in the past, but also look "forward" in the use of contemporary elements. In this case, I chose to use pre-recorded sequenced accompaniment in the Kyrie and Sanctus. Like a Child This arrangement is dedicated to Loretta Ellenberger who composed this beautiful melody. I originally encountered her hymn, based on Psalms 130 and 131, in our Cathedral parish hymn book called "We Are the Branches". It inspired me to set it in a spiritual / gospel style for my Vancouver Children's Choir and my Cathedral Choir. | Soloist: Marcus Mosely | Text: Loretta Ellenberger, based on Psalm 131:2 and 130:1 | Recording Engineer: Ryen Froggatt | How Like an Angel This work is dedicated to my mother Jean who fought a battle of ill health for many weary years, dying at the young age of 66. Her love and dedication to her family as well as her love of music and poetry inspired me to write this work. The 18th century poet Thomas Traherne particularly fascinated me in his unusual use of the first person perspective. The angel or "Christ" figure speaks from personal experience of creation such as "when first among His works I did appear". Colourful imagery is spelled out in phrases like "rich diamond, and pearl and gold"; heavenly angel-choruses and earthly creation meet together in the choruses of "O how their glories did me crown". | Soloist: Bruce Pullan | Instrumentalist: David Stratkouskas (piano) | Text: Thomas Traherne (1637 - 1674) | Cantate Domino This was written for my Vancouver Children's Choir in preparation for an international choral competition. This event required one work to be by a Canadian composer. We had ordered a specific piece but it didn't arrive on time to learn it. So, I wrote a piece for my choir and taught it to them page by page just 3 weeks before the competition. Since then, it has become a very popular piece for treble choirs in many countries with its use of synthesizer accompaniment, or as the optional a cappeila version. | Choir: Pretoria High School for Girls Choir, South Africa (Michael Barrett, Director) |