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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ R4 Sunday Worship - July 6th 2025 - St Peter’s Church, St Albans

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Mark Dearnley (vicar):ÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý ÌýÌý

Good morning and welcome to St Peter’s Church, here in the heart of St Albans, as we mark the start of the 33rd International Organ Festival. Over the next two weeks, we’ll be welcoming young organists from around the world who have come here to compete and share their musical excellence, along with visitors and audiences eager to celebrate a wide-ranging festival of concerts - from orchestral to choral, early music to jazz

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We’re delighted to be joined by the reverend Lucy Winkett – broadcaster, musician and Rector of St James’ Church, Picadilly - who will be reflecting on the impact the pipe organ has made to music and worship over the centuries. She’ll be talking to one our country’s leading concert organists, Margaret Philipps – and we’re also very excited to welcome the organist of the Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles – Jean-Baptiste Robin - who will be giving a live improvisation based on our bible reading.

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But first, let’s begin our worship as the choir of St Peter’s sing an anthem written by Peter Hurford, who founded the St Albans Organ festival over 60 years ago - ‘Truly the Lord is in this place’.

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CHOIR

Truly the Lord is in this place -Ìý Hurford ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý
(with 1 vs of All People that on Earth do Dwell)

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Mark Dearnley:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

This festival of the pipe organ reminds us of the wonder of God expressed through the skills and creative gifts of these musicians. In the wider context of today’s worship, we celebrate God’s gift of music to us, recognising its ability to soften the hard ground of our hearts in preparation to receive the seed of God’s word, equipping us to serve God whoever and wherever we are.

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Let us pray

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Lord God,

giver of joy and delight,

we thank you for the gift of music

and for those whose compositions and performance stir our hearts.

May the song of your gospel move us to proclaim your

saving love in all the world.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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ALL: ÌýAmen.

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CHOIR

Psalm 121 (Walford Davies)ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

(No Gloria)

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Mark DearnleyÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌý

From the start, Peter Hurford’s aim for the International Organ Festival was to provide other musical events, some humour and social life – to attract larger audiences in order to demonstrate the potential of the organ as a musical instrument in its own right. For too long, the organ had been viewed as merely an instrument to accompany church services – the Festival was to prove its possibilities in solo recital, and to encourage the art of improvisation.

In a moment, we’ll hear from Lucy Winkett, but let’s first experience an improvisation by Jean-Baptiste Robin, organist of the Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles, as he gives us his musical interpretation of our bible reading. It comes from the beginning of St John’s Gospel and is read by the festival chairman – Professor Christopher Wood.

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Christopher Wood:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him;
and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life;

and the life was the light of all people.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Organ improvisation by Jean-Baptiste RobinÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

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Lucy Winkett – Reflection ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

The beginning of the Gospel of John that we heard is an awesome declaration of the dynamics at play when the world began. From nothing, God speaks. And God creates. Relatively late on in the process, human beings appear and begin to speak for themselves; naming the creatures, challenging God, revealing the mess of what it’s like to be human. The same language is used for the wordless music of the pipe organ.Ìý When a new organ is built, one of the processes that must be done is that it is ‘voiced’; each individual pipe is carefully adjusted to create the desired sound for the space. The organ ‘speaks’. Human ingenuity and technical skill in building a pipe organ will take the constituent materials of tin, lead, copper, oak, leather and felt; and craft it into a musical instrument, often built into the architecture of the host building, that harnesses the power of air under pressure to make sound. To speak

But this in turn needs the player and the composer truly to make music. The combination of human ingenuity and creativity gives the pipe organ its range of sounds, its ability to make music that is so soft it’s hard to hear - or to overwhelm a crowd of thousands so that they can’t hear themselves think.

Perhaps it’s because of its power to move, to impress or excite - that it has had a controversial history in the life of faith. As pipe organs developed in the late Middle Ages, there was ambivalence about their place in worship - and despite the enthusiasm of Martin Luther for his Reformation hymns and psalms led by the organ, the debate continued as to whether and how music should be such an integral part of the worship of God. In England, during the Civil War and the Commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell, the organ was seen as an almost blasphemous and idolatrous supplanting of the human voice, and so nearly all of the pipe organs in churches across the land were destroyed.Ìý

It wasn’t until the late17th century onwards, that church buildings would, once more, expect to house this ‘king of instruments’, capable like no other musical instrument, of conveying the thunderous power of God as well as the still small voice after the storm.

Before amplification - in society and church - before the sound of aircraft for instance, the pipe organ would have been the loudest human-generated sound anyone would hear- and for centuries, it was also the most technologically advanced object in any city, town or village. And so the practical music making of the organist, as a solo performer or as a liturgical accompaniment, has had – and still has - a profound effect on what Christian worship sounds like - and makes a serious and creative contribution to the voice of the church in the world.

The pipe organ expresses a particular ecclesiology too in a way.Ìý A development from the emphasis on more itinerant, forming Christian communities who at the beginning had no buildings, no permanence about them, a pipe organ is literally built into the walls, music living in the stone, hidden amid and sensitive to the architecture of the church that is its home. It is an instrument of the settled community, the sound, you could say, of a church community that knows where it is – in contrast to the more pilgrim, troubadour Jesus who had ‘nowhere to lay his head’.ÌýÌý But for all its appearance of permanence, even dominance, especially when the stops are all pulled out, the pipe organ is able to express wordlessly the virtuosity of the Creator God, the intimate cooperation required from humanity with the movement of the divine harmonies in the world.Ìý And one of the key elements of organ playing in churches is the requirement to improvise. After the gospel has been read, the organist sometimes, with no musical notes in front of them, picks up the theme, as we heard Jean-Baptiste RobinÌýpick up the awesome beginning of the gospel of John, the first utterances of God. To improvise is to let your mind move away from the regulation of the page and see where your imagination takes you.Ìý But always with the underlying discipline of the notes, the cadences, and the desire for resolution.

Organ music can teach the faith without words too: no doctrinal treatise can express the unity of God in Trinity for instance better than the pipe organ’s ability to play three distinct melodies at the same time, weaving them together in harmony to make one ecstatic chord at the end.

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CHOIR

Listen, sweet dove – IvesÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

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Lucy Winkett:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌý

The choir have just sung the beautiful lilting melodies of Graystone Ives in his setting of George Herbert’s poem ‘Listen Sweet Dove’. The ‘golden pipes’ mentioned in the poetry are not in this case a reference to the pipe organ – but do, in this evocative imagery, demonstrate that music expresses both joy and grief in the life of humanity, whose connection to the divine can be powerfully expressed in its chords and tunes.Ìý

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I’m joined now by one of our country’s leading concert organists – Margaret Philips – who is also on the jury of this year’s International Festival:

Margaret, to the observer, playing the organ is a ‘whole -body experience – using your hands and feet – sometimes with several manuals of keys and a pedal board, not to mention the stops and pistons you are working too.

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[Short interview with concert organist, Margaret Phillips]

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Choir

Litany to the Holy Spirit – HurfordÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌý

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IntercessionsÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌý

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Mark Dearnley:

Peter Hurford’s ‘Litany to the Holy Spirit’ brings us to our prayers. They’re led this morning by three competitors taking part in this year’s organ festival: Andoni from Spain, Hyeyeon Ahn from South Korea, and Grant from the United States.

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Andoni:

Almighty God,

we praise you for the wonder of creation,

and for the harmony that beats at the heart of all you have made.

We pray today that the gifts that unite all people

will inspire your Church to work for the good of all.

Enable people everywhere to respect and value this world – our home,

and so work towards establishing

a secure future for generations to come.

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Lord, in your mercy

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ALL: Hear our prayer.

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Hyeyeon Ahn:

Almighty God,

grant courage to challenge the discord around us,

to move towards peace in our troubled world,

and to never give up the hope that in you all is made new.

Undo the hatred harboured in the hearts of those

determined to bring destruction;

release those bound by fear or oppression,

and grant protection and shelter to those displaced

by conflict not of their own making.

Give wisdom and skill to those in positions of influence,

that their decisions and actions will be for the benefit of others,

and their work lead to peace on Earth.

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Lord, in your mercy

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ALL: Hear our prayer.

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Grant:

Almighty God,

here in the beauty of this place

and in the stillness of our hearts,

we hold before you those who are in need today.

We pray that in the midst of dark times

the brightness of your light will give them hope;

and the strength of your love will hold them fast.

Grant patience and skill to those who care for others,

and who through acts of service bring relief to suffering.

Keep before us that vision of your splendour

and your promise to complete the good work you have begun in us;

that in the final day we, and all those gone before us,

will be made whole within heaven’s song of everlasting life.

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Lord, in your mercy

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ALL: Hear our prayer.

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Mark Dearnley:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

We gather our prayers together in the words of the Lord’s Prayer

All Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.Ìý Amen.

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Choir

Jubilate in C – Britten ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

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Mark Dearnley:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

Our final hymn – Angel Voices - was in fact written for the dedication of a new pipe organ at a church in Lancashire, in the 1860s. This was at the peak of the Victorian’s love affair with the organ, when literally 1000s of new instruments were being built in churches right across the country. The words of this hymn celebrate the power and beauty of music – drawing a parallel between human musical expression and the celestial music of angels.

Hymn

Angel voices ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

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Mark Dearnley:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌý Ìý

Thank you for joining our worship this morning. It’s always a privilege for us at St Peter’s to be part of the St Alban’s International Organ Festival, to support those taking part - and enjoy hearing our own pipe organ under the hands of so many talented musicians.

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And so, may God be your comfort, your strength;Ìý

God be your hope and support;Ìý

God be your light and your way;Ìý

and the blessing of God, Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life,Ìý

remain with you now and for ever.

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ALL: AmenÌýÌý

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Organ Voluntary: Margaret PhillipsÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌý

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