Music Ministry

St. Michael's Chancel Choir

About the Choir

The purpose of the music ministry at St. Michael’s is to provide beautiful music which will enhance the worship experience and glorify God by uplifting the hearts and minds of both the listeners and the participants, and to offer participants an opportunity to share their musical talents in a meaningful and fulfilling way.

If you are interested in joining St. Michael’s Chancel Choir, feel free to contact John Cozza or any of our choir members, and they would be happy to talk with you.  We are looking for people with willing hearts, open minds, a desire to work hard and a commitment to give of their best.  All sections are open for new members.  Please join us in glorifying God through music and being part of the “family” which is the St. Michael’s Chancel Choir.

Join the Chancel Choir

Handbell Choir

The Handbell Choir is on temporary hold. Please check back, thank you!

 If you are interested in playing handbells or learning more, please contact Sue Gaston.  The Handbell Choir rehearses every-other Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. in Johnstone Hall.  Please consult the calendar for exact dates.

Join the Handbell Choir

Contemplative Music

A treat from John Cozza, our Minister of Music. Beautiful music that will help you relax. Thank you John for helping us all cope with the stress that the pandemic has brought to our lives!

Bach, arr. Cortot--Arioso/Largo from Harpsichord Concerto #5 in f minor, BWV 1056

The next few piano meditations will feature music by J.S Bach, who was born in this month in 1685. The composer reused this beautiful melody several times (quite unusual for him). Bach scholars believe that it originated as the slow movement for a now-lost oboe concerto. Besides the Keyboard Concerto, it can also be found as an oboe solo in the Prelude/Sinfonia to the Cantata BWV 156, Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe. The transcription for solo piano is by renowned 20th-Century French pianist Alfred Cortot.

Choral Masterworks of the Week

Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53 by Brahms

The Alto Rhapsody, Op. 53, is a composition for contralto, male chorus, and orchestra by Johannes Brahms, a setting of verses from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe‘s Harzreise im Winter. It was written in 1869, as a wedding gift for Robert and Clara Schumann‘s daughter, Julie. The text, with its metaphysical portrayal of a misanthropic soul who is urged to find spiritual sustenance and throw off the shackles of his suffering, has powerful parallels in Brahms’s life and character.

For more information, here is a link to the Wikipedia article:
And here is a moving recording with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Christian Thielemann, with Elena Garanca as alto soloist:
English Translation of the WorkLearn More About The Seasons

St. Matthew's Passion by J.S. Bach

In this next Music Box video, Robin Fisher, soprano and John Cozza, organ, perform “Ich will dir mein herze schenkin” from the St. Matthew’s Passion by J. S. Bach.

English Translation of the WorkLearn More About St. Matthew's Passion