Wednesday, September 4, 2024

"The Lord’s Prayer," Albert Hay Malotte

Sharon Jones, soloist

I think we all connect with that feeling when you experience something, and you hope that from that point onward, every time you experience that thing, you hope it will feel the same as it did that one time.

As I prepared today's musical reflection, I kept coming back to this recording of our beloved Sharon Jones performing “The Lord's Prayer,” in its iconic musical setting by Albert Hay Malotte, and each time I listen it brings me back to when I was much younger — a child here at St. John's, in fact! — and remembering Sharon performing this with a previous organist (truthfully I cannot remember if it was with Diane Dean, or Abbey Siegfried), and feeling completely gobsmacked by her performance.

Although we don't have much in the way of old audio recordings from before the pandemic, I think we can all agree that it's pretty sweet to be able to go back and hear and see what things were like before today. Having our YouTube channel is a strange and beautiful gift. If you're ever feeling curious, nostalgic, bored, or otherwise inspired, go check out any one of the many playlists, and marvel at not only how things change throughout the passage of time, but how things are similar. Ever amazing, this community called St. John's is ever-changing, yet never failing to hold us all.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I always will.

Olin

Featured Offertory Anthem at the 9:30am service of Holy Eucharist on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

This performance was recorded live at St. John's Episcopal Church, Portsmouth, NH, on June 12, 2022.