Sunday, October 26, 2025, 11:00 a.m. the Treble Choir will sing for the Youth Sunday service at Christ Church Cathedral

https://www.facebook.com/100064333403986/posts/196055537108038_1241932454627856/

For the Offertory Anthem, the Treble Choir will sing "The Lord bless you and keep you" by John Rutter.

The text is based on based on Numbers 6:24–26. It is also known as the also known as the Aaronic blessing. The blessing, sung or spoken, is used at the conclusion of worship, baptism, ordination, marriage, and other special occasions in Christian worship.

Sir John Rutter composed this anthem in 1981 for the memorial service of Edward T. Chapman, the director of music at Highgate School, London, with whom he had studied when he attended the school.

In "The Lord bless you and keep you", Rutter keeps the music restrained and simple. The accompaniment first rests on a pedal point; long chords in the bass change only every half bar, while broken chords in steady quavers add color.

The first line of the text is sung by the sopranos alone, then repeated by all voices, starting in unison but expanding to harmony on the words "The Lord make His face to shine upon you."

"The Lord lift His countenance upon you" is sung twice in two-part homophony, first soprano and alto, then tenor and bass. "And give you peace" appears three times, softer each time from mp to pp, first in the soprano, then in the tenor, and finally in unison in all voices. A polyphonic "Amen" grows to the climax of the music both in range and in intensity, then gradually softens and, after a "molto rallentando," reaches the final long chord.

You can watch a live stream of this service here:

https://www.christchurchcathedral.org/stream/