The anthem “I waited for the Lord” comes from Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, but don’t tell Mendelssohn (1809–1847) that. He never referred to this work as a symphony. His title for this unique symphony-cantata for soloists, chorus, and orchestra was Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise). It was only numbered among his symphonies after his death. 

Henry Loosemore (1607–1670) was the organist of King’s College, Cambridge from 1627 until his death. His anthem O Lord, increase our faith was long thought to be the work of Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625). The words in older Gibbons-attributed editions often have the first-person variant “O Lord, increase my faith.” The anonymous text resembles that of an Anglican prayer, but these words are primarily associated with this music and have no other known source.

The prelude to the service is the Psalm-Prelude, Set 1, No 2 by Herbert Howells (1892–1983). Howells wrote six of these “Psalm-Preludes” which are most successful in liturgical use (and often fall flat when heard in a recital setting). I’ve taken the unusual step of including the Psalm verse listed at the head of this music in the service booklet for Sunday. Indeed, this music is unusual: a kind of scriptural/liturgical “tone poem” for organ. Though these words are not “sung,” the composer did consider them to have a very close relationship with this music. 

The voluntary after the service is the latter two movements of Mendelssohn’s Sonata in C minor, Op. 65, No. 2. The English publisher Coventry and Hollier enlisted Mendelssohn to write a set of voluntaries for the organ. Mendelssohn accepted the challenge, but then came to realize that he wasn’t sure what a voluntary was. The resulting product was six brilliant sonatas for organ, many of which can serve as music with which to bookend the service. Last week, the first two movements of this same sonata served as the prelude.

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Keys to the Kingdom strives to be an almost weekly blog about the music and liturgy of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, St. Louis, Missouri. It is written by David Sinden, Organist & Director of Music. You can learn more about the church's music ministry at stpetersepiscopal.org/worship/music or email David at