It’s Holy Week — the busiest week of the year for church musicians. My late husband, Carl Crosier, used to call this “Holy H— Week,” because in addition to conducting nine services of music during the week, typing a complicated bulletin containing all the services and music of the Triduum, rehearsing the brass and choir for Easter, and cooking dinner for 45 participants for the Easter Vigil, Holy Week frequently coincided with April 15 — Tax Day in the United States, and as Carl was also an accountant with private clients, he had tax returns to prepare — in addition to his “regular” job as the Chief Financial Officer of St. Andrew’s Priory School. Those were the days! (He was crazy!)

Today was Palm Sunday, the start of my busy week in which I’ll be playing a total of seven services:

1. April 13, 9:00 am, Palm Sunday, Nu’uanu Congregational Church
2. April 13, 11:00 am, Palm Sunday High Mass, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
3. April 13, 3:00 pm, Vespers and Benediction, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
4. April 17, 7:00 pm, Maundy Thursday High Mass, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
5. April 19, 7:00 pm, Easter Vigil, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
6. April 20, 9:00 am, Easter Day, Nuuanu Congregational Church
7. April 20, 11:00 am, Easter Day High Mass, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

I’ve got it easy by comparison! Luckily none of the services in the two churches conflict with each other. As you can see, because the organ is kept silent on Good Friday, I have the day completely free.

The St. Mark’s choir, however, has a real marathon this week. Today in addition to singing the Gerald Near mass, they had many proper chants to sing, several psalms and motets, an anthem “Christus Factus Est” by Joseph Michael Haydn, plus the whole St. Luke Passion, which took over fifteen minutes to sing, with various choristers taking the parts of the narrator, Jesus, Pilate, Peter, bystanders and the like. They also sang hymns and walked with the congregation around the Kapahulu neighborhood for the Palm Procession (while I was stuck inside).

Still — today’s Palm Sunday celebrations had lots of extras thrown in — extra music needed for various liturgical actions at both churches. My St. Mark’s prelude today was the triumphant third movement of Mendelssohn’s Second Sonata, followed by Kristina Langlois’ fanfare on “All Glory, Laud and Honor,” which I also played at Nuuanu Congregational Church as the people brought their palm branches to the front of the church.

At St. Mark’s, the Ordinary of the Mass today was the beautiful setting by Gerald Near called “Missa Orbis Factor,” which we also used on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. This was a setting which called for lots of organ stop changes, so I was kept busy pushing pistons and changing manuals throughout.

At the Maundy Thursday service and the Easter Vigil, I will be playing two improvisations after the intonation of the Gloria — both of them excerpts of Bach works. For the Maundy Thursday service, it will be the first page of Bach’s G major fantasy, BWV 572; and for the Vigil, I’ll play the last page of the G major Prelude, BWV 568.

At Vespers this afternoon, the service always includes “Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament,” a form of Eucharistic Adoration that is popular in many Episcopal churches, as well as in Roman Catholic churches. The host is displayed in a monstrance, the origin of this word meaning “to show,” so that the faithful might have an opportunity to reflect upon God’s indwelling among us, whether in the Sacrament or in our very lives,” according to the service leaflet. It’s a weekly opportunity for me to play an extended piece of music and today I played Bach’s “Vor deinem Thron,” his last composition which he dictated on his deathbed to his son-in-law.

At Nuuanu Congregational Church, on Easter I’ll be playing an arrangement for trumpet and organ with Russell Ishida (“I know that my redeemer liveth” from Messiah by Georg Frideric Handel) and John Stanley’s “Trumpet Voluntary” in an arrangement for two trumpets and organ, with the addition of Thomas Kamisato.

I actually have learned two new organ pieces for Easter at St. Mark’s — Andrew Carter’s “Trumpet Tune” and Jessica French’s “Transformations.” I may have mentioned that I heard “Transformations” for the first time at the AGO convention in San Francisco last June, then heard it again at Douglas Cleveland’s recital in February. I ordered the music immediately after Doug’s recital and have spent the last two months trying to learn it. It’s been challenging, to say the least, but I have one more week of practice to get it together!

Here’s a summary of all the music I’m playing this week:

21 congregational hymns
18 solo organ pieces (preludes, postludes, voluntaries)
4 movements of an accompanied mass (Gerald Near “Orbis Factor”)
2 Gloria in excelsis (William Mathias)
2 brass and organ solo pieces
3 accompanied choral anthems (including Herbert Howell’s “Magnificat” from St. Paul’s Service and Charles V. Stanford’s “Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem”)
2 psalm improvisations
2 Nicene Creed accompaniments
2 different Doxologies (Old Hundredth, Lasst uns erfreuen)

As you can see, it’s a busy week! Plus I’m starting two new organ students this week, bringing the total number to 12. I’ll finish off Easter Day by hosting a brunch for 8 people. (Wow, now I’m the crazy one!)