Handel Suite in d minor HWV 437

Thank you so much for joining us at St. Paul's. My wife is Jewish, and I regularly attended synagogue services for about 20 years. One of the things that always struck me about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, was the way the confession was done. The words were direct and graphic. "We have murdered; we have stolen; we have committeed adultery." While you sang this, you symbolically beat your breast. The odd thing was, it was sung to a happy tune in a major key. I asked the rabbi about it, and he said, "It is a joyful thing to confess your sins to God." For me, the music of the Baroque Era somehow captures that wonderful Lenten attitude that is somber but not morose. The prelude for Ash Wednesday is the Suite in d minor by G.F. Handel. The Sarabande is probably the most well known movement, but the whole work is quite beautiful. Please be sure to join us for our Ash Wednesday service at 12pm here: • St Paul's Ash Wednesd...