| Entrance | This Joyful Eastertide |
| Gloria | Mass of the Celtic Saints (Lawton) |
| Psalm | Ps 4 (Walsh) |
| Gospel Acclamation | Eastertide Gospel Acclamation (Farrell) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | Now the green blade riseth |
| Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen | Mass of the Celtic Saints (Lawton) |
| Agnus Dei | from Beneath the Tree of Life (Haugen) |
| Communion | Touch me and see (Psallite) |
| Postcommunion | A Song of the Light (Simon Lole) |
| Recessional | Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour |
Our Eastertide musical fare sets a lighter tone than the things we sang during Lent and Holy Week. Liam Lawton's Mass of the Celtic Saints probably isn't typical 'Cathedral' music, but it's an assembly-friendly setting that deserves to be more widely known. What's more, the brightness of the 6/8 in D major in both the Gloria and the Sanctus gives them a spring-time feel that fits well with the Easter season.
There's a broader aim too, in our commitment to the inclusivity of our musical programme. It's only a few weeks since we were singing Mass XVIII and Missa Orbis Factor every Sunday. Having plainchant as part of our eclectic mix, means, I hope, that members of our community don't see the chant as something aesthetically rarefied and unreconstructedly backward-looking. Rather, the chant is part of our everyday language of musical prayer. That's chant 'for the rest of us', I like to think.
A Song of the Light by Simon Lole (formerly Master of Music at Salisbury Cathedral) sets an elegant translation of the evening prayer Phos Hilaron (Hail, Gladdening Light). With the original text's reference to the stars craftily changed (by us) to a reference to the rising sun, it makes for a beautiful piece for a Sunday morning in Easter time! It chimed well with today's Psalm response: 'Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord'. Simon Lole's text begins: Light of the world, in grace and beauty; mirror of God's eternal face; transparent flame of love's free duty: you bring salvation to our race.
Is Liam Lawton's Mass setting published?
ReplyDeleteWe did the Psalite communion piece too. Both antiphon and verses reflected the Gospel so well. In fact it almost seems that Luke has Jesus quoting the psalm verses Psalite presents us with.
ReplyDeleteHow sheepy are you going next week?
Liam Lawton's Mass is published (together with lots more of his output) by GIA. Here's a link to the Mass - there's a link on the page to a sound clip from the Sanctus too.
ReplyDeleteHello Doc! Next week we're going the whole, er, hog. There's a piece by Marty Haugen called Ewe has not seen, which would seem to be just right for the occasion.
Don't know much about Hogs, but the Ewe probably had the wool pulled over its eyes.
ReplyDeleteStill mustn't be sheepish about it.