| Entrance | Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today |
| Gloria | from Mass for John Carroll (Michael Joncas) |
| Psalm | This is the Day (mcb) |
| Sequence | Victimae Paschali Laudes (J. William Greene) |
| Gospel Acclamation | Easter Alleluia (chant) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | Now the green blade riseth |
| Sanctus, Acclamation (A), Amen | Spring Sanctus (mcb) | Agnus Dei | from Beneath the Tree of Life (Marty Haugen) |
| Communion | Confitemini Domino (Taizé) & psalm 117 (Laurence Bévenot) |
| Postcommunion | Haec Dies (Lodovico Viadana, c. 1564-1645) |
| Recessional | (i) Go in the peace of Christ, Alleluia (chanted) (ii) Battle is o’er |
Something went wrong in the preparation of our service sheet for this morning, so that we had the traditional text for the first two verses of Now the green blade, followed by two verses in inferior doggerel:
Up He sprang at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain;
Up from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.
Ouch.
A happy and holy Easter to readers, whom, since Christmas, I know to number at least six. The choir has a break next Sunday, and we’re back in action in two weeks.
I am not sure whether your complaint about 'inferior doggerel' is directed at the original author J M C Crum or whoever was the editor of version that appeared. It is close enough to the original to lay the blame there - though it is admittedly poor rewriting - which I can't identify from a quick trawl of my shelf.
ReplyDeleteNo no - I'd have been completely happy to see Crum's version:
ReplyDeleteForth he came at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain.
Quick from the dead, my risen Lord is seen,
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
The reviser evidently took exception to the archaisms forth, quick and springeth but had no intelligent idea how to fix them except for the word up three times in a row. Useless!
Great stuff - pity there were no lollipops!
ReplyDeleteQuite like "up he sprang" at Easter - made me think of Zebedee (Magic Roundabout, non biblical character) and the horrendous "Let us talents and tongues employ" with it's wonderful final line: "Spread the word around, loaves abound!" Makes me think of little cottage loaves bouncing down the main aisle! Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteLovely music and beautiful singing as usual on Sunday. Thank you. I mentioned to Anthony Hunt that I was a fan of Thine be the Glory, and was sorry it hadn't been on "the list" for the last couple of years, although I understand it was sung at Saturday's vigil. I was brought up in the Salford Diocese (St Joseph's Longsight) and as a family we always went to the Cathedral for Midnight Mass and The Passion and Easter Sunday. In those days it was standing room only. Old habits die hard, and I still escape from my parish in Sale to go to the Cathedral at Christmas and Easter. Too many parish churches (my own included)are foregoing "proper" music in favour of folk type ensembles. I'm afraid that as soon as I hear a guitar or flute in church, it sets my teeth on edge!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alison. Glad you could be with us! I hope you'll keep coming. I don't know that I agree with you about guitars and flutes, mind you. Our psalm on Sunday, which had piano accompaniment, would have worked nicely with 'music group' resources - the published version has guitar chords and parts for wind quartet. It comes down to how well the music is done, rather than what forces it's written for, I think. Maybe there are more untrained, under-resourced music groups out there than there are choirs and organs in the same state; it's perhaps a reflection of our collective and/or institutional failure to provide the formation and the resources that liturgical music really deserves.
ReplyDeleteI certainly will keep coming, the lovely music and singing is balm for the soul! I'm sure there are lots of people who appreciate the work of the musicians and choir at Salford. I think you are right about collective/institutional failures. I think that music is much under-resourced in schools, and that doesn't help matters at all. In fairness to parish music groups, they do their best with what they have got.I think the solution is that you and Anthony Hunt should offer master classes to all parishes in need of help. That will keep you busy for a very long time!!
ReplyDelete