Saints Peter & Paul (2011)

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

 
Entrance The Church’s one foundation
Gloria (ad experimentum)
Psalm Ps 33 (mcb)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts Tu es Petrus (Hans Leo Hassler, 1564-1612)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Agnus Dei Missa Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Communion Come to me (Martin Barry & Diane Murden)
Recessional For all the saints
 

The choir outnumbered the congregation for our celebration of today’s feast. Singing in a nearly empty Cathedral allowed us to revel in the reverberant acoustic, especially in the sumptuous motet by Hassler, a new addition to the composers in our music library.

The Body and Blood of Christ (Year A, 2011)

 
Entrance O Bread of Heaven
Kyrie Kyrie Eleison from Missa Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Gloria (ad experimentum)
Psalm Ps 147 (Colin Mawby)
Sequence Lauda Sion Salvatorem (Chris Mueller)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts Sweet Sacrament Divine
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Agnus Dei Missa Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Communion Take and Eat (Michael Joncas)
Postcommunion Ave Verum Corpus (W.A. Mozart, 1756-1791)
Recessional Soul of my Saviour
 

My “retro” taste in hymns this morning attracted comment from The Management. Opportunities to sing old favourites like these are relatively infrequent, and it seems to me that they’re still powerful vehicles for Eucharistic devotion, especially for those who (like me) still have them firmly lodged in memory. But for all that, the Mass propers tell of a more active relationship with the Sacrament than we find in hymns for Benediction:

The Lord fed his people with the finest wheat and honey;
their hunger was satisfied.(Ps 80:17)


and

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live in me and I in him, says the Lord. (Jn 6:57)

So there’s some more thinking to be done before next time.

We made room for an abridged version of the sequence, in the form of Chris Mueller’s very fine harmonised chant setting for six-part choir of the final verses, which we preceded with the opening lines of St Thomas Aquinas’s original chant. The music of Mueller (who is director of music at the church of Notre Dame in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York) is a pleasing internet ‘find’, and I’m glad that there’s more to explore.

Trinity Sunday (Year A, 2011)

 
Entrance Father, Lord of all creation
Kyrie Kyrie Eleison from Missa Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Gloria (ad experimentum)
Psalm Canticle from the Flames (Felix Goebel-Komala)
Gospel Acclamation St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts God so loved the world (John Stainer, 1840-1901)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Agnus Dei Missa Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Communion God beyond all names (John Bell) & Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas (chant)
Postcommunion O Lux Beata Trinitas (T.L. de Victoria, 1548-1611)
Recessional Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty
 

In Felix Goebel-Komala’s exhilarating interpretation of the canticle from Daniel 3, cantor and assembly engage in zestful dialogue, the choir first supporting the assembly, but eventually succumbing to enthusiasm and elbowing the cantor aside for the last few stanzas of the litany. Ian Williams carried off the cantor’s role with all the requisite panache. We last sang the piece during our Trinity Sunday Mass three years ago, celebrated at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester with the Catenian Association marking its centenary, where the irrepressible vivaciousness of the Canticle elicited a willing response from the vast singing assembly.

We continued our exploration of the works of Victoria, in this his four hundredth anniversary year. O lux beata Trinitas is strictly an evening hymn, but a bit of nifty footwork with the Latin – changing iam sol recedit into iam sol ascendit, even if that’s not the usual verb to describe the sun going up – made it into a fitting song for a morning celebration.

A publisher had very kindly afforded a preview of a revised setting of the Gloria, so we tried it out this morning. When it’s eventually published it will certainly become a staple of our repertoire.

Pentecost (2011)

 
Entrance Holy Spirit, come confirm us
Gloria Mass for John Carroll (Michael Joncas)
Psalm Ps 103 (David Saint)
Gospel Acclamation Pentecost Sequence (arr. Richard Proulx); Easter Alleluia
Rite of Confirmation Come Holy Spirit (Stephen Dean)
Spirit of God (Bernadette Farrell)
Veni Creator Spiritus (T.L. de Victoria, 1548-1611)
Spirit of the living God & Psalm 103 (John Ainslie)
Come Holy Spirit (Stephen Dean)
Preparation of the Gifts Wisdom, come softly (Martin Barry & Diane Murden)
Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen Gathering Mass (Paul Inwood)
Agnus Dei Mass of Hope (Stephen Dean)
Communion Come to me and drink (Bob Hurd)
Recessional Come Holy Ghost
 

Four parishes came together for a celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation during our Sunday Mass of Pentecost. This made for an exceptionally large number of candidates, and a rich (and long) celebration. With hindsight, maybe we could have skimped on some elements of the Mass: perhaps recited the Gloria, and omitted the second reading and the sequence. What do you think?

Bob Hurd’s Come to me and drink has several verses mentioning the Spirit, including these lines based on Romans 5:5:

Into our hearts the love of God has been poured
through the Spirit that dwells within.

The Ascension (2011)

Sunday, 5th June 2011

 
Entrance Praise him as he mounts the skies
Gloria Mass for John Carroll (Michael Joncas)
Psalm Ps 46 (Stephen Dean)
Gospel Acclamation Easter Gospel Acclamation (Brian Luckner)
Preparation of the Gifts New praises be given
Sanctus, Acclamation B, Amen Spring Sanctus (mcb)
Agnus Dei Mass of Hope (Stephen Dean)
Communion I will see you again (Psallite)
Postcommunion Ascendo ad Patrem (G.P. da Palestrina, c.1525-1594)
Recessional At the name of Jesus
 

The fourth verse of our closing hymn pictures the Ascension –

Bore it up triumphant, with its human light,
through all ranks of creatures, to the central height,
to the throne of Godhead, to the Father’s breast;
filled it with the glory of that perfect rest.

– in the same imagery as St Paul, in today’s second reading from 1 Ephesians:

This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come.