1st Sunday of Advent (Year B, 2011)

Sunday, 27 November 2011

 

Entrance	Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Kyrie	Missal Chant
Psalm	God of hosts, bring us back (Sue Furlong)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamation (Alan Smith)
Prayers of Intercession	Through our lives (John Bell)
Preparation of the Gifts	Wake O Wake, with tidings thrilling (Philipp Nicolai, 1566-1608, arr mcb & J.S. Bach, 1685-1750)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Missal Chant
Agnus Dei	Missal Chant
Communion	To you, O lord, I lift my soul (Marty Haugen)
Postcommunion	Ad te levavi (F.X. Witt, 1834-1888)
Recessional	Love divine, all loves excelling

 

Our two pieces during Communion both took their text from the entrance antiphon:

To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame.

Franz Xaver Witt was a founding father of the Cecilian movement, and his dramatic miniature is five parts imitation Palestrina to one part attempted Bruckner. Marty Haugen’s gentle prayerful setting adds verses from Psalm 25.

We sang two verses of Philipp Nicolai’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, in the 1906 translation by Francis Crawford Burkitt. The first was my perky dance-like arrangement for four voices, the second a more stately rendition of Bach’s chorale harmonisation. The overall mood of the piece was one of burgeoning anticipation; just right for a first celebration of Advent.