Sunday, 4 November 2012
Entrance | God is our fortress and our rock |
Kyrie | Mass of the Celtic Saints (Liam Lawton) |
Gloria | Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks) |
Psalm | Ps 17 (James Walsh) |
Gospel Acclamation | St Agatha Alleluia (mcb) |
Preparation of the Gifts | O the love of my Lord (Estelle White) |
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen | German Mass (Schubert/Proulx) |
Agnus Dei | Holy Family Mass (John Schiavone) |
Communion | Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd) |
Postcommunion | Love divine, all loves excelling (Howard Goodall) |
Recessional | God is Love, his the care |
The first reading, Psalm and Gospel reading all spoke of the commandment to love God and neighbour. It’s perhaps easier to find hymns and songs that sing of God’s love for us than of our efforts to love him, and our song at the preparation of the gifts and our postcommunion anthem were both of this kind. The Latin hymn Ubi Caritas, though, includes the words
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
(Let us fear and love the living God.)
We sang it in Bob Hurd’s gentle and reflective setting.
Our opening hymn, Michael Perry’s reworking of Luther’s Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott echoed the image of God our rock from the Responsorial Psalm. The tune, in J.S. Bach’s arrangement, was perhaps the most famous song we’d never sung, until today.
I like your 'St Agatha' Gospel Acclamation. How long have you been using it at the Cathedral?
ReplyDeleteI also really like the Gloria settings that have been used here over the last few weeks. My favourite is the Psallite Mass Gloria, but also very keen on Jacob Bancks' new setting and Bob Hurd's Missa Ubi Caritas. It's good to hear them and join in - too many churches just don't seem to sing it at all or have sub-standard/out of date settings still in use.
Thank you, pd! I wrote The original version of St Agatha (the one published in Glory to God) about eighteen months ago, so we've been singing it on and off since then; maybe about 15 times in total. I'm still writing it, though, you could say: there are now half a dozen more verses, different (in words and music) from the original, tailored for different acclamation texts and different feasts. I'm not sure I'll know when it's finished!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the Glorias. I'm still looking for other good ones.