29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2011)

Sunday, 16 October 2011

 

Entrance	O God beyond all praising (Gustav Holst/Michael Perry)
Kyrie	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Ps 95 (Reynolds)
Gospel Acclamation	St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts	Holy is God (Liam Lawton)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Belmont Mass
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass
Communion	Turn to me (John Foley)
Postcommunion	Ab ortu solis (William Byrd, 1540-1623)
Recessional	Holy God, we praise thy name

 

In today’s first reading, from Isaiah, we heard the words from the rising to the setting of the sun, apart from me, all is nothing. We sang a similar text with a different scriptural source (namely Malachi) in Byrd’s setting of the tract for the Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament:

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
my name is great among the nations,
and in every place a pure sacrifice is offered to my name:
for my name is great among the nations.

This same scriptural text is highlighted in the new translation of the third Eucharistic prayer, which we also heard today.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2011)

Sunday, 9 October 2011

 

Entrance	All are welcome (Marty Haugen)
Kyrie	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Ps 22 (Boulton Smith/Gélineau)
Gospel Acclamation	Salisbury Alleluia (Christopher Walker)
Preparation of the Gifts	The Lord is my Shepherd (John Rutter)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Spring Sanctus (mcb)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass
Communion	Now in this banquet (Marty Haugen)
Postcommunion	He hath filled the hungry from Magnificat, Op 69 no 3 (Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847)
Recessional	Thy hand, O God, has guided

 

The readings today told of the banquet prepared for all by the Lord, and our music explored this image.

In his homily Fr Tony explored the link between the Gospel story of the wedding feast, and the use of the the phrase for many in the newly-translated Eucharistic Prayers. Invite everyone you can find, the king orders; but one guest who fails to take the event seriously is given his marching orders. If the punch line (so to speak) had been all are called, many are chosen the two issues would have tied in exactly. But the Gospel story was still helpful in explaining why we needn’t be puzzled by the new-old use of the word many.

It reassured me, in any event, that our opening song today has words which we can properly sing as an invitation to the Eucharistic banquet.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2011)

Sunday, 2 October 2011

 

Entrance	This is the day (mcb)
Kyrie	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Ps 79 (Walsh/Bévenot)
Gospel Acclamation	Alleluia Mode 2 (Plainchant)
Preparation of the Gifts	The Lord of All (Daniel Bath)
Sanctus, Acclamation C, Amen	Spring Sanctus (mcb)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass
Communion	One bread, one body (John Foley)
Postcommunion	Rejoice in the Lord alway (Anon. c. 1600)
Recessional	My song is love unknown

 

There were plenty of key scriptural phrases to choose from in planning today’s music. The Gospel reading gave us

It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see.

which we sang in the final verse of our opening song. We took the entrance antiphon verbatim in Daniel Bath’s gentle African Gospel-style setting for our song at the preparation of the gifts; and at communion we sang the antiphon from 1 Cor 10:17 in John Foley’s now-venerable and still much-loved setting.

New Music for the Mass – Salford Cathedral Centre, Saturday 5 November 2011

New Music for the Mass: a day for parish music directors, organists, singers and other musicians

 

You are invited to a day at the Cathedral Centre, Salford, on Saturday 5 November 2011 (10.30 am – 4.00 pm) to look at music for the new translation of the Missal. This is a repeat of the event held in June of this year, so if you missed out on that occasion, we hope you'll be able to join us this time round. Places are limited to 60, so do please get your booking in early!

Martin Barry (Director of Music at Salford Cathedral) and Fr Peter Jones (parish priest, composer and chair of the Archdiocese of Birmingham Church Liturgy and Music Committee) will present a day of new music for the Mass, introducing a wide range musical settings written for the new translation of the Missal.

The admission charge is £10, which includes a buffet lunch and tea, coffee, etc., during the day. Please pay on the day upon arrival. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Salford Cathedral’.

For catering purposes and the production of materials please ensure that you book for the day by e-mailing Martin Barry. You can also e-mail Martin if you have any questions about the day.

If you do not have access to e-mail then you can ring Cathedral House on 0161 834 0333 in order to book for the day. Please give your full name and contact details.

We look forward to seeing you there!

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2011)

Sunday, 25 September 2011

 

Entrance	O God, thy people gather
Kyrie	Mass of the Creator Spirit (Ed Nowak)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Remember your mercy (Paul Inwood)
Gospel Acclamation	Alleluia Mode 2 (Plainchant)
Preparation of the Gifts	The Servant King (Graham Kendrick)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Spring Sanctus (mcb)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Communion	Christ laid down his life for us (Psallite)
Postcommunion	Christus Factus Est (Felice Anerio, 1560-1614)
Recessional	At the name of Jesus

 

Today’s second reading included the magnificent hymn to Christ’s kenosis (‘emptying’):

His state was divine,
yet he did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all names
so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld
should bend the knee at this name of Jesus
and every tongue should acclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord
to the glory of God the Father.

Anerio’s setting of the key central section of the hymn is one we sing often as the Gospel acclamation for Good Friday, but today was different: on Good Friday we sing the words with defiance, in the face of our Lord’s shocking death; today we sang in full acknowledgement of the resurrection.

Musically the difference came in the section in triple time beginning Propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum (‘But God raised him high’). For Good Friday we keep the tempo the same; today we skipped along at three-in-the-space-of-two, and the sense of irrepressible joy was, well, irrepressible.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2011)

Sunday, 18 September 2011

 

Entrance	Praise to the holiest
Kyrie	Kyrie II from Paschal Mass (Alan Rees)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Ps 144 (Jones/Steel)
Gospel Acclamation	St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts	Bread I bring (Christopher Walker)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Spring Sanctus (mcb)
Agnus Dei	Mass of the Creator Spirit (Ed Nowak)
Communion	How can I repay the Lord (Stephen Dean)
Postcommunion	Teach me, O Lord (Thomas Attwood, 1765-1838)
Recessional	Tell out, my soul

 

The heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts, we heard in the reading from Isaiah. John Henry Newman’s verses from the Dream of Gerontius said the same thing:

In all his words most wonderful;
Most sure in all his ways

The readings and propers, for the most part, dwelt on God’s promise to answer the call of those in need. Our communion processional song meditated on this in words from Ps 116:

I love the Lord, because he heard my voice;
In my distress he did not spurn me.
The snares of death lay waiting for my soul;
My only hope was calling on the Lord.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2011)

Sunday, 11 September 2011

 

Entrance	Praise my soul, the king of heaven
Kyrie	Mass of the Creator Spirit (Ed Nowak)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Ps 102 (Boulton Smith/Gélineau)
Gospel Acclamation	St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts	Now we remain (David Haas)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Spring Sanctus (mcb)
Agnus Dei	Mass of the Creator Spirit
Communion	Forget not what God has done (Marty Haugen)
Postcommunion	Prayer of St Richard of Chichester (Malcolm Archer)
Recessional	Thanks be to God (Stephen Dean)

 

Today’s readings, focusing on God’s forgiveness, were summed up, as so often, in the psalm response:

The Lord is compassion and love
slow to anger and rich in mercy

We had three versions of Ps 102(103) – the responsorial psalm itself, and Marty Haugen’s setting, and Henry Lyte’s stirring and stately paraphrase in our opening hymn.

The second reading had the words If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, closely reflected in the final verse of David Haas’s Now we remain.