2nd Sunday of Advent (Year C, 2012)

Sunday, 9 December 2012

 

Entrance	Song of Consolation (Peter Jones)
Kyrie	Missal Chant
Psalm	Ps 125 (Romuald Simpson, 1930-2012)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamations (Alan Smith)
Preparation of the Gifts	Lucis Creator Optime (Plainchant & G.P. da Palestrina, c. 1525-1594)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Missal Chant
Agnus Dei	Missal Chant
Communion	(i) O Adonai (ii) There is a longing in our hearts (Anne Quigley)
Postcommunion	Hierusalm Surge (Heinrich Isaac, c.1450-1517)
Recessional	Come, thou long-expected Jesus

 

Plenty of chant this morning, in the Missal chants for the ordinary of the Mass, the alternate verses of Palestrina’s vespers hymn, this week’s O antiphon and the incipit from Isaac’s setting of the Communion antiphon. But we maintained our trademark mix, with Peter Jones and Anne Quigley in particular both providing elements that were more direct and accessible.

Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force Carol Service

Saturday, 8 December 2012

 

Choir	Angels we have heard on high (trad., arr. Eric Paździora)
All	O Come, All Ye Faithful
Choir	The Truth From Above (Traditional, arr. R Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958)
All	O Little Town of Bethlehem
Choir	My Lord has Come (Will Todd)
All	Silent Night
All	While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
All	National Anthem
All	Hark the Herald Angels Sing

 

We followed the same pattern as for the last two years, with Celebration Brass joining us in a cathedral packed with young army cadets and an array of visiting dignitaries. The programme was slightly slimmed down from previous years, with one fewer reading and one fewer carol, and the running order in between the musical items more or less conformed to the template of readings–reflections–prayers. I thought in this form it made for a highly effective celebration.

Our musical highlight was undoubtedly Will Todd’s enchanting offering from Carols for Choirs 5. I'm not completely convinced by Todd’s text: no place for them but a stable sounds like it ought to refer to the holy family, but in fact he’s referring to the shepherds and wise men (and later me as well), and I don’t know what he means. Musically, though, it’s irresistible: I expect it to become a Classic FM favourite in no time.

1st Sunday of Advent (Year C, 2012)

Sunday, 2 December 2012

 

Entrance	Awake awake, fling off the night
Kyrie	Missal Chant
Psalm	To you, O Lord (Marty Haugen)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamations (Alan Smith)
Preparation of the Gifts	Let all mortal flesh keep silence (Edward Bairstow, 1874-1946)
Sanctus, Acclamation B, Amen	Missal Chant
Agnus Dei	Missal Chant
Communion	(i) O Sapientia (chant) (ii) Wait for the Lord (Taizé)
Postcommunion	Zion hears the watchmen’s voices (J.S. Bach)
Recessional	Love divine

 

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, derived from the Cherubic Hymn of the fourth-century Liturgy of St James, is inherently an Advent text. In the familiar words of the hymn setting:

Christ our God to earth descendeth
our full homage to demand

The text in Bairstow’s atmospheric choral setting is closer to the ancient liturgical text:

For the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Christ our God,
cometh forth to be our oblation,
and to be given for food to the faithful.

though in comparison to Moultrie’s hymn text, this version perhaps conjures a more abstract image of the incarnation in favour of a more direct connection to the eucharist.

We had two pieces – the opening hymn and our postcommunion rendition of the famous fourth movement of Bach’s cantata Wachet auf, BWV 140 – reflecting our Lord’s instruction to stay awake in today’s Gospel reading.

We’re singing the O antiphons again this year, one per Sunday. These too are ancient Advent texts, ascribing a succession of names to the coming Saviour – today’s was Wisdom – and dramatising the one-word plea come. The text is of course better known as the hymn O come, O come Emmanuel, which we’ll come to in three weeks’ time.

Christ the King (Year B, 2012)

Sunday, 25 November 2012

 

Entrance	Crown him with many crowns
Kyrie	Mass of the Celtic Saints (Liam Lawton)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	The Lord is King (Paul Wellicome)
Gospel Acclamation	Here in our Midst (Peter Jones)
Preparation of the Gifts	Let all the world
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	German Mass (Schubert/Proulx)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	Te saeculorum principem (chant) & Jesus, remember me (Taizé)
Postcommunion	The Truth From Above (Traditional, arr. R Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958)
Recessional	Christus Vincit (arr. Martin Baker)

 

Our Lord’s words in the Gospel were:

I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.

Vaughan Williams’s haunting folk-song arrangement began and ended:

This is the Truth sent from above…
Be pleased to hear what he did say.

Our closing chant Christus Vincit was given redoubled vigour by Martin Baker’s fiery organ part. It was followed immediately by Marcel Dupré’s Placare Christe Servulis: more organ fireworks from our excellent organist Anthony Hunt.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2012)

Presentation of Candidates for Confirmation & First Communion

Sunday, 18 November 2012

 

Entrance	Here I am, Lord (Dan Schutte)
Kyrie	(Dinah Reindorf)
Gloria	Psallite
Psalm	Keep me safe (Paul Inwood)
Gospel Acclamation	St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Presentation of Candidates	Christ be our light (Bernadette Farrell)
Preparation of the Gifts	For the beauty of the earth (John Rutter)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	German Mass (Schubert/Proulx)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	Take and eat (Michael Joncas)
Recessional	Lo he comes with clouds descending

 

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) and Remembrance Sunday 2012

Sunday, 11 November 2012

 

Entrance	Requiem Aeternam (chant) Two minutes’ silence Abide with me
Kyrie	Mass of the Celtic Saints (Liam Lawton)
Gloria	Mass of the Most Sacred Heart (Jacob Bancks)
Psalm	Ps 145 (Stephen Dean)
Gospel Acclamation	Salisbury Alleluia (Christopher Walker)
Preparation of the Gifts	Justorum Animae (William Byrd, c. 1540-1623)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	German Mass (Schubert/Proulx)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	The Lord hears the cry of the poor (John Foley)
Postcommunion	The Lord is my shepherd (John Rutter)
Recessional	Lord, whose love in humble service

 

Two of the readings told the story of a poor widow. In the responsorial Psalm the focus broadened to the poor, the hungry, the sick and the oppressed (though widows still got a shout-out), and we echoed this in our Communion song and our final hymn.

Justorum animae is strictly one of the propers (the Offertory antiphon) for the feast of All Saints, but the text, Wisdom 3:1-3, is also a fitting accompaniment to prayers for the departed, especially as a reading at funeral Masses. William Byrd’s serene and tranquil setting, lingering on the words illi autem sunt in pace (but they are in peace), seemed a suitable choice for Remembrance Sunday.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2012)

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.