14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, 2014)

Sunday, 6 July 2014

 

Entrance	I heard the voice of Jesus say
Kyrie	Kyrie from Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer
Psalm	Ps 144 (Hall)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamation (Andrew Wright) with chanted verse
Preparation of the Gifts	Come down, O love divine
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Mass of the Redeemer
Agnus Dei	Mass of the Redeemer
Communion	Come to me (Martin Barry & Diane Murden)
Postcommunion	For the beauty of the earth (John Rutter)
Recessional	Sing of the Lord’s Goodness (Ernest Sands)

 

We welcomed our new Dean Fr Michael Jones with a reprise of Rutter’s For the beauty, which (he remembered) we sang in 2005 at his final Mass as curate at the Cathedral before he left to take up his first parish. Nice to have him back.

Saints Peter and Paul (2014)

Sunday, 29 June 2014

The choir had a rare weekend off (outside the month of August, we get three in the year), as the Cathedral community celebrated First Holy Community for children of the parish, with the music led as usual by the parish primary school.

The Body and Blood of Christ (Year A, 2014)

Sunday, 22 June 2014

 

Entrance	Sweet Sacrament Divine
Kyrie	Penitential Act from Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer
Psalm	Ps 147 (Colin Mawby)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamation (Andrew Wright) with chanted verse
Preparation of the Gifts	Oculi Omnium (Charles Wood, 1866-1926)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Mass of the Redeemer
Agnus Dei	Mass of the Redeemer
Communion	Take and Eat (Michael Joncas)
Postcommunion	Ave Verum Corpus (Edward Elgar, 1857-1934)
Recessional	Soul of my Saviour

 

The Gradual for Corpus Christi begins with the words

The eyes of all look towards you in hope, O Lord;
and you give them their food in due season.

We sang Charles Wood’s simple prayerful setting of the same text. This and our Communion song (a third outing this year for Take and Eat) allowed a depiction of the Blessed Sacrament not solely as an object of adoration, but also as heavenly food.

Today was our last Mass with Canon Tony McBride, Cathedral Dean for the past eleven years. Throughout this time he has been a pillar of support for music in the Cathedral, not only in personal encouragement and financial underpinning for our activities, but in his own willingness to sing the liturgy, the way all priests should. Truly a hard act to follow: we wish him well in his new parish.

Trinity Sunday (Year A, 2014)

Sunday, 15 June 2014

 

Entrance	Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God almighty
Kyrie	Penitential Act from Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer
Psalm	Canticle from the Flames (Felix Goebel-Komala)
Gospel Acclamation	Advent Gospel Acclamation (Andrew Wright) with chanted verse
Preparation of the Gifts	Father, Lord of all creation
Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen	Mass of the Redeemer
Agnus Dei	Mass of the Redeemer
Communion	God beyond all names (John Bell) & Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas (chant)
Postcommunion	A Hymn to the Trinity (P.I Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893)
Recessional	Holy God, we praise thy name

 

Our usual mix of music in praise of the Trinity, plus Felix Goebel-Komala’s exhilarating setting of the canticle from Daniel 3. We marked the return to ordinary time with a change of Mass setting. With the addition of a setting of the third form of the Penitential Act, and a more sedate revision of the Lamb of God than the initial version, my Mass of the Redeemer is finally complete, so we’re road-testing it for the next few weeks.

Pentecost (2014)

Sunday, 8 June 2014

 

Entrance	Come down, O love divine
Gloria	Psallite
Psalm	Ps 103 (David Saint)
Gospel Acclamation	Easter Alleluia (plainchant; verse Aimee Presswood)
Rite of Confirmation	(i) Pentecost Sequence (arr. Richard Proulx) (ii) Spirit of the living God & Psalm 103 (John Ainslie) (iii) Hymn to the Holy Spirit (Randolph Currie) (iv) Send forth your Spirit (Christopher Walker) (v) Veni Sancte Spiritus (Gregorio Allegri, c. 1582-1652) (vi) Wisdom, come softly (Martin Barry & Diane Murden) (vii) Come, thou sweetest source of gladness (Louis Bourgeois, c.1510- c.1560)
Preparation of the Gifts	Alleluia Surrexit Dominus (Jacquet de Mantua, 1483-1559)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	This is my body
Recessional	Come, Holy Ghost

 

The Cathedral was packed for today’s celebration. The large number of candidates set us the challenge of finding music to cover a very extended rite of Confirmation. In best Salford Cathedral fashion, the assembled musical feast ranged over ancient and modern, choral and congregational, from the plainchant Veni Creator Spiritus (in Randolph Currie’s atmospheric arrangement) to a battery of percussion instruments in Chris Walker’s setting of Ps 103. I like the thought that we covered all the bases.

The Ascension of the Lord (2014)

Sunday, 1 June 2014

 

Entrance	Praise him as he mounts the skies
Kyrie	Kyrie for 3 voices adapted from Byrd (mcb)
Gloria	Psallite
Psalm	Ps 46 (Stephen Dean)
Gospel Acclamation	Easter Alleluia (plainchant; verse Ellie Slorach)
Preparation of the Gifts	Viri Galilei (William Byrd, 1540-1623)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	I will see you again (Psallite)
Postcommunion	Laudate Dominum (W.A. Mozart, 1756-1791)
Recessional	Christ Triumphant

 

The entrance antiphon from the Missal, the first reading (from the beginning of Acts) and the offertory antiphon from the Graduale all asked the same question:

Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?

We sang the opening five-part chorus of Byrd’s setting, alternating the enigmatic-but-excitable narrative of the two men in white with the more solidly jubilant alleluias.

By contrast later we took words from today’s responsorial Psalm to heart:

Sing praise with all your skill

in singing Mozart’s serenely beautiful setting of the opening of Ps 116(117). Aimée Presswood sang the solo role with warmth and clarity and poise.

6th Sunday of Easter (Year A, 2014)

Sunday, 25 May 2014

 

Entrance	This joyful Eastertide
Kyrie	Kyrie 2 from A Community Mass (Richard Proulx)
Gloria	Psallite
Psalm	Ps 65 (Monaghan/Steel)
Gospel Acclamation	Easter Alleluia (plainchant; verse mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts	Jubilate Deo (Orlande de Lassus, 1532-1594)
Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen	Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	Live on in my love (Psallite)
Postcommunion	If ye love me (Thomas Tallis, c.1505-1585)
Recessional	Alleluia, sing to Jesus

 

Today’s responsorial Psalm (65(66)) instructed us to Cry out with joy to God all the earth. We echoed these words in Lassus’s setting of the opening of Ps 99(100). Ellie Slorach conducted us, in an exhilarating rendition.

The consoling words of both the Gospel reading (from John 14) and the Communion antiphon:

If you love me, keep my commandments, says the Lord,
and I will ask the Father
and he will send you another Paraclete,
to abide with you for ever, alleluia.

made for a gentle contrast with the exuberance of the Psalm. We sang, as usual for this Sunday, Tallis’s serene and uncluttered setting, conducted this time by Aimee Presswood. The Gospel reading had further words of consolation:

I will not leave you orphans;
I will come back to you.

which we celebrated in the second verse of our recessional hymn.