| Entrance | On Jordan’s Bank |
| Sprinkling Rite | Springs of Water (Marty Haugen) |
| Gloria | Gloria de Noël (Thomas Niel) |
| Psalm | Ps 103 (Hall/Forrester) |
| Gospel Acclamation | St Agatha Alleluia (mcb) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | Songs of thankfulness and praise |
| Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen | Spring Sanctus (mcb) |
| Agnus Dei | Lamb of God II (mcb) |
| Communion | Here is my Servant (Psallite) |
| Postcommunion | O Nata Lux (Thomas Tallis, c.1505-1585) |
| Recessional | Come down, O love divine |
| Entrance | Sweet Heart of Jesus |
| Kyrie | Mass XVI (chant) |
| Psalm | Because the Lord is my shepherd (Christopher Walker) |
| Gospel Acclamation | Easter Alleluia (chant) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | If ye love me (Thomas Tallis, c.1505-1585) In bread we bring you, Lord |
| Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen | Mass XVIII |
| Agnus Dei | Mass XVIII |
| Communion | O Bread of Heaven Ave Verum Corpus (William Byrd, c.1540-1623) Come to me (Martin Barry & Diane Murden) |
| Commendation | Song of farewell (Ernest Sands) |
| Recessional | Hail Queen of Heaven |
Fr Anthony served at the Cathedral from 2010 to 2014, immediately after his ordination to the priesthood at the age of 69, after some years of widowhood and a long career in banking. He was a wonderful priest: gentle, humble, engagingly self-deprecating and with a strong ars celebrandi, reverent, focussed and unfussy. He sang the Mass willingly, with a fine voice. In his last e-mail to me he said I didn’t realise how much I missed your music until I was sat in Cathedral this morning. It brought back some good memories.
For his Funeral Mass we had a good mix of music, old and new, congregational and choral, and I think he would have liked it. There was a fine eulogy too, delivered after Communion by his nephew Brian. Fr Anthony’s death is a sudden and sad loss.
| Entrance | As with gladness men of old |
| Gloria | Gloria de Noël (Thomas Niel) |
| Psalm | Ps 71 (Monaghan/Dean) |
| Gospel Acclamation | St Agatha Alleluia (mcb) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | O worship the Lord |
| Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen | Spring Sanctus (mcb) |
| Agnus Dei | Lamb of God II (mcb) |
| Communion | Laudate Omnes Gentes (Taizé) & Reges Tharsis (chant) |
| Postcommunion | Videntes Stellam (Francis Poulenc, 1899-1963) |
| Recessional | The First Nowell |
| Entrance | Hodie Christus natus (chant) O Come all ye faithful |
| Gloria | Psallite |
| Psalm | All the ends of the earth (Alan Johnson) |
| Gospel Acclamation | St Agatha Alleluia (mcb) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen |
| Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen | Spring Sanctus (mcb) |
| Agnus Dei | Lamb of God II (mcb) |
| Communion | Bread of Life (Bernadette Farrell) |
| Postcommunion | A Noble Flower of Judah (Michael Praetorius, 1571-1621) - Choir |
| Recessional | Hark, the herald angels sing |
Men’s voices as usual for Christmas morning. Just five of us this year, but in exuberant form as ever.
| Opening Hymn | Adeste Fideles |
| Reading | Isaiah 11:1-10 (A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse) |
| Choir | Wake, O wake with tidings thrilling (Philipp Nicolai, arr. J.S. Bach/mcb) |
| Hymn | Once in royal David’s city |
| Reading | Micah 5:1-4 (Out of you, Bethlehem, will be born the one…) |
| Choir | Angel voices richly blending (trad. German, words by James Quinn) |
| Hymn | O little town of Bethlehem |
| Reading | Isaiah 52: 7-10 (How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of one…) |
| Gloria | Gloria de Noël (Thomas Niel) |
| Reading | Isaiah 9:2-7 (The people that walked in darkness) |
| Psalm | Today a Saviour has been born (Martin Foster) |
| Reading | Titus 2:11-14 (God’s grace has been revealed) |
| Gospel Acclamation | St Agatha Alleluia (mcb) |
| Reading | Luke 2:1-14 (The Nativity) |
| Creed | Credo III & Et Incarnatus from the Mass for three voices (William Byrd, c.1540-1623) |
| Preparation of the gifts | A Noble Flower of Judah – Choir & Celebration Brass |
| Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen | Spring Sanctus (mcb) |
| Agnus Dei | Lamb of God II (mcb) |
| Communion | Still, still, still (Austrian trad., arr. Janet Janzen) – Choir Bread of Life (Bernadette Farrell) |
| Recessional | Hark the herald angels sing |
Our usual rich banquet of readings and songs, led by Bishop John. The choral items had a German/Austrian theme – arrangements of traditional Christmas melodies, including an energetic, dance-like rendition of Es ist ein’ Ros’ entsprungen with choir, brass and organ taking it in turns to sparkle.
Merry Christmas everyone!
| Entrance | Come Saviour, Come/Rorate Caeli (chant) |
| Kyrie | Missal Chant (Lord have mercy) |
| Psalm | God of hosts, bring us back (Sue Furlong) |
| Gospel Acclamation | Advent Gospel Acclamations (Alan Smith) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | On the lips of an angel (J.S. Bach/Charles Gounod/Scott Soper) |
| Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen | Missal Chant |
| Agnus Dei | Missal Chant |
| Communion | O Clavis David (chant) Veni Immanuel (John Bell) |
| Postcommunion | (silence) |
| Recessional | O come, O come Emmanuel |
| Rite of Introduction | Misericordes Sicut Pater (Paul Inwood) |
| Procession to the Cathedral | Stay with us Lord (mcb) |
| Showing of the Book of the Gospels | I am the gate (mcb) |
| Entrance | Rejoice, the Lord is King |
| Remembrance of Baptism | Asperges Me from Miserere Mei (Antonio Lotti, 1667-1740) & Psalm 50(51) (Bévenot) |
| Psalm | Is 12 (Laurence Bévenot) |
| Gospel Acclamation | Advent Gospel Acclamation (Alan Smith) |
| Preparation of the Gifts | Rejoice in the Lord (anon, c.1600) |
| Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen | Missal Tone |
| Agnus Dei | Missal Tone |
| Communion | O Radix Jesse (chant) Bread of Life (Bernadette Farrell) |
| Concluding Rites | Salve Regina (chant) |
| Recessional | Hail to the Lord’s Anointed |
Bishop John led the celebration for the opening of the holy door for the Year of Mercy. We began in the Cathedral cloister, singing the “official hymn” for the Year, as people, and then clergy, gathered, ending with a choral flourish in Paul Inwood’s arresting polyphonic coda. Processing around to the (liturgical) north side of the building via the Cathedral yard and then Chapel Street, we sang the refrain to my Stay with us, Lord. This seemed to hit the right spot – with the choir at the front of the procession and Anthony (on his very fine portable instrument) anchoring things in the cloister, we kept together well, and the people seemed willing to maintain the singing until the whole of the procession had arrived. Testament to the power of repetition, I think, not just in procession, but over the period from Lent to Pentecost last year, when we made it the refrain for the Universal Prayer every Sunday.
The moment before the entrance through the newly opened door called for a sung antiphon I am the gate, while the Bishop held up the Book of the Gospels. I estimated the length of time Bishop John might reasonably be expected to hold up a heavy book (I gave him twenty seconds), and came up with a lively choral fanfare in 7/8 time. Later, we had an excerpt from Lotti’s Miserere, with repetitions of the relevant section interspersed with psalm verses during the lengthy sprinkling of a full Cathedral.
