Ash Wednesday (2015)

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

 

Entrance	Lord Jesus, think on me
Psalm	Ps 50 (Stephen Dean)
Gospel Acclamation	Glory and Praise (mcb)
Imposition of Ashes	Lord, Cleanse my heart (Psallite)
Prayers of Intercession	Stay with us, Lord (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts	Miserere Mei (William Byrd, c.1540-1623)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Missa Orbis Factor
Agnus Dei	Missa Orbis Factor
Communion	Bless the Lord, my soul (Taizé)
Postcommunion	(silence)
Recessional	Our Father, we have wandered

 

Bishop John led us in a celebration of the beginning of Lent. Stay with us, Lord, on our journey is his prayer for the whole Diocese, and it’s especially apt as an accompaniment to the Lenten journey. My musical setting serves both as a simple ostinato refrain in the Taizé style, or as a song with verses that can be sung contemplatively or as a rousing recessional. More of the latter next Sunday, for the Rite of Election, but tonight we sang it as a gentle refrain for the prayers of intercession, as we will throughout Lent. The piece can be freely downloaded from the Diocesan Liturgy Office web site. (Scroll to the bottom of the home page and click on the second pair of links.) Let me know if you find it useful.

The Byrd was a fine addition to our collection of settings of the Miserere, Ps 50(51), to add to Allegri, Lassus, Lotti and Pergolesi. Scored for five voices, SATBB, it was a challenge on an evening when only four men of the choir were available. But we did well (as did the sopranos and altos).

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 15 February 2015

 

Entrance	Christ is made the sure foundation
Kyrie	Kyrie 2 from A Community Mass (Richard Proulx)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm	Ps 31 (Christopher Walker)
Gospel Acclamation	Here in our Midst (Peter Jones)
Preparation of the Gifts	You are my hiding place (Michael Ledner)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Aston Eucharist (Peter Jones)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Communion	You are my refuge (Christopher Walker)
Postcommunion	Domine, non sum dignus (T.L. de Victoria, 1548-1611)
Recessional	Lord Jesus Christ, you have come to us (Patrick Appleford)

 

Three songs about God our refuge, invoked in today’s Psalm response. It struck me as odd that today’s entrance antiphon as rendered in the 2010 Missal Translation misses a connection here: the Latin has the word refugium twice, but the official translation gives it as stronghold, rather than the (more accurate, I think) refuge. I wonder why? One of the vaunted attributes of the new translation was supposed to be the way it brings out scriptural allusions that were hidden in the old version. They seem to have missed this one.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 8 February 2015

 

Entrance	Come, ring out your joy (arr. Martin Foster)
Kyrie	Kyrie 2 from A Community Mass (Richard Proulx)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm	Ps 146 (Anne Ward/Laurence Bévenot)
Gospel Acclamation	Here in our Midst (Peter Jones)
Preparation of the Gifts	Your hands, O Lord, in days of old
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Aston Eucharist (Peter Jones)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Communion	How good is the Lord to all (mcb)
Postcommunion	Beati Eritis (Giovanni Croce, 1557-1609)
Recessional	Thanks be to God (Stephen Dean)

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 1 February 2015

 

Entrance	Save us, Lord our God (Christopher Walker)
Kyrie	Kyrie 2 from A Community Mass (Richard Proulx)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm	Listen to the voice of the Lord (Patrick Geary)
Gospel Acclamation	Here in our Midst (Peter Jones)
Preparation of the Gifts	Lord, for tomorrow
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Aston Eucharist (Peter Jones)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Communion	Blest are they, the poor in spirit (David Haas)
Postcommunion	Love Divine (Howard Goodall)
Recessional	O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

 

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 25 January 2015

 

Entrance	Bring to the Lord a glad new song (C.H.H. Parry/Michael Perry)
Kyrie	Kyrie 2 from A Community Mass (Richard Proulx)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm	Ps 24 (Geoffrey Boulton Smith/Stephen Dean)
Gospel Acclamation	Here in our Midst (Peter Jones)
Preparation of the Gifts	God has chosen me (Bernadette Farrell)
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Aston Eucharist (Peter Jones)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Communion	Taste and See (Richard Proulx)
Postcommunion	A Song of the Light (Simon Lole)
Recessional	God whose almighty Word

 

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 18 January 2015

 

Entrance	Dear Lord and Father of mankind
Kyrie	Kyrie 2 from A Community Mass (Richard Proulx)
Gloria	Mass of the Redeemer (mcb)
Psalm	Ps 39 (Paul Inwood)
Gospel Acclamation	Here in our Midst (Peter Jones)
Preparation of the Gifts	Will you come and follow me
Sanctus, Acclamation A, Amen	Aston Eucharist (Peter Jones)
Agnus Dei	Belmont Mass (Christopher Walker)
Communion	Behold the Lamb of God (John Bell) & Psalm 117(118)
Postcommunion	Venite Comedite (William Byrd, 1540-1623)
Recessional	Forth in the peace of Christ

 

We marked the transition to Ordinary Time with changes to the Mass ordinary and the Gospel Acclamation. The Aston Eucharist is from the collection Glory to God. It's a simple unison setting, though rhythmically lively with engagingly unexpected hops between 3/4 and 6/8. It will be interesting to find out whether the next four weeks will be enough to give our singing assembly time to absorb it.

The Baptism of the Lord (Year B, 2015)

Sunday, 11 January 2015

 

Entrance	On Jordan’s bank
Sprinkling Rite	With joy you shall draw water (Bob Hurd)
Gloria	Gloria de Noël (Thomas Niel)
Psalm	We Shall Draw Water Joyfully (Paul Inwood)
Gospel Acclamation	St Agatha Alleluia (mcb)
Preparation of the Gifts	Songs of thankfulness and praise
Sanctus, Acclamation, Amen	Missa Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Agnus Dei	Lamb of God II (mcb)
Communion	Come to Me and Drink (Bob Hurd)
Postcommunion	The Blessed Son of God (Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958)
Recessional	Come down O love divine

 

Water, water, everywhere… and a busy day for both Bob Hurd and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The latter provided both the final hymn and our postcommunion piece, echoing and amplifying the Father’s words in the Gospel reading: this is my Son, the beloved.