chantblog

Kings College Choir: "Evening Hymn"

2012-01-26T14:00:00.001-05:00

This is Balfour Gardiner's version of the Compline hymn Te Lucis Ante Terminum. It's irresistible to me: all that Victorian drama! And very fun to sing. Latin and English words below.

Te lucis ante terminum,
rerum Creator, poscimus,
ut solita clementia,
sis praesul ad custodiam.

Procul recedant somnia,
et noctium phantasmata:
hostemque nostrum comprime,
ne polluantur corpora.

Praesta, Pater omnipotens,
per Iesum Christum Dominum,
qui tecum in perpetuum
regnat cum Sancto Spiritu.

Amen.

To thee before the close of day,
Creator of the world, we pray
That, with thy wonted favour, thou
Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

From all ill dreams defend our sight,
From fears and terrors of the night;
Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
That spot of sin we may not know.

O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Doth live and reign eternally.

Amen.

For Epiphany: O balow, balow la lay

2012-01-16T09:25:00.002-05:00

From the YouTube page:

The Choir of Wells Cathedral, Somerset, under the direction of Matthew Owens, perform Jonathan Dove's setting of Dorothy L. Sayers' poem 'The Three Kings.' Commissioned by King's College, Cambridge for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve 2000. Treble solos by Folasade-Nelleke Ladipo and Sophie Gallagher.

"Sayers portrays her three kings in the three ages of man—young, in the prime of life, and very old. With perhaps an unexpected twist and a departure from received imagery Sayers portrays the young king as doleful and bringing myrrh; the prime-of-life king is a solemn priest who brings incense, 'sad and sweet', and it is the very old king who brings the handfuls of gold which are not money but gaud, baubles and glittering toys for a baby boy."

Text:

The first king was very young, 
O balow, balow la lay,
With doleful ballads on his tongue,
O balow, balow la lay,
He came bearing a branch of myrrh 
Than which no gall is bitterer,
O balow, balow la lay,
Gifts for a baby King, O.

The second king was a man in prime,
O balow, balow la lay, 
The solemn priest of a solemn time,
O balow, balow la lay,
With eyes downcast and reverent feet
He brought his incense sad and sweet, 
O balow, balow la lay,
Gifts for a baby King, O.

The third king was very old,
O balow, balow la lay,
Both his hands were full of gold,
O balow, balow la lay,
Many a gaud and glittering toy, 
Baubles brave for a baby boy, 
O balow, balow la lay, 
Gifts for a baby King, O.

"Burning Incense Is Psychoactive: New Class Of Antidepressants Might Be Right Under Our Noses"

2012-01-09T12:25:00.002-05:00

From Science Daily (HT the Society of Catholic Priests): Burning Incense Is Psychoactive: New Class Of Antidepressants Might Be Right Under Our Noses

ScienceDaily (May 20, 2008) — Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses.

"In spite of information stemming from ancient texts, constituents of Bosweilla had not been investigated for psychoactivity," said Raphael Mechoulam, one of the research study's co-authors. "We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning."

To determine incense's psychoactive effects, the researchers administered incensole acetate to mice. They found that the compound significantly affected areas in brain areas known to be involved in emotions as well as in nerve circuits that are affected by current anxiety and depression drugs. Specifically, incensole acetate activated a protein called TRPV3, which is present in mammalian brains and also known to play a role in the perception of warmth of the skin. When mice bred without this protein were exposed to incensole acetate, the compound had no effect on their brains.

"Perhaps Marx wasn't too wrong when he called religion the opium of the people: morphine comes from poppies, cannabinoids from marijuana, and LSD from mushrooms; each of these has been used in one or another religious ceremony." said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Studies of how those psychoactive drugs work have helped us understand modern neurobiology. The discovery of how incensole acetate, purified from frankincense, works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion--burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!"

According to the National Institutes of Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15--44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults. A less severe form of depression, dysthymic disorder, affects approximately 3.3 million American adults. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million American adults, and frequently co-occur with depressive disorders.

Not exactly news to us, of course....!

Anglican Chant XVII: Psalm 98, Hanforth

2012-01-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

A lovely version of Psalm 98 sung to Hanforth's chant setting.

The Schola Cantorum sings Psalm 98, "Cantate Domino," at Choral Evensong on 15 May 2011 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Highland Park, Pittsburgh, PA. Chant: Jones. Alastair Stout, organ; Peter J. Luley, choirmaster.

From the Coverdale Psalter:

Psalm 98: Cantate Domino

1. O SING unto the Lord a new song : for he hath done marvellous things.
2. With his own right hand, and with his holy arm : hath he gotten himself the victory.
3. The Lord declared his salvation : his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
4. He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of Israel : and all the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God.
5. Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands : sing, rejoice, and give thanks.
6. Praise the Lord upon the harp : sing to the harp with a psalm of thanksgiving.
7. With trumpets also and shawms : O shew yourselves joyful before the Lord the King.
8. Let the sea make a noise, and all that therein is : the round world, and they that dwell therein.
9. Let the floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful together before the Lord : for he is come to judge the earth.
10. With righteousness shall he judge the world : and the people with equity.

Vidimus stellam

2012-01-05T16:45:00.013-05:00

Vidimus stellam - "We have seen his star" - is the Alleluia for January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany; this version is sung by the Schola des Moines de Montserrat:

Here's the chant score, with the English translation below.

We have seen his star in the East, and we have come with our gifts, to worship the Lord.

The text comes from Matthew 2:

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Here's William Byrd's polyphonic setting, sung by Ensemble 'Gloriana':

Here's a terrific painting of the Adoration of the Magi that I haven't seen before; wow! According to ibiblio.com, it's painted by Pieter Aertsen, and is the "Middle panel of a triptych, The Adoration of the Magi; c. 1560; Oil (?) on panel, 167.5 x 179 cm; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam." Gorgeous and interesting, too.

Ibiblio says this about the painting:

The baby Jesus is sitting on the lap of his mother, the Virgin Mary. He is holding his hand up in a blessing. Before him kneels a king offering a gift of gold. This is Melchior, the oldest of the three kings who came to pay homage to the infant Christ. Behind Mary, in a red gown is her husband Joseph. According to tradition, Jesus was born in a stable. The donkey, the ox and the shabby straw roof remind us of this. The scene takes place against the background of a ruined palace with marble columns and steps. This refers to King David, a distant ancestor of Jesus. The ruin is symbolic and represents the old world: Jesus represents the new, Christian world.

Pieter Aertsen painted this large, colourful panel in around 1560. It is a varied scene with many attractive details such as the rather homely basket of clothes beside Mary and the king's entourage with camels on the left of the background.

Only one of the three kings is pictured on this panel. In fact, the painting is no longer complete. It was originally the centre panel of an altarpiece. The other two kings were pictured on the side panels. The right-hand panel has been lost. The left-hand panel, depicting the Moorish King Caspar and his entourage, has been preserved. This king is offering a vase of myrrh, a fragrant resin which was employed in the ancient world in perfume. It was used in preparing myrrh balsam, for embalming corpses. According to tradition, this was what Caspar, the African king, gave to Christ. It is viewed as a reference to Christ's subsequent death.

Here's a beautiful (and copyrighted) "Adoration of the Magi" page from the St. Alban's Psalter. Wish I could post it here, but they've cut it up into about 50 pieces to protect the copyright! Go see, though - gorgeous.

Chanticleer: The Huron Carol

2011-12-24T13:46:00.002-05:00

Chanticleer - Huron Carol - YouTube

Blessed Christmas to all....

O Virgo Virginum (December 23)

2011-12-23T16:45:00.005-05:00

The final Great "O" Antiphon, O Virgo Virginum ("O Virgin of Virgins") is sung tonight at Evensong

O Virgin of Virgins, how shall this be? For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after. Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me? That which ye behold is a divine mystery.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat:

O Emmanuel (December 22)

2011-12-22T16:45:00.016-05:00

O Emmanuel is the Antiphon upon Magnificat for tonight at Vespers:

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, Desire of all nations and their Salvation: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat:

The text of the Magnificat comes from Luke 1:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he who is mighty has done great things for me,and holy is his name.And his mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

Here's a video of the wonderful Clare College Choir, singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," the hymn that grew out of the "O Antiphons."

They're using a different set of words than the ones I know:

O come, O come, Emmanuel! Redeem thy captive Israel That into exile drear is gone, Far from the face of God's dear Son.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Branch of Jesse! draw The quarry from the lion's claw; From the dread caverns of the grave, From nether hell, thy people save.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, thou Dayspring bright! Pour on our souls thy healing light; Dispel the long night's lingering gloom, And pierce the shadows of the tomb.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, thou Lord of David's Key! The royal door fling wide and free; Safeguard for us the heavenward road, And bar the way to death's abode.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Adonai, Who in thy glorious majesty From that high mountain clothed in awe, Gavest thy folk the elder Law.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Rex Gentium (December 21)

2011-12-21T16:45:00.009-05:00

Anglicans sing O Rex Gentium ("O King of the Nations") tonight as the Antiphon upon Magnificat. (If they're not singing an Antiphon in the honor of St. Thomas, whose feast day it is today, that is.)

O King of Nations, and their Desire; the Cornerstone, who makest both one: Come and save mankind, whom thou formedst of clay.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat itself:

The text of the Magnificat comes from Luke 1:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he who is mighty has done great things for me,and holy is his name.And his mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

The "cornerstone" referred to in this antiphon has many Scriptural sources. Likely the first, and very influential, mention is found in Psalm 118:22:

The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.

Isaiah 28:6 talks, too, of a "cornerstone":

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

Matthew 21:42 refers back to the Psalm (as do Mark and Luke in their Gospels):

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

The same reference to the Psalm is found in Acts 4:11, as Peter and John talk to the Sanhedrin:

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And Paul harkens back to the Isaiah - but with a Pauline twist, adding in a bit of text from Isaiah 8:14! - in Romans 9:33:

As it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

O Oriens (December 20)

2011-12-20T16:45:00.033-05:00

The Great "O" Antiphon O Oriens ("O Dayspring") is sung tonight as the Antiphon upon Magnificat.

O Day-Spring, Brightness of the Light everlasting, and Sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat itself.

The text comes from Luke 1:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

Oriens is Latin for "East" - and also refers to "the Morning Star" (either Venus, or perhaps the sun). The text most likely comes from Revelation 22:16, part of the "epilogue" of the book and one of the very last verses in the Bible:

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

More about the Great "O" Antiphons, from the website "The Hymns and Carols of Christmas":

The antiphons date back at least to the reign of Charlemagne (771-814), and the 439 lines of the English poem Christ, by Cynewulf (c. 800), are described as a loose translation and elaboration of the Antiphons. One source stated that Boethius (c. 480-524) made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time. Julian reports that two 11^th century copies can be found in manuscripts in the British Museum and the Bodleian. The usage of the "O Antiphons" was so prevalent in monasteries that the phrases, "Keep your O" and "The Great O Antiphons" were common parlance.

At least two — and up to five — additional verses were later added to the original seven. However, it is clear that these seven were designed as a group, since their initial letters (ignoring the 'O' that precedes each line) spell out the reverse acrostic 'SARCORE' — 'ero cras', that is, "I shall be [with you] tomorrow."

According to some sources, by the 12th or 13^th century, but no later than the eighteenth century, five of the verses had been put together to form the verses of a single hymn, with the refrain "Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel nascetur pro te, Israel" ("Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel; Shall come to thee, O Israel") (there was no refrain in the original Latin chant). The earliest known metrical form of the "O" Antiphons was a Latin version in an Appendix of Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, (Cologne, 1710, from the Tridentine rite).

In 1851, it was translated by and published in Rev. John Mason Neale’s Medieval Hymns. The original title was "Draw nigh, draw nigh! Immanuel." It was revised and published in 1854 in Neale and Thomas Helmore’s second edition of Hymnal Noted with the more familiar "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." "Emmanuel" (or "Immanuel") is the name of the Messiah as prophesied by the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah (see Isaiah 7:14, quoted in Matthew 1:23). There have been numerous other translations, notably by Thomas Alexander Lacey and Henry Sloane Coffin.

English prose translations are by Cardinal John Henry Newman from Tracts for the Times, No. 75 (Vol.3), pp. 183, 206-207, as quoted by Alfred S. Cook, The Christ Of Cynewulf, pp. 71-72. "Alternate Prose Translations" are also provided; translator unknown.

Scriptural citations from Fr. William Saunders, "What Are the ’O Antiphons’?" (and also under the title "A Seven-Fold Announcement"), and Cook, The Christ of Cynewulf, pp. 72-114.

O Clavis David (December 19)

2011-12-19T16:45:00.008-05:00

O Clavis David ("O Key of David") gets sung tonight as the Antiphon upon Magnificat.

O Key of David, and Scepter of the house of Israel; that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth, and no man openeth: come, and bring forth from the prisionhouse the captive, who sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat itself.

The text for this antiphon is found in two places in the Scriptures: Isaiah 22 and Revelation 3:

Isaiah 22:22: And the Key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

Revelation 3:7: And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth....

Clearly, the Revelation passage is a direct quoting of the Isaiah; I am not yet certain of the significance of the phrase in either case, however.

O Radix Jesse (December 18)

2011-12-18T16:45:00.018-05:00

Tonight's Great "O" Antiphon sung before and after the Magnificat is O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse).

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall stop their mouths, whom the Gentiles shall seek: Come and deliver us, and tarry not.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat itself.

The text comes from Luke 1:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he who is mighty has done great things for me,and holy is his name.And his mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

The text for this Antiphon comes primarily from Isaiah. The "root of Jesse" is a reference to Isaiah 11 - and the wonderful "kings shall shut their mouths" comes from the haunting "Suffering Servant" passages in Isaiah 52-53:

Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.

O Adonai (December 17)

2011-12-17T16:45:00.011-05:00

Tonight, the Great "O" Antiphon sung before and after the Magnificat is O Adonai:

O Adonai and Leader of the house of Israel, who appearedst in the Bush of Moses in a flame of fire, and gavest him the law in Sinai: Come and deliver us with an outstretched arm.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat itself:

The text comes from Luke 1:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he who is mighty has done great things for me,and holy is his name.And his mercy is for those who fear himfrom generation to generation.He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;he has brought down the mighty from their thronesand exalted those of humble estate;he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,in remembrance of his mercy,as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

About the word Adonai ('literally "my Lord," the plural form of Adon, that is, "Lord" or "Lordship"'), from the Jewish Encyclopedia:

This word occurs in the Masoretic text 315 times by the side of the Tetragram YHWH (310 times preceding and five times succeeding it) and 134 times without it. Originally an appellation of God, the word became a definite title, and when the Tetragram became too holy for utterance Adonai was substituted for it, so that, as a rule, the name written YHWH receives the points of Adonai and is read Adonai, except in cases where Adonai precedes or succeeds it in the text, when it is read Elohim....The translation of YHWH by the word Lord in the King James's and in other versions is due to the traditional reading of the Tetragrammaton as Adonai, and this can be traced to the oldest translation of the Bible, the Septuagint. About the pronunciation of the Shem ha-Meforash, the "distinctive name" YHWH, there is no authentic information. In the early period of the Second Temple the Name was still in common use, as may be learned from such proper names as Jehohanan, or from liturgical formulas, such as Halelu-Yah. At the beginning of the Hellenistic era, however, the use of the Name was reserved for the Temple.

....

Pronunciation of the Name by the Temple priests also gradually fell into disuse. Tosef., Soṭah, xiii. 8, quoted Menaḥot, 109b, and Yoma, 39b, relates that "from the time Simon the Just died [this is the traditional expression for the beginning of the Hellenistic period], the priests refrained from blessing the people with the Name"—in other words, they pronounced it indistinctly, or they mouthed or mumbled it. Thus says Tosef., Ber. vi. 23: Formerly they used to greet each other with the Ineffable Name; when the time of the decline of the study of the Law came, the elders mumbled the Name. Subsequently also the solemn utterance of the Name by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, that ought to have been heard by the priests and the people, according to the Mishnah Yoma, vi. 2, became inaudible or indistinct.

....the Greek translators of the Bible, even though some scribe might now and then write the Tetragrammaton in the archaic Hebrew form on the margin, Π I Π I, as found by Origen (see facsimile attached to article Aquila), took great care to render the name Π I Π I regularly Κυριός, Lord, as if they knew of no other reading but Adonai. Translations dependent upon the Septuagint have the same reading of the Name. Not from "superstitious fear" or misapplication of the third command of the Decalogue or of Lev. xxiv. 11, but from a reverential feeling that the Name ought not to be pronounced except with consecrated lips and to consecrated ears, the substitute "Lord" came into use. Yet this simple measure, introduced to guard the Name against profane use, formed one of the most powerful means of securing to the Biblical God the universal character with which He is invested as the Lord of Hosts and the Ruler of men and nations. YHWH, as the God of Israel, might still be taken as a tribal God; The Lord is no longer the God of one people; He is Lord of all the world, the Only One. Compare Name of God, Shem ha-Meforash, and Tetragrammaton.

O Sapientia (December 16)

2011-12-16T16:45:00.021-05:00

The singing of the Great "O" Antiphons begins tonight in the Anglican world; for the next 8 evenings, these ancient texts will be said or sung as the antiphon upon Magnificat at Vespers. (Roman Catholics begin on December 17; they use one fewer antiphon. The last is sung, in each church, on the 23rd, "Christmas Eve Eve.") The first antiphon is O Sapientia ("O Wisdom"); the English translation - in the old language - is below the video.

O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the most High, and reachest from one end to another, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Below is a Latin version of the Magnificat itself, if you're inclined to listen to or sing it:

That text comes from Luke 1:

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

The rubrics for Sapientia-tide (these next 8 days) change, according to Breviary.net; the antiphons at Lauds and Vespers are proper to this period. Pray the hours via the links at the bottom of the page.

The text of O Sapientia is drawn in great part from Sirach 24:

¹ Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honoured in God, and shall glory in the midst of her people,
² And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and shall glorify herself in the sight of his power,
³ And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be ad- mired in the holy assembly.
⁴ And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:
⁵ I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all creatures:
⁶ I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never faileth, and as a cloud I covered all the earth:
⁷ I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a cloud.
⁸ I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea,
⁹ And have stood in all the earth: and in every people,
¹⁰ And in every nation I have had the chief rule:
¹¹ And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord.
¹² Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle,
¹³ And he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect.
¹⁴ From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.
¹⁵ And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem.
¹⁶ And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of mg God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.
¹⁷ I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on mount Sion.
¹⁸ I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho:
¹⁹ As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted.
²⁰ I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon. and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh:
²¹ And I perfumed my dwelling as storax, and galbanum, and onyx, and aloes, and as the frankincense not cut, and my odour is as the purest balm.
²² I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my branches are of honour and grace.
²³ As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odour: and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches.
²⁴ I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.
²⁵ In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.
²⁶ Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.
²⁷ For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb.
²⁸ My memory is unto everlasting generations.
²⁹ They that eat me, shall yet hunger: and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.
³⁰ He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin.
³¹ They that explain me shall have life everlasting.
³² All these things are the book of life, and the covenant of the most High, and the knowledge of truth.
³³ Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justices, and an inheritance to the house of Jacob, and the promises to Israel.
³⁴ He appointed to David his servant to raise up of him a most mighty king, and sitting on the throne of glory for ever.
³⁵ Who filleth up wisdom as the Phison, and as the Tigris in the days of the new fruits.
³⁶ Who maketh understanding to abound as the Euphrates, who multiplieth it as the Jordan in the time of harvest.
³⁷ Who sendeth knowledge as the light, and riseth up as Gehon in the time of the vintage.
³⁸ Who first hath perfect knowledge of her, and a weaker shall not search her out.
³⁹ For her thoughts are more vast than the sea, and her counsels more deep than the great ocean.
⁴⁰ I, wisdom, have poured out rivers.
⁴¹ I, like a brook out of a river of a mighty water; I, like a channel of a river. and like an aqueduct, came out of paradise.
⁴² I said: I will water my garden of plants, and I will water abundantly the fruits of my meadow.
⁴³ And behold my brook became a great river, and my river came near to a sea:
⁴⁴ For I make doctrine to shine forth to all as the morning light, and I will declare it afar off.
⁴⁵ I will penetrate to all the lower parts of the earth, and will behold all that sleep, and will enlighten all that hope in the Lord.
⁴⁶ I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, and will leave it to them that seek wisdom, and will not cease to instruct their offspring even to the holy age.
⁴⁷ See ye that I have not laboured for myself only, but for all that seek out the truth.

Te Deum in C (Stanford) - Westminster Abbey - YouTube

2011-12-13T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here's Stanford's Te Deum in C, sung by the Westminster Abbey Choir.

We praise thee, O God :
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee :
the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud :
the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim :
continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy :
Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :
of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world :
doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man :
thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death :
thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.

O Lord, save thy people :
and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us :
as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted :
let me never be confounded.

The Advent Prose, tonight at St. Thomas

2011-12-11T19:24:00.003-05:00

You can listen to the Choir of Men & Boys sing it at Sunday Festal Evensong at this link.

They also sing some gorgeous responses by Michael Walsh, and "The Service on Plainsong Tones," (i.e., the Evening Canticles) by Arthur Wills.

Sing along, too, with the lovely Advent hymns, "Comfort, Comfort Ye, My People" and "Creator of the Stars of Night." Wonderful.

(P.S.: I was very surprised to hear a woman read the Gospel this morning at St. Thom's! And she is the preacher at Evensong, too, I believe. Both firsts, as far as I know....)

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

2011-12-11T13:39:00.001-05:00

Below is Bach's Cantata 140, from 1731, the entire cantata in a 28-minute video. Wachet auf ("Sleepers, Wake!") is based on Phillip Nicolai's wonderful Lutheran hymn from around 1598; that hymn was sung today to open St. Thomas' Festal Eucharist for Gaudete Sunday.

From the YouTube page:

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 (1731)

I. Chorus: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Sleepers awake, the voice is calling us) [0:00]
II. Recitative: Er kommt (He comes) [7:09]
III. Aria (duet): Wann kommst du, mein Heil? (When will you come, my salvation?) [8:07]
IV. Chorale: Zion hört die Wächter singen (Zion hears the watchmen singing) [14:39]
V. Recitative: So geh herein zu mir (So come in with me) [18:38]
VI. Aria (duet): Mein Freund ist mein! (My friend is mine!) [20:15]
VII. Chorale: Gloria sei dir gesungen (May Gloria be sung to you) [26:39]

A church cantata by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), with the cantata chorale based on the Lutheran hymn "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Sleepers awake, the voice is calling") by Philipp Nicolai. The text is based on the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, the reading of which is scheduled for the 27th Sunday after Trinity in the Lutheran lectionary. This cantata was first performed in Leipzig on November 25, 1731. Bach later transcribed the fourth movement chorale for organ (BWV 645) and published it along with the Schübler Chorales.

English text:

I. (Chorus)

Wake ye maids! hard, strikes the hour,
The watchman calls high on the tower,
Awake, awake, Jerusalem.
Midnight strikes, hear, hear it sounding,
Loud cries the watch, with call resounding:
Where are ye, o wise virgins, where?
Good cheer, the Bridegroom come,
Arise and take your lamps!
Alleluja!
Ye maids beware:
The feast prepare,
So go ye forth to meet Him there.

II. Recitative:

He comes.
The Bridegroom comes!
And Zion's daughter shall rejoice,
He hastens to her dwelling claiming
The maiden of his choice.
The Bridegroom comes; as is a roebuck,
Yea, like a lusty mountain roebuck,
Fleet and fair,
His marriage feast he bids you share.
Arise and take your lamps!
In eagerness to greet him;
Come! hasten, sally forth to meet him.

III. Aria (Duet)

[Soul] Come quickly, now come.
[Jesus] Yea quickly I come.
[Soul] We wait thee with lamps all alighted!
The doors open wide,
Come claim me my bride!
[Jesus] The doors open wide,
I claim me my bride.
[Soul] Come quickly!
[Jesus] Forever in rapture united

IV. Chorale

Zion hears the watchmen calling,
The Faithful hark with joy enthralling,
They rise and haste to greet their Lord.
See, He comes, the Lord victorious,
Almighty, noble, true and glorious,
In Heav'n supreme, on earth adored.
Come now, Thou Holy One,
The Lord Jehovah's Son!
Alleluja!
We follow all
The joyful call
To join Him in the Banquet Hall!

V. Recitative

So come thou unto me,
My fair and chosen bride,
Thou whom I long to see
Forever by my side.
Within my heart of hearts
Art thou secure by ties that naught can sever,
Where I may cherish thee forever.
Forget, beloved, ev'ry care,
Away with pain and grief and sadness,
For better or for worse to share
Our lives in love and joy and gladness.

VI. Aria (Duet)

[Soul] Thy love is mine,
[Jesus] And I am thine!
[Both] True lovers ne'er are parted.
[Soul] Now I with thee, and thou with me.
[Jesus] In flow'ry field will wander,
[Both] In rapture united forever to be.

VII. Chorale

Gloria sing all our voices,
With Angels all mankind rejoices,
With harp and strings in sweetest tone.
Twelve bright Pearls adorn Thy Portals,
As Angels round Thy glorious Throne.
No ear has ever heard
The joy we know.
Our praises flow,
Eeo, eeo,
To God in dulci jubilo.

Text of the Parable of the Ten Virgins:

Matthew 25:1-13 (WEB)

'Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, "Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!" Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." But the wise answered, saying, "What if there isn't enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves." While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us." But he answered, "Most certainly I tell you, I don't know you." Watch therefore, for you don't know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.'

Here's something about the hymn itself, and about Nicolai, from the website "The Hymns and Carols of Christmas":

From July 1597 to January 1598, a terrible pestilence ravaged the town of Unna, in Westphalia. For weeks, up to 30 funerals were held in the church. The parsonage of the Lutheran pastor overlooked the graveyard. Over 1,300 fell victim to an agonizing death. Son of a Lutheran pastor, Pastor Philipp Nicolai was regarded as an outstanding and influential preacher, who gained his Doctor of Divinity degree from Wittenberg University in 1594.

During this fearful time, Pastor Nicolai’s thoughts turned to death, and then to God in Heaven, and, finally, to the Eternal Fatherland. He wrote, in the preface (dated Aug. 10, 1598) to his Frewden-Spiegel:

"There seemed to me nothing mere sweet, delightful and agreeable, than the contemplation of the noble, sublime doctrine of Eternal Life obtained through the Blood of Christ. This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night, and searched the Scriptures as to what they revealed on this matter, read also the sweet treatise of the ancient doctor Saint Augustine [De Civitate Dei].... Then day by day I wrote out my meditations, found myself, thank God! wonderfully well, comforted In heart, joyful in spirit, and truly content; gave to my, manuscript the name and title of a Mirror of Joy, and took this so composed Frewden-Spiegel to leave behind me (if God should call me from this world) as the token of my peaceful, joyful, Christian departure, or (if God should spare use in health) to comfort other sufferers wham He should also visit with the pestilence.. . . How has the gracious, holy God most mercifully preserved me amid the dying from the dreadful pestilence, and wonderfully spared me beyond all my thoughts and hopes, so that with the Prophet David I can say to Him "O how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee," &c.

He was especially moved by the death of his fifteen-year-old former pupil, Count Wilhelm Ernst who died at Tubingen, September 16, 1598, in the very midst of this horror. These feelings gave rise to one of Nicolai's most beautiful hymns: "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Wake, Awake, For Night Is Flying" and many other translations). Described by John Julian as "one of the first rank" the hymn has a deep scriptural basis. While it comes primarily from the story of the wise and foolish maidens as recorded in Matthew 25: 1-13, it is not limited to that parable, but expands to include:

Rev. 19:6-9 and 21:21 - Marriage references in Revelation between the Lamb and the Bride:
Rev. 19:6-9 ("And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.")
Rev. 21:21 ("And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.")
I Corinthians 2:9 ("But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."). Emphasis added.
Ezekiel 3:17 ("Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me."). Emphasis added.
Isaiah 3:8 ("For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are AGAINST THE LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.").

According to Julian, it first appeared in the Appendix to his Frewden-Spiegel, 1599, in 3 stanzas of 10 lines, entitled "Of the Voice at Midnight, and the Wise Virgins who meet their Heavenly Bridegroom. Matt. 25.", and was widely reprinted after that.

In structure, it is a reversed acrostic, W. Z. G. for the Graf zu Waldeck, viz. Count Wilhelm Ernst. Probably the opening lines;

"Wachet anf! ruft uns die Stimme
Der Wächter sehr hoch auf der Zinne"

are borrowed from one of the Wachter-Lieder, a form of lyric popular in the Middle Ages, wrote Julian. But while, formerly, the voice of the Watchman from his turret summons the workers of darkness to flee from discovery, with Nicolai it is a summons to the children of light to awaken to their promised reward and full felicity.

The melody is also apparently by Nicolai, though portions of it, according to Julian, may have been suggested by earlier tunes. He continues, "It has been called the King of Chorales, and by its majestic simplicity and dignity it well deserves the title."

The first harmonized version of the tune appeared in the mid-16th century, in the famous Scandinavian collection Piae Cantiones of 1582, subsequently by Praetorius and then Bach. Sir John Stainer's popular 19th century harmonization is the version most familiar to us today.

Displaced while his home underwent reconstruction, J. S. Bach wrote this most famous of his cantatas, #140.

This cantata remains popular with people of all ages, according to Alan C. Collyer. He writes that the fourth movement based on the second verse "Zion hears..." appeals to many young people today with its beautiful, biting counter melody against the chorale sung by the tenors. The first movement appears as an extended chorale with the sopranos singing the melody in long notes with each other part weaving around in glorious counterpoint. The final verse with its magnificent transcendent text, combined with Bach's harmonization in E flat (a bit high for the congregation!) can be called, writes Collyer, a deeply spiritual and religious experience.

Gaudete!

2011-12-09T21:37:00.006-05:00

Rejoice!, that is. That's the name traditionally given to this Sunday, Advent 3 - named for the Introit on the day, Gaudete in Domino - "Rejoice in the Lord."

Here's the Gregorian chant version of the piece; very pretty:

Here's the Philippians 4:4-6 text it's based on:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And here, ladies and gents, is something really spectacular: Chanticleer, singing Henry Purcell's unbelievably gorgeous setting (also called "The Bell Anthem"). Zowie:

The English (Coverdale) words:

Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice. Let your softness be known unto all men, the Lord is e'en at hand. Be careful for nothing: but in all prayer and supplication, let your petitions be manifest unto God with giving of thanks. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesu. Amen.

Sanctus XVII, for Sundays in Advent

2011-12-04T20:47:00.000-05:00

Sanctus XVII, for Sundays in Advent & Lent, Vocals by Matthew J Curtis on Vimeo

Here's a lovely audio/video recording of this Sanctus from Mass XVII, apparently used for Advent in the Roman Catholic Church.

Sanctus XVII, for Sundays in Advent & Lent, Vocals by Matthew J Curtis from St Antoine Daniel on Vimeo.

All of the music - both audio/video and scores - for this Mass, and in fact for all of the Mass settings, can be found here.

Vigilate (Byrd)

2011-12-03T14:25:00.003-05:00

Vigilate - The King's Singers - YouTube

The text is from this year's Gospel reading for Advent 1, Mark 13: 35-37. A beautiful rendition.

Vigilate,
nescitis enim quando dominus domus veniat,
sero, an media nocte, an gallicantu, an mane.
Vigilate ergo,
ne cum venerit repente, inveniat vos dormientes.
Quod autem dico vobis,
omnibus dico: vigilate.

Watch ye therefore
(for you know not when the lord of the house cometh,
at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning):
Watch therefore,
lest coming on a sudden, he find you sleeping.
And what I say to you,
I say to all: Watch.

"The World at Our Fingertips: 23 Beautiful Old Texts, Available Online"

2011-12-01T10:08:00.005-05:00

Fantastic! A 10th-Century Iliad! The Magna Carta! The Dead Sea scrolls, if you can believe that! Here: The World at Our Fingertips: 23 Beautiful Old Texts, Available Online - Rebecca J. Rosen - Technology - The Atlantic.

The Internet's collection of old manuscripts is not only growing in size but improving in quality. With a few clicks of the mouse you can zoom in on some of the earliest Hebrew scrolls, the handwritten works of Leonardo da Vinci or Jane Austen, and the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence. The British Library's digital editions include supplemental materials such as translations, explanatory essays, and, in the case of Mozart's notes, audio files of the songs he sketched out. Below, a gallery of some of the best examples of the original manuscripts online.

The Whale Song Project

2011-11-29T12:07:00.010-05:00

Whales | Home

Welcome to the Whale Song ProjectYou can help marine researchers understand what whales are saying. Listen to the large sound and find the small one that matches it best. Click 'Help' below for an interactive guide

Quite wonderful. Go here.

("And there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it!")

The Advent Vespers Hymn: Conditor alme siderum ("Creator of the stars of night")

2011-11-26T11:27:00.006-05:00

Here's the plainchant Latin version of this hymn for Evensong in Advent, sung by Cistercian monks (from Stift Heiligenkreuz in Vienna); it's really a lovely melody. Haven't found anything in English as good yet, but the word in Latin and English both are below.

Conditor alme siderum
aetérna lux credéntium
Christe redémptor
ómnium exáudi preces súpplicum

Qui cóndolens intéritu
mortis perire saeculum
salvásti mundum languidum
donnas reis remedium.

Vergénte mundi véspere
uti sponsus de thálamo
egréssus honestissima
Virginis matris cláusula.

Cuius forti ponténtiae
genu curvántur ómnia
caeléstia, terréstia
nutu faténtur súbdita.

Te, Sancte fide quáesumus,
venture iudex sáeculi,
consérva nos in témpore
hostis a telo perfidi.

Sit, Christe rex piissime
tibi Patríque glória
cum Spíritu Paráclito
in sempitérna sáecula.
Amen.

Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people's everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
and hear Thy servants when they call.

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
should doom to death a universe,
hast found the medicine, full of grace,
to save and heal a ruined race.

Thou camest, the Bridegroom of the Bride,
as drew the world to evening tide,
proceeding from a virgin shrine,
the spotless Victim all divine.

At whose dread Name, majestic now,
all knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
and things celestial Thee shall own,
and things terrestrial Lord alone.

O Thou whose coming is with dread,
to judge and doom the quick and dead,
preserve us, while we dwell below,
from every insult of the foe.

To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, Three in One,
laud, honor, might, and glory be
from age to age eternally.
Amen.

And here's something a little more out there - but still lovely, I think: Ensemble Nu:n - Conditor alme siderum - YouTube.

Ensemble Nu:n is, apparently, a German/Canadian ensemble that performs some of the chant repertoire in their own style.
They've also posted a video of the Lauds hymn for Advent, Vox clara Ecce Intonat. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with over time. The hymns for the Advent Office are posted here on this blog.

Audite Verbum: An Advent Matins Responsory

2011-11-25T09:44:00.002-05:00

Canto ambrosiano, Avvento, Responsorio AUDITE VERBUM, Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis, Giovanni Vianini, Milano, Italia - YouTube

That's an Ambrosian Chant version of the Advent Responsory, Audite verbum.

Here's something about this Responsory from the 1918 book, Liturgica historica: papers on the liturgy and religious life of the Western church, available in full at the Google Books link. (Psst, Derek: It looks like quite a good resource!)

At the end of each lesson for matins, i. e. the night office, is a long responsory which, in its simplest form, is thus made up: first, a biblical text (or an adaptation of one), which is the 'responsory' in a strict sense; on which follows a 'verse', also from Scripture; and after that the second half (or part) of the preceding 'responsory'.

For instance, .... the responsory at the end of the eighth lesson at matins of the first Sunday of Advent:—Responsory: 'Audite verbum Domini gentes, et annuntiate illud in finibus terrae *. Et insulis quae procul sunt dicite: Salvator noster adveniet.' Verse: 'Annuntiate, et auditum facite: loquimini et clamate.' And then comes a repetition of the second half of the 'responsory' proper: * Et insulis quae procul sunt dicite: Salvator noster adveniet.' It is obvious that, with an arrangement of this kind, to be tolerable at all the ' verse' must be such that its last words, when followed by the second half of the 'responsory', will make sense and form a continuous phrase. But the authentic and native Roman method of singing these responsories knew no need for such clever dovetailings; for according to that Roman method the ' responsory' was simply repeated in its entirety after the 'verse'.

The translation found at Divinum Offocium for this Responsory (along with the entire service of Matins - another good resource) is:

R. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the ends of the earth * And in the isles afar off, and say Our Saviour shall come.
V. Declare it and make it known, lift up your voice and cry aloud.
R. And in the isles afar off, and say Our Saviour shall come.

The Medieval Music Database has a page on this responsory, as well, along with a page from The Poissy Antiphonal. This is a different tune, though:

The Advent Prose, 2011

2011-11-23T16:45:00.002-05:00

Advent Prose - YouTube

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour forth righteousness: let the earth be fruitful, and bring forth a Saviour.

Be not very angry, O Lord, neither remember our iniquity for ever:
thy holy cities are a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation:
our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee.

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour forth righteousness: let the earth be fruitful, and bring forth a Saviour.

We have sinned, and are as an unclean thing,
and we all do fade as a leaf:
our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away;
thou hast hid thy face from us:
and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour forth righteousness: let the earth be fruitful, and bring forth a Saviour.

Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen;
that ye may know me and believe me:
I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour:
and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour forth righteousness: let the earth be fruitful, and bring forth a Saviour.

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, my salvation shall not tarry:
I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions:
fear not for I will save thee:
for I am the Lord thy god, the holy one of Israel, thy Redeemer.

From this page:

The Advent Prose is a series of texts adapted from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and said, or more usually sung, in churches during the season of Advent. In its Latin form, it is attributed to Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, who lived in the fourth century. The English translation is traditional. It is most common in high church Anglican or Roman Catholic churches, but no doubt known elsewhere as well. There are several ways of singing it, but a common one is for the Rorate section, shown here with emphasis to be sung as a chorus, and for the choir to take the verses, with the chorus alternating. Although the English text says 'Drop down, ye heavens...', the Latin verb rorare actually means 'to make or deposit dewdrops', a fact which evaded me when I first came to the piece. Similarly, justum in the second line means 'the just man', rather than 'righteousness'.

Monastic Compline - Complete, in Latin

2011-11-22T16:45:00.001-05:00

Compline (Night Prayer) Monastic (Latin with English translation) - YouTube

The blurb at YouTube says:

Pray along with~Compline (Night Prayer) Gregorian
The Order for Compline
ACCORDING TO THE HOLY RULE OF SAINT BENEDICT
AND THE BREVIARIUM MONASTICUM
1963/65/ still in use by many traditional minded catholic Benedictine monasteries today!
Produced for 'Full Screen' mode.
chant by http://www.prinknashabbey.org/ 1985

It's the full service - 21 minutes long.

HT Night Prayers.

Christ the King, continued

2011-11-20T16:00:00.012-05:00

Today's Festival Eucharist for Christ the King at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue was superb; I highly recommend listening. The music was magnificent, and a kind of compendium across the centuries of all kinds of "Christ the King"-ly music. Although in my opinion Coronation is certainly not the right tune for the opening hymn, "All hail the power of Jesus' name"; that would course be Diadem:

Sometimes the Methodists - and the Lutherans and the Mennonites - just have a better idea when it comes to hymns.

In any case, the choir sang, as the Offertory, James MacMillan's polyphonic setting of the introit/acclamation/chant Christus Vincit. Here's a video of this really gorgeous piece:

And here's a very nice video of the plainchant version, labeled "Medieval Gregorian Chant," from Corpus Christi Watershed. Below that is an image of the first page of the chant itself, from the (RCC) Parish Book of Chant (see it in this PDF starting on page 103):

This piece is, apparently, intended to be sung "In Honor of Christ the King" in the Roman Catholic Church. (I'm not sure whether that means it should be sung on the Feast Day or not - but it is, apparently, used that way at least occasionally.) Anglicans sometimes sing one of the various settings of Christus Vincit at Easter - but of course, if singing this plainchant version we'd (most of us, anyway!) excise the section of the plainchant dedicated to the Pope. EWTN titles the "Christus Vincit" text as "Acclamations VIII Cent., Ambrosian Chant (Variant)." It seems to have been used at various coronations - both secular and religious (i.e., the crowning of the Pope) - throughout European history (see this page for more about all that). New Advent has a bit about the chant, here, in a section called "Growth of liturgical acclamations" - and introduced by this sentence: "It seems highly probable that the practices observed in the election of the Pagan emperors were the prototype of most of the liturgical acclamations now known to us."

Almost contemporary with [the above acclamations] are the acclamations found in our English Egbert Pontifical (probably compiled before 769) which with other English manuscripts has preserved to us the earliest detailed account of a coronation in the West. The text is a little uncertain, but probably should read as follows:
Then let the whole people say three times along with the bishops and the priests; 'May our King, N., live for ever' (Vivat Rex N. in sempiternum). And he shall be confirmed upon the throne of the kingdom with the blessing of all the people while the great Lords kiss him, saying: 'For ever. Amen, amen, amen.'
There is also in the Egbertine ritual a sort of litany closely resembling the imperial acclamations just referred to, and this may be compared with the elaborate set of laudes, technically so called, which belong to the time of Charlemagne and have been printed by Duchesne in his edition of the Liber Pontificalis, II, 37. In these imperial laudes the words Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat (Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands), nearly always find a place. It should be added that these acclamations or some similar feature have been retained to this day in the Eastern coronation rituals and in a few of Western origin, amongst others in that of England. Thus for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 the official ceremonial gave the following direction:
When the Homage is ended, the drums beat and the trumpets sound, and all the people shout, crying out: 'God save King Edward!' 'Long live King Edward!' 'May the King live for ever!'

Anglicans do not, in fact, officially celebrate Christ the King in the first place; for us, it's simply the Last Sunday after Pentecost. (Stephen Gerth of St. Mary the Virgin in New York explains the historical tradition of celebrating Christ as King at Epiphany; he says that "In origin, [the feast day of] Christ the King wasn’t about Christ; it was about the pope." There's more about that at the link; the holiday initially was set, in 1925, for the last Sunday in October, and the pope's encyclical stated that it was specifically in order to fight "anti-clericalism." I agree with Fr. Gerth that the compilers of the 1979 BCP did a really good thing by ignoring the origin of the Feast and moving the celebration of the Kingship of Christ to the last day of the Church Year - and without actually celebrating it as feast day. Nicely done indeed! It's a great day, I think - and I do like that Anglicans take the focus off the earthly "rulers," and put it entirely on Christ alone.) The current US BCP collect on this day is one that definitely focuses on the Christ the King theme:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Hatchett's Commentary has this about the collect:

This is a somewhat free translation by Capt. Howard E. Galley of the collect of the Feast of Christ the King in the Roman Missal. Christ is portrayed as the king who frees those who are bound and unites under His gracious rule all who are divided.

Not sure at all who "Capt. Howard E. Galley" is, though! The original collect for this day - this one's from the 1549 BCP - is the "Stir up" collect now used, in amended form, on Advent 3:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people, that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.)

The St. Thomas Choir also sings a lovely setting of Dignus Est Agnus, the Introit for the day (I posted on that this past week), by Malcolm Williamson. That one's not on YouTube, so go have a listen to the service to hear it.You'll be quite happy, I predict, with Thomas Attwood's Anglican Chant setting of Psalm 100, too; it's the same tune as this one, used for Psalm 50.And then of course, you really can't beat "Crown him with many crowns" to end the day - some of the very best lyric anywhere. (I'm including this fascinating Vietnamese-Praise music version because it's one of the few on the Tube that leaves in the last verse: "Crown Him with many crowns, As thrones before Him fall; Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, For He is King of all." Sacrilege to sing the amended modern verse!):

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns
All music but its own!
Awake, my soul and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious through the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of Lords,
Who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word
For ransomed sinners slain
Now lives in realms of light
Where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night,
Their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of heaven,
Enthroned in worlds above;
Crown Him the King to whom is given
The wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns
As thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns
For He is King of all.

I do adore the music and textual themes on this day. Yes, I do.

Magnificat from Collegium Regale ( Howells) sung by the St Alban's Choir

2011-11-18T11:17:00.001-05:00

Magnificat from Collegium Regale ( Howells) performed by St Alban's Choir - YouTube

Novermber 20th, Christ the King: Dignus Est Agnus ("Worthy is the Lamb")

2011-11-16T17:06:00.013-05:00

Although Anglicans do not officially celebrate the Feast of Christ the King this Sunday (on our Calendar, it's "The Last Sunday After Pentecost" or "Proper 29"), some of us do observe it anyway - and the Collect for the day is a Kingly one:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Introit for the Day, Dignus Est Agnus, comes from Revelation 5:

Below is the score from JoguesChant and also their English translation:

The Lamb who has been slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour; let glory and dominion be his for ever and ever. Endow the King with your judgment, O God, and the King's son with your righteousness.

Handel set this text, too, of course, as the last movement (along with "Amen") of Messiah:

And just as in the oratorio, the Church Year ends on that note; you can just start Messiah over again next week, with Comfort ye my people.

This, though, is by far the most-known version of "Worthy is the Lamb" on YouTube:

I must say I quite like the refrain; it's powerful and the words are great. As much as I like chant - and I do - I'm very interested in songs like this that everybody can sing. The Chant Proper texts set to simple but powerful tunes for the whole congregation; that's a worthy goal, I think.

The Old Testament reading this week is from Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24:

34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.

34:12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

34:13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.

34:14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

34:15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.

34:16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

34:20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

34:21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,

34:22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

34:23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

34:24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.

Here's a page called "Homage to the Lamb" (c. 1000) from the (German) "Bamberg Apocalypse":

And here's something by an unknown German painter or painters: "Vision of St. John Evangelist" from c. 1450:

There are actually quite a few intricately (or colorfully!) illustrated Apocalypses out there; check 'em out.

Worcester, Protestant Cathedral: "Like As The Hart"

2011-11-16T09:52:00.004-05:00

Worcester, Protestant Cathedral: "Like As The Hart" - YouTube

A wonderful Herbert Howells anthem; text from Psalm 42.

Here's the Coverdale version of the Psalm; this piece uses just the first 3 verses:

Psalm 42. Quemadmodum

LIKE as the hart desireth the water-brooks : so longeth my soul after thee, O God.
2. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God : when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
3. My tears have been my meat day and night : while they daily say unto me, Where is now thy God?
4. Now when I think thereupon, I pour out my heart by myself : for I went with the multitude, and brought them forth into the house of God;
5. In the voice of praise and thanksgiving : among such as keep holy-day.
6. Why art thou so full of heaviness, O my soul : and why art thou so disquieted within me?
7. Put thy trust in God : for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance.
8. My God, my soul is vexed within me : therefore will I remember thee concerning the land of Jordan, and the little hill of Hermon.
9. One deep calleth another, because of the noise of the water-pipes : all thy waves and storms are gone over me.
10. The Lord hath granted his loving-kindness in the day-time : and in the night-season did I sing of him, and made my prayer unto the God of my life.
11. I will say unto the God of my strength, Why hast thou forgotten me : why go I thus heavily, while the enemy oppresseth me?
12. My bones are smitten asunder as with a sword : while mine enemies that trouble me cast me in the teeth;
13. Namely, while they say daily unto me : Where is now thy God?
14. Why art thou so vexed, O my soul : and why art thou so disquieted within me?
15. O put thy trust in God : for I will yet thank him, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.

"Every single one of us could use a little mercy now...."

2011-11-01T10:06:00.005-04:00

Mary Gauthier - Mercy Now - YouTube

A blessed Feast of All Saints.

Choral Evensong with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge

2011-10-27T19:48:00.002-04:00

Choral Evensong with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge - YouTube

Haven't listened to this all the way through, but I've heard the Clare College Choir before and can safely predict it will be musically gorgeous. Best of all: it's a full hour, and you don't have to click from vid to vid to get the whole thing.

I'll come back with some info on composers, etc., if I can. From the YouTube page:

The Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Duke Divinity School with the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge present Choral Evensong, September 13, 2010, at Duke University Chapel. Choir under the direction of Timothy Brown, Director of Music, Clare College.

Anonymous 4 News: "Secret Voices" CD Released

2011-10-12T21:04:00.003-04:00

Anonymous 4 News

From their latest newsletter:

NEW RELEASE! Secret Voices: Chant & Polyphony from The Las Huelgas Codex, c. 1300

Anonymous 4's newest program is a return to the heart of their favorite century, and to a repertoire that proved to one and all that medieval women could, and did, sing the most complex polyphony in the Gothic era.

This varied repertoire of 13th-century polyphony and sacred Latin song was collected for a convent of noble and aristocratic women, who were clearly used to having their own way. In spite of a rule forbidding the singing of polyphony by the women of their order, these sophisticated ladies sang the most beautiful, advanced and demanding music from all over Europe in the 13th century.

There are elegant French motets here, like the Benedicamus domino setting Claustrum pudicicie/Virgo viget/FLOS FILIUS, the original text of which describes pastoral love in the springtime; and the hybrid 4-voice conductus-motet O Maria virgo/O Maria maris stella/[IN VERITATE]. There are virtuoso conductus, like Ave maris stella and Mater patris et filia, with unpredictable rhythms and lively hockets. A playful Benedicamus domino à 3 is written in rondellus fashion -- like a catch or round -- typical of 13th-century British polyphony. There are also heartfelt laments, like the monophonic song O monialis conscio, a planctus written on the death of a beloved member of the sisterhood; and elegant duos with intertwining lines, like the sequences Verbum bonum et suave and In virgulto gracie.

We also get a glimpse into the musical dedication of the convent in a unique "solfeggio" exercise, Fa Fa Mi / Ut Re Mi, for the sister's music lessons, where they practiced singing their hexachords under the watchful ear of the music mistress.

The repertoire of the Codex Las Huelgas manuscript provides the proof that Anonymous 4, far from singing "men's music," are following in the footsteps of their much-older sisters who had no difficulty (except from their male monastic superiors) in finding and performing the most virtuosic, avant-garde polyphonic music of their time. It's time now for Anonymous 4 to bring them to life again.

***

Visit the Secret Voices discography page to hear track samples, read the program notes and reviews, and purchase on Amazon.com

We'll be touring with the Secret Voices cd program, and with a version featuring master instrumentalists Shira Kammen and Peter Maund. The music from Secret Voices is also included in our program Sisters in Spirit. Check our concert listings to find a performance near you.

Iste Confessor Domini

2011-10-03T22:18:00.001-04:00

Iste Confessor Domini (Confessor Bishop, Hymn) - YouTube

In honor of St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day began today at Vespers, here's a lovely version of Iste Confessor, sung by "the Choir of the Carmelite Priory, London." This Office hymn is dedicated to "confessors," and was originally written c. the 8th Century for St. Martin of Tours. The English words are below.

(The header reads "Confessor Bishop, Hymn," and I'm not sure exactly what difference there might be in the texts for Bishops vs. other "confessors." I don't see any, but then I'm not fluent in Latin, either; if anybody can point to something specifically Bishop-ish in this, please do, in the comments.)

This the Confessor of the Lord, whose triumph Now all the faithful celebrate, with gladness Erst on this feat-day merited to enter Into his glory.

Saintly and prudent, modest in behavior, Peaceful and sober, chaste was he, and lowly, While that life's vigor, coursing through his members, Quickened his being.

Sick ones of old time, to his tomb resorting, Sorely by ailments manifold afflicted, Oft-times have welcomed health and strength returning, At his petition.

Whence we in chorus gladly do him honor, Chanting his praises with devout affection, That in his merits we may have a portion, Now and forever.

Glory and virtue, honour and salvation, Be unto him that, sitting in the highest, Governeth all things, Lord and God Almighty, Trinity blessed.

Here's Giotto's "St. Francis preaching to the birds":

Anglican Chant XVI: Psalm 138 Westminster Abbey - YouTube

2011-10-03T20:39:00.001-04:00

Psalm 138 Westminster Abbey - YouTube

"Psalm 138 sung by Westminster Abbey Choir at the visit of the Pope, September 2010." (Which composer? Wait for my sources to comment!)

From the Coverdale Psalter:

Psalm 138. Confitebor tibi
I WILL give thanks unto thee, O Lord, with my whole heart : even before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy Name, because of thy loving-kindness and truth : for thou hast magnified thy Name and thy word above all things.
3. When I called upon thee, thou heardest me : and enduedst my soul with much strength.
4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord : for they have heard the words of thy mouth.
5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord : that great is the glory of the Lord.
6. For though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly : as for the proud, he beholdeth them afar off.
7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet shalt thou refresh me : thou shalt stretch forth thy hand upon the furiousness of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8. The lord shall make good his loving-kindness toward me : yea, thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; despise not then the works of thine own hands.

Gorgeous! HT Sed Angli.

Christ, the Fair Glory

2011-09-27T09:45:00.010-04:00

Here's something interesting for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29).

Christe, Sanctorum decus Angelorum is the hymn at Lauds on the day. The arrangement - which is a composite of that plainchant hymn and another, later version, the 1906 hymn tune, Caelites plaudant from the Rouen Antiphoner - is by Andrew Senn, who's a contemporary organist - and looks to have been done perhaps in honor of his father, the Rev. Dr. Frank Senn, pastor for 20 years (as of 2010) at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, IL.

Here's the blurb at YouTube:

Words: Latin, ninth century;
trans. Athelstan Riley, 1906

Music: Caelites plaudant (Rouen) & Christe Sanctorum
arr. Andrew Senn

Christe, sanctorum decus Angelorum
Rector humani generis et auctor,
nobis aeternum tribue benigne
scandere caelum.

Christ, the fair glory of the holy Angels,
Thou who hast made us, Thou who o'er us rulest,
grant of Thy mercy unto us Thy servants
steps up to heaven.

Send Thine Archangel, Michael, to our succor;
Peacemaker blessed, may he banish from us
striving and hatred, so that for the peaceful all
things may prosper.

Send Thine Archangel, Gabriel, the mighty,
herald of heaven; may he from us mortals
spurn the old serpent, watching o'er the temples
where Thou art worshiped.

Send Thine Archangel, Raphael, the restorer
of the misguided ways of men who wander,
who at Thy biding strengthens soul and body
with Thine anointing.

May the blest Mother of our God and Savior,
may the assembly of the Saints in glory,
may the celestial companies of Angels
ever assist us.

This He vouchsafe us, God forever blessed,
Father eternal, Son, and Holy Spirit,
whose is the glory which through all creation
ever resoundeth. Amen.

The words to this hymn are very old, written by Rhabanus Maurus sometime in the early 9th Century. Cyberhymnal has more on this hymn, including a midi file here, and says that:

Maurus was educated in Tours, France, around 802. In 803, he became director of the Benedictine school at Fulda, Germany. He was ordained in 814 and went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He became abbot at Fulda in 822, and served there two decades. In 847, he was appointed archbishop of Mainz.

Maurus also apparently wrote the words for the Vespers hymn for this feast: Tibi Christe, Splendor Patris.

Here's something interesting about Caelites plaudant:

The text 'Christ, the fair glory of the holy angles,' is a translation of a 9th C. office hymn for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, Christe sanctorum decus angelorum. This hymn names the celestial visitors who have graced this earth, and once again calls on them to renew their graces: Chrst the Savior, three archangels (Michael, defender; Gabriel, herald; Raphael, healer), Mary, the saints, and all the company of angels. The hymn concludes with a doxology.

The English text appeared in the 1906 hymnal, matched to Caelites plaudant, a French tune from the Rouen Antiphoner newly harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a majestic setting that is today a fixture for Michaelmas. The tune is one of very few that supports the the peculiar Greek poetic form known as Sapphic meter (11.11.11.5), named for the Greek poet who used this verse form for a significant portion of her work. The tune name means 'from heaven praise,' and is also sometimes spelled Coelites plaudant.

The Latin version of this hymn is also sung to another French tune from the same period, Christe sanctorum, which takes it's name from the words of the hymn, and in The Hymnal 1982, is given the honor of being hymn 1.

And it all comes together, doesn't it? RVW and the folk tune project involved, too! (Some day I'll have to write about that, too. I just discovered, very much by accident, that the text for one of my very favorite RVW hymns, "Monk's Gate" in the 1982 hymnal, "He who would valiant be," comes from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress"! There are a lot of really interesting, and for me unsuspected and unexpected, connections between music and literature of different eras. This makes me even more eager to promote deep theology that will stand up to the test of time and make further such connections.)

(And, BTW, as I've written before: Sapphic meter (11.11.11.5) is my favorite meter! It's actually used for many of the Office hymns - in particular the one hymn sung, with varying words, for the Commons of Saints. But also others, including Ut Queant Laxis. It would be mighty interesting to research this fact, actually; I wonder if it's coming from Prudentius or somebody very early? Or if, instead, it was simply a popular rhythm around the time Benedict and contemps? It's a dramatic meter; the last line gets a strong emphasis simply being so different from - and so much shorter than - the first three. Well, that's on the list, too, then.)

All very interesting.

I'd like to find a good plainchant recording of this hymn, but haven't so far. When I do, I'll post it. (There was a fantastic vocal alternatim version of Dufay's Tibi Christe, Splendor Patri out there for awhile, but the YouTuber has closed his/her account. God, that was gorgeous.....)

BTW, there is a veritable cottage industry in YouTube videos dedicated to St. Michael - and especially to his battle against Satan. Well, as I've said before: I'm very much looking forward to the movie.

I believe this is an icon of St. Michael. It "comes from a gallery in Skopje, Macedonia, that mostly works on crafting and painting icons."

Dead Sea Scrolls Are Now Online : The Two-Way : NPR

2011-09-26T22:37:00.001-04:00

Dead Sea Scrolls Are Now Online : The Two-Way : NPR

Sebastian Scheiner/AP.Shai Halevi, a photographer working for the Israel Antiquities Authority, IAA, photographs fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are 2,000 years old and very sensitive to direct light. At the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where they are housed, the scrolls are rotated every few months to minimize the damage. As Bloomberg explains it, the Great Isaiah Scroll, which is the most ancient biblical manuscript on Earth, is so sensitive that only a copy of it is on display.

Now, though, in cooperation with Google, the museum has digitized five of those scrolls and today they were made available online.

The scrolls are searchable in English and they were digitized using a $250,000 high-resolution camera, so you can zoom in and get a feel for the animal skin they was written on.

Here's a video explaining the digitization and the importance of the scrolls:

Source: YouTube

And the AP provides further background:
The five scrolls are among those purchased by Israeli researchers between 1947 and 1967 from antiquities dealers, having first been found by Bedouin shepherds in the Judean Desert.

The scrolls, considered by many to be the most significant archaeological find of the 20th century, are thought to have been written or collected by an ascetic Jewish sect that fled Jerusalem for the desert 2,000 years ago and settled at Qumran, on the banks of the Dead Sea. The hundreds of manuscripts that survived, partially or in full, in caves near the site, have shed light on the development of the Hebrew Bible and the origins of Christianity.

The most complete scrolls are held by the Israel Museum, with more pieces and smaller fragments found in other institutions and private collections. Tens of thousands of fragments from 900 Dead Sea manuscripts are held by the Israel Antiquities Authority, which has separately begun its own project to put them online in conjunction with Google.

Anglican Chant XV: Psalm 84, Anglican Chant - Bairstow - YouTube

2011-09-22T19:23:00.000-04:00

Psalm 84, Anglican Chant - Bairstow - YouTube

Another version of this lovely Psalm, from "St. Andrew's Schola Cantorum" (not sure where, but I think it might be Pittsburgh):

Here's the Coverdale text:

1 O how amiable are thy dwellings *
thou Lord of hosts!
2 My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord *
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young *
even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house *
they will be alway praising thee.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee *
in whose heart are thy ways.
6 Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well *
and the pools are filled with water.
7 They will go from strength to strength *
and unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Sion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer *
hearken, O God of Jacob.
9 Behold, O God our defender *
and look upon the face of thine Anointed.
10 For one day in thy courts *
is better than a thousand.
11 I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God *
than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness.
12 For the Lord God is a light and defence *
the Lord will give grace and worship, and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life.
13 O Lord God of hosts *
blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.

Free Responsorial Psalm • VIGIL of the Assumption, ABC on Vimeo

2011-08-14T18:57:00.003-04:00

Free Responsorial Psalm • VIGIL of the Assumption, ABC on Vimeo

August 15 being The Feast of St. Mary the Virgin.

Free Responsorial Psalm • VIGIL of the Assumption, ABC from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

St. Noël Chabanel Responsorial Psalm Project
--------------------------------
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
Let us enter his dwelling,
let us worship at his footstool.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
May your priests be clothed with justice;
let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
For the sake of David your servant,
reject not the plea of your anointed.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he prefers her for her dwelling.
"Zion is my resting place forever;
in her will I dwell, for I prefer her."
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your holiness.

Listen to today's Festal Eucharist at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue. Or celebrate at St. Mary the Virgin on Monday, August 15th.

(The image above is from the St. Thomas website, and is described as "A sculpture in wood of Mother and Child near the altar of the Chantry Chapel. The scultpure is Spanish in origin, carved in the fourteenth century and polychromed in the sixteenth century. )

The Ordinary of the Divine Office, according to the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood

2011-08-08T11:13:00.002-04:00

The LLBP has a page, with links to mp3s, of the orders for Lauds, Noonday Prayer, Vespers, and Compline (as well as Vigils, which I'm not including here) at their website; I'm copying the text below only, as examples of outlines for praying the Offices. (Would like to copy everything, including the mp3 links! - but there's a copyright notice so I'm linking to that page instead.)

They've also left out the place for the Psalms, for some reason! So I've put it in, in green below. I realize now that I've never actually put this outline in anywhere on this site, and this is quite a good one, so I'll use it. I may later publish the order with links that I've gathered over the years, the versicles and responsories, and with a psalm chart as well - but this for now.

The Order of Morning Prayer
The Opening Versicles--Alleluia or Praise to Thee, O Christ for Lententide
The Psalms
The Lection
The Responsory (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Hymn (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Canticle with Versicle (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Prayers: Kyrie, the Lord's Prayer, the Sufferages, the Salutation--option.
The Benedicamus outside of Eastertide/ in Eastertide
The Benediction

The Order of Midday (Midmorning, Midafternoon) Prayer
The Opening Versicles--Alleluia or Praise to Thee, O Christ for Lententide
The Psalms
The Hymn at Prime (Before midmorning), at Terce (midmorning), at Sext (midday), at None (midafternoon).
The Lection
The Responsory (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Prayers: Kyrie, the Lord's Prayer, the Salutation--option,
Versicle, Da Pacem, Versicle, Collect for the day of the week at Sext (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday).
The Benedicamus outside of Eastertide/ in Eastertide
The Benediction

The Order of Evening Prayer (Vespers)
The Opening Versicles--Alleluia or Praise to Thee, O Christ for Lententide
The Psalms
The Lection
The Responsory (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Hymn (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Canticle with Versicle (see Propers for Praying the Hours-Weekday)
The Prayers: Kyrie, the Lord's Prayer, the Sufferages, the Salutation--option.
The Benedicamus outside of Eastertide/ in Eastertide
The Benediction

The Order of Night Prayer (Compline)
The Opening Versicles
The Confiteor
The Versicles after Confiteor, Alleluia, Praise to Thee O Christ.
The Psalmody (Psalm 4, Psalm 91, Psalm 134)
The Little Chapter
The Responsory
The Hymn--Sun./Feasts, Weekdays, Lent
The Gospel Canticle with Versicle and Antiphon on Sundays & Feasts or on Weekdays
The Prayers: Kyrie, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, Preces, the Collect of the Office the Salutation--option.
The Benedicamus
The Benediction

Saint Thomas Church - Worship - Worship Calendar

2011-08-05T17:17:00.001-04:00

Saint Thomas Church - Worship - Worship Calendar

Highlights for the Week of July 31 -August 6
The Girls' Course
In 2005, music directors in the New York area expressed interest in joining together to form a chorister experience of the highest caliber for girls. The Saint Thomas Choir School was delighted to offer space, resources and experience to the endeavor. Since then, the Choir School has proudly taken full ownership of the course and developed a schedule and musical standard parallel to that of the boys during the academic terms. In 2008, the course expanded to nine days. In 2011, the Course begins on Saturday, July 30^th.

On Sunday, July 31, the girls will be in attendance in the pews with the congregation as the Gentlemen of the Choir sing the 11am Choral Eucharist for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Then, things quickly transition over to the girls, who sing at two special summertime weekday Choral Evensongs at 5:30pm--Tuesday, August 2 and Thurday, August 4. Then, on Sunday, August 7, for the Feast of the Transfiguration, the girls will sing alongside the Gentlemen of the Choir at 11am. Over the years, they have been led by two distinguished organists and directors of music: Sarah Baldock, who directed the girls last year and the year before, and Sarah MacDonald, who was last with us for the course in 2008 and returns to direct this year. Both hold prestigious positions in the United Kingdom and are mentors and role models in every way for the young women who participate in the course. Additional information about Sarah MacDonald, as well as her music notes for each service, can be found by clicking on the individual dates of the services above. All four choral services will be webcast live and then available on-demand if you are unable to attend in person.

The Feast of the Transfiguration
You’ll notice on the schedule on the worship calendar that “The Transfiguration” is listed on both Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7. The actual feast date in August 6. However, whenever a major feast day falls on a Saturday or Monday, we often translate it over to the adjoining Sunday so that the maximum number of people can celebrate it. So, in effect, this year we celebrate it twice. When you combine it with the fact that the Last Sunday after the Epiphany is also a celebration of the Transfiguration (the epiphany season being a series of epiphanies about Christ), we're actually celebrating it three times this year!

If you love music, do come on Sunday at 11am. However, if you are unable to come on Sunday, or if you prefer shorter, simpler forms of worship, consider coming on Saturday at 12:10pm or on Sunday morning at 8am. Either way, the Transfiguration is a glorious feast day, revealing Jesus as Christ, the Messiah.
There are several excellent sermons regarding the Transfiguration in the sermon archive on our website. Among them, consider reading (or listening to):

The Glory of God (2011) by Fr Daniels
Love We Can Hardly Bear to See (2010) by Fr Austin
A Sermon for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany (2009) by Fr Stafford
The Transfigured Cross (2006) by Fr Mead
A Glimpse into Glory (2005) by Fr Mead

Lovely to hear girls from that choir - I know some of them this year - and they are good, too.

The responses on Tuesday - MacDonald? - are gorgeous! Haven't listened to Thursday yet; will get back to you.

"The Canticles at Evensong, Together with the Office Responses and a Table of Psalm-Tones"

2011-08-01T21:08:00.004-04:00

A nice find at Google Books tonight: "THE CANTICLES AT EVENSONG, TOGETHER WITH THE OFFICE RESPONSES AND A TABLE OF PSALM-TONES: EDITED BY THE REVEREND CHARLES WINFRED DOUGLAS BACHELOR OF MUSIC CANON OF FOND DU LAC." - (The Saint Dunstan Edition)

Here's the link to the book itself, which was published in 1915 (and cost 50 cents).

From the Intro:

The following Table of Psalm-tones has been compiled with the purpose of providing greater melodic wealth than is afforded by the Sarum Tonale, while retaining the greater part of the latter in its accustomed order as a basis. To this end, traditional Continental mediations have been added in the forms presented by the Vatican Antiphoner; together with supplementary endings, among which all save the third ending of the fourth Tone are of ancient use, either in England or on the Continent. This exception is a slight modification (made by the Benedictines of Solesmes) of an ancient ending. The additional mediations are distinguished in the Table by the letters B and C; and the solemn mediations for Magnificat by the letter S. Wherever more than a single mediation is given for a Tone, the Sarum form is marked by the letter A. As the numbering of the Sarum endings adopted in recent English Psalters has become widely familiar, it is retained: the additional endings either being substituted for certain of the Sarum set that are practically never used; or else assigned further numbers after the complete enumeration of the Sarum group.

There are more notes at the link. Winfred Douglas is well-known in the Anglican world for his efforts at renewing the chant tradition; here's a bit about him at Cyberhymnal.

While at Syracuse University, Douglas sang at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Syracuse in 1891, then took Holy Orders. He moved to Evergreen, Colorado, for health reasons, and became an Episcopal priest in 1899. He edited the Episcopal New Hymnal in 1918, and helped develop the 1940 Episcopal hymnal as well.

The monastic orders began to revive in England only during the mid-19th Century, fully 300 years after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. Winfed Douglas was instrumental in renewing the chant tradition. Here's something about him from the website of the Community of St. Mary East, an Episcopal monastic order from New York:

When the Rev. Canon C. Winfred Douglas became the choirmaster for the Community in 1906, he introduced a new edition of A Manual of Plain Song(4) to the choir, and later his own St. Dunstan Psalter(5). Prior to assuming his new position, he spent time in England, France, and Germany studying early church music. What he always valued most was the course in plainsong given by the Benedictine monks, who, exiled from their home monastery at Solesmes, had taken up residence at Quarr Abbey in the Isle of Wight. In an article for The

Catholic Choirmaster published in March 1926, Canon Douglas explained his reasoning for welcoming the opportunity to be choirmaster for the Community of St. Mary.

"Parish Churches are too subject to changing policies with changing rectors for much hope of permanent stability in a musical tradition. It seemed to the writer that seminaries and schools, with their comparatively fixed policies, and above all, religious orders, offered the best field for constructive work... St. Mary's Convent and the group of institutions clustered around it seemed an admirable field for the establishment of a Plainsong tradition."(6)

The transition from modern notation, measured rhythm and polyphonic settings tothe Solesmes method of unison, equi-measured square notation chant presented quite an adjustment for the Sisters. Canon Douglas' patience and skill had them singing

Compline in ten days and the other simple offices over the next weeks. The school girls also learned the chant with the Sisters. Over the years many alumnae returned to Peekskill to sing at major liturgical feasts in St. Mary's Chapel.

The Night Office was first recited in May 1874 from the Neale edition of the Sarum Office(7). On March 12, 1916, a shortened form of the Benedictine Night Hours was introduced(8), and a revision of this came into use Pentecost, June 13, 1943. At Tenebrae and on great feasts such as Christmas, Purification, and Easter, the Night Office was sung in full, adapted from monastic melodies in use in the Latin with local variances since at least the tenth century.

Below is an iFrame that contains the first page of the Psalm Tone chart; you can scroll through it from this post.

The Gradual for the Feast of the Transfiguration: Speciosus forma

2011-07-31T18:24:00.003-04:00

The Feast of the Transfiguration is on August 6 each year; here's the Gradual, Speciosus forma, in a video from Gloria.TV: "Gradual Speciosus forma and Alleluia Candor est lucis of the Feast of the Transfiguration, sung at the St Catherine's Trust Summer School 2010":

The text comes from Psalm 45:3, 2; here's the Latin and English from this page, which I believe belongs to somebody posting the chant propers for the Extraordinary Form.

Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum: diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis. V.: Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum: dico ego opera mea Regi.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.: Candor est lucis aeternae, speculum sine macula, et imago bonitatis illius. Alleluia.

Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in Thy lips. V.: My heart hath uttered a good word. I speak my works to the King.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.(Wisd. 7. 26). He is the brightest of eternal light, the unspotted mirror, and the image of His goodness. Alleluia.

Here's the chant score:

I've written about the Alleluia, Candor est lucis before; here's the chant score for that one:

And those words, in Latin and English; the text comes from Wisdom 7:26:

Candor est lucis aetérnae, spéculum sine macula, et imago bonitátis illíus. Allelúia.

For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of his goodness.

"She" refers to Wisdom; here's an mp3 of the Alleluia, from the Benedictines of Brazil.

Here's something interesting I found while Googling for this post: a hymn setting, I think, in Dutch, of Psalm 45:

That particular YouTuber has lots of vids of similar Psalm settings at his/her home page.

One problem with Psalm 45 is that some translations seem to think that what's seen as Verse 1 in others is actually an instruction for the musicians. So there's some variation in citing verses for this one!

If you're interested, somebody has posted Olivier Messiaen's entire work, La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ at YouTube. Here are the first two movements (I believe) from the piece, in the video below:

Here's the content - sort of a "program notes" - from that YouTube page; as you can see, one of the movements is called Candor est lucis aeternae :

La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ, for 100 voices, piano, cello, flute, clarinet, xylorimba, vibraphone, marimba & orchestra (1965-1969)

Premier Septénaire
I. Récit évangélique
II. Configuratum corpori claritatis suae
III. Christus Jesus, splendor Patris
IV. Récit évangélique
V. Quam dilecta tabernacula tua
VI. Candor est lucis aeternae
VII. Choral de la Sainte Montagne

Deuxième Septénaire
VIII. Récit évangélique
IX. Perfecte conscious illius perfectae generationis
X. Adoptionem filiorum perfectam
XI. Récit évangélique
XII. Terribilis est locus iste
XIII. Tota Trinitas apparuit
XIV. Choral de la Lumière de Gloire

Yvonne Loriod, piano
Arturo Muruzabal, violoncelle
Martine van der Loo, flute
Harmen de Boer, clarinette
Peter Prommel, marimba
Ruud Stotÿn, vibraphone
Henk de Vlieger, xylorimba
Ludwig van Gijsegem, ténor
Reiner Holthaus, baryton

Koor van de Brt Bruxelles
Groot Omroepkoor & Radio Symfonie Orkest Hilversum
Reinbert de Leeuw

La Transfiguration was the first of Messiaen's works to use sacred words as its text, drawing from the bible and the missal on the subject of Christ's transfiguration. It is not a dramatic work, but a liturgical one, meant, as Paul Griffiths notes, to show a story rather than to tell it. It is scored for a large choir and orchestra, with a duration of about ninety minutes. This work hearkens back to Messiaen's music of several decades earlier: gone are the harsher twelve-note constructions of the later works, replaced by a return to diatonicism, modes, 'loose' triadic harmony, and metrical freedom. The piece consists of fourteen movements, divided into two sets of seven (more of Messiaen's theological symbolism). Typically, there is also the incorporation of birdsong into the melodic framework, and it is important to note that, according to Griffiths, more than a decade later there is more species of birdsong in La Transfiguration than in the Catalogue des Oiseaux of 1958. There is also perhaps a recollection of Debussy through the use of the whole-tone scale. Ultimately, this work exemplifies Messiaen's tendency to compose music intended to be appreciated not in terms of its formal connectedness and continuity, but rather moment by moment. [Allmusic.com]

Art by Marc Chagall

Here's a mosaic in the upper part of the Fransiscan Church of the Transfiguration in Mount Tabor, Israel; Mt. Tabor is traditionally identified as the "Mount of the Transfiguration":

Abschied von Otto von Habsburg - Die berühmte Anklopfzeremonie

2011-07-25T09:41:00.004-04:00

"Farewell to Otto von Habsburg - The famous 'knocking ceremony'."

According to Ludwig von Mises Institute, here is what's being done and said on the video:

AFTER A requiem at Vienna’s St Stephen’s Cathedral, the funeral party entered Vienna’s Capuchin Friary (Kapuzinerkirche) after the following “knocking” ceremony.

FIRST KNOCK

Capuchin Friar : “Who desires admission?”

Leader of funeral party: “Otto of Austria, former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukowina; Grand Prince of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Osweicim and Zator, of Teschen, Friaul, Dubrovnik and Zadar; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trento and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria: Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenburg; Lord of Trieste, Kotor and Windic March; Grand Voivod of the Voivodship of Serbia”

Friar : “We do not know him!”

SECOND KNOCK

Friar : “Who desires admission?”

Leader : “Dr Otto von Habsburg; President and Honorary President of the Pan-European Union; Member and Father of the House of the European Parliament; Holder of honorary doctorates from countless universities and freeman of many communities in Central Europe; Member of numerous noble academies and institutes; Bearer of high and highest awards, decorations and honours of church and state made to him in recognition of his decade-long struggle for the freedom of peoples, for right and justice.”

Friar: “We do not know him!”

THIRD KNOCK

Friar : “Who desires admission?”

Leader : “Otto — a mortal, sinful man!”

Friar: “Let him be admitted."

Which is just perfect, I think.

The funeral took place on July 17, I believe. Otto von Habsburg was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 - when he was 4 years old - until the empire was dissolved in 1918. According to Wikipedia:

Otto was active on the Austrian and European political stage from the 1930s, both by promoting the cause of Habsburg restoration as well as an early proponent of European integration—being thoroughly disgusted with nationalism—and a fierce opponent of Nazism and communism. He has been described as one of the leaders of the Austrian anti-Nazi resistance. After the 1938 Anschluss, monarchists were severely persecuted in Austria, and—sentenced to death by the Nazis—Otto fled to the United States, with a visa issued by Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

The Requiem Mass, by Michael Haydn, is online, too; it begins here, with the Introit:

Requiem in c-moll
Missa pro defuncto Archiepiscopo Sigismondo
Michael Haydn (1737 — 1806)
Domchor & Domorchester St. Stephan
Hans Haselböck, Orgel
Leitung: Domkapellmeister Markus Landerer
Sopran: Tünde Szabóki
Alt: Alice Rath
Tenor: Gernot Heinrich
Bass: Günter Haumer
Orgel beim Requiem: Anne Marie Dragosits

July 22, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen: Orlande Di Lasso's Lauda Mater Ecclesia

2011-07-22T20:45:00.007-04:00

A hymn set by Lassus, "alternatim, with verses for four, three and five voices," as Howard noted a few years ago. This is the first time I've seen it online:

This was once an office hymn for today, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, along with Nardi Maria pythici. These lyrics seem to conflate Magdalen (in her recasting during the Middle Ages as a "woman of ill repute," something found nowhere in Scripture) with Lazarus' and Martha's sister Mary:

Lauda mater ecclesia
Lauda Christi clementiam,
Quae septem purgat vitia
Per septiformem gratiam.

Maria, soror Lazari,
Quae tot commisit crimina,
Ab ipsa fauce tartari
Redit ad vitae limina.

Post fluxae carnis scandala
Fit ex lebete phiala
In vas translata gloriae
De vase contumeliae.

Aegra currit ad medicum
Vas ferens aromaticum
Et a morbo multiplici
Verbo curatur medici.

Surgentem cum victoria
Iesum videt ab inferis,
Prima meretur gaudia,
Quae plus ardebat ceteris.

Uni Deo sit gloria
Pro multiformi gratia,
Qui culpas et supplicia
Remittit et dat praemia. Amen.

Praise, mother church,
Praise the clemency of Christ,
Which purges the seven sins
Through his sevenfold grace.

Mary, the sister of Lazarus,
Who committed many sins,
Returned from the maw of hell
To the gate of life.

After the offences of her frail flesh,
This lowly jug becomes a sacred dish,
Transformed into a vessel of glory
From one of contempt.

Sick, she runs to the physician,
Bearing a jar of perfume,
And is cured of her many ills
By the doctor’s word.

She sees Jesus rising victorious
From the infernal depths,
Thus earning that first joy
Which burns brightly beyond all others.

Glory be to the one God
For his endless grace
Which pardons sin, remits penance
And grants rewards. Amen.

I've just finished reading that Gregory the Great was the first to conflate various Marys in the Gospels! That's the 6th Century, folks; apparently one Mary was the same as the next, even to some Popes.

It's a little disturbing, actually, that so little was thought of these women that nobody seemed able to keep them lined up in their identities - or to stop making up facts about them.

Well, it's a beautiful piece of music, anyway.

Below are some paintings of Magdalen, from the 15th and 16th centuries. You can see how little respect she was accorded, and how feverish the imaginations of those who couldn't be bothered enough to work out that their renderings had nothing to do with the actual stories told! El Greco's "Penitent Magdalen" (the whore, of course, c. 1585); Weyden's "The Magdalen Reading" (c. 1435), and Caravaggio's "Martha and Mary Magdalene" (or "Martha reproving Mary" - the reverse of what actually happens at Bethany, and the wrong Mary anyway!) from about 1599.

None, of course, represent her as what she was: "The Apostle to the Apostles" and "Equal to the Apostles."

Shabbat boundary rock with Hebrew etching discovered

2011-07-16T11:34:00.002-04:00

Shabbat boundary rock w... JPost - Arts & Culture - Entertainment

Shabbat boundary rock with Hebrew etching discovered
By OREN KESSLER
07/12/2011 05:42

An ancient rock inscription of the word “Shabbat” was uncovered near Lake Kinneret this week – the first and only discovery of a stone Shabbat boundary in Hebrew.

The etching in the Lower Galilee community of Timrat appears to date from the Roman or Byzantine period.

News of the inscription, discovered by chance Sunday by a visitor strolling the community grounds, quickly reached Mordechai Aviam, head of the Institute for Galilean Archeology at Kinneret College.

“This is the first time we’ve found a Shabbat boundary inscription in Hebrew,” he said. “The letters are so clear that there is no doubt that the word is ‘Shabbat.’”

Aviam said Jews living in the area in the Roman or Byzantine era (1st-7th centuries CE) likely used the stone to denote bounds within which Jews could travel on Shabbat. The Lower Galilee of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages had a Jewish majority – many of the Talmudic sages bore toponyms indicative of Galilee communities.

The engraving uncovered in Timrat is the first and only Shabbat boundary marker yet discovered in Hebrew – a similar inscription was found in the vicinity of the ancient Western Galilee village of Usha, but its text was written in Greek.

Aviam and his colleagues plan to enlist local help in scouring neighboring areas to locate additional inscriptions, and eventually to publish their findings in an academic journal.

“This represents a beautiful, fascinating link between our modern world and antiquity, both emotional and archeological,” Aviam said. “Certainly for those of us who are religiously observant, but also for the secular among us who enjoy a stroll on Shabbat to know that we’re walking in places where Jewish history lived two thousand years ago.”

The Sarum Corpus Christi Office

2011-07-12T22:26:00.007-04:00

Continuing my updating of the Daily Office hymnody schedule: From Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books, office hymns to be sung at Corpus Christi - the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, and this year on June 23 - are:

On the Feast of Corpus Christi & during the Octave :

Evensong: Sacris solemniis ... ... ... ... 51
Mattins: Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis ... ... 36
Lauds: Verbum supernum prodiens, Nec ... ... 41

Here's a bit about Sacris solemniis from Thesaurus Precum Latinarum, along with the words in Latin and English:

This is one of the five beautiful hymns St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) composed in honor of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at specific request of Pope Urban IV (1261-1264) when the Pope first established the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264. Today Sacris Solemniis is used as a hymn for the Office of the Readings for Corpus Christi. The last two stanzas are the text for the hymn Panis Angelicus.

Sacris solemniis
iuncta sint gaudia,
et ex praecordiis
sonent praeconia;
recedant vetera,
nova sint omnia,
corda, voces, et opera.

Noctis recolitur
cena novissima,
qua Christus creditur
agnum et azyma
dedisse fratribus,
iuxta legitima
priscis indulta patribus.

Post agnum typicum,
expletis epulis,
Corpus Dominicum
datum discipulis,
sic totum omnibus,
quod totum singulis,
eius fatemur manibus.

Dedit fragilibus
corporis ferculum,
dedit et tristibus
sanguinis poculum,
dicens: Accipite
quod trado vasculum;
omnes ex eo bibite.

Sic sacrificium
istud instituit,
cuius officium
committi voluit
solis presbyteris,
quibus sic congruit,
ut sumant, et dent ceteris.

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum;
O res mirabilis:
manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.

Te, trina Deitas
unaque, poscimus:
sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
ad lucem quam inhabitas.

At this our solemn feast
let holy joys abound,
and from the inmost breast
let songs of praise resound;
let ancient rites depart,
and all be new around,
in every act, and voice, and heart.

Remember we that eve,
when, the Last Supper spread,
Christ, as we all believe,
the Lamb, with leavenless bread,
among His brethren shared,
and thus the Law obeyed,
of all unto their sire declared.

The typic Lamb consumed,
the legal Feast complete,
the Lord unto the Twelve
His Body gave to eat;
the whole to all, no less
the whole to each did mete
with His own hands, as we confess.

He gave them, weak and frail,
His Flesh, their Food to be;
on them, downcast and sad,
His Blood bestowed He:
and thus to them He spake,
"Receive this Cup from Me,
and all of you of this partake."

So He this Sacrifice
to institute did will,
and charged His priests alone
that office to fulfill:
to them He did confide:
to whom it pertains still
to take, and the rest divide.

Thus Angels' Bread is made
the Bread of man today:
the Living Bread from heaven
with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
the poor and lowly may
upon their Lord and Master feed.

Thee, therefore, we implore,
O Godhead, One in Three,
so may Thou visit us
as we now worship Thee;
and lead us on Thy way,
That we at last may see
the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.

The page also notes: "Latin from the Liturgia Horarum. English translation is a cento based upon a translation by John David Chambers (1805-1893)." Here's the chant score as per Hymn melodies for the whole year:

Here's a lovely version of this hymn, although it uses a completely different tune:

As you can see, the last two verses of the hymn make up the famous "Panis Angelicus" text that has been set by numerous composers of polyphony. Here's Bocelli singing the Cesar Franck version:

I've posted about Pange Lingua ("Sing, my tongue") before - but that was the Venatius Fortunatus version, composed in the year 570. Thomas Aquinas wrote another version in 1254, specifically for the newly-created Feast of Corpus Christi - but he seems to have used the original tune (mp3 here), which is the quite familiar one Hymn melodies prescribes:

Here are the words, in Latin and English:

Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium,
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi
Rex effudit Gentium.

Nobis datus, nobis natus
ex intacta Virgine,
et in mundo conversatus,
sparso verbi semine,
sui moras incolatus
miro clausit ordine.

In supremae nocte coenae
recumbens cum fratribus
observata lege plene
cibis in legalibus,
cibum turbae duodenae
se dat suis manibus.

Verbum caro, panem verum
verbo carnem efficit:
fitque sanguis Christi merum,
et si sensus deficit,
ad firmandum cor sincerum
sola fides sufficit.

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
veneremur cernui:
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui:
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque
laus et jubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio.

Amen. Alleluja.

Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.

Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.

On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.

Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling,
This great Sacrament we hail,
Over ancient forms of worship
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith will tell us Christ is present,
When our human senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son who made us free
And the Spirit, God proceeding
From them Each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.

I've written about Verbum Supernum Prodiens on the blog before, too - and once again there are two hymns with this name. The first was written sometime before the 10th Century, and again Thomas Aquinas tweaked it in 1254 for Corpus Christi. It's the second one we're talking about here, of course. Here's the score prescribed by Hymn Melodies:

Here's Giovanni Vianini's rendition of an Ambrosian version of this hymn (not the same tune as given above):

Below are the words of Aquinas' version of the hymn. As you can see, again the last two verses make up the text for one of the very famous hymns sung about the Holy Eucharist; this time it's O Salutaris Hostia ("O Saving Victim").:

Verbum supernum prodiens
Nec Patris linquens dexteram,
Ad opus suum exiens,
Venit ad vitæ vesperam.

In mortem a discipulo
Suis tradendus æmulis,
Prius in vitæ ferculo
Se tradidit discipulis.

Quibus sub bina specie
Carnem dedit et sanguinem;
Ut duplicis substantiæ
Totum cibaret hominem.

Se nascens dedit socium,
Convescens in edulium,
Se moriens in pretium,
Se regnans dat in præmium.

O salutaris hostia,
Quæ cæli pandis ostium,
Bella premunt hostilia;
Da robur, fer auxilium.

Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria:
Qui vitam sine termino
Nobis donet in patria.

(s. Thomas Aquinas)

The Word descending from above,
without leaving the right hand of His Father,
and going forth to do His work,
reached the evening of His life.

When about to be given over
to his enemies by one of his
disciples, to suffer death, He
first gave Himself to His
disciples as the Bread of Life.

Under a twofold appearance
He gave them His Flesh and His Blood;
that He might thus wholly feed us
made up of a twofold substance.

By His birth He gave Himself as our companion;
at the Last Supper He gave Himself as our food;
dying on the Cross He gave Himself as our ransom;
reigning in heaven He gives Himself as our reward.

O saving victim, who throws open
the gate of heaven,
the attacks of bitter enemies oppress us;
give us strength, bring us aid.

Eternal glory be to God,
one in three Persons:
may He give us life forever
in our heavenly home. Amen.

So: these three hymns for Corpus Christi, all written by Thomas Aquinas, have become his lasting legacy to Eucharistic adoration. The last two verses of each hymn make up some of the most famous texts of all - and all are sung throughout the year at various occasions (including weekly, at Evensong & Benedcition).

BBC News - Codex Calixtinus book 'disappears' from Spain cathedral

2011-07-10T22:34:00.002-04:00

BBC News - Codex Calixtinus book 'disappears' from Spain cathedral

The Codex Calixtinus dates from the 12th Century and was compiled as a guidebook for medieval pilgrims following the Way of Saint James.

This is the oldest copy of the manuscript and is unsaleable on the open market.

Only a handful of people had access to the room in which it was kept.

This edition of the Codex Calixtinus is thought to date from around 1150.

Its purpose was largely practical - to collect advice of use to pilgrims heading to the shrine there. It also included sermons and homilies to St James.

On Wednesday afternoon, the book was reported missing from the room where it is kept.

"We are investigating its disappearance," a police spokeswoman said, according to AFP news agency.

"It is usually kept in a room to which only half a dozen people have access," she said.

The Codex is only brought out on special occasions, such as last year's visit of Pope Benedict, when it is closely guarded.

If the work has been stolen, it will be impossible to sell it on the open market, says the BBC's arts reporter Vincent Dowd.

The Introit for Trinity Sunday: Benedicta Sit

2011-06-18T16:45:00.136-04:00

Here's Giovanni Vianini's version of this Introit:

Here's the score from JoguesChant, with their translation below (with text derived from Tobit 12:6 and Psalm 8):

Blessed be the Holy Trinity and its undivided Unity; we shall ever give him thanks, for he has dealt with us according to his mercy. O Lord, our Governor, how admirable is your name in all the earth!

Here's the complete list of the current (and historical) chant propers for Trinity Sunday:

Introit: Benedicta Sit
Gradual: Benedictus Es
Alleluia: Benedictus Es
Offertory: Benedictus Sit
Communion: Benedicimus Deum

Hmmm. I think they're trying to tell us something. The Tobit theme ("Blessed be God, for for he has dealt with us according to his mercy") appears in the Introit, the Offertory, and the Communio; the Gradual and Alleluia, taken from Daniel 3, contain another common theme: "Blessed are you, O Lord, who gaze into the depths and who are enthroned upon the Cherubim. Blessed are you, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven, and worthy of praise for ever."

In fact, the long form of the Gradual is much more extensive:

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. And blessed is your glorious, holy name. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed are you in the holy temple of your glory. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed are you upon the sacred throne of your kingdom. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed are you through the mighty sceptre of your divinity. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed are you as you gaze into the depths, enthroned upon the Cherubim. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed are you as you tread upon the wings of the wind, and on the waves of the sea. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Let all your Angels and Saints bless you. And praise you and glorify you for ever. Let the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the things that dwell therein, bless you. And praise you and glorify you for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Who is worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever. Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers. And worthy to be praised and glorified for ever.

This comes from the same text that makes up the "Canticle of the Three Young Men," the Benedicite Omnia Opera; the three young men in question are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who in the Daniel passage sing this hymn of praise to God while inside the fiery furnace:

[This is a] Canticle from the Apocryphal book, Song of the Three Young Men, verses 35-65. It is also known as the "Benedicite." It appears as Canticles 1 and 12 in the BCP (pp. 47-49, 88-90) and has been used at the morning office since the fourth century. The Benedicite is a continuation of the canticle Benedictus es, Domine (Canticles 2 and 13). The Benedicite and the Benedictus es, Domine form an extended paraphrase of Ps 148. The Benedicite begins with the invocation, "Glorify the Lord, all you works of the Lord," and concludes with a doxology. It summons all the cosmic order, the earth and its creatures, and all the living and departed people of God to "bless ye the Lord."

Here's G. Vianini singing about half of this chant, which he calls a "Gregorian hymn for Holy Trinity":

Here's something nice! A Finnish singer, Pia Skibdahl, and her rendition of Hildegard von Bingen's "Benedictus es, Domine":

Here's the blurb from the YouTube page:

Laulaja/singer Pia Skibdahl

Alleluia!
Benedictus es Domine
Deus patrum nostrorum
et laudabilis in saecula.

Alleluia!
Blessed is the Lord
the God of our ancestors
and praised for ever.

Hallelujaa
Siunattu on Herra
isiemme Jumala
ja ylistetty iankaikkisesti!

Here's (the 12-year-old!) Mozart's version of the day's Offertory, Benedictus Sit:

Here's Lorenzo Perosi's version of the same text, this time sung as the Offertory at worship (not sure where) on Advent 3:

See more about Trinity Sunday (and the Trinity) here, including some Te Deum stuff.

The Sarum Trinity Office

2011-06-18T16:45:00.134-04:00

On Trinity Sunday & daily until Corpus Christi :

Evensong & Mattins: Adesto, sancta Trinitas ... ... ... 43 or 75
Lauds: O Pater sancte ... ... ... ... 44

And that would be this group of melodies - which, interestingly, are rarely or never used for any other day of the year:

Here's an mp3 of the St. David's Compline choir (of Austin, TX) singing Adesto, sancta Trinitas; they are using melody #43 above (but not the Neale translation below). The Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood also offers an mp3, using the same melody.

Nethymnal has what they call the "Chartres melody" for Adesto, sancta Trinitas; below is the Latin text along with the John Mason Neale English translation:

Adesto Sancta Trinitas
Par splendor una Deitas
Qui extas rerum omnium
Sine fine principum.

Te celorum militia
Laudat adorat predicat
Triplexque mundi machina
Benedicit per saecula.

Assumus et nos cernui
Te adorantes famuli
Vota precesque supplicum
Ymnis junge caelestium.

Unum te lumen credimus
Quod et ter idem colimus
Alpha et O quem dicimus
Te laudet omnis spiritus.

Laus Patri sit ingenito
Laus Ejus Unigenito
Laus sit Sancto Spiritui
Trino Deo et simplici.
Amen.

Be present, holy Trinity,
like splendor, and one Deity;
of things above, and things below,
beginning, that no end shall know.

Thee all the armies of the sky
adore, and laud, and magnify;
and nature, in her triple frame,
for ever sanctifies thy Name.

And we, too, thanks and homage pay,
thine own adoring flock today;
O join to that celestial song
the praises of our suppliant throng!

Light, sole and one, we thee confess,
with triple praise we rightly bless;
Alpha and Omega we own,
with every spirit round thy throne.

To thee, O unbegotten One,
and thee, O sole-begotten Son,
and thee, O Holy Ghost, we raise
our equal and eternal praise.

This early polyphony piece by Philippe de Vitry (1291 - 1361) includes Adesto, sancta Trinitas as one of several texts - as far as I can tell so far - used in a kind of swirl of melody and verse:

de Vitry was, apparently, an innovative and influential composer of the period, and is thought to have written the Ars nova notandi (A New Technique of Writing [Music]) in around 1322.

I'm not sure about chant melody #75 above; will post audio for it if I find it.

Here's an mp3 of O Pater sancte, using melody #44 above, from LLPB. They use it for Lauds - and also offer a couple of versicles for the day: one for Lauds and one for Vespers.

Here's Cyberhymnal's version of "Father, Most Holy"; the Latin words (from Gutenberg.org) are below, with the Percy Dearmer translation following:

O Pater sancte mitis atque pie,
O Jesu Christe Fili venerande,
Paracliteque Spiritus O alme,
Deus aeterne,

Trinitas sancta Unitasque firma,
Deitas vera, Bonitas immensa,
Lux angelorum, salus orphanorum,
Spesque cunctorum,

Serviunt tibi cuncta quae creasti,
Te tuae cunctae laudant creaturae,
Nos quoque tibi psallimus devote,
Tu nos exaudi.

Gloria tibi omnipotens Deus,
Trinus et unus, magnus et excelsus,
Te decet hymnus, honor, laus et decus,
Nunc, et in aevum.

Father most holy, merciful and tender;
Jesus our Savior, with the Father reigning;
Spirit all kindly, Advocate, Defender,
Light never waning;

Trinity sacred, Unity unshaken;
Deity perfect, giving and forgiving,
Light of the angels, Life of the forsaken,
Hope of the living;

Maker of all things, all Thy creatures praise Thee;
Lo, all things serve Thee through Thy whole creation:
Hear us, Almighty, hear us as we raise Thee
Heart’s adoration.

To the all ruling triune God be glory:
Highest and greatest, help Thou our endeavor;
We, too, would praise Thee, giving honor worthy
Now and forever.

What's fascinating about Trinity Sunday is that there is quite a lot of interesting or well-known music associated with it - the Te Deum, for instance, and of course the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy - and yet it's one of the most obscure and least celebrated feasts of the entire Church Year. I suppose this isn't really that strange, given that it's a theological concept instead of an event or a human being.

Still, the concept seems to have been mighty sticky even so, and here's one version of the Oxyrhynchus Hymn - the earliest Christian hymn yet known with both written text and musical notation (put to papyrus at the end of the 3rd Century), and called "A hymn to the Holy Trinity":

The text from the link above:

.. Let it be silent
Let the Luminous stars not shine,
Let the winds (?) and all the noisy rivers die down;
And as we hymn the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Let all the powers add "Amen Amen"
Empire, praise always, and glory to God,
The sole giver of good things, Amen Amen.

As everybody knows by now I'm sure, I just can't resist El Greco - and here's his "Holy Trinity" painted around 1578 for for the Santo Domingo el Antiguo church:

Performance Today Highlights Early Music Performances | Classical 101 - WOSU Public Media

2011-06-15T11:17:00.004-04:00

Performance Today Highlights Early Music Performances | Classical 101 - WOSU Public Media

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Early Music America (EMA), and to celebrate, American Public Media’s Performance Today will be broadcasting a number of performances from selected EMA member concerts this week (June 13-17).

The performances are drawn from over 100 concerts in 25 states over the past season in an effort by EMA members to raise awareness of “the widespread and vibrant activity in early music in North America.”

Full schedule and "Listen online" at the link. Anonymous 4 today during the 6-7 p.m. slot, singing "Las Huelgas Codex: Benedicamus domino." Tomorrow: Monteverdi's "Vespers of 1610," "Magnificat to the end," it says.

"The all night vigil for Holy Trinity-Pentecost" in Moscow

2011-06-13T08:51:00.002-04:00

Via New Liturgical Movement, here's a short video of a Pentecost Vigil celebration in Moscow. As you can see, the liturgical color for Pentecost is green, in the East. Springtime.

Some still photos at the link, too. Here's one:

The Introit for June 12, the Day of Pentecost: Spiritus Domini

2011-06-11T09:37:00.002-04:00

Here's an mp3 of this introit from JoguesChant, and this is their translation:

The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world, alleluia; and that which contains all things, knows every language spoken by men, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; and let those who hate him flee before his face.

Here's a video:

Here's the full chant score. The text comes from Wisdom 1:7 and Psalm 68:1-2.

Here's a video of the chant:

The very familiar readings for the day are here. And there is more Pentecost chant (and other) stuff here - including audio and video of some of the great and marvelous hymnody for this day.

The tempera-on-wood Pentecost painting below is by Duccio di Buoninsegna, from about 1310. It's 37.5 x 42.5 cm, and was formerly housed in the Cathedral in Siena, Italy. It's now in the collection of the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo there.

Studio Access: New York Polyphony Gregorian Chant Remix Opportunity - Indaba Music

2011-06-05T10:10:00.003-04:00

Studio Access: New York Polyphony Gregorian Chant Remix Opportunity - Indaba Music

It's an interesting idea; check it out, and send them something!

New York Polyphony Gregorian Chant Remix Opportunity

Enter the 3 Opportunities Below to Win $1,500 in Cash and a Release on Sony's Ariama Online Classical Music Store!

Gregorian chant lies at the very heart of Western music. It's a thread that runs unbroken through nearly two thousand years of musical expression and its presence can be felt not only in countless creative works, but also in our modern concepts of harmony, melody and form. The influence of plainchant is so complete, it’s as if we know these melodies—consciously or not—at the genetic level.

For centuries, Gregorian chant has been subjected to every compositional technique, treatment and device imaginable—remixed long before anyone even thought to call it that. But now, with the tools available to musicians in the 21st century, it’s time for the next generation of reinvention. Now it's your turn.

Acclaimed classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony and Indaba are giving you the opportunity to put your own unique spin on Gregorian chant. They are providing the stem sets to three different plainchants: "Victimae paschali laudes”, “Gaudeamus in omnes Domino”, and “Beati mundo corde”. Each chant is featured in its own contest, allowing you to remix your favorite.

Submit your music and breathe new life into these ancient melodies.

This Is The Day - Westminster Abbey Choir and the Choristers of the Chapel Royal

2011-06-04T19:22:00.003-04:00

Here's a video of John Rutter's new composition for the royal wedding in April.

The Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter: Exaudi, Domine ("Lord, hear my voice")

2011-06-04T09:29:00.001-04:00

Here's an mp3 of this pretty Introit from JoguesChant, and their chant score and translation are below; the text is from Psalm 27, verses 7-9 and then 1.

Hearken, O Lord, unto my voice which has called out to you, alleluia; my heart declared to you: "Your countenance have I sought; I shall ever seek your countenance, O Lord; do not turn your face from me, alleluia, alleluia." The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

Now, you will never go broke betting that the next verse of any Psalm is one that contains an Exaudi Domine. "Lord, hear my voice" is pretty much everywhere in Psalms. But I do not find a video of this Introit online, even though it is apparently the traditional one. That's OK, though; the mp3 above is sung very nicely.

The collect for this last Sunday in Eastertide is this:

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

As you can see, this collect makes reference to both Ascension Day, this past Thursday - the "exaltation" of Christ to heaven - and to the day of Pentecost next Sunday, in the request for the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel is again from John (John 17:1-11):

Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. "

Here's another Exaudi, Domine - one that takes its text, it says, from Psalm 17. I'm including it because it's a pretty sung style - on the Mozarabic side, although it doesn't say so - and because it shows another kind of chant notation. Here's the blurb from the page:

Exaudi, Domine, iustitiam meam, intende deprecationem meam: auribus percipe orationem meam.

Psalm 17(16): 1

Hear the right, o Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer.

"Exaudi Domine" is the first verse of the offertory "Perfice gressus" sung by Reinier van der Lof in the Amsterdam Obrechtchurch on June 17th, 2009.

Saint Gall neumes: mid tenth century, CH-E 121, p. 86
Fluxus score: 2009, Geert Maessen, Amsterdam

Here's Palestrina's Exaudi Domine, sung - I think - by "Coro Ferdinando PAER - Colorno PR (2007)." The CPDL page says this text comes from Daniel!

Here's a beautiful modern Exaudi Domine, sung by the Chamber Choir Orfej Ljutomer of Slovenia, at the 2008 International Festival of Choral Music; the composer is, I believe, Ambrož Čopi.

Amazingly - or, actually, maybe entirely predictably - Salvador Dali painted an Ascension in 1958. I've always loved the paintings that have Christ's feet sticking down out of the clouds - and this one is merely that idea taken to a Dali-esque extreme:

"Medieval Chant and Polyphony for the Ascension: 1000: A Mass for the End of Time Program Notes"

2011-06-03T12:34:00.002-04:00

Following up on the last post about the Ascension Sequence, Rex Omnipotens die hodierna, here are program notes written by Susan Hellauer of Anonymous 4; the notes accompany their CD "1000: A Mass for the End of Time" - and are relevant to Ascension Day:

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. . . . And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. . . . And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

–The Apocalypse of John the Divine

It was a time of dread and hope, collapse and renewal, of violent anarchy and the elusive promise of worldwide peace. As the first millennium approached, the alliances of Charlemagne’s ninth-century empire broke apart at the seams, and Europe was plunged into a nightmarish cycle of deadly feuds, invasion and war.

Slowly, painfully, a new European order began to emerge from the rubble. Once-pagan warrior kings looked upon Christianity as a politically unifying and civilizing force. The Church, under the brilliant leadership of Pope Sylvester II (formerly the scholar-monk Gerbert of Aurillac) began to turn this spiritual authority into political power. Great cathedrals, the first monumental architecture in the west since the collapse of the Roman Empire five hundred years before, began to appear. There occurred as well a burst of intense creative activity in European Christian liturgy and its music. The traditional Roman plainchant repertory was vigorously renewed and greatly enlarged; new developments in the science of music, including staff line notation and solfeggio, allowed the new creations to be quickly learned, written down and disseminated throughout Europe.

Much as the fear of nuclear annihilation was an ever-present theme in the second half of the twentieth century, so too did fear and anticipation of the Last Judgment and end of the world influence the late-tenth-century Christian world view. Although many simple folk were unaware of the exact year and its significance, laymen and clerics alike (themselves unaware that the “official” calendar was a few years off in dating Jesus’s birth) debated the exact hour and day of “the end.” Would it be on New Year’s Eve 999 or New Year’s Day 1000, or Easter, or Ascension Day, or Christmas; or would the end actually come in 1033 – a thousand years after the death and resurrection of Jesus? In his Apocalypse, John the Divine had seen the devil being chained and sealed for a thousand years, then let loose for “a little season.” Was the terror and uncertainty of the tenth century a sign of Satan’s return? Would an antichrist rise up, to be defeated in anticipation of the Last Judgment? Who would be saved, who damned, and what horrors awaited the earth?

In the Christian liturgy, the Last Judgment is most strongly conjured up in the liturgies of the Advent season, the Requiem mass, and the feast of Jesus’s Ascension, celebrated forty days after Easter. His imminent return, in the glorious manner in which he departed (Acts 1:9–11), had been expected by the earliest Christians; as centuries passed this expectation was transferred to the first millennium. Our program is based on the Ordinary and Proper chants of the Ascension mass, most with added tropes — newly written text and music added to make them more solemn or festive — drawing on related Ascension themes, including the Last Judgment. Most of these works are found in manuscripts of c. 1000 originating in Aquitaine, in southwestern France (many of them associated with the Abbey of St. Martial in Limoges). Two of them, the Gloria: Prudentia prudentium and the Alleluia: Ascendens cristus, are from the Winchester Troper, an important source from Britain, c. 1000, containing some of the very earliest written polyphony for liturgical use. The troped portions of the Aquitanian chants would almost certainly have been adorned with polyphony, created by the singers according to certain rules of improvisation that are preserved for us in theoretical treatises of the time. We have constructed polyphonic lines, based on examples from the Winchester Troper and on contemporary theoretical writings, with an occasional drone or ison to enhance the texture.

The Propers of the mass (Introit, Alleluia, Prose with Sequence, Offertory and Communion) are those items specific to the feast at hand. With the exception of the Alleluias, all here are enlarged with Ascension tropes. Most notable of these is the extensive introductory dialog to the Introit: Viri galilei, Quem creditis super astra ascendisse. It is a rich, self-contained work in itself, modeled on the widely popular Easter Introit trope Quem queritis, which is generally seen as the precursor of liturgical drama. Like the Quem queritis, Quem creditis exists in more than one version; we have chosen the melody associated with the Aquitanian abbey of St. Martial in Limoges. In this work one can easily hear how the Aquitanian plainchant style differs from the earlier, more subtly refined Gregorian style, most recognizably in its vigorous, outgoing melody, with gesture and emphasis enhancing a strong tonal center. The second of the two Alleluias, Ascendens cristus, is set with an organal line in the Winchester Troper. The prose, or prose with sequence, its origins related to the practice of troping, was a relatively new addition to the medieval mass, with Frankish composers of the ninth and tenth centuries adding great numbers of them for specific saints and feasts, large and small, to the liturgical stock. The Ascension Prose and sequence: Rex omnipotens, with its introductory trope Salvator mundi te ascendente, is one of the finest of these. After each double versicle of the prose, an untexted “sequence” of pitches follows, to which would most probably have been added an improvised polyphonic or organal line. We also sing the extensive trope, Elevatus est rex fortis, to the Offertory: Viri galilei, with an added organal line.

The items of the Ordinary of the mass are those that (usually) remain the same regardless of the occasion. But in the age of troping, they could be made “proper” to the day with added texts. The Gloria is expanded with the Ascension trope Prudentia prudentium, and the Kyrie: Celestis terrestrisque, although its text is not specific to the Ascension, is designated for that feast in its manuscript source, written in the little town of Apt, where a fine, anonymous musician in an artistic backwater created new liturgical works of his (or her) own inspiration. The brief but artful Sanctus: Ante seculum and Agnus: Omnipotens eterne are intended for general use on high feast days, and we have added organal lines to their tropes.

The processional hymn Judicii signum enjoyed a long life in medieval liturgy, and is based on the prophecies of one of the early medieval Christian Sibyls. After the mass chants, we sing a Lection from the Apocalypse of Saint John, which, along with the sibyllic oracles, was the Middle Ages’ primary source for information about the coming Armageddon. Regnantem sempiterna is a perfect, gem-like prosa of the ninth-century West-Frankish school, and the hymn Cives celestis patrie, with which we end the program, describes the foundation jewels (and their mystical meanings) of the new Jerusalem — the perfect city that will replace the earth at the end of time.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem. . . . And the foundations of the wall of that city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. . . . And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. . . . And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

- Apocalypse, chapter 21

Rex Omnipotens die hodierna ("The King Eternal as upon this Holy Day"): The Ascension Sequence

2011-06-02T08:59:00.002-04:00

The Sequence Hymn for Ascension Day - today - is, according to Hymn Melodies for the Whole Year from the Sarum Service-books, "Rex Omnipotens die hodierna" ("The King Eternal as upon this Holy Day"). Here's the chant score itself:

Unfortunately - and as is pretty usual, for the lesser-known Sequence hymns! - it's difficult to find recordings of this music online. Anonymous 4 did an 8-minute version called "Sequence with Prose: Salvator mundi/Rex omnipotens die hodierna," of which you can find short clips here and there. There's one on their website, from the CD "1000: A Mass for the End of Time," that gives a bit of the flavor of the piece (and includes some of the other mass chants for Ascension). Amazon offers this similar 30-second cut. Here's another 30-second version, taken from somewhere in the middle of the piece.

I do wish these Sequences were more readily available! Maybe I'll get some singers together and record them all myself, in fact; to me, they are some of the most beautiful music in all the chant repertoire. It really is worth clicking to the Anonymous 4 site to listen to their clips, though. Always worth listening to them sing, no matter how short or long the clips; they always produce such beautiful stuff.

This rather garbled version of the lyrics, in Latin and English, comes from the Internet Archive version of "Sequences from the Sarum Missal"; will try to fix the OCR problems at some point:

IN DIE ASCENSIONIS DOMINI.

REX omnipotens, die hodierna
Mundo triumphali redempto potentilL,
Victor ascendit cselos, unde descenderat.
Nam quadraginta postquam surrexerat
Diebus sacris confirmaDs pectora
Apostolorum, pacis cara relinquens oscula,
Quibus et dedit potestatem laxandi crimina,
Et misit eos in raundum, baptizare cunctas animas,
In Pair is et Filii et Spiritds Sancti dementi^.
Et convescens, prsecepit eis ab Hierosolyma
Ne abirent, sed expectarent promissa munera ;
Non post multos cnim dies mittam vobis Spiritum

Faraclitum in terr^,
Et eritis Mihi testes in Hierusalem, Judse^, sive

Samari^.
£t cum hoc dixisset, videntibus iliis, elevatus est, et

nubes clara
Suscepit Ilium ab eorum oculis intuentibus illis

sthera.
£cce stetere amicti duo viri in veste alb&
Juxta, dicentes, Quid admiramini cselorum alta ?

ASCENSION DAY.
(habtmann. a monk of s. gall.)

THE Almighty King, victorious, on this
Day,
Having redeem^ the world with pnissant
might,
Ascended to the skies from whence He came.
After His Kesurrection He confirmed
The Apostles' hearts for forty holy days,
Leaving His pledge of love, the kiss of peace,
And gave them power of remitting sins,
And sent them to baptize in all the world.
In grace of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ;
Commanding, as He sat with them at meat.
They should not from Jerusalem depart,
But wait for gifts which had been promised.
" After not many days, the Comforter
The Spirit, I will send to you on earth 5
Ye shall bear witness to me in Judsea,
And in Jerusalem, or in Samaria."
And when He had said this, it came to pass
While they beheld, lo ! He was taken up,
And a bright cloud out of their sight received Him,

r

Jesus enim hie, Qui assumptus est k vobis ad Fatris

dexteram,
Ut asoendit, ita veniet, quBerens talenti commissi
lucra.

O Deus cseli, maris, arvi,

Hominem, quern cre^sti,

Quern fraude subdola

Hostis expulit Faradiso,

Et captivatum secum

Traxit ad tartara,

Sanguine proprio

Quern redemisti Deus,

lUuc et revehis,

Unde prius corruit,

Paradisi gaudia.
Judex cum veneris,

Judicare saecula,

Da nobis, petimus,

Sempiterna gaudia

In sanctorum patri^

In quk Tibi cantemus
Omnes Alleluya.

As towards heaven stedfastly they looked.
And lo ! two men, in white apparel clad,
Stood by them, saying, " Wherefore gaze ye so
Into the height of Jieaven ? for this Jesus,
»Who now from you to God*s right hand is taken
Shall so come, in like manner as He goeth,
The intrusted talents' usury to require."
God of heaven, of earth, of sea !
Thou dost man, — Thy creature erst, —
Whom by fraud and subtilty
Satan drave, like him accurst.
Out of Eden's garden fair
Down to regions of despair :
Whom Thou didst redeem again
By Thy Blood and bitter pain, —
Bear to Paradise once more,
Whence by sin he fell of yore.

Lord, when Thou as Judge shalt come,
All the imiverse to doom,
Grant us, we devoutly pray,
Thy beatitudes for aye.
In that land of saints, where we
May Alleluias sing to Thee,

In the Google book, A Dictionary of Hymnology, there is this note about this Sequence:

Rex omnipotens die hodierna. Hermannus Contractus (?). [Ascension.] This is found in a MS. in the Bodleian (Bodl. 775 f. 145), written c. 1000, as a Sequence "on the Ascension of the Lord," and in another Ms., in the same Library, of circa 1070 (Douce, 222, f. 101); in a Winchester book of the 11th cent, now in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (No. 473); in a Ms. of the 11th cent. (Harl. 2961 f. 254), and another of the 11th or 12th cent. (Reg. 8 C. xiii. f. 22). both in the British Museum, &c. Among Missals it is found in an early 14th cent. Paris and a 14th cent. Sens in the British Museum; in a Sarum, c. 1370, a Hereford, c. 1370, and a York, c. 1390, all now in the Bodleian: in the St. Andrew's, and various French Missals, its use being uniformly for the Ascension. The printed text is also in Neale's Sequentiae, 1852, p. 58; Daniel, v. p. 66, and Kehrein, No. 116 (see also p. 967, ii.). Tr. as:—

1. Lord of all power and might, Mankind redeemed, Ac. By C. S. Calverley, In the 1871 ed. of the Hymnary, No. 305, and in his Literary Remains, 1886.

2. To the throne He left, victorious. By E. H. Plomptre, made for and pub. in the Hymnary, 1872, No. 305. in the place of the above No. 1.

3. The almighty King, victorious, on this day. By C. B. Pearson, In the Sarum Missal in English, 1868, and his Sequences from the Sarum Missal, 1871.

So you can see why Anonymous 4 included on their CD "1000: A Mass for the End of Time" - it was written, it seems, about the year 1000.

Here's a post on the Ascension Office (and actually, here's another!), and here's one on the mass chants for the day.

Here's one video that's appropriate for the day, even though it's not of the Sequence: Finzi's "God Is Gone Up With a Shout," sung by the Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa Choir of Men and Boys. The text is from Psalm 47, from what I can recall:

This is an icon of the "The Anastasis and the Ascension" at St. Catherine's Monastery in Egypt, from, apparently, the 13th Century:

The Introit for the Fifth Sunday of Easter: Cantate Domino ("Sing to the Lord")

2011-05-20T12:16:00.002-04:00

The text for this Introit comes from Psalm 98, verses 1-2; here's an mp3 from JoguesChant, and their translation:

Sing to the Lord a new song, alleluia; for the Lord has accomplished wondrous deeds, alleluia; he has revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles, alleluia, alleluia. His right hand and his holy arm have given him victory.

Here's the Liber Usualis chant score:

The Gospel reading for today is from John 14:1-14:

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."

Stephen Gerth, the rector of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Sq., was just writing about the extended readings from John during the Sundays after Easter in the new RCL Lectionary. While he has criticisms of other aspects of the new Lectionary, he praises it for this and for several other things:

I think it matters that for 1500 years no ordinary Sunday congregation in the West ever heard the accounts of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4:5-42), the Healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-38), or the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44). Even now, they are appointed for use only once every three years. And let me give recognition to this good thing in the new lectionary: there is no longer permission to shorten these lessons. I certainly appreciate the real pastoral need for Sunday services to be a manageable length. But there are some things that can’t be shortened. (Interestingly, the permission to shorten the gospels for the Sunday of the Passion was retained, but the permission to shorten the passion on Good Friday is also gone.)

I’m thinking about all of this because I realized a couple of weeks ago that the lectionary of the 1979 Prayer Book (and the new lectionary) has us reading on the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Sundays of Easter, in every year, from John’s account of the supper before the Passover – the longest passage in any of the gospels. In the old Prayer Book, we had a passage from this part of John on Pentecost and a moving passage (John 16:16-22) on a Sunday after Easter Day about the joy that will be with his disciples after their sorrow. Now, many more riches of this account will be read and preached every year.

This is the Collect for this day:

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hatchett's Commentary says, about this collect, that:

This is a revision of a collect formerly appointed for the feast day of Saint Philip and Saint James. It was composed for the 1549 Book and the result clause added in 1662. It has a particular allusion to the Gospel for Year A but is appropriate for readings of the other years as well. The prayer is that we may know Christ who is truth and follow Him who is the way that we may be led to Him who is the source of eternal life.

I'm sorry to say that I can't resist posting this beautiful Hassler Cantate Domino, even though the text comes from that other Psalm:

And as long as I'm going there, why not post the Monteverdi version, too, sung by those amazing BYU singers? (This one does include bits of Psalm 98.)

As always, I can't resist Arvo Part, either:

And at that point, how can I leave out the Taize chant?

To go along with the Gospel reading - part of the discourse at the Last Supper from John - here's a fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio, (400 x 880 cm) at Ognissanti (All Saints), Florence (where, BTW, Sandro Botticelli is buried):

For Lo, I raise up - Stanford

2011-05-18T15:08:00.002-04:00

Love this! Never heard it before today; it's from - of all things - Habbakuk 1.

HT Postulant.

The Introit for May 15, the Fourth Sunday of Easter: Misericordia Domini

2011-05-13T19:08:00.002-04:00

Here's an mp3 of this Introit, from JoguesChant; their translation of this text from Psalm 33:5-6, then 1:

The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord, alleluia; by the word of the Lord, the heavens were established, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Praising befits those who are upright.

The chant propers for today were once used on the previous Sunday; I'm not sure why everything got moved back one week, but will try to find out.

These days, this is "Good Shepherd Sunday," reflected both in the reading from John and the Alleluia and Communion Song which both use the text Ego sum Pastor bonus - "I am the Good Shepherd."

Here's the chant score for the Alleluia:

Here's a video labeled "Domenica IV di Pasqua - Alleluja" - but it's definitely not the chant in the score above! As far as I can tell - by going to the YouTube uploader's page - it's an Ambrosian chant version of the Alleluia. And it is beautiful!

That was recorded in 2008; here's the same chant from 2009:

I must get to know more about Ambrosian chant! I'll be checking out that YouTube account to get the skinny, I promise.

Here's the (Gregorian) Communio, with the score embedded in the video:

(I must add that, strangely enough, our reading from John leaves "I am the Good Shepherd" out entirely! We read only John:1-10, but the Good Shepherd parts of the text are in verses 14 (the Communion Song) and 11 (the Alleluia above) (see all of John 10 here). Very odd! But, we do get these verses (11-16) in Year B, so we'll hear them eventually.)

And how about this, for Good Shepherd Sunday? Wikipedia says it's from around 300 CE; that it's marble, 92cm high, and that the legs have been restored. The sculpture resides in the Vatican Museum in Rome.

The Introit for the Third Sunday of Easter: Jubilate Deo

2011-05-05T10:45:00.004-04:00

Here's a lovely version of this Introit, sung by "the Schola of the Hofburgkapelle Vienna (1984)," and below that is the full chant score:

JoguesChant gives this translation of the Introit; the text is from Psalm 66:1-3:

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, alleluia; sing a psalm to his name, alleluia; praise him with magnificence, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Say to God: "How awesome are your deeds, O Lord! In the greatness of your power, your enemies will be convicted of lying to you".

But the King James version has this:

¹Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
²Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
³Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

So I'm not quite sure where the "lying to you" aspect comes in; I don't find that in any translation, including the Douay-Rheims.

Here's the collect for the day:

O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Because of course the Gospel reading for today is one of the best of all stories: the road to Emmaus (from Luke 24:13-35):

That very day, the first day of the week, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him." Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Interestingly, the Collects for Easter Week are used again on the second and third Sundays during Easter. Hatchett's Commentary says this about today's collect, the one used on Wednesday of Easter Week:

This is a revised version of the collect for the Monday in Easter Week of the 1928 Boo, composed by the Rev. Dr. John W. Suter, Sr. It is associated with the story of our Lord's appearance to the disciples at Emmaus after the resurrection, when He made Himself known "in the breaking of bread" (Lk. 24:35). The original form of the result clause read: "That we may behold thee in all they works." This collect is also appointed for the third Sunday of Easter.

I would imagine that the reason for this duplication is similar to the reasoning that determines what happens during Holy Week: there are really important aspects of the Gospel story that are told twice so that people who miss them during Easter Week, because they are working, will still be able to hear them. The Gospel reading for today is the same as the reading for Wednesday of Easter Week.

I was going to post "Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus" here - until I realized that there are two of these! I'd only ever seen the first one below, which I think is so terrific; that's from 1601. But there's a 1606 version (the second one below), too, it seems.

If I can find out the reason for these two different versions - was one done for a church and the other for a private client, for instance? - I'll come back and edit this post with that information.

Well, I am going to seriously cheat now, because it's not the same text at all - this one comes from the better-known Psalm 100 - but here's Cristobal Morales' Jubilate Deo; the words are below:

Iubilate Deo omnis terra.
Servite Domino in lætitia.
Introite in conspectus eius in exsultatione.
Scitote, quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus:
ipse fecit nos et non ipsi nos;
populus eius et oves pascuæ eius,
introite portas eius in confessione,
atria eius in hymnis: confitemini illi.

And here's one of my all-time favorites of that Psalm 100, and in English, too, by William Walton. A little bit of outer space, I always thought. (I got to sing one of the trio parts at a service one time; much fun.)

O BE joyful in the LORD, all ye lands: * serve the LORD with gladness, and come before his presence with a song.
Be ye sure that the LORD he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; * we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; * be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name.
For the LORD is gracious, his mercy is everlasting; * and his truth endureth from generation to generation.

The Introit for Easter Day: Resurrexi Et Adhuc ("I am risen and behold")

2011-04-28T16:18:00.001-04:00

Since I wrote on the Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter two years ago, and since I haven't written on the one for Easter Day ever, I will remedy that now.

Here's an mp3 from JoguesChant. It lists text source as Psalm 139:18, 5-6, 1-2, and gives this translation:

I am risen, and I am always with you, alleluia; you have placed your hand upon me, alleluia; your wisdom has been shown to be most wonderful, alleluia, alleluia. O Lord, you have searched me and known me; you know when I sit down and when I rise up.

Here's the chant score:

The first part of the Introit ("I am risen" and "I am with you always") has very interesting resonances for the day. In fact, as far as I can see, verse 18 of Psalm 139 is always translated "When I awake," never "I am risen" (except in the Douay-Rheims!). And "I am with you always") is directly out of Matthew 28:20. But, we can pretend they're part of Psalm 139, if we like.

Here's Giovanni Vianini's version of the introit:

And wow: here's a spectacular version, which is apparently Old Roman chant:

From the YouTube Page:

From an album of Old Roman chant (7th and 8th Century) performed by Ensemble Organum under the direction of Marcel Peres. The playlist for the entire album is found at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=92FD70EAF04E787B.

The text of Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum ("I am risen and behold I am with you") is that of the Introit (Entrance chant) of the Roman rite celebration of the Eucharist on Easter day, It serves as the antiphon for the chanting of Psalm 139.

Antiphon:

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, alleluia!
Posuisti super me manum tuam, alleluia!
Mirabilis facta est scientia tua, alleluia, alleluia!

Psalm 139 verses and Doxology:

Domine, probasti me, et cognovisti me.
Cognovisti sessionem mean, et resurrectionem meam.

Ecce Domine, tu cognovisti omnia novissima et antiqua.
Tu formasti me et posuisti super me manum tuam

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritu Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.

Translation:

Antiphon:

I am risen and behold I am with you.
You have placed your hand on me.
How wonderful is you knowledge!

Psalm 139 verses and Doxology:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up.

Behold, Lord, you know all things ancient and new.
You have conceived me and laid you hand upon me.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.
Amen.

Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum appears on the recording by Ensemble Organum. Chants of the Church of Roman - Byzantine Period. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=92FD70EAF04E787B

The collection is devoted to chants of the Church of Rome when most of the popes came from the churches of the Byzantine Empire (590 - 752), coinciding with the rise of the Prophet Muhammad (550 - 632) and the Umayyad Caliphate (660- 750). Liturgies were celebrated with chants in both Greek and Latin.

This chant was the inspiration for a setting of the text by US composer Michael Barger, I Am Risen and Behold I Am With You.

And that last piece is also at YouTube. Here it's sung by the Choir of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco, apparently:

Here's the blurb from that page:

Composed by American Michael Barger and performed by the Choir of Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The visual images, with the exception of the pictures of the two soloists, are all from St Gregory's.

The following are notes from the composer:

The text of I Am Risen is that of the Introit (Entrance chant) of the Roman rite celebration of the Eucharist on Easter day, Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum, which serves as the antiphon for the chanting of Psalm 139.

Antiphon:

I am risen and behold and am with you, Alleluia!
You have placed you hand on me, Alleluia!
O God, how wonderf'lly you know me, Alleluia!

Psalm Verse One:

O Lord, you search me and you know me.
You know when I sit down and rise up again, Alleluia!

Psalm Verse Two:

Behold, Lord, you know all things both ancient and new.
You have conceived me, and laid your hand upon me, Alleluia!

Doxology:

Glory be to the Father of Love,
And to the Son, who is risen from the dead,
And to the Spirit giving us new life,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and every shall be, Alleluia!

The composition was inspired by the recording of Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum on Ensemble Organum's recording
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qepWS3yU2Lg, Chants of the Church of Roman - Byzantine Period. It is devoted to chants of the Church of Rome when most of the popes came from the churches of the Byzantine Empire ( 590 - 752), coinciding with the rise of the Prophet Muhammad (550 - 632) and the Umayyad Caliphate (660- 750). Liturgies were celebrated with chants in both Greek and Latin.

I Am Risen has become a favorite hymn of the community of the Church of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. http://www.saintgregorys.org/
It is sung at Communion at the Easter Vigil; by tradition the following Sunday, called Bright Sunday; and at the last Sunday of the Easter season.

It has also been sung at weddings, funerals, and birthday celebrations. Some have said, "It isn't Easter until we sing I Am Risen." Pilgrims have remarked, "I come to St. Gregory's for Easter to hear I Am Risen."

Musically the hymn is in the Mixolydian mode and marked by chords of the ninth. Music for the hymn is available from St. Gregory of Nyssa and from Amazon. It is Number 73 in the St. Gregory's hymnal, Music For Liturgy.

The video closes with a picture of the cover of the hymn book featuring saints from the Dancing Saints iconic mural in the church's rotunda. http://www.saintgregorys.org/worship/art_section/243/

From right to left they are:

Origen (c. 185--254), the teacher whose work influenced the humanistic thought of St. Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 -- 395) as he developed his theology of "becoming a friend of God," "the only thing truly worthwhile."

Malcom X (1925 -- 1965), who was murdered after discovering the universality of God's love for all humankind after his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Queen Elizabeth I (1533 -- 1603), who reigned artfully over a kingdom divided by Catholics and Protestants, and who said, "There is one Lord Jesus Christ. All the rest is arguments about trifles."

Iqbal Masih (1983 - 1995) , the 12-year-old Pakistani Christian who agitated against child slave labor by the Carpet Mafia and was murdered after attending church on Easter day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0D6K18wq8A

St. Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582), the great Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church. whose prayers echo those of the great Muslim mystic of Basra, Rabi'ah al- 'Adawiya (717--801), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQTfZodyJIY

Composer Michael Barger grew up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. His work is highly influenced by Islamic and Byzantine Arabic chant and especially by the Lebanese Byzantine chanter, Sister Marie Keyrouz. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0MGzmVaIUw

I was prepared not to like that piece - and didn't, at first - but it grows on you.

I've come to adore this apparent 17th-century collaboration on Noli me Tangere between Abraham Janssens (who did the figures) and Jan Wildens (who painted the landscape) - that's what it says, honest! - and which is now in the Musée des beaux-arts in Dunkerque, France. I just love the "gardener" theme, and this is a great one!

"This is the day"

2011-04-28T09:15:00.002-04:00

So apparently it's Rutter, for the commissioned piece, at the "Royal Wedding" tomorrow; we've been endlessly curious.

"This is the day," it's called, based on various Psalms. Here's the text:

THIS is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.
O praise the Lord of heaven: praise him in the height.
Praise him, all ye angels of his: praise him, all his host.
Praise him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light.
Let them praise the name of the Lord.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.
The Lord himself is thy keeper: the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;
so that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in: from this time forth for evermore.
He shall defend thee under his wings.
Be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and put thou thy trust in the Lord.

John Rutter (b 1945)
commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster for this service

Psalms 118: 24; 148: 1-3, 5a; 91: 4a, 11; 121: 5-8; 27: 16b

And now you know. The motet is Ubi Caritas, by Paul Mealor. I don't know it, and can't find a recording online, but here's his Locus Iste, to get perhaps an idea:

Oh, and yes: It's Parry's "I Was Glad" at the "Procession of the Bride":

Anastasis - Victimae paschali laudes

2011-04-24T11:00:00.003-04:00

"Uno sguardo ai mosaici della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia, ascoltando l'antica sequenza pasquale. Per un augurio di Buona Pasqua 2009."

(A look at the mosaics of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, while listening to the ancient Easter sequence. Good wishes for a Happy Easter 2009.)

Words in Latin and English here.

This Joyful Eastertide - King's College Cambridge.

2011-04-24T10:00:00.002-04:00

This joyful Easter-tide,
Away with sin and sorrow!
My Love, the Crucified,
Hath sprung to life this morrow.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Neer burst His three day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
Arisen, arisen, arisen!

My flesh in hope shall rest,
And for a season slumber;
Till trump from east to west,
Shall wake the dead in number.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Neer burst His three day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
Arisen, arisen, arisen!

Deaths flood hath lost his chill,
Since Jesus crossed the river:
Lover of souls, from ill
My passing soul deliver.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Neer burst His three day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
Arisen, arisen, arisen!

New York Polyphony, et al.: Lamentations of Jeremiah, Part II

2011-04-22T10:55:00.003-04:00

This is New York Polyphony: "Lamentations of Jeremiah: Jerusalem by Thomas Crecquillon." Gorgeous.

This is "J.D. Zelenka: Lamentations of Jeremiah - Lamentations for Maundy Thursday."

And this is "Very fine recording of the "Heth" and "Caph" chapters from Antoine Brumel's Lamentations of Jeremiah. Brumel was a French Composer who lived from c.1460 to c.1515."

Stations of the Cross at St. Mary the Virgin, NY

2011-04-21T16:36:00.004-04:00

From the Episcopal Church site.

New York Polyphony, et al.: Lamentations of Jeremiah, Part I

2011-04-21T10:45:00.003-04:00

Here is New York Polyphony singing "Lamentations of Jeremiah for Maundy Thursday." Unfortunately, it doesn't say whose! I think Palestrina, though. [EDIT: No, not. Luis, in the comments, doubted this - and he was right; the Lamentations here are from Thomas Crecquillon, says the listing (see full text in the comments). The same concert, then, probably, as that in video #3 below. Thanks, Luis.] The blurb says "My End is My Beginning at The Church of the Ascension, New York City, 5 November 2009."

This seems to be from the same concert; the blurb says "Bora Yoon performs with New York Polyphony, The Church of the Ascension, New York, 5 November 2009." And also that "note: the repetitive "static" you hear is part of Bora Yoon's improvisation." Haunting, really.

This is New York polyphony, too: "Lamentations of Jeremiah: Jerusalem by Thomas Crecquillon."

Saint Thomas Church - Music - Choral Services - The Office of Tenebrae

2011-04-20T23:30:00.003-04:00

Saint Thomas Church - Music - Choral Services - The Office of Tenebrae

The one-evening version; very beautiful, and fresh tonight. The PDF of the leaflet is here.

Palestrina: Music for Maundy Thursday

2011-04-20T10:39:00.004-04:00

These videos contain Palestrina's settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, passages which are read or sung during the Holy Week Office of Tenebrae; that Office is here, at Breviary.net, which calls Tenebrae "Matins and Lauds of the Office of Darkness." Tenebrae these days begins on Wednesday of Holy Week (i.e., the eve of the day to which it actually belongs), and is usually said or sung in the early evening; Matins and Lauds were middle-of-the-night services in the monastery.

On this and the two following nights Matins and Lauds are always said together, and these Three Services are commonly called the Three Nights of Darkness. In Choir six lights are lighted upon the Altar, and fifteen (seven on each side and one at the top) in a triangle-shaped candlestick before the Epistle corner. As each Antiphon is repeated the second time, one of the fifteen candles is put out.

The Antiphons are all doubled, and the Doxology Gloria Patri is everywhere omitted.

There are 10 YouTube videos of the Palestrina music; they are coded so that one follows the last. They're very beautiful. Some of the videos contain Gregorian responsories not part of the book of Lamentations. The words of Lamentations itself in Latin and English are here, at Choral Public Domain Library.

Here's just Chapter 1 in English:

1:1 ALEPH. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal.

1:2 BETH. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.

1:3 GHIMEL. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

1:4 DALETH. The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her maidens have been dragged away, and she herself suffers bitterly.

1:5 HE. Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the LORD has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.

1:6 VAU. From the daughter of Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like harts that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.

1:7 ZAIN. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, the foe gloated over her, mocking at her downfall.

1:8 HETH. Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; yea, she herself groans, and turns her face away.

1:9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. "O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!"

1:10 IOD. The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; yea, she has seen the nations invade her sanctuary, those whom thou didst forbid to enter thy congregation.

1:11 CAPH. All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O LORD, and behold, for I am despised."

1:12 LAMED. "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger."

1:13 MEM. "From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.

The capitalized words are Hebrew letters; Lamentations is another Old Testament acrostic. Here's CPDL on Lamentations.

Lamentationes Ieremiae (English Lamentations of Jeremiah)

In the Greek and Latin Bibles there are five songs of lament bearing the name of Jeremiah, which follow the Book of the Prophecy of Jeremias. In the Hebrew these are entitled Kinôth. from their elegiac character, or the 'Ekhah songs after the first word of the first, second, and fourth elegies; in Greek they are called Threnoi, in Latin they are known as Lamentationes. The superscription to Lamentations in the Septuagint and other versions throws light on the historical occasion of their production and on the author: "And it came to pass, after Israel was carried into captivity, and Jerusalem was desolate, that Jeremiah the prophet sat weeping, and mourned with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and with a sorrowful mind, sighing and moaning, he said:".

To a man like Jeremiah, the day on which Jerusalem became a heap of ruins was not only a day of national misfortune, for, in a religious sense, Jerusalem had a peculiar importance in the history of salvation, as the footstool of Jahweh and as the scene of the revelation of God and of the Messias. Consequently, the grief of Jeremiah was personal, not merely a sympathetic emotion over the sorrow of others, for he had sought to prevent the disaster by his labours as a prophet in the streets of the city. All the fibres of his heart were bound up with Jerusalem; he was now himself crushed and desolate.

In all five elegies the construction of the verses follows an alphabetical arrangement. The first, second, fourth, and fifth laments are each composed of twenty-two verses, to correspond with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet; the third lament is made up of three times twenty-two verses. In the first, second, and fourth elegies each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letters following in order, as the first verse begins with ALEPH, the second with BETH etc.

The Lamentations have received a peculiar distinction in the Liturgy of the Church in the Office of Passion Week. If Christ Himself designated His death as the destruction of a temple, "he spoke of the temple of his body" (John 2:19-21), then the Church surely has a right to pour out her grief over His death in those Lamentations which were sung over the ruins of the temple destroyed by the sins of the nation.

You can also download a PDF of the Office of Tenebrae for Good Friday - in English - from the (Catholic) Archdiocese of St. Louis' Institute of Sacred Music (where there are many other fine resources generously offered for free).

Here's Rembrandt's "Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem":

Vexilla regis (Dufay, et al.)

2011-04-18T20:36:00.007-04:00

"Recorded live during Mass on 9/14/08 and sung by Les Choristes, the vocal quartet in residence at the French National Church in San Francisco, CA (Steven Olbash, director)."

Vexilla regis prodeunt is the Vespers hymn for the week of Lent 5 and Holy Week; you can find the words here or here. Guilliame Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance, and lived and composed during the 15th century.

Here's a (sadly) short version of Palestrina's take on Vexilla Regis:

Bruckner got into the act, too:

But here's something interesting: a video of the singing of Vexilla Regis in procession:

At the YouTube page, you find, in French, an explanation: the music is Vexilla Regis (Anthoine de Bertrand, 1530-1581) and the video is from the "Mass of the Presanctified on Holy Friday" at Saint Eugène à Paris. In the comments, there's this:

On entend le son des crécelles. J'ai un souvenir d'enfant de choeur. Nous aimions les offices de la semaine sainte, en particulier pour actionner la crécelle. On l'utilisait dès le jeudi saint après le gloria, où les enfants avaient sonné dans le choeur avec une vigueur particulière. La schola continuait a capella et à l'élévation la cloche était remplacée par la crécelle.

Google Translate renders this as: "We hear the sound of rattles. I remember a choir boy. We liked the offices of Holy Week, particularly to activate the rattle. It was used at the Maundy Thursday after the Gloria, where children were struck in the choir with special vigor. The choir continued a capella and raising the bell was replaced by rattle."

In other words: the sound is the French version of a crotalus. Here's the Wikipedia page for crécelle - and the text, with translation:

Une crécelle est un instrument de musique idiophone datant du Moyen Âge, aussi appelée brouan et répandue aujourd'hui encore partout en Europe. De conception et d'utilisation simples, elle est un instrument populaire mais aussi un jouet pour les enfants.

Grâce au bruit puissant qu'elle émet, elle était aussi utilisée au Québec par les femmes des agriculteurs pour appeler leur mari au champ, avant la mécanisation de l'agriculture.- Dans la liturgie catholique, avant Vatican II, maniée dans les rues par les enfants de chœur, elle annonçait les offices durant le triduum pascal en remplacement des cloches.

On l'utilisait aussi afin d'avertir du passage de personnes infectieuse, atteintes de maladies redoutées au Moyen Âge : la lèpre, la peste.

A rattle is a musical instrument idiophone from the Middle Ages, also known brouan and still widespread across Europe. Design and use simple, it is a popular instrument but also a toy for children.

With the loud noise it emits, it was also used in Quebec by women farmers to call their husbands to the field before the mechanization of agriculture .- In the Catholic liturgy before Vatican II, handled in the streets by the choir boys, it announced the offices during the Easter Triduum in lieu of bells.

It is also used to warn people of the passage of infectious illnesses feared in the Middle Ages, leprosy, plague.

It's a bit hard to tell what's going on here; is it a mass, or an office? It surely seems more like the latter - an "announcement," via the rattle, replacing the tolling of the bells that announce the office. But then, I don't know what happened at a "mass of the presanctified" on Good Friday, either; will see what I can find out and post again if I learn something.

[EDIT: Ah. Here's something that explains things: "The hymn was also formerly sung on Good Friday when the Blessed Sacrament is taken from the repository to the altar." And that must be what's happening here; the procession is (presumably) moving the Sacrament from the Altar of Repose to the altar for distribution during Good Friday Communion of presanctified elements. I'm told that when the Sacrament is taken anywhere it's been customary to ring bells - and of course the bells are silent after the Gloria on Maundy Thursday until they are rung again at the Easter Vigil.]

St. Matthew Passion – Johann Sebastian Bach

2011-04-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

Trinity Wall Street - Calendar - St. Matthew Passion – Johann Sebastian Bach

A video from last night's performance of this amazing work at and from Trinity Wall St.

Trinity Wall Street - Webcasts - Videos - Music & Arts - The Trinity Choir - Music from the Sarum Rite 02.03.11

2011-04-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

Trinity Wall Street - Webcasts - Videos - Music & Arts - The Trinity Choir - Music from the Sarum Rite 02.03.11

Just found this on the Trinity website! It's one of two videos from a concert performed in February of this year.

Here's the blurb on this concert:

The Trinity Choir, along with Guest Conductor George Steel, General Manager and Artistic Director of New York City Opera, perform Music from the Sarum Rite. These gorgeous compositions – taken from the elaborate and theatrical liturgy of pre-Reformation England – feature soaring soprano lines and rich choral textures by masters such as Robert Wylkinson, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, and John Sheppard. Although rarely performed today, the Sarum Rite includes some of the most exquisite music of any age. Purchase tickets online here. Tickets can also be purchased at the Trinity Gift Shop, inside Trinity Church. Watch a video of George Steel on the "music that speaks to us with an emotional clarity you wouldn't expect from...such a far away time.

Here's a PDF of the program. And below is the video of the George Steel discussion.

The Planctus Tone (AKA "The Holy Week Weeping Tone")

2011-04-14T09:06:00.003-04:00

The Passion According to St. John is often sung at Good Friday worship. The Passion story is sung using its own particular conventions; see this PDF of the Passion according to Luke, for instance, from Grace Church in Newark, for the chant notation. See the note on page 20, after Jesus commends his spirit to God, and breathes his last, that says, "Then the Chronista sings the conclusion of the Passion Gospel to the Planctus tone:" - and note the tone change that starts on page 21.

You can see and listen for yourself if you watch the Good Friday Liturgy at Trinity Wall Street, a video from 2010. The sung passion begins around 26 minutes, and the Planctus Tone starts at 44:24. Here's the video itself:

Under "Planctus" at Wikipedia, you find this:

A planctus is a lament, or song or poem which expresses grief or mourning. It became a popular form in the Middle ages, when they were written both in Latin and the vernacular. A number of varieties have been identified by Peter Dronke. From the 9th century, they include dirges for the dead, particularly for royals or heroes, vernacular laments sung by women, Germanic songs of exile and journeying, and fictional planctus on biblical or classical themes. From the 12th century he identifies laments of the Virgin Mary (called a planctus Mariae) and complaintes d'amour (complaints of love).[1]

The earliest planctus for which music survives are from the 10th century, from manuscripts associated with the abbey of Saint Martial at Limoges. The earliest know, the Planctus de obitu Karoli, was composed around 814 on the death of Charlemagne.[2] From the mid-thirteenth century survives an early Catalan Marian lament, Augats, seyós qui credets Déu lo Payre. Or simply a complaint poem with 27 lines and 8 syllables in each line with alliteration in each line.

Below is Marc Chagall's White Crucifixion, painted in 1938. Below that is a detail from the same painting.

Hosanna Filo David by Brian Luckner

2011-04-13T17:14:00.002-04:00

Well, here's a polyphonic setting of Hosanna Filo David, after all - by "Brian Luckner, Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman in LaCrosse Wisconson." Quite beautiful, in fact; you go, Brian.

Palm Sunday: Hosanna, Filio David

2011-04-12T11:16:00.005-04:00

Here's Giovanni Vianini and the gang singing the entrance song for Palm Sunday:

Here is the chant score:

In English:

Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
King of Israel:
Hosanna in the highest.

The text of that refrain is from Matthew 21:9, and when sung, verses from Psalm 118, Confitemini Domino alternate with the refrain, as in the video above.

[EDIT: I'd originally titled this post "The Introit for Palm Sunday: Hosanna, Filio David." However, this prompted Ted K., to write in the comments that '"Hosanna, Filio David" is not the Introit. It is the first of the processional antiphons for Palm Sunday. The introit for the Mass used to be "Domine ne longe facias" but an introit for Palm Sunday was suppressed by the Bugnini reforms of Holy week in 1955.'

I explained to him that since I'm Episcopalian, not Catholic, and since "Hosanna, Filio David" is used liturgically as the Introit (i.e., "the entrance song"), I don't find it problematic to use that term. However, in the interest of accuracy, I changed the name of the post and removed the word "Introit" where it occurred. So far, I have found that the three pieces called "antiphons" here are taken from various offices on the day - so perhaps that explains the terminology used for these pieces. And this does explain, in any case, why there are no polyphonic settings of Hosanna, Filio David! It sounds like this is either a very new or a very old chant - either recently added to the liturgy - or else removed by the council of Trent or something, since another text was formerly used as Introit. Will see what I can find out....]

After the singing of the entrance antiphon, and after the blessing of the palms, two antiphons are sung: Pueri Hebræorum, portantes and Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta, are sung during the Procession, along with the hymn "Gloria, Laus, et Honor" - more famously known today in English, of course, as "All Glory, Laud, and Honor."

Here's Giovanni Vianini singing the Gregorian Pueri Hebræorum, portantes:

Here are the words to these antiphons, in Latin and English (translations from two sources, which accounts for the differences between them):

Pueri Hebræorum,
portantes ramos olivarum,
obviaverunt Domino,
clamantes et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.

The children of Jerusalem
welcomed Christ the King.
They carried olive branches
and loudly praised the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta
prosternebant in via
et clamabant dicentes:
Hosanna Filio David,
benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini.

The Hebrew children
spread their garments in the way,
and cried out, saying:
Hosanna to the Son of God:
blessed is He that cometh
in the Name of the Lord.

It seems that these two Pueri Hebræorum antiphons - far more than the Introit itself - have inspired quite a few composers to polyphonic settings. Here's a lovely one on Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta from Tomás Luis de Victoria:

As for Gloria, Laus, et Honor: wow, it's a beautiful chant! Here's a lovely version:

Here's a chant score from the Benedictines, who call it a "Hymn to Christ the King":

The Latin text is just the same as the J.M. Neale translation we're familiar with singing in English on this day.

There are more videos at last year's post.

Here's Giotto di Bondone's "Christ's Entry Into Jerusalem":

Of course, since the service turns in the middle to the Passion itself, it's fitting - after the reading or singing of the story of Christ's crucifixion - to end this post with a video of Vexilla Regis Prodeunt:

The words (English translation by J.M. Neale):

Vexilla regis prodeunt,
fulget crucis mysterium,
quo carne carnis conditor
suspensus est patibulo.

Confixa clavis viscera
tendens manus, vestigia
redemptionis gratia
hic inmolata est hostia.

Quo vulneratus insuper
mucrone diro lanceae,
ut nos lavaret crimine,
manavit unda et sanguine.

Inpleta sunt quae concinit
David fideli carmine,
dicendo nationibus:
regnavit a ligno deus.

Arbor decora et fulgida,
ornata regis purpura,
electa, digno stipite
tam sancta membra tangere!

Beata cuius brachiis
pretium pependit saeculi!
statera facta est corporis
praedam tulitque Tartari.

Fundis aroma cortice,
vincis sapore nectare,
iucunda fructu fertili
plaudis triumpho nobili.

Salve ara, salve victima
de passionis gloria,
qua vita mortem pertulit
et morte vitam reddidit.

O Crux ave, spes unica,
hoc Passionis tempore!
piis adauge gratiam,
reisque dele crimina.

Te, fons salutis Trinitas,
collaudet omnis spiritus:
quos per Crucis mysterium
salvas, fove per saecula. Amen.

The royal banners forward go,
the cross shines forth in mystic glow;
where he in flesh, our flesh who made,
our sentence bore, our ransom paid.

-

Where deep for us the spear was dyed,
life's torrent rushing from his side,
to wash us in that precious flood,
where mingled water flowed, and blood.

Fulfilled is all that David told
in true prophetic song of old,
amidst the nations, God, saith he,
hath reigned and triumphed from the tree.

O tree of beauty, tree of light!
O tree with royal purple dight!
Elect on whose triumphal breast
those holy limbs should find their rest.

Blest tree, whose chosen branches bore
the wealth that did the world restore,
the price of humankind to pay,
and spoil the spoiler of his prey.

Upon its arms, like balance true,
he weighed the price for sinners due,
the price which none but he could pay,
and spoiled the spoiler of his prey.

-

-

O cross, our one reliance, hail!
Still may thy power with us avail
to give new virtue to the saint,
and pardon to the penitent.

To thee, eternal Three in One,
let homage meet by all be done:
whom by the cross thou dost restore,
preserve and govern evermore.

And that is what will happen at St. Mary the Virgin; this is the recessional hymn, sung without accompaniment. After it's over, there is silence.

This day most definitely has some of the most beautiful music of the year.

Anglican Chant XIV: Psalm 150, Sunday Choral Evensong

2011-04-11T19:31:00.001-04:00

"The Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, under the direction of John Scott, sings Psalm 150 in closing procession at Sunday Choral Evensong. Choral Evensong occurs most Sundays (September - May) at 4pm and many Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 5:30pm. See www.SaintThomasChurch.org/music for details."

Coverdale again:

1 O praise God in his holiness *
praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him in his noble acts *
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him in the sound of the trumpet *
praise him upon the lute and harp.
4 Praise him in the cymbals and dances *
praise him upon the strings and pipe.
5 Praise him upon the well-tuned cymbals *
praise him upon the loud cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath *
praise the Lord.

Anglican Chant XIII: Psalm 40

2011-04-11T19:21:00.003-04:00

"Sung during Choral Evensong at Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal) in Cleveland, Ohio March 24, 2010 Trinity Chamber Singers Horst Buchholz, Choirmaster Todd Wilson, Organist"

This time, the text comes from the 1979 BCP Psalter:

Expectans, expectavi

1 I waited patiently upon the LORD; *

he stooped to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; *

he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; *

many shall see, and stand in awe, and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Happy are they who trust in the LORD! *

they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

5 Great things are they that you have done, O LORD my God!

how great your wonders and your plans for us! *

there is none who can be compared with you.

6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *

but they are more than I can count.

7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *

(you have given me ears to hear you);

8 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *

and so I said, "Behold, I come.

9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *

I love to do your will, O my God; your law is deep in my heart.'"

10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *

behold, I did not restrain my lips; and that, O LORD, you know.

11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; *

I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.

Office hymns "On the Feast of the Dedication of a Church"

2011-04-08T22:46:00.004-04:00

I realized recently that I've never completed the seasonal schedule of Daily Office Hymns! I went from Advent through the octave of Pentecost (skipping a few things that don't match up with modern practice, and more on those later) - but neglected Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and the "Ordinary Time" hymns. ("Ordinary Time" is a new designation, of course; what I mean is the hymns used daily from Corpus Christi through the start of Advent, except for saints' days and All Saints/All Souls). I've missed a few others as well - the hymns for the "little hours," among other things - and will work out which things I need to remedy and fix them all as I go along this year.

I also missed the hymns for "the Feast of the Dedication of a Church," which is the last listing under "Proper of the Season" in Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books. And that's an interesting one, so I'll do it now. For the Dedication of a Church, the hymns are as follows:

1st Evensong & Mattins: Urbs beata Hierusalem..............45
Lauds & 2nd Evensong: Angulare fundamentum....................45

That's this tune:

Below is the hymn in Latin; it was hard to find all four verses online!. Most sources just gave the first one. But The Latin hymns of the Anglo-Saxon church: with an interlinear Anglo-Saxon gloss to the rescue again!

Urbs beata Hierusalem
Dicta pacis visio
Que construitur in celis
Vivis ex lapidibus
Et Angelis coornata
Ut sponsata comite.

Nova veniens e celo
Nuptiali thalamo
Preparata ut sponsata
Copulatur Domino
Piatee et muri ejus
Ex auro purissimo.

Porte nitent margaritis
Aditis patentibus
Et vir tute meritorum
Illuc introducitur
Omnis qui pro Christi nomine
Hic in mundo premitur.

Tonsioribus pressuris
Expoliti lapides
Suisque aptantur locis
Per manus artificis
Disponuntur permansuri
Sacris edificas.

Oremus hymnal online has a midi of the plainsong, and more verses of the J.M. Neale translation:

Blessed city, heavenly Salem,
vision dear of peace and love,
who of living stones art builded
in the height of heaven above,
and, with angel hosts encircled,
as a bride dost earthward move;

from celestial realms descending,
bridal glory round thee shed,
meet for him whose love espoused thee,
to thy Lord shalt thou be led;
all thy streets and all thy bulwarks
of pure gold are fashioned.

Bright thy gates of pearl are shining;
they are open evermore;
and by virtue of his merits
thither faithful souls do soar,
who for Christ's dear Name in this world
pain and tribulation bore.

Many a blow and biting sculpture
polished well those stones elect,
in their places now compacted
by the heavenly Architect,
who therewith hath willed for ever
that his palace should be decked.

Laud and honor to the Father,
laud and honor to the Son,
laud and honor to the Spirit,
ever Three, and ever One,
consubstantial, coeternal,
while unending ages run.

Here's a Guilliame DuFay version of the hymn that uses this plainsong melody as its introduction:

Giovanni Vianini, though, sings a different tune using the same text (I think!):

You'll find quite a bit more about this hymn - which dates from the 7th or 8th century, it says - at New Advent. It's obvious that much of the text was taken from Revelation, but NA gives three sources: Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:5; and Apocalypse [Revelation] 21.

The Lauds and 2nd Vespers hymn, Angulare fundamentum, uses the same melody - and comes from the same original hymn text; this is still another instance of a long hymn broken into parts for use during the various Offices of the day.

More from NA:

Sung in the Office of the Dedication of a Church, the first four stanzas were usually assigned to Vespers and Matins, the last four to Lauds. In the revision by the correctors under Urban VIII (see BREVIARY) the unquantitative, accentual, trochaic rhythm was changed into quantitative, iambic metre (with an addition syllable), and the stanza appears in the Breviary with divided lines:

Coelestis Urbs Jerusalem,
Beata pacis visio,
Quæ celsa de viventibus
Saxis ad astra tolleris,
Sponsæque ritu cingeris
Mille Angelorum millibus.
The original hymn for Lauds (Angularis fundamentum lapis Christus missus est) was changed into "Alto ex Olympi vertice", etc. Hymnologists, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, criticise adversely the work of the correctors in general. Of this hymn in particular some think that, where as it did not suffer as much as some others, yet it lost much of its beauty in the revision; others declare that it was admirably transformed without unduly modifying the sense.

Here's the hymn in Latin, from the Esperanto Breviary (my favorite!):

Angularis fundamentum
lapis Christus missus est,
qui parietum compage
in utroque nectitur,
quem Sion sancta suscepit,
in quo credens permanet.

Omnis illa Deo sacra
et dilecta civitas,
plena modulis in laude
et canore iubilo,
trinum Deum unicumque
cum fervore prædicat.

Hoc in templo, summe Deus,
exoratus adveni,
et clementi bonitate
precum vota suscipe;
largam benedictionem
hic infunde iugiter.

Hic promereantur omnes
petita acquirere
et adepta possidere
cum sanctis perenniter,
paradisum introire
translati in requiem.

Gloria et honor Deo
usquequaque altissimo,
una Patri Filioque
atque Sancto Flamini,
quibus laudes et potestas
per æterna sæcula.

And here's J.M. Neale's translation - sure to be familiar and in fact you can go ahead and sing it to the plainsong, since it uses the same meter!

Christ is made the sure Foundation,
Christ the Head and Cornerstone;
Chosen of the Lord, and precious,
Binding all the Church in one,
Holy Zion’s Help forever,
And her Confidence alone.

All that dedicated city,
Dearly loved of God on high,
In exultant jubilation,
Pours perpetual melody,
God the One in Three adoring
In glad hymns eternally.

To this temple, where we call Thee,
Come, O Lord of Hosts, today;
With Thy wonted lovingkindness
Hear Thy servants as they pray.
And Thy fullest benediction
Shed within its walls alway.

Here vouchsafe to all Thy servants
What they ask of Thee to gain;
What they gain from Thee forever
With the blessèd to retain,
And hereafter in Thy glory
Evermore with Thee to reign.

Laud and honor to the Father,
Laud and honor to the Son,
Laud and honor to the Spirit,
Ever Three and ever One;
Consubstantial, co-eternal,
While unending ages run.

If you'd rather sing it to the more familiar Purcell tune, here's interesting version of "Christ is made the sure foundation":

(Or, for a funnier take on the hymn, use this version (to which you shouldn't listen if you are offended by salty language or irreverent humor):

)

The Liturgy Office of the Catholic Church in England and Wales offers this PDF document describing the rites for the Dedication of a Church.

YouTube - F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy - (4/4) Symphony No. 5 in D minor "Reformation" - IV. Andante - Allegro

2011-04-08T20:18:00.001-04:00

YouTube - F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy - (4/4) Symphony No. 5 in D minor "Reformation" - IV. Andante - Allegro

HT Dan.