Progress in Holy Week Liturgy
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,507
    Thought I might open a thread about Holy Week, and ask whether anyone has learned new chant or polyphony, made significant steps towards the use of propers, or other aspects of sacred music.
    Thanked by 1Ben
  • Jani
    Posts: 441
    Among other things, Good Friday reproaches are in the lineup- first time ever!
    Thanked by 1hilluminar
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,501


    These are new for us this year:
    Holy Thursday Communion Proper: Simplex: Calicem Salutaris
    Good Friday: Victoria: Popule Meus
    Holy Saturday: Nestor: I Saw Water
  • Yay reproaches! We're doing a whole new thing that probably hasn't been done here since the implication of Vatican II:

    Holy Thursday
    All Propers from Bartlett's SEP
    Mass VIII Gloria
    Responsorial Psalm from Oost-Zinner's PBOP
    All 7 Antiphons from Bartlett's new Lumen Christi Series for Washing of Feet
    Anima Christi following the Communion antiphon
    Pange Lingua/Tantum Ergo for Eucharistic Procession

    Basically, my choir is learning a whole new Holy Week! It's an exciting thing! Of course, I'm new to the parish myself, so we're all learning it together.
  • Once you've settled on good settings of ritual music for Holy Week, it makes it easier from year to year to change only a few things. This year, our good new things are:

    Holy Thursday - Mandatum (Peter Latona)
    (We were THIS close to singing the Victoria Passion on Good Friday)
    Easter Vigil - My setting of the Easter Alleluia, SATB based on the Gregorian.
    Easter Sunday - I Am Risen / Ressurexi (Richard J. Clark)
    Thanked by 1jpal
  • Spriggo
    Posts: 122
    Crux Fidelis on Good Friday.
  • Jani
    Posts: 441
    What Andrew said.

    What is great for me is that we will celebrate Easter Sunday this year again instead of the Vigil (small town sacrifice) so I'm getting to learn more new pieces. And the most gratifying thing is - sorry to be a broken record - the people love it!

    But that Vigil - I could sing it cold at the last minute and not miss a beat, we did it the same way forever!
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    We've done the Improperia tandem with the Victoria O populo meus the last two GF's.
    This year the chanted only, then the Anerio "Crux fidelis."
    We're also resurrecting an old chestnut for Vigil/Easter, M. Haydn's "Alleluia."
  • kevinfkevinf
    Posts: 1,189
    Big progress:
    Proper entrance and communion antiphon for Holy Thursday along with the Durufle Ubi Caritas. The Pange Lingua In Latin along the last two verses set by Durufle (they love that piece here.)
    The reproaches for Good Friday, a big move forward.
    Frank LaRocca's Christ Our passover for Easter along with the Randall Thompson Alleluia. My choirs work hard for Holy Week, but they always surprise me with their artistry.
    Thanked by 2BruceL CHGiffen
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Y'all don't forget to go to CPDL or in a thread here for Heath Morber's THE WISDOM OF GOD for Mandatum, if you haven't another piece. That way those who might use "Ubi..." at that rite could restore it to the Offertorio.
    Thanked by 2hilluminar CHGiffen
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,187
    Tantum ergo - Déodat de Séverac (1872-1921) ... (Score available at CPDL):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU7rFEOzgcg

  • BruceL
    Posts: 1,072
    Charles! My rector had mentioned this piece recently...had never heard of it. Very nice!
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Thank you, Chuck, will compliment the Morber piece quite wonderfully.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    I'm just hoping nobody will complain about Pange Lingua actually being in Latin this year. It's normally been sung in English.
    Thanked by 1Kathy
  • jpal
    Posts: 365
    We have already been in a pretty good place in the past few years, given the current abilities of the choir. However I would say our two biggest improvements this year are that we are singing the Missa de Angelis at Easter Vigil, and the priest is singing the Exsultet (rather than yours truly :-).
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • Never ever forget Kevin Allen's Tantum Ergo.
  • For the last four years for Good Friday we have been singing much from the Graduale,
    with Victoria's setting of "Popule Meus" with the chant verses (Thanks CPDL!). We sing a Mode 8 setting of Psalm 31, done by Fr. Jeffrey R. Keyes, CPPS. The Passion is chanted in English by a Counter-tenor, Tenor (Narrator), and Fr. Keyes (Christus). During the Holy Communion we sing "Adoramus te" ... Dubois, "Ave verum Corpus" ... Byrd, "Tenebrae factae sunt" & "O Bone Jesu" ... Ingegneri. Our two newest motets will come on Easter Day: "Haec es dies" a 5 ... Palestrina, as a choral prelude, and Palestrina's "Terra tremuit" a 5 after the offertorium chant. A great joy for us this Lent and Easter season is to have with us as an artist-in-residence and guest precentor the very talented Jeffrey Morse, who will be sharing with us his knowledge of the "Mary Berry Tradition." We are very much looking forward to Easter this year!
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Yahoo-oooo!
    Just received new pastor's fiat on chanting the Passions!

    Samuel, you hound, what a coup! I'm gonna keep looking for a place for him in Fresno Diocese. It isn't Sutter County, but we have Yosemite and Sequoia Nat'l's.
    Thanked by 1Andrew Motyka
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,698
    I would insert a comment here about him needing to move to a dryer climate... But I will refrain this once.
    Thanked by 1Ben
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Why would Maestro Morse need to live in a dryer climate, does he have an inordinate amount of laundry? One would think that it's generally drier enough in PHX to just hang the tidy whities outside for about 10 minutes.
    And I thought you weren't too keen on "refrains." Hmmm, learn somethin' new ever' day.
  • WendiWendi
    Posts: 638
    Ave Verum (chant) Ubi Caritas (chant) Pange Lingua for Holy Thursday.

    Crucem Tuam, Stabat Mater (Simple Tone) and Miserere (Allegri) for Good Friday.

    This is the choir's first year, so we started simple. The Miserere is the only choral piece we learned. We'll add next year.

    Propers on Easter Sunday for the "high" Mass. Baby steps...it's a start. Eventually maybe we'll sing the Propers at all the Masses.

  • G
    Posts: 1,400
    I'm just hoping nobody will complain about Pange Lingua actually being in Latin this year. It's normally been sung in English.

    Ha! I had forgotten, we had four parishes with a single pastor coming together one Holy Thursday, and I was over-ruled on the Latin.
    Alas, four parishes, four different translations of the Pange Lingua.

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • Doing the Reproaches from the Graduale Parvum instead of the Simplex. Otherwise all is same.
  • I'm just hoping nobody will complain about Pange Lingua actually being in Latin this year. It's normally been sung in English.


    I've never been at a parish where it takes 4 or fewer verses of the Pange lingua for Jesus to reach his destination; I always end up doing it in both languages. No one has ever complained.
    Thanked by 1BruceL
  • PaixGioiaAmorPaixGioiaAmor
    Posts: 1,473
    Funny thing. I worked at a nightmare place, to which I refer often here, although not by name or location of course. Anyhow, this was the place that complained incessantly about my use of Latin, and was one of the most "progressive" places in the diocese.

    My first Holy Week there, many people, including the whole choir, solemnly asserted to me that they have ALWAYS sung the entire Pange Lingua in Latin on Holy Thursday, which I of course happily did.

    You can't make this stuff up.

    On another note, it's always exciting to hear about people "first years" with a newly formed choir from scratch. Such exciting times. And it will only get better!
    Thanked by 1Andrew Motyka
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    I've been graced for two decades to be able to sing the PL chant in both Latin and English as our procession is very long, the the altar of repose is in a lovely building across the street. So as we're concluding with the chant, when we go into the darkness of the night outside, we switch to the Ricky Manalo ostinato a capella with soloists chanting verses above that, very nice and the people take that up as well.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,973
    We have always sung some Latin and some English verses. No one has complained about either or both.
  • WendiWendi
    Posts: 638
    It is exciting to be in my first year, and I can't speak for others of course, but I'm very grateful that I'm not building entirely from scratch. This incarnation of the choir is new and we have a lot of new members, however, the previous three choir directors all helped lay the foundation that I'm building on. The most recent one in particular (who was also the music director) actually introduced the Crucem Tuam last year. So I guess I don't know if singing it this year really qualifies as progress.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    That is a very magnanimous gesture to point toward your predecessor Wendi, and acknowledge the continuity that the Church strives for in all its worship arts. When generations "turn" within a parish, the most gratifying experience for the Faithful in the pews is that the "wheel or worship" not be re-invented. Your folding in of past practices and repertoire is a most responsible act in keeping that continuum.
    We all owe our predecessors a gratitude for their time, talent and efforts to serve the Holy Mass. Good on ye, dearest.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • mloucks
    Posts: 7
    New this past year...

    HOLY THURSDAY: Introit; Ubi Caritas (Offertory): Panis Angelicus (Palestrina); all Propers sung by Schola and OLF trebles accompanied by our Viol Consort; Psalm 22 (stripping of altar).

    GOOD FRIDAY: Passion (past 5 years), Reproaches (last year) - unaccompanied

    EASTER MORNING: Haec dies quam fecit Dominus (Graduale Simplex). Beautiful!

    *New: Organ silent from "Gloria" Maundy Thursday to "Gloria" Easter Vigil
  • Couple of new things for us this year at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, in addition to the usual ordinaries and propers.

    Holy Thursday
    Ubi Caritas Ola Gjeilo
    Mandatum Peter Latona
    Ave Verum Corpus Flor Peeters
    Pange lingua is chanted in Latin, English and Vietnamese

    Good Friday
    O Vos Omnes Pablo Casals
    The Reproaches John Sanders
    Crucifixus a 8 Antonio Lotti
    Salvator mundi Herbert Howells

    Easter Vigil
    I Saw Water Flowing Leo Nestor
    Haec Dies Herbert Howells
    Regina Coeli Giovanni da Palestrina

    Easter Sunday (Children's Choir with Adult Men
    Easter Carol Richard Proulx
    I Saw Water Flowing Nestor
    Regina Coeli Palestrina
    Thanked by 2melofluent BruceL
  • Ah, we're giving the Gjeilo a stab at the Chrism Mass this year. Beautiful piece.
  • New this year:
    Schola men to sing 1st responsory of Good Friday (1 more responsory next year and we'll have covered full propers for Triduum!)
    O Jesu Christe, Berchem
    Christus factus est, Anerio

    Returning for the second year:
    Miserere, Allegri
  • bkenney27bkenney27
    Posts: 444
    I LOVE Allegri's Miserere!
    Thanked by 1Ben
  • WendiWendi
    Posts: 638
    I do too. As long as we can find a coloratura to sing that soprano line I'll program it. We tend to have college students sing it and they keep graduating on me. :)

    I love the Gjeilo piece...it's on my list to learn for next year.