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It may be time to move to Britain!

This may be a day early, but today we had our usual Sung Saturday Mass... only two of us today and we sang from the sanctuary.

Ember Saturday,
All Propers sung in full from the Graduale (1924 ed.)
INT. Veni et ostende
KYR. Mass XVIII
GRAD 1. A summo
GRAD 2. In sole
GRAD 3. Domine Deus
GRAD 4. Excita Domine
HYMN. Benedictus es Domine
TRACT. Qui Regis
OFF. Exsulta satis
OFF. Hymn En Clara Vox, Roman melody
SANCTUS. XVIII
AGNUS. XVIII
COM. Exsultavit
COM. Hymn Conditor Alme.., Roman melody
Marian Anthem, Alma..., Simple tone
RES. Rorate Caeli, with 4th verse.

our church hall, this also has a licensed bar

Good Lord. Why would you ever leave church????

St. Mel- Cleveland, OH

All Masses
Entrance- O Come, All Ye Faithful (3 English verses, 1 Latin)
Heritage Mass
Communion- The First Nowell
Postlude- Quem Pastores- Held

Vigil Mass with Choir
Prelude- Still, Still, Still
Prelude- What Child is This
Prelude- Hush, the Holy Child is Sleeping
Blessing of Manger- Silent Night
Offertory- O Little Town of Bethlehem

All other Masses will feature instrumental prelude/offertory

Mater Dei, Harrisburg, PA

12/24-25 Midnight Mass, Sung Mass, carols beginning at 11:30pm
12/25 Mass During the Day, Sung Mass, 10am
12/26 Feast of St. Stephen, Sung Mass, 10am
12/28 Feast of the Holy Innocents, Solemn High Mass, 6:30pm
1/1 Octave of the Nativity, Sung Mass, 10am

As for tonight:

Carols beginning at 11:30 with Harp accompaniment:

Once in Royal David's City
The First Nowell
Good Christian Men, Rejoice
In the Bleak Midwinter
On Christmas Night All Christians Sing
Silent Night
Corde Natus Ex Parentis
I Saw Three Ships
Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

Mass:

Procession: Joy to the World
Full Gregorian propers
Kyriale: Messe a Tre Voci, Antonio Lotti
Credo: III
Offertory Motet: Quem Pastores Laudavere (SATB)
Communion Motet: O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria)
Recessional: O Come All Ye Faithful (Willcocks arrangement)
Postlude: Hallelujah Chorus

Currently not singing or doing anything Christmas-y, so here is yesterday, the 4th Sunday of Advent:

Mass XVII
Credo I
O Come, Emmanuel
O Panis Dulcissime
...something else, and I'm blanking on it.

The BBC Midnight Mass from Buckfast Abbey in Devon was nice too!

St. Joseph's
Greenwood, IN
Christmas

11:15 - Full choir sings Christmas carols
11:30 - Reen Family Quartet plays Corelli's Concerto #7 and Schubert's Ave Maria
11:45 - Full choir sings Silent Night (happy 200th birthday!) as Father places Baby Jesus in the Manger Scene

12:00 - Midnight Mass

PROCESSIONAL: Wade, O Come, All Ye Faithful
MASS SETTING: Viadana, Missa L'Hora Passa (bells rung during the Gloria)
CREDO: IV
PROPERS: Full Gregorian
OFFERTORY MOTET: Saint-Saens, Tollite Hostias
COMMUNION MOTETS:
Victoria, O Magnum Mysterium
Chant,Puer Natus in Bethlehem
Chant, Resonet in Laudibus
RECESSIONAL: Handel, Joy to the World

Two Postludes:
- Full choir singing polyphonic Gaudete Christus est natus with drone on verses
- Bach's Invention #2 for organ

You could tell tonight was going to be special when the choir started practicing the Gaudete and you could feel the energy surging through the piece. There was a feeling of joyous expectation throughout the whole night, both in anticipation of the celebration of the Feast day itself, and the fact that this choir was taking its musical expertise to a whole new level.

As per tradition, Midnight Mass was offered by candlelight, and the servers donned red cassocks for one of the only times during the year. As the quartet began playing their 'set', and I contemplated all that had passed in the previous year of my life, I couldn't help but see the shadows of the string players projected against the wall of the sanctuary. I was in some strange way reminded of Plato's Cave - the beauties that we see and hear in this life, no matter how great they are, are but a foreboding of things to come.

In addition, we had a special Christmas gift for the choir - 20 new copies of the choir edition of the revised Traditional Roman Hymnal, which we used for the first time. The choir director emeritus (it can be hard to keep track; our choir now has at least six practicing or lapsed choir directors in its ranks) was excited and adamant about our using this book, now being able for the first time to use only one book for all of our liturgical needs during Mass! Well, time comes to sing Adeste Fideles, our first time using the new hymnal, and Choir Director Emeritus turns to us immediately afterwards to say "I don't like that new arrangement!" One can only chuckle - to paraphrase Aquinas, schola unius libri timeo.

All in all, though, everything fell into place, as it should. Father himself praised the choir in his homily, thanking the choir for "continually contributing to the brilliance of the liturgical celebrations at our chapel". At the conclusion of mass, I continued a tradition started by my mentor in Gregorian chant, Charles Wyeth, by handing out Rocher chocolates to the choir members. I had a pleasant surprise when Maddie, the choir's newest member and generally a very shy girl, gave me a hand-crafted Christmas card she had made herself. All of this, followed by a reception in the basement which included (in no particular order) impromptu basketball games, me cooking pounds of bacon in a cupcake apron, drinking whiskey shots with Father from the Jim Beam Advent Calendar, and numerous quotations from the works of Maculay Culkin and Japanese anime. It was, above all else, an eclectic, and ecstatic, celebration of our Lord's Birth - I've come to expect nothing less from this place.

Feast of St. John, Propers led my me, Ordinary led by my wife and my mother. No other choir members made it today.

INT. In medio, (G.R. 1924)
KYR. IV.
GLORIA. IV.
GRAD. Exiit sermo (Psalm tone)
ALL. Hic est (G.R. 1924)
CREDO I.
OFF. Justus ut palma (psalm tone)
OFF. Amore Christi nobilis, (Office Hymn)
SANCTUS. IV.
AGNUS. IV.
COM. Exiit sermo (psalm tone)
COM. Exsultet caelum laudibus, (Office Hymn)
Marian Anthem, Alma..., Solemn tone.
RES. Puer Natus in Bethlehem, 2 verses

And now we get tomorrow off before we are back singing on Saturday.

Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity, all propers sung in full from the G.R. 1924. 4 men and 3 ladies in choir.

Asperges (1st version)
INT. Dum medium
KYR. IX
GLORIA IX
GRAD. Speciosus
ALL. Dominus regnavit
CREDO. I
OFF. Deus enim
OFF. Intonent Mariae Laudes (Christmas sequence, imitation of the pascal sequence)
SANCTUS. IX
AGNUS. IX
COM. Tolle puerum
COM. Personent hodie
Domine Salvum fac
Marian Anthem, Alma..., Simple tone

Just back from Midnight Mass, Feast of the Circumcision. With opportunities to gain both plenary indulgences! 4 men and 1 lady in the choir and a former choir director in the congregation.

Exposition from 10.30pm, Te Deum and prayer at 11.30pm followed by Benediction.
(O salutaris, Tantum ego and Adoremus...)
INT. Puer natus est, INT, 1st verse, INT, Gp, INT.
KYR. IX.
GLORIA IX.
GRAD. Viderunt omnes
ALL. Multifarie olim
CREDO I.
OFF. Tui Sunt
OFF. Christe Redemptor omnium (Dominican melody)
SANCTUS. IX.
AGNUS. IX.
COM. Viderunt omnes
COM. Puer natus in Bethlehem.
Veni Creator Spiritus, with prayer
Marian Anthem, Alma..., Solemn tone.

And we may have an extra sung Mass in a few hours time!

Oh and we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year!

The Octave day of St. John, almost a repeat of last week!
Propers led my me, Ordinary led by my wife. No other choir members made it today.

INT. In medio, (G.R. 1924)
KYR. IV.
GLORIA. IV.
GRAD. Exiit sermo (G.R. 1924)
ALL. Hic est (G.R. 1924)
OFF. Justus ut palma (psalm tone)
OFF. Amore Christi nobilis, (Office Hymn)
SANCTUS. IV.
AGNUS. IV.
COM. Exiit sermo (psalm tone)
COM. Exsultet caelum laudibus, (Office Hymn)
Marian Anthem, Alma..., Simple tone.

We get tomorrow off before we are back singing on Saturday, for the Vigil of the Epiphany with Blessing of Water, Chalk and Salt!

Since it is still Christmastide...
6 men and 4 ladies in attendance, Propers led by 2 male cantors sung in full from G.R. 1924, Ordinary led by male and female cantors. And even some polyphony!

Feast of the Epiphany.
Asperges (1st version)
INT. Ecce advenit
KYR. II
GLORIA II
GRAD. Omnes de Saba
ALL. Vidimus stellam
Proclamation (Novertis) of Feasts sung by the Priest
CREDO. I
OFF. Regis Tharsis
OFF. Tribus miraculis (Magnificat antiphon)
SANCTUS. II
AGNUS. II
COM. Vidimus
COM. Illuminans altissime (Ambrosian Office Hymn)
Domine Salvum fac
Marian Anthem, Alma Redemptoris Mater, Francisco Guerrero

We have been asked to sing tomorrow... so some of us will attempt to dash from work!

Feast of the Holy Family, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Cloud, MN.
Mass XI, with Credo III and Gregorian gradual, offertory and Introit.

Kings of Orient
O Sanctissima
Ubi Caritas
Flos Jesse (Lo, How a Rose in Latin)

Because of an induction into the Holy Name Society, after the Last Gospel...

Veni Creator Spiritus
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (recessional)