Mass of the Holy Spirit
  • Greeetings all. I seek the sum of your collective wisdom. I am a newbie who is teaching chant to a newly formed Chesterton Academy. Part of the curriculum includes teaching the "Mass of the Holy Spirit". It does give a composer's name or indicate if it is in English or Latin. Any help is appreciated in locating any kind of printed music for this mass.
  • I think you have to ask whoever drew up the curriculum for clarification. On the one hand - there is a votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, which could be in English or Latin, or some of each. On the other hand there is a specific tradition among Jesuits of starting the academic year with a Mass of the Holy Spirit, there are examples on youtube ranging all the way from half an hour said Mass all the way through to an hour and a half with lots of Latin chant. If you have beginners, the simplest Latin chant propers are found in the Graduale Simplex on p.395. That can be downloaded from the Resources page of this CMAA website.
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,078
    Attached are pages from the Roman Missal for the texts of the votive Masses of the Holy Spirit; three options.

    Here's a link to a Mass of the Holy Spirit booklet with simple chants in English, from Fr. Samuel Weber's Sacred Music website:
    https://sacredmusicus.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/mass-of-the-holy-spirit/

    With kids, if you wanted Latin chants, the Graduale Simplex is probably better than the Graduale Romanum. I've also attached the pages from the GS for a votive Mass of the Holy Spirit.

    Mass of the Holy Spirit Missal Texts.pdf
    1M
    Graduale Simplex Holy Spirit.pdf
    536K
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • Mark,

    Would you change this assessment
    the Graduale Simplex is probably better than the Graduale Romanum.
    if there were adequate time to prepare the students?
  • Wouldn't that depend on whether you are training a schola or teaching everyone regardless of aptitude?
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • Surely this refers to David Isele's, so called? From GIA.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen WGS MNadalin
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,211
    I wondered if it might refer to Paul Jernberg's setting of the Mass, which includes chants for the proper texts (entrance, offertory, communion) of the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit; it can be used for Confirmations or for the start of the school year.

    Here's a video of it; this link goes directly to the entrance chant:
    https://youtu.be/FQfy1G_PirM?t=155
    Thanked by 1WGS
  • To the OP: Surely the person who gave you the instruction / wrote the job description can point you to the edition they are desiring?
  • As someone also teaching somewhere similar I can tell you it does not refer to a musical Mass setting or to any specific music. The Mass is mostly like going to be a votive of the Holy Spirit where you are, so all you need to do is determine something appropriate to teach them to sing, and that will depend on the circumstances and will merit in any case a brief discussion with the priest offering the Mass so you know what Mass texts he will be using. The students will most likely be in their own pews with their parents, which presents a difficulty in calling them up multiple times through the Mass to sing this and that. You will have to work out what you want. Make a small booklet for them to sing from the pews? Have them sing a Veni Creator or a sung litany of the Holy Spirit as a prelude? Teach them whatever Mass setting is going to be sung? Since you have only a little time to teach them - this happening maybe two weeks into the school year - I would say less is more.