Vespers, anyone?
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    I think I started a topic relating to this some time ago, but who among you has Vespers or other parts of the Divine Office regularly chanted or sung in your parish?
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    Every day.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    Vespers is sung every Wednesday at the Young adult adoration group.

    At my other "unofficial" parish, the office is sung most Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings, and I think recited after all the daily Masses.
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    Public (i.e., advertised) celebrations:

    Sung:
    — Tuesday Vespers after Mass, usually in front of the exposed Sacrament.
    — Saturday Lauds after Mass, usually in front of the exposed Sacrament.

    Recited:
    — Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Lauds after Mass (Wed., usually in front of the exposed Sacrament).

    Other times:

    Sung:
    — Sunday Vespers II, to begin men's choir rehearsal.
    — Wednesday Vespers, to begin choir rehearsal.
    — First Friday, as part of men's group, in front of the exposed Sacrament.
  • Daniel Bennett PageDaniel Bennett Page
    Posts: 835
    Evensong (Anglican Use)
    every Sunday, 4:30 pm
    followed by concerts on the third Sunday of each month
    hoping for recited office other time!
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    Hmmmm... I bet no one can guess who is the MD at my "unofficial" parish... :)
  • Joseph MendesJoseph Mendes
    Posts: 99
    The local Sisters of Saint Joseph are doing "Vespers."
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    @ Joseph Mendes,

    Your link took me to a site featuring.......Marty Haugen. Since I'm not at a computer right now but only a cell phone, listening to the Vespers playlist will have to wait until tomorrow. :)
  • Joseph MendesJoseph Mendes
    Posts: 99
    Here is the description:

    "Now the Feast and Celebration was commissioned by the Campus Ministry Department of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. Although based on the Lutheran Communion Service, much of this material will be of interest to all Christian denominations. Contemporary and inclusive language is featured throughout this setting.

    "Holden Evening Prayer was written in 1985-86 while Marty was the musician–in–residence at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in Washington state. This lovely setting of vespers follows the traditional form while using contemporary and inclusive language."

    Remember, people, these are religious doing this!
  • Blaise
    Posts: 439
    Well, since I started this thread, time for me to discribe my parish program of the sung Divine Office:

    During the school year:

    Evensong (Anglican Use Vespers) sung once a month by Musica Sacra San Antonio, our parish schola (SATB) in residence, conducted by Dr. Robert M. Finster.

    During Lent:

    Chanted Evensong every Friday except Good Friday.

    All Souls Day:

    Choral Evensong by parish & academy choirs, with guest instrumentalists & organist, with Preces and Responses, Magnificat, Nunc DImittis, and Requiem sung chorally. Congregation sing hymns. Chanted introit & "O Gracious Light", parts for the people, such as Apostles Creed & Lord's Prayer.

    Advent Sunday evenings & other occasions:

    Chanted Compline (closing office of the Latin Church day).
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    DBP - am I correct? You are not an AU parish but you sing evensong every Sunday at 4.00? How nice!
  • Daniel Bennett PageDaniel Bennett Page
    Posts: 835
    We're 'proto-AU' : awaiting a property settlement.
    Sunday morning : English (Knott) Missal
    Sunday afternoon: Manual of Plainsong
  • quilisma
    Posts: 136
    We did it yesterday, for the first time. (Second Vespers)
    In terms of music, it was 90% Gregorian, 10% vernacular.

    Some slight family difficulties though, because of the obligation to attend Mass on a Sunday. There weren't many in the congregation. Maybe the obligation also prevents quite a few others from attending. You know...coming out twice in one day, or spending an extra half-hour in church
    Of course, we could try and squeeze it in just before the evening Mass. I'll have to work on that one....
  • Chris_McAvoyChris_McAvoy
    Posts: 389
    The canons of new jerusalem in Charlestown, WV , sing vespers in latin almost everyday, and do an extraordinarily good job at it, the attendance varies immensely. Not as much as masses, but maybe handful on Sunday evening.

    Well, I found even with "the average" traditionalist, unless they are musically proficient, the office is best sung in english for beginners, that being known to me, I tried to initiate singing Vespers for Christ the King a week or two ago with two acquaintances.

    I made it all in english, with the revised grail psalms and all the traditional music adapted nicely from the usual (anglican) sources.
    The revised grail psalms are a very good translation, the more I use them the more I like them.

    They are not a translation up to par with the E. Orthodox Holy Transifiguration septuagint, Douay rheims or perhaps even coverdale translations. But they are in their revised state much closer to a modernized paraphrased douay rheims than I had expected, in key important words. They are a compromise not so difficult to make for a traditional minded person.

    The Revised Grail are almost equal to the 1979 BCP Psalms of the episcopal church. I couldnt easily say which is better.

    The only problem was. I followed the Benedictine "Antiphonale Monasticum" of 2005. This was because it was a convenient way of preserving the traditional form as much as possible while officially conforming to post-vat-II liturgical requirements for the having it entirely in the english language.

    The two other people I was with only had "The Liturgy of the Hours" books and one did not desire to use the Benedictine Office because he was in his own words "not a monk". Since he had spent time in a benedictine monastery and was fluent in chant notation this was for me a surprising response. This ment it was not going to be possible that time to gain their participation.

    As a hope for better results in future I decided to attempt a compromise. I promised to try to make a similar booklet for another solemnity that did conform to the Liturgy of Hours rubrics and texts yet also used english chant propers.

    I think the Church would do well to have another go at something like an improved Mundelein psalter. A "noted" musical version of the official "Liturgy of the Hours" containing all chant propers in english with revised grail psalms and hymns and all elements, in a single book. (A latin version to complement it was also be good).

    This is a project I think that some members here could come together to work on, much as happened with "The Simple English" Propers.
    I have found practically all the resources needed to compile such a book, but alone as one person would take me a few years to complete.

    Food for thought eh?

    I may yet try again with the Anglican use or evensong instead. It is certainly far better than a "do it yourself " made up musical Liturgy of the Hours that no one can follow along with. At least with evensong one can't complain that it is "only for monks" (even though 90% of the modern benedictine music matches that of traditional secular roman rite propers), though i expect someone may say it is "only for anglicans". What trials we encounter...
  • Simon
    Posts: 158
    The Schola Cantorum Amsterdam has been singing Latin plainsong (Gregorian Chant) vespers every Sunday for over 30 years. Presently we sing in the Nicolaaskerk immediately opposiste Amsterdam's Central Station (since 1993). Additionally we sing Matins on the evening before All Souls, Maundy Thursday, and Pentecost. Paschal Matins (of which we made a CD of the complete service) are sung early Easter morning. In some years matins for Ephiphany and Ascension Day. On an incidental basis we sing compline. Although the Nicolaaskerk is a Catholic church, an Anglican evensong service is sung every Saturday and has been sung since the appointment of an English organist and choir director in 2000.
  • Pedro d'Aquino
    Posts: 128
    The Schola cantorum of the Church of the Holy Innocents in New York City sings Solemn Vespers on Sundays (according to the 1962 Roman Breviary) followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. In addition, the offices of Vespers & Compline are sung on First Fridays (normally the Votive Office of the Sacred Heart) coram Sanctissimo. Normally, because in January 2012 the Feast of the Epiphany falls on the First Friday, so the office of the day will be sung instead. Of course the offices are sung entirely in Latin, but there is often a homily after Vespers and there may be vernacular devotions at Benediction, including one or more hymns in English.
  • a1437053a1437053
    Posts: 198
    Who leads these Liturgies? Laypeople? Priests? Deacons?
  • Pedro d'Aquino
    Posts: 128
    At Holy Innocents (NYC) they are led by priests assisted by four or more lay servers, hence Solemn Vespers. On major feasts the priest is often attended by two other priests who assist in copes.
  • Mike R
    Posts: 106
    I was recently teaching the documents of Vatican II, and on rereading Sacrosanctum Concilium, I realized that the Council specifically called for public Vespers at least weekly:

    "100. Pastors of souls should see to it that the chief hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. And the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."
  • JahazaJahaza
    Posts: 470
    I don't have a citation handy, but I believe the Sunday Vespers were also required by one or several of the Councils of Baltimore.

    In addition to the Sunday celebration at Holy Innocents mentioned by Pedro above, I'm also involved in singing for Byzantine Rite Vespers on Saturday here in NYC at St. Michael's, the Russian Catholic chapel.

    We've had occasional celebrations of the office and Benediction for special parish occasions at the third place I serve regularly, Our Saviour, about once a year.
  • Pedro d'Aquino
    Posts: 128
    Title vi(iii) of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore (7-21 October 1866) mandated that the rudiments of Gregorian chant be taught in the parish schools (with a view to the singing of Vespers).

    At the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (9 November-7 December 1884) in Title iii(iv) it was decreed that the Psalms of Vespers were not to be curtailed.

    Before those decrees, the First Plenary Council of Baltimore (9-20 May 1852) promulgated a Ceremonial for the Use of the Catholic Churches in the United States of America (the so-called "Baltimore" Ceremonial) and mandated its use throughout the country. It went through at least nine editions that I am aware of, the ninth having been published in 1941.

    I don't know if any of the Provincial or Plenary Councils of Baltimore required that Sunday Vespers be sung in parish churches, but it seems from the Ceremonial and the above decrees that it was assumed that such was the case.
  • mahrt
    Posts: 517
    Members of the St. Ann Choir in Palo Alto have sung Vespers every Sunday since 1974. We follow the Old Rite, essentially from the Liber Usualis; most Sundays we sing some polyphony, usually two or three psalms in falsobordone, a polyphonic hymn, a faburden setting of the Magnificat, and a motet after the Vespers. AFter dinner at one member's house, we sing Compline.
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