Christmas Program
  • Ralph BednarzRalph Bednarz
    Posts: 493
    Our Christmas Program is quite humble.the choir's prelude music is not listed.
    But considering that :
    1. we use OCP and
    2. no one in our choir can sight sing. (and compared to must of you I will have to include myself)
    3, all chants including ICEL are chanted at a good pace acapella
    3. this now represents a typical liturgy at our parish.
    4. it is not without opposition
    5. The Missa de Angelis GLORIA,(listed in the program) because of its familiarity here is now preferred by others over some of
    popular settings
    I am having a good Christmas.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,973
    Looks very good to me!
  • SpeakNSpirit
    Posts: 45
    I will have to agree! That is a magnificent program! You are leaps and bounds beyond any parish I've come across so far. And since you say that no one in your choir can sight sing, it's a great testament that proper liturgical music is really do-able! Thank you for that inspiration and witness.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,211
    Bravo! Merry Christmas!
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Ralph, you certainly didn't shoot yer eye out with that ordo! ;-)
    You're shooting for the moon and succeeding. It is an honor to know you.
    To you and yours, a merry and magnificat Nativity!
  • IanWIanW
    Posts: 762
    Very impressive, Ralph. A good example of what's possible.

    I've attached the chant parts of what we're doing tonight, ex the Ordinary (missa de angelis), as another example of what those who aren't chant specialists can do. Our various parish musicians come together at times like this at the same Mass, and some of them don't regularly sing chant, but with a little good will and rehearsal they manage very creditably. It helps that we did exactly the same last year!
    Gospel_Acclamation_Midnight_Mass.pdf
    24K
    Midnight_Mass_Chanted_Propers.pdf
    94K
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    At my dad's parish. this is what we did for Midnight Mass:

    SEP Midnight Mass Introit
    Kalenda in English
    ICEL Gloria Chant (with organ)
    Responsorial Psalm setting borrowed from 2005 Papal Midnight Mass
    Gospel Acclamation setting borrowed from the installation Mass of Pope Benedict XVI
    Offertory: Silent Night
    Sanctus. Memorial Acclamation and Agnus Dei from the ICEL Chant (with irgan)
    Communion: SEP for Midnight Mass and O Come All Ye Faithful (taking a cue from the Papal Midnight Mass)
    Recessional: Joy to the World

    For the 11AM Mass, I had no organ. so I kept the same music. except for the psalm, which was composed by the former organist at my old parish in Austin and the propers, since I used the ones for the day. The celebrant used incense during the offertory, so I chanted the SEP Offertory Chant for the Christmas Mass during the day.

    The organist asked me why I used O Come All Ye Faithful for Communion. I told him that it was used at the Vatican. There is also a deeper meaning here, We come forward to receive Our Lord. We are going to the Bethlehem of the Altar. Bethlehem means "the House of Bread". We come forth to receive the Bread of Heaven. The One who was laid in a manger where animals were fed has now become our supernatural food and drink. I suppose that this may have been the reasoning behind using O Come, All Ye Faithful for Holy Communion.

    I do not know why OCP recommended What Child Is This and The First Noel for Christmas since these carols speak to the mystery of the Epiphany of the Magi.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,806
    Ian:

    Where is your post?
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    Ralph. if it is any comfort to you. I do not read music (yet). I learn through tutorial videos. I am nowhere in the same league as Jeffrey. JMO. Noel and the rest of the esteemed members. Down here, we do the best we can.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    BenedictGal, I find the link between communion and O Come all ye Faithful very interesting. Even though we didn't use it in that context, Bishop preached on that topic, among others. Very interesting.
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Out in the fertile CA central valley:
    Christmas 2011B.pdf
    123K
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,189
    I've always considered O come all ye faithful" an excellent choice for the communion hymn. The only other spot at Midnight Mass of Christmas is as the Entrance hymn - but Communion is so much better (at least to my way of thinking).
  • Ralph BednarzRalph Bednarz
    Posts: 493
    I know we have used "O Come All ye Faithful" during communion because have have a very vivid memory of me holding our two day old son while playing this hymn with my left hand and pedal while my wife went down the 39 steps and up a 200 ft aisle to receive communion.
  • MARYFA
    Posts: 9
    Do any U.S. parishes use the English Catholic Christmas carol/hymn 'Come
    to the manger'? It is unknown in Anglican churches but appears in all Catholic
    hymnbooks. We started Midnight Mass with it as always. Pre-vatican 2 as a
    teenage alto in our parish choir we used to sing it at the end, after Gounod's
    'Messe Solenelle ' with 'Adeste Fideles' at communion. We used to sing the
    Gatti / Novello arrangement of 'Come to the manger' which has a great alto
    melody in the third verse --Cantet nunc Io---. The carol itself appears to be
    anon. One copy I have links it with Downside Abbey and another gives the
    arranger as S. P Waddington. Along with 'Adeste' I think it is a link with
    pre-emancipation Catholicism in England and it seems to me to be a pity
    that our Catholic Cathedrals ignore it and now go all out for the Anglican
    Christmes hymns and carols.
    Do any Americans sing it?
  • MARYFA
    Posts: 9
    Apologies for my silly mistake. The Novelli arrangement with the alto obbligato in the third verse is 'Adeste Fideles' not 'Come to the manger'.
    There is a four-part arrangement of' 'Come to the manger ' by Charles Gatti
    which our pre Vatican 2 choir used to sing.
  • mahrt
    Posts: 517
    Our Christmas Masses were Latin novus ordo, with complete Gregorian propers and for the Midnight Mass (at Midnight), the Missa O Magnum Mysterium of Victoria and O Magnum Mysterium of Byrd, for the Day Mass, the Byrd Mass for Three Voices and the O Magnum Mysterium of Victoria.

    I congratulate all those, including St. Peters,for the evident progress in incorporating Gregorian chant into the solemn liturgies, particularly the propers of the Mass.
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,189
    Prof. Mahrt,

    The rediscovery/reincorporation of Gregorian chant in our solemn liturgies is truly something of a modern day renaissance. One can only hope and pray that, with this realignment at the highest levels of the church, there will eventually be much more acceptance at the local parish level.
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    CHGiffen:

    You make an interesting point. I went to the Christmas Vigil Mass with my dad at his parish. The organist did a really good job with the SEP (although he sang just the antiphon and then proceeded with hymns). After Mass, the two parishioners who had proclaimed the readings told me that they would actually prefer to have the chants (as they refer to the SEPs) for the Mass instead of hymns. For me, this was a pleasant surprise and it vindicated what we had been doing at the 11AM.

    Now, the difficult task remains to sell this concept to my parish where we are locked into OCP.
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