Church Dedication Mass help (OF)
  • I value the opinion and knowledge of those who visit this board and regularly contribute. I would appreciate some input on appropriate AND feasible music for a dedication Mass for a new church. Please bear in mind, Gregorian chant will be used for some of the ordinaries (specifically the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei), but we're still at a stage of relying heavily (for good or for ill) on hymnody for other settings. Time is of the essence and the choir is very small and without the time or fascilities to practice more than half a dozen times before the actual Mass.

    What hymns and/or other music would you recommend for the entrance, offertory or communion? Is there an appropriate introit psalm for the entrance for a dedication Mass? We use Tietze's "Introit Hymns" so it might be found in there - just know which one is supposed to be used. Your help and suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    I've sung only at one of these, at the FSSP parish in Atlanta. The entire service took 4-5 hours, and the schola sung chant throughout most it. There were no motets or hymns. Somehow I still can't fathom it all.
  • A quick update for anyone who's interested:

    I was able to find the propers for this Mass (of Dedication of a Church). It dawned on me that they'd be in my trusty 1962 Missal. Sure enough, the three main propers for the Mass of Dedication for a Church are as follows:
    Introit: Genesis 28:17; Psalm 83:2, 3
    Offertory: 1 Chronicles 29:17, 18
    Communion: Matthew 21:13

    Just an FYI for any who care!
  • We have one pending, rescheduled since last January and no date yet....

    Replace the Responsorial Psalm with Locus Iste by Bruckner, the Gradual for the day, sung SATB by the Schola....will work with a quartet or large group.

    I was headed for I WAS GLAD by Parry for the procession into the church....but have had major second thoughts and and eschewing (that's another word you won't find used in the NO translation anytime in the future) major choral works and replacing them with chant. This came to me after a TLM community did a Mass in celebration not with chant but a Mozart Mass. Just did not seem to make sense to me.

    And there are chants in By Flowing Waters for the dedication that will engage your congregation in....participation and the psalm tones are chant psalm tones....

    The RITES book is helpful in the ideal psalms to be sung. But expect some cuts...and there is also the major issue...Will they begin and process to the building and or Bless the building and receive it from the builder and or just start in the building from the sacristy. Be advised that the liturgy may well be based upon the liturgy programs of other dedicated churches in the diocese than from what is supposed to be done from RITES.

    noel at sjnmusic.com where the lady who must hire the caterer for the event can't...without a date of course.
  • And now to actually answer your question:

    The Latin Graduale Simplex is By Flowing Waters in English:

    Entrance Antiphon
    I will come to your house...Psalm 5:7

    Psalm
    How Lovely is your dwelling place...Psalm 84

    Alleluia
    I was glad when they said unto me...Psalm 122

    Preparation of the gifts
    The house of the Lord...Psalm 138

    Communion Antiphon
    My house shall be called...Matthew 21:13 - Psalm verses: Praise the Lord...Psalm 147

    These are all nice chant tunes for the Antiphons. You would need to buy enough BFW books for the choir and then would have permission to reprint the Antiphons at no charge for the congregation as long as you carefully list all the copyrights in the program.

    noel at sjnmusic.com and I hope this might help.....these would be preferable to hymnody which may have the intent but not the actual wards that are supposed to be sung....
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    The Offertory, "Domine Deus in simplicitate," can be found here.



    If you're looking for hymn-like choral music, "Tollite hostias" (one of the ad libitum Communios for the Dedication) from the Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saens is pretty easy, and the congregation can be invited to sing on the repeats. If you want to be really liturgically correct you could adapt it to the proper liturgical text (which is slightly different), but the original version in the Saint-Saens is probably fine for your situation.

    It also appears in the St. Gregory hymnal arranged and in a lower key. I think I do it in Eb. The musical setting might be more suited for the Offertory than Communion. Of course this is not the ideal, but it might be a reasonable way to satisfy the "vel alius cantus aptus" clause.
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 862
    Consider yourself free to use the appended English versions of the official chants of the rite of dedication.

    Blessings,
    Paul
    Dedication Chants.pdf
    89K
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,609
    You know, it's embarrassing to do a search for something and find out that the answer is here...from something you yourself wrote....
  • Bruce E. Ford
    Posts: 429
    If you are looking for HYMNS, consider

    Only-begotten Word of God eternal (one of the verses paraphrases the introit, in part)
    Christ is made the sure foundation (Translation of Angularis fundamentum)
    How lovely is thy dwelling-place

    These can all be found in THE HYMNAL 1982 (Episcopaql Church). The first two can be found in THE HYMNAL 1940. I'm sure that neither of the first two is under copyright. The third MAY be.
  • Steve CollinsSteve Collins
    Posts: 1,022
    If you will have a Procession, and if your congregation like R.V.W.'s "Hail Thee, Festival Day", there is a version specially for the dedication of a church in the 1936 English Hymnal. I could set it for you in finale, and generate a melody only graphic, but you'll need to get copyright permission from whomever.

    Another wonderful English hymn is "Who Is She that Stands Triumphant", to R.R. Terry's tune "Ecclesia". You can find this in The Westminster Hymnal, or in the older Liturgical Press publication "Our Parish Prays and Sings". (There is a version in their newer "Collegeville Hymnal", but the text is horrible! I have this already in my computer.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,609
    Christ Is Made The Sure Foundation...to WESTMINSTER ABBEY....we learned last Wednesday night for general use, so to be called the next AM with news of a scheduled dedication was provident to say the least. We are tremendously lacking in triumphant hymns that suit the building, so they also learned O Praise Ye The Lord to LAUDATE DOMINUM and O Day Of Radiant Gladness to ES FLOG EIN KLEINE....

    I am a big fan of Terry so will dig this one out immediately and also look over Hail Thee from the 1936.

    Thanks! We are still unsure as the Rite for a variety of reasons, so once that is decided I will know more...
  • Felipe Gasper
    Posts: 804
    Hymns: Can we add “Blessed City, Heavenly Salem” to that list?

    Frogman: Bruckner “Locus” is only the respond, not the entire gradual.

    Dogwood: The propers that you found, I believe, are for the anniversary of a church dedication, not so much for the dedication itself, for which I actually don’t think there are Gregorian chants prescribed.....except the chants for the dedication rite itself that, I am told, are found in the Latin edition of the dedication rite.

    Note that the entrance music can be complicated if you don’t use the simple form of the entrance rite. There are different texts prescribed depending on which form you use.

    As to rep:

    David Haas’s “The Fragrance of Christ” is very beautiful for the incensation. Yes, yes, I know, lots of people hate David Haas’s music....but this is a different animal from “No Longer Strangers”. Really.

    Grab a copy of Christopher Webber “A New Metrical Psalter”. We sang his Psalm 147 for the inauguration of the tabernacle to NEW BRITAIN. It worked very well!

    Rutter “Now Thank We All Our God”. Very cool opening fanfare, though you’ll have to do some arranging if you don’t have the bazillion brass instruments that Rutter calls for.

    Hillert “Festival Canticle”. :) :)

    As to choral music....I looked through probably a zillion pieces to do our dedication. Harris “Behold, the tabernacle of God” is very beautiful and accessible. Berger “The eyes of all” would work for your tabernacle inauguration, but it’s not super-easy. Rawsthorne “Behold, O God our defender” (published by St. James in one of their RSCM collections) is very doable and nice.

    And, it’s pretty hard, but David Hurd “O how amiable” (OCP/Trinitas) is fabulous if you have the time and the vocal guns.

    If you can find a Te Deum setting, maybe even just the “God, We Praise You” text to NETTLETON, that would be appropraite, too.

    Most of these are pieces we did in our own dedication, by the way.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,609
    Felipe, thanks...I may have never caught that. More work!