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.

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.

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.

You know, it's embarrassing to do a search for something and find out that the answer is here...from something you yourself wrote....

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.

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.