So... Holy Week... What's going on?

Wendi

My memorable Holy Thursday moment...a member of our parish who is VERY vocal about their aversion to Latin, incense and all things traditional, made it a point to tell me that the Holy Thursday and Good Friday Masses were beautiful..."even the stuff in that language I don't understand".

I told the choir and they are just thrilled. Knowing that we touched THAT heart is the best Easter egg we could have received.

dad29

Whatever happened to #66 of Musicam Sacram?

At my parish (membership) it is not only ignored, but assaulted.

melofluent

In answer to the OP question- amazing and beautifully!
Regarding the issues of language and comprehensibility, I think they can always be artfully transcendent factors when programmed and performed in truth and beauty.
As an eclectic, here's our ordo for yesterday's GF Service:

Psalm: FATHER, I PUT MY LIFE by John Michael Talbot!
GAccl. setting by yours truly, verse in English chanted
Passion was to have been chanted, but my Wendy (voice) got an ear infection chanting it last Sunday.
Universal Prayer (Intentions) chanted by new pastor
Collection: O SACRED HEAD (Passion Chorale/Hassler)
"This is the wood" ICEL chant/response
Veneration:
IMPROPERIA "Popule meus" Palestrina, alternated with Greek/Latin/English versicles chanted
CRUX FIDELIS - Anerio/Latin
CRUX AVE- Palestrina/Latin
BEHOLD THE WOOD - Dufford/English 2 verses only a capella
Communion: WERE YOU THERE (standard choral) a capella, DC verse one with soprano soloist over choir "oo's" extremely softly voiced. Unbelievable power in ppp.

Kathy

How's everybody doing, btw? Breathing deeply? Smiling at loved ones? Praying during the Liturgy? Good, good.

Time for a nap today?

melofluent

Kathy, you chillin' at a trattoria before tonight? ;-)

CharlesW

Kathy, I am doing well. So far, I haven't murdered any priests or sopranos, or taken to drink. Still to come, the Vigil - where we dot every "i" and miss not a single punctuation mark - and then 4 masses tomorrow. I have even stopped practicing. They will get what they get and it's good enough for them. LOL.

PaixGioiaAmor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj_1sxPAH5w

I think we'll do this for our Easter Vigil next year.

And, not that I approve in any case, but this DOES appear to be a concert OUTSIDE of mass.

expeditus1

What's going on, you ask? Two weeks before Holy Week, we lost our two male anchor voices - the ones responsible for the bulk of the EF chants. Why? Theological differences. I can't say any more than that, but it did not have anything to do with musical issues.

Between the span of Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, there is a considerable amount of EF chant. So, a choir director goes into scramble mode, right? Do you just topple over and collapse on your side, or do you pick up the pieces and HUSTLE? I drafted a couple of girls from the children's choir, another adult alto, and myself, to pull us through Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and the Easter Vigil. I have written on this Forum before, about the opposition of some in our parish, to women doing any liturgical singing.

Here is a SHOUT-OUT to Ben Yanke for taking the time out during his busy Holy Week to drive out to our church and do the cantoring for us on Good Friday! Great job, Ben!

To any grumblers who might complain about women singing this Holy Week, I pose two questions: 1) Were you willing to undertake the practice time to learn the chants? 2) Have you placed your sons in a choir so that they can learn the chants of the Church and lead us in the future?

PaixGioiaAmor

There's a lot of people who need to get a life.

Either show me documentation that something is illicit and WRONG or sit down.

Of course women can chant. I don't personally employ them for chant often because I don't prefer the sound. But that is clearly a PREFERENCE and not the law.

I can't even believe someone would try to make that case.

canadash

Have you placed your sons in a choir so that they can learn the chants of the Church and lead us in the future?

I've ended up with a singing family. I have six kids (four boys) who sing and the eldest sing well. I began with violin at three. I highly recommend this to anyone with young children. It is never too early to start.

CharlesW

I have no problem with women singing chant, or anything else. I am grateful they care enough to practice and attend. Tell those folks who object to go choke on their mantillas. If the objectors are male, just tell them to choke, period.

BruceL

How's everybody doing, btw? Breathing deeply? Smiling at loved ones? Praying during the Liturgy? Good, good.

Time for a nap today?

What a cruel joke, Kathy! :)

CharlesW

Hehehe

Jeffrey Quick

"Theological differences. I can't say any more than that." OK, understood. But we believe in ONE Holy Catholic and Apostolic...so where's the room for theological differences?
As for your wider "men problem". I've been known to get PGA's goat by expressing a preference for men only in offices from the sanctuary. But I don't recall even Tra la sollecitudini forbidding female voices from elsewhere in the church . Certainly in terms of practice, men-only was never a norm in the US. And in terms of the Ordinary Form, female cantors are functionally a norm. (are there any stats on female vs. male cantors? I'd guess 85-90% female). Given the number of people who think that Sunday Mass attendance is optional, we all have bigger fish to fry. Expeditus, I think both your solution and your response to criticism of said solution are both spot-on.

chonak

Please, let's not rehash the old debate about women in choirs. It's tiresome!

To get us back to Paschal thoughts, here's a Christmas poem (!) by St. Teresa of Avila:

Al nacimiento de Jesús
by Santa Teresa de Jesús

Hoy nos viene a redimir
un Zagal, nuestro pariente,
Gil, que es Dios omnipotente.

Por eso nos ha sacado
de prisión a Satanás;
mas es pariente de Bras,
y de Menga, y de Llorente.
¡Oh, que es Dios omnipotente!

Pues si es Dios, ¿cómo es vendido
y muere crucificado?
¿No ves que mató el pecado,
padeciendo el inocente?
Gil, que es dios omnipotente.

Mi fe, yo lo vi nacido
de una muy linda Zagala.
Pues si es Dios ¿cómo ha querido
estar con tan pobre gente?
¿No ves, que es omnipotente?

Déjate de esas preguntas,
muramos por le servir,
y pues El viene a morir
muramos con El, Llorente,
pues es Dios omnipotente.

At the Birth of Jesus

Giles, today there comes to
redeem us
A shepherd boy, our kinsman,
God Omnipotent!

He frees us from
Satan’s prison;
But he is (our) kin of Bras,
Menga, and Llorente,

Oh, He is God Omnipotent!
If He be God, why sold
And crucified dies?
Giles, in His suffering innocently,

Do you see, He vanquished sin?
He is God Omnipotent.
Oh, I saw Him being born
Of a shepherdess most fair.

If He is God, why did He
desire
Among such poor folk to be?
See you not that He is Omnipotent?

No more questioning,
Let us serve Him
Llorente, since He comes to die,
Let us die with Him.
He is God Omnipotent.

-St. Teresa of Avila

Wendi

Well...I survived, there were no trains wrecks (a few hiccups, but minor) and Father thanked us this morning during his homily. The choir of course was outstanding as they always are, my husband and the children made cookies last night (while I was at Vigil) so I could pass them out and thank the choir this morning. I'm taking tomorrow off though...just sayin'.

CharlesW

The vigil ran three hours and ended around 11:00 p.m. Four masses today with our resident cardinal celebrating the choir mass. A gracious gentleman who could stay with us from now on, and we would all be delighted. Attendance at all the Holy Week services was much higher than normal. I celebrated with French toast after the last mass. Tomorrow, back to the gym and the lower calorie stuff.

kenstb

I have been on the battle field for the Lord, and it was great. This Holy Week we infused more Latin into the liturgies than ever before. The Easter Vigil was particularly wonderful. Although each community was represented by a choir (English, Spanish & Portuguese), my choir sang the bulk of the music. The priests were very happy and so was the congregation.
Lumen Christe
Exultet
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
Vidi Aquam
Litaniae Sanctorum (almost the entire thing)
Veni Creator
Sanctus
Agnus Dei

The lighting of the fire began at 7:30 PM and mass ended at 11:00 PM.
Very few hiccups during the liturgy although I need to talk to some of my colleagues about what we mean by reverence.
I was so happy to see and hear the priests singing along and we had a few seminarians who thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We were required to do the psalms in the vernacular, but they came off very well. The seminarians came up to the loft after mass and said that our music was "very Benedict XVI". I took that as a high compliment.
Happy Easter to all.

donr

Our Vigil Mass started at 7:30 and ended at 11:30'ish. It only seemed like an 1-1/2 though. Everything went as planned. No big surprises. The choir sounded lovely.

Happy Easter.

kevinf

Highlight of Easter Sunday: Singing Frank LaRocca's "Christ our Passover". Wonderful piece,very intimate sounding and just plain beautiful.

Heath

St. John's Catholic Chapel, Champaign, IL

Holy Thursday

Durufle Ubi Caritas
Morber Wisdom of God
Byrd Ave Verum
Allen Tantum

Good Friday

Victoria Reproaches
Marier/Morber O Come and Mourn
Palestrina O Crux Ave

Easter Vigil

Too much to list . . . but I *love* Biery's concertato arrangement of Jesus Christ is Risen Today (Morningstar). It's fantastic and it's become a tradition in my loft to encourage a few of my sopranos to reach a high C for that last chord . . . and they haven't disappointed. ; )

Happy Easter, all!

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