It was a spoken Mass, no music. Beautiful in many ways. So much better than most Masses with music.

Our Schola sang last evening's antipatory Mass...here's our line-up:
Introit (Gaudens gaudebo)
Kyrie IX
Gloria VIII
Offertory: Ave Maria chant followed by Archadelt's polyphonic setting of the same
Sanctus IX
Agnus Dei IX
Communion: Communio(Gloriosa); O Sanctissma hymn; Alma Redemptoris Mater (Palestrina); Ave Maris Stella chant
Recessional: Immaculate Mary hymn

here

Entrance: Sing of Mary
Psalm: Psalm 98 from the 1984 People's Mass Book by WLP, chant tone verses
Communion: Magnificat by James Chepponis - a lovely setting by GIA with a great organ accomp.
Recessional: Virgin full of Grace

Mass Parts: Mass of Creation (universally known for all the visitors. On the organ it's not even so bad)

The propers for this feast are all 20th century (or late 19th century) adaptations by Joseph Pothier. Gaudens gaudebo is adapted from Vocem jucunditatis (Easter V). I can't immediately recall the sources of the other. These are, by and large, examples of good adaptations--not at all "literal."

At our Cathedral 12:10 Mass:

Prelude: Alma Redemptoris Mater (men. chant)
Ave Maria (men. chant)

Procession: Immaculate Mary (all)

Gifts: Ave, Maria (choir. Victoria)
O Sanctissima (all)

Communion: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent (all)
The Hail Mary (choir. Marchionda)

Recession: Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above (all)

Our Parochial School Mass:
Ent.: IMMACULATE MARY
Opening Rites: Kyrie/Glory from "New Danish Amen Mass" (my own setting)
Psalm: OCP R&A (one of Alstott's weakest, cannot recall it from the past)
Gosp.Acc.: "New Danish Amen Mass"
Offertory: HOLY IS HIS NAME (Talbot)
Euch.Acc./LoG: "New Danish Amen Mass"
Comm.: SERVANT SONG (McCargill)
AVE MARIA plainsong in Latin, then English
Dism. SING OF MARY

I just came back from the Mass where our schola sang some Ordinary parts and a few Gregorian Marian hymns. It was very interesting that the MD, who wasn't present, put us with a pianist, who didn't even open the organ, and "Halle, Halle, Halle." with clapping and hand motions. But the pianist and the cantor seemed to be very impressed with our schola singing and a few people came up and told us how beautiful our singing was. This is a parish almost eveything is Haas, and it's an improvement that they let us sing Sanctus in Latin, although they still don't want to have us sing Gloria, becuase it should be sung by all the congregation and they cannot sing it in Latin. (sigh...) We have a long way to go.

10:30 AM, Extraordinary Form Missa Cantata, St. Matthew's, Dix Hills, N.Y. (main church)

Ordinary: Mass IX (K,S,A); Mass VIII (G); Credo III
Propers: Gregorian; two Magnificat verses between repetitions of the communion antiphon Gloriosa (thanks, RR)
Extras: Ave Maria (Arcadelt) @ offertory; O Sanctissima @ communion; Ave Maris Stella (mode I) & Es ist ein ros entsprungen after Mass.

(The parish has scheduled all future holyday EF Masses at 10:30 in the main church, starting today.)

6:15 PM, Extraordinary Form Missa Cantata, Church of the Holy Innocents, Midtown Manhattan, N.Y.

Ordinary: Mass IX (K,S,A); Ambrosian Gloria; Credo III
Propers: Gregorian; two Magnificat verses between repetitions of the communion antiphon Gloriosa (again, thanks RR)
Extras: Tota pulchra es, Maria (Mode V, Pothier) @ offertory; another Marian hymn after the Communion antiphon + verses; Salve Regina, tonus simplex after Mass.

Our Lady of Walsingham (AU) - Houston

Processional - Ye who own the faith of Jesus --- "Denn des Vaters..."
Propers - Anglican Use Gradual --- Tones VII, VI, II, I
Gradual Psalm: 98 --- Anglican Chant, T. Norris
Ordinary - "Cum jubilo'"(in English) --- Modes I, V, V
Gloria --- Old Scottish Chant
Offertory Anthem - Magnificat --- H. Willan
Communion Hymn - Sing of Mary, pure and holy --- "Pleading Saviour"
Hymn at the Dismissal - Sing We of the Blessed Mother --- "Abbot's Leigh"
Organ Voluntary - Basse et dessus de trompette --- M. Corette

Daniel Bennett Page - are you serious about an opening in Washington? If so, e-mail me details.

At Mater Ecclesiae RC Church, Berlin, NJ last night:

Mass Setting: Missa de Beata Virgine (Cristobal de Morales)
Processional: Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary
Introit: Gaudens Gaudebo
Gradual: Benedicta es tu
Alleluia: Tota pulchra es Maria
Offertory: Ave Maria
Chant: Virgo Dei Genitrix, mode 2
Communio: Gloriosa dicta sunt
Motet: Alma Redemptoris Mater (Palestrina)
Recessional Hymns: Alma Redemptoris Mater, simple tone, mode 5
Immaculate Mary

francis - what a beautiful debut piece for the children's choir!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception 10 AM Monday 8 December 2008
Extraordinary Form Mass at Holy Rosary Chapel at St. Vincent's, San Rafael, Ca

Prelude: Alma Redemptoris Mater (Simple Chant)
Processional: Immaculate Mary (Congregation Hymn)
Introit: Gaudens Gaudebo
Kyrie: Mass IX (Cum jubilo)
Gloria: Mass VIII (De Angelis)
Gradual/Alleluia: Rossini Psalm Tones
Credo: Credo III
Offertory: Ave Maria
Motet: Ave Vera Virginitas (Josquin des Pres)
Sanctus: Mass IX (Cum jubilo)
Post Elevation: Organ Improvisaton (O Salutaris & Ave Maria Stella)
Agnus Dei: Mass IX (Cum jubilo)
Communion: Gloriosa dicta sunt (with Psalm Verses from Rice Communio)
Recessional: Hail Holy Queen (Congregation Hymn)
Organ Postlude: Buxtehude: Toccata in G Major, BuxWV 164

The Mass was sung a capella by the Men's Schola with a soprano for the ordinary & motet. Hymns with organ.

Janice Clark, Music Director

Prior, definitely. Francis handles all the voice-leading expertly. I like the b-natural passing tone in bar four, too.

Can you tell me what's up with that chord on "of" in bar nine? It's magical. E minor with an added ninth and suspended fourth? That would explain its function in leading toward the cadence to D minor in 10.

Francis, could you describe the harmony in bars 9-10 in functional terms?

And just so this thread doesn't veer off completely, I'd like to comment that "Star Above the Ocean" is in the same universe as "O Sanctissima" but has richer harmonies. It's also just as memorable.

"Star above the Ocean" is delightful. I haven't seen a new Marian hymn I liked much in ages. Now all I need is a 3-4 part arrangement for women's voices a cappella. Francis - can we talk?

mjb - Why not just try it as written a cappella? I'd hate to see 3-part if it misses some of the chord structure. And if there's a problem with folks learning another clef, get over it! ;) (I'm joking, but have actually had women comment that they don't do bass clef!) It's actually a simple enough piece that you could even rotate who sings which line and get some fascinating variations on the sound. Record and play them back and your choir can have fun with it.

Processional: The Angel Gabriel
Mass setting: Jubilate Deo
Psalm: to Tone IV
Comunion: Gloriosa (chant) - antiphon only and then silence
Recessional: Immaculate Mary

A quick explanation of SATO:

measure 9
The word 'of' is technically an E half diminished 11 (with a delayed resolution [displacement] to the Bb in the tenor line, which creates the tension and then the release.) The F is left out because it is forced to linger in your mind from the two previous (alto) F's just before the occurring chord. (Try playing the entire chord and you will see the logic: a stack of 3rds: e,g,Bb,d,f,a) Leaving out the Bb in the chord itself gives one a sense of wanting, emptiness, and almost despair. The descending D (alto) drives hard to the chromatic interval of the C# in beat 4. Then by delaying the appearance of the resolving D which you are totally expecting on beat one, it appears on beat 2. You are thrown off balance again.

measure 12
the third beat - by dropping the bass down to the F, you create an F Major 9th chord. The drop is a P5, and because it is in the bass, it provides a significant harmonic anchor. I was able to eliminate the A, again, because it is imaged into your mind in the tenor line both before and after the chord itself.

trick of off-balance
There is a hidden psychological trick that gives this piece an even greater sense of being off-balance. It is the constant toggling in the bass line between measure 2 and 12. They both contain the descending F (p5), but the first one occurs on the fourth beat and the second one on the third beat. The "trick" occurs only in singing more than one verse. The mind hears these two measures as 12 and 16, not 2 and 12. This is what erases the sense of a beginning and ending of a single verse. Off balance once again.

harmonic displacement
The best word for this technique is "harmonic displacement". It is simply a shifting of the "proper" harmonic spelling of a particular chord to a beat, two beats or even a measure before or after it is "supposed" to occur. It is a kind of tricking the mind to go "Wait a minute! What was that!" Bach did this all the time. If you analyze his harmonic progressions, especially in works like 'Die Kunst Der Fuge', or his 'Musical Offering' (see Ricercare a 6), the melody and the harmony are constantly pushing and pulling each other along. Many times it is hard to decide which is more important at any particular moment... the shape of each single contrapuntal line or the harmonic structure those individual lines are striving to conceive.

tone-painting and ethos
Under all the theory, though, the most important part is the ethos of the work. This happens in the tone-painting. In this piece one might experience the harmony struggling to remain afloat on a sea of musical waves. The Bass line throughout is totally solid and predictable and represents the fixed and dependable 'light of the star', however, right where we least expect it - not in the soprano, but in the bass. So is Mary, who is much more than a distant light which we struggle to see. She is more like the one that provides the solidity of faith and gives us sure footing above which the waves of our life are constantly pitching and rolling.

Jumping in kind of late. Not much decent music for Mass, but our schola sang (sorry I didn't realize until too late that Advent superceded it) First Vespers in the Traditional Roman Office on Sunday night. Although rubrically incorrect, the chants were quite nice and the congregation very appreciative. We had about 90 in attendance. We had 3 priests and the celebrant sported a beautiful blue-lined cope that was once donated to Cardinal Mahoney. I was just told that it was "borrowed" for the event! The schola was 10 women and six men singing in alternatim with occasional organ support. Our organist played the Suite medieval for the processions (nice and loud!). Best of all, the talented Jenny Donelson sat in with the ladies!

francis, thanks for the quick explanation of SATO. IT's amazing to know how the composer think like that. Do you plan to do it this way when you compose a music or it just happen and find out later?

miacoyne:

I am always composing with harmonic displacement. I commented about this also on another piece on this board. It is here:

http://musicasacra.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=114

Here I refer to it as a delayed suspension.

Many times I am aware of tone-painting, but the ethos is something that occurs on a whole different level apart from intellect or logic.