How do you end Palm Sunday Mass?
  • CatholicZ09
    Posts: 284
    We typically end with “Jesus, Remember Me” or “Were You There” or something somber. This year we’re ending with “Lift High the Cross”, but I just don’t think that gives the same effect.

    What do you end with on Palm Sunday?
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,092
    Back in the day, a choir I was part of would do the final Passion chorale musical setting from Bach's St Matthew Passion*, but with an English text, as a concluding choral meditation. It seemed to inspire quiet better than nothing. (Palm Sunday is a particularly hard day to achieve that quiet when you find yourselves welcoming many relatively lightly-church folk in attendance whose liturgical instincts are, well, rusty. Even worse back in the years when Palm Sunday could fall on the weekend of the time change to Daylight time and many people would show up with looks of great surprise during Communion or even after.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v9gpKli4rM

    https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/7/7c/Bach-BWV_244(62)-Wenn_ich_einmal_soll_scheiden.pdf
    Thanked by 3Incardination CHGiffen canadash
  • Carol
    Posts: 856
    We will be departing in silence, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.
    Thanked by 4Incardination hilluminar MNadalin CCooze
  • Carolus16
    Posts: 20
    We’re ending with “Jesus, Remember Me”.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    The Royal Banners Forward Go DEO GRACIAS.
    Thanked by 2Incardination MarkS
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    O Sacred Head Sore Wounded Surrounded Whatever
    Thanked by 7mmeladirectress Incardination Carol Joseph Mendes Jeffrey Quick cesarfranck matildac
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100
    For decades we've ended with "All Glory, Laud, and Honor"
    but this year
    since there will not be Stations of the Cross following the Palm Sunday Mass,
    we will end with "Stabat Mater" (but in English).
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Incardination
    Posts: 832
    We end with a recessional hymn - this year All Glory, Laud, and Honor.

    Pre-Mass (before the Hosanna, Filio David for the blessing of the Palms), we typically sing Hosanna to the Son of David.
    182 Hosanna to the Son.pdf
    200K
    173 All Glory, Laud, and Honor.pdf
    162K
    Thanked by 1mmeladirectress
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    Two metrical translations of "Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden", the second by J.W. Alexander. This is my favourite of the Bach harmonizations, for its soul-searching blend of simplicity and harmonic complexity. It speaks volumes to me every time I hear or sing it.

    When I one day must leave here,
    Yet do thou not leave me;
    When I my death must suffer,
    Come forth thou then to me!
    And when most anxious trembling
    Have once my heart possessed,
    Then free me from my anguish
    Through thine own fear and pain!

    Be Thou my consolation,
    my shield when I must die;
    Remind me of Thy passion
    when my last hour draws nigh.
    Mine eyes shall then behold Thee,
    upon Thy cross shall dwell,
    My heart by faith enfolds Thee.
    Who dieth thus dies well.
    Thanked by 5Incardination mmeladirectress Liam Matilda ServiamScores
  • davido
    Posts: 942
    E: All Glory Laud and honor
    O: O Sacred Head

    R: Ride on, ride on in majesty (WINCHESTER NEW)
    Thanked by 2Incardination cesarfranck
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,092
    The reason "Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden" (the chorale harmonization, with German, English or other versification) can work at this moment for quiet is that there's at least enough surviving cultural memory from people who bother to attend church on Palm Sunday to have nearly instant aural recognition of the tune, but then disorientation with hearing that harmonization. A good disorientation in the sense that it's just enough to attract/arrest attention from some who might otherwise noise over liturgical muzak that's more - or less - familiar to their sense memory. Anyway, that's the thought behind the specific placement.

    Oh, and it's supernal sacred music. There is that, too.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • TimTheEnchanterTimTheEnchanter
    Posts: 205
    Another "Jesus, Remember Me" here.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Bobby Bolin
    Posts: 419
    Silence
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  • donr
    Posts: 971
    Silence. But if I were going to do something it would be very soft and moving like O Sacred Head Surrounded or similar.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 708
    We are ending our Palm Sunday Vigil with "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" I believe our 8:15 morning Mass will end the same way.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • PLTT
    Posts: 150
    "Ah, Holy Jesus, how hast thou offended"
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Incardination
  • Casavant Organist
    Posts: 805
    Typically Palm Sunday ends with Were You There, 3 verses only, unaccompanied. This year we're spicing it up a bit and we are singing Indodana, an African Passiontide song. It'll make for an interestingly effective ending I think. While I usually raise a stink when it's done liturgically (or something similar) I think that the rules can be somewhat stretched at the recessional, since "Ite, Missa Est".
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,782
    We will end with the Marian anthem 'Ave Regina Caelorum' as is normal in the TLM in some parts of the world.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Marc Cerisier
    Posts: 537
    Silence. We don't have sung music at the end of Mass, so it's either organ during the majority of the year, or silence during Lent.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    TL/EF: Ave Regina Caelorum followed by 2-3 verses of Vexilla Regis
    NO/OF: English paraphrase of Ave Regina Caelorum sung to Old hundredth
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    We will do something such as "Rejoice the Lord is King" or another hymn related to the kingship of Jesus. We will do it triumphantly and celebrate that kingship with great joy. "All Glory Laud and Honor" will be the entrance hymn.
    Thanked by 2tandrews Incardination
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,467
    English paraphrase of Ave Regina Caelorum sung to Old hundredth
    @aristotle Can you point me to a source of that; might be something I could get my parish to look at.
  • Schönbergian
    Posts: 1,063

    This year we're spicing it up a bit and we are singing Indodana, an African Passiontide song.


    Aren't you a straight-laced cathedral choir school?
    Thanked by 1Casavant Organist
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    We do the same Polish Hymn every year: Wisi na krzyzu.

    There's a part of me that would love one year to try the final chorus from either the Johannes-Passion or Matthaus-Passion.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    @a_f_hawkins

    Here you go: Four Marian Antiphons in Metrical English Translation
    Version I
    Version II (different hymn tunes)
    Thanked by 4CHGiffen Incardination a_f_hawkins cesarfranck
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,086
    We'll be doing O Sacred Head (etc.) as recessional
    We'll also be doing the Agnus unaccompanied (we accompany the Ordinary even in Lent because we hope the PiPs will sing along, and because we have an organist who needs a paycheck.

    I'll be off guesting for the Triduum.
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    "How do you end Palm Sunday mass?" Given the hectic pace and extreme workload of Holy Week, I'm surprised someone hasn't said, "as quickly as possible." ;-)
    Thanked by 4CHGiffen Incardination Carol irishtenor
  • petrus_simplex
    Posts: 72
    This year,we will be closing with Take Up Your Cross (to the tune Erhalt Uns Herr, not the one by Cortez)
    Thanked by 1Incardination
  • EtienneDebaecker
    Posts: 34
    We conclude the ceremony by singing "Attende Domine" during the recession. Only 2 verses (to CharlesW :-)
    Thanked by 1cesarfranck
  • EtienneDebaecker
    Posts: 34
    We avoid "Gloria Laus", "Lauda Jerusalem", "Hosanna" : this is the first part of Palm Sunday mass. The second part is fully in the Passion, and this is the tone we give to hymns and anthems.
    Thanked by 2cesarfranck Viola
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,092
    Also avoiding The Holy City, I imagine:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn1dOifg96w

    https://hymnary.org/text/last_night_i_lay_a_sleeping
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    Our former pastor of many years loved The Holy City. I believe he looked forward to it all year long. Since his retirement and demise, I have tried to get away from it. A couple of singers who wanted to sing it have aged out of any ability to do it well. Last year I dropped it. If I had a world-class singer to sing it, I might reconsider. I don't have such a singer. We are doing another anthem titled "Hosanna to the King of Kings," which seems to fit well with Palm Sunday.

    Anyone remember "The Palms"by Faure?
    Thanked by 1eft94530
  • CGM
    Posts: 697
    Vexilla Regis, in English translation ("The Royal Banners Forward Go"), as set in neums to the Gregorian melody by Rev. Samuel Weber OSB, as a part of his Hymnal for the Hours.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    Anyone remember...
    I wish that I could forget it!
    It and 'O Holy Night' are birds of a feather and should be on a list of banned music.
    Wherever they are sung complementary kleenex should be provided.
    Thanked by 2Carol mmeladirectress
  • cesarfranck
    Posts: 162
    Choir sings "There in God's garden" and Stainer's "Cross of Jesus" (TH82, #160) at communion and procession out is "O Sacred Head.".
    Thanked by 1CharlesW
  • Carol
    Posts: 856
    MJO, the same theatrical singer in our parish lived to sing "O Holy Night" and "The Palms." He LOVES schmaltzy stuff and is now singing for pay most weekends in a Protestant church.
    Thanked by 1CharlesW
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    i know some don't like Romantic music, but I find it no worse than listening to endless Baroque melismas. There is some bad Baroque and early music out there, too. I equate interminable melismatic singing with early forms of yodeling.
    Thanked by 2a_f_hawkins Carol
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    ...is now singing for pay most weekends in a Protestant church.


    And probably getting more money for it.
    Thanked by 1Carol
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,501
    O Sacred Head.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    One must say that real Romantic Music is good music - even though one doesn't exactly (or inexactly) care for most of it. The two religious art songs under discussion, though, are not Romantic Music. They are of a genre of spiritual tear-jerkers (a list of which is not complete without Mallotte's 'Lord's Prayer') which appeal to the endless number of individuals who are not ashamed of their bad taste. Their taste in music is equivalent to that of those who would prefer Kinkaid over Rembrandt.

    Charles, I don't mind (in fact I relish) the greatest portion of baroque melismata. What really irritates me are those individuals who add melodic flourishes or add ornaments that are stylistically incorrect - who think that they are being 'authentic' (whatever that is) but really don't know what they are doing.
    Thanked by 1Carol
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    I think those examples are a bit more "Victorian Romantic" than the great works of Franck, for example. What has helped us avoid the Mallotte is the fact it can't be used in the liturgy. Each musical age has its "devices" that make less sense and are even annoying to generations a century removed. Each age also has a gift for running those popular devices into the ground.
    Thanked by 2cesarfranck Carol
  • cesarfranck
    Posts: 162
    I consider "Oh Holy Night" and "The Palms" as a trade off or giving sweets to the sweet people in the congregation who really do not make that many requests for syrup music. We have never sung "The Holy City" and it has never been requested. The caliope-type accompaniment for "The Palms" is what annoys me the most of the two. I recently found it in four part hymn format which makes it more palatable.
    Thanked by 2CharlesW Carol
  • JacobFlahertyJacobFlaherty
    Posts: 331
    We ended singing John Stainer's God So Loved the World from his Oratorio, The Crucifixion. We sang it a cappella and it was glorious! (That's the only movement I actually like from that oratorio, as the rest feels just too sentimental for my taste. Hope it was a good Palm Sunday for you all!)
    Thanked by 5Incardination CHGiffen CharlesW cesarfranck Viola
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    No outdoor processions today. The heavens opened and it poured along with high winds. Our pastor blessed palms in the back of the church then sprinkled the congregation. We began with "All Glory Laud..." and had a lovely mass, minus a homily, because the readings were so long. We concluded with, "Rejoice the Lord Is King," and went out into the rain to go home.
    Thanked by 2Incardination cesarfranck
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    @JacobFlaherty - I feel ya there. Then again the libretto Stainer worked with wasn’t exactly stellar either. “Then on to the end, my God and my friend”....??? come on. Perhaps Stainer was trying to make his music fit the words.

    And I actually like “The Holy City” - but I’d never use it at Mass. Our choir sang it for the parish talent show for the closer. I just wish some choir members weren’t foolhardy enough to attempt those octaves at the end...
    Thanked by 2cesarfranck CharlesW
  • cesarfranck
    Posts: 162
    Rain and power outage after sermon we're game changers today. Blessing of Palms and "All glory, laud, and honor" as usual at beginning. Choir sang offertory a capella due to power outage. Concluded with Passion Chorale a capella.
    Thanked by 2Incardination CHGiffen
  • m_r_taylor
    Posts: 326
    "Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden" with the translation posted by CHGiffen above - nice find!
    Thanked by 3Incardination CHGiffen cesarfranck
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,798
    "Here in a basement… there in glory" often passes through my mind in our new Sunday warmup venue.
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    We sang 2 vv of Vexilla Regis, to Agincourt
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