Music for Year of St Joseph
  • ViolaViola
    Posts: 390
    I note that Pope Francis has asked that 2020-2021 should be the year of St Joseph.
    I have found a few hymns to St Joseph, but there seems to be a lack of choir pieces in his honour. Please can anyone recommend any motets/anthems in Latin or English?
    Thanks
  • Flor Peeters Mass in Honor of St. Joseph
    Heinrich Schütz "Joseph, du Sohn David" (Joseph, thou Son of David) - in German; I don't know of any singable English translation of it.
    Michael Hermesdorff "Joseph Fili David" - text from Matthew 1

    The latter two are on CPDL.
    Thanked by 1Viola
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 684
    Something I have been working on for past few years is a collection of hymns to St. Joseph. I recently did a survey which includes mostly American hymnals and few from Europe about 80 hymnals dating from 1858 to 1958. I haven't come across any choral arrangements per say but a great many SATB and SA. I did not see many Latin hymns save "Te Joseph Celebrant and Salve Pater Salvatoris". The ten hymns that appear in most Catholic hymnals are:

    Hail Holy Joseph Hail (49)
    Dear Guardian (Husband) of Mary (38)
    Holy Patron Thee Saluting (30)
    Holy Joseph Dearest Father (17)
    Great St. Joseph Son of David (14)
    Te Joseph Celebrant (12)
    St. Joseph Our Certain Hope (of Life) Below (11)
    Salve Pater Salvatoris (11)
    Joseph Pure Spouse (10)
    Dear Joseph Pure and Gentle (8)

    The number in parentheses is the number of times I encountered the hymn. While conducting the survey I encountered several melodies for each hymn but I have not tried to determine if one melody had more "presence" than others.

    There is a collection of St. Joseph hymns arranged by Theodore Marier which includes some of the hymns above which I received from oldHymns, a forum member here.
    Thanked by 1Viola
  • Felicia
    Posts: 110
    Here's a setting of the words of "Te Joseph celebrent" to a tune attributed to Domenico Scarlatti. (I don't know offhand if the attribution is correct or not.) It was harmonized by Marco Ruggeri, who directed the choir in this recording. A score is available on Scribd in a lower key than in the recording.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sJD9_a-Y1E

  • davido
    Posts: 873
    I have a St Joseph anthem composed by friend, let me see if he would mind sharing it
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  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,767
    I would have guessed Year A, from Advent IV's Gospel, set by Virgil Thomson as the first of 3 Scenes from the Holy Infancy. CPDL's Category:St. Joseph has among other things Isaac's Cum esset desponsata, also set by Senfl. You'll have to look a bit further for things like Joseph, lieber Joseph mein.
    Mar. 19 is a very conspicuous feast in the California mission choirbooks.
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  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    The Te Joseph Celebrent by Ravanello is just one of the most gorgeous pieces (the fact that my first hearing of it was by these wonderful nuns may have inadvertently had an affect of such) I've ever heard.
    Thanked by 2Viola CHGiffen
  • Attached is my hymn, O Patron of a Happy Death, which I wrote for St. Joseph's Old Cathedral in Oklahoma City in 2017. Feel free to use at your parishes.
  • I have one other, O Joseph, Most Glorious, which was also written for St. Joseph's Old Cathedral. This one is more of a pious hymn, which is to say, more of a simple 'song' rather than a traditional hymn, as such. It is melody over an accompaniment which isn't meant to be sung as SATB. It's a catchy little ditty and will get stuck in your head though, and people love singing it (although I admit it is not my finest musical opus). It makes appeals to Joseph's titles, especially in the last verse, the latter half of which was initially conceived as a longer refrain ("protector, defender, and great intercessor, O Joseph, most glorious, ora pro nobis!").
    Thanked by 2Viola CHGiffen
  • davido
    Posts: 873
    https://atonementparish.blogspot.com/2009/03/hymn-to-st-joseph.html?m=1
    Hymnal above link, but instead of STUTTGART, sing it to EBENEZER/TON Y BOTEL. Makes a bang up good anthem
    Thanked by 2ServiamScores Viola
  • Here's my edition of the Ravenello including the even verses to the chant melody.

    Also the St. Joseph hymn that I commissioned from Kathy P. and have shared on this forum before. Here it is set to a tune that I wrote, but it also works with ST. ANNE.
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    @Earl_Grey , that looks lovely.
    A question, though: Other recordings seem to be difficult to find, so I really only have the above recording on which to base my question, but I noticed that in this setting, as well as the one available on CPDL, the 2nd beat's lyrics (2 8ths + 2 8ths) don't match the performance of the Benedictines of Mary recording (3 8ths + 1 8th).
    When I looked at the scan available on p93 here, I see that the written rhythm matches, but that the way the lyrics are set suggests that it is meant the way the nuns performed it.
    What do you think?
    Thanked by 1Earl_Grey
  • @CCooze I'm not sure where you are looking. Measure #? I simply copied from the written score and separated the voices onto their own staff. My choir gets confused when the voices cross.
  • Coincidentally, I'd just edited and posted this motet by Francesco Feroci.
  • I've included the Litany of St. Joseph in chant and an English chant adaptation in this collection of litanies that I typeset: https://jenniferdonelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Popular-Litanies-in-Latin-and-English-Chant.pdf
  • Jenny, what a wonderful resource! Thank you!
    Thanked by 1Jenny Donelson
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    @Early_Grey , whoops. I'm talking about the 2nd beat of m6.
  • Does anyone recognize the provenance of this text, or care to take a stab at translating it? (Google was even more useless than usual).
    Vocatus Joseph ad coelestes nuptias suscipitur iam a patre familias qui ei dem prebet vite delitias et iocunditatis aeternae copias. Introducit Jesus in coelum suum nutritium reddens sibi vicem dignam ob pium obsequium et iocunditatis aeterne copias.

    It's the text to a motet by Bernardo Garugli which I may score up if it looks useful to anyone.
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 684
    Jeff, have you tried Here
    also I meant to add a resource A_Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin I have this book and it has come in handy on many occasions.
  • @Jeffrey Quick
    Are you looking for a literal translation or something more poetic in the translation?
  • CGM
    Posts: 683
    Many parishes use the seasonal Marian antiphons at the end of Mass, either just before the recessional hymn or just before the organ postlude (when a hymn is not sung).

    At our parish we'll be substituting the Ecce fidelis servus antiphon — the Magnificat antiphon for 2nd Vespers of St. Joseph, Mar. 19th — in place of the seasonal Marian antiphons at the end of Mass, starting on the Feast of the Holy Family and continuing throughout calendar year 2021. A simple but regular way to mark the year of St. Joseph.
    Thanked by 2Jeffrey Quick Viola
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    That seems somewhat sad, though. To take away from Mary, when we should be adding Joseph.
    Why not just "start" the Mass with something for St. Joseph by using the "processional" spot?
  • Strictly speaking there is no such thing as a “processional”. (I’ve been corrected by my pastor, lol.) there’s the entrance antiphon which is a proper and deserves its place in the liturgy in its own right.

    I highly doubt that our Lady is jealous in heaven. Her place is secure and everyone knows it, down to the lowest demon in hell. In fact, I suspect it will bring Her joy to see St. Joseph given more honor. The mystics say that St. Joseph is leagues above all the other saints in heaven (apart from Our Lady of course) and the holiest man who ever lived apart from Christ.
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  • Don: thanks, I'll play with that.
    sdtalley3: anything will do. I have a general idea of meaning but GT collapses under the weight of Latin grammar.

    Peter Griesbacher's Repertorium Chorale (a resource I've been promoting in this time of cantor-only Masses; available from https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/index.html ) has St. Joseph Propers, of course, but... the Introit, Offertory and Communion are from the VOTIVE Mass of St. Joseph, the Alleluia verse is now for St. Joseph the Worker, and there is no Gradual. More oddly to us, apparently in early-20th c. Germany, “In Festo Patrocinii S. Joseph, Conf., sponsi BMV” was celebrated on or in place of the Third Sunday After Easter! As is often the case with the RC, they're split between v. 1 and v. 2.

    There's an explanation for this in an active thread on Corpus Christi Watershed's Facebook: “rubrical changes of 1911 which abolished the custom of fixing feasts to certain Sundays”, which would have fallen between the publication dates of the 2 Griesbacher volumes. And the Paschal feast of St. Joseph was constantly being impeded, so it was moved to March 19.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Joseph gets no respect.
    Thanked by 1Jeffrey Quick
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    @serviamscores - right. The introit belongs at the beginning of Mass, though in the NO, it sometimes is used as the priest and ministers enter, "in procession."
    However, MANY locations still have a hymn during this time.
    And even in the Latin Mass, since the introit is part of Mass, and not just an extra-liturgical proper, there often still is an "entrance" hymn, motet, organ solo, etc. I don't think what I said above was confusing. Any of those spots could contain something in honor of St. Joseph, rather than being an extra spot for whatever else.
    I think it would be incredibly fitting to prelude and postlude the Mass with Joseph & Mary, rather than with whatever else we may choose to display.
    Thanked by 1Viola
  • @CCooze I see now. Well, I was just copying the written score that you referenced. Lyric alignment doesn't mean much in those scores, so I was going by the slurs. Technically, what the sisters are singing should have three eight notes slurred together, and the 4th note would not be slurred (or beamed). Then again, different publishers follow different conventions. I suppose the recording is just an editorial choice on their part and it sounds perfectly fine. Do whatever you want. Who knows what Ravenello intended.

    If you'd like me to edit it to reflect the recording, I could, but not until after Christmas. Or just tell your choir to mark it with a pencil.
  • Luigi Cervi (school of Perosi) did 2 settings of Veritas mea (Offertory for St. Joseph): one for men/women and organ, the other for TTB, both available on IMSLP.
  • Jeffrey, the version in D is charming. I might have to make a new edition. I’ll share it here if I do.
  • Share it on IMSLP. Many people do. Or if not there, then cpdl.
    I really should have scoured IMSLP before posting here. For Veritas Mea, there's a setting by Fux that look a little less sterile than much of Fux, for SATB bc. (There's a different setting with orchestra, but who has one of those?). There's one by Ramella for 2-equal and organ. 2 settings by Ettore Pozzoli (another Perosi-buddy with Ramella), both for 2-part women with organ, a 2-part/org by Jef Tinel (nephew of the Edgar Tinel highly spoken of by RR Terry), a Cecilian one for SATB by J. N. Ahle, one for SATB org by the underappreciated 1920s German Joseph Kromolicki.

    Stealing Propers for March 19 has certainly made programming easier. For Justus ut Palma, there are settings by Tonnani, Knüpfer, Melani (Baroque), Oliveira (classical) Ahle, Franck, Rheinberger, Witt (romantic) Mapelli, Capelletti, Donelli, Pozzole (20th c.) Zane (contemporary)
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Viola
  • The justus by Rheinberger makes a great postlude too. It transcribes as an organ fugue 1:1.
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    Just curious, does anyone have access to a manuscript that contains the Te Joseph, celebrent mode 1 chant? I've found it in a few different Libers, and quite a lot where people have typeset it, themselves, but I can't find any scans that seem to actually be from around the 1600-1700s.

    Does someone already know where to find an example?
  • Felicia
    Posts: 110
    This isn't the same setting of Te Joseph, celebrent CCooze is looking for, but if anyone is interested, last summer I gave a talk on a choir book from Colonial Mexico that contained an unusual setting of this hymn. It's a variant of a hymn I found in two 18th-century sources from Spain, one of them from 1746.

    N. B. Only the 1st, 3rd, and 5th verses are given in the Mexican manuscript; I'm assuming an organist improvised the other verses.

    image
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Viola