Motets for Easter Vigil and Good Friday
  • Andrew23423
    Posts: 1
    I am a young choir director, and I have been tasked with programming music for Holy Week at my parish. What are some good songs for Easter Vigil, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, etc.?
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,348
    We need some context.
  • GerardH
    Posts: 636
    Indeed, how large and how competent is your choir?

    To start the list off, though, Victoria's O vos omnes is just about my favourite Good Friday piece. If you need to be economical, use it on Palm Sunday during the Mass (not before the reading of the Passion).
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,420
    What hymnals or other music resources do you have at your disposal? What hymnal is in the pews, if any? What style of music is typically used at your parish? Do you have an example of what you have done the past few weeks, in order to give us an impression of what has been done before?
  • RoborgelmeisterRoborgelmeister
    Posts: 343
    Stabat Mater during Communion on Good Friday.There are a multitude of settings, in every degree of difficulty, and easily available in Latin or English, as your circumstances dictate.

    "The Missale Romanum gives specific directions as to the music used during the adoration. The antiphons We worship you, Lord, the reproaches, the hymns Faithful Cross, or other suitable songs are sung. Totally new is the indication: “According to local circumstances or traditions of the people and pastoral appropriateness, the Stabat Mater may be sung, according to the Graduale Romanum, or another appropriate chant in memory of the compassion of the Blessed Virgin Mary” (GR, no. 20). " (Veneration of the Cross)

    "Mention is made that Psalm 22 (21) may be sung during the distribution of communion or another appropriate chant (GF, no. 28)." (Holy Communion)

    as mentioned here
    https://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/194/communion-for-good-friday-liturgy/p1
    Thanked by 1Abbysmum
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 150
    abat Mater during Communion on Good Friday.There are a multitude of settings, in every degree of difficulty, and easily available in Latin or English, as your circumstances dictate.


    A very nice and not very hard Latin version is by Marco Frisina. You can sing it with the oohs and aahs underneath the verses and does well a cappella, but it's also very nice just SATB on the refrain, with a soloist on the verses (the organ plays the oohs and aahs anyway) with organ support.

    It has optional C instrument (oboe I think?), which is very nice. If the choir is singing the oohs, I will usually play some of the optional C-instrument melody on the Swell while playing the basic chords underneath, shared between the Great and my pedals. If it's just the soloist, I just stick to the written accompaniment.
  • probe
    Posts: 92
    Would the Stabat Mater also suit communion on Palm Sunday, when the Passion story is read? 'Pater, si non potest' is only 30 seconds long. I think there's a good chance enough of our 14-strong choir might remember the Stabat Mater. I also thought of 'O Sacred Head now wounded' either Sop melody only or at a stretch SA from the Hassler/Bach harmonisation though I think divisi might be a bit of a stretch at these early days of our existence.

    By the way, is the term 'Schola' reserved for cathedral choirs or can anyone use it to distinguish the chant group from the regular parish choir?
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 3,210
    Here's a demo of my Mulier, ecce filius tuus (Woman, behold Thy son) which is a nice 3 part motet. https://youtu.be/2BTsSlZ9u00?si=Mno1ZTHq6fg2krIZ

    (sorry for the shameless plug)

    I also have a lot of people who love my setting of the Mandatum which is extracted from my larger collection of Holy Thursday Foot Washing motets. This one, specifically, can be sung multiple times a year. Short and sweet:
    https://youtu.be/TC9muMJYGdU?si=Al2F4cjPglb7ebYZ

    Last but not least, there's my free Exaltabo Te, Domine, which has gained a lot of traction:
    https://youtu.be/9lt0uOTAXdM?si=YGFy-dHskf0c1MR4
  • RoborgelmeisterRoborgelmeister
    Posts: 343
    Where Latin is required, here are two versions of the Passion Chorale (O Sacred Head).
    Bach
    https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/4/41/HaecTibi.pdf
    "Chantified"
    https://archive.ccwatershed.org/media/pdfs/21/02/17/01-00-04_0.pdf
  • probe
    Posts: 92
    To me the Caput Cruentatum looks like a backformation just because one can, rather than being needed.
    Thanked by 1Roborgelmeister
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,933
    We sing the O Caput Cruentatum, to the Bach setting on Good Friday.

    The 'Pater, si non potest on Palm Sunday, we sing the Issac setting with psalm verses.

    Of course there is an ancient Hymn for Palm Sunday, The Magnum Salutis Gaudium
    https://societyofstbede.wordpress.com/2025/04/13/palm-sunday-hymns-2/

    More ideas can be found on our Choir Blog, https://stbedeschoirblog.wordpress.com just search for Holy Week.
    Thanked by 2probe rich_enough
  • probe
    Posts: 92
    I'm looking for ideas for Holy Week and later, thanks for the blog link @tomjaw

    I had been going to ask "why would you bother translating it to Latin when you have the English", until I remembered that the original is in German so the English is a translation too!

    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • Xopheros
    Posts: 95
    Welcome @Andrew23423. It is difficult to guess what you are looking for, and the suggestions already made might not meet your needs. Please provide the following information:
    1. Are you looking for "songs" sung by the congregation, by a choir, or by both, e.g. alternating?
    2. Which are the preferred languages?
    3. If it is for choir, what are the voice dispositions of your choir (SATB, SAB, AB, ...)?
    4. Which musical styles do you (or your singers) prefer?
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