INTROIT : Oculi Mei (P.252 Gregorian Missal)
GRADUAL : Exsurge Domine (P. 254 Gregorian Missal) – Female voices
Tract – I have lifted up my eyes unto you (Ad te Levavi) – Cantor: Reuben
OFFERTORY MOTET : Miserere Mei : Lotti – SATB
Score: MiserereLotti
COMMUNION MOTET – Super Flumina Babylonis : Palestrina SATB
Score: Super Flumina
Hymns:
Hear O thou bounteous hear No. 52 (Catholic Hymn Book)
God Of mercy and Compassion No. 51 (Catholic Hymn Book)
On the 2nd February 2009 it snowed heavily all day in Brighton. That evening with the streets silent with snow and most of the roads into the city inaccessible to cars, we held our first Missa Cantata in the Extraordinary Form in this chapter of the parish’s history. A handful of people braved the cold to make it to to Mass, including a small nervous choir of five barely able to sing the most basic of chants.
Seven years later and snow seems unlikely although given our misfortune at St Mary Magdalen’s with extreme weather situations and Missa Cantatas anything is possible. Mass will be at 7.30pm and thankfully these days the chant is less of a struggle. Many of the glorious chants of Candlemas including the divine Introit Suscepimus Deus and the Antiphon Lumen ad Revelationem gentium several of the choir could probably sing from memory and there will be several polyphonic additions to the music including Arcaldelt’s Hodie beata virgo Maria.
The photos taken at that Mass back in 2009.
Mass is at 7.30pm on Tuesday 2nd February.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/25789986@N04/albums/72157629101141709/with/6790331567/
So this year between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday we sang:
4 hymns in Latin
5 hymns in English
11 pieces of chant in English
16 motets (one in 8 parts)
27 pieces of chant in Latin
And a lot of responses…
Thanks to Rachel, Yoo Jung, Julia, Helen, Sylvia, Ian, Dan, Jonathan, Denes, Simeon, Richard, and Reuben for making it happen and of course thanks to Fr Ray.
Holy Thursday – 8pm
Ubi Caritas – Duruflé
Ave Verum Corpus – Byrd
Gregorian Chant from Graduale Romanum- Nos Autem (introit), Oculi Omnium (Gradual) Mandatum (feet washing), Hoc Corpus (Communion), Pange Lingua (Transference of Blessed Sacrament) and Psalm 22 Deus, deus meus (stripping of the altars)
Compline will be sung afterwards in English & Latin
Good Friday – 3pm
Christus Factus Est – Anerio
Reproaches – Victoria
Crucifixus à 8 – Lotti
O vos omnes – Victoria
Chant from GR – Crucem tuam
Easter Vigil – 8pm
Sicut Cervus – Palestrina
Dextera Domini – Franck
Alleluia – Purcell
Regina Caeli – Palestrina
Chant from GR – Antiphons 1-6 between readings, Litany of the Saints, Vidi Aquam
Last night our choir sang at our parish’s first Missa Solemnis since the 150th anniversary for Ascension Day. I thought it was a tremendous achievement both in the organ loft and on the altar for such a small parish to achieve this. And the only reason we can do put it on a Mass of this calibre is quite simply because we do it every week.
As most can appreciate, you cannot just open a book and sing from it. neither can you just turn up on the altar and know where to stand and when to kneel etc. In the past we have relied on additional help with both the music and on the altar, originally we had an MC who drove down in the snow from Crawley to make Mass happen and we even had brilliant chant singers who wouldn’t think twice about jumping in the car and coming all the way from Kent to help us out. Now we just make it happen in the parish.
Last night, l thought the music was the culmination of what we have achieved. Our entire choir sang all the Gregorian Propers in full (with the exception of two cantors singing the Alleluia verses), Tallis O Sacrum Convivium and Victoria’s Jesu Dulcis Memoria and the Veni Creator Spiritus at the end to prepare us for Pentecost. I decided we would not sing a polyphonic Mass this time for several reasons. It is half term this week and we simply had a two hour rehearsal before Mass, also l find that many EF Masses that l attend or l see advertised tend to have four semi-professional singers singing a polyphonic Mass and then one or two cantors, invariably male, rattling through the chant, almost as an after thought. The chant should be the prime focus, polyphony second, but sadly it rarely works like that. We also opted to sing the beautiful Mass I, the plainsong Mass for the Easter season which surprisingly does not get sung as regularly as it should do. The other point that is often underestimated, is that a plainsong Mass (probably with the exception of the Missa Di Angelis) requires as much work to sing well, as a polyphonic Mass. We have been singing Mass I for over a month now and it was only last night that l felt confident enough for the choir to sing the Gloria. These things take time if you are going to do them well.
Flickr set HERE
Hosannah filio David – Chant
Pueri Hebraerorum – Schubert
Christus Factus Est – Anerio
God so Loved the World – Stainer
Vexilla Regis – Chant
Oculi Omnium – Chant
Mandatum Novum – Chant
Ubi Caritas – Duruflé
Ave Verum Corpus – Byrd
Pange Lingua – Chant
Christus Factus Est – Anerio
Reproaches – Victoria
Stabat Mater – Tartini
Vexilla Regis – Chant
Sicut Cervus – Palestrina
Confitemini Domino – Ravenello
Vidi Aquam – Chant
Regina Caeli – Palestrina
O Filiii et filiae – Chant
Victimae Paschali Laudes – Chant
Concordi Laetitia – Chant
It is with such sadness that l learnt this morning of the death of dear Jeremy De Satge. Jeremy was a brilliant musician, a leading light in promoting good Catholic liturgical music through his company The Music Makers, and a great supporter of our choir at St Mary Magdalen’s. He came down to hold a one day workshop several years ago, and we became firm friends. He would often drop me a an e-mail to see if l needed any help or advice running the choir and we even performed his music after he kindly sent me a set of his three part Communion Motets.
The photo above was taken at Birmingham Oratory in September 2013 when Jeremy showed us all how easy it was to teach children to teach Gregorian Chant and how easily they could take to singing Latin.
He inspired many.
His funeral will be held at 10am at St.George’s Cathedral, Southwark on Friday 14th March.
My prayers go to his family at this incredibly difficult time.
St Mary Magdalen Choir Brighton 