Church Music

Can I have suggestions for a streaming Mass? The Mass being streamed from the Cathedral in Brisbane is unwatchable even when it isn’t freezing repeatedly.

I stumbled onto Shalomworld and I’ll see if there is something there today there but I would like suggestions for a mass to watch that might encourage a measure of vicarious participation.

The minimum would seem to be some technical sophistication (eg volumes from the microphones balanced), some actual music – it can be simple but it has be real music, and the word proclaimed understandably – not chanted poorly.

I know I sound like I am whining (I am) but when the glitchy, dreary Easter Vigil Mass from Brisbane finally froze for the last time it was such a relief.

The team isn’t meeting since we have no masses for which to select music. We have special songs for this time of year that I suspect we would have chosen and I have put them in, but since this mass won’t happen I can throw in a left field selection.

Entrance: Alleluia! Love Is Alive (Angrisano, Manibusan, Hart)

Gifts: I Have Seen the Lord (Hurd) AOV 1/98

Communion: Holy Spirit Come (Mangan) AOV NG 67

Thanksgiving: Mission Song (Boniwell)

Recessional: Jesus is Risen (O’Brien- Ogilvie) AOV NG 82

I often skip chant but I am enjoying these morning prayers.

CWB II removes archaisms for their version of the text, which is attributed the Pope Gregory the Great. I’ve flipped the last two lines of the third stanza given in CWB II, because it must be an error, as it mucks up the rhyme. If I am correct I think it is only the second error I have found in the whole collection.

It is here set to NOCTE SURGENTES (Chant mode 1), but Hymnary notes the use of CHRISTE SANCTORUM.

The metrical accompaniment doesn’t seem to match the chant notation so I’ve just ignored the chant for my backing.

1 Father, we praise thee, now the night is over;
active and watchful, stand we all before thee;
singing we offer prayer and meditation:
thus we adore thee.

2 Monarch of all things, fit us for your kingdom;
banish our weakness, health and wholeness sending;
bring us to heaven, where your saints united
joy without ending.

3 All-holy Father, Son and equal Spirit,
Trinity blessèd, send us your salvation;
yours is the glory, ever resounding,
filling all creation.

This morning office hymn by James Quinn is a worthy prayer for any morning.

The text is here – scroll down.

It is set to CHRISTE SANCTORUM.

This has the same Latin derivation as yesterday’s hymn but with a different translation, this time by Peter Scagnelli.

The text is here (page 3). It is set to JESU DULCIS MEMORIA.

This is another hymn for the Morning Office. It is a c6 text Jam Christe, sol justitiate and is here set to ROCKINGHAM.

The text is here.

I’m going to dip in an out of all the songs for the Daily Office – many are merely antiphons for narrow purposes – but essential if you are doing these prayers all the time.

This is a whole song, though, and is a morning office hymn.

The text. by James Quinn, is here (CWB II omits the second verse).

CWB II set this song to SPLENDOUR (aka PUER NOBIS NASCITUR) by Michael Praetorius.

I’m going to skip some chant for Adoration from this collection:

167 The Divine Praises

168-169 Adoremus in aeturnam

170 O Sacrament Most Holy – this is from The Grail – music Charles Gonoud.

For the Liturgy of the Hours, CWB II has a very comprehensive collection of music for the Divine Office, much of which is chant, which I can’t see me doing, so I’ll skim through to look for any songs of note.

This one is based on Psalm 95(94) and I had to have a go with a tune called HEATHER DEW by James Hutton.

1 O come and sing to God, the Lord, to him our voices raise;

Let us in our most joyful songs, the Lord, our Saviour praise.

2 Before his presence let us come with praise and thankful voice;

Let us sing psalms to him with joy, with grateful hearts rejoice.

3 He is a great and mighty King, above all gods his throne;

The depths of earth are in his hand, the mountains are his home.

The next section in CWB II is songs for the worship of the Eucharist outside of Mass. Exposition and Adoration are not forms of liturgy nor spirituality to which I am drawn, but this book has plenty of music for it, most of which I have already blogged when looking at Corpus Christi.

This one is new to me and is a translation of Anima Christi which is supposedly by Pope John XXII. It is set to ANIMA CHRISTE by William Joseph Maher.

It is not new to my wife, the cradle Catholic however, who knows all the words and tells me it was played this Holy Thursday on the streaming of mass we have been watching from the Archdiocese of Brisbane. I must lack the imagination to participate online – especially with buffering and freezing – but without participating as an assembly, mass just doesn’t appear to function.

BIAB in fake organ mode:

1 Soul of my Saviour, sanctify my breast,
body of Christ, be thou my saving guest,
blood of my Saviour, bathe me in thy tide,
wash me with water flowing from thy side.

2 Strength and protection may thy Passion be,
O blessèd Jesus, hear and answer me;
deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me,
so shall I never, never part from thee.

3 Guard and defend me from the foe malign,
in death’s dread moments make me only thine;
call me and bid me come to thee on high
where I may praise thee with thy saints for aye.

The lovely thing about this first volume of Catholic Worship Book II is its comprehensive nature as a liturgical resource. Just when you thought every funeral song ever written was already covered they throw in the Latin chants.

I’ve never really got the hang of chant on BIAB, but I might have another crack at it at some stage.

To their credit CWB II’s chant notation looks more intelligible than most and has accompaniment that looks metrical (must look into that). They also often lower the key (thanks be to God).

For now: