Dear Fellow Sacred Music Followers,
This Sunday's Sacred Music repertoire is quite different in the 9:00 AM Mass vs. the 11:00 AM in that the day marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week, something we thank God for in our celebrating Holy Family Academy and all its faithful success. Accordingly, the 9:00 AM Mass is sung by the Youth Choir and many 6th-8th grade students; the 11:00 AM is sung by the Schola, per usual. The hymns are the same at all of the Masses.
PROCESSIONAL HYMN: Rejoice, the Lord is King
This hymn's text, utterly appropriate as we begin Catholic School's Week, (with Christ prominently front-and-center of all of our school's dealings) bids us to Lift up your heart; lift up your voice, rejoice, again, I say, rejoice! Certainly we rejoice in all of the good God has done for us and in us at Holy Family Academy. The hymn tune's name is DARWALL, named after its English composer, John Darwall (1731 - 1789). A poet and amatuer musician, Darwall composed a Soprano line and Bass line for each of the 150 psalms.
OFFERTORY MOTET
at 9:00 AM: Psalm 117
I composed this offering for Youth Choir musicians, trying to invoke a sense of marching (as heard in the descending and repeating of the bass notes) along with a certain joyful repetition on the top of it. It was actually written last year when we had to cancel a certain more-difficult piece my choir at the time was going to sing due to some absences. The young ladies in my choir at the time took to the repetitive nature of the piece quite quickly. Originally entitled just Alleluia, (as the only words were 'Alleluia' and 'Amen') the text of Psalm 117 was inserted to provide a countermelody in the relative key of e-minor sandwiched between two versions of the slightly-different-length 'Alleluia' sections.
at 11:00 AM: Bonum Est - Julius Benedict (1804 - 1885)
Benedict was a German-born composer and conductor who lived in England for most of his life. Born the son of a Jewish banker, Julius Benedict converted to Catholicism later in his life and had all three of his daughters receive the sacraments as they grew. Composer of two symphonies, some opera, an oratorio, and two cantatas (as well as some other pieces like this, the Overture to his The Lily of Killarney, in which one might argue you can hear a little Beethoven, whom he met as a teenager Julius Benedict - The Lily of Killarney: Overture - YouTube ) his music remains quite unfamiliar to most of us. The composition you hear at Mass at the 11:00 is his setting of today's Offertory Antiphon text which the Church has prescribed.
COMMUNION MOTET
at 9:00 AM: Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester - L.B. White
"Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits and blessings which You have given to me, for all the pains and insults which You have borne for me. O most merciful Friend, Brother and Redeemer, may I know You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly. Amen."
Leonard J. White was choirmaster at St. Andrew’s Willesden Green, London, until his death in the 1970s. This piece is thought to have been written around 1919 and was published in 1947. This childlike text (in its simplicity) is complimented by a rather simple-sounding tune to accompany it. The second verse repeats the first verse but this time with a sweet descant floating on top of it. The piece ends with a rather gentle 'Amen.' It is believed that these were the last words of English Bishop St. Richard of Chichester - (1197 - 1253) a deathbed prayer. This certainly adds yet another layer of gentleness to an already peaceful tune.
at 11:00 AM:
Beati Mundo Corde - William Byrd (1539 - 1623)
This lovely piece is written in five-parts and today features two Soprano lines, an Alto, Tenor, and Bass. Its text is that of the Beatitudes, both the Gospel for today's Mass as well as the Communion Antiphon. It features a fascinating choral technique (one of which the English were famous for in this time period) which features two parts passing as near each-other as one can get at only a half-step away and then moving back into a more harmonious sound. See if you can hear when the Soprano and Tenor, for example, are only a half-step apart for a brief time. It was quite in-vogue in England at the time, and both Byrd and his Catholic-on, Catholic-off, Catholic-on-again contemporary Thomas Tallis, enjoyed utilizing this technique.
Speaking of Tallis' faith, Byrd was remarkable in that he maintained his Catholic Faith even during the persecutions that had begun first by King Henry VIII and then continued during the time of his employment under Queen Elizabeth I, who granted both men monopolies over importing, printing, publishing, sale of music, and printing of music. Because Byrd was so multi-talented and wrote extensively for almost every conceivable configuration of his time (except for Lute) it seems that the Queen, who could not have been completely unaware of Byrd's religious convictions, simply looked the other way. Byrd is recognized by many along with Palestrina and Victoria (of whom he was well-aware) as the musical composition giants of his age.
RECESSIONAL HYMN: Lift High the Cross
An apt-text for the celebration of Catholic Schools' Week, it was written by Anglican scholar and clergyman George W. Kitchin in 1887.
Taken from hymnary.org: "Perhaps similar to Constantine's vision of Christ's cross, this text makes clear that the cross is a symbol of Christ's love. As Stanley L. Osborne states, "[The text's] images are biblical, its moods expectant, its promises courageous, and its demands costly" (If Such Holy Song, 321). "Lift High the Cross" reveals many implications of Christ's cross: Christ rallies his people behind him (st. 1-2); Christ gathers his people from throughout the world (st. 3-5); Christ gives healing to the despair of the world (st. 6); Christ's victory enjoins our praise to him (st. 7)."
The hymn tune CRUCIFER was composed by Sir Sydney Nicholson in 1916. This tune is one of nine hymn tunes Nicholson wrote and by-far for which he is most well-known. He also wrote seven anthems, four canticles, and seven books on Church Music. He died in 1947 at the age of 72.Have a blessed and happy Sunday! God bless you!In Christ,Mr. Jacob Flaherty-Director of Sacred Music
Sent by Jacob Flaherty on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 6:43PM