Tag: hymns

Why did we sing Good King Wenceslaus!?

That question was on a lot of people’s minds as we left Church on Sunday morning! Good question! But first…

This was the first Sunday of the Month of October, dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. It was also the 19th Sunday after Pentecost.

The plan was to do Mass IV and Credo IV. Owing to a bit of a miscommunication, we ended up singing Credo I, which set the poor congregation to flipping pages in their hymnal!

The propers were for the feast, with no special solemnities. Given that last week we had the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels (on October 2nd), we opened with Dear Angel Ever at my Side as the Processional.

And, of course, at the Offertory, once again, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, imploring Our Lady’s intercession to end the current pestilence.

At the Communion, we sang the vespers hymn Te Splendor in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel, whose feast was also last week, on September 29th.

As this is the Sunday after first Saturday, the men of the Holy Name Society had their observances in honor of the Holy Name, and so at the Communion, we also sang the vespers hymn for the feast of the Holy Name, Jesu, Dulcis Memoria. In keeping with that theme, as is our custom, we sang the rousing Holy Name Anthem, We Stand for God as the recessional.

As a second recessional, we had a lot of people scratching their heads as the Men of the Holy Name sang Good King Wenceslaus, with a great many of the congregation singing along from memory. But why a song that is so closely associated with Christmas? Well, there actually is no reference to Christmas in the Song. The closest it comes is that it merely mentions that the lovely story that it recounts takes place on “the feast of Stephen” – which is December 26th. Those of you who pay close attention to the liturgical calendar know exactly why we sang it! The Good King’s feast day was last week, on September 28th.

This Sunday, Father had to leave very quickly after Mass to go on a sick call. Thus, we did not have a sung Mass. Had we done so, we would have sung the Propers for the Sunday, and Mass IV with Credo IV.

As it was, we had a low Mass, and so the only music we had to choose was hymns. For the Processional hymn, we sang I’ll Sing a Hymn to Mary, in honor of her holy name. This is particularly fitting because it twice makes a reference to loving and blessing the name of Mary.

We again invoked Our Lady at the Offertory with Stella Coeli Extirpavit, imploring her intercession to end the current pestilence.

At the Communion, we sang the Vexilla Regis, vespers hymn from Passiontide and from the Feast of the Holy Cross. We followed that with Ave Verum Corpus, always fitting at Communion.

And at the Recessional, we sang several verses from the English translation of the Stabat Mater, At the Cross Her Station Keeping.

“Why white?” That question greeted me as soon as I walked into the choir room on Sunday morning before Mass.

Good question. According to the calendar, the Sunday was the 17th after Pentecost, and the liturgical color would be green, but the servers had already put white on the altar and tabernacle. Why so?

Earlier in the week, on September 15th, the Church celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This feast, not surprisingly, comes immediately after the feast of the Holy Cross, and these two feasts are what give rise to the dual devotions for the month of September – The Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows.

Of course, the great patron and name Saint of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (the SSPX) is the sainted Pope himself. But the SSPX has also chosen Our Lady of Sorrows as a patron. Thus, within the SSPX, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is a first-class feast, and so the feast can be solemnized on the following Sunday and is celebrated as what is referred to as an external solemnity.

Then came the follow-up question: “Well, then, why not violet?” Well, because violet is not fitting for a first-class feast! And that brings up another interesting point. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is very unique in that there are two such feasts, the first of which is on the Friday of Passion Week, one week before Good Friday and rather like Our Lady’s own Good Friday. At that Mass, the liturgical color is violet.

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is also unique in that it is one of only five Masses that still has a Sequence. The five are:

1. Pentecost (Veni Sancte Spiritus)
2. Corpus Christi (Lauda Sion)
3. Our Lady of Sorrows (Stabat Mater)
4. Easter (Victimae Paschali Laudes)
5. Requiem (Dies Irae)

For the feast that occurs during Passiontide, the Sequence is preceded by the Gradual, and a Tract. Naturally, there is no Alleluia. For this feast, the Sequence is preceded by the Gradual and an Alleluia. Note as well that when the Sequence is sung outside of Lent, the word Alleluia is appended after the Amen.

As you might expect, we chose Mass IX, for feasts of the Blessed Virgin (Cum Jubilo) for the commons. And a Credo that works very nicely with Mass IX is Credo III.

Having missed the opportunity last week, as the Processional hymn, we sang I’ll Sing a Hymn to Mary, in honor of her holy name. This is particularly fitting because it twice makes a reference to loving and blessing the name of Mary.

We again invoked Our Lady at the Offertory with Stella Coeli Extirpavit, imploring her intercession to end the current pestilence.

At the Communion, the mixed choir sang Tomas Luis Victoria’s setting of O Vos Omnes. This hymn is taken from a responsory from Tenebrae of Holy Saturday. It is utterly pathetic, perfect for the occasion:

O all you who walk by on the road, pay attention and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.

Pay attention, all people, and look at my sorrow, if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.

With a bit of time remaining, we sang the Gregorian Ave Maria twice through.

Also earlier in the week, we had the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis is also unique in that he is among the very few who have more than one feast during the year. Others include: Our Lord, Our Lady, John the Baptist, and Saint Joseph. As a Recessional Hymn, we sang Blessed Francis, Holy Father in his honor.

After Mass, as the Faithful made their thanksgiving, we sang the Vexilla Regis, vespers hymn from Passiontide and from the Feast of the Holy Cross.

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned!

This was the 16th Sunday after Pentecost according to the Temporal Cycle of the liturgical year. According to the Sanctoral Cycle, the date, September 12th is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary.

The plan for the Processional hymn was to sing I’ll Sing a Hymn to Mary. This is particularly fitting because it twice makes a reference to loving and blessing the name of Mary. The plan for the Commons was to use Mass IV and Credo IV.

Plans changed when we ended up without an organist. We opted instead to sing the Marian antiphon Salve Regina as the processional, and Mass XI with Credo I. We did so because the congregation is much more familiar with those, and sings them quite well, even unaccompanied.

The Offertory went according to plan, singing Stella Coeli Extirpavit, but also adding another Marian antiphon, Ave Regina Coelorum.

This being the month of the Holy Cross, at the Communion, we again sang the Vexilla Regis, normally sung during Passiontide. Recall that the penultimate verse of this hymn begins with the following phrase:

O Crux ave, spes unica, hoc Passionis tempore!

Hail Cross, of hopes the most sublime! Now, in the mournful Passion time;

Clearly, that is not fitting outside of Passiontide, and so we sang the modified version.

O Crux ave, spes unica, in hac triumphi gloria!

Hail Cross, of hopes the most sublime! In this glory of triumph!

September is also the month of Our Lady of Sorrows, so for the recessional hymn, we sang the first six verses from the English translation of the Stabat Mater, At the Cross Her Station Keeping.

After Mass, as a meditative piece, we sang the solemn setting of a third Marian antiphon, Alma Redemptoris Mater.

When you walked into the Church on Sunday, perhaps something seemed amiss. It was the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, and yet the altar was dressed in white!

Recall the general principle that says that if a reasonable number of the Faithful are unable to attend Mass on a major feast, the Mass for that feast can be celebrated on the following Sunday. This provision is referred to as solemnizing the feast, which is then referred to as an external solemnity.

Earlier in the week, on September 3rd, we had the feast of Pope Saint Pius X. This is, on the universal calendar, a third-class feast – hardly a major feast, and normally, not one to be solemnized. However, within the Priestly Fraternity that bears his name, the feast of Saint Pius X is a first-class feast, and so, on this day, we celebrated the External Solemnity of Pope Saint Pius X.

There is something else that we had to consider on this day. This was the first Sunday of the month, the day on which the men of the Holy Name Society have special observances in honor of the Holy Name.

We started as the men of the Holy Name entered with the clergy in procession, singing the glorious hymn, Sancte Pie Decime, in honor of the feast.

We’ve covered in the past how there is a correlation between the liturgical color of the day and the Kyriale. Given that the color for this day was white, which is for solemn feasts, it was fitting to sing Mass II (for Solemn Feasts), and we paired that with Credo III.

At the Offertory, we sang our customary Stella Coeli Extirpavit, continuing to implore Our Lady, Star of the Heavens, for relief from the current pestilence.

The month of September has two very closely related devotions, that of the Holy Cross, and that of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is worth noting that Our Lady of Sorrows is also a patron saint of the Priestly Fraternity (Society) of Saint Pius X. At the Communion, therefore, we sang the Vexilla Regis, normally sung during Passiontide. The penultimate verse of this hymn begins with the following phrase:

O Crux ave, spes unica, hoc Passionis tempore!

Hail Cross, of hopes the most sublime! Now, in the mournful Passion time;

Clearly, that is not fitting outside of Passiontide, and so the lyrics are modified for the purpose.

O Crux ave, spes unica, in hac triumphi gloria!

Hail Cross, of hopes the most sublime! In this glory of triumph!

Then, also at the Communion, we sang Jesu Dulcis Memoria, vespers hymn for the feast of the Holy Name.

As part of the First Sunday Observances of the Holy Name, as the men processed out with the clergy, we sang the Holy Name Anthem, We Stand for God.

As a meditative piece after Mass, as the Faithful made their thanksgiving, the Schola sang the Stabat Mater, the Sequence for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH

It was on this day that our former priest, Father Dominique Bourmaud, passed away. Our current priest, Father John Bourbeau, celebrated a Requiem Mass for Father Bourmaud, who had also been his priest some 30 years previously.

Father said a low Mass, but we were able to do something interesting with respect to the music; we sang various elements from the Requiem Mass, essentially as hymns during a low Mass.

As the processional, we sang the Introit, Requiem aeternam. As Father was starting the Collect, we started singing the Sequence, the Dies Irae, concluding singing it as Father himself concluded reciting it.

At the Offertory, we sang the Offertory Antiphon, Domine Jesu Christe. At the Communion, we sang the Communion Antiphon, Lux aeterna, and followed that with the Responsory from the Absolution, Libera me.

As a recessional, after the Leonine Prayers, we sang In Pardisum, as the bell was tolled, once for each year of Father’s life.

This was another Green Sunday, a second-class feast, and so we sang Mass IV, and Credo IV.

We are still in the month of the Immaculate Heart and so we again sang Immaculate Mary at the processional (Fatima refrain this time).

For Our Lady, at the Offertory, we sang Tota Pulchra Es in honor of her purity and beauty.

There are only two persons whose conceptions are celebrated in the liturgy, and that is owing to their complete sinlessness even at conception. On March 25th, we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation when Our Lord was conceived, and on December 8th, we celebrate Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.

There are only three persons whose births are celebrated in the liturgy, and that is owing to their complete sinlessness at birth. Our Lord, of course, was born on December 25th. Our Lady was born on September 8th. And St John the Baptist, who was conceived in original sin, but sanctified in the womb, was born sinless on June 24th.

St. John the Baptist is unique in this regard and so we celebrate both his birth and his death. He died, of course, by being beheaded by Salome (see the picture, below). We celebrate that event on August 29th, which was this past Sunday. In his honor, at the communion, we sang Ut Queant Laxis, the hymn from Second Vespers on the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. And then, we sang Ave Verum Corpus in honor of Our Lord. Normally, we would sing the hymn for Our Lord first, but, since St. John was the precursor…, well, you get it.

You will recall the following from Grace Notes for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist:

Musically, Ut Queant Laxis is particularly interesting. The hymn was composed using a six-note scale called a hexachord. The first syllable of each phrase starts successively on each of the notes of that hexachord. Here is the first verse, with each first syllable and the corresponding note highlighted. It is shown with Guido d’Arezzo, who is credited with having worked all this out:

(See the pictures, below.)

Let’s have a look at those syllables all together: Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La. Hmmmm…..

Somewhere along the way, Ut got changed to Do, and thus, we have the familiar Do Re Mi Fa Sol La.

As music evolved to the modern scale, a seventh note was added and the note name was based on the initial letters of the last phrase: Sancte Iohannes, Si, which is still used in many places, whereas other places replaced Si with Ti. And so we have Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do. And there you have it!

Wait! This gets better! In Latin, the range of a scale is referred to as the gamma. The range of the hexachord came to be referred to as the gamma Ut. That evolved into gamut, meaning the entire range of something, the whole gamut!

At the recessional, we sang Hail Holy Queen, again in honor of Our Lady’s coronation, which took place as she was assumed into heaven, which feast we celebrated on August 15th.

And finally, we concluded with Stella Coeli Extirpavit after the recessional.

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Sunday, August 22nd was the feast of the same name. It is a second-class feast, and so the Sunday takes precedence in the Liturgy. Thus, the propers we sang were for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost.

We sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit before the processional. As the processional, we sang Immaculate Mary. There are two versions of this hymn in the hymnal. The verses are identical between the two; All that changes is the refrain, one of which is commonly sung in processions at Fatima, and the other more commonly sung at Lourdes. On this day, we sang the Lourdes refrain.

We did something a little different for the offertory. Of course, we sang the offertory antiphon for the Sunday, but following that, instead of a hymn, per se, we sang the offertory antiphon from the fourth Sunday of Advent, the words of which happen to be the Ave Maria.

At the communion, we gave homage to Our Lord, as is fitting, but we also made an oblique reference to Our Lady by singing Cor Arca. This is the Lauds hymn for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and thus we honored the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but also the Immaculate Heart of Mary, because it is so closely united to the Sacred Heart.

For the recessional, we looked back to the feasts of St. Philomena and St. Clare, and sang O Crown of Virgin Choirs, Vespers and Lauds hymn for feasts of Virgins. [as an aside, it is worth noting that when the Church speaks of Virgins, she means women who have consecrated their virginity to God. In most cases, this means as nuns.]

After Mass, as a brief meditative piece, in honor of the Queenship of Mary, we sang Ave Regina Caelorum (Hail, Queen of Heaven).

This was another Sunday in Green, and that means Mass IV, and that means Credo IV. The propers were for the Sunday, and the preface was that of the season after Pentecost, that of the Blessed Trinity.

In this, the month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the processional, we sang the ever-popular Immaculate Mary. At the Offertory, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, as is our custom for the time being.

When we choose the music for a given Mass, we consider:

• The liturgical feast
• The liturgical season
• The readings of the day
• The dedication of the calendar month

But sometimes, we consider another factor as well, and that is other events happening before, during or after Mass that are not part of the Liturgy, per se. For example, there might be a May procession, or first communions. This Sunday was the first Sunday of the month, and that is the Sunday on which the men of the Holy Name Society have their Sunday observances. They enter in procession, sit together in the front pews, and receive communion all together. Thus, in honor of the Holy Name, at the Communion, we sang Jesu Dulcis Memoria, the vespers hymn for the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.

As part of the First Sunday Observances of the Holy Name Society, after Mass, the men recite the Holy Name Pledge, then we all sing the Holy Name Anthem, We Stand for God. This is a very rousing tune, at one time the Anthem of the Papal States.

After Mass, in order to assist the faithful in their thanksgiving, we sang Adoro Te Devote.

White vestments! It’s a feast! Rejoice!

Clearly the theme is Our Lady. This is the month of her Immaculate Heart, and this is among her greatest of feasts. No need to solemnize it; this year, it falls on the Sunday!

Again, a clear choice for the processional was Immaculate Mary.

As for the commons, nothing less than Mass IX, for feasts of the Blessed Virgin (Cum Jubilo) will do. And the Credo that works very nicely with Mass IX is Credo III.

For the last 18 months, at the offertory, we implore Our Lady’s intercession to help end the pestilence of COVID-19. Today, we said, no. We will sing a hymn for our Blessed Lady simply to venerate her and not ask for anything at all. Virgo Dei Genitrix is just so beautiful. We sang that for her.

You will surely have noticed that the prayers that introduced the preface today were different. These tones are called solemnior — the most solemn – and reserved for the more important feasts. And likewise, the melodies of the preface itself were more elaborate and more beautiful – likewise called solemnior. Our visiting priest, Father James Carlisle, has a voice that was designed by God to sing the solemnior preface. He will never miss an opportunity, and we are grateful to hear it – and God is greatly glorified. Few priests sing it and none that I know of sing it as well. Today’s preface, rather than that of the season, was the special preface for Our Lady. This was her day in every way.

Of course, the custom is to sing for Our Lady at the Offertory, and so we did. And, of course, at the Communion, we sing for her Son, Our Blessed Lord. I don’t want to say we “threw him a bone” but we did seek out the shortest possible hymn for the Blessed Eucharist, and so, in honor of the Most Blessed Sacrament, we sang the beautiful and very brief Ave Verum Corpus.

Having thus discharged that responsibility, we once again turned to His Mother. We are sure He did not mind. We sang Victoria’s Ave Maria, which starts, fittingly, with the first notes form the Gregorian (the incipit) and then explodes into four-part polyphony that is so beautiful that we singers must force concentration so as not to be distracted by its beauty.

To conclude the Mass, we sang Hail Holy Queen, in view of Our Lady’s coronation, which took place immediately upon her being assumed into heaven, and which we will celebrate next Sunday.

After the recessional, we did, indeed, once again, implore Our Lady’s intercession to end the current pestilence, and sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit.

To provide something more meditative while the Faithful made their thanksgiving after Mass., we sang the Antiphon before and after a falso bordone arrangement of the Magnificat in which the chanted verses alternate with three-part polyphony, all male voices – tenor, baritone and bass.

At each Mass, we must choose:

• The Propers
• The Ordinary
• The Credo
• The Hymns

The Propers are generally decided by the feast day, either for the day itself, or for a feast that might have come earlier in the week (and thus solemnized on the following Sunday). This Sunday, we sang the Propers of the Feast, the 10th Sunday after Pentecost.

We have more flexibility in choosing the Ordinary (or the Commons) and the Credo. We chose, once again, Mass IV and Credo IV.

We have the most flexibility when it comes to choosing the hymns. What factors influence our choices? Among the most important considerations are the following:

• The liturgical feast
• The liturgical season
• The readings of the day

Those things are well alluded to, obviously, in the Propers and Commons that we choose, or that are prescribed, for the day. In choosing the hymns, however, we often incline toward another consideration, that of the devotion for the calendar month. These are the traditional devotions assigned to each month:

• January: The Holy Name of Jesus
• February: The Holy Family
• March: St. Joseph
• April: The Blessed Sacrament
• May: The Blessed Virgin
• June: The Sacred Heart
• July: The Precious Blood
• August: The Immaculate Heart
• September: Our Lady of Sorrows and the Holy Cross
• October: The Holy Rosary
• November: The Poor Souls
• December: The Immaculate Conception

As we enter August, we now move from honoring the Precious Blood of Jesus to honoring Our Lady, specifically, in her Immaculate Heart. Our Processional was O Mary of Graces. At the Offertory, we sang Stella Coeli Extirpavit, as is our custom for the time being. At the Communion, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, the mixed choir again sang Aichinger’s polyphonic mashup, which combines the Communion antiphon (Factus est repente) and the Offertory antiphon (Confirma hoc Deus) from Pentecost Sunday.

There was time also to honor Our Lady with Salve Regina and the exquisite Tota Pulchra es. This hymn, whose sublime words come to us from the fourth century, is taken from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Its title means, Thou art entirely beautiful (O Maria).

At the recessional, we made the obvious choice, Immaculate Mary. And finally, after Mass, as the faithful made their thanksgiving, we sang the Gregorian Ave Maris Stella, with a harmonization written by one of the men of the Schola.