Mar. 13: 5th Sunday of Lent

4 PM at the Cathedral. With this, we now have all the music we need until Easter Sunday. Not trying to be irreverent, but I was unable to find any suitable recording of Nemo te condemnavit. I found this Nemo, however (just keep tempo...just keep tempo...just keep tempo, tempo, tempo). If Kathy sends out any sound files, I'll link them here.

CHECK ONE: _X_ Adoremus  ___ St. Michael Hymnal

Introit: Judica me Deus (Note: no Gloria Patri is sung today)

Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei (no Gloria): Mass XVII

Credo III

Offertory: Confitebor, Ah Holy Jesus

Communio: Nemo te condemnavit, Tenebrae Factae Sunt

Recessional: O Sacred Head Surrounded

Meanwhile in Portland...

Great interview by Jim Graves with Portland, Oregon Archbishop Alexander Sample in Catholic World Report. He was the youngest active bishop in the U.S. when he was so ordained at age 45; ten years later, he is the nation's youngest archbishop.

The whole article is a good read; note especially how Portland, like the Diocese of Reno, has few churchgoers of any denomination, let alone Catholicism. For our purposes. here's an excerpt from His Excellency:

Some have said that the sacred liturgy is my personal hang up, that I have an obsession with it. I reject that view, because it’s not merely my opinion that the liturgy be given the highest priority, but that of the Church. 

The Church teaches us that the liturgy is the “source and summit” of the Church’s life [in Sacrosanctum Concilium]. There is nothing more important that the Church does. All our apostolic works flow from it. It is the heart of who we are as the body of Christ. [...] 

I want to do what the Church wants us to do in regards to liturgy. It is not my take, or my style, but what the Church is asking of us. I want to be faithful to what the Vatican II Council intended. 

The liturgy is not the personal possession of any priest or liturgical commission, but belongs to Holy Mother Church. We must celebrate it according to the mind and heart of the Church. 

Sacred music forms an important part of that liturgy. I hope, in time and with patience, to address this topic with our clergy and lay leaders.

Graves also asked Archbishop Sample about recently celebrating Mass in the Extraordinary Form during a conference at a monastery:

We have [a] wonderful group of lay people in our archdiocese with an interest in Gregorian chant who put this conference together. They wanted to introduce Gregorian chant to the people in accordance with the mind of the Church. Vatican II, in fact, indicated that chant should enjoy "pride of place" in the liturgy [in Sacrosanctum Concilium]. 

The conference organizers wanted to experience Gregorian chant within the liturgy and asked me to celebrate the Mass there according to the Extraordinary Form. I had no hesitation to do so when I was asked. 

I’m grateful to Pope Benedict for allowing the Extraordinary Form to flourish again in the Church. I have a great love and appreciation for the ancient liturgy. I wish every priest and seminarian would familiarize himself with the Extraordinary Form, which can help us to better understand the Ordinary Form.

Oh, did I mention His Excellency had previously been the bishop of Marquette, Michigan? He laid the groundwork for what took place there recently.

The Guest Singer Of The Year Award

Has to go to the little soprano who joined us on the Psalm yesterday at St. Peter Canisius. Let's hope he grows up to become a bass and then joins us. I have a feeling, however, that won't be by next week.

Thursday, Mar. 24: Holy Thursday

6:15 PM at Holy Spirit Mission. Mantillas, ladies.

Introit: Nos autem (multiple verses)

Kyrie, Gloria (mp3 only), Sanctus, Agnus Dei (miserere nobis last time): Mass IV

Gradual: Christus factus est

Antiphons for the Washing of the Feet:

• Mandatum novum do vobis
• Postquam surrexit Dominus
• Dominus Jesus
• Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes
• Si ego Dominus
• In hoc cognoscent omnes
• Maneant in vobis
• Ubi caritas

can all be found here, starting at around the 10:00 mark. This recording has Nos autem and Christus factus est as well.

Offertory Proper: Dextera Domini

Offertory Motet: Christus Factus Est

Communion: Dominus Jesus

Psalm 22 (Dominus regit)*

Psalm 71 (Deus, judicium)*
Psalm 103 (Benedic, anima mea)*
Psalm 150 (Laudate Dominum)*
* as needed

Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament: Pange lingua

Stripping of altar: Psalm 21 (Diviserunt sibi) (alternate verses between cantors and all)

PLEASE EXIT IN SILENCE.

Feb. 28: 3rd Sunday of Lent

4 PM at the Cathedral. CHECK ONE: ___ Adoremus  _X_ St. Michael Hymnal

Introit: Oculi mei

Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei (no Gloria): Mass XVII

Offertory: Justitiae Domini, Attende Domine

Communio: Passer invenit, O Jesu Christe (Jaquet of Mantua)

Recessional: Lift High The Cross

RPC Goes Virtual, Kinda

RPC will be making another appearance...and you don't even have to show up!

Immaculate Conception administrator Fr. Philip George has asked for a recording of us to be played at a reconciliation service scheduled for Friday, March 11 at 7 PM. Happy to oblige, I put together a sound file of us singing The Seven Last Words, Adoramus Te (Roselli), O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, Ave Verum Corpus (Byrd), and O Vos Omnes (Victoria). All except for Ave Verum Corpus are on our Dolorosa CD; you can hear our recording of Ave Verum Corpus here. As Kathy will point out, recordings are not to be played during Mass, but this is a service and not a Mass.

My apologies to Gill Baertlein, whose fine narration I had to edit out. We thank Fr. George (he answers both to Fr. Philip and Fr. George) and Tom Edwards of IC for thinking of us.

What's Your N.A.M.?

In the upper-right-hand corner of the Panis Angelicus that we've been singing appear the initials "N.A.M." In fact, you'll find those initials all over the abridged St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book that some of us still have. They stand for Nicola Aloysius Montani, and the Adoremus website has a fascinating article written by Lucy Carroll about him: "Nicola A. Montani and the Catholic Liturgical Revival of the Early 20th Century."

Montani founded the Society of St. Gregory and the St. Gregory Guild. More than a century ago, Montani took it upon himself to execute Pope Pius X's motu proprio, Tra le sollecitudini; Instruction on Sacred Music, which deserves a read of its own. Nice to know ours is not the only era in which chant and polyphony have taken a back seat in the liturgy.

Carroll points out Montani was something of an iconoclast as he excised the profane and restored the sacred in liturgical music. If Montani had had his way, the Schubert Ave Maria would be placed in the same category as the Mendelssohn Wedding March as inappropriate for Mass. What Montani did accomplish was to rearrange many classic polyphony pieces to make them more accessible for choirs...which Pius said should only consist of men and boys. Considering how difficult it has been for us to recruit basses, I'm glad that restriction is long gone. (ETA: So, obviously, are the sopranos and altos!)

Feb. 21: 2nd Sunday of Lent

8 AM at St. Peter Canisius. Stat Of The Day (which wouldn't be that significant if it were Christmas or Easter): This is at least the 5th straight year we've sung for the 2nd Sunday of Lent.

CHECK ONE: _X_ Adoremus   ___ St. Michael Hymnal

Introit: Reminiscere

Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei (no Gloria): Mass XVII

Offertory: I Shall Meditate Upon Your Commandments

Communion: Lord Jesus, Think On Me

Recessional: O God Of Loveliness

More Kudos

Father Thomas Babu called us "totally awesome" after our Mass at St. Michael's in Stead last Saturday, and other parishioners gave us similar praise in response to our first visit to the parish. Conversely, we appreciated not only Fr. Babu mentioning RPC in his homily (a possible first) but coming to us before Mass and praying over us, concluding with the Hail Mary. Wow! I think that helped quite a bit after, to say the least, a rough pre-Mass rehearsal. It was a little awkward facing away from the altar and the congregation to sing, but no one seemed to mind.

Another nice touch to Mass was Fr. Babu leading the congregation in the Anima Christi after Communion. Too bad we didn't have Calvert Shenk's Anima Christi ready to sing! As with Immaculate Conception, we hope our visit to St. Michael's was the first of many.

An Opportunity For Continuing Sacred Music Education

If you don't have the time or resources to make the CMAA's annual colloquium scheduled for June 20-25 in St. Louis, this might be a good alternate. Corpus Christi Watershed and the FSSP of Los Angeles are sponsoring a symposium in West Hollywood from Saturday, May 28 through Tuesday, May 31. Drs. Horst Buchholz and Alfred Calabrese will be on hand, along with CCW president Jeff Ostrowski.

Not only will this be a time of working on chant singing, there will also be presentations for choir directors or those who wish to become directors. After all, let's face it: Kathy won't be directing us forever, much as we wish God would give her a pass from that death thing.

Note that the symposium fee is $135, space is limited, and you need to reserve your seat via email.

Friday, Mar. 4: Stations of the Cross

(Photo is from one of our favorite places Back East, namely, the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, MD.)

FRIDAY at the Cathedral, call time 5:15 PM (or as soon as you can arrive from work).

O Sacred Head Surrounded

Stabat Mater (words begin ~1:10 or so)

The Seven Last Words

Tenebrae Factae Sunt (now the version Kathy emailed)

Feb. 14: 1st Sunday of Lent

4 PM at the Cathedral.

Introit: Invocabit me

Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei (no Gloria): Mass XVII

Credo III

Offertory: Scapulis suis, Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days (SMH)

Communio: Scapulis suis, Panis Angelicus (Lambilotte) (S, A, T, B)

Recessional: Lord Jesus, Think On Me (SMH)


BONUS: For those who want to get a jump on it for Easter...
Haec Dies (Byrd; mp3)

Meanwhile in Michigan...

Quite a development in the Diocese of Marquette, where Bishop John Doerfler has issued Sing To The Lord, All The Earth!, an instruction on sacred music in divine worship. By the end of 2020, all parishes and schools in the diocese will learn and use in Mass:

• The English ordinaries of the Roman Missal;
• The Missa Iubilate Deo Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei; and
• The English Communion Antiphons in a simple tone.

The diocese will also create its own hymnal "to ensure the musical quality and doctrinal integrity of the Sacred Music." Read more about the changes here.

The Diocese of Marquette encompasses the sparsely-populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where inhabitants fondly refer to themselves as Yoopers and those from the rest of the Great Lakes State as Trolls.