MUSICA SACRA SCOTLAND: MASS - INTROIT

We are used to an Opening Hymn for the Entrance Procession into Mass.
Yet I had read that the Introit in the Missal is to be preferred over any other song. I had never understood how the short Antiphon in the Missal could be long enough to accompany the Entrance Procession. But now I know!
You sing the Entrance Antiphon and then the Psalm verses....

But this shouldn't have been such a mystery.
The 2011 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) reads as follows:


"47. When the people are gathered, and as the Priest enters with the Deacon and ministers, the Entrance Chant begins. Its purpose is to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical time or festivity, and accompany the procession of the Priest and ministers.
48. In Scotland: This chant is sung alternately by the choir and the people or similarly by a cantor and the people, or entirely by the people, or by the choir alone. In the dioceses of Scotland the Entrance Chant may be chosen from among the following:the antiphon with its Psalm from the Graduale Romanum or the Graduale Simplex, or another chant that is suited to the sacred action, the day, or the time of year,and whose text has been approved by the Conference of Bishops of Scotland.
If there is no singing at the Entrance, the antiphon given in the Missal is recited either by the faithful, or by some of them, or by a reader; otherwise, it is recited by the priest himself, who may even adapt it as an introductory explanation."


At the Mass after the Conference, we went with the option specified by the GIRM. 
The recording below was made on an iPod placed away from me. We were in the front row of the choir stalls on the right in the picture below. James MacMillan didn't know about my recorder and chose to stand directly in front of the device. He sounds much louder on the recording than in real life.

The congregation, including many who had participated in the Conference, is to the left out of the picture. We sang men's voices/women's voices rather than antiphonally. It was beautiful.
Here is the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W28zzMVa-_w&feature=youtu.be

MUSICA SACRA CONFERENCE: INTRODUCTION AND BRILLIANT LECTURE FROM FR GUY NICHOLLS

Two speeches opened the event. James MacMillan was effusive and very positive and I felt that Archbishop Tartaglia gave a much better speech than the last one I had heard to welcome Archbishop Muller of the CDF. One of our number didn’t have the comparison and was not very impressed by His Grace’s technique. Nevertheless, the Archbishop strongly affirmed his desire that Gregorian Chant should be used in Catholic churches and noted that the poor should be exposed to the musical riches of the Church. He explained that his favourite hymn is Thomas Aquinas’ Adoro Te Devote.

Next Charles Cole rehearsed the music for the Mass. This was successful, apart from some details. A couple of people observed that Charles began in the wrong Mode but I didn't realise any of this. His approach to the pacing of Psalm verses was different from that of our teacher. James MacMillan helped out on this, emphasising the need to pause mid-verse at the *. And for the next verse to start quickly.

At 11.30 we had to choose from three options –  1. Releasing the Voice, 2. Introduction to chant notation or 3. Advanced Chant Class to be given by Father Guy Nicholls from the Birmingham Oratory. We chose Fr Guy, hoping that we could keep-up.

We could.

Father Guy began by taking us through the Gradual for the Saturday evening Vigil Mass, this replaces the Responsorial Psalm between the first and second readings:

CLICK TO ENLARGE ANY IMAGE

Dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu, Domine.
Elevatio manuum mearum sacrificium vespertinum.
Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight O Lord.
The lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice. (Psalm 141).

I recorded the session with my iPod in my shirt pocket, so it sounds very scratchy but I hope that you can hear that Fr Guy’s voice was not only excellent but very precise.
By way of introduction he told us that this Gradual was typical in that the Versicle was generally the solo part and was of a wider range, certainly a higher note is usually reached, as in Elevatio. And that words seem to trigger certain musical shapes or ideas. Thus, Elevatio, raising up, actually produces a raising-up of the voice. Words are painted with the music.

Here is the clip. I will post the full YouTube link when it becomes available
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWbZIeSrEWc

It's a long, long time from May to December

Our summer has been busy and I recorded so much music that it became an obstacle to blog about the events. So here’s a quick summary of our summer.
And autumn.

We were welcomed into the Church of the Holy Rude on 27th July where we sang Vespers and Compline of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, surely the most appropriate Feast Day for the medieval building of the same dedication.
We were joined by the Schola Cantorum of St. Pancras who gave a splendid recital of polyphony. They use this inspiring image of a spiral staircase as their brand:

This was probably the first time that these verses had been prayed in that building since the 1560s.

August started with our listings in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. On the 3rd we prayed Vespers of the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ, Mgr Michael Regan was the Celebrant.

Six of us with Mgr Regan afterwards

Click any Image to Enlarge

On Sunday, we sang the parts of the Missa de Angelis at the 11.00 parish Mass in St Margaret’s in less-than-perfect circumstances. Delays meant that we didn’t have time to rehearse with the congregation. That evening we formed the schola for the 5pm Traditional Latin Mass in the Holy Spirit church. I served at the altar but the group sounded very good without me.

The next Saturday found us again in Edinburgh for Vespers of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This time Simon Nieminski had organised a choir to sing polyphony and we sang verse about. Again the Celebrant was Mgr Regan.

17th August saw our final Festival 2013 appearance, this time we prayed second vespers for the Feast of the Assumption. For some of the Psalms Simon Nieminski played versets by Jean Titelouze. Here, the organ took the place of the schola singing antiphonally. I have uploaded the Opening Versicles, the first Antiphon 'Assumpta est Maria in caelum'. Here we are before the organ verses start:




I'll upload the video when it appears on the main YouTube channel; click here to open it until then.

I travelled to Linlithgow on the 31st for a Diocesan Singing Day organised by Forth in Praise. This featured modern hymns and new Mass settings with a guitar workshop in the afternoon. Not being a guitarist, I made my excuses and left, as the News of the World used to say of its reporters. One of the hymns, Bernadette Farrell’s Bread For The World, was misprinted so as to be meaningless but we all sang along anyway:

"Lord Jesus Christ, you are the bread of life, broken to reach and heal the wounds of human pain, Where we divide your people waiting there on bended knee to wash our feet with endless care".

There’s a ‘You are’ missing before the ‘waiting’ I think. Even then, from a theological point of view, I'm not too sure that we should be telling Our Lord that He should be found kneeling before us to wash our feet.

Read about the event here: http://www.forthinpraise.co.uk/events.php#quest

1st September saw us back at Holy Spirit for the Latin Mass. We sang Adoro Te Devote as the Communion Hymn. I was able to sing this time. Fr John Emerson was the Clebrant as usual.

Two members attended the National Pilgrimage at Carfin on the 8th, there was some Chant.

October started with us singing the Kyrie and Agnus Dei at morning Mass in St Mary’s Stirling. We had arranged an open-day for anyone interested in Chant and Fr Kenneth had agreed that we could use St Mary’s and Sion House. In the event there were transport problems from Glasgow and two groups couldn’t attend, Fred gave up as well. Those who came enjoyed themselves.

6th October had us back at Holy Spirit for the TLM, while on Saturday 26th we travelled to the Preceptory of the Knights of St. John in Torphichen for Mass. The Celebrant was Fr Mark Morris, with Fr Emerson in Choir.That's my crucifix above the Altar, with the Corpus my father cast in Ireland, not long before he joined the Royal Navy.
Several Knights of Malta, and one remarkable Dame, assisted at Mass.

 Here is the day described on another blog:
 http://stuart-filioque.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/una-voce-mass-in-torphichen-scotland.html
The blogger concludes with ‘what a joy it is for one to hear Gregorian chant expertly resounding between these ancient walls for the glory of our Lord’.

i-Cantors

We had planned a practice on Monday but Alan was laid low in Edinburgh. I thought of FaceTime and we arranged a link-up between his iPad and Morven's. It seemed to work when we tried it at 5.00pm so I phoned around and three of us met. We snuggled together at our dining table so that we could all be seen by the camera and after jokes about i-Cantors, we had a go. We began with the Vespers planned for 27th July. Things started badly and then got worse – the time-lag between Edinburgh and Stirling led us so badly astray that we began to sing less and less well. We called a halt. But not before Jack offered some medical advice on Diarrhoea, apparently the advice I had received from our old family doctor (clear liquids, lemonade etc) is now wrong. Drinking the salty water of boiled rice after eating the rice is the approved approach for serious Diarrhoea.

Next day we met in the Hall in the afternoon. While we were waiting for Alan, the others helped me with Deus, in adjutoriam (O God, come to my aid : O Lord, make haste to help me). Here it is until 1.08:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vIfbtKHvk0

We worked through the Antiphons and Psalms of Vespers of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
O magnum pietatis opus: mors mortua tunc est, in ligno quando mortua vita fuit.
I noted that we were good with the fu-it.
O great work of love: death then was dead when on the Cross Life itself had died.
There appears to be no recording of this chant in mode VII on-line, so we can be first. DV.

We got more comfortable with the Psalms, then on the Vexilla Regis.
Vexilla regis prodeunt, fulget crucis mysterium,
quo carne carnis conditor suspensus est patibulo.    
The banners of the king issue forth, the mystery of the cross does gleam,
where the creator of flesh, in the flesh, by the cross-bar is hung.

Here are some familiar folks, singing Vexilla Regis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wivAfXH5TGo

Jack spotted that there was a missing neume in our version of verse 7, this was causing us to miss-count and go wrong. We inked-it in and agreed that Jack deserved a special recognition:

The Antiphon O Crux benedicta has a very complicated alleluia:

Click Image to Enlarge

Alan took us through it is short steps. The al could end in a liquescent, then into the le----. This features a series of neumes, repeated twice, as you can see.
We had a quick scamper through Compline before heading-off to visit Holy Rude and arriving after they had closed for the day.

Catholic Specs

I missed the Mass in the Holy Spirit because I was in England at a wargames conference. This involved serious and light-hearted simulations, various talks and a sing-song. One fascinating talk was on CyberWars and the importance of the human factor.
The presenter was an ex-spook and observed that in a few years, over 40% of the world's population would live on the edge of the Indian Ocean or on rivers which flow into it. Their concern was access to water not energy.

My talk was on Catholic Specs. Here's a summary:

Catholic Specs

I'm a Christian. I'd like to suggest that you need to put on Catholic Specs to see Western military history more clearly.

For most of our recorded history, Britain was Catholic. Yet our military historians seem to have a blind-spot about this. They do not engage with the importance of belief in God during wars of the past. But they are missing a key factor.

I’d like to offer a couple of examples to show what I mean.

Bannockburn

Before the battle, there was a famous event when the Scots were recorded as kneeling and the English king Edward observed this saying ‘Yon folk are kneeling to ask mercy.’ He was advised that they asked God for mercy for their sins, rather than from him.

People have argued that this was the moment when the Scots knelt to be ‘shriven’ of their sins, or when Mass was said. Yet both armies were Catholic; both armies attended Mass and both were ‘shriven’. There should have been no observable differences between the religious practices of the two Catholic armies facing each other.

My Catholic Specs would suggest that something extra was involved. Something that was specific to Scottish Catholicism at that time. I believe that what was happening in 1314 was the veneration of Columba’s reliquary (contained in the Brecbennoch) as this was carried in front of the Scottish lines. Even today we Catholics would genuflect at such a moment. However a lack of Catholic sensitivity has led to an ignorance of the way a medieval Catholic army would respond to the ancient relics of their saint being carried in front of them. There would have been a "Mexican-wave Genuflection" as the relics were carried along the front.

Victorian accounts completely fail to see this and even Chris Brown’s recent account of the battle ascribes this event to an imagined headcount and alignment exercise by sub-unit commanders because he is looking for an earthly explanation.

While Brown’s account of the battle is the most accurate available, he rejects my proposal that the soldiers knelt as the relics were carried before them because he hasn’t got Catholic Specs.

 The Monymusk Reliquary

The Crusades

There is a famous D-Day monument named ‘The Crusader Sword’ on Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer. This suggests that the people of the time saw that the Crusades were an attempt to liberate an oppressed population, as was D-Day.

 'Crusader Sword' - Courseulles-sur-Mer

I would argue that the Crusades prefigure the Allied liberation of France in several ways. A western force travelled  east to liberate a people oppressed by a recent invader; many innocent civilian casualties were incurred (50,000 French civilian casualties from the Allied bombing of Normandy/unknown thousands massacred after the siege of Jerusalem, 3,000 to 40,000 depending on source); crimes against the existing rules of war were committed (execution of SS prisoners of war/massacres in captured towns beyond the first day); long-term military influence was secured (NATO/The Crusader Kingdoms) and earthly power was enhanced (Eisenhower’s Presidency/Urban’s Papacy).

There were several military ventures which we know as Crusades.  These included actions against heretics as well as against Muslim-held territory in the West, such as the Reconquista (Retaking) of Spain and also against Muslim pirates and slavers from North Africa.  These 'Barbary Corsairs' attacked coastal settlements in Christian Europe, taking well over a million people into slavery between 1530 and 1780, including the entire population of Baltimore in County Cork captured and sold into slavery in 1631. Their piracy and slave-trading only stopped in 1830, following a French invasion.

I’m going to look at the First Crusade, since this initiated the response and was the only Christian success in 300 years of attempting to hold the advance of Muslim armies in the Holy Land.

In the summer of 1096 between 60,000 and 100,000 Catholics set out to walk from western Europe to the Holy Land.  These were men and women drawn from all sections of society, travelling on an armed pilgrimage to liberate the Holy Places, in particular Jerusalem. They were responding to the call of Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 yet there had been centuries of broadly peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians.

The co-existence between Muslim rulers and Christian subjects and pilgrims had continued under the Fatmid Caliphate but was disrupted when the Holy Land was invaded by the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks instituted a pogrom against Christians and restricted their movement. Pilgrimages became both more difficult and more dangerous. They confiscated Christian property, burned crosses, destroyed churches and built mosques on their sites. ‘By 1014 over 30,000 churches had been destroyed or pillaged’.  This created an atmosphere of collective outrage in Europe which Vidmar compares to that following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour or the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001. 

The Seljuks captured Jerusalem from the Fatmids in 1071 and Alexius I, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, appealed to western Christians for help. Pope Urban called the Council of Clermont as a response. There are six accounts of Urban’s speech but all share the same key message ‘to carry aid to the lands of our friends and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends’.  We shouldn’t be misled by recent movies which portray these volunteers as evil, rapacious invaders intent on destroying a peaceful Muslim earthly paradise.

These Pilgrims saw themselves on an errand of mercy which, although initially successful ended in failure and defeat by the Seljuks. Indeed, the Fourth Crusade (1201-1204) was so badly organised that it was diverted by the Venetians and led to the sacking of Constantinople. This was strongly condemned by Pope Innocent III yet is still cited by many Eastern Orthodox Christians as a major obstacle to reunion with the Catholic Church.

The Crusades were seen as a military intervention to protect the weak from an aggressive invader. I would argue that the First Crusade was no less moral than the Allied invasion of Normandy, indeed there are striking similarities. The Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a famous letter to the troops who were about to undertake Operation Overlord in 1944. It begins, ‘You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade’ and sets out the aim, ‘you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.’  Eisenhower concludes with a prayer, ‘And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking’. 

 Click to Enlarge

I would suggest that military historian's engagement with Christian Europe is weakened by ignoring the high religious motivation which saw the first-sons and best of European Christendom mortgaging their estates so that they could aid fellow-Christians who were under the attack of Suljik Muslims. 

And by ignoring the Christian men who struggled up the Normandy beaches during Operation Overlord praying ‘Over Lord….Over Lord’.

Lepanto

The forces of Catholic Europe engaged a huge Muslim fleet under very disadvantageous circumstances. The Pope had asked for Rosaries to be said for Victory.

Later, he had a vision of a victory and ordered that the bells of Rome be rung.

This turned out to be at the very time of that victory……many days before news arrived from the Fleet Commander.

A very public demonstration and open to ridicule if he was wrong.

He wasn’t.

Here’s the start of Chesterton’s poem Lepanto:

     White founts falling in the Courts of the sun,
     And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run;
     There is laughter like the fountains in that face of all men feared,
     It stirs the forest darkness, the darkness of his beard;
     It curls the blood-red crescent, the crescent of his lips;
     For the inmost sea of all the earth is shaken with his ships.
     They have dared the white republics up the capes of Italy,
     They have dashed the Adriatic round the Lion of the Sea,
     And the Pope has cast his arms abroad for agony and loss,
     And called the kings of Christendom for swords about the Cross.
     The cold queen of England is looking in the glass;
     The shadow of the Valois is yawning at the Mass;
     From evening isles fantastical rings faint the Spanish gun,
     And the Lord upon the Golden Horn is laughing in the sun.

I looked at ways to simulate Lepanto.

Remote Rehearsals

Alan suggested that we might practice the Vespers at home to get used to the text.
I looked on YouTube.
The only recordings of the Vespers of the Assumption I could find are from the two guys I posted last week. But they are not singing Mode VII. Worth watching to see that there are slight differences from the gestures Alan described. And to highlight the need to practice gestures, so as not to detract from the prayerful dignity:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ww_e4dTTbs

We are at least as good as these two blokes.

The Salve Regina we are learning is here:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OIDAc-zFkY&list=PL2829C797E9C12E89&index=38

It is a very good effort and we can learn a lot from the Schola of the Hofburgkapelle Vienna.

I can report that the Ladies Group's 'fish tea' in the hall was a big success as was the ice cream, served with old-fashioned Oysters and 'nugget wafers':

All of the ice cream was scoffed (Fr Joe helped, apparently) so we would have got short shrift if we had gone over and asked for some, as I had suggested.
Did you know that 'shrift' derives from shriven and a short shrift implies a short Confession?
I didn't. But "any fule knos" as Jennings would have it.

To Seton

We practiced for the Mass in Seton Collegiate Church, unfortunatley George told me before the practice that he would be leaving the group. We will miss his dignified presence.

Malkie and I drove to East Lothian together. The lady from Historic Scotland was very enthusiastic about 'her' church and took us on a guided tour, showing us the Green Man and the Murdered Apprentice carved on the base of the corbels. Here's the Murdered Apprentice:

The acoustics were very forgiving as we sang the Mass of the Blessed Virgin 'In Sabbato' in the church which was originally dedicated to 'Our Lady and the Holy Cross'.
Several passers-by came in and some took places among the congregation. Others hung back and listened.

Here’s a first attempt at a YouTube video based on the audio recording of us singing the Introit hymn, Salve sancta Parens. The iPod recording is surprisingly good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFlg9gWwZPU

Salve, sancta parens, enixa puerpera Regem: qui caelum terramque regit in saecula saeculorum.
Sentiant omnes tuum adiuvamen, quicumque celebrant tuam commemorationem.
Hail, holy mother, who did bring forth the King who rules heaven and earth for ever and ever.
May all who keep thy commemoration feel now thy help and protection.

I was careless and my photographs didn't turn out well, maybe next time I'll remember to check settings before taking pictures on automatic. But we sound pretty good - as my wife said 'Is that you?'

As we were leaving

Before a fuller post, I though that it would be worth sharing a finding from our last session about Thomas Aquinas' great Eucharistic hymn,. Tantum Ergo.
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.

It matches this melody note for note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CR6IL3fUvGU

The hymn will never be quite the same...
As an aside, here are some visitors from last summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1Bq_7F9Uuds

I particularly enjoy the enthusiastic shouts of 'Gie it laldie' from 1.20 with 'Gie it laldie in the Raploch. This is a Papist stronghold' from 5.50. Fast Forward if you prefer.

Missa Orbis Factor

We practiced this new-to-us Mass setting, Mass XI. We weren't very good but it is worth persevering with it because it comes from the earliest, most traditional years of chant.
Father Ray Blake writes about the Kyrie in Orbis Factor. Here we see the certainty of Divine mercy.
"The word eleison has a connection with olive oil, the sinuous melody seems to be like thick olive oil penetrating into the soul, healing and cleansing. The rise on the last syllable of Christe seems to be about a drenching in the oil of mercy".
http://marymagdalen.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/orbis-factor.html

This version of the Kyrie with 'tropes' is pretty remarkable:





1. Orbis factor rex aeterne, eleison
2. Pietatis fons immense, eleison
3. Noxas omnes nostras pelle, eleison
4. Christe qui lux es mundi dator vitae, eleison
5. Arte laesos daemonis intuere, eleison
6. Conservans te credentes confirmansque, eleison
7. Patrem tuum teque flamen utrorumque, eleison
8. Deum scimus unum atque trinum esse, eleison
9. Clemens nobis adsis paraclite ut vivamus in te, eleison.

1. Maker of the world, King eternal, have mercy upon us.
2. O immense source of pity, have mercy upon us.
3. Drive off all our evils, have mercy upon us.
4. Christ who art the light of the world and giver of life, have mercy upon us.
5. Consider the wounds produced by the devil's art, have mercy upon us.
6. Keeping and confirming thy believers, have mercy upon us.
7. Thou and thy Father, an equal light, have mercy upon us.
8. We know that God is one and three, have mercy upon us.
9. Thou, merciful unto us, art present with the Holy Spirit that we might live in thee, have mercy upon us.
(from Wikipedia)

We are aiming for this:

 Father Blake writes that one of the nice things about the Traditional Rite is that the Penitential Rite and absolution is a private affair, for the priest and server at the foot of the altar, a preparation for Mass
"so the Kyrie becomes a triumphant proclamation in which the Christian prays and as he prays, he receives. The priest might mutter about his sinfulness under his breath but in the "congregation of the Redeemed" he and the congregation proclaims God's mercy".
He writes that the priest's introduction to the Penitential rite in the modern Mass, using his own words, "can become downright tedious, almost Pelagian". On regular Sundays we stand and pray the Confiteor together.

When I serve at the Latin Mass, I bow low while on my knees at the foot of the Altar and confess my sins, on behalf of the rest of the congregation. I am older than these chaps and always comb my hair:

Click Images to enlarge

Mass, Vespers, what?

The Ladies Group were in the Hall, hosting an event for seventy female guests from other parishes. They had tables set out and meals ready to go. Dancing was planned.....

We met in the crying room in the church. George was back with us after his surgery and ready to punch people with his newly strengthened fist. Jack stuck up for the NHS.

Alan wanted us to practice a new Mass setting AND the Vespers for Edinburgh.
I thought that he was being a bit optimistic.

The new Mass setting was Missa Orbis Factor. The name comes from the opening of the extended Kyrie which opens with a 'trope':
Orbis factor rex aeterne, eleison
Maker of the world, King eternal, have mercy upon us.
I will write more on Orbis Factor later. Suffice it to say that we were not very good. The basic Kyrie is to be 'flowing', with counts of 222,333 for the start of the Kyrie and 333, 333 for the start of the Christe. We sang our way through the other prayers. It will be several more weeks before we try this Mass in public.

The Vespers went a bit better. We have until August to get this right. I will find a local venue for a practice in July.

The couplets from the Psalms are sung with a pause. Vespers sound something like this

Although these guys go up at the end of each line in the second part (Psalm 112) and the square notes don't appear to.

The final hymn began O Prima Virgo Prodita. This doesn't mean O Best Protestant Virgin.

O prima, Virgo, pródita
E Conditóris spíritu,
Prædestináta Altíssimi
Gestáre in alvo Fílium;

Tu perpes hostis fémina
Prænuntiáta dæmonis,
Oppléris una grátia
Intamináta orígine.

O Virgin thou, the spirit's fair’st,
Predestined by the will divine,
Within thy sacred womb thou bear’st
His only Son, and also thine.

O thou in whom rich grace abounds,
Foretold thou wast to be the foe
Who in her origin confounds
The wicked demon here below.

Hear an audio of part of the hymn here
http://www.allmusic.com/performance/o-prima-virgo-prodita-hymn-in-mode-2-mq0002031590
Prædestináta Altíssimi
Gestáre in alvo Fílium;

Tu perpes hostis fémina
Prænuntiáta dæmonis,
Oppléris una grátia
Intamináta orígine.

Veni Sancte Spiritus- Arbroath Recording

We are now on YouTube

Look at the crisp line on my sleeve - there's an excellent ironer in the group.
Here's the text to follow as we sing the prayer (The Sequence starts at 2.05, after the Alleluia).

Click to enlarge

Here it is in English (although this translation of Veni Sancte Spiritus from the Missal doesn't start 'Come Holy Spirit'):

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,
From the clear celestial height.
Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,
Come, with treasures which endure;
Come, thou Light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,
Thou, the soul's delightful guest,
Dost refreshing peace bestow.

Thou in toil art comfort sweet;
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, Light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill.

If thou take thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour thy dew,
Wash the stains of guilt away.

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on us who evermore
Thee confess and thee adore,
With thy sevenfold gifts descend.

Give us comfort when we die;
Give us life with thee on high;
Give us joys that never end.
Amen. Alleluia.

Maybe there should be a Glasgow version of the video uploading site called YaTube Ye.

Corpus Christi

We had practiced the Sequence Lauda Sion on Thursday for the Sunday Mass at Holy Spirit. The Mass was well attended
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are written on the stained glass window: sapientia, intellectus, consilium, fortitudo, scientia, pietas, timor Domini (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord).

Two servers arrived, so I could sing with the Schola.
We are sounding more confident, according to my son.
In the Kyrie we remembered to sing Chreestay and our pacing in the Gloria was good. In our run-through before Mass, we had been too loud at the endings and had the emphasis in Deus as De-us, rather than Deyus. But we were fine at the Mass itself.
Lauda Sion is one of Aquinas's great Eucharistic hymns.
At the Communion, we sang one of his greatest hits Tantum Ergo.

Here's a short musical description of Thomas Aquinas's life and work sung to "Venus" by Bananarama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57m0XiRgBA
Worth clicking. 'Scholasticism was his game'.
Now, the Sequence itself:

We sang the Sequence well but we should have provided an English translation for everyone, not all have Missals with Latin/English. Here it is if you want to follow along:

Sing forth, O Sion, sweetly sing
The praises of thy Shepherd-King,
In hymns and caticles divine;
Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song
Worthy his praises to prolong,
So far surpassing powers like thine.

To-day no theme of common praise
Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –
The living, life-dispensing food –
That food which at the sacred board
Unto the brethren twelve our Lord
His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,
Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,
The very music of the breast:
For now shines forth the day sublime
That brings remembrance of the time
When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King's banquet-hall
They meet to keep the festival
That closed the ancient paschal rite:
The old is by the new replaced;
The substance hath the shadow chased;
And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done
Should be renewed while time should run,
In memory of his parting hour:
Thus, tutored in his school divine,
We consecrate the bread and wine;
And lo – a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given –
Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:
Into his blood the wine is turned:
What though it baffles nature's powers
Of sense and sight? This faith of ours
Proves more than nature e'er discerned.

Concealed beneath the twofold sign,
Meet symbols of the gifts divine,
There lie the mysteries adored:
The living body is our food;
Our drink the ever-precious blood
In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides
The sacred food, which whole abides
Unbroken still, nor knows decay;
Be one, or be a thousand fed,
They eat alike that living bread
Which, still received, ne'er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,
With sure increase of grace or sin.
The ghostly life, or ghostly death:
Death to the guilty; to the good
Immortal life. See how one food
Man's joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament; but bold
And firm thy faith shall keep its hold;
Deem not the whole doth more enfold
Than in the fractured part resides:
Deem not that Christ doth broken lie;
'Tis but the sight that meets the eye;
The hidden deep reality
In all its fulness still abides.

Behold the bread of angels, sent
For pilgrims in their banishment,
The bread for God's true children meant,
That may not unto dogs be given;
Oft in the olden types foreshowed;
In Isaac on the altar bowed,
And in the ancient paschal food,
And in the manna sent from heaven.

Come then, good Shepherd, bread divine,
Still show to us thy mercy sign;
Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;
So we may see thy glories shine
In fields of immortality;

O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,
Our present good, our future rest,
Come, make us each thy chosen guest,
Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest
With saints whose dwelling is with thee.
Amen. Alleluia.

Thomas Aquinas was a clever man but why did he pick on dogs?
We'll be in the church on Thursday from 7.30pm, all welcome.

Arbroath Smokies

Five of our members assisted at the Mass at Arbroath - the Octave of Pentecost.
Circumstances led to the three men from Stirling travelling without our wives, so we missed a fun day by the sea after the Mass.
Malky and I travelled together. The weather was kind and the views were glorious as we travelled north. On the way, we listened to a podcast on logic by Catholic philosopher, Peter Kreeft:

Listen here:

http://player.fm/series/catholic-answers-live/5936-the-role-of-logic-in-apologetics-peter-kreeft
And one on football by Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove:

We arrived at Arbroath abbey to meet Jack and Alan, who were having a relaxing coffee in the reception area.

I paced about through the exhibition and back, still the coffee. We were supposed to set-up and practice. Back through the exhibition. Did I mention Pope John XXII?
Coffee and medical chat. Pacing about.
Eventually I said ‘How do we get to the abbey to set things up?’ (I meant Morven’s iPad). They got the hint and finished their drinks.
Mass was to be in the Sacristy

We started to sing and the acoustics were amazing. Music reflected back from the vaulted roof and Fred heard a 'ping'.
The Abbey itself is in ruins although its dedication to Thomas Becket, Saint and Martyr, is acknowledged within the town. Scots king William I, the Lion, had met Becket while a prisoner in England.

 

We practiced while the Una Voce members set up the altar and surrounds. It is such a blessing to return the Mass to these pre-Protestant sites, reclaiming Scotland's heritage. The Picts of the area around modern Arbroath probably heard the Mass in Latin in the 400s if not earlier.
The Abbey was founded in 1178 by William I for the Benedictines and the King was buried before the High Altar in 1214.

As Mass began, we sang the Introit 'Caritas Dei' and were a bit hesitant to start, although we picked-up towards the end. Next came the Kyrie of Missa de Angelis. And we stumbled as we heard a strong voice from the congregation, leading us at a slower pace and key (we had practised singing quietly to benefit from the acoustics). Alan reacted by drawing us in and we set off again to finish the Kyrie in good form, leading and drowning out any opposition.

We were spared congregational contributions for the Alleluia and the Sequence. I hope to put a recording of this on YouTube.

After Mass, Malky and I had lunch at the harbour before heading south.

We bought Smokies and dressed crab before leaving Arbroath.
One of us stayed awake for the entire journey home.

Doves

At our parish study-night last Wednesday, we looked at episode six of the Catholicism series.
Fr Barron uses the mosaic from San Clemente in Rome to describe the connection between Christ and His Church as Mystical Body.

I showed this detailed image from San Clemente, the Apostles are portrayed as doves

And this fantastic photo of Pope Francis

Click to enlarge images

The Spirit blows where He will

Alan had brought a new opening prayer for us, an extract from Psalm 70.
Repleatur os meum laude tua ut possim cantare; gaudebunt labia mea dum cantavero tibi. 
(Fill me with praise that I might sing. My lips rejoice when I sing to You.)
O Lord our God, through the intercession of the saints, Pius, Gregory, and Cecilia, grant us in thy mercy that through the praises we offer thee during our pilgrimage here on Earth, we may be found worthy to sing to Thee forever in heaven. In Christ our Lord, Amen"

Here's a clip from the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, where they use Repleatur os meum laude tua as their motto. You can hear the start of the chant before the promotional video gets going.
http://www.bostonboychoir.org/about-the-school/welcome/

After the prayer, I  said that we had received an invitation to sing the parts of the Mass at an Ordinariate Mass in Edinburgh on Sunday 23 June, we agreed that some of us would try to go.

The practice got underway with the Introit for Saturday's Mass in Arbroath. Alan felt that we were mumbling a bit and had us all practice with round mouths, remembering the apple of sound. We were much better third-time around.

I took the chance to show off my knowledge of trivia. Did you know that the Pope to whom the Declaration of Arbroath was addressed was John XXII?

The document opens ' To the most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord John, by divine providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church'.

The same John XXII wrote the hymn Soul of my Saviour

    Anima Christi, sanctifica me.
    Corpus Christi, salva me.
    Sanguis Christi, inebria me.
    Aqua lateris Christi, lava me.
    Passio Christi, conforta me.
    O bone Jesu, exaudi me.
    Intra tua vulnera absconde me.
    Ne permittas me separari a te.
    Ab hoste maligno defende me.
    In hora mortis meae voca me.
    Et iube me venire ad te,
    Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te.
    In saecula saeculorum.
    Amen

Hear Vatican Radio on both and John XXIII here:
http://media01.radiovaticana.va/audiomp3/00360235.MP3
Six minutes well spent in my view.
And its 'Wash me ye waters' according to my boys own book of Latin grammer, not 'wash me WITH waters' as it reads in current hymnals.

The highlight of our session was a unanimous vote that Malky should get an honourable mention on the blog for spotting the two small diamond-shaped dots in the Communion Hymn at 'vult'. I can't find a version of the text on-line but it reads:
Spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem ejus audis, sed nescis unde veniat, aut quo vadat
The Spirit breatheth where he will; and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh, and whither he goeth (John 8:3 )

We all thought that they were misprints.
Alan was delighted to tell us that these were liquescents and that the l in vult should be hummed.
Well done Malky

For Malky

The Spirit blows where He will

Amusing montage here

http://www.catholicmemes.com/pope/john-3-8/

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Four of us met in the church. There were three apologies.
We spent time on the Pentecost Octave Mass for 25th May. The Introit is harder than it looks; one breath for per inhabitan temSpiritum eYjus in nohhohbis.

Click to Enlarge

And remember to soften at the end of each phrase. And emphasise ALLeluia at the start.

I posted a version of the Pentecost Sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus. Alan's approach to this is different from those recordings.

Imagine a Tambour and one of those droney Mediaeval horn instruments, a bit like this:

I found myself beating time like a drummer as we sang to the Holy Spirit:

VENI, Sancte Spiritus,
et emitte caelitus
lucis tuae radium. 

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light, From the clear celestial height. Thy pure beaming radiance give.
Come, thou Father of the poor, Come, with treasures which endure; Come, thou Light of all that live!
Thou, of all consolers best, Thou, the soul's delightful guest, Dost refreshing peace bestow.
Thou in toil art comfort sweet; Pleasant coolness in the heat; Solace in the midst of woe.
Light immortal, Light divine, Visit thou these hearts of thine, And our inmost being fill.
If thou take thy grace away, Nothing pure in man will stay; All his good is turned to ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour thy dew, Wash the stains of guilt away.
Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.
Thou, on us who evermore Thee confess and thee adore, With thy sevenfold gifts descend.
Give us comfort when we die; Give us life with thee on high; Give us joys that never end.
Amen. Alleluia.

I am reading at the Pentecost Mass
Thou, of all consolers best, Thou, the soul's delightful guest, Dost refreshing peace bestow.

Alan described the cadences of the Offertory as a leaf drifting down on a still autumn morning. Delicate.

Back from Hols

Our holiday in Milan/Sicily was a success. I can now claim to have sung in La Scala Milan.

We went to the Museum and were able to get into a box in the empty theatre

We went to Mass in the Duomo of Syracusa. Newly cleaned and gleaming.

I had the readings etc on my I-Pod so we could follow along. The music was provided by an organist and a lady singer with a microphone in hand. It is said that having a 'cantor' with a mike deters congregational singing and that certainly happened here. After the final blessing, the music began for Regina Caeli.
I joined in, newly confident in my chant skills. That doubled the number of people singing.

Other engagements had kept members away from the Latin Mass in Holy Spirit. Apparently we were missed.
Practices had continued while I was away, so when I joined the group they were already coming to grips with the planned Vespers for August.

We began with the Choiristers Prayer then went into the Mass planned for 25th May - Holy Mass of Ember Saturday in the Octave of Pentecost.
Here is a version of the Introit, with lecture notes and tips in Italian:

This is in Mode3 - Tantum Ergo. Alan had us emphasising the ALLeluia and watching out for the doubled notes as in Spiiritum as well as the triple effect on Sanctohohoh in the Gloria.

Stephen Langton (1150-1228) is credited with Venite Sancte Spiritus, its earliest form is to a drumbeat timing. We sang it with much more percussion than this:

While we were in Sicily, we saw the original of the Year of Faith poster image at the back of the church.

It is in the Cathedral at Cefalu. The image shows Christ Pantokrator. The two wisps of hair suggest humanity and divinity. He wears gold signifying divinity and has taken on the cloak of humanity (blue). He wears the stole as High Priest. There are many more theologically important features of these images. Our fore-fathers could 'read' such pictures.

 Click to Enlarge

Mary his mother wears blue, the colour of humanity but she has a cloak with specks of gold. 

 Here's a third-party photo showing the two together, tripods were banned so I couldn't get this shot

I heard the Mass was beautiful....

Our Thursday practice was in the crying room at St Margaret’s, although we went into the back of the church to hear the reverberations at the end.
Alan had produced booklets for the Saturday Mass, some for us and several for the congregation.

Our practice began with Alan introducing the Introit hymn 'Salve sancta Parens'. A new prayer for us all. But we cracked-on.

 There are simple English language  Introits for each Mass. I wonder if Parishes might sing these Introits each day as implied in the Missal and Canon Law, rather than substituting an 'opening hymn'. But that's never going to happen because we are all so happy to sing together.

Father Joe recites the Introit at dailiy Mass. Perhaps we the people could offer to sing it instead?
Perhaps we could propose chanting the Introit after or before the 'opening hymn' on Sundays?

There are several English settings for the Introits such as these:
 http://www.chantcafe.com/2012/12/hymn-tune-introits-at-daily-mass.html


We thought that we were ready for the Mass of the Blessed Virgin 'In Sabbato' at Cambuskenneth on Saturday. Apart from the Alleluias. In the end we gave up on these.

Our team arrived early and Jack noted that I had brought 'our strip'.

We didn't look too bad (although those attending will know a small secret about one of us and our cassocks).
The schola had to stand in the doorway  for enough light to see our square dots and Latin words.

George and I were outside the doorway.

We two couldn't hear the full 'chant-effect' but apparently it was very moving.
Our Catechist Leader in St Margaret's rushed by this morning and said  'I heard the Mass was beautiful'.

Our next Thursday rehearsals will be the Vespers settings in anticipation of praying in the Holy Rude and the Chapel Royal..
I will not be there, rather I will be in Sicily on hols.

Next steps, prep for Vespers and agree a date with Fr Joe to sing Kyrie and another Mass prayer at our regular 11.00 Sunday Mass.

English versions

Only four of us made it on Thursday.
We practiced Missa cum Jubilo in anticipation of the Mass at Cambuskenneth.

Hopefully, this announcement gets into the bulletin
MASS AT CAMBUSKENNETH
A Latin Mass dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, will be held at the Abbey on Saturday 20th April at 11.00am. Our Gregorian chant group will help to lead the prayers using the setting Missa cum Jubilo.
Mass will be said in the tower of the Abbey, which was once known as the Abbey of St Mary of Cambuskenneth.

Alan has offered to make an arrangement of the Agnus Dei in English to the music of Missa de Angelis.
We would like to pray the Kyrie in Greek and the Lamb of God to this English setting at the regular Sunday Mass in St Margaret's. I will speak to Fr Joe about this

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.

Practice and Latin Mass

At the Thursday practice, our pre-chat featured some talk about Pope Francis washing the feet of two women and two Muslims at the juvenile prison. My concern is that the Canon Law is specific that only men 'vir' should be chosen. While the Pope is the supreme legislator, I'd have preferred that he change the law first, rather than disobeying it. He could change the law to 'people' or 'altar-servers' or even 'Brownies' and I'd be happier than having him just ignoring the law that obedient priests have complied with for decades. There is apparently a saying that highlights the SJ's lack of interest in liturgical accuracy:

'as lost as a Jesuit in Holy Week'.

So, perhaps, our Jesuit Pope is just carrying on a tradition of his Society.
But there's no denying that the image is a powerful one:

God bless our Pope

Six of us met in the Crying Room. After a short prayer, we ran through Missa De Angelis. We spent more time on the Gloria, which we hadn't sung publicly. We went over several topics: excelsis should sound like eggshells-is; we should emphasise the middle sound of the phrases (Ado-RAH-mus) and drop the volume at the end of each phrase. Other pronunciation tips: propter manyam; Domine Dehyyus; sushipay; noh-hstram.
This version sounds quite good, I think:

In the Sanctus, remember to hold the note just before the highest, as in the third Sanctus. And to run into Dominus.

We went through Missa Cum Jubilo. The main point was to extend the 'eyh' sounds as in Dominus Deyhus.

The idea of sung Vespers in the Chapel Royal looks good. I will contact Holy Rude to say that we can't make their proposed date in May and get some options.

Fr Kenneth was happy with the idea of a Scratch-chant day in St Mary's, although we couldn't have the same day as a wedding. I will try to confirm a date for St Mary's, either September 28th or October 5th.

Some of us continued in symposium and got gloomy about the fate of the North Korean people. We also learned about war-crimes from a translators point of view. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1524709.stm

At the Latin Mass, we were somewhat short-handed but made a creditable effort. The accoustics in Holy Spirit work well. Missa De Angelis was well received and several people joined in with Regina Caeli.