11th Sunday after Pentecost 2025
Processional Hymn: O Glorious Maid Exalted Far, 911
Recessional Hymn: Daily, Daily, Sing of Mary, 912
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo II, 772
Offertory Antiphon: Exaltabo Te, Rev. Giovanni Croce
Marian Hymn: Omni Die, Dic Mariae, Chant
The Offertory Antiphon this week is sung chorally set by Rev. Giovanni Croce. The text is from Psalm 29:2-3: I will magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set me up: and not made my foes to triumph over me.O Lord my God, I cried unto thee: and thou hast healed me. Croce’s sets each line of text in short sections with pairs or trios of voices that are followed soon by any remaining voices. He also makes use of the harmonic minor scale which creates a more brighter mood as the melodies rise and darker as they descend.
Rev. Giovanni Croce (c. 1558–1609) was an Italian priest and composer of the late Renaissance from Venice and contemporary of Monteverdi and Andrea Gabrieli. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1585. He was appointed to the prestigious position of maestro di cappella at the famous St. Mark’s cathedral from 1603 until his death.
10th Sunday after Pentecost 2025
Processional hymn: O Sanctissima, 915
Recessional hymn: Hail, Holy Queen, 908
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo II, 772
Motet after Offertory: Surge Amica Mea, Rev. Giovanni Matteo Asola
Marian Antiphon: Salve Regina, Solemn Chant
The text of Surge, Amica Mea is taken from the Song of Solomon 2:14: Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, who is in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for sweet is your voice, and your countenance is beautiful. The setting by Rev. Giovanni Matteo Asola is for three voices and cleverly uses the text...secret places...to create a layered effect where the listener cannot distinguish when one voice leaves and another enters. At the climax of the work all the voices sing...let me hear your voice...together in major tones in a striking moment of text painting.
Rev. Giovanni Matteo Asola (c. 1532–1609) was ordained a parish priest in 1569 and held numerous music posts in Italy. In 1577 became maestro di cappella for Treviso Cathedral and subsequently moved to Venice directing at San Servio until his death. Despite living in Venice, Asola’s compositional style is closer to the Roman school, like that of G.P. Palestrina in contrast to Monteverdi or Gabrielli.
Feast of St. Lawrence 2025
Processional Hymn: O Thou, the Martyrs’s Glorious King, 872
Recessional Hymn: From All Thy Saints In Warfare (music found in back of church)
Credo: II, 772; Et Incarnatus excerpted from Josquin des Prez Missa Pange Lingua
Kyriale: Missa Beatus Laurentius, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Motet after Offertory: Beatus Laurentius, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Motet after Communion: Deus Tuorum Militum, Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548–1611)
For the occasion of the solemnity of our patron’s feast, the choir will sing the Missa Beatus Laurentius by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594), which is a polyphonic setting of the ordinary text of the Mass. Beatus Laurentius is the fifth antiphon from Vespers for the feast. Both the Mass and motet are composed using a cantus firmus, where one voice is singing the original Gregorian melody in long notes while the musical ideas are developed in the other four voices. Palestrina used the themes created in the motet and altered them to fit the various texts for the Ordinary of the Mass, giving the composition the designation of a “Parody Mass.” The five voice choir splits into six for the final movement where two tenor voices singing in canon—meaning the same tune but a few measures apart—using the Gregorian melody to the text of Agnus Dei.
G.P. Palestrina (c. 1525–1594) is highly regarded for his contributions of Sacred Polyphony and development of counterpoint in the late 16th Century. In the post-Tridentine period he earned the reputation of the ideal Catholic composer for his success in reconciling the functional and aesthetic aims of Catholic church music. Palestrina wrote over 105 Masses and 250 sacred motets in addition to many other works.
8th Sunday after Pentecost 2025
Processional hymn: Thy Grace, O Holy Ghost, Impart, 885
Recessional hymn: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, 927
Kyriale: Mass IV, 710; Credo II, 772
Hymn after Offertory: Memento Rerum Conditor, Chant
Communion Antiphon: Gustate et Videte, Heinrich Isaac
Memento Rerum Conditor is the hymn sung during Compline of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The tune is sung to many texts—Te Gestientem (feast of the Rosary), Nunc Sancte Nobis (at Terce), Rerum Tenax Vigor (None)—prescribed for feasts of Our Lady.
The communion antiphon is a setting by Heinrich Isaac. The text of the antiphon is from Psalm 33:9: O taste, and see, how gracious the Lord is: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. This short composition, as in last week’s setting, the Soprano and Tenor voices have ornamented versions of the Gregorian melody.
Heinrich Isaac (c.1450–1517) was a Renaissance composer from the South Netherlandish region. His output was rivaled only by Orlandus Lassus in number and variety of composition. Most notable of his collections is Choralis Constantinus which contains nearly 400 Gregorian chant based motets of propers for the Mass.
7th Sunday after Pentecost 2025
Processional hymn: Blessed Lamb on Calvary’s Mountain, 864
Recessional hymn: I Sing the Mighty Power of God, 934
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo II, 772
Motet after Offertory: Adoro Te Devote, arr. Mark Emerson Donnelly
Communion Antiphon: Inclina Aurem Tuam, Heinrich Isaac
The choral selections this Sunday both have Gregorian chant melodies as the foundation for their composition. Adoro Te Devote is a familiar chant written by St. Thomas Aquinas along with many other texts he composed for the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi in 1264. Living composer, Mark Emerson Donnelly, created a harmonization which retains the original melody.
The communion antiphon is a setting by Heinrich Isaac. The text is from Psalm 31:3, “Bow down thine ear, make haste to deliver us.” The Soprano and Tenor voices retain the Gregorian melody in this short setting.
Heinrich Isaac (c.1450–1517) was a Renaissance composer from the South Netherlandish region. His output was rivaled only by Orlandus Lassus in number and variety of composition. Most notable of his collections is Choralis Constantinus which contains nearly 400 Gregorian chant based motets of propers for the Mass.