17th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Processional hymn: The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, 917
Recessional hymn: Hail, Holy Queen, 908
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780
Hymn at Offertory: Stabat Mater, Chant Sequence
Motet at Communion: Ave Maris Stella, Guillaume Dufay
The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast itself commemorated this Sunday. When the Mass of the feast is said, the sequence Stabat Mater is recited/sung prior to the Gospel. This sequence is often used as a devotional hymn for praying the stations of the cross and is sung to a simple tune. The chant sung today, which is the proper chant, is more ornate and the melody changes every two verses.
The Vespers hymn for many feasts of the Blessed Virgin is Ave Maris Stella, which dates to the 9th-century and sung today is a setting by Guillaume Dufay. This hymn as with many of Dufay’s compositions use the technique of fauxbordon, where the original melody is retained with some embellishment while the other voices harmonize in a fixed parallel structure.
Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397–1474) was a priest, composer, and music theorist of early Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1428 and spent his life directing and composing for papal and cathedral choirs. Dufay was among the most influential composers of the fifteenth century, and his music was copied, distributed and sung everywhere that polyphony had taken root.
16th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Processional hymn: Jesus, Meek and Lowly, 833
Recessional hymn: Come Down, O Love Divine, 887
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780
Motet at the offertory: Ave Maria, Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591)
Hymn at communion: Salve Mater, Carmelite Chant, arr. Paul Thomas May
Because September 8 is the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady (and commemorated this Sunday) the music selections are Marian in theme. The choral motet Ave Maria by Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591) is widely recognized among those familiar with traditional Catholic music but under the attribution of Victoria. A prominent Spanish musicologist in 1913 had published the work in a group of Victoria’s motets and it was not disputed until 2001 when the work was contained in Gallus’s manuscripts.
The setting of the Angelic Salutation begins with the simple Gregorian incipit and elaborates on the melody initially in the Soprano voice and eventually moving to each voice throughout the motet. The clarity of the text, careful repetition, and clever use of harmony has made this work a favorite among chorister and listener alike.
Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591), was a late-Renaissance composer of presumed Slovene ethnicity. Born in Carniola, which at the time was one of the Habsburg lands in the Holy Roman Empire, he lived and worked in Moravia and Bohemia during the last decade of his life. His output was both sacred and secular, and hugely prolific: over 500 works have been attributed to him.
15th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Processional hymn: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, 838
Recessional hymn: Holy God We Praise Thy Name, 881
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780
Motet after Offertory: Jesu Dulcis Memoria, Cornelius Schmuck (1814–1903)
Communion Antiphon: Panis Quem Ego, Heinrich Isaac (c.1450–1517)
Jesu, Dulcis Memoria is a celebrated 12th century hymn attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The entire hymn has some 42 to 53 stanzas depending upon the manuscript. The setting today is by Cornelius Schmuck and this motet was included in the St. Gregory Hymnal. Little is known of Schmuck, but he was Pennsylvania native born in York in 1814.
The communion antiphon is a setting by Heinrich Isaac. The text of the antiphon is taken from John 6:52: The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Isaac composes pieces of the melody in both the Tenor and Soprano voices in a quasi-canon.
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.
14th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Processional hymn: O God Our Help in Ages Past, 923
Recessional hymn: O God, Almighty Father, 877
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780
Hymn after Offertory: Ave Maria, Virgo Serena, Chant Sequence
Communion Antiphon: Primum quaerite, Heinrich Isaac (ca.1450–1517)
The chant sequence Ave Maria, Virgo Serena is taken from the Cantus Selecti which is a compilation of chants released in 1957 by the Solesmes Abbey. This chant highlights major events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It also inspired three major compositions in the late 1400s, most notably a setting by Josquin des Prez.
The communion antiphon Prium quaerite is a setting by Heinrich Isaac. The text of the antiphon is: Seek first the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you, says the Lord. This passage taken from St. Matthew’s Gospel 6:33. Isaac’s setting uses a stylized version of the Gregorian melody in the Soprano voice.
Heinrich Isaac (ca.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.
External Solemnity of St. Lawrence, 2024
Recessional music: Toccata from Symphony for Organ No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42, No. 1, Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)
Kyriale: Missa Beatus Laurentius, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594)
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.
Deus Tuorum Militum is the hymn from Vespers which is sung for feasts of one martyr. Victoria composed the even verses of this hymn and alternated with one of the plainchant melodies.
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.