5th Sunday after Easter 2024
Processional hymn: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven, 933
Recessional hymn: At the Lamb’s High Feast, 848
Kyriale: Mass I, 696; Credo III, 776
Offertory Antiphon: Benedicite Gentes, Orlandus Lassus
Communion Motet: Cantate Domino, Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni (1657–1743)
Orlandus Lassus published Benedicite Gentes in a compilation of Offertory Chants all set for four voices in 1585. The composition is entirely original rather than using the Gregorian melody as a foundation. However, the work is in the same melodic mode as the ancient melody.
The motet Cantate Domino is a setting of Psalm 149:1–2 by Baroque Italian composer Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni (1657–1743). The initial text of Sing to the Lord a new song is shared at the beginning of today’s alleluia verse which is taken from Psalm 97:1. Pitoni’s work, like much of late Baroque music, is tightly structured in small phrases with two main sections and follows the general format of “A-B-A.”, also called ternary form.
Orlandus Lassus (c.1532–1594) is known for the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school. He wrote over 2,000 works in Latin, French, Italian, and German both sacred and secular. Lassus along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomás Luis de Victoria are the most influential composers of the late Renaissance.
4th Sunday after Easter
Processional hymn: Christ the Lord is Ris’n Again,
Recessional hymn: Love’s Redeeming Work Is Done, 850
Kyriale: Mass I, 696; Creed III, 776
Marian Antiphon: Regina Cœli, Antonio Lotti (1667–1740)
Communion Motet: O quam metuendus est, Tomás Luis de Victoria
Antonio Lotti’s Regina Cœli was first published nearly 100 years after its creation by German Catholic Priest, Fr. Karl Proske in 1859. The composition is perhaps the most well known choral setting of the Marian Antiphon. Lotti sets the four voices together rhythmically which allows for the text to be heard clearly, and the bright major key highlights the joyful tenor of the prayer.
The motet O quam metuendus est by Tomás Luis de Victoria is a setting of the Magnificat antiphon for the dedication of a church. The text is taken from the description of Jacob’s Ladder in Genesis: “How awe-inspiring is this place! Surely this can be nothing else but the house of God and the gate of heaven.”
Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548–1611), along with Palestrina and de Lassus, is one of the greatest composers of the 16th C., famous for its ethereal polyphony. Ordained a priest at age 27, he lived in Rome for years, and assisted St. Philip Neri as chaplain of San Girolamo della Carità.
3rd Sunday After Easter
Processional hymn: On This Day the, First of Days, 945
Recessional hymn: Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain, 844
Kyriale: I, 696; Credo III, 776
Motet at Offertory: Urbs Beata Jerusalem, Pietro Pontio, 1532–1596
Motet at Communion: Ad cænam agni providi, Tomás Luis de Victoria
This Sunday following the proper chant for Communion, the choir will sing Ad Cænam Agni Providi by Thomás Luis de Victoria. The text is a setting of the Vespers hymn during Eastertide which dates to the 500s. Victoria composed the even verses of this hymn alternating with the ancient chant melody for the odd verses—a technique he often employed for other hymns. Each choral verse is unique from one another and doesn’t employ any repetition as one might expect in a hymn. Instead he crafted each line to portray the text being sung. In verse six, Victoria only composed for the Tenor, Alto, and Soprano voices as the text describes Christ rising from the grave and opening paradise so our ears hear only high tones. In the final verse, the Holy Trinity is invoked and the music changes to groups of three, while all voices sing the text in rhythm together making for a very effective three-in-one quality in musical form.
Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548–1611), along with Palestrina and de Lassus, is one of the greatest composers of the 16th C., famous for its ethereal polyphony. Ordained a priest at age 27, he lived in Rome for years, and assisted St. Philip Neri as chaplain of San Girolamo della Carità.
2nd Sunday After Easter
Hymn: Veni Creator Spiritus, 956
Recessional hymn: The King of Love, My Shepherd Is, 874
Credo III, 776
Antiphon during Confirmation: Confirma Hoc, John Mason
Kyriale: Missa Puisque J’ai Perdu, Orlandus Lassus (c.1532–1594)
Marian Antiphon: Regina Cœli, Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–1553)
Communion Antiphon: Ego Sum Pastor, Heinrich Isaac (c.1450–1517)
Orlandus Lassus’s (c.1532–1594), Missa Puisque J’ai Perdu, is a polyphonic setting of the ordinary parts of the Mass. Lassus took the musical foundation for this setting from a chanson (song) by Johannes Lupi from which the Mass received its name.
In his four voice setting of Regina Cœli, Cristóbal de Morales uses this familiar melody with some ornamentation in the Soprano voice. The Alto voice echos much of the Soprano melody at a lower pitch while the Tenor and Bass voices have many moving notes throughout. He emphasizes the final alleluia by having each voice sing a series of ascending notes then drop to a lower pitch and repeat several times which lasts well over a quarter of the overall work.
Orlandus Lassus (c.1532–1594) is known for the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school. He wrote over 2,000 works in Latin, French, Italian, and German both sacred and secular. Lassus along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomás Luis de Victoria are the most influential composers of the late Renaissance.
Low Sunday
Processional hymn: In Our Risen Lord Rejoice, 851
Recessional hymn: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven, 933
Credo III, 776
Kyriale: Missa Puisque J'ai Perdu, Orlandus Lassus (c. 1532–1594)
Motet after Offertory: Surge, Amica Mea, Giovanni Matteo Asola (c. 1532–1609)
Motet during communion: Sicut Cervus, G.P. Palestrina
Surge, Amica Mea is text 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 motet Sicut Cervus by G.P. Palestrina is one of his most well known works and is regarded as the culminating example of Sacred Roman Polyphony. The text is taken from Psalm 41: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
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.