Trinity Sunday 2024
Processional hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy, 929
Recessional hymn: O God, Almighty Father, 977
Kyriale III, 705; Credo IV, 780
Responsory: Tibi laus, Orlandus Lassus
Communion antiphon: Benedicimus Deum, John Mason
The Responsory Tibi Laus is the refrain portion of the fifth Responsory from Matins today. Those who have assisted at Tenebræ will recall that office is a combination of Matins and Lauds which are the first two hours of the Divine Office. During Matins, each of the nine readings are followed by a responsory. The responsory is usually in two parts: a respond (or refrain) which is often split in two, and a verse. In the second half of Orlandus Lassus’s (c.1532–1594) setting, the words O beáta Trinitas are sung three times with three of the four voices in rhythmic unison which emphasizes the “three in one.”
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.
Pentecost 2024
Hymn prior to Mass: Veni Creator Spiritus, 956
Recessional hymn: Come Down, O Love Divine, 887
Kyriale: Mass for Three Voices, William Byrd (c.1540–1623)
Marian antiphon: Regina Cœli, Cristóbal de Morales (c.1500–1553)
Communion antiphon: Factus Est Repente, Jacobus Gallus (c. 1550–1591)
The Marian chant Regina Cœli is sung throughout Eastertide until midday on the Ember Saturday of Pentecost. Because it holds a proper place at the conclusion of Compline and is prayed in place of the Angelus, the tune from the simple form of the chant is widely recognized. Cristóbal de Morales uses this familiar melody with some ornamentation in the Soprano voice for his four voice setting of the antiphon. The Alto voice echos much of the Soprano melody at a lower pitch while the Tenor and Bass voices have many moving notes throughout. Morales 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. This work was first published in the anthology Moralis Hispani, Et Multorum (1543) in Rome along with many other of Morales’s compositions.
Cristóbal de Morales (c.1500–1553) was an organist and composer regarded as the first Spanish composer of international renown. He sang and composed for the Papal choir in Rome for which wrote many Mass settings. His compositions consist almost entirely of sacred vocal motets.
Sunday after Ascension 2024
Processional hymn: Be Joyful Mary, Heavenly Queen, 847
Recessional hymn: Alleluia, Sing to Jesus, 936
Kyriale: Mass I, 696; Creed III, 776
Offertory Antiphon: Ascendit Deus, Christoph Dalitz (b.1967)
Hymn after Offertory: Ascendens Christus, Jacobus Gallus (1500–1591)
Communion Hymn: Jesu nostra redemptio, Tomás Luis de Victoria
Jesu nostra redemptio by Tomás Luis de Victoria is a setting of the an older form of the Vespers hymn during Ascensiontide. As with the other settings, the Gregorian melody is sung for the odd verses and the even are through composed. One technique Victoria employs in this work is the inclusion of a cantus firmus during the choral sections. A cantus firmus (literally “fixed melody”) is a pre-existing melody which acts as the foundation for a work of polyphony. In the case of Jesu nostra redemptio, the Gregorian melody is the cantus firmus; in verse two the Soprano voice sings the tune in a very elongated fashion which spans the entire choral verse, likewise the tenors do the same in the fourth verse. Those who sing the Divine Office regularly will recognize that the Gregorian melody is the same as the current Ascensiontide Vespers hymn, Salútis humánæ Sátor as well as the Vespers Hymn for the Transfiguration, Quicumque Christum quǽritis.
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.
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.