SUNDAY VIII and "PUTTING THE ALLELUIA AWAY"

So today we enter the Eighth Sunday of the Year, or, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  In addition to hymns that may align with the day's Scripture, we also tend to use hymns that include the word "Alleluia" multiple times per verse.  The two hymns this weekend that fit that description are Alleluia! sing to Jesus and Ye watchers and ye holy ones, the former containing two alleluias per verse, the latter containing six to seven alleluias per verse.

On that Sunday, or even on Tuesday (Mardi Gras), some churches have a ritual for "burying" or "putting away" the Alleluia, which often includes a hymn, namely one called Alleluia, song of gladness.  In the case of St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, a church that has a little of everything - Mass in English (Ordinary Form, of course) as well as Mass in Latin in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form - the Alleluia (on a plaque) is carried to its "place of repose" (just like the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday), then "buried" under the cloth of the side altar, then incensed.  See for yourself!  

        Alleluia, song of gladness, Voice of joy that cannot die;

        Alleluia is the anthem Ever dear by choirs on high;

        In the house of God abiding Thus they sing eternally.

        Alleluia, thou resoundest, True Jerusalem and free;

        Alleluia, joyful mother, All thy children sing with thee;

        But by Babylon's sad waters Mourning exiles still are we.

        Alleluia cannot always Be our song while here below;

        Alleluia our transgressions Make us for a while forgo;

        For the solemn time is coming When our tears for sin shall flow.

        Therefore in our hymns we pray thee, Grant us, blessèd Trinity,

        At the last to keep glad Easter In our home beyond the sky,

        There to thee for ever singing Alleluia joyfully.

Notice how in that hymn tells us that we must for a time be mournful - mournful of our sins - mournful for the trials of Christ leading from his being tempted in the desert until his Passion and death - until the day of his Resurrection, at which we can sing "Alleluia!" once again.

On a lighter note, when I was music director at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Providence, we used to have a Mass on the day before Ash Wednesday (you know, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday), followed by a "Bring Your Most Fattening Dessert" coalition in the school hall.  Needless to say, my wife Ann would bring her own brand of Reese's peanut butter cups.  MMMMM!  They were so good, and usually amongst the first items to be devoured by those in attendance!  Many other delicious treats brought in as well!

The next day, of course, was Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting!

And now, without further ado...

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #714 Alleluia! sing to Jesus ("Hyfrydol") (Listen)

- The listen link is an arrangement by Stephen Buzard, the organist performing it at a dedication recital of a newly-restored Kilgen pipe organ in Brooklyn, New York.

Gloria: Holy Angels Mass (BMP) or recited (Listen)

Psalm 92: R./ Lord, it is good to give thanks to you (Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP)

Offertory hymn: #710 Ye watchers and ye holy ones ("Lasst uns Erfreuen") (Listen)

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #879 Heritage Mass

Communion anthem: Panis Angelicus (Cesar Franck)

Meditation hymn: #370 Godhead here in hiding ("Adoro Te Devote") (vv. 1, 2, 3, 7 in English)

Recessional hymn: #206 Holy God, we praise thy Name ("Grosser Gott")

Organ Postlude: Festive Alleluia by Gordon Young

- While this choral piece is being performed as an organ reduction this Sunday, the "Alleluias" are blatantly brought out!

Quod scripsi, scripsi!

BMP

SUNDAY VII at EIGHT O'CLOCK and a flashback to the days of MONTHLY MISSALETTE!

Psalm 103, the Psalm appointed for this Sunday, is well-alluded to by our entrance hymn, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.

    Verse 1: O my soul, praise him for he is thy health and salvation.
        Psalm 103: Bless the Lord, O my soul...
    Verse 2: Surely his goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
        Psalm 103: Merciful and gracious is the Lord...

Also, combining both those passages is the Introit of the day, excerpted from Psalm 13.

    O Lord, I trust in your merciful love.  My heart will rejoice in your salvation.

Our offertory hymn, Love divine, all loves excelling, combines the salvation and mercy cited in the Introit and Psalm.

    Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heav'n to earth, come down.
    Fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown.
    Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure unbounded love thou art.
    Visit us with thy salvation; enter ev'ry trembling heart.

The Communion responsory, Psalm 9, with its short response, I will sing to your Name, O Most High, comes to us from Adam Bartlett of Lumen Christi Missal and Source and Summit Missal fame.

Finally, the meditation hymn, Where charity and love prevail (a loose translation of the Latin hymn Ubi Caritas) bids us we love and forgive one another, as pointed out in this Sunday's Gospel.  It's also a flashback to the days of Monthly Missalette, the 64-page publication that graced many a pew in the 1970s.  The author of the hymn, Omer Westendorf, goes back to the origins of the People's Mass Book in the 1960s (by the way, he also gave us Gift of Finest Wheat, which we sang last week).  He's also well-known for such hymns as Sing praise to our Creator and God's blessing sends us forth, widely sung in many a church when Monthly Missalette was prominent. In his early People's Mass Book days, Westendorf used at least three different aliases (three that I can remember anyways) in his hymn credits - Paul Francis, Mark Evans and J. Clifford Evers.  In the case of this Sunday's hymn, he was "J. Clifford Evers."  The name Omer Westendorf was later credited to all his works.

It should be known also that the composer of Christian Love, the tune most often sung with Where Charity and Love Prevail, was the French Benedictine Dom Paul Benoit.  While known in Catholic America as the composer of that particular hymn tune, a simple chant-like tune, Dom Benoit is well-known by many an organist for his much more complex organ solos, including some really nifty improvisations on Gregorian themes.

And now, without further ado...

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #212 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty ("Lobe den Herren") (Listen)

- Do we really need a listen link for this one?  Probably not, but I left one here anyways.  This one is from Westminster Abbey at the 60th Anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.  The treble boys' descant in the final verse is well worth checking out!

Gloria: Holy Angels Mass (BMP) or recited (Listen)

Psalm 103: R. The Lord is kind and merciful (BMP) (PDF)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP)

Offertory hymn: #434 Love divine, all loves excelling ("Hyfrydol") (Listen)

- NOTE: Same tune as the familiar "Alleluia! sing to Jesus!", which will be sung the following week, one of two hymns with Alleluias as we "put the Alleluia away" until Easter.  More on that next week.  In the meantime, check out the above listen link for another stirring descant in the final verse.

Communion responsory: Psalm 9, R. I will sing to your Name, O Most High (Adam Bartlett)

Meditation hymn: #429 Where charity and love prevail ("Christian Love") (Listen)

Recessional hymn: #541 Joyful, joyful, we adore thee ("Hymn to Joy")

Quod scripsi, scripsi!

BMP

SUNDAY VI at 8:00

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #576 O God, our help in ages past ("St. Anne") (Listen)

- Today's Introit from the Missal: "Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me..."

Gloria: Holy Angels Mass (BMP) or recited (Listen)

Psalm 1: R./ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord (BMP) (PDF)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP)

Offertory hymn: #598 Sing with all the saints in glory ("Hymn to Joy") (Listen)

- Same tune as "Joyful, joyful, we adore thee", which will come up the following week.  Normally one would sing "Sing with all the saints in glory" in Eastertide, but the second reading tells it all - "Christ is risen, is the firstfruits.."

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #879 Heritage Mass

Communion responsory: R./ Remember, Lord, thy servants (BMP)

Meditation hymn: #345 Gift of finest wheat ("Bicentennial") (vv. 1-3) (Listen)

- "They ate and had their fill..." (Communion Proper from the Missal).  This hymn was commissioned in 1976 as the official hymn of the 41st Eucharistic Congress which took place in Philadelphia.  In earlier hymnals, the tune was given as "Eucharistic Congress" and copyrighted by the Board of Governors, 41st Eucharist Congress.  Current hymnals now list the tune as "Bicentennial" (after all, it was first sung during the year of our nation's bicentennial) and copyright assigned to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  The text was written by Omer Westendorf, who is famous for many hymns that appeared in just about every edition of "People's Mass Book" from the 1960s to today.

Recessional hymn: #206 Holy God, we praise thy Name ("Grosser Gott")

- Do we really need a listen link for this classic?

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP

SUNDAY V at 8

A "return to normalcy", well, "for a time".  Four more numbered Sundays "through the Year", or "in Ordinary Time" - to which my former boss once made a reference to "boring time", which might not be so boring, and definitely not so "ordinary".

In today's Gospel according to Luke, Jesus and his disciples go fishing.  And after catching fish, Jesus tells them, "From now on, you will be catching men."  A paraphrase from Matthew's Gospel appears in the alleluia verse, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

For the recessional hymn, I chose Lift high the cross.  Sadly, the Breaking Bread hymnal is missing a key verse of this hymn: Come, Christians, follow where the Master trod, our King victorious, Christ the Son of God.  The first two verses given in the hymnal also show signs of discipleship.
- Led on their way by this triumphant sign, the hosts of God (disciples?) in conquering ranks combine.
- Each newborn servant ("follower" in many other hymnals) of the Crucified bears on the brow the seal of him who died.

For the entrance hymn, I decided to revive a Trinitarian classic, Holy, holy, holy.  One quick look at the first reading you hear the cry of the Seraphim: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!"

And now, without further ado...

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Entrance hymn: #215 Holy, holy, holy ("Nicaea") (Listen)

- While you probably don't need a "listen link" for this hymn, check out this cool arrangement (especially the intro, in which the melody is played on the pedalboard.)

Gloria: Holy Angels Mass (BMP) or recited (Listen)

Psalm 138: R./ In the signt of the angels, I will sing your praises, Lord. (BMP) (PDF)

Alleluia I for Ordinary Time (BMP)

Offertory hymn: #207 Let all mortal flesh keep silence ("Picardy") (Listen)

- I mentioned in the post for Sunday II that the arrangement in this listen link is by Gustav Holst, who is also known for his much larger work, "The Planets".  What I failed to note is that when I was an 11-year-old tenor in a choir of boys and men (yes, there were altos and trebles with higher voices than mine), that very arrangement is how I was introduced to "Let all mortal flesh..."

Sanctus: #874 Heritage Mass

Memorial Acclamation: We proclaim your death, O Lord... #875 Heritage Mass

Amen: #878 Heritage Mass

Agnus Dei: #879 Heritage Mass

Communion responsory: Psalm 43, R./ I will go to the altar of God, praise the God of my joy (Joseph Gelineau, SJ)

Meditation hymn: #370 Godhead here in hiding ("Adoro Te Devote"/vv. 1-4) (Listen)

Recessional hymn: #705 Lift high the cross ("Crucifer") (Listen)

Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP