"Great Amen"

So, at most Catholic churches, the "Great Amen" at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer is taken as an opportunity to bring out all the bells and whistles and to make the loudest most complicated setting of music for a two syllable word ever.

I suspect that this tradition originated with some quote from St. Jerome about this particular "Amen" making the pagan temples tremble, or something like that.

However, at St. P, for pretty much the whole time I have been there, we have been singing the simple two-tone "A-me-en" that is the appropriate response to the tone on which the priest sang the final doxology. I wonder what people notice when they hear that and are used to hearing a much more complicated and un-chant-like version?

For myself, now that I am used to it, I am always struck with appropriateness and ease with which it is sung. In fact, I find that when I go to other parishes and the priest sings the doxology, and my mouth opens in preparation to sing the final, easy, fluid Amen, I am literally *jarred* when the instruments interrupt loudly to introduce us to some loud, completely unrelated, musical ditty.

And to those who might argue that this "simple Amen" is not "resounding" enough to qualify within the writings of church history? Well, you should have been at my church for confirmation this week when the bishop sang the doxology. The church was completely packed, and let me tell you, boy, did that "Amen" resound. It was the most natural thing in the world. Every single person sang it, and not one felt "forced." A glorious sound to attempt to sum up the majesty of the Consecration.

cardinals

am I not that funny, or is this the funniest Fr. Z quote that I have ever read?

Lastly, I have a single male Cardinal visiting regularly. I hope he finds a girlfriend soon and starts a local consistory.

this is interesting...

I love reading things like this on the VIS and thinking "this doesn't happen every day..."

"OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father removed Bishop William M. Morris from the pastoral care of the diocese of Toowoomba, Australia."

and then going and reading more thorough articles...

one of my heros

seriously. and this hardly shows a sliver of his genius

Triduum

I was feeling pretty blah earlier this week, thinking about tonight, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday and all the liturgies that I have to do and the work the choir had to do, and especially about how little sleep I'm going to get on Saturday night! and so I was just sort of wishing that it would just hurry up and be Easter afternoon already!

But during Mass tonight (which was absolutely beautiful, btw, more on that later...) I almost began to cry several times, realizing that this will be my last Holy Week at St. P, and wondering where I will be next year. I honestly have NO idea. It's pretty scary.

I am pretty sure, that never again will I experience another church, where the congregation heartily sings the Latin chants of the Mass, where they sing six verses in latin of the Pange Lingua, where a parish of 500 families can produce a choir that can pull off Durufle's 6-part Ubi Caritas!

I am so blessed. I can't even begin to describe it. But, I will admit, it took work. I had four Holy Week's here before I've felt this way; weeks of anxiety and not-singing-anything-terribly-impressive lol.

Here's the lineup:

Holy Thursday:
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Gloria VIII
Psalm: Our Blessing Cup (a contemporary SSA arrangement)
Gospel Accl: Respond & Acclaim
Washing of Feet: (I wish we had more appropriate music to sing that reflected the proper texts for this time, but unfortunately everything that is in the hymnal of a "servant" character is either extremely trite, or else theologically questionably appropriate.)
Ah,Holy Jesus
Glory Be to Jesus
Offertory: Ubi Caritas (Durufle! woot woot! and they rocked!)
Ordinary: The usual
Communion:
Hoc Corpus
O Domine (Palestrina)
Humbly We Adore (Adoro Te)
Sing My Tongue (6 verses, Latin)

Good Friday
Psalm: Respond & Acclaim
Veneration of the Cross:
Reproaches
Psalm 51- Miserere (4-part chanted setting by some 20th century Italian, can't remember whom, alternating with chant)
Were You There (if needed)
Offertory (or whatever it's called): What Wondrous Love
Communion:
Pater, Si Non
Sing My Tongue (Picardy)

Easter Vigil:
7 Psalms (mix of R & A and CTK Psalms)
Gloria: chant
Psalm/Alleluia: R & A
Litany of the Saints (Becker, with REAL Saint names.)
Vidi Aquam
Offertory: At the Lamb's High Feast
Communion:
Pascha Nostrum
Worthy is the Lamb (Fishel)
Alleluia, Sing to Jesus (Hyfrydol)
I Know that My Redeemer Lives (Duke Street)

Good Friday

I have always noticed that the Gregorian Missal (Graduale Romanum), from which I base most of the music for Mass, is strangely silent on music at Communion on Good Friday. Since it isn't even a Mass, there isn't a "communion antiphon."
Given that, this year, I was thinking that we would just have silence for Communion, since that seems not only appropriate on Good Friday, but that seems to be what the book is telling me, as well as being a lot easier for the choir to not have to sing for an additional 5-10 minutes!

Then I came across this thread on my favorite forum, which seems to give other sources that do suggest that there is appropriate music.
http://musicasacra.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=4574

Sigh, what to do. It's barely a week away! And I have like 2 or 3 choir rehearsals before then (with lots else to learn!)

Either silence will be starkly appropriate, or else 7 minutes of awkwardness. lol.

I almost fell off my chair!

I just got an email from our diocesan worship person regarding music/liturgy for First Communion Masses, and at the bottom it said this:

"Since our parishes use such a variety of hymnals, I do not have a list of music suggestions for Holy Communion. However, I do not recommend the theology found in "Take the Bread, Children" by Herbert Brokering (GIA). ".

woot! finally! something remotely helpful from them!

pontifical (low? solemn? something) Mass!

argh!

I got engaged on Saturday, and now it is hitting me that I also should be really preparing for the Extraordinary Form Mass with the bishop on SUNDAY!
I am so not ready for this...
:-o

wedding cancellations

I'd be curious to hear from other organists if they've ever encountered this, but I have found that I have NEVER been paid in advance for a wedding that ended up being cancelled. A few years ago, a wedding was cancelled the day before it was supposed to happen that I was going to play for, and I hadn't been paid for it yet! Fine by me, but the strange thing is, I almost always get paid sometime *before* the wedding. (maybe 75% of the time?) I don't require it, since I've never actually been short-changed, but when I meet with the couple a few months before their wedding I always encourage them to pay me then, but I tell them that they can mail it in to the church or even wait til the day of the wedding, but I discourage that.
Relatively recently, there has been 3 weddings cancelled that I would have played for. In the case of 2 of them, I hadn't yet met with the couple (not terribly unusual; I'm not sure how far in advance they were cancelled, but that may or may not be strange because sometimes the couple wants to meet with me really far in advance, but other times they wait til like 4 weeks or less!) But then the third wedding that was cancelled recently I *had* met with the bride and worked out her music, she was just going to mail me a check!
Is that unusual? For the only two weddings that I had already been communicated with regarding the music but were later cancelled, I had not been paid! I'm not saying I mind; I would certainly rather not have to worry about whether I should refund a check or not!
BUT...it's like...I wonder, did they suspect? Did they think there was a chance they would call off the wedding?
Any other church musicians experience this?

summertime...

I need something to do this summer! something inspirational, that will help me to be a better church musician! Well, but for other reasons in my life I have de-motivating things going on right now.
But, honestly, I don't necessarily need to spend $500+ on a week somewhere...why can't I just get myself to practice hard-core for half that time?!
I was talking to an organist-friend a couple months ago about taking lessons from someone who specializes in french improvisation (which tends to be particularly suited to Mass,) and it seemed at the time like a great idea, but then I realized that I lack much of the basic improvisation/musical skills that would make special (and expensive) study very productive. So...why can't I just get myself motivated (and organized?) enough to practice extra?

help for church musicians! :-)

I know it happens... you want an easy piece but beautiful piece, and yet your basses all totally flake out and you realize that you have a weekend with a 3-voice choir coming up! Never fear, there are plenty of SSA or TTB music written...and all it needs is a simple transposition for a competent but small mixed choir to sing it!

I have a couple of nice little books put together by our friend Carol Rossini that contain 3 part music in ridiculously high keys, but since I've done the work on transposing one down a perfect fourth (!) here it is for the enjoyment of the world and my fellow church musician friends, and so that the 45 minutes I spent inputting this can have additional benefit!
Adoramus Te
perfect for Lent!
(If you want it a whole step higher or anything, leave a comment or email.)