Ash Wednesday 2024
Greetings all—
As a reminder, mass will be at 5:30pm. I know that this is an awkward time; just get there when you can, and we will do the best we can with whoever we have. I will be in the loft by 5pm to warmup with those who are able to come ahead of time.
I also hope to do some minimal prep for the following Sunday (Lent I) after Mass with those who can stick around a few extra minutes. This will be—by necessity—a rather minimal affair. We are still finding our sound and getting back into the swing of things, so I have no grand designs on pulling off a last-minute motet for Lent I.
Entrance Antiphon: You are merciful to all, O Lord…
*NB: we will only chant the antiphon.[No Kyrie, because the Penitential act is omitted, because the distribution of ashes takes its place.]
Psalm 51: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Lenten Gospel Acclamation: Glory and praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
Distribution of Ashes: Fr. Weber Antiphons
(James will cantor the first two antiphons, then James and Maggie will alternate on the verses for Antiphon 3, with the choir responding with the congregation. The choir may go down to receive ashes with everyone else, if desired.)Offertory Hymn: O Lord, You Gaze with Mercy (PASSION CHORALE)
Ordinary (a.k.a. “Mass Parts”): Missa Simplex (Mass XVIII)
Communion Antiphon: He who ponders the law of the Lord…
*NB: the full text will be in the worship aid for all to sing.Communion “Hymn”: Parce Domine (harmonized chant with cantored verses)
Recessional Hymn: Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days (ST. FLAVIAN)
(Source: Source & Summit Missal)
Psalm: 51 “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”
Distribution of Ashes: Fr. Weber Antiphons
I will chant the first two antiphons, and then the choir will respond with the congregation for antiphon iii “Blot out my transgressions, O Lord.”
(Source: Source & Summit Gradual)
6th in OT (B • 2024)
Greetings all—
How exciting that we finally get to make our debut this season! Here is a list of resources to help prepare for Mass. I will list everything as a simple hyperlink first, so that it is easier to put your folder in order, and so that you still have links if some of the embedded youtube windows don’t load properly on your mobile devices.
A few additional notes:
We will begin warmups at 8:45.
Below there is also a recording of an Offertory Antiphon for your convenience. You will not be expected to chant this as we are with the Introit or Communio. You will simply sing the refrain with the congregation once the Offertory Hymn has concluded.
We did not have time to go over all of the hymns at rehearsal, and I apologize for that. We are still finding our stride, and we just have so much music to be learning… For any of the hymns, you may sing the melody, or parts if you know/can read them. You are not expected to sing parts right away if you aren’t ready for that.
All chanted antiphons will follow the same pattern which is the same as a responsorial psalm:
Organ lightly intones the melody
Cantor sings the antiphon the first time
we repeat the antiphon as a group (and with the people)
Verse - Refrain - Verse - Refrain, etc.
(On antiphons that have a doxology such as the Introit and Communio, we will proceed from the final verse directly into the doxology, before the final refrain.)
Women sing the first half of each verse, Men respond with the second couplet.
Please listen to the recording of the recessional hymn “Alleluia, Song of Gladness”. It is not a difficult melody by any means, but it may be new to you. This hymn is traditionally sung the last Sunday before Lent as an homage to the Alleluia which will now be dormant until Easter.
Lastly, I created a dedicated page with the practice resources for learning the Latin chant mass parts for Lent. You can access all of those resources here.
Entrance Hymn: Be My Protector, Mighty God, to the tune of MORNING SONG
Introit (Entrance Antiphon): Be my protector, O God… (see below)
Kyrie: (same as last few weeks, led by cantor; the choir responds with the people)
Gloria: Belmont Mass
Psalm 32: I turn to You, Lord, in time of trouble…
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia ‘de Angelis’ (demo) *we sing the last verse
Offertory Hymn: Unto the Lord a Leper Came to the tune of LAND OF REST
Offertory Antiphon: Blessèd are You, O Lord; teach me Your precepts. (see below; you will simply lead the congregation in the refrains)
Sanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy…”): Belmont Mass
“Great Amen”: simple chanted Amen.
Agnus Dei (“Lamb of God”): Belmont Mass
Communion Antiphon: God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son. (see below)
Communion Hymn: O Breathe on me, O Breath of God, to the tune of ST. COLUMBA (same melody as last week’s communion hymn, but set with a different text)
[At the end of Mass] St. Michæl the Archangel Prayer
Recessional Hymn: Alleluia, Song of Gladness to the tune of ALLELUIA DULCE CARMEN *this tune may be new to you, but it is not difficult to sing
Here is a demo of the refrain that you will sing with the congregation.
Tolle et Canta!
Greetings choir members and friends of the St. Augustine Cathedral music program!
If you have landed on this page, then James has reached out to you directly, or a friend has forwarded this link along to you. Welcome!
What follows is some general information and a few requests to help James serve you.
What to know:
The Choir will be entering a season of rebuilding after a long furlough, and now is the perfect time to join (or rejoin!) in the fun. If you are interested in participating in the music program, here are a few things you should know:
Our goals are twofold:
Serve God, and make a joyful noise unto Him, for His glory and honor. To put it more simply, “Make beauty, for Beauty’s sake.”
Have fun, and be a communal refuge for each other; a family away from family, as it were. Making music is fun; let’s enjoy it together!
No formal choral singing experience is required, but you do need to be able to match pitch, and generally control your voice. If you are unsure about this, set up a meeting with James so you can sing for him and he can help determine if choir is the right fit.
It’s OK if you don’t read music, as long as you are willing to learn by ear and listen to practice tracks outside of rehearsal. Less experienced choir members will grow in their practical knowledge of music during rehearsals, and you are welcome to approach James at any time to get help figuring out your part, or to learn the basics of reading music. • If you are not [yet] a strong singer, you may be asked to stick to melody-only singing for a time, or sit out on some of the harder polyphony. That is OK. We all start somewhere! James does his best to provide copious resources to help everyone prepare their parts, even outside of rehearsal.
Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings during choir season, and regular attendance is expected. It’s OK when special things pop up every now and again, but please be mindful that singing in a choir is a group effort, so if members of the group make a habit of not showing up, or only showing up sporadically, the whole group suffers as a result and our choral blend will become unpredictable. We will do our best to be flexible, but we do ask that you consider choir an essential part of your week. If you have questions or would like to discuss your particular situation privately, please give James a call or email him.
You will be asked to sing at special events, sometimes at odd times—but these are the normal things one would expect of a cathedral choir: holy days of obligation, ordinations, chrism mass, etc. A schedule will be shared in advance. James understands that you may not be able to make it to all of the extra events, but we do ask you make as many as you can, and inform James ahead of time when you cannot.
You may be thinking, “this all sounds very serious!” but please rest assured that this is really about you, the choir. James wants this to be the best possible experience that it can be for all of you!
Action Steps:
If you would like to join the choir, or discuss how you might participate in the music program in some other way, please let James know ASAP filling out the form at the bottom of the page:
Mark your calendars for our first rehearsal on Wednesday, Jan. 31st. (Again, please let James know you are coming so he can prepare an adequate number of packets!)
If you can think of anyone—old or new—who might like to read this message, please share this page with them! Better to have three people share this message with the same friend then them not see it at all!
Tollite Portas! (“Fling wide the portals!”)Bookmark the “Choral Ordos” header of this website; this is where James will post all the practice resources week to week. (Feel free to scroll through old entries to see the sorts of things he shared with his former choir.)
Subscribe to the ServiamScores YouTube page, where James will post practice tracks, so you don’t miss anything new.
Follow the new “Tolle et Canta • Music at St. Augustine Cathedral” Facebook page, where similar resources will be shared in future. We hope that this will grow into a wonderful repository of fun messages, photos, videos, and events which showcase all your hard work, and allow friends of the program to connect with us all as well.
See you in the loft!
We’ve got the best view in the house!
Epiphany (B • 2024)
Dear Friends,
I wish to thank you —truly, from the bottom of my heart— THANK YOU for over five wonderful years of music making. Wednesday evening left my heart feeling so very full, and I am so very grateful to you all for all the love you have shown me. I have grown into a new man during my tenure with you, and I am certainly not the music director I was when I first arrived… You all helped me grow in innumerable ways, and put up with all my follies and foibles… and we managed to still smile and laugh besides! Gold Stars all around! (Halos too!)
Now, on to business:
For the Choir: we are doing the COMPLETE DALITZ
PRELUDE: Gaudete Christus Est Natus
Sung St. Michæl the Archangel Prayer
Entrance Antiphon Hymn to the tune of REGENT SQUARE
Entrance Antiphon from the Palmer/Burgess Collection
Psalm 72 • Lord, every nation on earth will adore You. (Playlist)
Christmas Alleluia (last week for this, before returning to the ‘Alleluia de Angelis’, just FYI)
CREDO III IN LATIN!
Offertory:
4:30 & 7:30 only Offertory Hymn to the tune of DIX
11am: Enixa Est Puerpera
Dalitz Sanctus & Benedictus (as one movement)
Dalitz Agnus Dei
Communion Antiphon: Fr. Weber #296
Communion Hymn: What Child is This
Alma Redemptoris Mater
For Enixa Est Puerpera I have prepared very short, organ only demos of each part. They are of the first page only (but the same notes repeat throughout the whole piece). Hopefully these are sufficient, until such time as I can make a fully-sung version.