The choral music at the Schola Cantorum Masses this weekend spans four centuries and features composers Orlando de Lassus, William Byrd, Carlo Gesualdo, Giovanni P. da Palestrina, Jennifer Budziak and William Culverhouse.
Kyrie 10am Mass, from Mass for Five Voices - William Byrd (1539 – 1623)
Byrd’s Masses for Three, Four, and Five Voices were composed between 1592-1595 for clandestine Catholic communities in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Along with the Gradualia from the early 1600s, these choral works made possible a sung celebration of the Roman Rite Mass, as it would have been celebrated by the continental priests that journeyed to England to preside at liturgies. The Mass is set in a polyphonic Tudor style featuring imitative entrances, often spaced in close adjacencies.
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Preparation of the Gifts 10am Mass, “Meditabor in mandatis”- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 -1594)
This setting of the offertory text for the Second Sunday of Lent by Palestrina was published in his collection “Offertoria Totuis” Anni in 1593 and set the standard for continental Catholic composers following the liturgical reforms of the Council of Trent. The text, “I will meditate on your commandments, which I dearly love; I will lift up my hands to your commands which bring me delight.” is taken from Psalm 119 (118). While not directly reflecting the scriptures of the day, the theme does echo the collect for this Mass: “We have been commanded to listen to the words of Christ, may those words feed us and purify our sight, so that we may see His true glory. “ The opening theme, imitated in all five voices, perfectly embodies the atmosphere of meditation and further word-painting can be seen in the second half of the motet in the ascending motive “et lavabo manus meas.” Beginning with the basses and followed again by upper voices, this repeated phrase expresses the lifting up of hands in praise, culminating in an animated climax before returning to the earlier calm meditation on commands which bring delight.
To hear the Schola Cantorum in rehearsal for this Sunday, click below:
Preparation of the Gifts 11:30am Mass, “Gone Forth from Home” – Jennifer Kerr Breedlove Budziak
The arranger, Breedlove, is a conductor, singer, composer, and arranger of liturgical music, based in the Chicago area. She has music published by GIA and WLP. This arrangement uses the German choral “Wer nur den Lieben Gott” (He who allows dear God to rule him) which was composed by Georg Newmark in 1641 as a “Trostlied” or song of consolation. It has been used many times by composers of liturgical music, notably J. S. Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Reger. The text is by J. Michael Thompson and is divided in three stanzas; The first recounting the Abrahamic covenant, the second the Transfiguration, and third expounding on how these themes are alive in us even today.
To hear a version, click on the following, then click on "preview": https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/gone-forth-from-home-print-g9141
Communion Antiphon 11:30am Mass, Be Thou My Vision - William Culverhouse
This text is a poetic translation by Eleanor Hull for the 1912 English Hymnal, based on the Irish hymn ‘Rop tú mo baile.’ The text was paired with the Irish tune SLANE, in 1919 and continues to be sung to that tune. The arranger of this setting, William Culverhouse, is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Maryland and was director of the Schola Cantorum at the Cathedral from 2000 to 2008. He now heads the Choral Music Department of Binghamton College in Binghamton, NY.
Post-Communion 10am Mass, “Reminiscere Miserationum” – Carlo Gesualdo (1566 – 1613)
This work is taken from the composer’s collection Sacrarum Cantionum quinque vocibus liber Primus, published in Naples in 1603. Like much of Gesualdo’s music, this motet features an extended harmonic vocabulary, with frequent use of dissonance and unrelated tonalities to convey the meaning. The text is taken from Psalm 25, “ Remember your mercies, Lord, and you love which from eternity. Do not let your enemies triumph over us, but deliver us, O God of Israel, from all our tribulation.” It appears as one of two Introit options for the Second Sunday of Lent, and in Year C, has a particular resonance with the establishment of the covenant with Abraham and his descendants found in today’s first reading.
Post-Communion 11:30am Mass, “Ave Verum” – Orlando de Lassus – (c. 1532 – 1594)
The Franco-Flemish composer, Lassus, sets this meditation on the Eucharist in a six voice texture, with frequent overlapping of ranges and motivic imitation. The tone of the work is serene, with voices moving in and out of a placid texture, assisted by modest text painting. It was first published in Munich in 1582. Despite being well written, the work has been eclipsed by the more famous settings by Byrd and Mozart’s.
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