11:30am Mass, Prelude “Laudate Nomen Domini” Christopher Tye (1500–1572)

This motet—translated as “O Come ye Servants of the Lord”—is a setting of Psalm 112, a hymn of praise to God. The setting is by English renaissance composer, Christopher Tye, whose contemporaries include Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. The vitality of the homophonic texture, interspersed with short sections of imitative polyphony, conveys the text in a simple yet dignified manner.

To hear a setting of this motet, click below.

100am Mass, Preparation of the Gifts “Estote Fortes” Luca Marenzio (1553 – 1599)

This rarely performed motet by the Italian renaissance composer, Luca Marenzio, quotes a text associated with the feast(s) of Apostles and Evangelists. It calls upon believers to be courageous when confronting evil, thereby to gain eternal life.

To hear a setting of this motet, click below.

11:30am Mass Preparation of the Gifts “O Sing Joyfully” William Byrd (1543 – 1623)

This exuberant anthem based on Psalm 81 is one of the last anthems William Byrd composed. During Byrd’s lifetime, this jubilation of praise was one of his most popular anthems, due to the vivid word painting which is illustrated most convincingly in the treatment of the phrase “Blow the trumpet in the new moon.” Byrd remained Catholic even throughout the turbulence in England of the sixteenth century, when his family was subject to intermittent persecution. He was a student of Thomas Tallis and taught many other composers, including Thomas Morley and Peter Philips.

To hear a setting of this motet, click below.

1

11:30am Mass Communion Motet “I Know the Lord’s Laid His Hands on Me” Richard Kent (1911 – 1994)

This African-American Spiritual by Richard Kent is a confession of faith in the power of the Lord’s healing touch. It captures the acknowledgement of the Samaritan leper who was cleansed by Jesus in today’s Gospel. Of the ten who were cleansed, only one returned to thank Jesus and glorify God in his amazement and gratitude.