Even though we have left the Octave of Easter, the scriptures for today’s Mass are steeped in the post-Resurrection themes. In fact, the first reading today is the same as the first reading for Easter Monday, in which Peter quotes the Psalmist as a prefigurement of Christ’s resurrection: “You will not abandon my soul to the underworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.” In the second reading from Peter’s First Letter, he enjoins us to keep our faith and hope in God who raised his Son from the dead for us. Finally, in what could be described as the most beautiful and touching post-resurrection account, the Gospel of Luke recounts the journey of two disciples on the road to Emmaus, where, upon reflection, they realized how their hearts were burning as Jesus opened up the scriptures for them as they travelled on the road and how they recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
The Schola Cantorum had planned to sing the following music to support and interpret these lessons and to otherwise enhance the celebration of Eastertide in our choral masses this weekend.
Choral Introit 11:30 am Mass, Now the Green Blade Riseth - John Hirten (b. 1956)
John Hirten is a San Francisco-based organist and composer of both sacred and secular music. The pairing of John M. C. Crum’s (1872-1958) poem with this anonymous French Carol has appeared in 51 hymnals since 1966, and has become a popular pairing of tune and text to arrange for anthems. The text creates an analogy between the buried and risen Christ, and the buried grain from which green blades grow. In the second verse, we hear of the doubt of the disciples ‘thinking that he’d never wake to life again.’
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Preparation of the Gifts 10am Mass, Jubilate Deo omnis terra for Five Voices - G. P. da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594)
This motet is taken from Palestrina’s Offertorio totius anni, from 1593, and is a setting of the Offertory text for Epiphany. The setting is rather subdued for such a joyful text, with frequent employment of Hypo-Aeolian mode, giving a slight minor and unresolved quality to the motet, though the middle section is in a very striking major tonality. The text continues the Eastertide themes of rejoicing which characterize the season: Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with joy.”
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Preparation of the Gifts 11:30 am Mass, Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether - Harold Friedell (1905-1958)
This poem was written by Percy Dearmer (1867-1936), an Anglican priest and publisher of the 1906 English Hymnal in collaboration with Ralph Vaughan Williams. The text asks that the Holy Spirit be present when two or more are gathered – today, a reference to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The Gospel imagery continues in the allusions to the Eucharist in the final verse – “they knew him through the breaking of the bread.” Harold Friedell was a teacher at the Juilliard School (of Music) and Union Seminary, as well as a renowned organist and composer. He wrote in a dense contrapuntal style that utilized modern yet frequently diatonic harmonies.
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Communion 10am Mass, Alleluia! Cognoverunt Discipuli - William Byrd (c. 1543-1623)
This motet by the Tudor-era William Byrd is taken from the composer’s 1607 Gradualia II, written for the clandestine Catholic community of England. The text quotes today’s Gospel where “the Disciples recognized him in the breaking of the bread.” Byrd frequently employs text painting in his works and this motet is no exception. The word ‘fractione’ (break) is treated in an abrupt and jagged manner. The second line from the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of John, ‘caro mea vere est cibus, et sanguis meus vere est potus’ (my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink), is set in three voices and creates more intimacy with the theological text. The word ‘manet’ (remain) is stretched over a long melisma of notes.
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Communion 11:30 am Mass, Jubilate Deo, László Halmos (1909-1997)
László Halmos was a 20th century Hungarian composer and choir director for the Cathedral of Győr , as well as a teacher at the State Conservatory. In addition to composing choral, orchestral, and vocal music, he was a reputable violinist and one of the early members of the Hungarian Quartet. This motet, which sets three verses from Psalm 65, is composed in a ternary form, frequently alternating between women and men in a canon, giving the piece a buoyant and joyful effect.
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