Prelude 11:30am Mass and Preparation of the Gifts 10am Mass, Duo Seraphim - Jacob Handl (1550-1591)
The text of this motet is taken from the Book of Isaiah, and it is used as a Matins Response for the Feast of the Trinity. This verse speaks of the glory of heaven through Isaiah’s vision, and it is one of the few descriptions of the place in the entire bible. The thrice-declared ‘holy’ is both a triune reference, as well as an archaic from of the superlative. This text is sung at every Mass as the first part of the Preface Acclamation as heaven and earth are united in sung praise of the divine. The composer, Handl, was born in Slovenia (then the Austro-Hungarian empire.) He traveled with the Viennese Court extensively through the empire as a Cistercian monk. He was choir master for several years to the bishop of Olomouc (Czech Republic), and died in Prague. His was greatly influenced by the Venetian style of Polyphonic writing, which utilized double choirs and echo effects.
To hear the Schola sing this in rehearsal last year, click below.
Preparation of the Gifts 11:30am Mass, God So Loved the World - Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
Chilcott is an English singer and composer of choral works. He was trained as a child in the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and as an adult was a member of the King’s Singers for over a decade. This motet sets the famous John 3:16 text in a gentle and lush style. The Chilcott setting, while bearing some slight similarities to John Stainer’s more well known setting, nevertheless retains its individuality primarily through richer harmonies of a 20th century palate.
To hear a version, click below.
Communion Motet 10am Mass, “O Lux Beata Trinitas” - William Byrd (1539 – 1623)
William Byrd was an English Elizabethan-era composer, who, with Thomas Tallis, composed many sacred settings, including those for underground Roman Catholic communities in the midst of the tumultuous era of the English Reformation. The text is employed as a hymn for Vespers on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Its author is very likely St. Ambrose of Milan. “O Trinity, blessed light and principal unity, Now that the fiery sun recedes, pour your light into our hearts. We praise you with song in the morning, To you we implore in the evening, May we praise and glorify you forever.”
To hear a version, click below.
Communion 11:30am Mass, I Bind unto Myself Today - C.V. Stanford (1852-1924)
Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer of Anglican Church music. He is most well known for his Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis settings, which are still sung to this day in many Episcopal and Anglican churches for evening prayer. He set C. F. Alexander’s masterful poetic version of this prayer in 1902, utilizes two pre-existing Irish hymn tunes; St. Patrick and Gartan. Due to the irregular stanzas present in the text, the hymn utilizes three separate metric schemes, making this hymn unique among the hymnic repertoire. Though we are not able to sing all the verses in its placement at this Mass, the thematic outline of the full hymn begins in the first verse by invoking the Trinity in a circular manner: we invoke the Trinity, through the power of the trinity - i.e., we allow ourselves to participate in its continuous act of participatory existence. The second verse details the acts of the mediator between us and the Trinity - i.e., the second person, Jesus - listing his actions as revealed through scripture. The third verse will recall the Te Deum prayer to many listeners, as the heavenly hosts, from Angels through Apostles, Patriarchs and Prophets, draw a picture of the hierarchies of heaven. The fourth verse, in brilliantly colored language, praises the natural as creation participates in the Trinitarian collective through its very being. The fifth verse is paean of God’s mercy and love to his children. The sixth and seventh verse utilize the second tune of the hymn, and the text is often known as the Lorica or Deer’s Cry. The eighth and final verse is a culmination of the previous verses, beginning with a repetition of the first verse, a detour to mention creation, (both natural and eternal), and finally a focusing in on the second person, by whom we participate in the Trinitarian Mystery, with a firm declaration: Salvation is of Christ the Lord.
To hear a version, click below.