At the opposite end of the spectrum of liturgical music from the fine work of Carlo Rossini are the two "Gradualia" of William Byrd, published in 1605 and 1607.
Byrd was one of the greatest English polyphonic composers, born about 1540. He is probably best known for his three Mass setting (for 3, 4 and 5 voices) and his "Great Service": settings (in English) of the major texts for Anglican Matins and Evensong.
His Gradualia provide elaborate polyphonic settings of Mass Propers, in particular a full set for all the Masses of Our Lady.
I have heard these Byrd setting used once liturgically, in the chapel of University College Durham. The choir also sang a Byrd setting of the Ordinary of the Mass and the result was, frankly, a bit too much. It was rather like eating a meal at which there was chocolate in every course.
I am keen to use the Byrd Propers however and think that this could be done by combining them with a Chant Ordinary. This would be something of a reversal of the normal contrasting music for Mass - Chant Proper and polyphonic Ordinary - and would be an interesting experiment. I have already discussed it with one of my polyphonic collaborators as a possible project for 2007.
For anyone wanting to hear these Byrd settings of the Proper, The Cardinall's Musick directed by Andrew Carwood have undertaken a large project recording Byrd's music and extracts from the Gradualia can be found on those recordings. I am listening to their CD "Laudibus in sanctis" (which includes the full Proper for Marian Masses of Paschal Time) as I write this.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Rossini Propers
I have just bought a copy of the reprint of these Propers of the Mass, published by the Neumann Press.
Let me first of all clear up the name: this is the work of the Revd Carlo Rossini in the 1930s, not Gioacchino Rossini, the great opera composer of the early nineteenth century. If you were hoping for elaborate coloratura and long crescendos you will be disappointed!
What Carlo Rossini provides is a simple setting of the Proper for every Sunday of the year and every major Feastday, based on the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. The music is set out in modern notation and the words clearly pointed underneath the music. Different psalm tones are used for different parts of the Mass and for different seasons.
Of course the ideal is to sing the whole of the Proper to the chants from the Liber Usualis, but this is a terrific resource for less experienced singers or a group who have limited time to learn and practise some of the more complicated chants.
Having sung in a choir that sang the whole Proper every Sunday to psalm tone 8G, Rossini's work provides a more sophisticated yet simple to learn way of singing the Proper.
I am not ashamed to say that I plan to use it myself! For anyone wanting to have a Sung Mass but worrying about what to do about the Proper - here is the answer.
Let me first of all clear up the name: this is the work of the Revd Carlo Rossini in the 1930s, not Gioacchino Rossini, the great opera composer of the early nineteenth century. If you were hoping for elaborate coloratura and long crescendos you will be disappointed!
What Carlo Rossini provides is a simple setting of the Proper for every Sunday of the year and every major Feastday, based on the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. The music is set out in modern notation and the words clearly pointed underneath the music. Different psalm tones are used for different parts of the Mass and for different seasons.
Of course the ideal is to sing the whole of the Proper to the chants from the Liber Usualis, but this is a terrific resource for less experienced singers or a group who have limited time to learn and practise some of the more complicated chants.
Having sung in a choir that sang the whole Proper every Sunday to psalm tone 8G, Rossini's work provides a more sophisticated yet simple to learn way of singing the Proper.
I am not ashamed to say that I plan to use it myself! For anyone wanting to have a Sung Mass but worrying about what to do about the Proper - here is the answer.
Monday, January 1, 2007
The Octave of Christmas
I was very pleased to be able to attend a Traditional Latin Mass on every day during the Christmas Octave (mainly thanks to the efforts of Fr Michael Brown).
We sang for the Midnight Mass at Christmas and on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (with singers joining us from Yorkshire and the Lake District for the latter). We completed the Octave with a Sung Mass today, the Feast of the Circumcision. We sang the lovely Vespers hymn Jesu Redemptor omnium at the Offertory and the Veni Creator at the end of Mass.
Why the Veni Creator?
The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum 2004 says:A Plenary Indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who are devoutly present in a Church or oratory for the singing or recitation of the hymn Veni Creator on the first day of the year, imploring divine assistance for the whole of the coming year.
We sang for the Midnight Mass at Christmas and on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (with singers joining us from Yorkshire and the Lake District for the latter). We completed the Octave with a Sung Mass today, the Feast of the Circumcision. We sang the lovely Vespers hymn Jesu Redemptor omnium at the Offertory and the Veni Creator at the end of Mass.
Why the Veni Creator?
The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum 2004 says:A Plenary Indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who are devoutly present in a Church or oratory for the singing or recitation of the hymn Veni Creator on the first day of the year, imploring divine assistance for the whole of the coming year.
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