Thursday, March 20, 2008

Holy Week (Ordinary Form) at Corpus Christi Church, 529 W. 121st Street, New York City

A church famed for its polyphonic and chant traditions and its support of the arts, it has taken the "Reform of the Reform" in a slightly different direction from places such as the Church of Our Saviour or St. Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota, or perhaps it simply has not re-arranged their musical program or liturgy much since the earliest, tenative changes of Advent 1964. A friend of mine once remarked, in describing their masses to me, as I have never visited, it was rather like time-travelling to a somewhat liturgically conservative parish in Europe circa 1965, an unsettled if historically interesting time to be sure; I say this not as a criticism but simply by way of explanation. I believe they use the 1970 missal, but with a slightly different translation of the various dialogues between priest and people that, while closer to the original Latin, is still unofficial (for example, "And with your spirit.") I do not condone this practice by any means, or other major deviations from the current translation (though I definitely understand the impulse behind it), but simply report it as a curiosity. Nonetheless, whatever particular small deviations are present, I am told it still represents an example of dignified liturgy and world-class music, and am glad they have maintained their choral tradition with such scrupulous attention.

Holy Thursday, March 20
Mass of the Lord's Supper (bilingual) - 7:30 p.m.

Altar of Repose in the auditorium is open until 10:00 p.m.

Good Friday, March 21
Tenebrae - 10:00 a.m.
Celebration of the Lord's Passion (English) - 3:00 p.m.
Celebration of the Lord's Passion (Spanish) - 6:00 p.m.

Holy Saturday, March 22
Tenebrae - 10:00 a.m.
Easter Vigil - 7:30 p.m.

Easter Sunday, March 23
Masses - 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m. (Spanish), 11:15 a.m. (choir), 1:00 p.m. (family)

Corpus Christi's website also helpfully includes the following information on the music for the various Holy Week Liturgies:

Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper

Gregorian chant: Introit - Nos autem; Antiphons - Postquam surrexit Dominus; Ubi caritas; Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes; Mandatum novum do vobis; Maneant in vobis; Communion - Hoc corpus; chant hymn during final procession - Pange lingua.

Agnus Dei: Missa In illo tempore, Claudio Monteverdi

Motets: Credidi propter quod locutus sum, à 8, Claudio Monteverdi; Pan divino, graçioso, sacrasancto, Francisco Guerrero; Ave verum, Harvey Burgett.

Good Friday - Tenebrae

Gregorian chant antiphons, psalms, lessons.

Motets: Ludovico Viadana, Marc'Antonio Ingegnieri.

Good Friday - Solemn Liturgy of the Lord's Passion

Gregorian chant: Gradual - Christus factus est

Passion of Christ from John's Gospel: chant recitation in English with choral responses by William Byrd

Improperia: Tomás Luis de Victoria

Motet: O vos omnes - Richard Deering; Tenebrae factae sunt - Johannes Nucius.

Holy Saturday - Tenebrae

Gregorian chant antiphons, psalms, lessons.

Motet: Ludovico Viadana.

Holy Saturday - The Easter Vigil

Gregorian chant: Psalms & canticles, Easter proclamation- Exsultet, Antiphon - Vidi aquam, Communion Pascha nostrum.

Agnus Dei: Missa V, super Ecce quam bonum, Hans Leo Hassler

Anthem: Salve festa dies, Ralph Vaughan Williams

Motets: Surrexit Christus hodie - Melchior Vulpius; Surrexit Dominus - Jacob Handl.

Easter Sunday

Gregorian chant: Introit - Resurrexi; Gloria and Sanctus, Missa VIII De angelis

Agnus Dei: Missa quatuor vocum, Domenico Scarlatti.

Motets: Sequence - Victimae Paschali, Eustache du Caurroy; Haec dies, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; Christ being raised from the dead -John Blow

Organ chorale preludes for Easter from the Orgelbüchlein, Johann Sebastian Bach.

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