The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy & Music invites you to join in a commemoration of the Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the founding of the United States, with a celebration of Vespers as it would have been experienced in 1776 in a Catholic chapel of the Thirteen Colonies. It will take place at St. Augustine Church, within walking distance of Independence Hall, on the feast of St. James, this Saturday, July 25, at 6pm. Vespers will be preceded by a choral prelude about 10 minutes before, and music outside the church by the New Jersey Fifes and Drums for a full hour beforehand.
It was Vespers that John Adams experienced during a visit to Old St. Mary’s, Philadelphia in 1774, after which he wrote to his wife Abigail, “The Musick consisting of an organ, and a Choir of singers, went all the Afternoon, excepting sermon Time, and the Assembly chanted-most sweetly and exquisitely.” Much of the music for this event has been taken from the first Catholic hymnal ever published in the United States, A Compilation of Litanies and Vespers, Hymns and Anthems as they are sung in the Catholic Church, printed in Philadelphia in 1787 by John Aitken.
Before the start of Vespers, there will be a ceremonial reading of the Declaration of Independence outside the church, with the support of the 3rd New Jersey Greys, as well as the New Jersey Fifes and Drums. The liturgical portion of Vespers, celebrating the feast of St. James the Apostle, will be officiated by Fr. Robert Pasley (rector of Mater Ecclesiae Church in Berlin, New Jersey, and president of the Church Music Association of America), with the assistance of six other priests in copes. A sermon will be preached by Fr. Alan Bridges (parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s, Toms River, New Jersey and a longtime participant of living history events at Fort Ticonderoga and with the 3rd New Jersey Greys).
The event will conclude with the singing of Te Deum, as was experienced by members of the Continental Congress, together with the French Minister and his chaplain and attendants, when they attended the first celebration of Independence Day in a Catholic church, on July 4, 1779, at Old St. Mary’s, Philadelphia.
A reception will follow in the parish hall next door; please come, and invite your friends!
As I described in an article last year, Vespers of Easter Sunday and the days within the octave was celebrated in the Middle Ages according to a special form used only in that period. There were many variations to the ceremony; my article was based on the Use of Sarum, simply because the rubrics of Sarum liturgical books are more thorough than those of most other medieval Uses. When the See of Paris passed over from its Neo-Gallican Use to the Roman books in 1871, a special indult was granted to continue the celebration of Vespers in this form, and this is still done at the church of St Eugène. Here is the video of the full ceremony celebrated four days ago, from the YouTube channel of our dear friends of the Schola Sainte-Cécile; you can follow along in this pdf booklet in Latin and French: https://schola-sainte-cecile.com/programmes/Vepres-stationnales.pdf.
As part of a recent jubilee year pilgrimage to Rome, the Institute of the Good Shepherd celebrated Vespers in the Pantheon on December 11th, the feast of Pope St Damasus I. The main celebrant was Monsignor Valentin Miserachs Grau, a canon of the basilica of St Mary Major who has been an important figure in sacred music in Rome for many years; he was formerly the director of the choir at Mary Major, and served as dean of the Pontifical Institute for Sacred Music from 1995-2012. Once again, we are glad to share some very beautiful photos taken by our friend Don Elvir Tabaković, a former professional photographer from Croatia who is now in religious life.
Mons Miserachs meets members of the Institute in the porch of the Pantheon.
Here are some photographs of one of the liturgical celebrations which took place in Rome this past weekend as part of the annual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage. On Friday, October 24th, His Eminence Matteo Cardinal Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna, presided over the celebration of Vespers of St Raphael the Archangel in the basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke attended in choir; we will also have photos of the Pontifical Mass which he celebrated in St Peter’s basilica the next day. The church was, of course, quite full, I have seen a report that a number of the faithful had to stand out in the porch in front of the church. These pictures were taken by Don Elvir Tabaković, a former professional photographer from Croatia who is now in religious life, and putting his skills to excellent use in the service of the Church. Our thanks to Cardinal Zuppi for his paternal solicitude for the faithful who love the traditional liturgy - ad multos annos!
The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy & Music is pleased to announce its first collaboration on a liturgical event in the Byzantine Rite. On Saturday, May 31 – the eve of the seventh Sunday of Pascha and the Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council – we will be praying a Great Vespers & Lytia at the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church of St Nicholas in Philadelphia, in celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The music will be sung by a men’s ensemble of chanters led by Fr. Herman Majkrzak. The event will also include a sermon preached by Fr. Samuel Keyes, a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. Let both the eastern and western lungs of the Church join in celebration of this anniversary! The church is located at 871 N. 24th St in Philadelphia; the ceremony will begin at 5pm.
On Thursday evening, Old St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City will have a solemn celebration of Vespers for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with an accompanying chamber orchestra, and featuring music composed for the great cathedrals of Mexico, including works by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, Manuel de Sumaya, Ignacio de Jerusalem, and Santiago Billoni. Fr. David Michael Moses will be the guest preacher; the ceremony will conclude with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This event is yet another splendid initiative of The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy & Music, this time in conjunction with The Society of St Hugh of Cluny. See the Facebook event page here. The liturgy will begin at 7pm; the church is located at 261 Mott Street.
Today is the feast of St Gall, a disciple of the great monastic founder of the later 6th and early 7th century, St Columban. He was born in Ireland, educated under Columban at the abbey of Bangor, and accompanied his teacher to the continent, where he assisted him in the founding of the important abbeys at Annegray and Luxeuil. From there, they made their way to the area around the Swiss lakes of Zurich and Constance; when Columban went to Italy, Gall remained behind, and having preached and gathered a group of disciples who lived under Columban’s rule, died sometime around 645 AD. The great Swiss abbey of San Gallen is named after him, since it was built over the site traditionally said to be that of his hermitage, about 70 years after his death. (Further details of this are given below in connection with the founder St Othmar.)
This abbey is the home of one of the most important libraries in the world; among other things, it houses several of the oldest manuscripts of Gregorian chant. Much of the collection is now free to consult via the website https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en, which also includes links to the digital collections of numerous other Swiss libraries. Here is a book from San Gallen which I recently discovered while perusing the site, a magnificently illustrated Vesperal made for the Prince Abbot of San Gallen at the end of the 17th century. This book contains only the intonations of the antiphons and hymns, which were made by the celebrant and dignitaries of the choir, such as the prior and subprior etc. The celebrant’s other parts (the chapter and orations) would be sung out of a different book called a capitularium.
Here are all of the decorated pages of the book; I have cropped those on which the decorations are confined to the margins. (Cod. Sang. 1452B; all images CC BY-NC 4.0) The complete book can be seen by following the links at the following url: https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/csg/1452B
The First Sunday of Advent. The book is not very large, about 14½ by 11 inches; for the intonation of the second antiphon, a server would carry it to the next dignitary of the choir, then to the third, and so on.
The O antiphons. The style of note is known in German as “Hufnagelnotation – hoof-nail notation”, from the resemblance of the notes to a common kind of nail for horse-shoes.
Christmas. At top, the Holy Family turned away from the inn; at the upper right margin, the appearance of the angel to the shepherds.
In the margin of the next page, the angelic choirs sing over the stable at Bethlehem.
Decoration from the following page, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and angels adoring the Christ Child as He sleeps in the manger, which is shaped like the Cross. Below, Ss Stephen and John.
Better very late than never, we thank our friend Mr James Griffin of The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music for sharing with us these pictures of a Vesper ceremony in the Sarum Rite celebrated back in March, and for providing the written description of the ceremony.
Faithful readers of this site may recall my photo-essay from February 2020, following the Sarum Vespers for Candlemas Eve in Philadelphia, which was attended by 700 or more persons. For many of the faithful in this part of the country, that event is etched in their memories as a last hurrah before the Covid-related shutdowns brought an end to public worship.
It took four years for the right circumstances to allow my associates and me to put together a second celebration of the Sarum Use, which finally took place on Friday, March 1 at the chapel of Princeton University, New Jersey. Some estimates have the headcount at 800 this time! An excellent reflection was written shortly after the event by NLM contributor David Clayton, who also gave an academic presentation before the Vespers began. But I hadn’t found the time, or the right inspiration, to put my own words to paper until now. As with the essay in 2020, photos here are thanks to the efforts of Allison Girone and her associates. A digital version of the congregational booklet may be downloaded here, and below is a professional video recording.
The clergy and servers are led to the chancel by the verger (as the Sarum Customary puts it, “the sacristan with the rod”). At the beginning of Vespers, the candle-bearers enter in surplices, which are exchanged for full albs partway into the ceremony.
We welcomed many priests from far and wide to attend in-choir. Many wore the black cappa, as did the canons of Salisbury Cathedral, a practical measure for any cavernous stone church in a northern climate. The officiant was Fr. Armando G. Alejandro, Jr., a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and chaplain for the Durandus Institute.
Just before the officiating priest, the rectores chori — rulers of the choir — make their entrance. Each ruler carries a stave, sometimes called a baculus cantoralis, as a sign of his office. It should be said that the practice of cantors with staves is hardly unique to the Sarum Use, having been practiced in various monastic houses and cathedrals in Europe, and even in some places in Latin America until the 20th century.
As I described in an article two years ago, Vespers of Easter Sunday and the days within the octave was celebrated in the Middle Ages according to a special form used only in that period. There were many variations to the ceremony; my article was based on the Use of Sarum, simply because the rubrics of Sarum liturgical books are more thorough than those of most other medieval Uses. When the See of Paris passed over from its Neo-Gallican Use to the Roman books in 1871, a special indult was granted to continue the celebration of Vespers in this form, and this is still done at the church of St Eugène. Here is the video of the full ceremony celebrated two days ago, from the YouTube channel of our dear friends of the Schola Sainte-Cécile; you can follow along in this pdf booklet in Latin and French: https://schola-sainte-cecile.com/programmes/Vepres-stationnales.pdf.
UPDATE: I am bumping this post forward, since we have now received some pictures of the ceremony from the Schola - merci, chers amis!
The cantors wear appareled albs of a type typical in the Middle Ages.
On Friday, March 1st, the chapel of Princeton University hosted the celebration of First Vespers of St Chad of Mercia according to the Use of Sarum, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This event was organized by Mr James Griffin, executive director of the Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music, with the help of a great many people, as you can see in this video of the complete ceremony. This is the second time the Institute has organized a service in the Sarum Rite; the first, on February 1, 2020, was a solemn First Vespers of Candlemas. (I jokingly said to James that I hope this one doesn’t set off another global pandemic.)
As he did with the previous ceremony, Mr Griffin is planning on sharing with us a detailed explanation of the ceremony, which will be accompanied by photos by one of our favorite photographers, Allison Girone, and her associate Regina Jelski. For now, enjoy the video; the texts are given below.
The feast of St Chad is ranked as a “single” feast at Sarum, the equivalent of a semidouble in the Roman system. The psalms and antiphons are therefore taken from the feria, in this case a Friday, with semidoubled antiphons.
Antiphon In conspectu angelorum: * psallam tibi Deus meus. (In the presence of the Angels * will I sing praise to thee, my God.) Psalm 137
Antiphon Domine * probasti me et cognovisti me. (O Lord * thou hast searched me out, and known me.) Psalm 138
Antiphon A viro iniquo * libera me Domine. (From the wicked man * O Lord, preserve me.) Psalm 139
Antiphon Domine clamavi * ad te: et exaudi me. (Lord, I call * upon thee, haste thee unto me.) Psalm 140
Antiphon Portio mea Domine * sit in terra viventium. (Let my portion, O Lord * be in the land of the living.) Psalm 141
This is followed by the Chapter as in the Roman Office, Sirach 44, 17: “ Ecce sacerdos magnus qui in diebus suis placuit Deo et inventus est justus: et in tempore iracundie factus est reconciliatio. (Behold an high priest, who in his days pleased God, and was found righteous, and in the time of wrath he was made a propitiation.”
At First Vespers of all the but the lowest-ranked feasts, most medieval Uses of the Office had one of the prolix responsories from Matins between the chapter and the hymn; at Sarum, this was led by two “the rulers of the choir” wearing silk copes, and standing at the steps of the choir.
R. Miles Christi * gloriose Ceddas sanctissime, † Tuo pio interventu, ‡ Culpas nostras ablue. V. Ut celestis regni sedem valeamus scandere. Tuo… Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Culpas… (Glorious soldier of Christ * most holy Chad, † Through thy pious intervention. ‡ Cleanse our sins. V. That we may be able to ascend the seat of the heavenly kingdom. † Through… Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. ‡ Cleanse…)
The hymn Iste Confessor and the versicle Amavit eum which follow are the same as in the Roman Rite, but Sarum had a curious custom by which the response to the versicle was not made audibly. The antiphon at the Magnificat is also semidoubled.
Sis pro nobis, * sancte Cedda, rogamus, ad Dominum: ut nos regat et perducat ad celi palatium: ubi tecum et cum sanctis simus in perpetuum. (Be for us, Saint Chad, we ask, unto the Lord, that He may rule us and lead us to the palace of heaven, where we may be with thee and the Saints for ever.)
Oratio Deus, qui sanctorum tuorum meritis ecclesiam toto orbe diffusam decorasti, presta quaesumus: ut intercessione beatissimi Cedde episcopi et confessoris, in sorte justorum tua opitulate pietate censeamur: per Dominum... (God, who hast adorned the Church, spread through the whole world, with the merits of Thy Saints, grant, we ask, that by the intercession of Thy most blessed bishop and confessor Chad, we may be numbered in the lot of the just by the aid of Thy mercy. Through our Lord...)
The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy & Music invites all to attend its second major celebration of Vespers according to the Use of Sarum, the rite of the Catholic Church in England before the Reformation. This year’s liturgy will take place at the Princeton University Chapel, with the assistance of the UK early music chamber choir Gallicantus.
Vespers will begin at 7pm on Friday, March 1 (First Vespers of St. Chad of Mercia), followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Music will include the Sarum Litany of Saints, “O Sacrum Convivium” by Thomas Tallis, and works of other pre-Reformation masters of music. All are additionally welcome to attend a brief lecture on the Use of Sarum in the chapel before Vespers, at 6pm.
The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music has arranged for the celebration of Solemn Vespers and Benediction at the Basilica of St Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York City on September 14th, for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A chamber orchestra will assist with some of the greatest choral works ever written for the Divine Office, the centerpiece being Mozart’s Vesperae Solemnes de Confessore, K. 339, to be supplemented with:
Concerto No. 1 in D Major – W. A. Mozart after Johann Christian Bach Domine ad adjuvandum – Baldassare Galuppi O Salutaris – Luigi Cherubini Salve Regina – Vincenzo Bellini
The celebrating priest will be assisted by six other clerics as cantors in copes. Following Vespers will be a short sermon, then Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the celebrations for the feast of San Gennaro, a week-long festival in New York City’s Little Italy district, which begins on this same day.
Saint Timothy’s Ordinariate Church and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland, will hold a Solemn Choral Evensong in the Ordinariate Rite at the latter church on January 25, starting at 7 PM. The Evensong will commemorate the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, as well as the closing of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Fr. Armando Alejandro, Parochial Administrator of Saint Timothy’s, will officiate, and the Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, will preach the sermon. The Evensong will be dedicated to the late Pope Emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI. The cathedral is located at 5200 North Charles Street in Baltimore; see the Facebook event page for further information. (Thanks to Mr James Griffin of the Durandus Institute, who will MC the ceremony, for letting us know about this.)
On Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm, the church of St Agatha - St James Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will hold a solemn choral Evensong according to the Ordinariate Divine Office for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The event is co-sponsored by the Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy & Music and the Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture. The featured music includes the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis from Orlando Gibbons’ Short Service, psalmody in Anglican chant, and the Phos hilaron of Sir John Stainer. St Agatha - St James, located at 3728 Chestnut Street, is home to the Newman Center for the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, the first Newman Center established in the United States.
A few photos of the same Vespers celebrated last year for the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin.
Today is the feast of St Gall, a disciple of the great monastic founder of the later 6th and early 7th century, St Columban. He was born in Ireland, educated under Columban at the abbey of Bangor, and accompanied his teacher to the continent, where he assisted him in the founding of the important abbeys at Annegray and Luxeuil. From there, they made their way to the area around the Swiss lakes of Zurich and Constance; when Columban went to Italy, Gall remained behind, and having preached and gathered a group of disciples who lived under Columban’s rule, died sometime around 645 AD. The great Swiss abbey of San Gallen is named after him, since it was built over the site traditionally said to be that of his hermitage, about 70 years after his death. (Further details of this are given below in connection with the founder St Othmar.)
This abbey is the home of one of the most important libraries in the world; among other things, it houses several of the oldest manuscripts of Gregorian chant. Much of the collection is now free to consult via the website https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en, which also includes links to the digital collections of numerous other Swiss libraries. Here is a book from San Gallen which I recently discovered while perusing the site, a magnificently illustrated Vesperal made for the Prince Abbot of San Gallen at the end of the 17th century. This book contains only the intonations of the antiphons and hymns, which were made by the celebrant and dignitaries of the choir, such as the prior and subprior etc. The celebrant’s other parts (the chapter and orations) would be sung out of a different book called a capitularium.
Here are all of the decorated pages of the book; I have cropped those on which the decorations are confined to the margins. (Cod. Sang. 1452B; all images CC BY-NC 4.0) The complete book can be seen by following the links at the following url: https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/csg/1452B
The First Sunday of Advent. The book is not very large, about 14½ by 11 inches; for the intonation of the second antiphon, a server would carry it to the next dignitary of the choir, then to the third, and so on.
The O antiphons. The style of note is known in German as “Hufnagelnotation – hoof-nail notation”, from the resemblance of the notes to a common kind of nail for horse-shoes.
Christmas. At top, the Holy Family turned away from the inn; at the upper right margin, the appearance of the angel to the shepherds.
In the margin of the next page, the angelic choirs sing over the stable at Bethlehem.
Decoration from the following page, with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and angels adoring the Christ Child as He sleeps in the manger, which is shaped like the Cross. Below, Ss Stephen and John.
For the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, here is a very Baroque musical setting of the psalms and hymn of his Second Vespers, composed by Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726), an Italian Jesuit missionary in South America. The Magnificat is done here in Gregorian chant, followed by an instrumental sonata and an orchestral Te Deum.
A few interesting things to note here. Unlike basically all other religious orders, the Jesuits did not have a proper Office for their founder; these texts are all taken from the Common Office of a Simple Confessor, which can be found in any edition of the Roman Breviary. The first psalm is done in Gregorian chant, the others in polyphony with orchestral accompaniment, a deliberate gesture of respect, I imagine, to the older musical traditional. I don’t know why Zipoli did not include the Magnificat in his setting; perhaps the church for which he wrote this already had a setting which they did not wish to change.
St Ignatius and the Jesuits have taken a lot of criticism, much of it fair, and much of it unfair, for their approach to the liturgy, and especially the Divine Office, which they have never done in choir as an order. It should always been be borne in mind that the liturgical situation of the Society and the whole Catholic Church was very different before the Age of Revolutions began in the later 18th century. (I outlined this in my series on the reforms of the Breviary several years ago, specifically in reference to the Jesuits: see parts 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3.) And yet, here we have a very elaborate setting (which I admit is not entirely to my own personal tastes), not of a Mass, but of Vespers, written by a Jesuit, in an era when the solemn celebration of Vespers was still regarded as a very important part of any major feast. I have also read more than once that particularly in South America, the Jesuit missionaries quickly discovered that many of the native populations were incredibly talented at music, and put those talents to good use in the reducciones.
Domenico Zipoli was born in Prato in Tuscany, and after his early training, which included a brief stint with Alessandro Scarlatti in Naples, he became the organist of the main Jesuit church in Rome, the Gesù, at the age of only 23. A year later, he went to Seville in Spain to join the Society; as a novice, he was sent to Buenos Aires, and from there to Córdoba in what is now Argentina, where he completed his studies, but was never ordained, since there was no bishop available at the time to ordain him. He died of tuberculosis in 1726, at the age of only 38, but his fame as a composer had spread thoughout South America; the Spanish Viceroy in Lima wrote to Córdoba, which is over 2,000 miles away, to request copies of his works, which are also found in the musical archives of many of the reducciones. (For a sense of perspective, Zipoli himself had less distance to travel to get from Rome to Seville.)
On Tuesday, we shared a video of the First Vespers of Candlemas which were recently celebrated in Philadelphia according to the Use of Sarum. The organizer of the event, Mr James Griffin, has very kindly provided us with us with a detailed description of the ceremony, which we are very happy to publish, together with photos by Allison Girone.
Last September, photos of Vespers according to the Sarum Use celebrated at Balliol College, Oxford were posted on New Liturgical Movement. As a student of the Sarum Use for many years, I was immediately captivated by the photos and closely studied the Schola Sainte-Cecile’s program for the service; but I didn’t think any further about the article until a friend asked me if I could organize a liturgical event like it for our own community in the Philadelphia area, where I now live.
Many people expressed skepticism about this idea, but they couldn’t shake me from the opportunity I saw at hand. What if I could invite all the university students and scholars of early music in this city to a rare celebration of Vespers with just the kind of music they’ve been learning in concert hall environments, but in the original context for which it was composed? What if we could invite Catholics with an appreciation of sacred music to an event which would expose them to the broader treasury of our musical patrimony outside of the Mass? The possibilities for evangelization and outreach seemed endless. After speaking with the archdiocese’s office of worship, and asking the Dominicans of St Patrick’s Church in center city Philadelphia to host at their parish, I spent the next two months on a promotional campaign: Sarum Vespers for Candlemas Eve, 2020. On the night of the event, in a church with no free parking anywhere nearby, for a liturgy which fulfilled no Mass obligation, over 700 people poured through the doors of St. Patrick’s, telling the whole world that there was a hunger for beautiful, traditional worship. I’m privileged to be able to share with you the official video and photos of this historic occasion below.
The congregational service booklet may be viewed at this link. The full photo album, taken by Allison Girone, may be viewed here.
The verger (called “the sacristan with the rod” by the Sarum Customary) makes way for the procession. In the medieval Church, before the introduction of pews defined a central aisle, it was necessary for large churches to have someone bearing a rod to clear the way for the clergy. While an entrance procession is certainly not necessary for celebrations of the Divine Office—the clergy and choir at Salisbury likely took their own places individually before the start of the Hours—it was a practical necessity for such a large group in this space to enter the church in a more formal manner.
As in the traditional Roman Rite, the hours are preceded by several prayers recited in silence. The officiating priest begins with Deus in adjutorium meum intende, to which the choir answers with Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina and Gloria Patri. The Sarum Use directs the choir to turn to the altar at several points in the rite, including whenever the doxology is sung. Strictly speaking, the Sarum Use also envisions that the entire hour of Vespers—with the exception of the Responsory—is said while standing. We allowed the clergy and congregation to sit for the psalms, but no chairs were set out for either the singers or the altar servers.
The “heart” of Vespers is five psalms; however, the group used for First Vespers of the Purification in Sarum is different from that of the Roman Rite. As in the Dominican Use, Sarum assigns the Psalms of the Christmas octave: 109, 110, 111, 129, and 131 (in the traditional numbering). Each psalm is preceded by a semi-doubled antiphon, intoned by five different clerics in descending order of seniority. Each cleric is individually approached by the Precentor, who pre-intones for them as needed. We assigned the antiphons in advance to four priests and one deacon, all from different dioceses, religious orders, or the Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter. It was hoped that this would visually signify how all the clergy sustain the universal Church by their obligation to pray the Hours daily.
After the cleric intones the first portion of the antiphon, the four rectores chori—rulers of the choir—go straight to the first verse of the psalm, followed by the rest of the choir. We sang all odd-numbered verses of the psalms in unison with the organ, with the verses fully notated in the programs for the congregation to join in singing. The even-numbered verses were sung by the choir alone to 3 or 4-part harmonies called fauxbourdon or falso bordone. The complete antiphon follows at the end of each psalm.
On Saturday, February 1st, the Dominican church of St Patrick in Philadelphia hosted a celebration of Solemn First Vespers of Candlemas according to the Use of Sarum. This remarkable event was organized by Mr James Griffin, executive director of the newly founded Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music, with the help of a great many people, as you can see in this video of the complete ceremony. We are very pleased to congratulate everyone who offered their time and effort for such a beautiful rite; the church was absolutely packed, a hopeful sign for similar initiatives in the future, both here and elsewhere.
Later this week, we will offer a detailed explanation of the ceremony written up by Mr Griffin, and some photos from one of our favorite photographers, Allison Girone. For now, enjoy the video; the texts are given below.
The Psalms of Christmas Vespers (109-110-111-129-131) are sung with the antiphons from Lauds of the Circumcision, which are semidoubled. (The fifth of these antiphons, Magnum hereditatis mysterium is sung at the Benedictus on the Circumcision in the Sarum Use) Aña 1 O admirábile * commercium: Creátor géneris humáni, animátum corpus sumens, de Vírgine nasci dignátus est; et procédens homo sine sémine, largítus est nobis suam Deitátem. (O wondrous exchange! the Creator of the human race, taking upon Him a living body, deigned to be born of a Virgin: and coming forth without seed as a man, bestowed in us His Divinity.) Aña 2 Quando natus es * ineffabíliter ex Vírgine, tunc implétae sunt Scriptúrae: sicut pluvia in vellus descendisti, ut salvum fáceres genus humánum: te laudámus, Deus noster. (When Thou wast born ineffably of a Virgin, then were the Scriptures fulfilled; like the rainful upon the fleece thou camest down, to save the human race; we praise thee, O our God.) Aña 3 Rubum, * quem víderat Móyses incombustum, conservátam agnóvimus tuam laudábilem virginitátem: Dei Génitrix, intercéde pro nobis. (In the bush which Moses saw unconsumed, we recognize the preservation of Thy praisworthy virginity: Mother of God, intercede for us.) Aña 4 Germinávit * radix Jesse, orta est stella ex Jacob: Virgo péperit Salvatórem; te laudámus, Deus noster. (The root of Jesse hath budded, the Star hath arisen from Jacob, the Virgin hath borne the Saviour: we praise thee, O our God.) Aña 5 Magnum * hereditátis mystérium: templum Dei factus est úterus nesciéntis virum: non est pollútus ex ea carnem assúmens; omnes gentes vénient dicéntes: Glória tibi, Dómine.
(The great mystery of heirship; the womb of Her that knew not a man is become the temple of God; in taking flesh from Her, He was not defiled; all nations shall come, saying: Glory to thee, O Lord!)
The Chapter (Malachi 3, 1) Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple.
As in almost all medieval Uses, one of the responsories from Matins is sung between the chapter and the hymn. R. Vidéte miráculum matris Dómini: concépit Virgo virílis ignára consortii. * Stans oneráta nóbili ónere María. * Et matrem se laetam cognoscit: quae se nescit uxórem. V. Haec speciósum forma prae filiis hóminum castis concépit viscéribus: et benedicta in aeternum, Deum nobis prótulit et hóminem.
Stans oneráta. Gloria Patri. Et matrem. (See the miracle of the Mother of the Lord; a virgin conceiveth who knoweth not the company of man. Mary remains entrusted with a noble charge, and knoweth herself to be a joyful mother, who knoweth not herself as a wife. She concevied in her chaste womb Him that is beautful above the sons of men, and being blessed forever, brought forth unto us God and man.)
There follows the hymn Quod chorus vatum, a composition of the Carolingian era which was written for the feast of the Purification, but never adopted at Rome. (It has been incorporated into the revised Latin hymnal of the Liturgy of the Hours.)
V. Responsum accepit Symeon a Spiritu Sancto. R. Non visurum se mortem nisi videret Christum Domini. (Simeon received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.)
The Antiphon of the Magnificat Homo erat in Hierusalem cui nomen Symeon, homo iste justus et timoratus, expectabat redemptionem Israel: et Spiritus Sanctus erat in eo. (There was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; this man, just and God-fearing, awaited the redemption of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was in him. - As in most medieval Uses, the antiphons of the Magnificat and Benedictus were doubled for major feast days.)
The Prayer Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, majestatem tuam supplices exoramus: ut sicut unigenitus Filius tuus hodierna die cum nostrae carnis substantia in templo est praesentatus, ita nos facias purificatis tibi mentibus praesentari. Per eundem. (Almighty and everliving God, we humbly beseech thy Majesty, that as thy Only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts.
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A unique celebration of the end of the greater Christmas season will take place in Philadelphia on the evening of Saturday, February 1st, solemn choral Vespers according to the medieval Use of Sarum. A choir of master singers from all around the region, under the direction of Peter Carter, will come together to render the sacred music of the psalms in Sarum chant, a collection of polyphonic works set by Thomas Tallis for Candlemas Eve, and a Magnificat written by Robert White during the brief restoration of the Sarum Use under Queen Mary I’s reign. (I have attended a number of liturgies at which Mr Carter has led the choir, and I guarantee that the music will be superb.)
The liturgy will take place at St Patrick’s Church, served by the Dominican Friars, in center city Philadelphia (242 S 20th St). The event is co-sponsored by the Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought & Culture. Please direct all inquiries to James T.M. Griffin at chantphiladelphia@gmail.com; also see the Facebook event page and listing at Eventbrite.
Here are some pictures of two events celebrated by the FSSP on the feast of St Michael, which this year took the place of the green Sunday after Pentecost in the Extraordinary Form. At the Roman church of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, two young members of the parish made their First Holy Communion; as you can see, the Italian tradition of wearing a special formal outfit for this event is still very much alive and well.
The two girls who made their First Communion offer lilies at the Lady Altar before Mass starts.
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