The Baptism of the Lord

10 January 2010

Entrance	We shall draw water (Paul Inwood)
Penitential Rite	St Gabriels (mtgf)
Gloria	St Augustines (Christopher Walker)
Psalm 103	Bless the Lord my soul (mtgf)
Gospel Acclamation	Salisbury Alleluia (Christopher Walker)
Preparation of Gifts	O child of promise (Quinn/Maries)
Eucharistic Acclamations	Mass of Creation (Marty Haugen)
Lamb of God	Behold the Lamb (Iona)
Communion	There is one Lord (Owen Alstott)
Final	O praise ye the Lord ( )

The General Norms on the Liturgical Year states:

The Christmas season runs from Evening Prayer I of Christmas until the Sunday after Epiphany or after 6 January, inclusive. (33)

Ordinary Time starts tomorrow. Musically we seem already to have put our decorations away — something maybe to think about next year. I do think today has a certain Janus like quality. Looking back and looking forward. I understand the Advent–Christmas season as one season centred on an event - the Birth of our Lord. So the looking back is to Advent, the looking forward to Christ's ministry and eventually passion, death and resurrection. In part this is a reflection on O child of promise which might otherwise seem an odd choice for today.

We use the melody by Andrew Maries in Veni Emmanuel which is very singable. There is an error in VE - in verse 2 the words of lines 3 & 4 are omitted and replaced by 'pre-repeat' (if that makes sense) of 7 & 8:

O come, anointed One,
to show blind eyes your face!
Good tidings to the poor announce;
proclaim God's year of grace!
O man of sorrows, come,
despised and cast aside!
O bear our griefs, and by your wounds
redeem us from our pride. (James Quinn)

Today's psalm - yes like Holy Family leaflet and psalm were for year C - was adaptation of the psalm used at the Easter Vigil and Pentecost with a different response and a further set of verses. Rather than lyrical verses as on the other two occasions the verses were sung to a psalm tone. I was struck by something that is probably obvious. Not every psalm tone that is suitable for a solo cantor would work as an antiphonal tone for a larger group in the Office, for example. The psalm accompaniment references Veni Creator Spiritus and in the fuller version Veni Sancte Spiritus as well.