Holy Thursday

Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

1 April 2010

Entrance	For God so loved the world (mtgf)
Penitential Rite	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Gloria	St Gabriels (mtgf)
Psalm 115	The blessing cup (mtgf)
Gospel Acclamation	Lenten (mtgf)
Washing of the Feet	Faith, hope and love(Christopher Walker)
Preparation of Gifts	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Eucharistic Acclamations	No Greater Love (Michael Joncas)
	Institution narrative (Michael Joncas)
Lamb of God	Mass of Remembrance (Marty Haugen)
Communion	Call us to your table (Christopher Walker)
Procession	Pange lingua (Ricky Manalo)
	followed by plainchant Tantum ergo
Watching	Lay down your head (John Bell)
	Stay with me (Taizé)

I was very struck by a post on the Gotta Sing, Gotta Pray blog - Preparing the Triduum: Fighting the 'Disney Approach'. It's about building on last year and not changing much rather than what can we do 'bigger and better' this year. Change is evolutionary rather than radical. This means that both musicians and congregation are basically familiar with what is being sung and so helped to pray through their participation.

I am always surprised when putting the music out how much music is sung tonight. Some is drawn from our Lenten Sundays, some particular to this night, some, I fear, is musical indulgence. For Communion there is a wide range of possibilities. Call us to your table was possibly one of the indulgences. It was piece we had worked out and it was good to be able to do it with a rich texture of singers and instruments.

The significant change this year was the Procession to the Altar of Repose. Over the years we have sung: Pange lingua to the chant melody but in English; Our blessing cup (Bob Hurd) which though familiar did not seem to have been picked up. It was one of my reflections after last year's Triduum that this moment needed reconsideration. I remember using this as example of reflection and long term planning at a music day and mentioning I was looking at the Manalo setting and being encouraged by someone who was using it their parish. We made sure that musicians supported the procession - with instruments upstairs, piano in the crypt and the inevitable time differences. My impression was that people picked it up and sang it. There were a number factors that I think helped. The piece itself - an ostinato refrain is much easier to sing than a hymn, the pace seemed also to be about right. Above all, and I intend this as a compliment, it feels like Catholic schmaltz! It manages to seems to be one of those melodies you already knew. Liturgically the procession did not start until we had a full playthrough which may sound obvious but I think helped to link action and music rather than something the musicians while we are moving to the crypt.

I am aware this year of the forthcoming new translation of the Roman Missal and how that will affect our celebration of the Triduum. Will it require evolutionary or radical change?

My impression is that the new translation will not be in use until after Easter next year but by 2012 we will definitely be in new territory. So yes, prayers and people's texts will then have changed. Though I think this will be an opportunity to reflect on our choices once again in the light of the translation as, for example, both Faith, hope and love and Ubi caritas are adaptations of the current Missal texts they will continue to adaptions of the new texts.

What will change is the words of the Gloria and so the setting needs to be adapted or a new setting found. Perhaps most significant will be the Eucharistic Prayer. The Holy, holy is slightly different and the Memorial Acclamations are more so. I would hate to lose having part of Eucharistic Prayer sung as it adds to the solemnity of the occasion. There will be work to be done to continue this good practice.