Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

15 August 2010

Entrance	Sing we of the blessed Mother
Penitential Rite	Mass for 3 voices (Byrd)
Gloria	Jeanne Jugan Gloria (Christopher Walker)
Psalm 44	On your right stands the Queen (mtgf)
Gospel Acclamation	Alleluia (Murray)
Preparation of Gifts	Ave Maris Stella (Monteverdi)
Eucharistic Acclamations	No Greater Love (Michael Joncas)
Lamb of God	St Gabriel (mtgf)
Communion	O holy Mary (Owen Alstott)
Final	Hail Queen of heaven

I continue to be surprised by what hymn tunes our congregation knows or doesn't as the case may be. We sang the opening hymn to Abbot's Leigh (very pedantic footnote: the hymn tune has an apostrophe, the village doesn't), which I am sure we did not use last year and when we have used for other texts I am sure the response has been lukewarm. So we took a risk singing it unaccompanied but being unaccompanied we could hear people singing it. If there was any factor that might have changed the congregation's knowledge it may have been that the presider could be heard singing it. And it is a good tune. The text which in some ways is based on the mysteries of the rosary gives a good context to the feast and suits our building with its windows based on the rosary.
The arrangement of the Monteverdi Ave Maris Stella begins and ends with the chant melody on which it is based and so you can hear the skill with which Monteverdi transform this melody into one of rhythmic vitality. The psalm response and verse are also based on the same chant. Ave Maris Stella is the college hymn from which the motto is drawn: Monstra t'esse matrem. The chant is a much more interesting melody than the usual hymn tune.
Today is this blog's first anniversary. For those who wish to wind back the clock you will see there is a great deal of consistency between last year's celebration and this. I hope this is consistency rather than lack of imagination! Though I think that music for the liturgy works well when there is stability — so don't expect many changes this time next year!