Maundy Thursday

2 April 2015

Entrance	For God so loved the world (mtgf)
Penitential Rite	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Gloria	Mass of Wisdom (Steven Janco)
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 (Duruflé)
Eucharistic Acclamations	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Lamb of God	Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Communion Antiphon	This is the Body (mtgf)
Communion	Ave verum Corpus (Byrd)
Procession	Pange lingua (Ricky Manalo)
	Tantum ergo (chant)
Watching	Stay with me (Taizé)

Small changes as ever. New things, some changed after a year, some much longer. A new psalm setting, simpler. We reverted back to Faith, hope and love (and noted for the first time discrepancies between printed copies). Duruflé Ubi Caritas, a first for us (or at least for a very long time). I wonder if the congregation registered it as similar or different to the Eucharistic Acclamations. The final change was an omission was not to have a choir piece at the beginning of the Watching. It partly relates to the too many pieces, too little time and could possibly seem an indulgence. Also the practicalities of singing in the crypt, not a resonant acoustic with the choir despite best efforts sometimes strung out.

Two non-musical aspects of this and the following celebrations also struck me. Our numbers were lower than usual - over all the Triduum. There could be many reasons for this, including weather. I suspect there is a discontinuity between Sundays and the Triduum - at its simplest nobody on a Sunday invited/reminded people to take part. Sunday Mass numbers are also changing with seemingly more attending the morning Mass.

The other aspect was theatrical or 'set design'. People often get nervous when you use such words but what I particularly mean is how do you lay out the sanctuary so that the principle elements are in focus at the right time and so that the liturgical action can be carried out with ease and dignity. This becomes most obvious when, to my mind, when elements aren't right. I am not sure if our much vaunted visual culture (and the ability to read it) is switched off when we come to liturgy or the desire to follow the rubrics can mean one loses sight of the whole. To give an example where do you place the Paschal Candle? the Missal says either by the Ambo or in the middle of the Sanctuary. The latter (which is slightly ambiguous) says, I think, the Candle is significant in its own right (part of the ambiguity is in front of or behind the altar) - the light illumines the whole Church. By the Ambo suggests that by the light of Christ we read the scriptures. And for us who don't have full illumination for the readings it can be a real source of light. This year rather than beside we placed it directly in front - this may sound as though it might block the reader or the psalmist but the set designer will know that this will effect hardly anyone.