Easter Sunday 2026
Processional Hymn: Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today, 843
Recessional hymn: At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing, 848
Kyriale: Mass in F major, K192, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Offertory Antiphon: Terra Tremuit, William Byrd (c. 1540–1623)
Motet after Offertory: Resurrexi, Msgr. Marco Frisina (b. 1954)
Communion Antiphon: Pascha Nostrum, William Byrd
Hymn at Communion: Ave Verum Corpus, Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
The Mass in F major by W. A. Mozart was composed in 1775. It is also called the Kleinecredomesse or “Little Credo Mass” because Mozart a two bar Credo figure throughout the titular movement of the Mass. As is common for Masses of this time, Mozart uses soloists in contrast to full choir to give variety to the composition and bring attention to the text of the prayer. The Agnus Dei uses this contrast by having a soloist introduce the first part of the prayer and the chorus sings the miserere nobis then the whole movement shifts character for the dona nobis pacem with a move to a vibrant triple meter and major key.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period and perhaps the most widely celebrated in the history of Western music. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works including Masses, symphonies, operas, and chamber works.
Palm Sunday 2026
Recessional hymn: O Sacred Head Surrounded, 837
Kyriale: Mass XVII, 762; Credo VI, 788
Hymn after Offertory: Christus Factus Est, a3, Rev. Giovanni Matteo Asola
Communion Antiphon: Pater, Si, Heinrich Isaac (c.1450–1517)
The Gradual chant Christus Factus Est is prayed incrementally through the Paschal Triduum with its text taken from Philippians 2:8–9: Christ became obedient for us even unto death, death on the cross. Therefore God exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above all names. The three voice motet by Rev. Giovanni Matteo Asola is set for men’s voices.
Pater, Si, set to music by Heinrich Isaac, derives the melodic material directly from the Gregorian antiphon. In the musical tradition of singing the Passion narratives, as we hear at Mass on Sunday, Jesus has the lowest voice. In this motet, which takes the text from Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, the voices are all set lower than an average Communio by Isaac—perhaps as a connection to this tradition.
Rev. Giovanni Matteo Asola (c. 1532–1609) was ordained a parish priest in 1569 and held numerous music posts in Italy. In 1577 became maestro di cappella for Treviso Cathedral and subsequently moved to Venice directing at San Servio until his death. Despite living in Venice, Asola’s compositional style is closer to the Roman school.
Passion Sunday 2026
Processional hymn: How Hast Thou Offended, 836
Recessional hymn: O Sacred Head Surrounded, 837
Kyriale: Mass XVII, 762; Credo VI, 788
Hymn after Offertory: Stabat Mater, Chant Sequence
Hymn during Communion: Vexilla Regis, Harmonization by Anon.
Two Masses of Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be said on the Friday of Passion Week. During the Mass the sequence Stabat Mater is sung/said prior to the Gospel. This sequence is often used as a devotional hymn for praying the stations of the cross and is sung to a simple tune. The chant sung today is the proper chant, which is more ornate and the melody changes every two verses.
During Passiontide and on September 14, the hymn Vexilla Regis is sung during Vespers. This hymn was written by Venantius Fortunatus (530-609) who wrote it in honor of the arrival of a large relic of the True Cross which had been sent to Queen Radegunda by the Emperor Justin II and his Empress Sophia. Today’s setting alternates the Vespers tune with a setting by an anonymous composer.
4th Sunday of Lent 2026
Processional hymn: O Kind Creator, Bow Thine Ear, 832
Recessional hymn: Lift High the Cross, 835
Credo VI, 788
Kyriale: Missa Puisque J’ai Perdu, Orlandus Lassus
Offertory Antiphon: Ave Regina Coelorum, Antonio Lotti (1667–1740)
Communion Hymn: Audi Benigne Conditor, Orlandus Lassus
This Sunday’s processional is an English version of the hymn Audi Benigne Conditor. It is the Vespers Hymn during Lent and its Latin text is attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604).
Orlandus Lassus set the same text for five voices and divided the motet into two parts. Both parts have two verses from the hymn while omitting the fifth verse. One notable moment in his motet occurs in the second part when the text says, “grant a remedy to the weak” and shifts the harmony on “weak” in a way that draws the ear as it moves a tone down from the key center.
Orlandus Lassus (c.1532–1594) is known for the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school. He wrote over 2,000 works in Latin, French, Italian, and German both sacred and secular. Lassus along with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomás Luis de Victoria are the most influential composers of the late Renaissance.
3rd Sunday of Lent 2026
Processional hymn: Jesus, Meek And Lowly, 833
Recessional hymn: The Glory of These Forty Days, 831
Kyriale: Mass XVII, 762; Credo VI, 788
Offertory Antiphon: Justitiæ Domine, G.P. Palestrina
Chant after Offertory: Exaudi Nos Domine, Antiphon from Cantus Selecti
Communion Hymn: Attende Domine, Chant arr. Catuí Côrte-Real Suarez
Part of G.P. Palestrina’s prolific compositional output includes the publication, Offertoria totius anni, which contains 68 five-voice choral settings of Offertory Antiphons for Sundays and major feasts. The translation for this week is: The statutes of the Lord are right, and rejoice the heart his judgments sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb. For thy servant keeps them. –Psalm 18:9,11-12 In this setting, Palestrina uses melodies and harmonies centered in a major key, giving the motet a bright color and conveying the joyful nature of the Psalm.
G.P. Palestrina (c. 1525–1594) is highly regarded for his contributions of Sacred Polyphony and development of counterpoint in the late 16th Century. In the post-Tridentine period he earned the reputation of the ideal Catholic composer for his success in reconciling the functional and aesthetic aims of Catholic church music. Palestrina wrote over 105 Masses and 250 sacred motets in addition to many other works.