Notes About The Music

Michaelmas 2024

Processional hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy, 929
Recessional hymn: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven, 933
Kyriale: Mass IX, 740; Credo IV, 780 

Motet at Offertory: Michael, Coeli Signifer, Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591)
Hymn at Communion: Christe sanctorum decus Angelorum, Chant 

The feast of the Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel, also referred to as Michaelmas, falls on Sunday this year. Motets written for this feast often refer to each of the three Archangels named in the Bible whenever one is mentioned. This is true for Jacobus Gallus’s motet Michael, Coeli Signifer: Michael, standard-bearer of heaven. Gabriel, the light-bringer of the world. Raphael—the three archangels of Christ and all the angels, the beloved ones: through all the ages they protect our bodily purity from the snares and treacheries of our enemies. May they always guard us, and after death may they receive us. Let us sing the praise of the angels to the Lord Most High. Gallus’s setting is quick and energetic and features a lot of “off-beat” rhythms.

Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591), was a late-Renaissance composer of presumed Slovene ethnicity. Born in Carniola, which at the time was one of the Habsburg lands in the Holy Roman Empire, he lived and worked in Moravia and Bohemia during the last decade of his life. His output was both sacred and secular, and hugely prolific: over 500 works have been attributed to him.

18th Sunday after Pentecost 2024

Processional hymn: All Ye Who Seek A Comfort Sure, 862
Recessional hymn: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, 900
Kyriale: Mass IX, 740; Credo IV, 780 

Motet at Offertory: Da Pacem Domine, Costanzo Festa (c. 1490–1545)
Chant at Communion: Ubi Caritas, Chant harmonized by Craig Kingsbury (b. 1952)

The text for the votive antiphon for peace Da Pacem, Domine date from the 6th or 7th century and are based on biblical verses 2 Kings 20:19, 2 Chronicles 20:12,15 and Psalm 72:6–7. The first words of the antiphon are shared in common with the Introit for this Sunday’s Mass: Grant peace, Lord, in our time; for there is none else who would fight for us if not you, our God. Costanzo Festa sets this antiphon for four voices retaining the Gregorian melody as a Cantus Firmus in the Tenor voice and in canon with the Bass voice.

Costanzo Festa (c. 1490–1545) was the first Italian polyphonic composer of international renown. Festa was one of only a few Italians in the Papal Choir during his generation and was hailed as, “a most excellent musician and eminent singer” by Pope Paul III. His compositional style focused less on imitation and complex counterpoint for its own sake, and often wrote purely homophonic passages.

17th Sunday after Pentecost 2024

Processional hymn: The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, 917
Recessional hymn: Hail, Holy Queen, 908
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780 

Hymn at Offertory: Stabat Mater, Chant Sequence
Motet at Communion: Ave Maris Stella, Guillaume Dufay 

The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast itself commemorated this Sunday. When the Mass of the feast is said, the sequence Stabat Mater is recited/sung 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, which is the proper chant, is more ornate and the melody changes every two verses. 

The Vespers hymn for many feasts of the Blessed Virgin is Ave Maris Stella, which dates to the 9th-century and sung today is a setting by Guillaume Dufay. This hymn as with many of Dufay’s compositions use the technique of fauxbordon, where the original melody is retained with some embellishment while the other voices harmonize in a fixed parallel structure.

Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397–1474) was a priest, composer, and music theorist of early Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1428 and spent his life directing and composing for papal and cathedral choirs. Dufay was among the most influential composers of the fifteenth century, and his music was copied, distributed and sung everywhere that polyphony had taken root.

16th Sunday after Pentecost 2024

Processional hymn: Jesus, Meek and Lowly, 833
Recessional hymn: Come Down, O Love Divine, 887
Kyriale: Mass XI, 740; Credo IV, 780

Motet at the offertory: Ave Maria, Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591)
Hymn at communion: Salve Mater, Carmelite Chant, arr. Paul Thomas May 

Because September 8 is the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady (and commemorated this Sunday) the music selections are Marian in theme. The choral motet Ave Maria by Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591) is widely recognized among those familiar with traditional Catholic music but under the attribution of Victoria. A prominent Spanish musicologist in 1913 had published the work in a group of Victoria’s motets and it was not disputed until 2001 when the work was contained in Gallus’s manuscripts. 

The setting of the Angelic Salutation begins with the simple Gregorian incipit and elaborates on the melody initially in the Soprano voice and eventually moving to each voice throughout the motet. The clarity of the text, careful repetition, and clever use of harmony has made this work a favorite among chorister and listener alike.

Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591), was a late-Renaissance composer of presumed Slovene ethnicity. Born in Carniola, which at the time was one of the Habsburg lands in the Holy Roman Empire, he lived and worked in Moravia and Bohemia during the last decade of his life. His output was both sacred and secular, and hugely prolific: over 500 works have been attributed to him.