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Newsletter of the Cappella Gregoriana Sanctae Caeciliae olim Xicatunensis Volume 1, Issue 1
Citation preview
Ἐνταῦθα οὐ χρεία κιθάρας οὐδὲ νεύρων τεταμένων οὔτε πλήκτρου καὶ τέχνης οὐδὲ ὀργάνων τινῶν ἀλλ ἐὰν θέλῃς σὺ
σαυτὸν ἐργάσῃ κιθάραν νεκρώσας τὰ μέλη τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ πολλὴν τῷ σώματι πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν ποιήσας τὴν συμφωνίαν
NEWSLETTER OF THE CAPPELLA GREGORIANA S CAECILIAE OLIM XICATUNENSIS
copy ALMADRONES
copy ALMADRONES
volume 1 middot issue 1 nov 2015 middot jan 2016 Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
A curious look into
an interesting feature
of the Introitale Baclaianum
and the Advent hymn
from Easter
Dr Mahrt reflects
on the simple beauty
of Gregorian chant
exemplified
in Kyrie Orbis factor
The bells beckon
for the misa de aguinaldo
a tradition that has become
an enduring mark of the
Filipino faith
A merry and happy
Christmas to everyone
Christ is born today
Verily He is born today
Born of the Virgin Mary
Shepherdly joy Looking at the misa paorela as an expression of joy and good tidings its putative
conneion with the shepherds who aer the hosts of heaven have announced to them
the birth of the Saviour went about Bethlehem proclaiming His Nativity
3
4 6 8 10
CAPPELLA GREGORIANA S CAECILIAE
copy ALMADRONES
J oin us in adoring and worshipping the Most Blessed Trinity through sacred music in the Holy SacriVce of the Mass In the words of Pope St Pius X this holy excellent and universal patrimony is ldquofor the glory of God and the sani5cation and edi5cation of the faithfulrdquo
It is said 8e ant proper to the liturgy ought to be the liturgy itself in ant 8ose interested in joining the choir may approach one of the choristers before or aer Mass
Enquiries may be direed to organavocisgmailcom or to wwwfacebookcomCGSCOX
Rehearsals are usually held on Saturday mornings and aer Mass on Sundays
Qui bene cantat bis orat
2 organa vocis
copy ALMADRONES
T he Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated regularly at the Parish of the Mo_ Holy Redeemer in Brixton Hill in the Diocese of Cubao by Reverend Father Michell Joe B Zerrudo On Sundays Masses are sung at pm On weekdays Masses are said at am
Kindly conta the parish oJce to con5rm the weekday schedule at () - -
copy PUERTOLLANO
OLIM XICATUNENSIS
How the paorela became linked to the Mass re-
mains nebulous to us However we could guess that
the paorela 5rst became associated with the Liturgy
in the misas de aguinaldo Seville we know possesses
an ancient tradition of dancing trebles known as the
seises When D Jaime de Palafox y Cardona archbish-
op of Seville complained to Rome about the dances
the Pope having personally witnessed the seises in
Rome decreed that nobody should dare touch or abol-
ish it
8e paorela is a votive dance probably originally
danced by shepherds on Christmas in honour of the
Holy Child It evolved into a dramatic produion de-
scribing the events that tranVired during the journey
of the shepherds from the proclamation of the angels
to their arrival in the manger Instruments used in the
paorela are rustic and include panderetas sonajas caantildeuelas among others
copy ALMADRONES
3 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Shepherdly joy Jesson G Allerite
reprinted from Anamnesis 19
W hilst the first misas de aguinaldo came to the New
World with the Augustinians the
5rst paorelas came to the New World with the
Franciscans assiduous defenders of the Im-
maculate Conception Whilst the Franciscans
employed the paorela to evangelise the na-
tives and convert them to the True Faith the
Augustinians used the misas de aguinaldo to
preserve them in the True Faith
The tambourine tambourine tambourine tambourine or pandereta and the headless tambou-headless tambou-headless tambou-headless tambou-
rine rine rine rine or aro de sonajas are one of the many musical in-
struments then available to the shepherds of the Iberian
peninsula Although the use of these instruments at Mass
has long been discouragedmdashcondemned evenmdashtheir
use in the misa de aguinaldo especially when the misa
pastorela is sung has never quite yielded to pressure
and taste Older Filipino cantorasmdashMass cantors in rural
parishesmdashattest to the unbroken use of the tambourine
in the misa de aguinaldo from the time of the Spaniards
through the time of the Americans (who actively worked
for the elimination of liturgical lsquoabusesrsquo inherited from the
Spaniards) up to prior to the II Vatican Council (after
which arguably the organ and the harmonium became
pariah from their own traditional liturgical positions)
A tambourine
raquo continued on p 5
STARTING A NEW LITURGICAL YEAR WITH
4 organa vocis
T he sidebar in Anamnesis p reveals that the shi of
the start of the liturgical year from Christmas to Advent
grew from the praice of hymnographers in copying chant
manuscripts whereby they placed the chants of Advent before the
chants of Christmas As a result the placement of the propers of
Advent before the propers of Christmas soon became 5xed and
accomplished the reorientation of the liturgical year
But a th-century chant book broke this rule [8e chant
book presents other peculiarities of course such as the absent
notation for the gradual and the tones and melodies distin
from those of the Liber usualis as one may notice in the above comparison 8e Liber melody is on
the le While this is a delicious topic this is not however our interest right now]
8e Introital of Baclayoacuten which carries the year pointedly begins with the introit of the
Midnight Mass of Christmas (Misa sa Gabii sa Navidad) 8e chant on the above right Dominus dix-it is this self-same introit
Was this a deliberate aion to restore the position of Christmas
Or was it another hymnographical blunder
copy VALENZUELA
FEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMN
Title Title Title Title Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Music Music Music Music French Easter carol Jeacutesus-Christ srsquohabille en pauvre prob 17th-cent
ANONYMOUS Amen by GUSTAV THEODOR HOLT d xxxx
Text Text Text Text Troparium for Holy Saturday from the cherubic hymn of the Liturgy of Saint
James Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία trans GERARD MOULTRIE d 1885 Location Location Location Location 138 TRH p 195 51 HAN p 461
NOTENOTENOTENOTE The origin of both music and text points to Easter as the most suitable sea-
son to sing this hymn but the strong sense of the Advent of the Lord (Christ our
God to earth descendeth Lord of lords in human vesture) as well as a picture of
the Last Judgment (And with fear and trembling stand Ponder nothing earthly
minded) ultimately outweighs its seasonality It is thereby sung during Advent
paorelas as they eventually became known to many
HiVanic countries became a 5xture in the Liturgies
celebrated during the lengthy Christmas season
8e austerity and silence of Advent is only broken
during the misas de aguinaldo when the organ togeth-
er with the tambourine would emit its gladsome
sounds 8is musical elation used to engulf our
churches until Epiphany when liturgically the Christ-
mas season ends
In the Philippines the misa de aguinaldo the
paorela the misa paorela or the misa paoril are
intimately linked to the customary festivities of Christ-
mas While the misa de aguinaldo strongly remains as
the simbaacuteng gabiacute in virtually the entire ecclesiastic cir-
cumscription of the Islands and even overseas the
misa paorela only survives now in a few parishes
mostly in the provinces and the paorela in even a
fewer enclaves in the archipelago
Let us therefore cherish these patrimonies In the
manner of the shepherds let us by the misa paorela sung in the misas de aguinaldo express the impending
jubilation and exultation that shall solemnly engulf
Christendom on the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
Moreover the misa de aguinaldo patterned aer
the earliest Midnight and Dawn Masses of Christmas
for a very long time has been celebrated at dawn and
the Dawn Mass of Christmas is also called the Mass of
the Shepherds
In or Don Diego de Escobar master of
ceremonies of Seville complained of an abuse com-
mitted during the misas de aguinaldo 8e people
would join with the choir and sing with them laughter
-inducing carols during Mass and inside the church
We could read from this complaint a trace of the
paorela wherein layfolk would sing the carols o-
sung and probably execute the steps o-executed in
the paorelas in the manner of the seises 8e evi-
dence however is very `imsy scarce and circumstan-
tial
8e misas de paorela as they are still called in
some places soon came into prominence to decorate
the celebrations and when the abuse in the misas de aguinaldo were suppressed the partitures remained
accompanied still by the instruments borrowed from
the original paorela 8e misas de paorela or misas
5 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
copy ALMADRONES
Ob primam Missam prima hora diei celebratam id est in media nocte
per has Missas de aguinaldo in aurora litatas patefacimus pariter pla-
neque praefiguramus imminentem iubilationem exsultationemque
solemniter riteque superventuram in Christiadum die Domini Nativitatis copy ALMADRONES
laquo continued from p 3
6 organa vocis
While an introit may be a signi5cant text its place
in the liturgical aion is as an accompaniment to the
procession the procession is the aion not the introit
chant 8e opposite is true of the parts of the Ordinary
the Kyrie is the liturgical aion and not the accompa-
niment of any other aion it is what is being done at
the time 8us it is appropriate for the congregation as
a whole to sing this part Second since the parts of the
Ordinary are unchangeable they can be repeated
oen learned well and thus sung without diJculty by
a congregation
8is also means that these pieces for the congrega-
tion need not be limited to the simplest chants 8e
Kyrie from Mass VIII (De Angelis) not a particularly
simple chant can usually be sung by an average Catho-
lic congregation since it has been sung so oen and
remains in the colleive memories of innumerable
congregations
But there is another Gregorian Kyrie than deserves
attention in this context Kyrie Orbis faKor from Mass
I n encouraging the participation of the entire congregation in the music of the lit-
urgy there is an important principle ldquosinging means singing the Mass not just singing dur-
ing Massrdquo [1] 8e participation of the people is all the more authentic when they are singing
the central and essential parts of the liturgy 8is applies particularly to the Ordinary of the Mass
for two principal reasons First of all the peoplersquos parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie Gloria Credo SanKus and Agnus Dei) are generally liturgical aions in and of themselves and not the accom-
paniment of another aion
Kyrie Orbis faor
William Mahrt PhD
by
reflections on
originally from Sacred Music (Spring 2006) vol 133 no 1
DR WILLIAM MAHRT is the president of the Church Music
Association of America (CMAA) and the publisher of the New
Liturgical Movement (NLM)
[1] International Committee on English in the
Liturgy Documents on the Liturgy 1963ndash1979 Conciliar Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville 8e Liturgical Press ) p
R
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
CAPPELLA GREGORIANA S CAECILIAE
copy ALMADRONES
J oin us in adoring and worshipping the Most Blessed Trinity through sacred music in the Holy SacriVce of the Mass In the words of Pope St Pius X this holy excellent and universal patrimony is ldquofor the glory of God and the sani5cation and edi5cation of the faithfulrdquo
It is said 8e ant proper to the liturgy ought to be the liturgy itself in ant 8ose interested in joining the choir may approach one of the choristers before or aer Mass
Enquiries may be direed to organavocisgmailcom or to wwwfacebookcomCGSCOX
Rehearsals are usually held on Saturday mornings and aer Mass on Sundays
Qui bene cantat bis orat
2 organa vocis
copy ALMADRONES
T he Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated regularly at the Parish of the Mo_ Holy Redeemer in Brixton Hill in the Diocese of Cubao by Reverend Father Michell Joe B Zerrudo On Sundays Masses are sung at pm On weekdays Masses are said at am
Kindly conta the parish oJce to con5rm the weekday schedule at () - -
copy PUERTOLLANO
OLIM XICATUNENSIS
How the paorela became linked to the Mass re-
mains nebulous to us However we could guess that
the paorela 5rst became associated with the Liturgy
in the misas de aguinaldo Seville we know possesses
an ancient tradition of dancing trebles known as the
seises When D Jaime de Palafox y Cardona archbish-
op of Seville complained to Rome about the dances
the Pope having personally witnessed the seises in
Rome decreed that nobody should dare touch or abol-
ish it
8e paorela is a votive dance probably originally
danced by shepherds on Christmas in honour of the
Holy Child It evolved into a dramatic produion de-
scribing the events that tranVired during the journey
of the shepherds from the proclamation of the angels
to their arrival in the manger Instruments used in the
paorela are rustic and include panderetas sonajas caantildeuelas among others
copy ALMADRONES
3 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Shepherdly joy Jesson G Allerite
reprinted from Anamnesis 19
W hilst the first misas de aguinaldo came to the New
World with the Augustinians the
5rst paorelas came to the New World with the
Franciscans assiduous defenders of the Im-
maculate Conception Whilst the Franciscans
employed the paorela to evangelise the na-
tives and convert them to the True Faith the
Augustinians used the misas de aguinaldo to
preserve them in the True Faith
The tambourine tambourine tambourine tambourine or pandereta and the headless tambou-headless tambou-headless tambou-headless tambou-
rine rine rine rine or aro de sonajas are one of the many musical in-
struments then available to the shepherds of the Iberian
peninsula Although the use of these instruments at Mass
has long been discouragedmdashcondemned evenmdashtheir
use in the misa de aguinaldo especially when the misa
pastorela is sung has never quite yielded to pressure
and taste Older Filipino cantorasmdashMass cantors in rural
parishesmdashattest to the unbroken use of the tambourine
in the misa de aguinaldo from the time of the Spaniards
through the time of the Americans (who actively worked
for the elimination of liturgical lsquoabusesrsquo inherited from the
Spaniards) up to prior to the II Vatican Council (after
which arguably the organ and the harmonium became
pariah from their own traditional liturgical positions)
A tambourine
raquo continued on p 5
STARTING A NEW LITURGICAL YEAR WITH
4 organa vocis
T he sidebar in Anamnesis p reveals that the shi of
the start of the liturgical year from Christmas to Advent
grew from the praice of hymnographers in copying chant
manuscripts whereby they placed the chants of Advent before the
chants of Christmas As a result the placement of the propers of
Advent before the propers of Christmas soon became 5xed and
accomplished the reorientation of the liturgical year
But a th-century chant book broke this rule [8e chant
book presents other peculiarities of course such as the absent
notation for the gradual and the tones and melodies distin
from those of the Liber usualis as one may notice in the above comparison 8e Liber melody is on
the le While this is a delicious topic this is not however our interest right now]
8e Introital of Baclayoacuten which carries the year pointedly begins with the introit of the
Midnight Mass of Christmas (Misa sa Gabii sa Navidad) 8e chant on the above right Dominus dix-it is this self-same introit
Was this a deliberate aion to restore the position of Christmas
Or was it another hymnographical blunder
copy VALENZUELA
FEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMN
Title Title Title Title Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Music Music Music Music French Easter carol Jeacutesus-Christ srsquohabille en pauvre prob 17th-cent
ANONYMOUS Amen by GUSTAV THEODOR HOLT d xxxx
Text Text Text Text Troparium for Holy Saturday from the cherubic hymn of the Liturgy of Saint
James Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία trans GERARD MOULTRIE d 1885 Location Location Location Location 138 TRH p 195 51 HAN p 461
NOTENOTENOTENOTE The origin of both music and text points to Easter as the most suitable sea-
son to sing this hymn but the strong sense of the Advent of the Lord (Christ our
God to earth descendeth Lord of lords in human vesture) as well as a picture of
the Last Judgment (And with fear and trembling stand Ponder nothing earthly
minded) ultimately outweighs its seasonality It is thereby sung during Advent
paorelas as they eventually became known to many
HiVanic countries became a 5xture in the Liturgies
celebrated during the lengthy Christmas season
8e austerity and silence of Advent is only broken
during the misas de aguinaldo when the organ togeth-
er with the tambourine would emit its gladsome
sounds 8is musical elation used to engulf our
churches until Epiphany when liturgically the Christ-
mas season ends
In the Philippines the misa de aguinaldo the
paorela the misa paorela or the misa paoril are
intimately linked to the customary festivities of Christ-
mas While the misa de aguinaldo strongly remains as
the simbaacuteng gabiacute in virtually the entire ecclesiastic cir-
cumscription of the Islands and even overseas the
misa paorela only survives now in a few parishes
mostly in the provinces and the paorela in even a
fewer enclaves in the archipelago
Let us therefore cherish these patrimonies In the
manner of the shepherds let us by the misa paorela sung in the misas de aguinaldo express the impending
jubilation and exultation that shall solemnly engulf
Christendom on the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
Moreover the misa de aguinaldo patterned aer
the earliest Midnight and Dawn Masses of Christmas
for a very long time has been celebrated at dawn and
the Dawn Mass of Christmas is also called the Mass of
the Shepherds
In or Don Diego de Escobar master of
ceremonies of Seville complained of an abuse com-
mitted during the misas de aguinaldo 8e people
would join with the choir and sing with them laughter
-inducing carols during Mass and inside the church
We could read from this complaint a trace of the
paorela wherein layfolk would sing the carols o-
sung and probably execute the steps o-executed in
the paorelas in the manner of the seises 8e evi-
dence however is very `imsy scarce and circumstan-
tial
8e misas de paorela as they are still called in
some places soon came into prominence to decorate
the celebrations and when the abuse in the misas de aguinaldo were suppressed the partitures remained
accompanied still by the instruments borrowed from
the original paorela 8e misas de paorela or misas
5 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
copy ALMADRONES
Ob primam Missam prima hora diei celebratam id est in media nocte
per has Missas de aguinaldo in aurora litatas patefacimus pariter pla-
neque praefiguramus imminentem iubilationem exsultationemque
solemniter riteque superventuram in Christiadum die Domini Nativitatis copy ALMADRONES
laquo continued from p 3
6 organa vocis
While an introit may be a signi5cant text its place
in the liturgical aion is as an accompaniment to the
procession the procession is the aion not the introit
chant 8e opposite is true of the parts of the Ordinary
the Kyrie is the liturgical aion and not the accompa-
niment of any other aion it is what is being done at
the time 8us it is appropriate for the congregation as
a whole to sing this part Second since the parts of the
Ordinary are unchangeable they can be repeated
oen learned well and thus sung without diJculty by
a congregation
8is also means that these pieces for the congrega-
tion need not be limited to the simplest chants 8e
Kyrie from Mass VIII (De Angelis) not a particularly
simple chant can usually be sung by an average Catho-
lic congregation since it has been sung so oen and
remains in the colleive memories of innumerable
congregations
But there is another Gregorian Kyrie than deserves
attention in this context Kyrie Orbis faKor from Mass
I n encouraging the participation of the entire congregation in the music of the lit-
urgy there is an important principle ldquosinging means singing the Mass not just singing dur-
ing Massrdquo [1] 8e participation of the people is all the more authentic when they are singing
the central and essential parts of the liturgy 8is applies particularly to the Ordinary of the Mass
for two principal reasons First of all the peoplersquos parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie Gloria Credo SanKus and Agnus Dei) are generally liturgical aions in and of themselves and not the accom-
paniment of another aion
Kyrie Orbis faor
William Mahrt PhD
by
reflections on
originally from Sacred Music (Spring 2006) vol 133 no 1
DR WILLIAM MAHRT is the president of the Church Music
Association of America (CMAA) and the publisher of the New
Liturgical Movement (NLM)
[1] International Committee on English in the
Liturgy Documents on the Liturgy 1963ndash1979 Conciliar Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville 8e Liturgical Press ) p
R
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
How the paorela became linked to the Mass re-
mains nebulous to us However we could guess that
the paorela 5rst became associated with the Liturgy
in the misas de aguinaldo Seville we know possesses
an ancient tradition of dancing trebles known as the
seises When D Jaime de Palafox y Cardona archbish-
op of Seville complained to Rome about the dances
the Pope having personally witnessed the seises in
Rome decreed that nobody should dare touch or abol-
ish it
8e paorela is a votive dance probably originally
danced by shepherds on Christmas in honour of the
Holy Child It evolved into a dramatic produion de-
scribing the events that tranVired during the journey
of the shepherds from the proclamation of the angels
to their arrival in the manger Instruments used in the
paorela are rustic and include panderetas sonajas caantildeuelas among others
copy ALMADRONES
3 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Shepherdly joy Jesson G Allerite
reprinted from Anamnesis 19
W hilst the first misas de aguinaldo came to the New
World with the Augustinians the
5rst paorelas came to the New World with the
Franciscans assiduous defenders of the Im-
maculate Conception Whilst the Franciscans
employed the paorela to evangelise the na-
tives and convert them to the True Faith the
Augustinians used the misas de aguinaldo to
preserve them in the True Faith
The tambourine tambourine tambourine tambourine or pandereta and the headless tambou-headless tambou-headless tambou-headless tambou-
rine rine rine rine or aro de sonajas are one of the many musical in-
struments then available to the shepherds of the Iberian
peninsula Although the use of these instruments at Mass
has long been discouragedmdashcondemned evenmdashtheir
use in the misa de aguinaldo especially when the misa
pastorela is sung has never quite yielded to pressure
and taste Older Filipino cantorasmdashMass cantors in rural
parishesmdashattest to the unbroken use of the tambourine
in the misa de aguinaldo from the time of the Spaniards
through the time of the Americans (who actively worked
for the elimination of liturgical lsquoabusesrsquo inherited from the
Spaniards) up to prior to the II Vatican Council (after
which arguably the organ and the harmonium became
pariah from their own traditional liturgical positions)
A tambourine
raquo continued on p 5
STARTING A NEW LITURGICAL YEAR WITH
4 organa vocis
T he sidebar in Anamnesis p reveals that the shi of
the start of the liturgical year from Christmas to Advent
grew from the praice of hymnographers in copying chant
manuscripts whereby they placed the chants of Advent before the
chants of Christmas As a result the placement of the propers of
Advent before the propers of Christmas soon became 5xed and
accomplished the reorientation of the liturgical year
But a th-century chant book broke this rule [8e chant
book presents other peculiarities of course such as the absent
notation for the gradual and the tones and melodies distin
from those of the Liber usualis as one may notice in the above comparison 8e Liber melody is on
the le While this is a delicious topic this is not however our interest right now]
8e Introital of Baclayoacuten which carries the year pointedly begins with the introit of the
Midnight Mass of Christmas (Misa sa Gabii sa Navidad) 8e chant on the above right Dominus dix-it is this self-same introit
Was this a deliberate aion to restore the position of Christmas
Or was it another hymnographical blunder
copy VALENZUELA
FEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMN
Title Title Title Title Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Music Music Music Music French Easter carol Jeacutesus-Christ srsquohabille en pauvre prob 17th-cent
ANONYMOUS Amen by GUSTAV THEODOR HOLT d xxxx
Text Text Text Text Troparium for Holy Saturday from the cherubic hymn of the Liturgy of Saint
James Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία trans GERARD MOULTRIE d 1885 Location Location Location Location 138 TRH p 195 51 HAN p 461
NOTENOTENOTENOTE The origin of both music and text points to Easter as the most suitable sea-
son to sing this hymn but the strong sense of the Advent of the Lord (Christ our
God to earth descendeth Lord of lords in human vesture) as well as a picture of
the Last Judgment (And with fear and trembling stand Ponder nothing earthly
minded) ultimately outweighs its seasonality It is thereby sung during Advent
paorelas as they eventually became known to many
HiVanic countries became a 5xture in the Liturgies
celebrated during the lengthy Christmas season
8e austerity and silence of Advent is only broken
during the misas de aguinaldo when the organ togeth-
er with the tambourine would emit its gladsome
sounds 8is musical elation used to engulf our
churches until Epiphany when liturgically the Christ-
mas season ends
In the Philippines the misa de aguinaldo the
paorela the misa paorela or the misa paoril are
intimately linked to the customary festivities of Christ-
mas While the misa de aguinaldo strongly remains as
the simbaacuteng gabiacute in virtually the entire ecclesiastic cir-
cumscription of the Islands and even overseas the
misa paorela only survives now in a few parishes
mostly in the provinces and the paorela in even a
fewer enclaves in the archipelago
Let us therefore cherish these patrimonies In the
manner of the shepherds let us by the misa paorela sung in the misas de aguinaldo express the impending
jubilation and exultation that shall solemnly engulf
Christendom on the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
Moreover the misa de aguinaldo patterned aer
the earliest Midnight and Dawn Masses of Christmas
for a very long time has been celebrated at dawn and
the Dawn Mass of Christmas is also called the Mass of
the Shepherds
In or Don Diego de Escobar master of
ceremonies of Seville complained of an abuse com-
mitted during the misas de aguinaldo 8e people
would join with the choir and sing with them laughter
-inducing carols during Mass and inside the church
We could read from this complaint a trace of the
paorela wherein layfolk would sing the carols o-
sung and probably execute the steps o-executed in
the paorelas in the manner of the seises 8e evi-
dence however is very `imsy scarce and circumstan-
tial
8e misas de paorela as they are still called in
some places soon came into prominence to decorate
the celebrations and when the abuse in the misas de aguinaldo were suppressed the partitures remained
accompanied still by the instruments borrowed from
the original paorela 8e misas de paorela or misas
5 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
copy ALMADRONES
Ob primam Missam prima hora diei celebratam id est in media nocte
per has Missas de aguinaldo in aurora litatas patefacimus pariter pla-
neque praefiguramus imminentem iubilationem exsultationemque
solemniter riteque superventuram in Christiadum die Domini Nativitatis copy ALMADRONES
laquo continued from p 3
6 organa vocis
While an introit may be a signi5cant text its place
in the liturgical aion is as an accompaniment to the
procession the procession is the aion not the introit
chant 8e opposite is true of the parts of the Ordinary
the Kyrie is the liturgical aion and not the accompa-
niment of any other aion it is what is being done at
the time 8us it is appropriate for the congregation as
a whole to sing this part Second since the parts of the
Ordinary are unchangeable they can be repeated
oen learned well and thus sung without diJculty by
a congregation
8is also means that these pieces for the congrega-
tion need not be limited to the simplest chants 8e
Kyrie from Mass VIII (De Angelis) not a particularly
simple chant can usually be sung by an average Catho-
lic congregation since it has been sung so oen and
remains in the colleive memories of innumerable
congregations
But there is another Gregorian Kyrie than deserves
attention in this context Kyrie Orbis faKor from Mass
I n encouraging the participation of the entire congregation in the music of the lit-
urgy there is an important principle ldquosinging means singing the Mass not just singing dur-
ing Massrdquo [1] 8e participation of the people is all the more authentic when they are singing
the central and essential parts of the liturgy 8is applies particularly to the Ordinary of the Mass
for two principal reasons First of all the peoplersquos parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie Gloria Credo SanKus and Agnus Dei) are generally liturgical aions in and of themselves and not the accom-
paniment of another aion
Kyrie Orbis faor
William Mahrt PhD
by
reflections on
originally from Sacred Music (Spring 2006) vol 133 no 1
DR WILLIAM MAHRT is the president of the Church Music
Association of America (CMAA) and the publisher of the New
Liturgical Movement (NLM)
[1] International Committee on English in the
Liturgy Documents on the Liturgy 1963ndash1979 Conciliar Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville 8e Liturgical Press ) p
R
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
STARTING A NEW LITURGICAL YEAR WITH
4 organa vocis
T he sidebar in Anamnesis p reveals that the shi of
the start of the liturgical year from Christmas to Advent
grew from the praice of hymnographers in copying chant
manuscripts whereby they placed the chants of Advent before the
chants of Christmas As a result the placement of the propers of
Advent before the propers of Christmas soon became 5xed and
accomplished the reorientation of the liturgical year
But a th-century chant book broke this rule [8e chant
book presents other peculiarities of course such as the absent
notation for the gradual and the tones and melodies distin
from those of the Liber usualis as one may notice in the above comparison 8e Liber melody is on
the le While this is a delicious topic this is not however our interest right now]
8e Introital of Baclayoacuten which carries the year pointedly begins with the introit of the
Midnight Mass of Christmas (Misa sa Gabii sa Navidad) 8e chant on the above right Dominus dix-it is this self-same introit
Was this a deliberate aion to restore the position of Christmas
Or was it another hymnographical blunder
copy VALENZUELA
FEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMNFEATURED HYMN
Title Title Title Title Let all mortal flesh keep silence
Music Music Music Music French Easter carol Jeacutesus-Christ srsquohabille en pauvre prob 17th-cent
ANONYMOUS Amen by GUSTAV THEODOR HOLT d xxxx
Text Text Text Text Troparium for Holy Saturday from the cherubic hymn of the Liturgy of Saint
James Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία trans GERARD MOULTRIE d 1885 Location Location Location Location 138 TRH p 195 51 HAN p 461
NOTENOTENOTENOTE The origin of both music and text points to Easter as the most suitable sea-
son to sing this hymn but the strong sense of the Advent of the Lord (Christ our
God to earth descendeth Lord of lords in human vesture) as well as a picture of
the Last Judgment (And with fear and trembling stand Ponder nothing earthly
minded) ultimately outweighs its seasonality It is thereby sung during Advent
paorelas as they eventually became known to many
HiVanic countries became a 5xture in the Liturgies
celebrated during the lengthy Christmas season
8e austerity and silence of Advent is only broken
during the misas de aguinaldo when the organ togeth-
er with the tambourine would emit its gladsome
sounds 8is musical elation used to engulf our
churches until Epiphany when liturgically the Christ-
mas season ends
In the Philippines the misa de aguinaldo the
paorela the misa paorela or the misa paoril are
intimately linked to the customary festivities of Christ-
mas While the misa de aguinaldo strongly remains as
the simbaacuteng gabiacute in virtually the entire ecclesiastic cir-
cumscription of the Islands and even overseas the
misa paorela only survives now in a few parishes
mostly in the provinces and the paorela in even a
fewer enclaves in the archipelago
Let us therefore cherish these patrimonies In the
manner of the shepherds let us by the misa paorela sung in the misas de aguinaldo express the impending
jubilation and exultation that shall solemnly engulf
Christendom on the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
Moreover the misa de aguinaldo patterned aer
the earliest Midnight and Dawn Masses of Christmas
for a very long time has been celebrated at dawn and
the Dawn Mass of Christmas is also called the Mass of
the Shepherds
In or Don Diego de Escobar master of
ceremonies of Seville complained of an abuse com-
mitted during the misas de aguinaldo 8e people
would join with the choir and sing with them laughter
-inducing carols during Mass and inside the church
We could read from this complaint a trace of the
paorela wherein layfolk would sing the carols o-
sung and probably execute the steps o-executed in
the paorelas in the manner of the seises 8e evi-
dence however is very `imsy scarce and circumstan-
tial
8e misas de paorela as they are still called in
some places soon came into prominence to decorate
the celebrations and when the abuse in the misas de aguinaldo were suppressed the partitures remained
accompanied still by the instruments borrowed from
the original paorela 8e misas de paorela or misas
5 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
copy ALMADRONES
Ob primam Missam prima hora diei celebratam id est in media nocte
per has Missas de aguinaldo in aurora litatas patefacimus pariter pla-
neque praefiguramus imminentem iubilationem exsultationemque
solemniter riteque superventuram in Christiadum die Domini Nativitatis copy ALMADRONES
laquo continued from p 3
6 organa vocis
While an introit may be a signi5cant text its place
in the liturgical aion is as an accompaniment to the
procession the procession is the aion not the introit
chant 8e opposite is true of the parts of the Ordinary
the Kyrie is the liturgical aion and not the accompa-
niment of any other aion it is what is being done at
the time 8us it is appropriate for the congregation as
a whole to sing this part Second since the parts of the
Ordinary are unchangeable they can be repeated
oen learned well and thus sung without diJculty by
a congregation
8is also means that these pieces for the congrega-
tion need not be limited to the simplest chants 8e
Kyrie from Mass VIII (De Angelis) not a particularly
simple chant can usually be sung by an average Catho-
lic congregation since it has been sung so oen and
remains in the colleive memories of innumerable
congregations
But there is another Gregorian Kyrie than deserves
attention in this context Kyrie Orbis faKor from Mass
I n encouraging the participation of the entire congregation in the music of the lit-
urgy there is an important principle ldquosinging means singing the Mass not just singing dur-
ing Massrdquo [1] 8e participation of the people is all the more authentic when they are singing
the central and essential parts of the liturgy 8is applies particularly to the Ordinary of the Mass
for two principal reasons First of all the peoplersquos parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie Gloria Credo SanKus and Agnus Dei) are generally liturgical aions in and of themselves and not the accom-
paniment of another aion
Kyrie Orbis faor
William Mahrt PhD
by
reflections on
originally from Sacred Music (Spring 2006) vol 133 no 1
DR WILLIAM MAHRT is the president of the Church Music
Association of America (CMAA) and the publisher of the New
Liturgical Movement (NLM)
[1] International Committee on English in the
Liturgy Documents on the Liturgy 1963ndash1979 Conciliar Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville 8e Liturgical Press ) p
R
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
paorelas as they eventually became known to many
HiVanic countries became a 5xture in the Liturgies
celebrated during the lengthy Christmas season
8e austerity and silence of Advent is only broken
during the misas de aguinaldo when the organ togeth-
er with the tambourine would emit its gladsome
sounds 8is musical elation used to engulf our
churches until Epiphany when liturgically the Christ-
mas season ends
In the Philippines the misa de aguinaldo the
paorela the misa paorela or the misa paoril are
intimately linked to the customary festivities of Christ-
mas While the misa de aguinaldo strongly remains as
the simbaacuteng gabiacute in virtually the entire ecclesiastic cir-
cumscription of the Islands and even overseas the
misa paorela only survives now in a few parishes
mostly in the provinces and the paorela in even a
fewer enclaves in the archipelago
Let us therefore cherish these patrimonies In the
manner of the shepherds let us by the misa paorela sung in the misas de aguinaldo express the impending
jubilation and exultation that shall solemnly engulf
Christendom on the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
Moreover the misa de aguinaldo patterned aer
the earliest Midnight and Dawn Masses of Christmas
for a very long time has been celebrated at dawn and
the Dawn Mass of Christmas is also called the Mass of
the Shepherds
In or Don Diego de Escobar master of
ceremonies of Seville complained of an abuse com-
mitted during the misas de aguinaldo 8e people
would join with the choir and sing with them laughter
-inducing carols during Mass and inside the church
We could read from this complaint a trace of the
paorela wherein layfolk would sing the carols o-
sung and probably execute the steps o-executed in
the paorelas in the manner of the seises 8e evi-
dence however is very `imsy scarce and circumstan-
tial
8e misas de paorela as they are still called in
some places soon came into prominence to decorate
the celebrations and when the abuse in the misas de aguinaldo were suppressed the partitures remained
accompanied still by the instruments borrowed from
the original paorela 8e misas de paorela or misas
5 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
copy ALMADRONES
Ob primam Missam prima hora diei celebratam id est in media nocte
per has Missas de aguinaldo in aurora litatas patefacimus pariter pla-
neque praefiguramus imminentem iubilationem exsultationemque
solemniter riteque superventuram in Christiadum die Domini Nativitatis copy ALMADRONES
laquo continued from p 3
6 organa vocis
While an introit may be a signi5cant text its place
in the liturgical aion is as an accompaniment to the
procession the procession is the aion not the introit
chant 8e opposite is true of the parts of the Ordinary
the Kyrie is the liturgical aion and not the accompa-
niment of any other aion it is what is being done at
the time 8us it is appropriate for the congregation as
a whole to sing this part Second since the parts of the
Ordinary are unchangeable they can be repeated
oen learned well and thus sung without diJculty by
a congregation
8is also means that these pieces for the congrega-
tion need not be limited to the simplest chants 8e
Kyrie from Mass VIII (De Angelis) not a particularly
simple chant can usually be sung by an average Catho-
lic congregation since it has been sung so oen and
remains in the colleive memories of innumerable
congregations
But there is another Gregorian Kyrie than deserves
attention in this context Kyrie Orbis faKor from Mass
I n encouraging the participation of the entire congregation in the music of the lit-
urgy there is an important principle ldquosinging means singing the Mass not just singing dur-
ing Massrdquo [1] 8e participation of the people is all the more authentic when they are singing
the central and essential parts of the liturgy 8is applies particularly to the Ordinary of the Mass
for two principal reasons First of all the peoplersquos parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie Gloria Credo SanKus and Agnus Dei) are generally liturgical aions in and of themselves and not the accom-
paniment of another aion
Kyrie Orbis faor
William Mahrt PhD
by
reflections on
originally from Sacred Music (Spring 2006) vol 133 no 1
DR WILLIAM MAHRT is the president of the Church Music
Association of America (CMAA) and the publisher of the New
Liturgical Movement (NLM)
[1] International Committee on English in the
Liturgy Documents on the Liturgy 1963ndash1979 Conciliar Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville 8e Liturgical Press ) p
R
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
6 organa vocis
While an introit may be a signi5cant text its place
in the liturgical aion is as an accompaniment to the
procession the procession is the aion not the introit
chant 8e opposite is true of the parts of the Ordinary
the Kyrie is the liturgical aion and not the accompa-
niment of any other aion it is what is being done at
the time 8us it is appropriate for the congregation as
a whole to sing this part Second since the parts of the
Ordinary are unchangeable they can be repeated
oen learned well and thus sung without diJculty by
a congregation
8is also means that these pieces for the congrega-
tion need not be limited to the simplest chants 8e
Kyrie from Mass VIII (De Angelis) not a particularly
simple chant can usually be sung by an average Catho-
lic congregation since it has been sung so oen and
remains in the colleive memories of innumerable
congregations
But there is another Gregorian Kyrie than deserves
attention in this context Kyrie Orbis faKor from Mass
I n encouraging the participation of the entire congregation in the music of the lit-
urgy there is an important principle ldquosinging means singing the Mass not just singing dur-
ing Massrdquo [1] 8e participation of the people is all the more authentic when they are singing
the central and essential parts of the liturgy 8is applies particularly to the Ordinary of the Mass
for two principal reasons First of all the peoplersquos parts of the Ordinary (Kyrie Gloria Credo SanKus and Agnus Dei) are generally liturgical aions in and of themselves and not the accom-
paniment of another aion
Kyrie Orbis faor
William Mahrt PhD
by
reflections on
originally from Sacred Music (Spring 2006) vol 133 no 1
DR WILLIAM MAHRT is the president of the Church Music
Association of America (CMAA) and the publisher of the New
Liturgical Movement (NLM)
[1] International Committee on English in the
Liturgy Documents on the Liturgy 1963ndash1979 Conciliar Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville 8e Liturgical Press ) p
R
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
5nal this is followed by an ascent upward to the top
note of the half-step interval and a 5lling out of the
whole range of the 5h back down to the 5nal touch-
ing upon the note below it 8us eleacuteison con5rms and
ampli5es the initial pitches of the invocation 8e turn
to Christ at Chrie moves to a higher pitch expressing
a more intense address of the Son of God
8e seventh and eighth invocations return to the
melody of the 5rst but the 5nal one focuses upon the
lowest part of the range the contrast with the higher
range of the previous lines conveys a sense of equa-
nimity and repose that gives the chant a pleasing
rounded-out quality 8ese matters of contour are un-
usual in Gregorian chants but quite charaeristic of
Kyrie chants and their eee though subliminal sure-
ly contributes to the quality of the plea for mercy on
the part of the congregation
8e other aVe of the beauty of such a chant is
that of melodic design 8is chant received its 5nal
formulation only in the fourteenth century [3] and its
melodic struure is more rationalized than some of
the earlier melodies 8e basis of its struure is the
pair of intervals the 5h and the fourth the oave of
the authentic Dorian mode comprises a 5h D-A and a
fourth above it A-D with a single note (C) below it
8e 5rst Kyrie is based upon the 5h with a half-step
XI for the ordinary Sundays of the year 8is is a
chant of modest scope easily learned by a congrega-
tion but of considerable beautymdashan important fea-
ture of an oen-repeated chant I have sung this chant
many Sundays a year for over forty years and it has
retained all its freshness and depth over this repeti-
tion I will try to explain some of the aVes of its
beauty and praicality in the hope that many will
want to incorporate it into the singing of their Sunday
congregations
In approaching the beauty of a chant one can ad-
dress concrete elements of symbolism as well as ab-
stra elements of melodic design Kyrie melodies have
a charaeristic melodic contour which re`es some-
thing of the meaning of their texts 8e charaeristic
contour of Gregorian chants in general is the arch [2] beginning upon or near its lowest pitch rising to a
peak and then descending back down to its 5nal 8is
re`es the basic aVe of prayer rising in aViration
to a high point and returning to the point of origin
Kyrie melodies very oen show a slightly dieerent
contourmdashbeginning at a higher pitch and descending
to a low point a gesture of humility suitable to such a
plea for mercy 8e initial invocation of Kyrie Orbis faKor has this kind of contourmdashfrom its beginning
note it touches upon the half-step above the half-step
being a particularly expressive interval then turning
around the initial note it skips downward a 5h to the
7 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
raquo continued on p 9
[3] Two versions of this melody are given in the chant
books one from the tenth century and one from the fourteenth to
sixteenth centuries Liber usualis (Tournai Descleacutee ) pp
Graduale Romanum (Sableacute-sur-Sarthe Abbaye Saint-Pierre
de Solesmes ) p Gregorian Missal (Solesmes Abbaye
Saint-Pierre ) p
[2] Cf Peter Wagner Gregorianise Formenlehre Eine oralise Stilkunde Einfuumlhrung in die Gregorianisen Melodien Ein Handbu der Choralwissensa` vol (Leipzig
Breitkopf amp Haumlrtel reprint Hildesheim Georg Olms
) pp
copy BALZA
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
FOR THE MISA DE AGUINALDO
O Chri blessed is the glorious Miress of the world the Virgin Mary y Mother who greeted
by the Angel believed that the things which were $oken to her from the lord shall be fulamplled
F or Thou art born to rule the earth O Goodness Great by humble birth We sinners now
implore thy aid O Mother Maid of Bethlehem Mother of God O Queen of earth O chosen
`ower ere thy birth through thee the sickly souls are saved of sinners who have been enslaved
O Queen of kingdom world to come in power clothrsquod thou hast become arrayrsquod with stars O Morn-
ing Light on Vlendid moon thy feet alight With ardent hearts thy faithful pray devotion perfe
may they say that in great love your Names proclaim ldquoJesus Maryrdquo their lips acclaim For Sabbaths
O Our Queen Proclaimrsquod on altars praises be exclaimrsquod by sons of Eve in punishment that glory
crown our banishment 8erefore O Queen most merciful forget us not sons pitiful for if thy suc-
cour we have not abide in heaven we cannot O Queen thy Son hath promised us the heavensrsquo glory
copious which hath been made to thee before which we await lo heretofore
copy ALMADRONES
8 organa vocis
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
times three symbolic of the Trinity and usage until
the reform of the Second Vatican Council retained this
ldquonine-foldrdquo arrangement In books aer the council
the Kyrie is six-fold but the rubrics allow the nine-fold
for musical reasons I 5nd that three invocations are
just enough to give a congregation not familiar with
the melody a chance to pick it up by the third state-
ment 8us for the sake of the congregationrsquos partici-
pation the nine-fold arrangement may be used advan-
tageously Moreover the reduion to a six-fold ar-
rangement was to accommodate the dialogue between
priest and congregation each stating the invocation
once this six-fold arrangement seems to have been
devised for the Low Mass and need not be retained in
the High Mass
Sometimes the phenomena of the Middle Ages are
instruive in thinking about how to perform a chant
Chants were performed in the earlier Middle Ages
without the aid of musical notation being passed on
inta by oral tradition long before they were written
down and scholars have oen re`eed upon the phe-
nomenon of oral transmission as a faor in the nature
of the chants It is possible even with a group of sing-
ers today to replicate this oral transmission A certain
segment of the chant is sung to the group and they are
asked to sing it back identically eight or ten notes can
be retained in the short-term memory and easily sung
back 8en the next segment is sung to them and they
repeat it then these two together Since the portion of
the melody on eleison is the same for each invocation
it does not have to be relearned In quite a short time
the whole melody can be sung by a large group totally
without the aid of any notation
In my experience this is faster than simply having
the group read the piece from the notation because
they can pick up the rhythmic in`eion of the chant
immediately Still the notation ought to be a useful aid
as well and I have found that one can ask a group to
look at the notation as the piece is lined out and sung
by imitation just as I have described above and they
learn it all the quicker If one is allowed a brief re-
hearsal time before Mass this can be done with a con-
gregation very eJciently I would not do it oen but
on occasion it is a very eeeive way to introduce a
piece to be sung in that morningrsquos Mass
8is is thus a chant with interesting symmetries
and melodic design together with the symbolism of its
descending motion these features contribute to a
piece that will bear considerable repetition and retain
its uniqueness freshness and beauty over a long peri-
od of time
above it the reVonse eleacuteison begins at the mid-point
of the 5h (F) rises to the top adding the half-step
above then descends stepwise to the bottom of the
5h adding a note below it the 5h is thus bordered
by a single pitch at its top and bottom 8e Chrie adds the fourth above (A-D) but its principal notes
are A-C with neighbouring notes above and below
this third complemented then by eleacuteison the same
melody as before
8e 5nal invocation is based upon the lower por-
tion of the range being centred upon the third D-F
with a neighbouring note above and below it just as in
the Chrie In fa the 5nal Kyrie repeats a good bit of
the Chrie melody down a 5h Chrie D-C-D-C-A-G
-A 5nal Kyrie G-F-G-F-D-C-D 8e three melodies
are clearly distinguished in range by being centred on
5rst the 5h then the fourth above and then the mi-
nor third at the bottom of the 5h and emphasis upon
these main notes is created by adding neighbouring
notes around them
8ere is something surprisingly symmetrical to
this melody If one counts notes one sees it Kyrie (
notes) eleacuteison ( notes) Chrie ( notes) eleacuteison (
notes) 5nal Kyrie ( notes) eleacuteison ( notes) 8us
in the 5rst invocations a proportion of one to two in
the second three to four and in the last one integer
over one to one (a superparticular proportion in me-
diaeval terms) Of course one does not have to count
the notes to appreciate the proportionality involved
8ere is an interesting point in the early history of
the Kyrie that bears its traces in this melody In the
oldest Ordines Romani ceremonial books for the early
Roman liturgy the performance of the Kyrie is de-
scribed in some detail It was what has been called a
Latin-texted Kyrie since the initial word Kyrie is re-
placed by a Latin phrase that ampli5es Kyrie Lord In
this piece the 5rst line was Orbis faKor Rex aeligterne maker of the world eternal King 8is was sung by
deacons and the choir reVonded with eleison have
mercy 8ere would be an unVeci5ed number of invo-
cations but at the end the master of ceremonies would
give a sign to conclude the deacons would then sing
the last invocation to a dieerent melody indicating
that this was the 5nal one Our Kyrie melody shows
these charaeristics while the invocations dieer in
melody the reVonse eleacuteison is always the same and
the last invocation is notably dieerent from the forego-
ing ones
8e Kyrie as sung in the Carolingian period and
later consisted Veci5cally of nine invocations three
9 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
laquo continued from p 3
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
PACEM middotET middotBONVM middotNECNON middotCOMPLVRES
A middotDEO middotOPTIMO middotMAXIMO middotBENEDICTIONES
PRO middotVOBIS middotPOSTVLAMVS middotANNO middotDOMINI middotMMXV
GIORGIONE The adoration of the shepherds (15051510) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
DIVA CAECILIA PRO NOBIS ORA
JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE Saint Cecilia (1895) LEGION OF HONOUR
CENSUS CAPPELLAE
CHORISTAE SENIORES
D Iesus Felix de Valentiuncula Ph D Praecentor amp Caput solae D Ronaldus Regius de Populis Pulsator organi Vicarius praecentoris amp Magier cappellae D Ioannares Anicetus Smaragdus Succentor D Iosiphides Alderete Succentor amp Hymnographus
CHORISTAE IUNIORES
D Mauritius Iosephus de Materonibus Cantor D Ioannes Regius de Portuplano Cantor D Ammelleus Cynepurgilaeus Capitaneus Cantor amp Vicarius pulsatoris organi D Randilius de Xannuliis Cantor
CHORISTISSAE
Da Maria Virgilia Bompat Supraniria Da Christina Bompat Supraniria Da Maria Mediatrix Gratia Ortisia Supraniria Da Domina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Christina Maria Macadandana Altiria Da Maria Rita Bompat Altiria Da Philumena de Foliis Altiria Da Berenice Christina a Cosma Altiria
FORANEI RECENTIORES
D Rolandus Ambrosius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Saccaelus Callitrichius Cantor amp Vic puls org D Carolus Oliverius Olayta Cantor amp Vic pl org
CAPPELLANUS
Rev D Michaeumll Iosephus Zerrudo SanKissimi Redemptoris Parous
11 nov 2015 middot jan 2016
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment
Il canto proprio della liturgia egrave davvero liturgia propria in canto
LAUS DEO VIRGINIQUE MATRI
Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement
it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared
and been replaced by a kind of liturgical entertainment