Here are audio clips of some Gregorian chant (excerpts in each case) from the abbey, last Sunday’s Fifth Sunday of Easter, with some musings. For reference, here are the day’s chants from Gregor und Taube (“Gregory and the Dove”).
Cantate Domino is the proper introit (entrance chant) of the day. We do the introit as a prelude, and start a few minutes before the hour so we can sing several verses and antiphons, since we took the time to learn the thing. We sing this while the monks process down the cloister walk, and then when they’re ready to process down the center aisle we begin the congregational hymn. The Latin chant functions as a sort of call to worship. I only regret slightly that the introit isn’t fulfilling its traditional role of accompanying the procession to the altar, since it certainly is a wonderful thing to sing a rousing congregational hymn.
Vidi_aquam is the chant during sprinkling in Easter season. ( I just can’t get used to the absurd “Easter time” of the newly translated missal.) Back in the day, we sang the Gloria during the sprinkling at the abbey. Then Sing to the Lord came along and said you can’t do that. (Who drafted that document, anyway?) So now the congregation oftentimes sings a hymn, plus an antiphon during sprinkling, plus the Gloria, which is three upbeat things in a row. I think it works well to sing instead the Latin chant between the two congregational items. Especially when it’s such as delightful piece as this, with its flowing melismas that almost sound like flowing water. Corrected melody, so some of the Cs (typically) have to go back to B.
In the medieval manuscripts they sometimes indicate a shortened repeat of the antiphon (this is for introit and communio, I admit) by beginning midway through. I did a variant of that, and I’m not sure what purists would say about it. Once through the Vidi was almost enough, but not quite. So I signalled to sing the first line plus the final alleluia.
We worked mightily on the proper offertorium, Iubilate. This year’s schola would have had the chops to pull off that long and difficult piece. But their director began it too late for them to master it, and it was more prudent to avoid the stress of (almost) getting it at the last minute. I substituted the ninefold_alleluia from Easter season Lauds in the new Antiphonale Monasticum, with verses in English to a Meinrad tone. Pedal point on antiphon, simply harmonization on verses.
Ego sum vitis vera (“I am the true vine”) is the communio of the day.
Let me acknowledge the cantors for introit and communio verses – Sr. Jeana Visel, OSB, and Brian Kapp.
awr
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