McChoir's Music Corner Extensions - #1

Each week for our parish bulletin, I have a feature section called "McChoir's Music Corner." I will share snippets and/or full posts in here, as well as some extended articles from what I publish from time to time!

January 18th & 19th – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

I love the changing of seasons—the changing weather of our 4 seasons (questionable statement where we live of course…) brings about a renewed appreciation for different aspects of creation: snow in winter, the summer heat, flowers blossoming in springtime, the leaves of fall. Liturgical seasons do something similar, where we are renewed by The Word in new ways throughout the liturgical year: Advent anticipates the coming of Christ, Lent emphasizes penance & fasting, Easter resounds with “Alleluias” as we rejoice in the Lord’s Resurrection. So what about Ordinary Time, and what about music? The Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year states that in Ordinary Time, “no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ itself is honored in its fullness, especially on Sundays.” So though there is no one ‘key theme’ during this season, the ‘key theme’ is Christ himself. Perhaps we could say that ‘in Ordinary Time, we appreciate Him for who He is.’ Today’s entrance antiphon comes from Psalm 66: “All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, and shall sing to you, shall sing to your name, O Most High!” As such, “All Creatures of Our God and King” seemed a good fit as today’s processional hymn. Over the next few weeks, I encourage you to look at the selections for the entrance antiphon in your missal as they highlight the theme of praise to God. In many cases over the next month there are specific references to singing his praise in some form in these entrance chants. Speaking about sacred music, Pope Benedict XVI put it beautifully: “When man comes into contact with God, mere speech is not enough.” (The Spirit of the Liturgy) And so it is with great joy at the mystery of Christ in all seasons that we sing his praises without end!   

March 15th & 16th – Second Sunday of Lent

Today’s Gospel features a great line from Peter: “Master, it is good that we are here.” Whenever I see this passage come up in the Gospel, I know it is time to sing “Tis Good Lord, to Be Here.” This hymn-text was written in 1890 by the Anglican priest J. Armitage Robinson, who was a prolific preacher at Westminster Abbey in London. A hymn text like this one can be called a “metrical paraphrase” of scripture, where a passage is set poetically to a specific meter, so it can be sung with ease to a variety of tunes. The melody for this hymn was written over a century before Robinson penned the text, by the Swiss Johann Martin Spiess in 1745. Spiess was not a full-time musician, and was actually the Prior (think of a ‘pastor’ but for a monastery) of Irsee Abbey for a time in southern Germany. I love stumbling upon these musicians who wrote music for the church in a variety of ages, many of them priests and other religious! We have such a rich musical heritage in our church, and we often don’t know much of anything about these men and women who have helped us to worship with beautiful song throughout the centuries. I think it is so good to sing these hymns that have been sung for hundreds of years and help ground us in our faith as they did for so many holy people before us. Who knows, maybe someone from our church will write a hymn that people will be praying with in the year 2325!       

April 26th & 27th 2025 – Divine Mercy Sunday

One of my favorite Easter tunes is the one used today for Communion: LAUDA ANIMA (Praise My Soul the King of Heaven). It was written in 1868 by the British church musician John Goss, who was a significant historical figure in the revival of British cathedral music in the late 19th century. “Lauda Anima” is the Latin beginning of Psalm 103, upon which this hymn is based. A contemporary review of the hymn was offered in a musical journal in 1869, stating that "it is at once the most beautiful and dignified hymn tune which has lately come under our notice." (The Musical Times, June 1869) What I love about this tune is that for the congregation, it is quite simple: lots of repeated notes, stepwise motion, and the jumps up and down on the staff are always managed gracefully with stepwise motion after a leap is made. On the organist’s side of things—there is a harmonically rich sequence that allows us to do a little more ‘unique’ harmonies as we play the melody. It’s the perfect marriage of a piece of music that is simple and accessible enough for the average church goer, and also musically invigorating for the musician who plays. The British have long been known for their keen sense of melody and harmony in a pleasing combination, this is a prime example in action. Alleluia, He is risen!