Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laborant qui aedificaverunt eam - "Unless the Lord built the house, they worked in vain who built it" Ps. 127
This is a very different musical interpretation of Psalm 51 than we saw last week in Allegri's Miserere. In Allegri's composition the intensity of the soaring, unaccompanied voices leads us to contemplation of the Divine Mercy of God in Heaven. Here the urgent, dramatic orchestration pulls us down into King David's turbulent emotions as he comes to acknowledge his sinfulness and his need for God's mercy. This clip is only the first part of a much longer composition, and contains only the first line of the Psalm: Miserere mei, Domine, secundam misericordiam tuam, "Have mercy on me, Lord, according to your compassion". As the focus of the Psalm moves from David's sinfulness to the abundance of God's mercy, the music in the later parts of the piece changes with it . . .
[click HERE for the rest of the post and the video of Pergolesi's Miserere on Spes in Domino]
"The Prophet Nathan Rebukes King David" by Eugène Siberdt
"The Repentance of King David," C. 1650, artist unknown
One of the best known of Lenten musical compositions today is the setting Gregorio Allegri composed some time in the 1630’s for Psalm 51. The piece is known as theMiserere(i.e., “Have mercy”) from it’s first word in Latin. Allegri composed it specifically for use in Tenebrae services in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
And in the Sistine Chapel it stayed, for almost a century and a half. The Popes did not allow transcriptions of Allegri’s mezmerizing composition to be made, and only three authorized versions were given away to private individuals (to Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, to King John V of Portugal, and to the musically gifted Franciscan Giovanni Battista Martini).
That all changed when a 14 year old visitor to Rome named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart heard the Miserere sung in the Sistine Chapel. He listened closely and, when he went back to his room, he wrote down the music from memory . . . [to hear Allegri's Miserere and read the rest of the post click HERE]
I absolutely love J.S. Bach’s Joy-filled celebration of Jesus Christ’s love for humanity, “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring”. Ash Wednesday is just two days away, so this is my last opportunity to get it in as a Music Monday selection before Lent . . .
The beautiful hymn "Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming" (originally the 16th century German song "Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen") is one of my favorite songs of the Advent Season. It draws its inspiration from the following Messianic passage from the Prophet Isaiah:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:1-2)
In Isaiah’s time the Davidic kingdom had been destroyed, and the people of Israel were living in exile. Nonetheless, it was clear to the Jewish people that the Prophet was speaking not only of their return to their earthly homeland and the rebirth a truncated political entity: he was delivering God’s promise that, when things looked most hopeless in this world, He would send a Savior, his Messiah, to usher in a Kingdom greater that any conceived by mere men. In this song the “shoot” (the Messiah Jesus, descended through his human mother Mary from King David, Jesse’s son) is depicted as a lovely Rose, a small but vibrant manifestation of God’s presence where all seemed dead:
It came, a flow'ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
In the Season of Advent the Church reminds us that God has also promised to send his Messiah again in glory at the end of time. This past year has given Catholic Christians plenty of reasons to feel that our world is collapsing, and that we are living in a sort of internal exile (we need not go into specific details here). Our Hope will not be realized in this world, but only in the New Jerusalem in the world to come.
For this reason, we look to the Blessed Mother as our model, who staked her life on trusting in the promise of an angel. And so the song invites us to join her in gazing on the Rose springing from the stump of Jesse:
Today is Trinity Sunday, on which we celebrate one of the most mysterious of Christian Mysteries. I find it fairly easy to understand that there can only be one infinite being, one "Divine Substance"; I can also understand that love is something necessarily directed toward another, and so a God Who is Love would want to have other Persons to love. I have a very hard time wrapping my finite mind around how they can both be true at the same time . . . but how could it be otherwise? Fortunately, even if the philosophical explanations elude us, we can know the Triune God through the experience of Faith. Thanks be to God. Perhaps because the Trinity is such a deep concept, there aren't a lot of Trinitarian hymns (certainly not on YouTube, anyway), but here's an old favorite, in a beautiful video created by JMJ HF videos. I have included information about the group, which relies on charitable donations, below the video.
To help defray the cost of making these videos possible, please send donations to: St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation of Texas 5628 Rosa Ave. El Paso, TX 79905 Phone # (915) 500-3025 Website: http://svfonline.org/about-the-founda... Email: stvincentferreroftexas@gmail.com Please indicate donations are for support of the JMJ HF videos. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit Corporation. You will receive a receipt for your donation. Thank you!
Today is Pentecost, one of the great Feasts of the Church, in which we remember how Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon his Disciples to guide them in their mission of Evangelization and in the governance of his Church. In the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles we read that the Apostles, Mary and others were gathered in the Upper Room when there was a rush of mighty wind and tongues of flame. Not only that, those gathered began speaking “in other tongues”. The international crowd gathered in Jerusalem, on hearing them, was
. . . amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphyia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." (Acts 2:5-11)
Referring to this event, St. Gregory of Agrigentum said:
Therefore if somebody should say to one of us, “You have received the Holy Spirit, why do you not speak in tongues?” his reply should be, “I do indeed speak in the tongues of all men, because I belong to the body of Christ, that is, the Church, and she speaks all languages. What else did the presence of the Holy Spirit indicate at Pentecost, except that God’s Church was to speak in the language of every people?”
The Church speaks to everyone because Christ is for everyone, and his language is universal. Today we have ways of reaching people all over the globe that St. Gregory Agrigentum could not have imagined back in the 6th century, but it's the same Gospel, the same proclamation that the Apostles made 2,000 years ago.
This coming week we will begin the penitential season of Lent, during which we will not recite or sing the Gloria at Mass. I thought it would be appropriate to post one last joyful snippet on this last Sunday before our Lenten journey begins on Ash Wednesday. Vivaldi is known to have composed at least three different settings for the Gloria, from one of which the "Laudamus Te" below is taken. Aside from the curious impression that the two sopranos are singing from behind prison bars, this is a beautiful rendition.
Today, the 4th Day of Christmas, is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which commemorates the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under two years old by King Herod's soldiers. Herod had learned from the Magi that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem, and feared that this Messiah would depose him. As it happened, the Messiah (Jesus) escaped, and Herod went to his eternal reward (whatever it may have been) while Jesus was still an infant. You can read my post on the Holy Innocents (and Holy Innocence) HERE at Principium et Finis.
Massacre of the Holy Innocents, Ludovico Mazzolino
My post on the other site explores the ramifications of this terrible event in more detail, including its reflection in the modern day abortion industry and our pornified culture. Here I would like to focus briefly on the connection of the Holy Innocents to an article on Lifesitenews.com, “Pro-life Christmas carolers save six babies in Orlando, more in other areas by touching hearts with their singing”. The article details some amazing rescues, not only in Florida, but across the country:
Pro-Life Action League Executive Director Eric Scheidler described for LifeSiteNews how three different couples turned around and walked away from abortion this year as carolers sang outside Family Planning Associates abortion center in San Bernardino, California.
A compelling feature of the story is that the Christmas Carols themselves seem to have been the decisive factor in changing the minds of people who had come to the clinics intent on aborting a child:
. . . At least one couple was greatly moved by the hymns.
“What impressed me about this report is they actually stopped to tell the caroler group that they changed their mind,” Scheidler stated.
“The couple told them, ‘It was because of your caroling that we decided to keep our baby,’” he said. “The singing was the only thing that happened to change their mind.”
A group in Illinois reports similar results:
"We're having a baby! We changed our minds," a woman called out joyfully to Northwest Families for Life group caroling Tuesday, December 20, in conjunction with Pro-Life Action League’s “Peace in the Womb” Caroling Days in Wood Dale, Ill.
When they met the couple at the car, the group’s co-founder, Maria Goldstein, told LifeSiteNews, the man said to them with a big smile on his face, "Thank you. You're doing a great job!"
“What exactly was the "great job" we did?” Goldstein said. “We didn't counsel them on the way in; we didn't talk them out of the abortion; we weren't able to show them pictures of developing babies.”
“All we did was show up, pray, and sing,” she continued. “Maybe they heard our carols inside and felt God tug at their hearts. I guess that really is a "great job!" We got to bring the power of God to this dark place. God is good.”
God is indeed good. These stories of the babies saved by carolers cast an interesting light on both the Nativity of Jesus and today’s Feast of the Holy Innocents. The Incarnation and Nativity came about because, while our efforts are necessary - “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17) - they are not sufficient. In the end, we can’t save ourselves, or anyone else, all by ourselves: only the power of God can do that. In the Life Site story, the Holy Spirit working through sacred Christmas songs changed hearts that were not moved by human arguments.
The fate of the children killed by Herod’s soldiers in Bethlehem likewise illustrates this point. Nobody was able to save them from unjust slaughter, they were too young to have any intellectual knowledge of God, and, since Jesus himself was still a baby, baptism was not available to them. And yet the Church assures us that these little ones did not die in vain, and that they enjoy the reward of Heaven (you can read a short, concise explanation here). They were beyond the help of human agency, but “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). If we do our part, God will do the rest.
An interesting note: at one time, the story of these poor murdered children itself inspired a large number of songs. The best known today (the only one, in fact that is still regularly performed) is The "Coventry Carol" (lyrics below), dating from the 16th century. The spare, hauntingly beautiful rendition in the clip below is performed by Valeria Mignaco and Alfonso Marin.
1. Lullay, Thou little tiny Child, By, by, lully, lullay. Lullay, Thou little tiny Child. By, by, lully, lullay.
2. O sisters, too, how may we do, For to preserve this day; This poor Youngling for whom we sing, By, by, lully, lullay.
3. Herod the King, in his raging, Charged he hath this day; His men of might, in his own sight, All children young, to slay.
4. Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee, And ever mourn and say; For Thy parting, nor say nor sing, By, by, lully, lullay. Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child, By by, lully lullay.
May God Bless You with a Very Merry Christmas! . . . and may you enjoy this beautiful rendition of the traditional Christmas song "The First Noel", sung by the University of Utah Singers. Christus Natus Est, Alleluiah!
Altarpiece of the Birth of Christ by Duccio di Buoninsegna
An earlier version of this Worth Revisiting post was first published November 24th, 2014. To enjoy the work of other faithful Catholic bloggers see Worth Revisiting Wednesday, hosted by Elizabeth Reardon at theologyisaverb.com and Allison Gingras at reconciledtoyou.com.
While we're on the topic of neglected composers, how about poor Antonio Salieri? Had he not been cruelly libeled by Peter Shaffer in the play & film Amadeus, it is quite possible that his music would not be performed at all (incidentally, Shaffer's cartoonish depiction did few favors to the memory of Mozart either, who was the purported protagonist of his story). The truth is that although Mozart had some suspicions about Salieri when he first arrived in Vienna, the two eventually developed a friendly and respectful professional relationship. Salieri, in fact, responded very favorably to Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, and in his final letter Mozart mentions taking Salieri to a musical performance in his own carriage. Needless to say, Salieri did not murder Mozart (nor anyone else that we know of).
The lovely piece below is the "Sanctus & Benedictus" from Salieri's Requiem Mass, one of his four Masses. It reminds us of a time when great composers were expected to employ some portion their God-given talent to the praise and worship of that generous Creator. It is, I think, also a good example of why his contemporaries considered him a gifted composer.
Child Jesus with John The Baptist by Bartolome Murillo
The liturgical calendar normally commemorates a saint on the date of his or her death, which is the date on which that particular saint joined God in Heaven. There are only two birthdays that we celebrate other than that of Jesus himself at Christmas: the Nativity of Mary on September 8th, and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The Blessed Mother of course was conceived without sin, and her birth meant that the Ark of the New Covenant, who would carry the Eternal Word Himself in her womb, was now present in the world.
John is held to have been cleansed of the stain of original sin in the womb, and was born under miraculous circumstances. Also, he had a very important role to play before his death, as the Forerunner and Herald of the Messiah. He took up this office which even before his birth, when he leapt in his mother's womb (Luke 1:41) at the approach of Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus.
The Motet below was composed by Orlando di Lasso in 1604. It's title, Joannes est nomen eius ("his name is John"), comes from Luke's Gospel. Here, John father Zechariah had been visited by an angel, who told him that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son, who would be named John. Zechariah reacted with disbelief, since his wife was beyond the age of child-bearing, and had always been sterile. Because of his lack of faith he was struck dumb, bur regained his voice in the following way:
Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. (Luke 1:57-64)
Today is Trinity Sunday, on which we commemorate the unique and absolutely necessary Christian doctrine that God is simultaneously One and Three. The word “Trinity” is the Anglicized form of the Latin Trinitas, which was coined by Tertullian in the early third century. It is a combination of the prefix tri- (three) and unitas (unity). I once took a class from a gentleman who was fond of saying that it’s almost impossible to discuss the Trinity in detail without falling into heresy. I’m sure he was only half-serious, although if you’ve ever wondered why Tertullian isn’t “Saint” Tertullian, well, he fell into heresy later in life . . . but I'm sure that's just a coincidence.
Perhaps because the Trinity is such a deep concept, there aren't a lot of Trinitarian hymns (certainly not on YouTube, anyway), but here's an old favorite, in a beautiful video created by JMJ HF videos. I have included information about the group, which relies on charitable donations, beneath the video. Please take a look.
From the website of the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation of Texas:
The St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation of Texas was founded by Catholic laity to spread, promote, and foster the practice of traditional Catholicism with a focus on the Traditional Latin Mass. We promote fidelity to the immutable teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and her perennial Magisterium in doctrine, morals, sacred liturgy, and all facets of Catholic life. Our goal is to help Catholics recover the beauty, majesty, and truth of the glorious Catholic Faith. May our humble efforts in cooperation with God's manifold grace help individuals, families and society restore all things in Christ
To help defray the cost of making these videos possible, please send donations to:
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24:50-53)
Benjamin West, "The Ascension"
Today we celebrate the event described in the passage above from Luke’s Gospel in the Feast of the Ascension. I have heard the Ascension of Jesus compared to a graduation or commencement, an event that marks somebody moving on to higher level. Following the Ascension Christ would now be working not just in Galilee and Judea, but in and for the whole world, and for all time. It also marks a new level for His followers, who will now be not merely disciples, but The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, which will be see its official inauguration ten days later at Pentecost.
The the clip below of the magnificent opening to Bach's Ascension Oratorio seems a fitting way to celebrate today’s feast. It's a beautiful performance, but the equally beautiful painting used in the Youtube clip is actually a depiction of the Transfiguration. To make amends, I'm posting Benjamin West’s dramatic depiction of the Ascension as well. (Also today on Principium et Finis - Does God force Salvation on us at gunpoint? “Our Eternal Destiny: Armed Robbery, or A Warm Place By The Fire?”)
The ancient song of praise Te Deum Laudamus (“We Praise You, God”) is among the oldest Christian Hymns. It has sometimes been attributed to Saints Ambrose and Augustine, although scholars now posit their contemporary Nicetas of Remesiana as its author. For many centuries the Church has celebrated joyful occasions with the Te Deum, and it has traditionally been sung as part of the Divine Office on Holy Days and Sundays outside of Lent. In the current Liturgy of the Hours it appears in the Office of Readings on such occasions.
A very large number of musical settings have been composed for the Te Deum over the centuries, from simple chants to extravagant treatments involving a full orchestra. The clip below is of a performance of the irrepressible Joseph Haydn’s composition.
Have a Blessed Easter - The Lord is risen, alleluiah!
Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur. Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates; Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra majestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus. Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae majestatis: Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium; Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe. Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius. Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Judex crederis esse venturus.
You O God, we praise: You, Lord, we acknowledge to be. You are the eternal Father. All the earth venerates you.To you all Angels; to you the heavens and all the Powers. To you Cherubim and Seraphim with unending voice proclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Full are heaven and earth with the majesty of your glory.
You the glorious chorus of Apostles (praise), You the praiseworthy number of the Prophets (praise), You the white-clothed army of Martyrs praise. You throughout all the world are acknowledged by the holy Church,
Father of immense Majesty: Who is to be worshiped, your true and only Son; Also the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
You are the King of Glory, O Christ. You are the everlasting Son of the Father. When you took upon yourself to deliver man, you did not abhor the Virgin’s womb.
You, by overcoming the sting of death, opened to all believers the Kingdom of Heaven.
You sit at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father. Our Judge we believe that you will come to be.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
To you therefore we ask you, help your servants: whom you have redeemed with your precious blood.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
[added later, adapted from Psalm verses]
Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum. Per singulos dies benedicimus te; Et laudamus Nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire. Miserere nostri Domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In eternity with your saints make them in glory to be numbered.
[added later, adapted from Psalm verses]
Save your people, Lord, and bless your heritage.
And rule them, and lift them up for ever. Every day we bless you; And we worship your Name forever, and forever for all ages.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day without sin to keep us. Have mercy upon us, our Lord, have mercy upon us.
Let your mercy be upon us, O Lord, since we have trusted in you.
In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.
In you, O Lord, I have trusted: may I not be confounded forever
