Plainsong Music Need Help for Triduum, Please

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evelynicholson

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Can I ask whether anyone knows which Masses (they seem to be numbered) are to be sung for which liturgical occasions-which on Holy Thursday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday for example. I have inherited a music ministry and am unsure. .is the Missa de angeles ok for these? We do the correct mass for Advent and Lent-does that continue through Passion Sunday?

We do the NO but incorporate this in.I have ordered the Reproaches and Crux fidelis music and Exsultet for Easter midnight vigil.We already know Pange Lingua and Tantum Ergo. The priest cannot sing at all, so is it allowed for three adult male members of the choir to sing the Litany? we have no deacons. If they do sing it, shall they be cassocked and surpliced and sing it from in front of the Sanctuary, or can they sing it from the gallery at the back.

My musical skills are fine but the priest has a phobia about singing and my son (in the choir) has to intone the Gloria and Credo when we do the De Angelis. Our parish is quite traditional and so is always very full and I would be grateful for any suggestions. I once heard, when all the lights went on at the Easter Vigil, that a hymn to Our Lady was sung as all the bells rang.I had an idea it was the Easter hymn to Our Lady but am unsure of which one it was.Think it might have been O Regina angelorum perhaps or similar? If I strart now I might train them all by then.
 
While the Liber Usualis, Graduale, and Kyriale suggest some settings for certain occasions (such as Kyrie Lux et origo for Easter), actually any setting can be sung at any mass.
 
evelynicholson said:
Would it be permitted , if the priest authorises them, for three choir members to sing the litugy? We have no deacons.
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I think in cases of necessity a person from the choir may chant the Litany of the Saints, with the rest of the choir responding. This is what normally happens at my cathedral, and it is usually chanted from the sanctuary (non-robed!) - though I’m sure it would be fine for it to be conducted completely from the choir gallery. It is also permissable for a choir member, or a small group from the choir, to intone chants such as the Gloria and Credo.

I have never heard of a hymn to Mary being sung as the bells ring - though traditions vary of course. In our cathedral the priest will intone the gloria, the bells are rung for about a minute and a fanfare is played on the organ. It’s a very special moment. Perhaps the chant to Our Lady that you are thinking of is “Regina Caeli, Laetare, Alleluia” - “Queen of Heaven, Rejoice, Alleluia” - the prayer which replaces the Angelus during the Easter season.
 
Thank you too-Yes it is the Regina Caeli! And it comes at the end of Mass after the Blessing, I have been told.

When the Lights go on after the darkness I knowthere is a fanfare on the Organ as all the bells are rung.

Thank you for the information for the choir.

Incidentally, whenthe priest sings ‘Behold the Wood of the cross’, higher each time, could this be sung by someone, a robed chorister standing behind him as he is not confident about singing at all.

Thanks for replying!
 
evelynicholson said:
Incidentally, whenthe priest sings ‘Behold the Wood of the cross’, higher each time, could this be sung by someone, a robed chorister standing behind him as he is not confident about singing at all.
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As far as I can recall we’ve always had a priest who would chant the “Ecce lignum crucis” - although the bishop himself doesn’t sing. I think the general guideline is that if there is absolutely no member of the clergy willing or able to chant parts such as the “Ecce lignum”, or the Litany of the Saints, or Credo & Gloria intonations, then a member of the choir is permitted to do so. Obviously at Mass, there are certain chants which are reserved for the priest alone - such as the Doxology before the Great Amen. It may not be necessary for the chorister to process behind the cross as it is unveiled - check with your priest, of course - but I imagine it would be fine for him to stay with the choir if it’s more comfortable for him.
 
You are a star! Thank you very much for your help Sir.

Eve
 
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