AN EXTRAORDINARY FORM HIGH MASS...

...at another one of my old stomping grounds!

Precious Blood Church in Woonsocket, RI is celebrating an Extraordinary Form High Mass on Thursday, December 29, at 7 PM (Concert of Christmas Music at 6:30 PM). Celebrant is Fr. Michael Wooley. Henri St. Louis will be conducting the Schola Cantorum Sanctae Caeciliae. The Sung Mass will be William Byrd's Mass for Four Voices.

Precious Blood Church is located at 94 Carrington Avenue (corner of Park Avenue) in Woonsocket. Parking available in the lot on Hamlet Avenue.

Some side notes:
Both the conductor and myself have served at Precious Blood at one point or another. I was at Precious Blood from 1989-1997. Henri St. Louis worked there for almost twelve years, two organists before me. He is a top notch musician. He also took care of any maintenance/repair work on the organ while I was there.
The organ is an Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1099, three manuals, 26 ranks, built in 1947.
The celebrant, Fr. Michael Wooley, is the pastor at St. Joseph's Church in Woonsocket. Too bad he's not at Precious Blood! He was a summer seminarian at Precious Blood late in my stay there.

Peace,
BMP

THIS CONDUCTOR KNOWS WHERE IT'S AT!

Italian conductor Riccardo Muti, now conducting the Chicago Symphony, also detests the "greatest hits" movement that's been infesting parish after parish after parish since the mid 1960's.

Source: ANSA / RSCT: Ars Orandi Traditional Catholicism via Facebook / Emphasis mine.

Muti sides with pope against Church 'sing-songs'
Benedict right to want traditional music, says conductor

(ANSA) - Vatican City, May 26 - Italian conductor Riccardo Muti is backing Pope Benedict XVI's drive to discourage guitar ''sing-songs'' from Catholic masses.

The traditionalist German pontiff has called for an end to the use of pop-inspired religious music that many Catholic churches have used in different parts of the world to attract the faithful.

''It is possible to modernize holy music,'' he once said at a concert at the Sistine Chapel. ''But this cannot happen outside the great traditional path of the past, of Gregorian chants and sacred polyphonic choral music.

''(The Church supports) new expressive means (in music, as in art and architecture) without denying the past, the history of the human spirit, which is also the story of its dialogue with God''.

Critics have said the use of modern music helps the Catholic faith remain relevant and vibrant for young people and that it is better to have guitars and tambourines during mass than empty churches. But those objections have been rejected by world-famous conductor Muti.

''The pope is right when he says it is necessary to bring our great musical heritage back into churches,'' said Muti, a former director of Milan's La Scala who is now in charge of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

''The history of great music was determined by what the Church did.

"When I go to church and I hear four strums of a guitar or choruses of senseless, insipid words, I think it's an insult.

''I can't work out how come once upon a time there were Mozart and Bach and now we have little sing-songs. This is a lack of respect for people's intelligence''. Although many disagree with Benedict's views on music, there is no doubt that the pope speaks about the subject with authority. An accomplished pianist, he comes from a musical family and his brother, Georg Ratzinger, was for many years choir master in Regensburg, home to one of Europe's most famous boys' choirs.

Benedict's line on modern music is part of his bid to take the Church back to its roots.

This has also led to him reviving the use of the Latin Mass, which had been abandoned after the 1962-1965 Vatican Council introduced masses in local languages. In May the Vatican issued an ''instruction'' telling bishops to allow priests to say the old-style mass in Latin - the language of Benedict's beloved Gregorian chants - following a 2007 papal decree authorizing the wider adoption of it.

Many Catholics are uncomfortable about the resurrection of the Latin Mass as they see it as a partial reversal of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which is widely viewed as having brought the church into modern times.

The only error I found in this was in the second-to-last paragraph. The Holy Father did not revive the use of the Latin Mass. The Ordinary Form Latin Mass has been in use all along. What he did revive was more widespread use of the Traditional (Extraordinary Form) Latin Mass. Well, one other error - the last paragraph: the author didn't interview enough people, IMO.

Peace,
BMP

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Second Sunday of Lent - Extraordinary Form High Mass (11 AM)
March 8, 2008 - Holy Name of Jesus Church, Providence, RI

It was good to walk into Holy Name once again and hear a good high Mass take place. Today there was a guest celebrant, a Fr. Bishop, who is leading the parish mission this week at the church. Fr. Bishop really did well with the Extraordinary Form High Mass.

The music was done very well by the schola cantorum that I once directed and has been, since September 2003, under the very able and capable direction of Jacob Stott.

The list goes like this:

"Swabia"...'Tis good, Lord, to be here (a favorite of mine)
Mode VII...Asperges me
Tone 2D...Reminiscere miserationum tuarum, Domine (Introit)
Mass XVII...Kyrie
Tone 2D...Tribulationes cordis mei (Gradual); and Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus (Tract)
Credo I (finally, after all these years of Credo III, under both mine and Jacob's directions)
Tone 8G...Meditabor in mandatis tuis (Offertory)
M. Haydn...Una hora
Mass XVII...Sanctus and Agnus
Irrabarren...Stabat Mater
from the first line of Kyrie XI...Ite Missa est
"Erhalt uns, Herr"...The glory of these forty days

BTW, please join me in praying to repose the soul of Jacob's grandmother, whose funeral is being held tomorrow.
Peace,
BMP

DIPLOMACY AT ITS BEST

AND, the accusations sound familiar!


Photo courtesy of Fr. Tim Finigan
"This Is Not My Mass", OR "This Is My Dance Space, This Is Your Dance Space" (from the movie "Dirty Dancing")

Check out Fr. Tim Finigan's response to a slam written by Elena Curti of The Tablet, a UK periodical often referred to as The Bitter Pill. I tell you, you CANNOT get any more diplomatic than this (except maybe for Fr. Z), not to mention that Fr. Finigan's work in his parish in Blackfen is second to none up there! Keep up the great work, Father.

I really don't know whether to write a slam myself or what. I won't copy the whole article (click on one of the above links for that). I will say that this one particular nutcase apparently has nothing better to do than to try to split the parish herself. She accuses Fr. Finigan of doing that - singlehandedly - for simply trying to celebrate Mass the way the Church instructs us to. Sounds very familiar, you see. I can remember being accused by a parishioner via e-mail of singlehandedly splitting a parish merely as a musician, for simply teaching Gloria VIII to the parish that I last served as music director. That in itself is a nasty allegation for simply trying to do the Church's work.

Even worse is the financial accusations in the article. You see, this nutcase at the Bitter Pill (yes, I'll steal the nickname from Fr. Z) apparently knows that what Fr. Finigan is doing is right, so in a move to intimidate, or even attempt to oust, she starts accusing the priest of bad financial practices. Also very familiar. When my last parish purchased a Rodgers organ to replace the crappy Kurzweil keyboard that was in the church (yes, at one time the Kurzweil was the ONLY instrument there - for over a decade in a half, so though a pipe organ would have been the ideal, it was definitely a giant step up from the Kurzweil), it was done so courtesy of an anonymous donor who earmarked his/her donation for the purchase of a new organ (I still don't know who the donor was; it's none of my business). In turn, someone had spread a blatant lie around that the pastor had used parish money to purchase the organ, when in all actuality, the "restricted donation", something earmarked for a specific purpose according to state law, was used for THAT specific purpose.

One can only wonder: Did Mizz Curti (or the accusers at my former parish) go to confession lately? Or at least get her conscience examined? Because last I remember, one of the commandments is Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

As for Fr. Finigan and other priests like him, keep up the good work!
Peace,
BMP

A COLLABORATION ON ONE OF DAMIAN'S POSTS

Damian Thompson has posted a liturgy video - pretty much the UK version of those liturgies at the infamous Los Ahn-ga-leeze Religious Mis-edu-ma-cation Congress (aka "MahonyFest" - btw, the 2009 version should be coming to Anaheim pretty soon - brace yourselves!).

In the same post, Damian mentioned that Bobbie Mickens expressed his tears of disappointment when he learned that Cdl. Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI nearly four years ago. He's now crying foul at the Holy Father's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, something he predicted at the beginning of Pope Benedict's papacy.

Similarly, when Summorum Pontificum was released, you might remember than an Italian prelate also shed tears of sadness, saying that all of Abp. Bunigni's work is "cancelled". In light of that, as part of CVA #88 (for you rookies, that's episode 88 of Christus Vincit ANYWHERE!, posted on July 13, 2007), I had included a three-minute clip called Liturgy 911, where our distinguished liturgy cops Papa Joe Ratzi and Frank A. Rinze cheer up the distraught bishop.

Listen to that three-minute clip here!

Peace,
BMP

USING YOUR IMAGINATION

What do you think a worship aid using the extraordinary form of Holy Mass would be like if published by one of the "big three" (WLP, GIA, OCP)?

I'll probably come up with more thoughts while running my route at work. In the meantime, if you can think of anything that might happen in such a case, feel free to utilize the combox.

Peace,
BMP

THIS WEEK'S WTF AWARD

Just when you think you've seen everything...

Rich can vouch for me. He heard the whole conversation. Buckle up folks!

A gentleman came upstairs to the choir loft just as the Extraordinary Form Mass was ready to start. Father rang the bell outside the sacristy - the signal to begin. So as I'm hastening to get to the organ console for the opening hymn, this guy kept babbling despite my giving him the one-minute finger (no, I didn't flip him the bird) about how this Mass was being offered for a recently-buried relative. He wanted to know (reminder: this was an Extraordinary Form Low Mass) if we could squeeze in Eagle's Wings. I had to get started, so I gave him a quick reply: "Not at this Mass," then I got the hymn going.

After we finished the hymn, Rich and I couldn't stop laughing for a good five minutes. I think we finally got our composures back just before the Gospel reading. A more fitting reaction that went through my head was similar to the scenario from the movie Animal House where the Delta pledges are being introduced on a slide show, and Flounder's face was the next slide. They all started laughing and jeering and tossing beer cans at the screen.

I'm sure this guy didn't know any better. But it was just enough to warrant my issuing of the September 2008 WTF Award! Congratulations!

UPDATE: Rich just posted his side of the story!

Peace,
BMP

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

This is the blog's version of a segment I did for a few weeks before being sacked from the ghost house last fall. The segment was called "In what we have done, and in what we're going to do". In this segment, we would feature the music we played the previous Sunday, and preview the music the for following Sunday.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Ordinary Form)
September 14, 2008
St. John the Baptist Church, Pawtucket, RI

Today I attended 9:30 Mass at my usual stomping grounds, St. John's. I should have brought my DS-30 recorder with me and recorded the Communion anthem. Anyhoo, this is what Paul and friends did...

Lift high the cross..."Crucifer"
Do not forget the works of the Lord...Alstott
Alleluia...Alstott (the 3/4 setting in C)
God who created hearts to love..."Lasst uns erfreuen"
- (there was a renewal of vows after the homily)
Sanctus and Amen...Proulx; "Community Mass"
Lord, by your cross and resurrection...Kraehenbeuhl/Frischmann; adapt. from "Danish Amen"
Agnus Dei...Isele; "Holy Cross Mass"
Adoramus Te, Christe...Dubois; from "Seven Last Words of Christ"
- (Paul, plus one soprano and one alto, did this in Latin and in English)
Crown him with many crowns..."Diademata"

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Rite II)
September 21, 2008 - 10 AM
All Saints Memorial Church (Episcopal), Providence, RI

This coming Sunday, I'll be filling in for an organist who doubles as an organ builder. He's heading off to Kansas to pick up an entire Bombarde rank (I love a good bombarde). This will be the first time I've done an Eucharist at an Episcopal church in 25 years (and my first ever with a choir). The organ at this church is a three-manual Austin of over 40 ranks.

The Kyrie, Sanctus, and Fraction Anthem (Jesus, Lamb of God) are from the Deutsche Messe by Schubert (adapted by Proulx)

Glorious things of thee are spoken..."Austria"
Singing songs of expectation..."Ton-y-botel"
- (This is the "sequence hymn" that is sung where we Catholics would normally sing the alleluia.)
Ave Verum...Mozart
- (followed by a brief improv, and then the procession of gifts is accompanied by "Praise God from whom all blessings flow"/Old 100th - one verse)
Come, labor on..."Ora labora"
O bless the Lord, my soul..."St. Thomas"; Williams

I didn't pick any of these, but I'll gladly play these tunes ANYTIME!

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form Low Mass)
September 21, 2008 - 5 PM
St. Leo the Great Church, Pawtucket RI

Let all mortal flesh keep silence..."Picardy"
Magnificat...Tone 8 (simple tone)
Verbum Supernum Prodiens...Mode VIII
Now thank we all our God...Nun Danket

Peace,
BMP

IT'S MORNING AGAIN...

...in the Catholic Church



Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Low Mass in Extraordinary Form
Trinity Sunday - May 18, 2008
St. Leo the Great Church, Pawtucket, RI

O God, almighty Father..."Gott Vater, sei Gepriesen"
Profitentes Unitatem..."De Trinitate" (Pius X Hymnal, #251)
Veni, Creator Spiritus..."Mode VIII"
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty..."Nicaea"

Peace,
BMP

A FREEBIE FROM EWTN AND FSSP

EWTN and the FSSP have released a training video for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, and it's free to priests in North America!

RSCT to Shawn Tribe/NLM.

Peace,
BMP

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Fourth Sunday after Easter (Extraordinary Form/Low Mass)
April 20, 2008 - 5:00 PM
St. Leo the Great Church, Pawtucket, RI

Alleluia! sing to Jesus..."Hyfrydol"
Regina caeli...Lotti
Cantate Domino canticum novum...d'Indy
Now thank we all our God..."Nun Danket"

If I had a full choir to work with, the Viadana "Exultate Justi in Domino" would be in order.

Peace,
BMP

EXTRAORDINARY TRAINING IN WORCESTER DIOCESE

Training Workshop in Massachusetts for Priests and Altar Servers inthe Traditional Latin Mass, March 28, 2008

At the request of His Excellency, Bishop McManus, Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, Fr. Santos, pastor of Holy Name Church in Providence, Rhode Island will be conducting an introductory training workshop for priests and altar servers in the Traditional Latin Rite. There will also be some Latin language instruction.

Please call to Register.
Date: Friday, March 28, 2008
Time: 10 AM-4 PM, when a Traditional Latin Mass will begin
[Lunch will be provided]
Location: Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel
282 Still River Road
Still River, Massachusetts 01467
978-456-8877
Cost: Thanks to the gracious hospitality of the Sisters and Brothers of Saint Benedict Center the workshop and lunch are provided at no cost.

RSCT to Fr. Z.

When Bp. McManus was Auxiliary Bishop of Providence, he had celebrated the Extraordinary Form of Mass a couple of times at Holy Name (while I was music director there). He did very well, too. It's great to see he's offering training for the same in Worcester.

Peace,
BMP

CATHOLIC CARNIVAL 155

...is up and runnin' at Deo Omnis Gloria. This is actually my first post to the Carnival in quite some time. I gave it a break after a post I had sent got omitted. This time it got included. My contribution is the Don't Blink post about the early arrival of Septuagesima.

While reading the Carnival, I discovered the newest contributor to the Chabanel Psalms Project - one of the best in the west, Fr. Jeffrey Keyes.

Peace,
BMP

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Septuagesima Sunday - January 20, 2008 (5 PM)
Low Mass in Extraordinary Form
Saint Leo the Great Church, Pawtucket, RI

The kingdom of God..."Laudate Dominum"
O Esca viatorum...J. M. Haydn
Ave verum Corpus...Mozart
Holy God, we praise thy Name..."Grosser Gott"

I'll have the Blessed Sacrament list for 2 Ordinary Time posted once I get it.
Peace,
BMP

DON'T BLINK! YOU MIGHT MISS IT!

Septuagesima is sneaking up quickly!

The other day I e-mailed the music list to the music director at St. Leo's for the Extraordinary Form Mass we're doing on 1/20/08. Of course, I forgot that Easter is coming up so early that there's no such thing as a mere "Sunday after Epiphany" this year. THE Sunday after Epiphany (this Sunday) is the Feast of the Holy Family (which trumps Baptism of the Lord in the Extraordinary Form, though its fixed date, January 13, is a Sunday - thank you for pointing that out Jason). The following Sunday is NOT the Second Sunday after Epiphany as I originally sent the list for, but Septuagesima. Why so early? Because Ash Wednesday is on 2/6. Therefore:

1/20: Septuagesima Sunday
1/27: Sexagesima Sunday
2/4: Quinquagesima Sunday

So, as early as January 20, the Gloria will be dropped, the Alleluia will be replaced by the Tract, and the Mass vestments will be violet, not green. Many of the propers will have more of a "penitential flavor" to it, very similar to much of Lent or even the last few Sundays after Pentecost. For that reason, I've heard this "mini-season" of Septuagesima referred to as that "little Lent before Lent".

So, tomorrow I'll be delivering the corrected list to the music director. I'll be posting the final list this Sunday.

Peace,
BMP

CHRISTUS VINCIT ANYWHERE! 77

You can listen below, or save the file by clicking here. (51:48/47.4 MB)

Today we finish talking about bits of our Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis. This is the last of three parts.

CV Semi-Live is in a casino, and we have come up with two brand new miscellaneous outbursts.

Feasts for the week: St. Anselm.
For more information, see the New Advent Website.

Christus Vincit Semi-Live at Twin Rivers Casino: While Shamus wins a lot of loot and blows it right back, we cover the music of Confirmation and Divine Mercy Sunday.

Music:
Come, Holy Ghost (tune: Lambillotte); Veni, Creator Spiritus (Chant, Mode VIII)
Sing with All the Saints in Glory (tune: Hymn to Joy)
Godhead, Here in Hiding (tune: Adoro Te Devote)
We Walk by Faith (tune: St. Anne); O Salutaris Hostia (Werner)
Power to Believe, by Johnny Proctor, brought to you by Podsafe.

Commercials: Divine Mercy Podcast, iPadre Podcasting Network, Disciples with Microphones
Hymnody in Inflationary Language: Today Shamus inflates Ye Sons and Daughters, brought to you by the Secret Society of the Spirit of Vatican II.
Additional Link: Sacramentum Caritatis on the Vatican II Website

CVA Interactive Corner

CHRISTUS VINCIT ANYWHERE! 75

You can listen below, or save the file by clicking here. (45:23/41.5 MB)

Woohoo! We're up on the Monday this week, like we should be. Still having problems mixing to an .mp3, but I was able to mix from my wife's computer, then upload from my own computer. How did the files get transported from one machine to the other without file sharing? My trusty Olympus DS-30 (at left), of course!

Today we continue talking about bits of our Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis. This is the second of three parts. CV Semi-Live is back on I-195, and we have two brand spankin' new miscellaneous outbursts.

Feasts for the week:

Monday of Holy Week; Tuesday of Holy Week; Spy Wednesday;
Holy Thursday; Good Friday; Holy Saturday. For more information: New Advent Website.

Christus Vincit Semi-Live on I-195: While on the highway doin' 70 MPH (that's five over the posted limit, btw), we cover the music of Palm Sunday.

Music:

Gloria, Laus, et Honor (antiphon only) (Chant, Mode I); Hosanna, Filio David (Chant, Mode VII)
All Glory, Laud, and Honor (tune: St. Theodulph); My God, My God (excerpt), (written by yours truly)

O Sacred Head, Surrounded (tune: Passion Chorale); Were You There (Spiritual)
Sing, My Tongue, the Savior's Glory (Chant, Mode III)
Prelude on Passion Chorale (written by Flor Peeters)
The Apostles' Creed, by Paul Lisney, brought to you by Podsafe.

Commercials: Deus Caritas Est, iPadre Podcasting Network, Disciples with Microphones
Shamus' Adventures in Classical Latin: Gloria, Laus, et Honor, brought to you by the Pontifical Office of Liturgical Police's Effort to End Liturgical Abuse.
Additional Links: Christus Vincit - the Blog, The Curt Jester Motu Proprio Random Date Generator

CVA Interactive Corner

CHRISTUS VINCIT ANYWHERE! 74

You can listen below, or save the file by clicking here. (37:04/33.9 MB)

Sorry I'm late. Computer acted up on me all night last night trying to get my podcast up. For some reason, it would not let me mix the show I had prepared as an .mp3 file. But I had no problem mixing it as a .wav. This morning, it loaded as an .mp3 with no problem, which ticked me off because everything I had recorded was aimed around yesterday - the Annunciation, even with the praying of the Angelus Prayer.

Anyhoo, today it's all up - the Angelus Prayer, and the first of a three-part series on Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis. Today we cover some of the introductory sections of this very important document.

We've got two miscellaneous outbursts today as well.

Feasts for the week: Annunciation. For more information, see the New Advent Website.
Christus Vincit Semi-Live on the High Trail with the Bitmap: Bitmap and Snarky run through the music list for the Fifth Sunday of Lent. They even run into Shamus. The muddy trails will never be the same again!

Music:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (tune: Lobe den Herren)
The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came (Basque Carol), variations performed/arranged by yours truly
Hail Mary, by Johnny Proctor, brought to you by Podsafe. Johnny's Soundclick Site

Commercials:
Catholic: Under the Hood,
iPadre Podcasting Network (with congrats on his 50th podcast!),
Disciples with Microphones

Inflationary Language: There's a Wideness in God's Mercy, courtesy of Save the Liturgy, Save the World.
Additional Link: Fr. Martin Fox's Latin/Chant Survey

CVA Interactive Corner

THE MOTU PROPRIO WILL BE ISSUED ON...

Whatever date shows up at the top of the sidebar!

For quite some time now, we've been awaiting the Motu Proprio from Pope Benedict XVI that will grant a universal Indult for the Traditional Latin Mass. Dates such as 11/22/06 (St. Cecilia Day) and 2/22/07 (Chair of St. Peter) have been given as release dates, but no release. So now, pretty much anything and everything about this Indult is being taken for rumor.

But wait!!!

Thanks to the Curt Jester, the date has been technologically generated. We have that date on the sidebar, and you can have it on your blog or website as well. Just click here for the code, and tell'em Jeff sent ya! WARNING! Just like the real release date of the Motu Proprio, you won't get the same date twice (it's a random date generator - hehehehe!). Yeah - hit "Refresh" or "Reload" and you'll get a DIFFERENT date. Enjoy the laugh, folks!

UPDATE: Paul Nichols found this milk carton... (funny stuff, like always, Paul!)



Peace,
BMP