Te Deum, part II

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the dicoesan choir practice at All Saint's church (yes, the one where someone made off with the altar support & replaced it with a bizarre modern sculpture meets alien-eyeball thingy) in preparation of the bishop-elect's ordination & installation (makes him sound like a new faucet, does it not?), even giving up my beloved afternoon Gregorian Rite Mass with Fr. Orr in Clinton to do so.

First inpression of the music? Well, since it's Lent, I will penitentially refrain from my usual full-of-piss-n-vinegar tone on the subject & accentuate the positive. The music is quite varied in period & style, & much of it comes close to meeting the requirements for liturgical music laid out by the Church. See, progress! It even includes some timeless classics that should be sung at Mass always & everywhere!

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And just what are those pieces? Well, among others, we will sing the Kyrie in Greek & the Sanctus & Agnus Dei in Latin; there's a hymn composed by St. Ambrose (but sadly, not in Ambrosian chant); the William byrd round Non Nobis Domine; the English-language translation of the Church's great hymn of praise Te Deum Laudamus, Holy God We Praise Thy Name; & a catchy little tune by a guy named Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart (click on the picture for example of what we hope it will sound like).

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I hope Bishop Stika & all present find the music pleasing, but ultimately it is for love of the Lord that we sing.

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Here's a translation of the great Eucharistic hymn Ave Verum Corpus:

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Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary,

Who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man,

From whose pierced side flowed water & blood,

Be for us a foretaste (of heaven) in the test of death.