Sooner or later, all lovers of polyphony become captivated by the "Spem in Alium" by Thomas Tallis, surely the most spectacularly huge piece to emerge from the 16th century, written almost as if it were intended to be the last piece of music ever composed. It has long been the piece said to close the 16th century polyphonic period before the new generation of composers began pushing the boundaries in the early 17th century. New scholarship suggests, however, that that piece was written earlier than thought: under the reign of Mary Tudor, when art flourished, rather than Elizabeth.

If you stay with it from beginning to end, the piece can take your heart and soul to another world. It is scored with 40 separate vocal parts broken down into 8 choirs of 5 voices each. It begins with a single note from one voice, and adds voices and choirs unti everyone is single together. Several pages of the score feature true 40-part polyphony, with each voice carrying an independent line. If all the Saints in Heaven were singing at once, it might sound something like this.

You can see the full score here. The last two pages alone are suitable for framing. The CPDL carries separate scores for each choir.

A suggestion has been made from within our schola that we bring together 80 singers from the city and region for two big rehearsals and prepare the Spem for presenting at liturgy in several churches in the area. It sounds impossible, even outlandish and inconceivable, and yet...who knows? Perhaps someday.

Read about the Spem here. That link includes a link to the full Spem as sung by the Tallis Scholars!

The text:

spem in alium numquam habui praeter in te
Deus Israel
qui irasceris
et propitius eris
et omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis
Domine Deus
Creator coeli et terra
respice humilitatem nostram

I have never put my hope in any other but in you
God of Israel
who will be angry
and yet become again gracious
and who forgives all the sins of suffering man
Lord God
Creator of Heaven and Earth
look upon our lowliness

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Here is our Christmas Day program!

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The Christmas Carol Question

As our schola faces last-minute choices about Christmas liturgy, our first instincts are to follow the usual Catholic practice of loading up the Mass with Christmas carols, since people adore this music. Carols also enjoy the distinction of being the only slice of the traditional repertoire that the partisans of commercial stylings seem to approve of in liturgy. Not even the text of the basic carol repertoire seems to have been modernized. And truly, carols do one thing that music is supposed to do: unite people across the generations and connect us with our heritage and faith.

But then there are second thoughts.

By the time Catholics get around to singing the carols, evangelical Christians, along with consumers in general, are already fed up with them. As much as we may try to keep Advent and Christmas separate, it is impossible to do in our public lives. We've heard the carols in stores, offices, and on the radio since the day after Thanksgiving. In a society that values that which is first past the post—whether in commerce or elections—Catholics seem rather pathetic behind the times in beginning to sing the carols only when everyone else has packed away their CDs and the stores have moved on to New Year's and Valentine's themes.

In addition, by the time the genuine Twelve Days of Christmas comes around, the carols have taken on a different cultural import than one we associate with liturgy. They suggest celebration, community gatherings, parties, and shopping, but they do not necessarily suggest the holy sacrifice of the Mass. And so importing the carols into liturgy can seem to partake of the great liturgical error of our age, which is to attempt to make the liturgy more like everything else in life rather than something out of time and place and into eternity.

We should remember, too, that carols are not actually intended for liturgy as such. The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that certain popular airs achieved quasi-liturgical status early in Church history, but most of what we call carols today are 17-19th century creations. While it would be a mistake, then, to say that they should never be sung, we should consider avoiding total immersion and remember than liturgy should sound and feel differently from the rest of life. It should be slightly unfamiliar, for example, so that it entices our imaginations and becomes memorable on its own terms, and doesn't just wash over us like the white noise of a shopping trip.

Processional and recessions are one thing, but let us not leave out entrance antiphons and communions from the Graduale (English or Latin), if possible. The Gloria need not be over-the-top (with endlessly repeated phrases to "Angels We Have Heard on High") but rather be based on plainsong. There is celebration in simple lines of music.

Our Schola will sing a polyphonic Ave Maria by Monteverdi, the Exaudi Deus by G. Groce, and, for the second year, the schola will sing the hymn Puer Natus, which anyone can pick up very quickly. (Here is a nice edition that fits on two pages). Other choices that are less familiar among the shopping set and more suggestive of the liturgical tradition are "Of the Father's Love Begotten" and "Low How a Rose."

As we return home and enjoy Christmas revelry, may the traditional carols and even beloved secular Christmas music fill our homes and workplaces. But may our spiritual imaginations be enlivened by that special peace that comes from truly liturgical sounds we can only hear at liturgy.

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It's a bit late to consider Christmas gifts, but if you hurry it might be possible to get this perfect gift delivered to your pastor, the director of music, any musician friend, or any serious Catholic: It is the Gregorian Missal from Solesmes. If one book would make the largest difference in restoring chant to its pride of place in the Rite and in the culture, this is it. The text is in both English and Latin. It shows that the chant is not outmoded but a living reality in the Roman Rite. It illustrates better than any other book in print how completely the music and text are part of the same liturgical structure, and does so not through argumentation but by clear illustration. It is the model and ideal of hymnals. In a perfect world, it would be in every pew, but until that time comes, it needs a broader circulation in the hands of parish leaders. For ordering, we can recommend the Oregon Catholic Press, which has outstanding service and fast delivery.

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Vatican documents consistenly refer to Gregorian chant as the form of musical expression "proper to the Roman rite." Yet with so much contention surrounding its implementation in the modern age, how can we ensure we experience chant at the parish level? Read this interview with Gisbert Brandt (also in html), as published by The Wanderer and reprinted by St. Cecilia Schola, for some insight and answers.

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We received a question concerning where one can find the "O Antiphons"--the seven chants for Vespers during the Octave before Christmas. We couldn't find them online. So here they are for you to download and print, courtesy of the St. Cecilia Schola. For more on their origin, see this and this. Here is a clean translation. Some sound files turned up online.

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Children's schola followup

You may recall that the children at St. Michael's were recently given an assignment to create ribbons on which were written lines of some of their most beloved chants.

After being attentive during a rigid and extremely energetic rehearsal in preparation for an upcoming Advent Sunday, the children were asked to take out their ribbons and talk about their choices. Anticipation peaked, they sat patiently, fingered their ribbons, and with huge smiles on their faces listened to their friends talk about the thought processes that had gone into creating each of these treasures.

Many had chosen colors fitting the different liturgical seasons; many had written on ribbons that had been found around the house. All were able to produce cogent arguments for their choice of colors, script, and even chants, based on what had been made available to them. It was evident to all that great care had gone into the works now on display. The space was filled with laughter, wide eyes, and an overwhelming love of music, prayer, tradition, and honest effort. And in many cases, the ribbons had become a family activity.

When asked what they planned on doing with their ribbons once they took them home, a variety of options were volunteered:

"I will make mine an ornament on our Christmas tree."

"My brother plans to weave his through the family advent wreath. But mine is rose colored, and I will remove his and replace it with mine on Gaudete Sunday!"

"I will keep mine above my desk, to help me focus on my school work."

"Mine will be placed on the Christmas wreath my mother always hangs on the fireplace. But I plan to make more and give them to my friends, so I can share the joy of Latin chant."


Blessed are the children.

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