Years ago, when we put together our first Good Friday liturgy, it was not obvious at all that the "Pange Lingua" for this day was any different from the usual one you hear on Holy Thursday--and least it wasn't obvious to us, even though we were trying to do all things "by the book." Then after further looking we saw the point.

The one on Holy Thursday says: Pange Lingua Gloriosi, Corporis Mysterium.

The one on Good Friday says: Pange Lingua Gloriosi, Praelium Certaminis.

Once we found the correct text (we had not yet acquired the Gregorian Missal from Solesmes), we bumped into a further problem. There was no edition of the chant that fit these words--by "the chant" we mean the familiar chant that goes by the name Pange Lingua.

So for three years, we've tried to make it work by marking our copies up and fumbling through it, always with mixed results. We had prepared to do the same this year, when we opened the Gregorian Missal to find a full hymn version attached to the Good Friday text--unfamiliar, difficult, intensely modal, dramatic.

But this year it will be done. The correct name of the hymn in question is the CRUX FIDELIS.

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And now we look to Easter! Here is the Te Deum.

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Having attended many Catholic funerals that seem somehow less than fully Catholic, one person decided to do something to protect himself and his family from having his own funeral hijacked. His answer is a Spiritual Will signed by himself and the pastor. He also took care to make all the music arrangments in advance. Feel free to download and use.

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Here is a new O Salutaris version created in about 30 minutes (include learning curve) using this free software package (register first then you will receive an email). Be sure to change the language settings, though some pull downs remain in French.

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Will your schola assist at a Tenebrae liturgy this year? This our second year to do so. Last year, after vast research and investigation of its origins and modern use, it occured following the Good Friday liturgy. But that didn't work out with the parish schedule this year, so we are doing it the previous Friday to foreshadow the coming Holy Week. We hope this program--based on a variety of sources--will assist in your preparations.

The Schola will sing all the Psalms, the Processional Tenebrae (by Anon. Spanish composer), the Miserere (Lotti), the O Vos Omnes (Croce), and the chant Parce Domine.

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Here is a beautiful piece we've picked up for Lent: Miserere by Antonio Lotti. It's more modern than our usual repertoire, Baroque instead of Renaissance, and the harmonies reflect that. But we've come to appreciate Lotti for the ease of range and the intuitive melodic line (though this one has some tricky chromatic work in the bass part).

Another reminder for Lent: not even in this season does the liturgy have only a single theme of penance, even if that is the overriding one. A postcommunion chant of Ave Regina Caelorum adds an element of thematic complexity because it is the most innocent and playful of all the Marian antiphons, one that highlights her purity and encourages us to turn to her as a model. It is bright and sweet beyond measure.

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Here is a video-audio clip from our recent workshop. It is only a few minutes long. We are rehearsing in the first part, and then the video moves to the liturgy with a verse of a hymn and a full presentation of the Sicut Cervus by Palestrina. Enjoy!

Also, here are two images from our recent workshop, with photo credit to David Ensley of Knoxville, Tennessee. Click for a larger view.

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