Christmas Masses &c.

Here is a short video of the Mass during the night (9.30 pm local time) at St Peter's Basilica - you can catch part of the beautiful introit Dominus dixit ad me, the Pope's homily, and the choir singing Adeste fideles with gusto. See below for the whole service.  It was a beautiful Mass, Latin throughout.  The Mass setting was Cum iubilo (Mass IX) - fantastic because as readers would know, the Kyrie is necessarily sung in the threefold fashion because the nine invocations are fully notated in the Kyriale (see Ordo Cantus Missae).  It is also one of the most beautiful Kyrie settings.  Download the order of service here.

See the whole Mass here:

At St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, it was Solemn Choral First Vespers of the Nativity (Cathedral Choir) at 5 pm, followed by a Mass for Children at 6 pm, an 8 pm Vigil Mass at which the St Mary's Singers sang the exquisite Harmoniemesse of F. J. Haydn - one of my favourite parts is the start of the Dona nobis pacem - but beware, the video starts at the loud blast of trumpets.

The Midnight Mass (Cathedral Choir) was the Charpentier Messe de Minuit - see this BBC recording of the Mass at Westminster Cathedral a few years ago.

And the Queen's Christmas message:

All Souls

Major developments afoot at St Peter's Basilica

In what is surely the most significant act to date in the pontificate of the gloriously reigning Holy Father, Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome, Francis reverted to the traditional ‘Benedictine’ arrangement on the main altar at St Peter’s Basilica for the recent ordination/consecration/elevation/promotion of two priests to the college/order/fraternity/ministry of bishops.  

Vatican City, 24 October 2013 - Pope Francis ordains two new bishops

Reactions to this momentous event have been numerous and varied.  The People for Progressive Catholicism Inc issued a statement saying:

"The Bishop of Rome did not employ the traditional Benedictine arrangement as alleged.  That is to say, the picture in question is merely an optical illusion.  The candles were in fact arranged at precisely a 45 degree angle.  In the alternative, to the extent that the candles and altar cross were placed horizontally, that is to say, in a straight line, that is to say, not at a 45 degree angle or at any angle, this was the result of a last minute rearrangement of the altar perpetrated by a devious and cunning SSPX double agent masquerading as a master of ceremonies, but quite against the Bishop of Rome’s express wishes."

A spokeswoman of Catholics for the Hermeneutic of Reversal, Regression and Whatever Else It Takes to Undo Vatican II said that: 

"This is a clear sign that the Holy Father accepts that the action taken to restrict the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate saying the Extraordinary Form of the Mass was an error of judgment, and he will be reversing his decree forthwith.  Furthermore, there are reports being circulated that the Most Supreme Pontiff employed an ungracious amount of Italian during the Mass.  This is not so.  Every word uttered by the Holy Father was in the Church’s mother tongue.  In the alternative, to the extent that the Holy Father did speak in Italian, that is to say, did not speak entirely in the Church’s mother tongue, that is to say, for large sections of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass did not speak in Latin, then this was the result of an agent of the Liturgists’ Liberation Army tampering with the Order of Service, but quite against the Pontiff’s express wishes."

(Editor’s note: The Liturgists’ Liberation Army is the military wing of the Liturgists’ Liberation Organisation, established in 1964 in the midst of the Second Vatican Council and which was declared to be a terrorist organisation by the US Bishops’ Conference in 1988 – during the pontificate of Blessed Pope John Paul II).

In further shocking news, some English news outlets, including the august and hardly ever sensationalist or wrong BBC, are reporting that the new Holy Father could have a drinking problem, because he “very much likes martinis”.  One source we spoke to says that in fact this is a case of ‘lost in translation’, and that the original story in Italian says that Pope Francis is very much like Martini, a reference to the former Cardinal Archbishop of Milan.  When we put the latter proposition to the Holy Father, he said that while Martini (the man not the drink) was undoubtedly an intelligent, loyal servant of Holy Mother Church, “Buenos Aires is not Milan, you know.”  Regarding the question of drink, the Holy Father stated that:

"the Spirit with which I quench my thirst is not in liquid form.  But on the odd occasion that I do allow myself to enjoy a tipple, it’s a gin and tonic using Bombay Sapphire gin, of course.  If it happens to coincide with Gaudete or Laetare Sunday, I ensure that the order is for a pink (or more properly a rose) gin.  But no martinis, whether shaken or stirred."  

With these words the Holy Father dispelled any lingering doubts that some may have had as to his soundness, leaving only this question remaining: “Connery or Moore?"  

Bach, Mozart from the Proms

Two great Bach performances from this year's Proms, under the baton of the great Bach exponent Sir John Eliot Gardiner:

Easter Oratorio

Ascension Oratorio

And an old favourite, the Mozart Requiem at the 2006 Proms, under the direction of Herreweghe:

Choral music of the modern Dutch school

The twentieth century has - perhaps surprisingly - produced numerous choral settings of the Mass (in Latin), in part thanks to the not inconsiderable efforts of Westminster Cathedral in commissioning new works for liturgical use.  Less surprisingly, the bulk these settings were composed after Pope Pius X's masterly exposition of the purpose of sacred music (as a means by which the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful in the celebration of the Mass might be complemented and enhanced), and the qualities which the music for use in the liturgies of the Church of God must be possessed of.  Tra le sollecitudini was of course not the starting point of the renewal of sacred music and authentic liturgical composition that manifested itself in the first part of the twentieth century (one immediately thinks of the renewal of the French school - see brief account here).  But it was perhaps its high point.  Was Pope Benedict XI's pontificate the modern high water mark?  If so, we should see the effects well into the next fifty years. Let it be so!

Which is a rather long-winded way of introducing these beautiful videos of a relatively modest, but effective, setting of the Mass by Hendrik Andriessen (1892-1981) - Missa Christus Rex - sung here by the Haarlem Cathedral Choir.  The collapse of the Faith in the Netherlands is well documented.  These videos give comfort that it is not a complete spiritual and liturgical wasteland.  The bishop even intones the Gloria!

Sydney Monteverdi concert reviewed by the Herald

The Sydney Morning Herald has a very favourable review of the Monterverdi 1610 Vespers performed last Thursday at St Mary's Cathedral by the combined choirs of the Cathedral and St James King Street, accompanied by Australian Baroque Brass playing on authentic instruments.

The article neglects expressly to mention that Monteverdi's composition was augmented by the proper chant antiphons, sung with great aplomb by the Scholars of the Cathedral.

The SMH, which is fast gaining a similar reputation to The Guardian in the matter of spelling (or rather misspelling), informs us that:

"The Hymn Ave maris stella started with celestial choral sounds from behind the alter [sic], bringing in brass from the left, strings from the right, a boys choir from the organ loft, golden-toned recorders from the pulpit and a delicate group of guitars and long-necked Chitarrone from behind, to create simple delight in the joining of space and sound."

I have written to the editor to have this corrected.  I have done this several times in the past and to their credit they have always effected the suggested changes very promptly.  My favourite editorial mishap (possibly induced by 'spell check') was when the paper earnestly reported that (now Saint) Mary Mackillop had been beautified!

Protester 1:  I mean, the badgers have dwelt there for generations.
Minister:  Ah well now, can you be sure of that?
Protester 2:  It said so in The Guardian!
[Protester 2 hands the Minister a copy of the said newspaper]
Minister: Oh, right … actually what it says here is that the ‘bodgers’ have ‘dealt’ there for generations!

A few years ago Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducted an excellent performance of the work at the Proms.  The Monteverdi Choir was joined by the London Oratory Junior Choir (see also below) and the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Schola Cantorum:

Of course, many years ago he famously conducted the 1610 Vespers at the Basilica di San Marco (the London Oratory Junior Choir was involved in the performance):

The New College Choir, Oxford, has also recently recorded the work for CD:

Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610 on the Feast of the Assumption

(Updated)

The resonant interior of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney will tomorrow night be filled with the glorious sounds of choral singing and period brass as the choirs of the Cathedral and the neighbouring Anglican Church of St James, accompanied by Australian Baroque Brass, perform Monteverdi's celebrated setting of vespers (see more here and here).

There is a video of Australian Baroque Brass rehearsing this work with the Adelaide Chamber Singers in preparation for a concert in Adelaide in 2010.

For a CD recording of the work, it is hard to go past the one directed by Jordi Savall.  I bought a copy of this when I was in Lyon one year, and it have enjoyed listening to it regularly ever since.  Here's an extract:

I last attended a performance in Sydney of this work at the Anglican Christ Church St Laurence in 2010.  I seem to recall it was on a particularly hot March afternoon.  The polish on the pews - perhaps freshly applied to beautify the Church for the occasion - left a residue on the clothes of those audience members who were perspiring and glowing respectively!

For obvious reasons, 2010 was a Monteverdi Vespers year - and I have since learnt that the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs also performed the work in November of that year in Sydney's excellent City Recital Hall.