If we were together on this day, our service would open with the Processional hymn “All glory, laud, and honor.” This page includes (at the bottom) the singing of the hymn by the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, as well as a lot of information about the hymn’s history.
One of the texts traditionally sung during the distribution of Palm branches is Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta.
Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta prosternebant in via
The Hebrew children spread their garments in the way,
et clamabant dicentes: Hosanna Filio David,
and cried out, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David:
benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini.
blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.
When this text is chanted as an antiphon on Palm Sunday, it is followed by two verses from Psalm 47, verses which amplify the meaning of the coming of King Jesus:
Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus; jubilate Deo in voce exsultationis:
O clap your hands together, all ye people: O sing unto God with the voice of melody.
quoniam Dominus excelsus, terribilis, rex magnus super omnem terram.
For the Lord is high, and to be feared: he is the great King upon all the earth.
Here is the traditional Gregorian chant of this antiphon and psalm text.
In years past, our choir has sung a Palm Sunday motet based on the above antiphon, Pueri Hebræorum, by Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548-1611). Like “All glory, laud, and honor,” Victoria’s music captures the sense of joyousness associated with Christ’s entry into Jerusalem:
Here is Victoria’s energetic motet sung by La Colombina and Madrid’s Schola Antiqua. (For convenience, I’ve pasted a copy of the text below the video.)
Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta prosternebant in via
The Hebrew children spread their garments in the way,
et clamabant dicentes: Hosanna Filio David,
and cried out, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David:
benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini.
blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.
The Gospel reading for today’s service St. Matthew’s account of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. This week, I will be posting special pages about various musical settings of the Passion story.
The Offertory proper today is a prophetic anticipation of Christ’s suffering, taken from Psalm 69: “Thy rebuke hath broken my heart, I am full of heaviness: I looked for some to have pity on me, but there was no man: neither found I any to comfort me: they gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink.”
This text is one of many Offertories set by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594), and we had planned to sing it today, as we have a few times in the past. Filling in today for the All Saints Choir is this recording from The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers.
We often close the Palm Sunday service by singing “Ride on, ride on in majesty.” The text to this hymn was written by Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868), a professor of poetry at Oxford, and first published in 1827. Milman was the son of George III’s physician, and in 1849 was made dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The tune THE KING’S MAJESTY was written for our Hymnal’s publication in 1940 by Canadian composer Graham George (1912-1993). It captures the dynamism and grandeur of the hymn’s theme.
This hymn is sometimes sung at the beginning of Palm Sunday services, as it was in 2013 at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York City. The fanfare and hymn arrangement here is by James Kennerley, then Music Director and Organist at the church.