Not surprisingly, there are many musical works in honor of the patron saint of music. In 1960, English composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was commissioned to compose A Hymn for St. Cecilia by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. In 1959-60, Howells was Master of this body, which is one of the Livery Companies of the city of London with a history dating back to the middle of the fourteenth century. At one time, this musicians’ guild had complete control over all musical performances in London. They now serve a ceremonial and philanthropic role. The text chosen for Howells’s piece is by poet and writer Ursula Vaughan Williams (1911-2007), the second wife of composer…
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Felix Mendelssohn
Aus tiefer notBased on Martin Luther’s paraphrase of Psalm 130, Felix Mendelssohn’s setting of Aus tiefer Not is the first of three works grouped together in Drei Kirchenmusiken (Op. 23). The other two pieces are a setting of Ave Maria and Mitten wir im Leben sind (“In the Midst of Life we are in Death”), Luther’s re-working of an eleventh-century Latin antiphon, Media vita in morte sumus. Mendelssohn’s Aus tiefer not is a cantata-like piece in in F-minor in five movements, each movement featuring one of the five verses in Luther’s paraphrase of the psalm. It has often been recognized as Mendelssohn’s most “Bachian” composition, both in the sound of the music…
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Bend down thy gracious ear
by Ken Myers [This article originally appeared in the January/February 2017 issue of Touchstone magazine.] The Reformation’s lasting influence on the music of the Church begins with the publication in early 1524 of Etlich Cristlich lider Lobgesan, the first Lutheran hymnbook. Also known as the Achtliederbuch, the Hymnal of Eight, it contained the German texts for just eight hymns (four of which were by Luther) and only five tunes. One of the texts — printed under the heading “Der Psalm de Profundis” — was Luther’s paraphrase of Psalm 130. Better known by the first several words in the German, “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir,” this hymn has been translated…
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William Byrd, Ave verum corpus
This short Eucharistic hymn dates to the 14th century, and has sometimes been attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d 1362). Ave, verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine: vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine: cuius latus perforatum unda fluxit et sanguine: esto nobis praegustatum, in mortis examine. O dulcis, O pie, O Jesu, Fili Mariae. Miserere mei. Amen. Translation: Hail the true body, born of the Virgin Mary: You who truly suffered and were sacrificed on the cross for the sake of man. From whose pierced side flowed water and blood: Be a foretaste for us in the trial of death. O sweet, O gentle, O Jesu, son of Mary,…
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Monteverdi, Messa da Capella a quattro voci (1641)
In 1641, late in his career and life, Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) published Selva Morale e Spirituale, a collection of sacred works composed while serving for decades as mastro di cappella at St. Marks Basilica in Venice. It was the largest collection of sacred music he had published since 1610, prior to his arrival in Venice. Within the collection is a setting of the Mass written for four a cappella voices. It is one of three a cappella masses composed by Monteverdi. Our choir has sung the Sanctus/Benedictus and the Agnus Dei from this work, as well as the Agnus Dei from the Mass published posthumously in 1650. My article “Passionate Praise”…
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Tallis, O sacrum convivium
Here is a performance of “O sacrum convivium” by The Sixteen.
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Justorum animae
The Offertory for the Feast of All Saints is a text from the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom: Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt, et non tanget illos tormentum mortis. Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori, illi autem sunt in pace. The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die; but they are in peace. Composers whose setting of Justorum animae our choir has sung Orlande de Lassus Charles Villiers Stanford
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Victoria, O sacrum convivium à 4
This austere setting of O sacrum convivium by Tomás Luis de Victoria is scored for four voices (he also wrote one for six voices), three of which sing in roughly the same range with the fourth voice much lower. Our choir has sung this work in an arrangement for four men’s voices and one for three female and one male voice. This motet is unlike most of Victoria’s music in its directness, with very little counterpoint. Here is a performance of O sacrum convivium by La Grande Chapelle
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O sacrum convivium
Based on 1 Cor. 11:26 and Rom 8:18, the eucharistic text O sacrum convivium celebrates the efficacies of the Lord’s Supper and affirms the eschatological wedding feast that is anticipated in every Holy Communion service. The text is commonly attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). O sacrum convivium, in quo Christus sumitur; recolitur memoria passionis ejus; mens impletur gratia; et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur. Alleluia! O sacred banquet, wherein Christ is received; the memorial of his passion is renewed; the soul is filled with grace; and a pledge of future glory is given to us. Alleluia! Some composers have set the English translation of this venerable text to music. Composers whose…
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Tallis, Out from the Deep
Psalm 130 is traditionally the sixth of seven penitential psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143). Its Latin designation (the italic title in the Book of Common Prayer) is De profundis, and the first words in English are “Out of the deep.” The figurative depth in question is one of floundering and despair, a condition caused not by external circumstances, but by a sense of the need for divine mercy and forgiveness. Psalm 130 may have been set to music more than any other Psalm, since it was long used in daily prayers in churches and monasteries, in East and West. The short setting Out from the Deep by Thomas…