While it may be the Lenten season, that hasn’t stopped me from improvising at the Monday Novena Masses at the Monastery. This week, the Feast of St. Gabriel, one of the principle saints of the Passionists, is happening. The Monastery celebrates it in anticipation at the Monday Novena Masses, which means I get to pull out my Libre Usualis. Hooray! There are some really nice chants and while I don’t have it in front of me, I know the antiphon is about the Passion of Christ. Fitting for a Passionist Saint!
Month: February 2013
Composition: Sacred Choral
One of my major projects I plan on undertaking is to write an entire set of Choral Offertory and Communion Propers for the Church Year. Nothing like the old Renaissance polyphonic settings, but short, moderately easy pieces that include the Latin incepit and the English translation. And hopefully INTERESTING. The hard part about a project like this is making all the pieces stand as uniquely as they can. I will certainly admit that much of what I do can all sound the same after a while, but that is the challenge of the composer! This piece comes from the Gospel of John, Chapter 6: the Bread of Life discourse.
Improvisation: Liturgical
Wow! After a weekend (3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time) of lackluster improvs, I did these for the vigil Mass on February 2nd. One of the funky things that comes with improvising frequently is the engagement factor: somedays you’ve got it, some days you don’t. I’m also fairly partial to these chants. And as I do this with more frequency, the chants become much more familiar (or at the parts of the chants that I use). Enjoy!