Musical Musings from Joy

After several weeks of working through the musical elements of the Mass, I’m going to take a different direction leading into summer and hopefully give you a break from all of the “scholarly” topics!

As I do at the beginning of each new liturgical season, I am going to take you through the musical changes that you’ve already started hearing in the Mass. Hopefully this uplifting time will help to raise your hearts and voices even more!

The most obvious change is the reintroduction of the “Alleluia” to our Gospel Acclamation. In fact, you’ll likely be hearing quite a few Alleluia’s over the course of the season! Just take a look at the beginning of the Introit for Easter Sunday:

For this, and all of our Mass parts, we are using Curtis Stephan’s Mass of Renewal, including a new musical setting of the Memorial Acclamation for our Congregation – “Save Us, Savior.” This is to tie back into the words we used during Lent. Therefore, all you have to do is learn a new melody!

Our Gloria in excelsis has also returned, again from Mass of Renewal. This through-composed version means we don’t have to go back to a common refrain, hopefully making it feel a little less long than other Gloria’s!

Immediately preceding the Gloria, we also have the addition of the Sprinkling Rite. Another form of the Penitential Act during the Easter season, we are accompanying this rite with Tony Alonso’s musical setting of the Sprinkling.

As we work through the Acts of the Apostles this season, you’ll also find that, reflected in the music, are the values these first followers of Christ preached and embodied in those days and weeks following the Resurrection, all the way through his Ascension, to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them at Pentecost. Next week, I will introduce you to a very special sub-Ministry a few of our music ministers have been working on over this year!

Hymnal Scavenger Hunt How’d you do with last week’s Hymnal Scavenger Hunt? It was Jesus, Remember Me, which can be found in your red hymnal at #422. Here’s this week’s clue: Now in this Easter time, we can go back to singing songs with this word in it. This song uses the word at the end of every phrase. Hint: This song is known as the Easter Hymn!