January 28 is Septuagesima Sunday in the Latin calendar this year. It is also the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time as celebrated in the Novus Ordo liturgy. Our introit today is Circumdederunt me gemitus mortis.
Translation of the introit: The sorrows of death surrounded me, the sorrow of hell encompassed me : and in my affliction I called upon the Lord, and He heard my voice from His holy Temple. (Ps. 17: 2,3 ) I will love Thee, o Lord, my strength : the Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Septuagesima means roughly 70 days until Easter, and begins a 3 week preparation for Lent, where we strip away a few things from the Mass to move our focus away from the joy of Christ’s birth, and more towards the penance we will begin on Ash Wednesday.
As a result the Latin mass today will have a couple things missing from it. There will be no Gloria sung, and the use of the word “alleluia” is suspended until Easter. There will still be Propers sung, but the Alleluia before the Gospel is replaced by the Tract. While Lent has not officially begun, the texts of the readings reflect penitence and the Priestly garments are violet. The choir does not need to begin singing Lenten hymns yet, but should obviously try to be consistent with the rest of the season and not use music that is too exciting or texts that contain “alleluia”.
Planned organ selections today include the following:
- Pachelbel: Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
- Pachelbel: Es woll’ uns Gott genadig sein
- JS Bach: Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott (Ermans 101)
- Pachelbel: Magnificat Fugue IV.5
Listed today are the choral selections which our choir will sing for this Sunday’s liturgy:
- Abide with me
- Adoro Te Devote
- Ave Verum (Mozart)
- Panis Angelicus (Lambilotte)
- O Bone Jesu (Palestrina)
- O God of Loveliness
Recommended listening for the week is the CD Opera Omnia IV – Buxtehude: Organ Works II, performed by Ton Koopman. The recording is available here from the Azure Hills Music store on Amazon – click here.
Choir direction by Andrew Petracca at St. Mary Magdelen Catholic Church, Camarillo, California. Traditional Latin Mass.
Latest updates from the TLM community in Camarillo California found at the following link: http://tlm-smm.blogspot.com/
Arthur Dobrucki, CAGO
Organist, Pianist, Composer – Simi Valley, California
Azure Hills Music – www.azurehillsmusic.com