Lumen Christi Propers: Holy Family and Mary, Mother of God

Cantor scores for the Lumen Christi Missal have now been posted for the Feast of the Holy Family, and for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God:

These scores utilize the new translation of the Roman Missal, and cover all five propers (Entrance Antiphon, Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia and Verse, Offertory Antiphon and Communion Antiphon), and are at times carefully shortened to allow for the brevity that is needed for congregational singing. The content of the Lumen Christi Missal has been approved for liturgical use by Bp. Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, and was published with the authority of the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship.
I also noticed this morning that CanticaNova has taken notice of the antiphons of the Lumen Christi Missal, and has begun listing them in their liturgy planning pages

Lumen Christi Propers: Christmas

Lumen Christi Missal cantor scores have now been posted for free download for the liturgies of Christmas:

Orders of the Lumen Christi Missal can still be shipped in time for Christmas. Perhaps you could bring one to your pastor or music director on Christmas morning, or share it with a family member or any Mass-going Catholic for their own use. 
Orders can be made online here.

Lumen Christi Cantor Scores: All Saints, All Souls

Cantor scores for the Lumen Christi Missal have now been posted for free download for the feasts of All Saints and All Souls:

These editions include all five propers (Entrance Antiphon, Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia and Verse, Offertory Antiphon, and Communion Antiphon) in simple settings that are intended to be sung by average parish choirs, cantors, and congregations. 
Some might ask: Aren’t some of these settings, such as the Entrance Antiphon for All Saints, a bit too challenging for congregations to sing? I would answer this question with another question: How long did it take your congregation to learn “For All the Saints”, which will be sung as the Entrance Chant this Thursday in parishes across the English speaking world? 
The answer, of course, is that it takes years. And still, I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard a congregation sing the line “Your name, O Jesus, be forever blest…” correctly. 
How much better would it be to invest in teaching your parish the Entrance Antiphon text that has been sung by the Church on this Feast Day since time immemorial? Why not teach them the antiphon that is right in the Roman Missal and Graduale Romanum alike? 
Let us all rejoice in the Lord, 
as we celebrate the feast day 
in honor of all the Saints, 
at whose festival the Angels rejoice 
and praise the Son of God.

The Lumen Christi Missal can help you do this. It can equip your parish with the tools needed to begin “singing the Mass” more and more, bit by bit.

Many parishes are now ordering the Lumen Christi Missal for their pews with plans to introduce it on the First Sunday of Advent, with proper catechesis and an opportunity for a fresh start.

This Year of Faith presents a great opportunity to build upon the momentum that was begun with the new translation of the Roman Missal and to further renew the liturgical and musical life of your parish. There couldn’t be a better time to update the resources in your pews.

Please visit Illuminare Publications or contact us if you’d like to learn more about bringing the Lumen Christi Missal to your parish.

Report on the Manchester Chant Workshops

This past weekend I was in Manchester, NH, at the invitation of the Diocesan Office of Worship, and His Excellency Bp. Peter Libasci, Bishop of Manchester. I gave three workshops in total: Two three-hour sessions for about 100 parish musicians from throughout the Diocese, and one two-hour session for the 60 or so members of the Diocesan chancery staff as a day of reflection for the beginning of the Year of Faith.

All of the workshops began with the Year of Faith, and with a rereading and reconsideration of the music of the liturgy as it is articulated in the first conciliar document Sacrosanctum Concilium (The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), and also the other pertinent documents that subsequently followed. I proposed to the attendees that the Second Vatican Council’s vision for sacred music has not been tried and found wanting in these past 50 years, but in many ways has even yet to be tried.

The session with the chancery staff of Manchester was particularly intriguing. After a rereading of some passages from Sacrosanctum Concilium, we looked at many of the ways that make the Church’s chant tradition particularly suited to the liturgy of the Roman Rite.

All was going very well, with many happily participating in the conversation, although – as is often the case – some in attendance were sitting back in their chairs, perhaps with arms crossed, and maybe a furrowed brow here or there.

When we finally reached the end of my first session, and I opened the room up for questions, the inevitable happened.

One concerned, and perhaps somewhat confused attendee pulled one of her arms out of its previously firmly crossed position, and raised it, saying: “At my parish, sometimes we sing some chant, and I remember hearing some chant in my youth… but it all sort of seems dead and lifeless and, and I’m very uneasy about it.”

There were a few others here and there in the room that shared the same sentiment, nodding their heads, and had a mild sense of discontentment on their faces.

My response to her was that I was very sorry to hear that in her experience of chant thus far the result was perhaps not living up to what it truly is and ought to be. I went on to explain that the Church’s efforts to restore the regular singing of chant in the liturgy has been an ongoing project for at least 150 years, and in more than a few places it has commonly been sung poorly, and by singers who were trying to sing too much with not enough time to prepare, and in settings that were probably much more than they could handle. Recovering a practice that we’ve lost touch with is not easy work for anyone.

But I also stressed the Gregorian chant tradition’s genius as the carrier of the liturgical Word. I explained the way in which chant melodies always seek to be subservient to their source, the text, and that through the heightened declamation of their sacred and liturgical texts in song the Word of God takes on new levels of meaning. I described the way that chant melodies seek to provide a commentary on the text, that the music springs out of the words themselves, and helps us to penetrate their inner mystery through a form of lectio divina. I went on and on.

She wasn’t convinced.

At this point I asked if we could transition into the second part of my presentation: The Chant Practicum.

Some wondered why I would ask 60 some Diocesan employees (accountants, janitors, secretaries, social service workers, etc.) to sing. But Bp. Libasci stressed to them that the song of the Mass is our common inheritance as Catholics and that it belongs to us all. Every Catholic can sing the Mass: It is a part of our Catholic composition, and is a part of the genius of the Roman Rite.

So we began singing together the four Entrance Antiphon settings for the four Sundays of Advent, as they are found in the Lumen Christi Missal.

I didn’t have the need to go into any detail about the Gregorian notation, about clefs, or solfege, or anything of this sort. We didn’t have the time and even if we did, it wouldn’t have helped this group of non-musicians much, if at all. I asked them to learn and sing like Christians did in the liturgy for 1000 years before the invention of musical notation – through imitation and repetition – although I invited them to follow the “pictorial” square note notation which can help them see some of the melody’s contour and character.

I sang the first antiphon, phrase by phrase, with all responding, then we sang the entire antiphon. A few musicians who happened to be in the group then jumped up and sang the verses of the psalm, and before you know it the entire group was singing together a simple English chant setting of the Introit for the First Sunday of Advent.

I showed them how the melody gives form to and helps express the meaning and structure of the text. They latched onto this immediately. I stressed: Please don’t make this a funeral dirge! Chant is nothing more than the bringing to life of the Word of God in song.

And then we moved onto to the Second Sunday, and then the Third (having some fun with the common Catholic memory of “Gaudete Sunday”), and then the Fourth.

Everyone sang, and the result was breathtaking. All furrowed brows eased. People were sitting forward in their chairs, eagerly, enjoying what they were doing. It was as though everything that we had talked about for the hour before had begun to meld together into one joyful experience of singing the poetic and beautiful texts of the Mass.

When the session concluded, Bp. Libasci came up to the podium for the last word. He reaffirmed the importance of the Church’s sacred music and chant tradition, and expressed how significant “singing the Mass” is in fulfilling the Second Vatican Council’s wishes for sacred music. He also surprised everyone in attendance, including myself, when he said that he would be purchasing a copy of the Lumen Christi Missal for each member of the Diocesan Staff so that when they celebrate the liturgy together they can take up the practice of singing the Mass in the way that the Church and the Second Vatican Council ask us to do.

The entire group responded with enthusiasm, and there were even a few gasps, and some applause – It was quite a different scene from what I had seen in the same room, just an hour before.

As the group moved onto to their lunch together there was a lightness in the air. Some were humming, many were discussing, but the sense among the group was that of joy and assuredness. The workshop was a great success.

What is my takeaway from this event?

I think that for many years we have done a lot of talking about what sacred music is, or ought to be. We have had debates, we have pointed fingers, we have tried to convince, and at times have argued, even bitterly.

What I am seeing is that when we offer a sound catechesis, and then begin simply doing, something magical happens. The experience of beauty leads us to truth and goodness, and the true “sensus fidelium” of Catholics begins to speak to them and they see that they take to singing the Mass like a fish to water. It is just a part of our DNA as Catholics, whether we realize it or not.

We have not had resources that allow Catholics to do this in a realistic way, though, throughout the past 40 years. And at times, some may have bitten off more than they can chew – despite the best of intentions – and have perhaps made a bad name for Gregorian chant.

With the resources like those that are being made available today by the Church Music Association of America, Illuminare Publications and Corpus Christi Watershed, among others, we are seeing resources that make it possible for all Catholics to make the leap of faith into the Church’s sacred music tradition. In particular, the Lumen Christi Missal is a complete resource that makes this possible for average Catholics in the pew.

In this Year of Faith we are blessed to have the tools and resources available to us so that we can not only reread and rediscover the Second Vatican Council’s vision for sacred music in our parishes, but we can put it into action too.

Lumen Christi Missal: First Reactions

Throughout the course of the past two weeks, the Lumen Christi Missal has been arriving on the doorsteps of parishes and homes around the country. Some had pre-ordered a single copy, and some reserved as many as 700 copies for the pews in their parishes. All of these were fulfillments of orders that were made in anticipation of the release of this new resource for the pew.

(You can order it HERE)

I’ve been receiving notes and even a few pictures from people around the country after they had laid their eyes and hands on the book for the first time.

Here are a few first reactions:

“Just got my copy this afternoon. Initial impression: VERY classy publication. Exemplary of the noble simplicity and dignity of the Sacred Liturgy. […] The book is a splendid publication and huge step forward for the Reform of the Reform.” (John M., MusicaSacra Forum) 

…  

“I have just received my copy of the Lumen Christi Missal, and I want to congratulate you on the spectacular job you have done on this project. It truly is a treasure, and I am looking forward to showing it to the pastor of my parish.” (Christopher Brown) 

…  

“Our first weekend with the Lumen Christi Missal went off wonderfully. We got almost exclusively positive comments about it, particularly about its beauty.  The parish is very excited and very satisfied.” (Adam Schwend, Director of Music, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Bremerton, WA) 

…  

“What we have here is the the first English-language, fully liturgical pew resource for the sung Mass in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite.” (Jeffrey Tucker, ChantCafe) 

…  

“The shipment of the Lumen Christi Missal to Holy Trinity Parish arrived today in excellent condition. The workmanship is beautiful and I thank you for your hard labor to produce this liturgical work of outstanding quality and value. P.S.: The book is not too heavy!” (Fr. John Mikalajunas, Pastor, Utica, NY) 

…  

“Our 200 copies of the LCM arrived this morning – on my feastday (SS Cosmas & Damian) and my birthday.  What a great gift to receive!  The books look beautiful.  We will begin using the LCM this coming Sunday.” (Br. Damian, St. Gregory Abbey, Shawnee, OK) 

…  

“I received my copy a few days ago. The book cover/binding is of high quality. The design is very tasteful and dignified–worthy to be placed in a church. The content, print size (of the text), and music is splendid. The Psalm antiphons are singable on first hearing and have that “Gregorian” sound. […] Make no mistake about it.: This is a significant publication of the highest importance.”

“EVERYONE said they would be proud to have such a book in the pew. “It would show more respect for the Word of God”. […] Every musician/liturgist needs to see this book.” (Joseph Michael, MusicaSacra Forum)

Here are some pictures sent from Our Lady Star of the Sea, in Bremerton, WA, one of the eight “Charter Parishes” who pre-ordered bulk copies of the Lumen Christi Missal in the Fall of 2011.

The palette with 500 missals arrives:

Pastor, Fr. Derek Lappe digs in:
Takes a first look:

Pastor and Music Director proudly display their new liturgical resource:

A view from the loft of the Lumen Christi Missal in the pews, which is placed next to the St. Michael Hymnal:
Orders are now shipping immediately. Individual and bulk orders can be placed HERE.
Do you have any first reactions to share?

Lumen Christi Missal: A First Look

Today is the first official day of Fall, and is also a significant day for sacred music. The Lumen Christi Missal is now shipping. Here are some unboxing photos of the very first copy off the presses:
I received an overnight box from the factory, which was sent out along with the pre-orders made by “Charter Parishes” last November.
My two young daughters were especially excited to see what was inside.

A first look inside the book:

A close-up of the gold stamping. The production quality of this book is stunning.

A look at the Lectionary Readings and Antiphons:

The Order of Mass:

The Ordinary (Mass Settings) Section:

The Simple Gradual with antiphons for congregational singing:

A look at some of the Devotional Prayers and Various Rites:

It looks very nice on the mantle. It would look even better in your parish’s pew racks. You can place orders the the Lumen Christi Missal here. Individual copies are $28.95 and bulk orders of 50 or more are $21.95 per copy. 

Thanks be to God for bringing this work that he has begun to completion. May it serve as a positive resource for liturgical renewal in our day.

Adam Bartlett, Editor