Chant Café

I. Veni Creator Spiritus

The hymn is commonly attributed to Rabanus Maurus, a Frankish Benedictine monk who lived from c. 780 to February 4, 856. He is a blessed and his feast falls on the date of his death.

Liturgically the chant is used at Vespers and Terce of Pentecost and throughout the octave. It is also sung at the election of popes, the consecration of bishops, the ordination or priests, the dedication of churches, the celebration of synods or councils, the coronation of kings, etc. [1] Any recitation merits a partial indulgence, while a plenary indulgence is granted when reciting it on January 1 or Pentecost.

Historical Accounts:

1049 – The first mention of its official use was at the Council of Rheims. “As the Pope entered the aula, the clergy, with deep devotion, sang the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus.” [2]

1202 – Several historians describe the departure of the fleet of the Fourth Crusade from Venice on the feast of St. Remigius, 1202. Robert of Clari’s account is the most vivid. “”The Doge,” he says, “had with him fifty galleys, all at his own charges. The galley in which he himself sailed was all vermilion, and there was a pavilion of red satin stretched above his head. And there were before him four trumpets of silver that trumpeted, and cymbals that made joy and merriment. And all the men of note, as well clerks as lay, and whether of small condition or great, made such joy at our departure, that never before had such joy been made or so fine a fleet been seen. And then the pilgrims caused all the priests and clerks there present to get up into the castles of the ships, and sing the Veni Creator Spiritus, and all, both the great and the small folk, wept for great joy and happiness….It seemed as if the whole sea swarmed with ants, and the ships burned on the water, and the water itself were aflame with the great joy that they had.” [3]

c. 1325 – The chant was already being sung as far east as modern-day Beijing by the fourteenth century. Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan missionary, describes how he, a bishop, and two brothers were outside the walls of the city waiting to greet the Khan. “When we drew near to him I placed a cross on a pole so that it could be publicly seen…And we began to sing with a loud voice, saying Veni Creator Spiritus, etc. And while we were thus singing he heard our voices and had us called to him…And when we had come to him with the cross lifted up he immediately took off his helmet…and did reverence to the cross.” [4]

1417 – The Veni Creator Spiritus has been associated with conclaves for quite some time. In 1415, Antipope John XXIII was deposed, and there was confusion about the conflicting claims to the papacy of Pope Gregory XII and Antipope Benedict XIII. The resolution involves the chant: “On November 8, 1417, fifty-three electors entered the conclave. On November 11, Cardinal Oddo Colonna…needed one vote for a two third’s majority. At that moment, a procession of intercession was passing by in the street and a large body of boys was singing the Veni Creator Spiritus. The chant sounded like an angelic choir. Thereupon two more cardinals with tears in their eyes, gave their votes to Colonna.” When the people heard the news, “everybody rushed to the Merchant’s Hall, close to eighty thousand persons, both men and women.’ Their joy was justified – the Church had once more an undoubtedly legitimate pope.” [5]

1429 – The army of the “maid of France” was said to have sung the Veni Creator Spiritus before every battle. Joan of Arc arrived at the siege of Orleans on April 29, 1429. “She rode at the head of the troops on a beautiful white horse, her banner carried before her, and a choir of priests around chanting the Veni Creator.” The siege ended in victory on May 7. “The free citizens of Orleans greeted Joan with an unprecedented outpouring of love and the singing of Veni Creator Spiritus.” [6] [7]

1553-1554 – The chant apparently played a role in Mary I’s decision to marry. “Mary told them that she spent her days and nights in tear and prayers, imploring God to direct her; and as she was speaking her emotions overcame her; she flung herself on her knees with Renard and Lady Clarence at the side, and the three together before the altar sang the ‘Veni Creator.’ The invocation was heard in the breasts from which it was uttered. As the chant died into silence, Mary rose from the ground as if inspired, and announced the divine message. The Prince of Spain was the chosen of Heaven for the virgin queen.” [8]

1769-1784 – Blessed Junipero Serra was a Spanish Franciscan known for founding nine missions in California, the first in 1769. The missions were founded in a similar way. “A rude altar was constructed, and several of the bells brought from Lower California were hung in a framework of branches erected near by. Then all the Europeans assembled, the Indians surveying the performance a few hundred yards away. Chimes were rung upon the bells, and congregation kneeled. Dressed in complete vestments, Father Serra asked a blessing and consecrated the place, while the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus was chanted. The cross was elevated and adored, holy water was sprinkled about, and mass was celebrated at an altar above which hung a banner painted to represent he Virgin Mary.” [9]

1794 – The Martyrs of Compeigne were sixteen Carmelite nuns sentenced to death after refusing to obey the Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution. They were sent to the guillotine on July 17, 1794. “At the foot of the scaffold, the community jointly renewed their voews and began to chant the Veni Creator Spiritus…They continued singing as, one by one, they mounted the scaffold to meet their death.” [10]

1901 – On New Year’s Day, 1901, Pope Leo XIII began the year by chanting the Veni Creator Spiritus and dedicating the century to the Holy Spirit.

1911 – Yohana Kitagana was a native African and lay catechist in what is now Uganda. He evangelized areas that had not yet been visited by priests. On one occasion, “a sorcerer begged him to come at once and burn all his charms in front of his brothers. Yohana replied, “Gently, my friend. Do not harm your protecting gods, for fear could take hold of you.” They waited a week and then Yohana burnt the objects to the chanting of the ‘Veni Creator.’” [11]

2013 – The Ordo Rituum Conclavis specifies that the “Cardinal electors in choir dress will go in solemn procession, with the singing of the Veni Creator invoking the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to the Sistine Chapel.” Listen to and watch the chant at this year’s conclave here.

We are so happy to have him at the colloquium. I bugged him after lunch for this photo op.

Hope you find something interesting in my piece for Crisis Magazine this morning: Five Ways to Ruin a Mass.

Here is #4 and #5

4. Replacing Sung Propers with Something Else

Since the earliest centuries, the liturgy assigned particular scriptural texts to particular liturgical days. This happens at the entrance, the music between readings, the offertory, and the communion. The instructions are very clear: the assigned chant is to be sung. If something else was sung, the words were still said by the priest. And so it was in most countries from the 7th century until quite recently.

Today, the Mass propers are mostly replaced by something else, usually a hymn with words made up by some lyricist. Quite often the results have nothing to do with the liturgy at all. It’s actually remarkable when you think about it. Choirs busy themselves with replacing crucial parts of the liturgy. They just drop them completely. Mostly they do this with no awareness of what they are doing.

How many choirs know that their processional hymn is displacing the assigned entrance? How many know that there is a real antiphon assigned at the offertory and that it is not just a time for the choir to sing its favorite number? How many have read the repeated urgings in the General Instruction to sing the assigned chant or at least use the text in the official choir books rather than just choose a random song loosely based on the theme of the season?

To be sure, this is technically permissible to do, but, truly, this approach “cheats the faithful,” as the Vatican wrote in an instruction in 1969. The propers of the Mass are crucial. They are from scripture. Their Gregorian originals are stunningly evocative of the liturgical spirit and even define it. Even if sung in English or in choral style, the propers are part of the Mass. It should always be seen as regrettable when something else replaces them.

The General Instruction says “Nor is it lawful to replace the readings and Responsorial Psalm, which contain the Word of God, with other, non‐biblical texts.” That’s pretty definitive. But the same rationale should apply to the entrance, offertory, and communion chants as well.

Composed hymns with non-scriptural texts don’t need to be thrown out completely. They can be sung and always will be. But the real liturgical work of the choir is found in the Mass propers. That’s their primary responsibility. There are resources newly available that make it possible for any choir to do the right thing.

5. Percussion

In the first millennium, instruments were not part of the sung Mass, but as time went on, the organ was gradually admitted. By the 17th and 18th centuries, whole orchestras were used in certain locations. Even today you can find places where orchestral Masses are used that include tympani and other percussion instruments.

Most likely, that is not the context in which percussion instruments are used in your parish.

Today we hear conga drums, trap sets, bongos, and other drums played not in the style of Monteverdi processions, or Masses by Haydn or Mozart. Instead we hear them just as we would hear them in a bar or dance hall.

They are used just as they are in the secular world: to keep a beat, to make the music groovy, to inspired us to kind of do a bit of a dance. That’s the association of percussion we have in our culture. It is not a sacred association. The association is entirely profane. There’s a role for that. But Church is not the place and Mass is not the time.

And keep in mind: the piano is a percussion instrument. It has been traditionally banned in Church because it has non-liturgical associations. In today’s anything-goes environment, it is tolerated even by the liturgical regulations. But it is always a regrettable choice. The whole point of liturgical music is to lift our eyes and hearts to heaven, not drag us down to the dance floor.

One final point on this matter: you will notice that many of the songs in the conventional songbooks for Mass today seem to long for a drum-set backup. That’s because their style is borrowed from commercial jingles, TV show theme songs, power ballads from the 1970s, and so on. I don’t entirely blame choirs who choose drums to help out to make this style make more sense. What really needs to change is the whole approach here. Liturgical music has several critical marks: it uses the liturgical text, it grows out of the chant tradition, and sends a cultural signal that this is a sacred action in a sacred place.

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To the right you will see a sign that appeared in the lobby of the Little America hotel where most people at the Sacred Music Colloquium are staying in Salt Lake. Sums it up!

Some sense of what is happening:

With regard to the new Pope, there was a great deal of fear initially that has mostly receded in favor of relaxation as regards Rome’s attitude toward sacred music and sound liturgy. People are feeling a strong sense of responsibility to carry out the Benedictine approach, following through with actually implementing in our local parishes what the emeritus Pope had worked for.

I heard this morning that Fr. Samuel Weber’s English Gradual — with difficult, moderate, and easy options — is scheduled to appear from Ignatius Press this Fall. It will be 1,000 pages long. Its market niche is to be a sucessor to the Simple English Propers, essentially the second stage. This all sounds great. Fr. Weber is remarkable as a composer of English chant.

Otherwise, it seems that everyone is gathering from all parts of the world — old friends and new. Very exciting. 

This will be sung this week at the Colloquium.