Mass Settings Revisited

The Church Musician ~ The Quilisma

The Bulletin of the Church Musicians’ Guild of Buffalo

A Chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians

December 2015

A total of 18 parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo have reported use of new and revised mass settings since the debut of the revised missal some years ago. While the sampling was relatively small, the number of compositions mentioned was very broad. Thirty-three mass settings were reported to be in use. These range from the well-known Mass of Creation to original works written by the music directors themselves. Ron Martin wrote the Missa Pax et Bonum that is used at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo. Daniel Victoor composed the Mass of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Mass of Saint Gregory the Great for his church. Anita Harless of Niagara Falls wrote a Gloria for her parish. One musician made some text adjustments for a revised Gloria, and a few others pull from different sources for the same mass setting. A consideration should be made of the document Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship published by The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The writers state that in order to make clear the ritual unity of the Eucharistic prayer, it is recommended that “there be a stylistic unity to the musical elements of the prayer, especially the Sanctus, the Memorial Acclamation, and the Great Amen.” It is understood that the choice of music settings is driven in part by the hymnals in the pews and the musical instruments at hand. However, we know that Catholics frequently attend different churches to accommodate personal time schedules. It seems to me that the diversity of choices makes it difficult for the average person to participate in mass outside of his or her own parish. The well-known composer Richard Proulx had a similar problem in coping with the music at Holy Name Cathedral. This church in Chicago draws people from all over the city in addition to many tourists. As a result, the chant masses Missa Emmanuel and Corpus Christi Mass were composed to facilitate participation with an echo pattern. There was really no surprise in calculating the settings used most often. Mass of Creation was mentioned 13 times. Mass of Awakening and Mass of Christ the Savior came in second and third place, respectively. Mass of Christian Unity, Mass of the Angels and Saints, and Mass of Glory received four votes each.

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Membership Renewal

Deadline The deadline for inclusion in the guild directory is December 15, 2015. Please send your dues to: Sarah Sutcliff, 234 Fenton St, Buffalo, NY 14206. Dues are $20 per person and $30 for musician and pastor. A membership form is available on our website, cmgbuffalo.org.

Lorem Ipsum

Mass Settings Revisited (cont’d) There is also a wide variance in the number of settings used. St. Katherine Drexel reported using twelve different musical settings! Most parishes use at least three settings. Led by Tim Socha, the Music Ministry at our Cathedral developed the following format: Advent: German Mass (Schubert) Christmas: Mass of Creation (Haugen) Epiphany to Lent: Mass of Awakening (Soper) Lent: Corpus Christi Mass (Proulx) Easter: Mass of Creation June/July: Mass of Awakening August/September: Community Mass (Proulx) October/November: Mass for a Servant Church (Guimont) Gloria from Missa Simplex (Proulx) CMG guild member, Kathy Felong, formerly of Buffalo and now of Erie, PA, writes that her parish does not have an organ. Kathy is a trained liturgist and guitarist. Her church makes different choices based on the presence of an ensemble comprised of guitar, bass, percussion, and piano. Advent/Christmas: Mass of Creation (Haugen) Winter-Ordinary Time: Mass of Joy and Peace (Alonso) Lent: Mass of Christian Love- a capella (Warner) Easter: Mass of Creation Summer-Ordinary Time: Mass of Redemption (Janco) Fall-Ordinary time: Mass of Joy and Peace Both parishes use Mass of Creation to facilitate congregational singing at Christmas and Easter when visitors come from many places and more Catholics are in attendance. For similar reasons, many churches use the Haugen and Soper masses for funerals. -Bill Fay

CMG December 2015, page 2

New Music Review

by Peter Gonciarz

The Trinity Series

The Blessed Trinity series continues on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. when The Freudig Singers of WNY present Magnificant Pie. Under the direction of Roland E. Martin, the Freudig Singers offer audible as well as edible holiday confections. Highlighted will be Samuel Scheidt’s Magnificat, which inserts German carols between portions of the text, as well as a delightful assortment of holiday favorites, old and new. Their very popular seasonal program concludes with their traditional post-concert pie reception. We’ll save you a piece! Blessed Trinity is located at 317 Leroy Avenue, Buffalo. The Landmark Church is wheelchair accessible and has secured off-street parking. Additional information at www.blessedtrinitybuffalo.org or 716-832-2540.

I realize that as you read this, the last

thing you will want to think about is Holy Week/Easter planning, however Easter falls in March this year, so buckle up! I would like to review a new arrangement of Were You There? by Raymond H. Haas titled When They Crucified My Lord. The arrangement is rather simple and uncomplicated (perfect for the small church choir), however you will need SATB, soprano and tenor soloists, and organ. You will find that throughout most of the piece, the chorus "ooos" softly underneath the tenor and soprano soloist while they sing of the familiar tune. The chorus will get their big moment at the climax of the piece. The accompaniment is an actual organ part, written on three staves, and includes detailed registration indications. This is the perfect piece if you happen to have a couple high school students to take the soprano and tenor solo parts. It is tried and tested that giving teenagers solos is a sure way to keep them in your music program, so here is your piece of music to include them! If you do chose to include this piece in your Holy Week repertoire, consider using it during the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday - especially if you already sang the regular hymn version of Were You There? with your assembly on Palm Sunday. Enjoy!

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Beginning on this year's Feast of the Immaculate Conception (the 50th anniversary of the solemn closing of the Second Vatican Council) and extending through the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ the King 2016, a an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy presents to all of us the opportunity for spiritual renewal. The opening of this sacred time of jubilee involves, however, the opening of Holy Year doors, sacred space, which serve as a symbolic opening for seekers and searchers to discover anew the Divine Gift of healing and hope. For those of us engaged in ministries, which serve Sunday worship of the Holy Trinity, our jubilee invites us to encounter Divine Mercy personally and within our particular faith community. How inviting is our music ministry as an encounter with Mercy? How do we discover anew the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit who moves in our midst especially in the stranger and guest? In what manner does our ministry in Word and Sacrament, through song and silence, shape the space for transformation, conversion, and a deepening of relationship with God? However we celebrate this extraordinary Jubilee Year throughout the next eleven months, may we keep in mind and heart that Jesus Christ is the merciful face of the Father, hopefully is seen and heard within the creative endeavor of music-making from Lord's Day to Lord's Day.

The Jubilee Year of Mercy

By Father John Mack

Calendar of Upcoming events

Thursday, December 15, 2015 – Deadline for inclusion in member directory Friday, January 15, 2016- 6:30pm – CMG Dinner, Eagle House Tuesday, March 1, 2016- 7:00pm – Nick Del Bello presents Literature for Wind Instruments In the Liturgy, Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Cheektowaga Sunday, April 17, 2016- 4:00pm – Members’ Recital, St. Benedict’s Church, Eggertsville Thursday, May 19, 2016- 7:00pm – Mass, Awards, and Reception at St. Francis Church, Tonawanda

ANNUAL GUILD DINNER

Please join your colleagues for drinks, dinner, and good conversation on Friday, January 15. We will meet at the Eagle house on Main Street in Williamsville at 6:30pm. This is a change from the original venue published earlier this year. We will convene in a private room on the second floor. You may order off the menu and there is no minimum number of guests required. However, if you do want separate checks, the restaurant requests that patrons give the server enough time to process the bills. Michael Hauser is our director of hospitality this year. Please call him at 602-3489 to reserve a seat. Parking can be a challenge so we suggest you come early to get a space.

In memoriam 2015

Former Guild Members

Raymund Fabiniak

Sister M. Virginis Kozlowski

Victoria Maggioli

Victor Przybyl

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

St. Martin of Tours, 1140 Abbott Rd, Buffalo, will host a retreat Monday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 17, 2016 from 7-8:30pm. Mark your calendar for two inspirational evenings with Christian Music legend, best-selling author, community founder and host of The Church Channel's weekly TV show "All Things Are Possible,” John Michael Talbot.

COME BOTH EVENINGS! Each night is different featuring a MESSAGE and MUSIC to RENEW YOUR FAITH! All denominations and ages are welcome!

St. Martin of Tours to host

John Michael Talbot

Michael Hauser serves full time as music director for St. Jude the Apostle Church in North Tonawanda. Michael began taking piano lessons as a child and was introduced to the organ as a teenager at St. Gerard’s Church. At one time, he took organ lessons from the well-known Kent Vanderband at Kenmore Presbyterian Church. Most of his church positions have been part- time until Ascension and St. Albert the Great merged. This resulted in more work and a larger choir. Mike directs a 30 voice choir made up of teenagers through senior citizens. They are a very social group, and they sing at various community venues around town. They have performed for the Sisters of St. Francis, for the dedication of a mausoleum, and at the Riviera Theatre as a back-up group for an entertainer. Mike and his wife, Kathy, have five children. In addition to his church work, Mike is involved in property management in Niagara Falls. The musician is serving his second year on the board and recently took on the job of Director of Hospitality.

Spotlight on Board

Member

Michael Hauser

The Festival Chorus, under direction of Heather Lovelace, will present a Christmas concert of unique arrangements of familiar carols entitled "Carols for a King" on Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 3pm. This concert will take place at the Parish of St. Katharine Drexel in the Lovejoy neighborhood of Buffalo. The chorus will be accompanied by Tom Rutter on piano and organ. He will be joined by Peter Gonciarz on piano and the Festival String Quartet. Tickets are $6 pre-sale and $8 at the door. Those interested may see a choir member, call the church rectory at (716) 895-6813 or the choir president, Diane Campbell at (716) 698- 3206.

A Note of Thanks

Thank you to all who participated in the October Choral

Festival! Our many musicians made it a great success!

CMG December 2015, page 4