Preparation of the Gifts 10am Mass, “Ad te levavi animam meam” - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
This motet sets the Offertory chant for the first Sunday of Advent, and is taken from Palestrina’s collection of “Offertoria,” published in 1593. The text is from the 25th psalm and calls on believers to lift their souls to God. This ‘lifting and looking up’, whether spiritually or visually, is a recurrent theme during the season of Advent. We find it in today’s response to the first reading from Isaiah, and in the culmination of the theme in the Rorate Caeli antiphon on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The lifting up can be heard in the melodic motives of each entrance of the five voices in the opening sequence.
To hear a version, click below:
Preparation of the Gifts 11:30am Mass, “Keep your Lamps” – André Thomas (b. 1952)
André Thomas was born in Wichita, Kansas, and studied piano at an early age. He continued studying music, earning degrees at Friends University, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois. This arrangement of the well-known spiritual is sparsely set and uses Gospel-style harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and dynamic expression giving the text and meaning a central place in the listener’s ear. The text reflects today’s Gospel in which Christ admonishes us to be ready and especially aware of his presence in the least among us so that we may count ourselves among the sheep at the last judgment, and not the goats.
To hear a version, click below:
Post-Communion 10am Mass, “Radix Jesse” – Jacob Handl (1550 – 1591)
Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse) is the second section of a choral work by Handl, whose first part begins with the verse “Egredietur Virga.” The work sets text from the Book of Isaiah, notably emphasizing the despair of the Hebrews during the Babylonian captivity, and the promise of a savior. The second part seems to derive its text from Breviaries of the Middle Ages, while bearing some similarities to the “O Radix Jesse” Magnificat Antiphon. The Austro-German composer (born in present day Slovenia who died in present-day Czech Republic), sets the text in a Venetian influenced polyphonic manner, while concluding in a homophonic triple section of “forever and evers.”
Post-Communion 11:30am Mass, “E’en so, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” – Paul Manz (1919-2009)
Paul Manz was a renowned Lutheran composer, organist, and teacher. This Advent motet is one of his most celebrated and beloved compositions. The words are from Revelation 22, adapted by Paul’s wife, Ruth. The piece has a gentle character that builds to a declamation of Christ’s coming to earth. The textual versatility of the work make it useful through a variety of liturgical frames, such as Advent, latter Sundays of Ordinary time, and even at times of petition and lament, as it was sung by family and friends on the composer’s deathbed.
To hear a version, click below: