The Fourth Sunday of Easter provides us with the wonderful image of Christ the Good Shepherd. The Schola Cantorum of the Cathedral planned to highlight and present that ancient image with texts and music that bring to life the many scriptural references for this particularly vivid and poignant depiction of a shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep.
The images are found in the Responsorial Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want”; the second reading from Peter’s First Letter, “For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls”; the Alleluia Verse, “ I am the good shepherd, says the Lord, I know my sheep, and mine know me,” and finally the Gospel of John, “The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”
Image: Good Shepherd. Early Christian Sculpture, marble, 92cm high, the legs are restored. Vatican Museum, Rome, circa 300 AD
Prelude 11:30am Mass, God is Love, is the Care, arr. Andrew Carter (b. 1939)
The tune PERSONET HODIE is taken from the Scandinavian collection of hymns, Pies Cantiones, which was published in the 16th century, though the tune may have originated in Bavaria two hundred years earlier. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the tunes found their way to John Mason Neale, and subsequently into the English Hymnals. This arrangement was chorally set by the English composer, Andrew Carter, with text by the Anglican priest, poet, and pedagogue, Percy Dearmer. The text depicts God as the Good Shepherd whose evident grace and care for us is a model of the way we should treat one another.
To hear a festive hymn version of this piece from Liverpool R.C. Cathedral click below:
Preparation of the Gifts 10am Mass, Deus, Deus Meus - G. P. da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594)
This motet is taken from Palestrina’s Offertoria totius anni of 1593 and is designated for the Offertory chant of the Fourth Sunday after Easter. It is striking as being one of the few motets from this collection to begin the motive in the Bass voice, which creates a much more subdued and somber affect, giving the impression of night just before the dawn. The phrase ‘ad te’ (to you) is set in an ascending fifth, as if raising our eyes in prayer. All phrases in this motet have the lower two voices drop out at points, removing the line’s momentum and creating a tranquility to reflect on the text. The setting of the extended concluding Alleluias retains the placid character of the preceding section - a marked contrast from the more typical treatment of motets of this period where the “Alleluia” conclusion is more an acclamation achieved through the use of changing meter and quicker pace.
To hear a version, click below.
Preparation of the Gifts - 11:30am Surrexit Pastor bonus, Michael Haller (1840-1915)
Michael Haller, a German composer from the Bavarian region, was known as “the 19th century Palestrina.” He was a member of the Cecilian movement, which attempted to revive the Palestrina form of ecclesiastical music within a Germanic style. The text, “The good shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep, and for his flock was willing to die, Alleluia!” is set simply with little use of melisma and mostly homophonic writing.
To hear a version, click below.
Communion Motet 10am Mass - Surrexit Pastor Bonus, Orlando de Lassus (c. 1532–1594)
The Franco-Flemish composer Lassus was one of the most famous composers of the Polyphonic era. He frequently used text painting as he did in this motet: The opening phrase in each part ascends on the first line as it speaks of the Good Shepherd’s resurrection. The mode becomes brighter on mentioning the sheep of the flock; a nod to the simpler character of the redeemed sheep versus the more theologically dense lines of the motet. The third line uses repeated notes to create momentum for the text that implies the motivation of the Shepherd’s actions. The final line repeats three times – both to emphasize Christ’s act of love, and possibly to refer to the Trinity. The Alleluia retains some of the pastoral style found earlier in the motet and is densely imitated through the various voices before joyfully cadencing.
To hear a version, click below.
Communion Motet 11:30am Mass, Paschal Lamb - Carl Schalk (b. 1929)
This motet takes an Easter-themed text by J. Michael Thompson and sets it as a gentle lullaby. The poem alludes to Christ as the Shepherd and guardian of the sheep in the first verse, and then pleads for his grace and guidance in the second verse. The hymn-like structure of the motet is interrupted at the end with a repetition of the final few words in a growing and ascending choral cadence. The music is by the Lutheran author and composer Charles Schalk, who studied at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and taught at Concordia College in Chicago, IL.
To hear a version sung by the American Repertory Singers under the direction of the late Leo C. Nestor, click below.