32 OT--Year C

32 OT--Year C

Processional: Praise, My Soul

Offertory: Gressus meos (Lassus)--quartet

Communion: Dominus regit me (chant w/Viadana fauxbourdon)
Lead Me, Lord (Wesley)

Recessional: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say


Good numbers in the choir; all my men (for the first time I think!), and the majority of my ladies. I added a new bass this week, who is an excellent musician. He's one of my student directors that I coaxed into singing. He'll be a great addition and pretty reliable from an attendance standpoint.

The Gressus is awesome! I sang tenor, had my cantor sing alto (he's more of a counter-tenor anyway), I brought in another of my student directors to sing soprano, and one of my strong basses to round out the quartet. It's a thrilling sing; the opening section is just this cascade of brisk eighth notes running throughout all the voices. Typical Lassus harmonic language; extended without being too much. The performance was pretty good, minus a stretch in the bass where he missed an entrance and sat out a line. Not bad considering we only had about 20 minutes where we could all be together.

The chant was fine. They're improving with their chanting every week.

The Wesley is simple and effective. I chose it because a decent choir can put it together in about 10 minutes, leaving ample time in rehearsal for the upcoming Christmas concert music.

Rough stretch this week; I had 2 rehearsals Tuesday night, 2 last night, another one tonight, another tomorrow night, and another one Saturday night to prepare for a big Diocesan mass this Sunday. I'm sure looking forward to Thanksgiving break!