Views from the Choir Loft

“Priests of God, bless the Lord!” • Practice Video

Richard J. Clark · May 4, 2018

ITH MANY ordinations taking place this time of year, it is a blessed time for the entire Church.

The Introit chant for the ordination of priests from the Graduale Romanum is Sacerdotes Dei, benedicite (Mode VI). It is a beautiful way to begin the long procession of ordinandi and priests, perhaps followed up by a hymn and organ improvisation. (It doesn’t get any more fun that that.)

Below is a practice video with the Gregorian notation, which may be useful for Diocesan choirs that include additional amateur singers. This was recorded at the 2017 Presbyteral Ordination for the Archdiocese of Boston (audio was taken from the video feed—forgive the initial fade in). You’ll note the Alleluias are included which are sung during the Easter Season.

The text is a beautiful prayer for for all and for the ordinandi:

Daniel 3: 84, 8 • Priests of God, bless the Lord, praise the Lord all who are holy and humble of heart. Alleluia. Ps V 57: Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

* * DOWNLOAD Sacerdotes Dei, benedicite • Gregorian notation

* * DOWNLOAD Sacerdotes Dei, benedicite • Modern notation

I chose to have men and women sing in unison for a brighter sound, to create a more energetic pronouncement, especially in a relatively dry acoustic. Marc Demille beautifully intoned the verses:

Please pray for all ordinandi! What we do is not simply “important” music for an “important” Mass. This is a day that the newly ordained will carry in their hearts for the rest of their lives. Not only what we sing, but how we sing will have spiritual impact beyond a nice memory. It will help shape their formation, and as such shape the Church.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

“Music List” (4th Sunday of Advent, Year C)

This coming Sunday—22 December 2024—is the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year C). Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. The English version of “Roráte Cæli” we’re singing for the ENTRANCE CHANT is magnificent.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • 4th Sunday of Advent

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 4th Sunday of Advent (22 December 2024). Set in the first mode—just like the authentic version—this setting manages to capture the “essence” of the Gregorian setting in quite an admirable way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Communion (4th Sunday of Advent)

The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (PDF) we’re singing for the 4th Sunday of Advent has a particularly gorgeous melody. The text (from the prophet Isaiah) is also quite beautiful and is cited toward the beginning of Saint Matthew’s Gospel. It certainly seems like most of the Advent antiphons come from the book of Isaiah…

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Lessons and Carols”

Seen online! Dr. Samuel Backman conducted a “Lessons and Carols” service with his choir, and someone produced this lovely vignette.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Epiphany Proclamation 2025

Each year, without fail, someone asks me to typeset the Epiphany Proclamation, an announcement of moveable feasts chanted each year on the feast of the Epiphany. As a result, you may now find an archive of 23 such proclamations in PDF ready to print HERE.

—Veronica Brandt

The Breviary in the Life of the Laity

Recently I have been enjoying looking through the inaugural (1927) edition of a 20th-century liturgical magazine called Orate Fratres. The July 1927 issue included an excellent article by a Chicago laywoman named Ellen Gates Starr entitled “The Delights of the Breviary: From the Point of View of a Lay Woman.” As we in the 21st century have recently undergone a (blessed!) re-translation of the missal into English, and as we await with joyful hope (please God, before Jesus comes back!) a similar re-translation of the breviary, the opening of her article reminded me of that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Nearly a hundred years ago, she penned words that could just as easily have been written today: “It is indeed a privilege to be allowed any participation, however slight, in the liturgical movement in the Church – the movement to bring back the classics of devotion, the Missal and the Breviary, into general use by the laity. The wonder is that they should ever have fallen into disuse. Nothing can take the place of these great universal prayers of the Church, the prayers of the Mass and the divine Office. One has only to know them to find them indispensable. And alas, how few of the laity know them!” I know that I have been tremendously nourished by regular praying of the breviary as of late, and my wish is that you and I, dear reader, may continue to nourish our interior lives with the official prayer of the Church, which present to us (in the Mass) and extend (in the Office) the fullness of Christ’s greatest gift to us – the gift of Himself – in the Most Holy Eucharist.

—Daniel Tucker