Easter aftermath

Earlier today, Laurent and I went to Mass at St. Stephen's. Robert was supposed to have joined us, but he's a heathen and he punted, notifying us via email that he was going to stay in bed.

We walked into the church and were handed 32-page booklets; I was thinking it was going to be an unexpectedly long service like the vigil last night (recalling St. Paul's 40-page booklet), but on closer inspection, they printed up a booklet that they used for the entire Triduum, so there were four services in the booklet, and this morning's Mass was only six pages.

The choir was singing Lauds (they do Lauds every Sunday before the 11 o'clock, but I always try to avoid it) when we walked in, and it was challenging trying to find a place to sit with enough space for two. There was a string ensemble that supplemented the singing; it looked like a string quartet and a French horn, but I never could get a good look to see what they had. The ensemble and organist played preludes and postludes, but I didn't recognize the music and they weren't credited in the program.

After the plainsong introit, the service opened with Easter Hymn as the processional. Following the offertory anthem ("Since by Man Came Death" from Messiah), they sang Festival Canticle. The recessional hymn was Hymn to Joy. The choir sang "Christians, praise the paschal victim" to chant Mode I as the sequence and Vidi aquam egredientem during the aspersing of the congregation. During communion, they sang a composition by the organist/choirmaster called "Regina Coeli: Concertato" and then the cantoress sang "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" from Messiah.

The Mass setting was a big mix. The Kyrie, sung by the choir, was from Palestrina's Missa Aeterna Christi Munera. The Gloria came from Modal Mass by Calvert Schenk, and the choir rang handbells during the repetitions of the antiphon. The Gospel Alleluia was by the organist/choirmaster. The Sanctus, Benedictus, Memorial Acclamation, and Great Amen were from Hughes' Mass of the Divine Word. The Agnus Dei was from Gregorian Mass XVIII, with a choral extension at the end that was uncredited, but that sounded very Palestrinaesque.

Fr. Siriani celebrated and preached, but there were so many screaming babies and children in the congregation that I couldn't hear a thing he said. You know, mothers, I know that children make noise. That's part of having kids in church. But when your child has been screaming at the top of his/her lungs for five minutes straight, that's a sign that you should take the child outside until he/she quiets down. Meanwhile, they really need a crying room at this parish.

It was a fun Mass (it didn't even last an hour and a half) and the congregation seemed in a good mood. It was standing room only, but the standees were all accommodated in the narthex; in past years here, there were so many they were standing against the walls by the side aisles. All of the resident clergy were out on the sidewalk after Mass to greet people.