Holy Week

It's Holy Week.  So far, I'm 0 for 2 on Triduum services.  Our plans for Maundy Thursday got way-laid by unexpected Kennedy Center tickets, and tonight everyone backed out on me for the late Good Friday service; I didn't want to go all the way into town alone, so I just stayed home. At least I wore a black sweater today.  Wish I liked and tolerated the churches in my neighborhood better.....it would make it easier to avoid the excuse of not going to Mass because I don't want to go all the way downtown by myself. I also need to find more friends who aren't singing in church choirs who actually want to go to Mass without me having to talk/guilt them into it.

No one wanted to get out of bed early for Palm Sunday, so I acquiesced to going to the 5:30 Mass with them.  Still, I got stood up by two of the guys with new excuses that afternoon why they couldn't come to that Mass!  Anyway, Morgan and I managed to make it down to St. Matthew's on time and got a decent seat.  While we were waiting for Mass to begin, we saw our friend Peter come in and go sit in one of the side chapels (this was unexpected, since he's usually at the church way out northwest where he's on parish council).  Other than that, I didn't see anyone in the congregation I knew.

It wasn't as bad a service as I had feared.  Usually I avoid this Mass, since they usually do nasty Catholic contemporary music, but, I guess Holy Week is sufficiently solemn that they did more traditional things that night.

Whilst the praise choir sang "Hosanna to the Son of David" to a Richard Proulx (R.I.P. February 18, BTW) setting of chant, mode VII, the clergy and eucharistic ministers processed from the sacristy to a table in the back of the narthex for the blessing of the palms.  The priests each carried arm bouquets of palm branches, miniature red carnations, and white baby's breath, and the crucifix was similarly adorned with palms and flowers and red ribbons.  I shouldn't have worn glasses to this Mass.  The priest came by and sprinkled holy water all over my lenses.

The processional hymn was the traditional St. Theodulph (All glory, laud, and honor), yet, it felt rather weird singing the modern English you's instead of the original thee's and thou's, and the amplified piano accompaniment was anemic compared the the glorious majesty of the full pipe organ they could have used.  They only sang three verses, too.

For the responsorial psalm antiphon and the gospel acclamation, they did dismal little ditties by a composer identified as "Muller." The rest of the service music included eucharistic acclamations from David Hass' Mass of Light and the breaking of the bread from the Celtic Mass of Finian O'Carroll.

This is the Sunday when the Passion Gospel is read and acted out.  Instead of using a full cast, they had a deacon (a young priest, actually) and two layreaders alternate reading pages.  Then, towards the end, they had the congregation sing "passion acclamations," the first of which was the chorus from that dreadful Lucien Deiss hymn, "Keep in Mind," and the second of which was a Taize dirge. The sung acclamations just didn't work, in my mind.

For the offertory, the praise choir sang "Behold the Savior," and during communion, they did the hymn "All you who pass this way" and a rather jazzy arrangement of the old spiritual, "Were you there."

The closing hymn was "O sacred head surrounded," partially done a capella.  There was no postlude (no organ, alas).

The priest's homily seemed to express his thoughts about recent political current events with the Israeli prime minister and the White House, and he bewailed the U.S.-Israel relationship being at its lowest ebb ever.  I suppose that has some relationship to the theme of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but I was really expecting more of an apologetic over the latest sex abuse scandal and the Vatican's defense of the Pope's reputation, if we were going to do current events.

I've always found this particular Sunday to be a bit confusing.  Of course, we get two Gospel readings, but still, the order of things just doesn't seem right.  The palm Gospel always talks about the entry into Jerusalem, which seems chronologically correct.  But then, we get that long Passion Gospel, and yet, we have to talk about those things all over again on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.  So, we leave church on Palm Sunday having crucified and killed off Jesus, but when we get to Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday, for you Romans), suddenly Christ is risen, and he's been reincarnated so he can do the Seder meal with his disciples all over again.  Then we kill him again on Friday.

Eh.  I'll try to make it to an Easter Vigil tomorrow night.

Happy Passover

I'm celebrating Passover at Tyson's Corner Mall. I'm passing over all the things that aren't on sale.

We're eating matzo crackers and wishing we had some of that apple chutney stuff to put on it.

Observation

You know, only an Episcopal Church would have a charge account at the local liquor store.

News from Rome

I always said I thought the Vatican choir sucked, but I wasn't intending to be taken so literally.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/04/vatican-gay-sex-scandal

Protests

Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia starts today. Naturally, the Phelps family crazies from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka are here protesting.

My favorite counter-protestor sign?

"Jesus had two dads and he turned out fine."

LOL

Yep

Lyric_Baritone is very religious. He even has his own church key.

Wedding bells

Sang and played a noon wedding today.

This is the dog that "accompanied" me from under the piano.

Grrr

It's people like this who make me embarrassed to be a Christian.

Notice

Merry Christmas! It's the Twelfth Day of Christmas. You now have permission to take down your Christmas tree!

The Tenth Day of Christmas

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols for Christmastide
St. Paul's Parish, K Street (Episcopal), Washington, D.C.
Sunday 3 January 2010

Organ prelude: Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, Noël "Votre bonté grand dieu"

Processional hymn: Irby, "Once in royal David's city"
Bidding prayer
Invitatory carol: Trad. English, arr. Philip Ledger, "Sussex Carol"

First Lesson: Genesis 3:8–15
Carol: Peter Warlock, "Adam lay y bounden"

Second Lesson: Isaiah 9:2, 6–7
Carol: Trad. English, arr. Henry Walford Davies, "The holly and the ivy"

Third Lesson: Micah 5:2–4
Congregational hymn: Forest Green, "O little town of Bethlehem"

Fourth Lesson: Luke 1:26–38
Carol: Trad. English, arr. Stephen Cleobury, "Joys Seven"

Fifth Lesson: Luke 2:1–7
Carol: Normandy Carol, arr. Reginald Jacques, "Away in the manger"

Sixth Lesson: Luke 2:8–10
Congregational hymn: Hampton, "While shepherds watched their flocks by night"
Anthem: John Rutter, "Candlelight Carol"

Seventh Lesson: Matthew 2:1–12
Carol: French carol, arr. Stephen Jackson, "Noël nouvelet"
Congregational hymn: Humility, "See amid the winter's snow"

Eighth Lesson: Hebrews 1:1–12
Offertory anthem: William Mathias, "A babe is morn all of a may"

Ninth Lesson: John 1:1–14
Congregational hymn: Adeste fideles, "O come all ye faithful"

Collect and Christmas Blessing
Recessional hymn: Mendelssohn, "Hark! The herald angels sing"

Organ voluntary: Keith Chapman, "Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella"

Solemn Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Exposition hymn: Hereford, "O saving victim"
Meditation

Hymn: Oriel, "Therefore we before him bending"
Versicle, Response, and Collect

Benediction

The Divine Praises
Psalm and Antiphon: Mode I, Ego sum panis vivus

Postlude: Robert McCormick, Improvisation on Mendelssohn

---

Had a nice evening of lessons and carols at St. Paul's K Street tonight (at least once I found a parking place!). They supplemented the usual Evensong men and boys choir with the girls choir and the women of the parish choir. The chancel was packed with singers, and they had to put the kids on benches on both sides in front of the choir stalls.

While some of the words and titles to tonight's hymns and choir carols might seem at first glance to be familiar, many of them were completely different tunes. For example, the "O little town of Bethlehem' was sung to Ralph Vaughn-Williams' hymn tune, not the familiar American tune, and "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" was sung to the contemporary tune Hampton. Similarly, the choir carol "Away in the manger" was the Normandy Carol tune, not either of the usual familiar hymn tunes.

Stephen Jackson's arrangement of "Noël nouvelet" was quite interesting and the organ part was very, very modern.

I always have to giggle a bit when I attend a church service and hear something like the "Candlelight Carol" by John Rutter, who, although he is a famous English church musician and composer, is an openly avowed atheist.

They have some adorable boys in the choir right now. I love watching the earnestness of their singing. I suppose the girls were adorable, too, but one of the girl soloists has been listening to too much Charlotte Church and has an unpleasant warble. However, I've spoken on many occasions about my strong preference for boys voices only in treble church choirs, and I need not repeat my arguments here.

I sat on the center aisle on the back row of pews in the nave so I could hear the choral blend from there. The service was standing room only, and many people were temporarily seated on folding chairs behind me in the narthex (the choir stands there before the processional and at the end of the recessional, so the people are moved away). I don't understand why so many people come in so incredibly late, as in 45 minutes after the service started. I was amused, though, when we got to the final Great Hymns of Christmas and John the organist engaged the tuba mirabilis pipes in the back of the church. It made all the late comers jump out of their seats! I guess they aren't regular parishioners. LOL

We seemed to have been invaded by out-of-town tourists. Why is it that tourists in D.C. always have to dress so abominably? I just can't imagine wearing a sweatshirt and blue jeans to church—especially an Episcopal church!—and I'm talking middle-aged adults, not teenagers. I did dress down a bit myself tonight because of the bitter cold winds out, but I still had on a tweed jacket, sweater vest, and bow tie.

After Benediction, Robert the choirmaster played a postlude that was his improvisation on "Hark! The herald angels." It was dark and in a minor key, only hinting at the Mendelssohn melody, and I thought it was absolutely smashing.

I just can't say how much I appreciate the commitment to high quality sacred music and liturgy at St. Paul's. That commitment comes down from the priests through the organists and the choristers, and even the congregation is so musical they are able to read music and sing harmony during the hymns. These people truly believe in giving their best to God.
As always, the parish hosted everyone upstairs in the parish hall afterwards for wine and food, and they are always gracious hosts. I noticed tonight (and also at Advent lessons and carols last month) that they are doing almost all sweets, cookies, bars, and gingerbread houses for the food, and that is quite unfortunate, since I don't really like to eat much of that. In the past, they have had lots of cheeses, pates, dips, finger sandwiches, and I even remember one Easter Vigil when I think they had several poached salmon and probably all the shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico. I suppose their hospitality gets expensive, though (I always try to remember to stick money in the freewill-contribution jars), and they are cutting corners with sweets and Trader Joe's wines. It's still a wonderfully nice gesture of the parish to entertain people after their special evening services. I meet and chat with lots of interesting people from all over the metropolitan area up there.

In classic Episcopalian style, you can see where the parishioners' priorities lie by seeing how they decorated the parish hall, most especially the message posted at the wine station.