Dominican Rite Masses in the Near Future

I am pleased to announce that there will be a Dominican Rite Missa Cantata on the traditional date of the Solemnity of St. Dominic, August 4, at St. Patrick's Church in Columbus, Ohio.  The announcement flyer is to the right.

I will also remind our readers that this there will be a Dominican Rite Low Mass in our Western Dominican Province at the Holy Rosary Church in Portland at 8:00 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month; this year the Solemnity of St. Dominic, and, as usual each Sunday, a Dominican Rite Mass at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage AK, although, as it is summer, this will be a Low Mass, not a Missa Cantata.

I thank in advance any friars who have information on other Dominican Rite Masses this summer for sending me notice so that I can publicize them. 

Dominican Rite Masses on All Saints and All Souls in Portland, Oregon

I would like to advise readers of two up-coming events at Holy Rosary Church in Portland, Oregon. The Church will observe the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed with two Masses according the Dominican Rite.

All Saints

Holy Day of Obligation

Tuesday, November 1

7:30 P.M.

MISSA CANTATA

according to the Dominican Rite

Missa O Quam Gloriosum

by Tómas Luis Victoria

sung by Cantores in Ecclesia

--------------------

All Souls

Wednesday, November 2

7:30 P.M.

MISSA CANTATA

REQUIEM MASS

according to the Dominican Rite

The Gregorian Propers

sung by the Holy Rosary Schola

--------------------

Fr. Vincent M. Kelber, O.P., subprior of Holy Rosary Priory and celebrant of the Masses, invites any readers in the Portland area to attend either or both days and introduce themselves.

(The above images are taken from the 1933 Dominican Rite Missal.)

Solemn Requiem Mass at Seattle WA

I am pleased to announce:

ALL SOULS DAY
November 2, 2009
7:00 p.m.

SOLEMN MASS OF THE DEAD
According the the Dominican Rite


V. Rev. Fr. Daniel Syverstad, O.P., Pastor and Former Provincial
Celebrant
V. Rev. Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., S.T.M.
Deacon
Mr. Jesson Mata
Subdeacon

Music Program

Tomas Luis de Vittoria
REQUIEM MASS
and
LIBERA
(Absolution of the Dead)

Propers from the Graduale Sacri Ordinis Praedicatorum

TUDOR CHOIR OF SEATTLE
under the direction of
Mr. Doug Fullington

CHURCH OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
Dominican Parish
5041 Ninth Avenue N.E.
Seattle, WA 98105
206-547-3020

Holy Rosary Church: Palestrina Mass of Dedication

Fr. Anthony-M. Patalano, O.P., pastor of the Dominican Parish in Portland, Holy Rosary Church, has asked that I advise our readers of an up-coming event there.

Holy Rosary Church will mark its 115th Anniversary on Sunday, 25 August, at the 11:00 A.M. Mass. The V. Rev. Gerald A. Buckley, O.P., Prior of the Western Dominican Province House of Studies, Saint Albert the Great Priory in Oakland CA, who was pastor at Holy Rosary from 1981-83, and who brought Cantores to this parish will celebrate Mass in Latin according to the Ordinary Form.

Cantores in Ecclesia will sing Palestrina's Missa Emendemus and the Plainsong Propers for the Feast of the Dedication of a Church. Holy Rosary is a dedicated church, and the date of the consecration was 28 January 1894, then the feast of the Translation of the Relics of St. Thomas. In the new calendar, so as not perpetually to impede the Feast of the Angelic Doctor, Holy Rosary Parish celebrates the dedication on the closest Sunday. Fr. Patalano invites any readers in the Portland area to attend the celebration and introduce themselves.

I might add that Fr. Patalano is the conference chair for The Living Tradition: The Dominican Rite in the Twenty-First Century, which will be held at Saint Albert the Great Priory in Oakland CA, 5-9 August 2009. This event is open to anyone interested in the Rite, not just Dominicans. The Program and registration forms may be found here.

Christmas at Holy Rosary Church, Portland OR

I have just received notice of the principal Masses and music for Christmas at Holy Rosary Dominican Parish, 375 N.E. Clackamas Street, Portland, Oregon 97232 (503-235-3163). Readers in the Portland Area may wish to attend these Masses.

CHRISTMAS MIDNIGHT MASS (Ordinary Form)

On Christmas Eve at 11:30 P.M. the boys, girls and adults of Cantores in Ecclesia will sing traditional carols, accompanied by organ and small string orchestra. At Midnight the choir will sing Missa O Magnum Mysterium by Tomas Luis de Victoria and the Gregorian Chant Propers.

CHRISTMAS DAY MASS (Missa Cantata in the Dominican Rite)

Christmas Day, the adults of Cantores in Ecclesia will sing the Christmas Proper from William Bryd's second book of Gradualia for a Missa Cantata according to the Dominican Rite. The Dominican Propers will include the Sequence Laetabundus.

Dr. Kerry McCarthy, a Byrd scholar, provides the following comments about Byrd's liturgical settings:

When Bryd published his second book of Gradualia, dedicated to his friend and patron Sir John Petre, he gave the Christmas music the place of honor at the very beginning. He had celebrated the winter holidays many times with the Petre family: Their household records show that 'Mr. Byrde' was supplied with meals, seasonal gifts, warm bedding, and the company of 'five Musitians of London for playenge upon the vyolins at Ingatestone in ye Christmas tyme'.

The Mass for Christmas appears to have been his first attempt at writing seasonal music of this sort. Given his habit of spending the holiday with patrons and fellow-musicians, it was a logical place to start. The music shows some signs of experimentation: vocal ranges and keys lurch around somewhat unpredictably, and Bryd seems not yet to have arrived at his principle of setting each text only once and cross-referencing it as needed. (This rewards the singers with two versions of Viderunt omnes, the second even lovelier than the first.) Byrd also decided, just this once, to follow a much older tradition and start by quoting the Gregorian chant melody for the day. His introit Puer natus begins with the triumphant rising figure that announces 'unto us a Child is born'.

Dominican Rite Mass in Anchorage AK

I am delighted to announce that beginning on December 6. 2008, Mass according to the Dominican Rite will be celebrated every First Saturday of the Month at noon in the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Anchorage, Alaska. This initiative has been undertaken with the full support of His Excellency, Roger Schwietz, Archbishop of Anchorage, as well as that of the Rector of the Cathedral, Fr. Francis Hung Le, O.P. The Prior Provincial of the Western Dominican Province, Fr. Emmerich Vogt, O.P., has granted permission for celebration under the terms of the Rescript of 1969.

The first celebrant of the Mass will be Fr. Vincent Kelber, O.P., the associate pastor, who is already well known for his service to the Latin Mass Community in Anchorage . A picture of him vested to celebrate the Mass decorates this posting. The diocesan newpaper, The Catholic Anchor, ran a very well done story on this development in their recent edition. I urge all our readers to read it. It is over all a model of objective and informative reporting. And readers should also note that in order to make these Masses more fruitful to the faithful, the Holy Family Cathedral is offering a Latin class for the Liturgy on Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 p.m., in Holy Family Education Center.

This means that in the Western Dominican Province the traditional Dominican Rite is now regularly available in four places. The others being Holy Rosary Church, Portland OR; St. Francis Xavier Mission, Toledo WA; and San Buenaventura Mission, Ventura CA. Regularly scheduled Masses are also soon to be instituted at Blessed Sacrament Church, Seattle WA (watch the parish website for announcements). Click on the links for contract information to get specifics. As I played a very, very small role in helping prepare Fr. Vincent to celebrate our Rite, this announcement gratifies me very much.

Regulae Cantus (1965) Now Available

I am pleased to announce that, through the work and kindness of Br. Gregory Schnakenberg, O.P., we now have available for consultation and download on the left side bar here at Dominican Liturgy a scan of the Tonorum Communium iuxta Ritum Ordinis Praedicatorum Regulae, usually called the "Regulae Cantus," published in 1965.

This booklet revised the traditional manner of chanting the pslams, readings, and prayers, conforming them to the Benedictine/Roman method developed by the monks of Solesmes. The traditional Dominican melodies were preserved, but the way in which they were adapted to the Latin words was changed to match the general practice of the Church. This book is not merely of historical interest as the method of psalm-singing in it is that in use by Dominican houses, such as the Angelicum in Rome, which sing the Liturgia Horarum in chant. This booklet also provides the norms for prayers and readings when Dominicans celebrate the Roman Ordinary Form Mass using our own musical tradition, as was provided for in the Rescript of 1969 by which we adopted the Roman Rite.

Those who would like to compare this music with the original Dominican methods may find the pre-1965 rules in the Processionale, also available for download on our side-bar. The original tones are also available on line in the Poissy Antiphonal of 1335, which is also linked from the side-bar. A page of that manuscript decorates this posting. Those who know the Benedictine music will immediately notice the much reduced number of terminations in the Dominican use (only 16 total for the eight tones) and that the chants for the Epistle and Gospel match those listed in the Roman Gradual as "ancient more authentic tones."

This booklet also includes the music for the Psalms and Antiphons of Dominican Rite Compline using the new method and provided with Solesmes marks. The only other Dominican music books using the Solesmes notation system produced were those for Holy Week and Compline. I hope that we will eventually be able to make those also available. As this seemed a suitable time, I have also reposed here at Dominican Liturgy my short explanation of how to interpret and sing Dominican chant.

Bonniwell Ceremonial now Available.

I am delighted to announce that Fr. William R. Bonniwell, O.P.'s Dominican Ceremonial for Mass and Benediction (New York: Comet, 1946) is finally available for download on the left sidebar under "Dominican Rite Texts." We are indebted for this scan to Fr. Paul Keller, O.P. This completes the presentation of the three rubrical works for celebration of the Dominican Rite most useful for English speakers: the others being the Jandel Caeremoniale [Latin] of 1869 and the St. Joseph Province Altarboys' Manual of 1945. Both also available in the same place.

Although Fr. Bonniwell describes some practices that seem particular to the American Eastern Province (e.g. the use of the Roman order for lighting altar candles), the rubrics explained faithfully reflect those of Jandel and the Missal of 1933. None of the practices described here were modified by the rubrical reforms of 1961-62, with the exception of the suppression of the Communion Confiteor and imposition of the Roman Ecce Agnus Dei, and the use of Benedicamus Domino in place of Ite Missa est on ferials and lesser feasts. Other changes at that time principally dealt with the calendar and multiple collects, topics not discussed in this book.

This ceremonial is especially useful for the parallel tables presenting the actions of the major minsters at Dominican Solemn Mass.

Dominican Rite in the Northwest

Those readers in the Northwest way be interested to know that there will be two Dominican Rite Solemn Masses this week.

At Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle WA (photo to the right) on Friday, August 8, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in the church Mass will be sung in to celebrate of the Centennial of the Parish. The music, to be sung by the Tudor Choir, will be: for the ordinary, Missa Gloriose Confessor Domini by Juan Esquivel, with the propers from the Dominican Gradual. The celebrant will be Fr. Daniel Syverstad, O.P, past Prior Provincial and current pastor.


Then at Most Holy Rosary Church in Portland OR (photo to right), on Sunday, August 10, at 11:oo a.m. in the church, Cantores in Ecclesia, under the direction of Mr. Dean Applegate will sing the Mass of St. Dominic in plainchant, according to the Dominican Gradual. The celebrant will be Fr. Anthony-M. Patalano, O.P., pastor.

If any of our readers are present at either Mass, please feel free to introduce yourselves. I will be present at both Masses.

Landmark: 10,000 Visits to Dominican Liturgy

Even if you read this site regularly, you may have never gone all the way to the bottom of the page. If you do, you will find a little graphic showing a number there. This number lists the number of times Dominican Liturgy has been visited by readers. Some time last night (July 9) the number passed 10,000. So I had to reconfigure the four-digit counter to make it show the current total. Now, 10,000 visits in two months may not be much for some of the big-time Catholic blogs but for the little world of Dominican Liturgy, this was a landmark. It is times like this when the work seems worthwhile and productive. If you have friends interested in the Dominican Rite or music, do let them know about this site. Should you have questions or comments, leave them in the combox of this welcome page and I will be notified. Or contact me directly by email.

I would like to remind readers of the new additions to our sidebar for books of Dominican chant and liturgy. These are all downloadable as pdf files. I will continue to update the Liturgy of the Hours Vesperal in Dominican Chant as I complete more sections. I am now adding the Commons. You will notice that there are some missing antiphons. Since I am following the Ordo Cantus Officii (1983) from the Sacred Congrgation for Worship and some of the antiphons prescribed are not edited, these will come as soon as I can transcribe them from mircofilms of manuscripts. This should be possible after I get back to the D.C. area in the fall and can use the chant microfilms at Catholic University. But for now, there is plenty of material for those who want to sing Vespers in Latin chant using (mostly) Dominican melodies.