Archbishop of Westminster

[Nick Baty]

Is there a complete music list anywhere?
I'ts not on the published music list on the cathedral's website.
The blog only tells us what the choir will be singing.
What about the assembly bits? That's what I'd be most interested in.

[MaryR]

Yes, I'd be interested to see a complete music list too.

Going slightly off topic, Archbishop Vincent presided at a Mass of Thanksgiving for church musicians of the archdiocese at St. Chad's on Sunday. Fr. Peter Jones organised the event and led the music (assisted by Alan Smith). It was a good mix of styles including simple chant, polyphony, hymns ancient and modern, and a psalm written (by said Alan Smith) especially for the occasion. A full music list can be found here (can't get the link to go to the actual page, so you'll have to click on the 'what's on' drop down). The singing was accompanied by various combinations of keyboard, instruments and organ.

The choir itself was drawn from over 52 parishes in the archdiocese and numbered a couple of hundred at least. It was a wonderful opportunity for musicians to come together and sing, to learn some new music, and to share experiences over a cup of tea.

Fr. Peter wished +Vincent well and suggested he take some of the music he'd heard that afternoon to Westminster with him! We'll have to wait and see....

[presbyter]

He left Birmingham to Palestrina, Viadana, Colin Mawby and a chicken dinner .......... as the Mawby is being repeated, so might the chicken dinner be

[Gabriel]

It is interesting and good that Westminster diocese have a blog about preparation for the installation - even if it is a bit breathless in style - that's not just a comment about the lack of punctuation in the list of who is in the procession...

However is it just me who wonders about the merits of:

The ceremony of the Reception and Installation of the Archbishop of Westminster will be carried out according to the ancient Catholic rite used in similar circumstances for the Reception and Installation of the Archbishops of Canterbury prior to the Reformation.
...
The rite is adapted from the ancient rite taken from a Pontifical used at Canterbury in the time of Archbishop Chichele (1414-1443) and preserved in the British Museum.

[NorthernTenor]

Continuity.

[musicus]

Continuity.

After such a long gap? I thought the blog post implied that they were making use of a rite that had not been used since before the Reformation.

[NorthernTenor]

The Reformation? That was yesterday, as these things go.

[organist]

Is there a complete music list anywhere?
I'ts not on the published music list on the cathedral's website.
The blog only tells us what the choir will be singing.
What about the assembly bits? That's what I'd be most interested in.

Nick From memory Credo III and Sanctus VII, Praise to the holiest, Soul of my saviour. Will post more when I see full list.

[Southern Comfort]

Sanctus VII

I hope not. Sanctus XVIII is what they often do. Or was this a typo for VIII (de Angelis) ?

[organist]

We begin with morning preayer and Terce. Sanctus XVIII. All people that on earth do dwell at the start. The Mawby fanfares are most effective. Still not sure about the 2 new MacMillan items - they sounded effective at the rehearsals. What was really stunning on the TV monitor was the gold colours of the new cope, chasuble, dalmatics and altar frontal and the cathedal looking splendid. There are wonderful shots from high up. At the very end after "Praise to the holiest" the brass and organ play Widor's Marche pontificale - it's breathtaking to be in that procession! The consecration torches had several runthroughs as we have a tricky fan movement to reach our places while going up steps in front of the high altar. The torches have been borrowed from the Oratory and are beautiful black wood and silver and really tall.
Vespers last night was lovely and the Archbishop gave an excellent sermon. The Cardinal from Los Angeles was present and many of the religious of the diocese. Guerrero Ave maria. Very long slow procession and litany. Chatted to Martin Foster, Frs Allen Morris and Aidan Rossiter afterwards.
It's on BBC at 11.45 a.m. today and EWNT.

[presbyter]

There are wonderful shots from high up.

Yes there were - and we could all see why the Cardinal had investigated the possibility of moving the altar forward - not much space at all!

Congratulations to everyone involved. A pity there was spoken commentary over some of the splendid music but I suppose that was inevitable...... and thanks to the organist who discreetly accompanied the Preface, keeping +V (almost) in tune.

PS - Sentamu had a busy day (unless it was pre-recorded) Did anyone catch the "Mass in Blue" on Radio 4 in the evening?
Somewhat different in style to Westminster!

[organist]

Oh my note flew away when I was trying to add both a happy and sad smiley!!! So I have to start again.Yes I agree with all John said and it was wonderful to be there. Alas because John used the number system to record it cut off at the time when it should have done!!! Moral of that one, use your own timer in future. Walking back down the aisle to organ and brass was stunning. On other blogs there has been a bit about the music, but alas more about "the tea trays",,,, goodness what else is one going to use for all those thousands of people??? They were mainy white and of course also covered with white clothes. Liz.

[gwyn]

They were mainy white and of course also covered with white clothes. Liz.

Liz might consider atttending a Sunday morning mass, she most certainly would not be able to make the same observation then.

I thought that the whole thing was a well-timed morale boost for UK catholics and Christianity in its fulness. Well done to all involved.

John used the number system to record it cut off at the time when it should have done!!!

Indeed, same here. I've recorded the EWTN broadcast too, having set my own timings on that one - so hopefully Widor will be intact.

+ Vin is Hume-esque in his mass-media friendliness.

EDIT:
Just had a look at the EWTN end, it didn't get as far as the end of Cormack's address. Ah well.

I note that the readers completed the readings with "This is the word of The Lord". I've been in two English R.C. churches in the past year and in both they'd adopted "The word of The Lord". Hmm...

[John Ainslie]

Well, I was there, having been invited as SSG diocesan rep listed in the diocesan directory. (If the Society is not listed in your diocesan year book, why not? Contact your diocesan rep! Now is the time to get it in for 2010.) My seat was right at the back of the Holy Souls side chapel, at the back of the cathedral, with no view whatever - except that the chapel had been equipped with a TV screen receiving direct BBC visual output, which gave us a much better sight of proceedings than those in the back of the nave.

Having been bidden to arrive before 11, I had equipped myself with a book to read (a holy book, honest!). No need. We all sang Morning Prayer ('Lauds' in the local argot) at 11 - and people did join in, alternating the psalm verses with the cantor. Full marks to Matthew Martin for giving an exemplary lesson on how to lead congregational singing on the organ throughout. Then the 500 priests filed in, then Terce at 11.30, then the processions. Not a dull moment! And many people will have found for the first time how easy it is to chant the psalms. A pity that the booklet didn't print a 'go and do likewise in your parish' recommendation.

Despite fears that it would all be too much of a performance, I really felt that I was part of a worshipping congregation, drawn into the liturgy. Holy Communion was distributed with great efficiency - perhaps the cathedral should invest in large silver trays for the many ciboria needed: I received from a chalice pressed into use as a ciborium. Yes, I would have preferred the Gathering Mass for the Holy, holy - which everyone in the Westminster diocese knows - to Sanctus VIII (yes, VIII, 'de Angelis') - known by rather fewer. (James MacMillan's 'Mass of St Anne' had been used at the cathedral for the Mass for New Catholics the previous Sunday.) And a refrain with psalm at the Communion would have been a better liturgical as well as musical follow-up to Colin Mawby's 'Ave verum' than 'Soul of my Saviour'. But hey, Catholics are now a singing Church - at least when they rise to an occasion like this. And this was the first time I'd heard Widor's Marche Pontificale 'live' for almost exactly 50 years: it really blew the dust away and drew us jubilantly into the sunshine outside. Quite an occasion!

Full marks to all concerned!

[keitha]

In relation to John Ainslie's comments, whilst the Gathering Mass has its values and uses in parish worship, the thought of its Sanctus appearing in the Installation Mass does make me cringe a bit - it would have stood out like a sore thumb! Sanctus VIII has its limitations, but I felt that it did the job, fitted with the style and solemnity of the mass and, from what I could see on TV, most people seemed to be joining in with it.

I understand that 'Soul of my Saviour' was chosen by Archbishop Vincent along with 'Praise to the Holiest' (he has often asked for those at liturgies that I have arranged where he has presided). It is also one of the few hymns that tend to be recognised as 'catholic'. I would normally agree with John about communion music, but given the age profile of the catholics in the congregation (from what I could see) most would have been able to sing it from memory on the way to and from receiving communion. I tend to use it as a postcommunion thanksgiving hymn after a precessional chant with a refrain.

Interesting to note that we had 'Praise to' as a recessional/final hymn!