The Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist happens on June 24, 6 months before Christmas, the Nativity of the Lord.  If you read in Luke about the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, this math and the respective due dates of John and Jesus are easy enough to figure out.  What many do not realize is the placing of the feasts within the Liturgical calendar.  The Church in Rome placed Jesus' birth on December 25th for many reasons.  Cosmologically, it also makes a lot of sense.  December 24th is Three days after the winter solstice, the shortest day in the year - the one most covered in darkness.  Jesus is the Light of the World, so light increases each day after Jesus' birth.

Conversely, John's birth happens right after the summer solstice, when the light is the most present.  John is not the Light, but he comes to testify to the Light.  And in John's Gospel, John the Baptist, in testifying to this Light, says, "He must increase, and I must decrease."  And we have days that get shorter and shorter.

The hymn below has traditionally been sung on the feast of John the Baptist for well over 1500 years.  It also is historically significant in the music of the Church and of the world.  The beginning of each phrase starts on the next higher pitch.  Guido d'Arezzo used this song to teach his choir boys how to memorize the tones of the scale.  Originally, singers memorized Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, etc.  Ut eventually became Do when pedagogues form other countries adopted the practice for their choirs.  The F and C clefs that are used in Gregorian notation are really Ut and Fa clefs.

The Church has always seen the corporate worship of the Church to include the entire cosmos.  The cosmos is not a secular idea; it is the reality of creation, and all things in their truest state point to God.

As a liturgical minister, what can you do to decrease, so that He may increase?

Our Worship Is Not About Us

Concerning Music:

The Psalm Response:  Guidelines for Musicians:

Here are some thoughts I would like to share with you...

In choosing a Psalm setting for the Responsorial Psalm, it is good to keep these things in mind.

1.  The text should match exactly (or 99.9%) that of the Lectionary Psalm.  This is not just another song at Mass; this is during the Liturgy of the Word.  No paraphrasing is permitted in the readings at Mass, and it is the same with the Psalm.

2.  During the Liturgy of the Word, one need not pick the most "exciting" or "fun" setting of the Psalm.  This is a time for the text to be the star of the show.  Psalm settings that are too rhythmically busy can actually obscure the text to be prayed.  Although, some rhythmic settings really help to convey the true spirit of the text, this is not always the case.

3.  Ideally, ONE person should go to the ambo to sing the Psalm.  I understand that some are more comfortable with company up there, but remember; this isn't about us; it's about proclaiming the Word of God.  The harmony on the verses, should be done on special occasions, and done by cantor and entire choir, from the "choir loft."  Too many people on the altar is not ideal during the Liturgy of the Word.

4.  Singers come with many different levels of skill and experience.  They also come with egos and insecurities.  But EVERYONE, no matter how experienced they are - whether they sing at the local bar or at the Metropolitan Opera, needs to adopt a LITURGICAL manner of singing.  The tricky thing about this is that this manner of singing is not something we hear on the radio - that's all performance music.  What we do is different.  The hardest thing for accomplished singers to adjust is their vibrato.  Vibrato is a healthy, natural vocal tool.  But in liturgical singing, it is - in most cases - not ideal.  Why?  Too much vibrato actually turn too much attention to the person singing and not WHAT he or she is singing.  It also makes singing in harmony or unison (congregation) very difficult.  We are the Universal Church, and our prayer is universal.  Our singing is the same.  Popular affectations in singing are to individualistic to be ideal in a corporate worship setting.

I am well aware how controversial these statements are, and I've wrestled with them for years - still am.  I have to constantly try to squelch my ego (that I always forget I have) in order to be the best LITURGICAL musician I can be.

Laetare Sunday

This Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent, is also known as "Laetare Sunday."  Laetare is Latin for rejoice!

It comes directly from the Proper Entrance Chant for the Fourth Sunday of Lent:

Lætare Ierusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum lætitia, qui in tristitia fuistis.

Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her.  Be joyful, all who were in mourning.

What a wonderful message the Church relays from the prophet Isaiah on this particular Sunday!  The music at Mass this weekend will reflect this encouraging tone.

Times are difficult in our world, our Church, and our country.  Uncertainty seems to be the theme these days.  We have no pope at the moment, and it is all to easy to get discouraged in our Christian walk.

The Lord encourages us.  Through Isaiah, the Lord is telling us that our suffering is not in vain.  God has big plans for us!

I'm reminded of the Proper Communion chant for Ash Wednesday, which says, "whoever meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, will have all his fruit in due season."  Day and night don't just mean day and night; it also means through the easy and the difficult times.

Easter will be here before we know it.  The Lord will rise, and bring you to glory with Him.  Are willing to suffer with him all the way to the cross?

And, just to be clear:  We are not "celebrating the fourth Sunday in Lent;" we are celebrating the One Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that takes place in all of Eternity, ON  this fourth Sunday in the time of Lent.

God's love is eternal.

Lent is a special time, a privileged Liturgical Season in the Church.  It is a time to more consciously turn away from sin and "up our game," fasting, doing penance, and giving alms.

The music we do at Mass takes on a different character during Lent as well.  It - like the church decor at this time - is more austere, a little thinner in texture, and certainly takes on more of a penitent tone.  The Church seems to focus on penitent Psalms at this time - such as Ps 27, 51, 91, 130, etc.  We hear hymns like, "Out of the Depths, I Cry to You," and the like.  This makes sense, since these forty days in a "desert" make way for the most festive time of the year - Easter tide, when the music takes a giant leap and blooms like spring flowers.

My challenge to all musicians this Lent is to let silence be a significant part of the Liturgy.  I am not doing any preludes during Lent, nor will I do a second Communion hymn or meditation.  I will offer silence.  Then, there will be a natural crescendo during Holy Week, culminating in the triumph of Easter at the Great Vigil and beyond.

As musicians, we are always find ourselves facing an unfortunate situation - something I call a near-faith experience.  It's all too easy to get busily caught up in executing our liturgical responsibilities that we can forget that we are attending Mass ourselves!  Let us take this time (and use the silence well) to bask in the presence of our Lord, and completely join the mystical Body of Christ in Holy Communion.  As always, we are first and foremost faithful Catholics, whose highest calling on Earth is to worship the Lord in the sacrifice of the Mass.

Thank you

--
John L. Wright

Director of Music, St. EAS

I knew it wouldn't be long before I wanted to post on a blog.  I'm starting this page mainly as a means of mass communication with the music program at SEAS, but also as a resource for learning about Catholic worship, and what role music and singing play in Sacred Liturgy.

The first thing we need to do as Catholics and musicians, is to remember that we are Catholic musicians!  This statement might seem a little corny - and unnecessary - at first, but keeping this in perspective is key to being successful in what we are setting out to do.  Musicians understand this.  Musicians aren't just musicians when they are playing music; they are musicians in everything they do.  They are musicians in how they walk, talk, and interact with everything around them.

My challenge to musicians - myself included - is to evermore foster a Catholic musician's perspective, a way of walking, talking, and interacting with the the world.

When we play music in the Sacred Liturgy, we fully come into what we are called to be.  We take our highest gifts and give them back in the highest way possible.  We approach the foot of the Cross of Christ at Mass, and lay our God-given talents at His feet.  We place our gifts on the altar right along with the gifts of bread and wine, and the Holy Spirit takes these gifts and transforms them, breathes life into them, and makes them holy.  This is why we call the music for worship sacred.  "Sacred" means set aside, set apart - something that has been made holy for holy things.  

None of the music we do should ever be an end unto itself.  All music we do should point people's minds and hearts to the action of worship - the sacrifice that takes place at Mass.  Whenever we select music, rehearse music, or play music at Mass, we are facilitating a deepening of the prayer of the people.  It is one thing to say, "I love you."  But it always means more and conveys the sentiment more clearly to sing it.  But the manner in which it is sung can more truly express it and reveal more of its beauty, or cheapen it, even ruin the message altogether.  This is why we take great care in what we do.

Please join us as we set out to be the best Catholics and musicians we can be.  Stay tuned.

Yours in Christ,

John L. Wright