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Sung

Sung Gospels For Major

In Multiple Voices

Anthony Ruff, OSB

LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota

www.litpress.org Cover design by Ann Blattner. Artwork by Martin Erspamer, OSB, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Indiana.

Excerpts from the for for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typi- cal edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Excerpts of the English translation of the Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); excerpts of the General Instruction from The © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved.

© 2013 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopy- ing, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quota- tions in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8146-3462-2 Contents

Preface 7

The in Two Parts 9 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) At the Vigil Mass 10 At the Mass during the Night 12 At the Mass at Dawn 14 At the Mass during the Day 16 of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 19 The of the Lord 20 Thursday of the Lord’s Supper At the Evening Mass 22 Sunday of the of the Lord The in the Holy Night, Year A 26 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, Year B 28 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, Year C 30 At the Mass during the Day 32 The Ascension of the Lord At the Mass during the Day, Year A 35 At the Mass during the Day, Year B 36 At the Mass during the Day, Year C 38 Sunday At the Mass during the Day, Year A 41 At the Mass during the Day, Year B 42 At the Mass during the Day, Year C 44 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary At the Mass during the Day 46 All Saints 48 The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 50

The Gospel in Three Parts 53 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) At the Vigil Mass 54 At the Mass during the Night 58 At the Mass during the Day 62 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, Year A 66 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, Year B 70 The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, Year C 74 At the Mass during the Day 78 6

Pentecost Sunday At the Mass during the Day, Year A 82 At the Mass during the Day, Year B 86 At the Mass during the Day, Year C 90

Acknowledgments 95

It is an ancient liturgical tradition going back to the Middle Ages—singing Scripture readings in parts in the liturgy. The book in your hands brings that tradition forward into our day. This book provides settings of the Gospel readings in multiple voices for principal solemnities of the . As the Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass says at no. 14, the Scripture read- ings at Mass “may be sung” and such singing “ serve to bring out the sense of the words, not obscure them.” In Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, the U.S. Conference of Catholic state at no. 112 that “greater feasts such as Easter Sunday or Pentecost might suggest a chanted Gospel.” The festive settings in this book are intended to make the proclamation of the Gospel what the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says it is to be: “the high point of the Liturgy of the Word” (no. 60). Depending on the abilities of available singers, these settings might be sung by or dea- cons along with lay singers. There is some precedent for using lay ministers for the Gospel reading, seen for example on Passion (Palm) Sunday. Here, The Roman Missal allows the Passion gospel to be read by a , or , or other readers, with even the possibility for all the readers to be lay (Palm Sunday, no. 21). It is in this spirit that the present collection is conceived. Where a deacon or priest has the requisite singing abilities, one will want to have at least one of the singers be a deacon or priest. In all cases, at least the opening dialogue and the conclusion should be sung (or recited, if necessary) by the deacon or priest. Singers must strive above all to bring out the text. The text should be proclaimed in the rhythm of natural speech, with dynamic flexibility and nuance. The tempo should not be dragged unduly— a sung text should not be rendered much slower than a spoken text. Clear pronunciation, including distinct statement of final consonants, is important. In some cases a horizontal line (an “episema”) is placed over a note to indicate a slight lengthening. These settings may be sung in any range, and the singers should feel free to transpose the setting up or down to the pitch level most suited to their voices. Breathing marks such as the quarter bar (“tick”) breathing marks are entirely editorial, and the singers should feel free to take every liberty in deciding when to breathe. The decision of how often to breathe will depend upon the tempo taken, the acoustics of the space, the singers’ sense of the text, and their breath capacity. Many of the breathe marks will be unnecessary and should be sung through if possible; but if an additional breath is needed, it should be added at a point where the text best allows for it. Any changes should be clearly marked in the singers’ copy. As , the liturgy constitution of the , affirms at no. 7, it is Christ himself who speaks when the Scriptures are proclaimed in the liturgy. May these settings help us hear the voice of Christ in the sacred words of the Gospel readings.

Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB Saint John’s Abbey December 4, 2013, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Signing of Sacrosanctum Concilium

THE GOSPEL IN TWO PARTS 10 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) At the Vigil Mass Matthew 1:18-25 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)—At the Vigil Mass 11 12 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) At the Mass during the Night Luke 2:1-14 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)—At the Mass during the Night 13 14 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) At the Mass at Dawn Luke 2:15-20 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)—At the Mass at Dawn 15