30 December - Feast of the Holy Family

This one had an interesting division of duty this morning. Because the organist needed to leave early to get to another service at 9.00 am, I ended up playing the Recessional Hymn, as well as the Postlude. Admittedly, I felt rather lazy and didn't start practising these pieces until the night before ... and it still turned out rather well, with a small group of people hanging out at the end of Mass and mobbing me at the console when I finished. It was also rather nice to be complimented by the Presider when he caught me in the Gathering Space as I was leaving ...

Here is the list. As usual, the numbers come out of GIA's Gather Comprehensive 1994 (green cover).

December 30: Holy Family (Sun. 7.45 am)

Gloria: Mass of Creation
Alleluia: 261 Murray; Verse to Tone VIII-g
Sanctus, Mem. Accl., Amen, Agnus Dei: Mass of Creation

Prelude: In dulci jubilo (Seventy-Nine Chorales, Op. 28): Marcel Dupré
Pro: 372 Once in Royal David's City (IRBY)
Psalm: 125, Ps 128, Haugen
Off: 380 What child is this (GREENSLEEVES; Stainer harmonisation)
Comm: 366 God rest you merry, Gentlemen
Re: 362 Good Christian friends, rejoice (IN DULCI JUBILO)
Postlude: In Dir ist Freude, BWV 615: J. S. Bach

For some strange reason, I was feeling so nervous, like I felt like my heart was going to pop right out of my chest! Slipping into the Willcocks descant for Once in Royal David's City for the last verse helped calm my nerves somewhat ... and I sung that without consciously realising it.

Admittedly, I am not very keen on the Stainer harmonisation. That C-sharp kept bothering me!!!

Also too - before the Mass, I chatted with the cantor briefly, and when I told him I was going to take the tempo of the Recessional Hymn at dotted half = 60, he expressed concern that was a little too fast. In my opinion, any slower than that, and it sounds like a funeral dirge. Happily, even though he disagreed with my tempo, he said he would follow along whatever tempo I took. (There's a delay anyway between the organ and the cantor podium, so I wasn't concerned - I figured he'll catch on, even if we're talking the early Sunday morning Mass here.) As I was playing, however, I was able to hear the people singing, and singing this one well, which made me feel really good. (Oh goodie, I can lead people from the console, yay!)

Enough rambling from me ... at least, for the moment ...

It's Official ...

Starting Sunday, 13 January (First Sunday after the Epiphany), I will be the Organist/Music Coordinator at St. Joseph's Episcopal Church and Organist at Episcopal Center at Duke University. It is a joint position, and will be a part-time position as well. I'm excited and scared at the same time. I know I will be able to do the organist bit, but it's the choir directing bit at St. Joseph's that has me a little worried. St. Joseph's is a small parish, but growing, and the hope is that I can help their 5-member Music Ministry grow along with the parish.

I do have some very supportive friends, especially my organ teacher Tim Baker, who also has a Master's in Choral Conducting, so he will be a great resource ... Eddie Abernathy, a good friend who is currently the interim organist/choirmaster at St. Phillip's Episcopal Church ... Charles Culbreth, a friend from California who has heaps of experience in dealing with small group ensembles and a wonderful long-time music educator ... Dan Huff, the director of the UNC Men's Glee Club ... in fact, it was after speaking with Dan that I decided to accept the offer from St. Joseph's and Duke.

So between that and my teaching duties at Campbell University's RTP Campus, I think I should be okay. At least life will get rather interesting for me once term begins, with lots of new challenges for me to tackle.

A Priestly Organophile

Here is another post from the PIPORG-L listserv. I think this is a cool story, courtesy of Roy Daniels; if only Clergy Creatures could be as supportive as this RC priest from Corpus Christi, TX:

I had lunch today with my favorite RC priest, in Corpus Christi, TX, and we were discussing his heroic effort to get a pipe organ in his church. He purchased a 1936, 5 rank Wicks from the Wicks factory, about a year ago, and personally flew to the factory, rented a truck and brought the organ back and, with a fellow organist, installed the organ (with a little help from an organ builder friend)...mind you at a total cost of less than $8,000 We were just wondering how many other priests, pastors have gone to this length to get an organ in their church. Everyone at St. Joseph's now thinks it's the hottest thing around...mind you the same people told Fr. Tom that it was a crazy idea, he'd never find an organist...blah, blah, blah. We'd really like to hear some good stories along the same lines..not stories about raising money but stories where the priest personally did the work. I will pass them all along to my good priest friend, who is a very accomplished organist...

If any of you have some great stories along these lines, feel free to share them in the comments section, and I'll in turn post them on the PIPORG-L listserv to share with those people there.

Organ in the movie "Sweeney Todd"

This comes from the PIPORG-L list. Those who have already seen the movie Sweeney Todd commented about the organ played in the film. As it turns out, the organist was Andy Richards, and the listserv member had written Mr. Richards an email, asking about the organ he played.

Mr. Richards very kindly supplied this response:

Thanks so much for your kind email - and I'm so glad that you liked the movie - it was a labour of love for all of us involved with it. I went to Rugby School in my teens (Rugby is a large and famous 450-year-old public school in the UK - I believe that you call them private schools in the US) and so when the Music Producer, Mike Higham, (with whom I've worked closely on the picture) said that he wanted to use a real Cathedral Organ on the score, I suggested that the Rugby School Chapel Organ might be perfect, since I'd studied on it many years ago and knew how wonderful it sounded.

The Organ, in my time, was a large Walker 4-manual electro-pneumatic action beast, but in 2001 it was rebuilt, with funds left by a charity, by Kenneth Jones and Associates. Many of the old pipes remain, but the console was moved closer to the body of the Organ and the action was changed to being tracker action. It is still a 4 manual organ but has has 32' reeds added to the pedals which really helped to give alot more 'ooph' to the score and it is employed throughout the movie. Also, during the rebuild, the reeds and mixture pipes were moved to the front of the organ, outside the main case, to give the sound of the organ more clarity and volume, much needed when playing with a large congregation. Apart from myself, Mike Higham and a sound recording team being there, Tim Burton also came along to witness the recording. We all had a great day out!

I hope that this helps with your question Joe, and I'll pass on your remarks to the rest of the music team involved with Sweeney.

Below, I've added some info about Kenneth Jones, should you wish for more detail.

Kind regards

Andy Richards

Organ Builder Profile:
Kenneth Jones & Associates

Kenneth Jones and Associates design and handcraft unique pipe organs. Each instrument is custom designed architecturally, musically and technically, for its particular location and musical requirements.

The founder of the firm and its chief executive is Kenneth Jones, who was born in Longford, Ireland, in 1936, was educated in Dublin and holds degrees in engineering and in arts. He practised as an engineer in West Africa for seven years and started organbuilding there in 1961, having studied the craft in theory since his schooldays.

Kenneth Jones' executive co-director is Trevor Crowe who holds degrees in music and in engineering. The firm of Kenneth Jones Pipe Organs Ltd. (the corporate name) has a staff of fourteen.

Several members of the team are practising musicians, organists and singers and this contributes to the artistic dimension in every hand-crafted organ which comes from Bray. Kenneth Jones himself has been a frequent performer (harpsichord, organ, piano-accompaniment) on radio and television and, for some years, was principal conductor of the Dublin Orchestral players.

The work of the firm can be found in cathedrals and churches of all denominations, in major institutions including Trinity College Dublin, University College of Dublin, St. Patrick's College Maynooth, the Royal College of Music London, the University of Cambridge, the College of Music Dublin, and in many private homes.

In addition to their work in Ireland, Kenneth Jones and Associates have been commissioned to design and build instruments for other countries, notably the United States, with representatives in several areas. Installations in the United States now comprise a significant part of the firm's work, and considerable experience has been built up from as far south as Florida to as far north as Alaska.

Since he started organ building with his own firm over twenty-seven years ago, Kenneth Jones has been responsible for an Opus list of over 120 organs. Over 80 of these organs have been new (of all sizes up to four manuals) and the others include major rebuildings and historic restorations.

Piæ Cantiones

This comes courtesy of Tyler, who is a contributor to the RPInet Forums. He discovered a scan of the first edition of Piæ cantiones (1582), courtesy of the Finnish National Library. He wanted to point out the Gaudete on page 35. It's on the third page.

Click here to see this extraordinary piece of work.

Happy St. Stephen's Day, everyone!

Some reflections on the Eve of Christmas

So here I am, sitting and relaxing before the next choir call that is to come at 9.30 pm for an 11.00 pm Christ Mass at Chapel of the Cross. It's been an interesting year thus far, and I find I do have a lot to be thankful for. Despite the fact that I've not been working in a lab since the middle of February, and that I still don't have a full-time job, I'm cognizant of the fact that I'm thankful that I have my life (having had a close call last July in Toronto), I have good support from my friends and family, I do have a part-time teaching position with Campbell University's RTP Campus through their Extended Campus Education program. I'm still healthy, I have a roof over my head, enough food to put on the table.

All in all, I really can't complain. However, I will ask your prayers for a few people:

1. Desiree Zaballero. She is due to undergo a kidney transplant at St. Luke's Medical Centre in Quezon City, Philippines next month. She is definitely a fighter, and this transplant will give her the chance to lead a normal, healthy life. She was the focus at this year's Misa de Gallo that the Filipino community celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church last Saturday (12/22/07), and I know the support from the local Filipino community was definitely appreciated.


2. Orlando Torneros (pictured on the left) is my sister-in-law's father. The Torneros' as well as my brother and his family decided to go on holiday at Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, Tito Andy fell ill, and he ended up suffering pneumonia and a mild heart attack. The last I heard, Tita Beny is trying to find a place to stay over there as they don't want to move Tito Andy back to Sacramento just yet. I just hope he pulls through, so please pray for his recovery.



3. Eric Cabrera (pictured with my cousin Trisha) is the 1 1/2-year old son of my cousin, Beverly. He was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour. Luckily, his twin, Dylan, was not similarly affected. Understandably, Beverly, as well as her parents, Tito Ver and Tita Tessie (my mum's youngest brother and his wife, respectively) are shell-shocked over this, but hopefully with prayers and support, Eric will be able to pull through this.

I hope you are all well. Happy Christmas to everyone!

Christmas Eve Festival Service of Lessons and Carols

A friend of mine asked me to sing with his choir for their Festival Service of Lessons and Carols at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Durham. It was great fun, and it was a wonderful group to work with.

Here is the line-up:

MUSIC BEFORE THE SERVICE
Pachelbel: Chorale-Prelude on Vom Himmel hoch (Trio)
Lebegue: Noël varié pour organ: "Puer nobis nascitur"
Daquin: Noël Suisse, Grand Jeu et Duo
Adam: O Holy Night, R. Benjamin Hutchens, II, baritone
Reger: The Virgin's Slumber Song, R. Benjamin Hutchens, II, baritone
Poston: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, Gallery Choir of St. Stephen's
Brahms: Chorale-Prelude on Est ist ein Ros' entsprungen

PROCESSIONAL HYMN
Once in Royal David's City (IRBY)

CAROL
King Jesus hath a garden: Traditional Dutch, set by Charles Wood

FIRST LESSON
Genesis 3

CAROL
Adam lay y-bounden: set by Boris Ord

SECOND LESSON
Genesis 22

HYMN
Angels from the realms of glory (REGENT SQUARE)

THIRD LESSON
Isaiah 9

CAROL
Sussex Carol: arranged by David Willcocks

FOURTH LESSON
Isaiah 11

CAROL
Personent hodie: Piae Cantiones, arranged by Gustav Holst

HYMN
Lo, how a Rose e'er Blooming (ES IST EIN ROS' ENTSPRUNGEN)

FIFTH LESSON
Luke 1

CAROL
Bogoroditse Devo: Ave Maria, set by Sergei Rachmaninoff, sung in Old Church Slavonic

SIXTH LESSON
Luke 2

CAROL
How Sweet is Love: Dutch Carol, set by Michael Paget

HYMN
The First Nowell: arranged by David Willcocks

SEVENTH LESSON
Luke 2

CAROL
Shepherd's Carol: Music, Suffolk Harmony; Words by William Billings

EIGHTH LESSON
Matthew 2

CAROL
We Three Kings of Orient Are

NINTH LESSON
John 1

HYMN
O Come, all ye faithful (ADESTE FIDELIS)

HYMN IN PROCESSION
Joy to the World!

MUSIC AFTER THE SERVICE
Pachelbel: Chorale-Prelude on Vom Himmel Hoch

This took place at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church; the choir was directed by Dr. R. Benjamin Hutchens, II, and the organist was Dr. Joseph Kitchen.

An Advent Procession of Lessons and Carols

Here is the Order of Worship for Advent Lessons and Carols at The Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill.

Opening Voluntaries
Chorale Improvisation on In dulci jubilo (Op. 75 No. 2): Sigfrid Karg-Elert
In dulci jubilo (Seventy-Nine Chorales, Op. 28): Marcel Dupré

Hymn in Procession
Once in royal David's city (IRBY)

Invitatory Anthem
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence: Liturgy of St. James, set by Edward C. Bairstow

The First Lesson
Genesis 3:8 - 15

Carol
Adam lay y'bounden: 15th Century Carol, set by Frank Boles

Lighting of the Advent Wreath
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, vs. 5, 6 (VENI, VENI, EMMANUEL)

The Second Lesson
Isaiah 11:1 - 4

Carol
The Lamb: Text by William Blake; set by John Tavener

The Third Lesson
Isaiah 9:2, 6 - 7

Carol
People, Look East (Besançon Carol; set by Craig Phillips)

The Fourth Lesson
Isaiah 60:1 - 6, 9

Carol
Look Up, Sweet Babe: Text by Richard Crashaw; set by Lennox Berkeley

The Fifth Lesson
Luke 1:26 - 38

Motet
Ave Maria: Franz Biebl

Hymn
Joseph dearest, Joseph mine (RESONET IN LAUDIBUS)

The Sixth Lesson
Matthew 1:18 - 23

Carols
A Spotless Rose: Herbert Howells
A Babe Is Born: William Mathias

Carols During Offertory
My Dancing Day: English Traditional Carol; set by John Rutter
Unto Us Is Born a Son (PIAE CANTIONES; set by David Willcocks)

At the Presentation
Festival Doxology (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)

Benediction and Choral Amen

Hymn
Of the Father's Heart Begotten (CORDE NATUS EX PARENTIS)

Closing Voluntary
In dulci jubilo: Johann Sebastian Bach

This will be presented in identical services of Lessons and Carols tomorrow morning at 9:00 am and 11:15 am, by the Junior and Senior Choirs of Chapel of the Cross; Dr. Wylie S. Quinn, Organist and Choirmaster, with Dr. Susan Moeser accompanying the choirs on the organ.

My absolute favourite setting of Ave Maria

While browsing on YouTube, I came across a vid of my absolute favourite setting of Ave Maria by Josquin des Prez. I came to know this setting thanks to my singing in a small Schola in Chapel Hill, singing Compline services every Sunday night of the academic school year. We just finished for the Fall Semester, and won't start up until after a week after the Spring Semester has started.

We haven't done this setting for a while, with the Choirmaster instead opting for settings by Arcadelt, Verdonck, and Victoria, and I will admit to really missing singing this one.

I don't think it's the best quality recording, but it was enough to bring back happy memories.

Enjoy!

The Contribution of Filipino Catholics

Finally, something positive about Filipinos. Here's something very positive written by Steve Ray about Filipinos. (Hat tip goes to Carmen Castañeda, who sent this to me via e-mail.)

Mr. Ray wrote an Open Letter to the Filipino Catholics in his blog. He wrote this letter for a parish bulletin in Manila, and thanks to publication in all the Filipino newspapers, as well as word-of-mouth through the Filipino Diaspora, this has been circulated widely throughout the world.

I share this with you here because it's a beautiful message about the faith of the Filipino Catholic. If anyone were to ask me, what does it mean to be Catholic and Filipino, I would refer them to this link.

It is truly an inspiring letter.

The Christmas Meme

Duly "picked off" from Christus Vincit - The Blog! although the jist of this meme is very similar to the survey my friend Summer passed along to me on MySpace.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Does it matter? Isn't it the thought that counts?

2. Real tree or artificial?
Usually artificial, unless my brother has a say in it.

3. When do you put up the tree?
When I'm at home in San Diego, we put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down?
On or around January 6.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Not very keen on it. My system can't take it in very large doses.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Interestingly enough ... I don't recall.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene?
Yes, several. The favourite is the one Mum and I made at 32nd Street Naval Station's craft centre. We were into ceramics, and we painted a Nativity set. I believe it is still at home today, and gets displayed every Christmas season.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My brother. What do you get for the man who has everything?

9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Bath towels from a certain relative who shall remain nameless.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
They each have their merits. I'll have to admit that I am having loads of fun with Facebook's SuperPoke application - sending a Grinch after someone is loads of fun. So is tossing an elf at them ...

11. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Don't really have one.

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Well ... in the days when I had money ... I generally kept my eyes open all year so that I'm not rushing at the end of the year. Sometimes, if I'm making my prezzies, I start early, like July.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Er ... yes.

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Anything from the Noche buena table. What is Misa de Gallo without puto bumbong, bibingka, suman, arroz caldong manok, or salabat? Some of my rellies like the queso de bola, but that's one thing I can do without. (Despite one of my earlier posts, no, I am not a cheese fan.)

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Coloured

16. Favorite Christmas song.

"Once in Royal David's City," although I also have a soft spot for Bairstow's setting of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," the Holst setting of "In the Bleak Mid-Winter," as well as both the Victoria and Lauridsen settings of "O Magnum Mysterium." So I'm a choir geek, okay?

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Well, considering that I live far away from home, I guess it would have to be travel.

18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer.
Er ... I don't really care.

19. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
It depends on our church going plans ...

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Christmas shopping. Enough said.


One more question that I think is worth including with this worthy meme that comes from Summer's MySpace survey:

22. What is your favorite family Christmas tradition?
I used to think our custom of travelling to relatives' houses, both in San Diego and LA was a little forced. I appreciate it more now though as when we get together, we genuinely enjoy each others' company, plus we are graced with a visit from Santa Claus :-)

TAG YOU'RE IT, anyone who wants to pick it off.

E-Mail Prayer Brigade from Fr. James Reuter

A friend of mine just sent this to me via e-mail. In general, I don't make it a habit to forward things I receive via e-mail unless it's a particularly riveting piece.

Fr. James Reuter, S.J. is credited with initiating this Prayer Brigade, and has asked members of the worldwide Filipino Diaspora to: 1. Forward the text to everyone they know; 2. Pray. The meaning will be clear with his prayer below.

--

THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE PHILIPPINES
by Father James Reuter, S.J.

The signs are clear.

Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack of effort. We've seen many men and women of integrity in and out of government, NGOs, church groups & people's organization devote themselves to the task of nation-building, often times against insurmountable odds.

But not even two people revolutions, bloodless as they may be, have made a dent in reversing this trend.

At best, we have moved one step forward, but three steps backward. We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster.

It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm. It's time to claim God's promise of healing of the land for His people. It's time to gather God's people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. Is prayer really the answer?

Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I'd like you to consider some lessons we can glean from history.

England's ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fuelled by intense prayers.

The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the most powerful nation today - a strong faith in God and a disciplined prayer life.

Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.

In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today, led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around it are faltering.

Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here there is genuine humbling & seeking of God through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity. YES, we believe prayer can make a difference.

It's our only hope.

Today, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from all over the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only ask for 5 minutes of your time in a day, to forward this email to your close friends and relatives.

This is the kind of unity which can make a big difference. Of course, if you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be more involved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center. We have tried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short. Maybe it's time to try prayer power.

God never fails. Is there hope? YES! We can rely on God's promise, but we have to do our part.

If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, God will heal our land. By God's grace, we may yet see a better future for our children. God bless and God save our country will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.'(2 Chronicles 7:14).

Some thoughts on Course Preparation

So here I am, with a month left before I teach my first Chemistry course solo. I've TA'd Organic Chemistry lab courses in graduate school, so that's pretty much old hat to me, but taking the reigns for a lecture course is a new and different thing for me. I'll be teaching Chemistry 101, Elementary Chemistry for the Spring I 2008 term. It's the Chemistry course for non-Chemistry majors. We have 8 week terms, so I'll have to squeeze in a 14-week semester course into those 8 weeks. I'll have to be innovative - TPTB want me to teach this as a "Blended" course, relying heavily on Blackboard - class "meets" two days/week, 8 hours total. Only 4 of those hours is actual face time; the rest 4 hours will be "virtual" time. I've decided I was going to use "virtual" class time to have the students download lectures in PowerPoint format. I'm going to ask them to visit the website for their textbook for extra on-line quizzing to ensure they're picking up the material. I'm also going to require them to participate in an on-line discussion forum through Blackboard, and to ensure they do that, they will be marked on the extent of their participation.

Dr. Andrew Bryan at the Main Campus is doing his Blended Course opposite to me - he's designing experiments that students will be able to do at home, with a Chemistry 101 Lab Kit they made available for their students. He showed me the cutest portable balance. The cost is reasonable, and after they finish the course, the balance may find uses elsewhere (for me, the Foodie, I'm thinking kitchen). However, I'm not all that comfortable with the thought of having students try to do experiments on their own. But on the other hand, I'm not all that comfortable leaving the students to their own devices as far as picking up the material is concerned either. I will do a one-hour lecture on days we meet in class, but really just to hit the highlights (or the lowlights, if you're not a Chemistry fan), and to give the students the opportunity to ask any questions they have on materials in the PowerPoint files and/or the textbook, as well as to give them a chance to ask questions on homework I've assigned. I may also use that time to administer exams, although there is also the option of having students take their exams on-line.

Most of the face time will be spent doing labs in-class. I just took inventory of materials and such we have in the lab that would be appropriate for Chemistry experiments. We are sorely lacking in materials, so I'm going to have to get cracking as to what experiments we can do with our limited equipment, as well as what equipment we would have to get in the first place just to ensure we'd be able to teach the course so as to be beneficial to the students.

At this point, I hear four students have registered for the course. Most of the registration, however, will take place over the next couple of weeks, so that number could very easily rise, but I believe TPTB will cap the class size to 20, maximum.

We'll see what happens. I only hope I can do the course justice, and that the students will come away from the course with an appreciation of Chemistry, and that it is not the scary science that many non-Chemists seem to believe that it is.

Working with an instrumentalist -- or not

This comes courtesy of the PIPORG-L list. Larry Wheelock of Kenwood United Methodist Church in Milwaukee, WI shared this hilarious video with the list. My rudimentary translation of the Italian reveals the, er, "instrument" as a makeshift horn constructed with a heater hose and parts of a truck horn.

Some interesting comments I've received thus far:

"I want that hose!"
"What?! No ornaments!?"
"That is outstanding ... I'll have to find some garden hose now ..."
"Sounds God-awful, but that is hilarious, a riot!"

The message Larry included with his post:

In this busy season many of us will find ourselves working with various instrumentalists. They can be demanding, fussy, and annoying, but this organist seems to have found a workable solution...

For your listening...(pleasure?)

Enjoy!!!

2 December - Advent I

I'm cantoring the 7.45 am Mass tomorrow morning. Here is the music list:

December 2: Advent I (Sun. 7.45 am)

Kyrie: 175, in English
Alleluia: 177 Mode VI; Verse to Tone 6F ("Let us see your kindness, O Lord, and grant to us your salvation.")
Sanctus: 180 People's Mass
Mem. Accl., Amen: 181, 182 Danish
Agnus Dei: 184 XVIII, in English

Pro: 318 People look East (BESANCON)
Psalm: 120 Ps 122 (Joncas)
Off: 333 O Come, Divine Messiah (VENEZ, DIVIN MESSIE)
Comm: 328 My Soul in Stillness Waits (BEDFORD ABBEY)
Re: 323 Come, thou long expected Jesus (STUTTGART)