So today we enter the Eighth Sunday of the Year, or, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. In addition to hymns that may align with the day's Scripture, we also tend to use hymns that include the word "Alleluia" multiple times per verse. The two hymns this weekend that fit that description are Alleluia! sing to Jesus and Ye watchers and ye holy ones, the former containing two alleluias per verse, the latter containing six to seven alleluias per verse.
On that Sunday, or even on Tuesday (Mardi Gras), some churches have a ritual for "burying" or "putting away" the Alleluia, which often includes a hymn, namely one called Alleluia, song of gladness. In the case of St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, a church that has a little of everything - Mass in English (Ordinary Form, of course) as well as Mass in Latin in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form - the Alleluia (on a plaque) is carried to its "place of repose" (just like the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday), then "buried" under the cloth of the side altar, then incensed. See for yourself!
Alleluia, song of gladness, Voice of joy that cannot die;
Alleluia is the anthem Ever dear by choirs on high;
In the house of God abiding Thus they sing eternally.
Alleluia, thou resoundest, True Jerusalem and free;
Alleluia, joyful mother, All thy children sing with thee;
But by Babylon's sad waters Mourning exiles still are we.
Alleluia cannot always Be our song while here below;
Alleluia our transgressions Make us for a while forgo;
For the solemn time is coming When our tears for sin shall flow.
Therefore in our hymns we pray thee, Grant us, blessèd Trinity,
At the last to keep glad Easter In our home beyond the sky,
There to thee for ever singing Alleluia joyfully.
Notice how in that hymn tells us that we must for a time be mournful - mournful of our sins - mournful for the trials of Christ leading from his being tempted in the desert until his Passion and death - until the day of his Resurrection, at which we can sing "Alleluia!" once again.
On a lighter note, when I was music director at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Providence, we used to have a Mass on the day before Ash Wednesday (you know, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday), followed by a "Bring Your Most Fattening Dessert" coalition in the school hall. Needless to say, my wife Ann would bring her own brand of Reese's peanut butter cups. MMMMM! They were so good, and usually amongst the first items to be devoured by those in attendance! Many other delicious treats brought in as well! (By the way, don't forget the "Mardi Gras Meet and Mingle" this Sunday after the 10 AM Mass!)
The next day, of course, was Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting!
And now, without further ado...
MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS
ORDINARY OF THE MASS:
Gloria (if sung) and Memorial Acclamation (We proclaim your death...): Holy Angels Mass (BMP)
Sanctus and Agnus Dei from Mass for Christian Unity (Jan Vermulst)
Dresden Amen
ALLELUIA I for Ordinary Time (BMP)
For listen links to all of the above, the list for Sunday II.
Entrance hymn: Alleluia! sing to Jesus ("Hyfrydol") (Listen)
- The listen link is an arrangement by Stephen Buzard, the organist performing it at a dedication recital of a newly-restored Kilgen pipe organ in Brooklyn, New York.
Psalm 92: R./ Lord, it is good to give thanks to you (Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB)
Offertory hymn: At the Name of Jesus ("King's Weston") (Listen)
Communion anthem: Panis Angelicus (Cesar Franck)
Recessional hymn: Ye watchers and ye holy ones ("Lasst uns Erfreuen") (Listen)
- Here the last Alleluias until Easter will be blatantly brought out! ;)
Organ Postlude: Festive Alleluia by Gordon Young
Quod scripsi, scripsi!
BMP
