Music Suggestions Christmas - Mass at Midnight
Hymns:
- A Child Is Born in Bethlehem (HH #42, HPSC #99, WIII #384)
- Angels We Have Heard on High (AH #323, CBW #463, CH #219, HPSC #113, PMB #34, WIII #376, CHB #15, SMH #222)
- Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light (HPSC #126)
- Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (AH #325, CBW #462, CH #222, HPSC #182, ICEL #20, PMB #37, WIII #387, CHB #21, SMH #338)
- In the Bleak Mid-winter (CH #193, CHB #23, SMH #366)
- It Came upon the Midnight Clear (PMB #30,WIII #400, AH #335, CH #195, CHB #25, SMH #371)
- O Come, All Ye Faithful (AH #322, CBW #458, CH #225, HPSC #235, ICEL #23, PMB #25, WIII #392, CHB #13, SMH #436)
- On Christmas Night (ICEL #26, CHB #29)
- Tell Me, Shepherd (CD #805)
- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (AH #332, CH #199, ICEL #28, WIII #382, CHB #40, SMH #613)
- AH = The Adoremus Hymnal, Ignatius Press
- CBW = Catholic Book of Worship II / Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
- CD = Cantate Domino / Hymnal Supplement, GIA Publications, Inc.
- CH = The Collegeville Hymnal, The Liturgical Press
- CHB = The Catholic Hymn Book [London Oratory], Gracewing Publishers
- HH = Hymnal of the Hours, GIA Publications, Inc.
- HPSC = Hymns, Psalms & Spiritual Canticles, out of print but excellent
- ICEL = ICEL Resource Collection, GIA Publications, Inc.
- PMB = People's Mass Book, World Library Publications, Inc.
- SMH = The Saint Michael Hymnal, Saint Boniface Church, Lafayette IN
- WIII = Worship, 3rd Edition, GIA Publications, Inc.
Liturgical Music:
Choral Music:
- "Angelus ad pastores ait" (Hans Leo Hassler, Claudio Monteverdi, J.P. Sweelinck)
- "Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light" (J.S. Bach)
- "Cantate Domino" (Giovanni Croce, Hans Leo Hassler, G.O. Pitoni)
- "Christmas Lullaby: Carol of the Nuns of Saint Mary's, Chester" (J. William Greene) CNP Catalog #5011
- "Dies sanctificatus" (Palestrina / Siebert) CNP Catalog #7038
- "Et incarnatus est" (Calvert Shenk) CNP Catalog #5023
- "For unto Us A Child Is Born" from Messiah (G.F. Handel)
- "For unto Us A Child Is Born" (Clemens non Papa)
- "Glory to God in the Highest" (Adrian Batten)
- "Hodie Christus natus est" (Gregorian chant) from Booklet of Chant, Volume 1 CNP Catalog #2001
- "Hodie Christus natus est" (Claudio Marenzio) [Concordia]
- "Hodie Christus natus est" (J.P. Sweelinck) [Novello]
- "Lo, the Angel Said to the Shepherds" (Andrea Gabrieli)
- "O magnum mysterium" (Gregorian chant) [Liber usualis p.382]
- "O magnum mysterium" (Tomas Luis de Victoria)
- "Psallite unigenito" (Michael Praetorius)
- "Puer natus est" (Cristóbal Morales) [GIA Publications]
- "Recitative & Carol: Shepherd's Tale" (J. William Greene) CNP Catalog #5240
- "Service of Lessons for Christmas Eve" (Harry McMurray) CNP Catalog #3160
- "Shepherds, What Is This Lovely Fragrance?" (arr. Gregory Hamilton) CNP Catalog #5013
- "Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied" (Johann Pachelbel)
- "Sussex Carol" (arr. David Willcocks) Carols for Choirs I [Oxford]
- "Tell Me, Shepherds" (arr. Gary Penkala) CNP Catalog #5100
- "Ten New Carols for Advent and Christmas, Volume 1" (Gary Penkala) CNP Catalog #4010
- "Ten New Carols for Advent and Christmas, Volume 2" (Greene, Brumby, Penkala) CNP Catalog #4020
- "The Shepherd & the King" (J. William Greene) CNP Catalog #5040
- "To Us a Child Is Born" (Heinrich Schütz)
- "Unto Us a Boy Is Born!" (Colin Brumby) CNP Catalog #5135
- "Unto Us a Child Is Born" (Melchior Franck)
Organ Music:
- "Adeste fidelis" (David Schack) [Organist's Companion, December 1982 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "Adeste fidelis with Variations" (Thomas Adams) [Organist's Companion, November 1992 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "All Glory Be to God on High" (Paul Manz) from Improvisations for Pentecost and Trinity Sunday [Morning Star Music Publishers #10-500]
- "Angels We Have Heard on High" (Ronald Arnatt) [Preludes for Hymns in Worship Supplement I]
- "Angels We Have Heard on High" (Charles Ore) [Eleven Compositions for Organ Bk 2 - Concordia 97-5385]
- "Angels We Have Heard on High" (Charles Ore) [Eleven Compositions for Organ Bk 4 - Concordia 97-6013]
- "Berceuse: It Came upon a Midnight Clear" (Mary Gifford) [Organist's Companion, November 1998 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light" (F.W. Marpurg) [Twenty-one Chorale Preludes - Augsburg]
- "Chorale Prelude on Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" (Bill Cain) [Organist's Companion, November 2001 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "Concerto for Organ & Strings" (Michael J. Starke) CNP Catalog #6010
- "Fanfare on Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" (Alec Wyton) [Preludes, Fanfares & a March for the Liturgical Year - Flammer]
- "Fanfare on Mendelssohn" (Gordon Young) [Ten Christmas Organ Voluntaries - Presser]
- "Fanfare on Mendelssohn" (Martin Setchell)
- "Fanfare-Toccata on Mendelssohn" for Organ and Brass (J. William Greene) [Choral Web]
- "Five Chorale Preludes" (Colin Brumby) CNP Catalog #6025
- "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Max Reger)
- "Gloria for the Flutes" (Alice Jordan) [Organist's Companion, December 1980 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (Sigvart Hofland) [Parish Organist, Part 1 - Concordia]
- "Puer natus in Bethlehem" (J.S. Bach) [Orgelbüchlein]
- "Puer natus in Bethlehem" (Dieterich Buxtehude) [Joyce Jones Christmas Collection - Bradley Publ]
- "Puer natus in Bethlehem" (G.F. Kauffmann) [Organist's Companion, November 1991 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "Postlude" from Messe basse (Camil van Hulse)
- "Postlude on Adeste fidelis" (Gordon Young) [Ten Christmas Organ Voluntaries - Presser]
- "Prelude on This Endris Nyght" (Healey Willan) [Ten Hymn Preludes for Organ, Set II - Peters]
- "To Shepherds As They Watched by Night" (Charles Ore) from 11 Compositions, Set I
- "Variations on Adeste fidelis" (Raynor Taylor) [A Century of Amercian Organ Music, Bk 1 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "Variations on The Echo Carol" (Stephen Rohde) [Organist's Companion, November 1988 - McAfee Music Corp]
- "Vom Himmel kam der Engel schaar" (J.S. Bach) from Orgelbüchlein
Liturgical Hints & Ideas:
Midnight Mass attracts the largest number of curious non-Catholics of any celebration.
Make the music and the liturgy dignified and memorable.
A Service of Lessons for Christmas Eve, based on the traditional Office of Readings, might precede the Mass.
Begin the procession in darkness (with many candles) -- switch on the lights when the ministers reach the altar and sing a familiar carol with the congregation.
More ideas may be found on our Musical Musings page: [see the article A Narrower Christmas]
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