Music Suggestions
Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed [All Souls]
Hymns:
- All Creatures of Our God and King (WIII #520, HPSC #103, CBW #620, PMB #120, HH #186, AH #600, CH #555, CHB #198)
- Christ Is the World's Light (CBW #543, HPSC #130, WIII #543, CD #923)
- Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life (WIII #569, CH #532)
- Come unto Me, Ye Weary (HPSC #142)
- For All the Saints (WIII #705, ICEL #189, HPSC #157, AH #590, HH #287, CBW #617, PMB #187, CH #336, CHB #166)
- How Firm A Foundation (CH #452, ICEL #193, WIII #585, HH #290)
- I Know That My Redeemer Lives (WIII #445, ICEL #160, PMB #744, CBW #56, CH #293)
- Jerusalem, My Happy Home (WIII #690, ICEL #161, CBW #601, CH #469)
- Jesus, Name of Wondrous Love (HPSC #204)
- Lead, Kindly Light (ICEL #212, AH #578, CH #455, CHB #234)
- Lord of All Hopefulness (WIII #568, CH #524, HH #226, CHB #239)
- Merciful Saviour, Hear Our Humble Prayer (CHB #182)
- My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (WIII #606, ICEL #163, CH #458)
- O God, Our Help in Ages Past (HPSC #241, WIII #579, ICEL #237, CBW #640, CH #457, PMB #128, HH #169, AH #624, CHB #249)
- O Jesus, Lord, Increase Our Faith (HH #314)
- O Lord, You Died That All Might Live (HH #315B)
- Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens (WIII #529, ICEL #243, HPSC #282, PMB #662, CBW #656, CH #573, CHB #259)
- Song of Farewell (tune- Old Hundredth)
- The King of Love My Shepherd Is (WIII #609, ICEL #165, HPSC #324, AH #580, CH #460, CHB #265)
- The Living God My Shepherd Is (WIII #612, CD #831, CBW #690)
- The Strife Is O'er (WIII #451, ICEL #77, PMB #68, HH #131, CBW #503, AH #413, CH #276, CHB #83)
- We Offer Prayer in Sorrow, Lord (HH #316)
- What Wondrous Love (WIII #600, ICEL #164, PMB #157, CD #822, HH #95, CH #530)
- Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones (HPSC #359, WIII #707, AH #416, HH #275, PMB #71, CH #578, CHB #275)
- 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.
- WIII = Worship, 3rd Edition, GIA Publications, Inc.
Liturgical Music:
Choral Music:
- "As the Hart Longs" (Felix Mendelssohn)
- "Audivi media nocte" (Thomas Tallis)
- "Bless the Lord, O My Soul" (M. Ippolitoff-Ivanoff)
- "Blessed Are the Dead" (Heinrich Sch¨tz) [Abingdon]
- "Blest Are They Whose Spirits Long" (Handel / Hopson)
- "But the Lord Is Mindful of His Own" (Felix Mendelssohn)
- "Christ Being Raised from the Dead" (John Blow, C. Hylton Stewart, Healey Willan)
- "Come, Thou Faithful Servant" (Claudio Monteverdi)
- "De profundis" (W.A. Mozart, Orlando di Lasso, Josquin des Pres)
- "Ecce fidelis servus" (Fauré/Proulx) [GIA Publications]
- "Ego sum panis vivus" (William Byrd, G.P. Palestrina)
- "Exaudi Deus" (Giovanni Croce)
- "God Is My Shepherd" (Antonin Dvorak)
- "God So Loved the World" (John Stainer)
- "Hope Thou in God" (Felix Mendelssohn)
- "I Heard A Voice from Heaven" (William Billings, John Goss, Thomas Tomkins)
- "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" (J.M. Bach, G.F. Handel, Thomas Morley, Flor Peeters)
- "If God Be for Us" (Melchior Franck, Heinrich Schütz)
- "If We Believe That Jesus Died" (John Goss) [Oxford]
- "In paradisum" (Gregorian chant) [Worship III Hymnal #178, Adoremus Hymnal #572, Collegeville Hymnal #411, Catholic Book of Worship II #599, Liber usualis p.1768]
- "Justorum animæ" (Colin Brumby, William Byrd, Orlando di Lasso, C.V. Stanford)
- "Know Ye Not" (Edward Baristow) [Novello]
- "Like As A Father" (Luigi Cherubini)
- "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" (arr. Virgil Thomson)
- "Nunc dimittis" (Gregorian chant) [Liber usualis p.1735]
- "O God, Thou Art My God" (Henry Purcell)
- "Out of the Deep" (Adrian Batten, G.F. Handel, Virgil Thomson, Thomas Tomkins)
- "Psalm 122" (J.P. Sweelinck)
- "Psalm 130" (Paul Manz)
- "Requiem æternam" (Martini / Penkala) CNP Catalog #5092
- "See What Love the Father" from Saint Paul (Felix Mendelssohn)
- "Sicut cervus" (Palestrina / Angelini) CNP Catalog #7090
- "Tantum ergo Sacramentum" (Christopher Bord) CNP Catalog #5099
- "The Gate of Heaven" (Randall Thompson)
- "The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation" (Eugene Englert) [GIA Publications]
- "The Sorrows of My Heart" (William Boyce)
- "The Souls of the Righteous" (H. Walford Davies, Stanley Marchant, James Nares, T. Tertius Noble, Desmond Ratcliffe, Ralph Vaughan Williams)
- "The Sufferings of the Present" (Melchior Franck)
- "The Twenty-third Psalm" (Franz Schubert, Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Organ Music:
Regrading music at Funerals, we find the following:
The Ceremonial of Bishops, the most recent complete liturgical document from the Holy See, instructs that the organ remain silent during Funeral Masses, except to accompany singing.
There should be no flowers on the altar, and the music of the organ or other instruments is permitted only to assist the singing. [#824]
One could look at organ music on All Souls Day in two ways: akin to the restrictions at other Masses for the Dead we might refrain from all solo organ music; or, allowing that the documents speak specifically of Funeral Masses, we might take the opportunity of November 2 falling on Sunday to play from the wide spectrum of repertoire based on death and the afterlife.
Here are some possiblities:
- "Abide, O Dearest Jesus" (Sigfrid Karg-Elert)
- "Air from D Major Suite" (J.S. Bach)
- "Alle Menschen müssen sterben" (J.S. Bach)
- "Andante religioso" (Felix Mendelssohn)
- "Canon in D Major" (Johann Pachelbel)
- "Chaconne" (Wilbur Held)
- "Easter Sequence" from Six Easter Hymn Preludes (Wilbur Held)
- "Eventide" (C. Hubert H. Parry)
- "Fantasy on For All the Saints" (Edward G. Mead)
- "God's Time Is Best" (J.S. Bach)
- "Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt" from the Neumeister Collection (J.S. Bach)
- "In paradisum" (Alfred Fedak) [Selah Publishers]
- "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" (Heinrich Fleischer)
- "O Welt, ich muss dich lassen" (Johannes Brahms) from Eleven Chorale Preludes
- "O wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen" (Johannes Brahms) from Eleven Chorale Preludes
- "Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee" (F.W. Marpurg)
- "Partita on O God, Our Help in Ages Past" (Paul Manz)
- "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" (Healey Willan)
- "Prelude on Victimæ paschali laudes" (John Reese) CNP Catalog #6045
Liturgical Hints & Ideas:
On this day, the Church exhibits some of the most profound and yet humble aspects of the liturgical year.
All Souls Day is officially titled, "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed."
On the low end of the liturgical scale, a "commemoration" is the rank a memorial gets when celebrated during the end of Advent or during Lent, and retains little of its full texts. Almost anything outranks a commemoration (even a Lenten weekday).
But the Church highlights the dignity of all the Christians who have died, having attained or awaiting their blessed reward in heaven.
This lowly commemoration is the only such day which outranks a Sunday celebration, a privilege associated solely with solemnities of any kind or feasts of the Lord, (like the Exaltation of [His] Holy Cross, or the Dedication of the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior [next week]).
Enjoy the opportunity to sing some of the parish's funeral repertoire, and to learn some of the great music produced by masters inspired by thoughts on death and final things.
During Ordinary Time in Year B we will highlight passages from the new General Instruction on the Roman Missal (GIRM) that pertain to music during the liturgy.
The GIRM contains rubrics and instructions (some of them new) for the celebration of the Mass.
The first section below is a direct quote from the English translation of the document.
The second section is a commentary on the passage.
The Arrangement and Furnishing of the Church for the Celebration of the Eucharist (GIRM #294, 312)
The faithful and the choir should have a place that facilitates their active participation.
In relation to the design of each church, the schola cantorum should be so placed that its character as a part of the assembly of the faithful that has a special function stands out clearly.
The location should also assist the exercise of the duties of the schola cantorum and allow each member of the choir complete, that is, sacramental, participation in the Mass.
Commentary:
There is a certain tension here.
The choir is a part of the assembly -- must it sit with the assembly?
The choir's position should assist the exercise of its duties -- must it be in a loft?
In a standard rectangular church with a loft, the choir does best musically to sing from there.
I've seen contemporary churches with the choir at the front facing the same way as the congregation -- this may be highly symbolic, but it devastates the practical functioning of the choir.
I think the choir is not meant so much to be a visual symbol as it is to be an aural symbol.
Placement should maximize that principle.
Use lofts, if you have them.
If not, be sure the choir can function musically from its position.
Too much late-twentieth-century church architecture overemphasized the choir's visual "solidarity" with the congregation, leaving the group musically handicapped.
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