One unforeseen perk of being a parish music director is the ability to participate at Holy Mass during this strange period. I am grateful to my wife and daughters for providing the beautiful chant. In the future, I am hoping to have them sing even more of the chant, but it is tough to expect anyone to learn all the propers every week in addition to the ordinary.

My favorite parts are:

• the Introit (“Judica Me Deus”) through the Kyrie – from 0:00 – 6:53
• the Attende Domine at 31:24 (always a beautiful Lenten chant)
•  the Sanctus at 36:16 – 37:19 (taken from Missa XVII for Sundays in Lent). And then the Benedictus at 39:43-40:15
• Agnus Dei at 43:45-45:04
• The Communion “Hoc Corpus” at 45:54-47:19
• And finally the lovely Marian Hymn of the Lenten season “Ave Regina Coelorum” at 51:37

I think the ladies observed just the right cadence in their chant.  Prayerful, lovely and sacred!

And for all of our friends who are accustomed to the Novus Ordo, I think this is a special treat.

Even though it is not the preferable Graduale – I think the ladies did a nice job with the Responsorial Psalm at 4:00-7:13. The main ingredient of sacred music, in my view, is that it has to sound sacred and prayerful.  My suggestion is that choirs pretend they are singing Gregorian chant even when singing an OCP psalm written by Owen Alstott.

Who is there that does not love Theodore Dubois’ “Adoramus Te Christe” (at 19:22-20:51) even when sung without a tenor?