blog.sinden.org

I am leading the music at an ordination to the priesthood tonight, which is something I have not done in a number of years.

I have attended a few ordinations since then, however, and I have noticed something about the music at the consecration of the priest. This part of the liturgy begins with specific music. The rubrics of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) require one of two hymns to be sung here: the Veni Creator Spiritus, or the Veni Sancte Spiritus.

The hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus, or the hymn, Veni Sancte Spiritus, is sung.

Specific hymns are mentioned in the rubrics sparingly, other instances being Palm Sunday (“All glory, laud, and honor”) and Good Friday (“sing my tongue, the glorious battle”), though neither of these is required.

It is worthwhile to note several things about this:

1. There are only two options, and both are named in the rubric (unlike Palm Sunday or Good Friday, nothing else may be sung instead).
2. Both hymns are associated with the Day of Pentecost: Veni Creator Spiritus is a proper hymn sung at Terce and Vespers; Veni Sancte Spiritus is a sequence for the Mass.
3. The rubric requires that a hymn be sung, but it does not specify who sings it.

There are certainly options for both hymns in congregational resources in the Episcopal Church. But if we parse the rubric a bit, perhaps this does not preclude one of the hymns from being sung by the choir alone, or perhaps by a cantor? Indeed, the traditional plainsong melody of Veni Creator Spiritus sung in the original Latin could be sung by a choir or a solo cantor.

It has been my experience at every ordination I have attended in the Episcopal Church that the music sung here is invariably Veni Sancte Spiritus by Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) from the Taizé Community. For better or for worse, this is undoubtedly music of its time and place. But the only words that end up in the mouths of the congregation is the three-word refrain "Veni Sancte Spiritus." More often than not, in my experience, the optional cantor parts (which provide the remaining words of the hymn, in English) are omitted. If they are sung, they may not be clearly understood or even printed for the congregation to read. The effect is contemplative and can be a very spiritual invocation of the Holy Spirit for many. But is it rubrical? When the cantor part is left off, probably not.

The Hymnal 1982 provides three options for singing Veni Sancte Spiritus in English and in its fullness.

1. Hymn 226 - Veni Sancte Spiritus. This is a traditional plainsong sequence in Mode 1 from the Dubliner Troper. The words begin, “Come, thou Holy Spirit bright,” a translation by Charles Price.
2. Hymn 227 - Arbor Street. A snaking 20th century tune by William Albright that melds chromatic slithers with fifths and octaves. The words are also by Price.
3. Hymn 228 - Webbe. An 18th century tune. The translation here begins, “Holy Spirit, font of light,” and is by John Webster Grant.

I genuinely like the first tune, but I think the latter are problematic for an ordination:

Hymn 227 (Arbor Street) is intentionally inaccessible. It is one of a handful of outlandish tunes by Albright that were included in the Hymnal 1982. I don't believe I've ever had occasion to use this tune. I do enjoy the Albright tunes Albright (for Communion) and Petra (for Eastertide), both of which I've used with choirs and congregations.

Hymn 228 (Webbe)—and here's where my general feeling is perhaps shaped by always having sung the Taizé music at the consecration—is just too boring. This is a special moment in the liturgy and it seems to demand something to fit the moment. I just don't think this standard hymn is it. Maybe my prejudice is misplaced, but I think Hymn 228 could easily be tuned out as "just another hymn." The moment seems to demand something special.

That leaves us with Hymn 226 (Veni Sancte Spiritus). This tune is about a thousand years old, so it immediately links us with the longer tradition of the church. This plainsong sequence was first included in the Hymnal 1940. And, as is often the case, we've lost something from the Hymnal 1940 that can greatly benefit a congregation's participation in this hymn. A footnote at the bottom of this hymn in that hymnal reads: “The stanzas may be sung by alternating groups, changing at each repeat mark.” I was gratified to find this suggestion here, because it was an idea I had arrived at on my own when considering how this hymn might be sung.

The plainsong sequence Veni Creator Spiritus has unique phrases, but each one repeats. So the musical form for six stanzas could be rendered as AA BB CC DD EE FF. Some of the stanzas share common musical elements, but each one is distinct.

Rather than overwhelm a congregation with six different stanzas of different music, why not have the choir introduce each phrase of the hymn and have the congregation join in thereafter? So the choir would sing the first A (“Come, thou Holy Spirit bright”), and the congregation would join in for the repeat of A (“Come, protector of the poor”). I have added rubrics for “Choir” and “All,” also bolding the text that the congregation sings to add clarity.

The Hymnal 1940 prints repeat signs, but I think it's more clear for a modern congregation to simply follow a continuous line of music and not have to look back. The tradeoff, for avid music readers, is the inability to see at a glance that the music of each phrase is a literal repeat.

Here's a sample of what the congregation will sing from tonight:

I'm happy to share this with any colleagues who could use it. Please contact me if you would like a copy.

I also particularly enjoy the content of what we're singing about, especially in one of the hottest weeks of the year: “In our labor, be our aid; / in our summer cooling shade.”

This hymn also speaks to the winter months: “Bend the stubborn heart and will; / melt the frozen, warm the chill”

After the hymn invokes the extreme ranges in temperature on this planet, it culminates in a petition that involves the whole universe.

Grant us thy salvation, Lord,
boundless mercy our reward,
   joys which earth and heaven entwine.

Labels: Gregorian chant, Hymn 226, Hymn 227, Hymn 228, Hymnal 1940, Hymnal 1982, ordination, Veni Sancte Spiritus