BRAND SPANKIN' NEW!!! Laud, O Sion, Thy Salvation

In working on the Christus Vincit Gradual project, I'm now (as I write this) well into the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (formerly known as "Corpus Christi", though we still call it that in conversation to conserve words, ha ha!).

In my former project, Psalm 151, I failed to add the optional Sequence of Corpus Christi (which, until the advent of the 1969 Missal, was mandatory).  In the Christus Vincit Gradual, I hereby fill that void.

Introducing Laud, O Sion, Thy Salvation, the classic translation of the sequence Lauda Sion Salvatorem penned by the great Eucharistic hymn author himself, St. Thomas Aquinas.

I used the Mode VII chant tune, of course, to be chanted a capella, but added an alternate original SATB tune for the even-numbered verses.  The original tone is also in a chant-style, and in compatibility with the Mode VII tune.

I also lowered the key signature to A-flat (E-flat tonic, or "mixolydian"), to make the chant melody as user-friendly as possible for the average congregation (which in many Catholic parishes seems to be mainly altos and basses, lol).

CLICK HERE for the PDF of Laud, O Sion, Thy Salvation

COVID-19 and the CHRISTUS VINCIT GRADUAL

I've had more time on my hands than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic that made its way here from the other side of the world.  Just before everyone and everything went haywire, I was fired from one job and laid off from the other.

The job I was laid off from was my organist position, due to public Masses being put on hiatus by just about every bishop in the country, including my bishop here in Providence.

Of course, if I can't make music one way, you can bet I'm going to make music another way.

This "other way", of course, is my umpteenth reworking of my ongoing Christus Vincit Gradual project.  I've also redesigned the website here (ok - I cheat: I use Blogger).  I've changed fonts, colors, background, etc.  I've redesigned the Liturgical Index page and new material is getting added on as I go along.  Take a tour now if you wish, but please don't judge at this time.  This is a work in progress.  Once it's finished, then feel free to judge. ;)

I'm going to make a pitch for my favorite music editing software as well.  Anyone looking for really good music writing/editing software, Capella 8 is the way to go (as far as proprietary software goes).  It's less than half the price of many of the big toys, but is a very powerful program.  The company is in Germany, but you can access the site in German, English, and French.  You can also select the software in those three languages.

Capella 8 is the first version of Capella that is compatible with Mac as well as Windows (for all you Mac-heads out there).  Previous versions were for Windows only.

As I write this, I am currently working on the Third Week of Lent (I'm working in liturgical order, and feasts that share the same proper are being updated at the same time).  The most current update of the Liturgical Index is that I'm now using tables.  I finally figured out how to incorporate tables in Blogger.  I always knew how to do them with my outdated WYSIWYG web editor.

I'm now going back to my project.  You are all in my prayers, especially during this pandemic.  Hopefully this crazy thing will blow over soon and we musicians can get back to physical labor - playing our instruments (which includes our voices)!

Happy and Blessed Easter Triduum and Paschaltide!

Peace,
BMP