Friday, March 02, 2007

Preparation for Holy Week liturgy

As it is only a few weeks away from Holy Week, I wish to highlight a very, very useful resource that most start-up scholas would highly appreciate. Thanks to the effort of the Church Music Association of America, the Officium Majoris Hebdomadae, et Octavae Paschae, Cum Cantu has been made available both in free electronic PDF form as well as printed form (at a very nominal price). As the title implies, it contains the entire sung liturgy in Holy Week right up to the Octave of Pascha (yes, even the sung Passion narrative! :)..... A little note though to those who may not be aware. This version is from 1923, so it would be wise to match the appropriate chants to the Holy Week liturgy used in your parish (e.g. Pius XII revision). Check with your priest to be sure.

As far as I am aware, this work will complement the Ordo Hebdomadae Sanctae (OHS), which is the liturgical book used on the altar during Holy Week instead of the Missale Romanum, especially as it includes the Passion narrative neumes, which most OHS editions did not include.

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