Bruckner's Tota pulchra es Maria

In honour of Our Lady in this month dedicated to her.

The Little Office of the BVM with Chant

Description from Baronius Press:

This is the first ever edition that includes the complete Gregorian Chant for the Little Office – in traditional four stave notation! The music for the Little Office has never before been gathered together in one volume. For many people the Gregorian chant of the Little Office offers an introduction to the beauty of the Church’s traditional liturgical heritage. This volume will help you sing all the Hours of the Little Office.

Our edition includes a commentary on the rubrics and ceremonial by “A Master of Novices” (which was first published in the early twentieth century), and also includes a description of the indulgences with which the recitation of the Little Office has been enriched by Holy Mother Church.

The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a shorter form of the Divine Office in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has long been the Church’s daily liturgical prayer to Our Lady, and these hours of praise have been used by Priests, religious and the laity throughout the centuries. Lay people used to flock to the great Cathedrals to publicly recite The Little Office during the Middle Ages, and during the great persecution, when the practice of the Catholic Faith was illegal in Great Britain, Bishop Challoner commended The Little Office to his flock.

Through its psalms, antiphons, readings, responsorials, and prayers the Little Office stresses the role Our Lady played in salvation history, and how through her fiat the divine Word took flesh in her womb and achieved salvation for us all; and how Our Lord granted her the first fruits of the general resurrection in her holy and glorious assumption.

All Catholics are called to a consistent prayer life. For those who do not feel called to recite the Divine Office, but still wish to participate in the liturgical prayer of the Church, or for those who have a particular devotion to the holy Mother of God, there is no finer form of prayer than the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Buy it here.

O Sanctissima

This was sung as the offertory hym on the 15th Sunday after Pentecost 2007.

Marian motets

With May coming soon, most choirs would be selecting mainly Marian motets for their practice. Sacred Heart Choir wouldn't be any different, as the next Sunday Mass will be on May 13, which is also dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. Several versions of Ave Maria comes to mind once I looked at CPDL. However we are constrained to short pieces (scores not more than 2 pages) and no more than 4 voices, given the size of the congregation and the small number of singers that we have. If you have other suitable suggestions, do drop me a note or leave a comment.

In the meantime, here are several clips of Chanticleer (one of my favourite groups), singing Franz Biebl's Ave Maria as well as another unknown track. I posted a similar clip by another group here, and I have to admit, Biebl's Ave Maria never fails to give me goosebumps whenever I hear it sung. Beautiful!