Happy Feast Day to St. Luke!

I still have 43 minutes to celebrate the feast day of St. Luke, so I thought I would do it by putting up a photo of his attributed masterpiece, Our Lady of Czostachowa, one of the Black Madonnas. According to legend, this beautiful image of the Madonna and Child was painted by St. Luke on the wood of a table built by Christ. The image has been nearly stolen by pagans and desecrated, yet she is still there, gesturing to her son. Some of the desecrations are still miraculously visible, namely the marks on her face. The monks tried to repair the image but any paint that was applied to the area refused to remain. She is known as the Queen and the Protector of Poland for saving the monastery of Jasna Gora from Swedish invaders in the mid-1600s. Jasna Gora is now her home, and I had the privilege of visiting her in February 2011. Ever since that visit I have had a very strong devotion to her, and I have St. Luke to thank for it! Pray for us, St. Luke, and pray for the artists and the doctors of the world!

Summer Finds

Hello all! Just got back from vacation at Catholic Familyland! They had some cool new stuff at the bookstore this year, including this lovely holy water font I purchased for the apartment I'm sharing with three other girls this year. You can see a close up of it in the second photo! This is a painting by Bouguereau, I believe, who is known for both his religious and secular art, both of which are wondrously beautiful, but his religious art is absolutely exquisite! I hope it appeals to both my music major roommate and my Dominican roommates with its inclusion of our beloved Mother of the Church and the Infant First Truth.

I also included in the first photo a recent purchase from Amazon: *drum roll, please* The Simple English Propers by Adam Bartlett! This is the music of the Mass, the text of the Mass set to simple chants in English for Catholic parishes all over the English-speaking world! These chants have long been absent from the Mass in many English parishes due to the option in the GIRM for "another suitable song" to take its place - although fortunately the new translation of the GIRM (only recently released) correctly states "another suitable chant" may be substituted. THis is definitely a step in the right direction. But the Propers themselves have a special place in the liturgy, for they are the text of the Mass, integral to the liturgy itself. Thus there is a deep loss when they are omitted. Singing these texts are part of what it means to "Sing THE Mass" vs. "Sing AT Mass." I am hoping that the arrival of this beautiful book will help particularly in this circumstance. Okay, I'll stop preaching now. I am hoping to incorporate these into my 4 pm Sunday Mass Choir this coming semester. I love the cover of this book, though, they did a very nice job with it and the binding. It will look lovely both on and off of my music shelf.

I'll add a couple more photos tomorrow of another lovely find...

Poulenc's Litanies of the Blessed Virgin

This piece was performed by the University Chorale this semester and I found it so intriguing, I had to post it here. The Litanies a la Vierge Noire were composed by the French composer Francis Poulenc in 1936 after a friend and fellow composer died in an automobile accident. The circumstances under which Poulenc was composing this piece are quite apparent as one listens to its performance and reads the text. One can hear the composer grappling with death, grief, despair, and hope as Poulenc alternates between sharp dissonances and piercing harmonies. When I listen to it, it reminds me of the tragedies and horrors of the Second World War, which is why I posted an image of the railroad in winter at Auschwitz beneath the translation. I'm almost certain that when I see Auschwitz, Poulenc's Litanies will be sounding in my head. To listen to a recording, click on the link below.

Litanies a la Vierge Noire

1936, Francis Poulenc

Translation:

Lord, have pity on us.

Jesus Christ, have pity on us.

Jesus Christ, hear us.

Jesus Christ, grant our prayers. 

God the Father, creator, have pity on us.

God the Son, redeemer, have pity on us.

God the Holy Spirit, sanctifier, have pity on us.

Holy Trinity, who are one single God, have pity on us. 

Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us.

Virgin, queen and patron, pray for us.

Virgin, whom Zacchaeus the tax-collector made us know and love,

Virgin, to whom Zacchaeus or Saint Amadour raised this sanctuary,

Pray for us, pray for us. 

Queen of the sanctuary, which Saint Martial consecrated,

And where he celebrated his holy mysteries,

Queen, before whom knelt Saint Louis

Asking of you good fortune for France,

Pray for us, pray for us.

Queen, to whom Roland consecrated his sword, pray for us.

Queen, whose banner won the battles, pray for us.

Queen, whose hand delivered the captives, pray for us.

Our Lady, whose pilgrimage is enriched by special favours,

Our Lady, whom impiety and hate have often wished to destroy,

Our Lady, whom the peoples visit as of old,

Pray for us, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who wipes out the sins of the world, pardon us.

Lamb of God, who wipes out the sins of the world, grant our prayers.

Lamb of God, who wipes out the sins of the world, have pity on us.

 Our Lady, pray for us,

To the end that we may be worthy of Jesus Christ.

Beata - A Song from Heaven

God reveals himself through music in so many ways, from the magnificence of Mozart's Requiem or a Bach Cantata to the still, soothing melodies of chant. I'm just beginning to discover what a vast treasury of beautiful music the Church holds, especially for the season of Advent. 

Take, for example, the Gregorian chant Beata Viscera Mariae Virginis, so appropriate for the coming of the Lord on Christmas (read the Latin, then see the translation below). This particular chant, when sung by the skilled voices of the a capella choir, Chanticleer, is a gem among gems. This is, undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard and will ever hear this side of eternity. Please take the time to listen to the link that I have posted below: to be still, and to know that He is God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAtLo5-ZSM

Chanticleer, Beata (Plainsong).
Can be found on the album Chanticleer: Sound in Spirit released 2005.


Text:


Beata viscera Mariae Virginis,
quae portaverunt aeterni Patris filium.


Translation:


Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary
that bore the Son of the everlasting Father.

Conditor alme siderum

A seventh century hymn for Vespers for Advent.

Conditor alme siderum
aetérna lux credéntium
Christe redémptor
ómnium exáudi preces súpplicum

Creator of the stars of night,
Thy people's everlasting light,
Jesu, Redeemer, save us all,
and hear Thy servants when they call.

Qui cóndolens intéritu
mortis perire saeculum
salvásti mundum languidum
donnas reis remedium.

Thou, grieving that the ancient curse
should doom to death a universe,
hast found the medicine, full of grace,
to save and heal a ruined race.

Vergénte mundi véspere
uti sponsus de thálamo
egréssus honestissima
Virginis matris cláusula.

Thou camest, the Bridegroom of the Bride,
as drew the world to evening tide,
proceeding from a virgin shrine,
the spotless Victim all divine.

Cuius forti ponténtiae
genu curvántur ómnia
caeléstia, terréstia
nutu faténtur súbdita.

At whose dread Name, majestic now,
all knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
and things celestial Thee shall own,
and things terrestrial Lord alone.

Te, Sancte fide quáesumus,
venture iudex sáeculi,
consérva nos in témpore
hostis a telo perfidi.

O Thou whose coming is with dread,
to judge and doom the quick and dead,
preserve us, while we dwell below,
from every insult of the foe.

Sit, Christe rex piissime
tibi Patríque glória
cum Spíritu Paráclito
in sempitérna sáecula.

To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, Three in One,
laud, honor, might, and glory be
from age to age eternally.

Amen.