Dear Partners in Ministry,
Happy feast day.... again! Just two weeks after we marked St. Gregory's Day, we arrive at the feast of St. Hildegard of Bingen, one of only four women ever declared a Doctor of the Church. Her extraordinary life's work included pivotal contributions to medicine, science, mysticism, theology, drama, and philosophy; but it was her unparalleled body of work as a composer of sacred chant that earned her a place among the patron saints of music.
Starting tomorrow night, we'll begin preparing for our Gaudete! concert on December 14. Any weekend or seasonal repertoire will be covered at the start of rehearsals, and the remainder of our evenings will focus on concert rep. We'll start with the first sections of Holst's Christmas Day, and see how much of a dent we can put into "Unexpected and Mysterious." Here we go!
Peace be with you,
Tony Ward
MUSICAL FYI
All of us have a comfortable span of pitches that are natural to our singing voices, and maybe a "bonus" of a few pitches above and below that comfort zone that we stretch a bit (healthily!) to reach. When we speak of range, we're actually referring to that full compass of notes. That comfortable portion of your range is called a tessitura.
Range and tessitura applies to pieces of music as well. Consider "I Am the Bread of Life" by Suzanne Toolan: one of its most distiinctive features is its range, which reaches from a low Ab to a high point of Eb, an interval of an octave and a fifth (the same daunting range as our National Anthem!). Those extremes only happen once each per verse; the remainder of the piece lives in a much more comfortable stretch— its tessitura— from middle C to the C above it.
REHEARSAL AGENDA: SEPTEMBER 18
IN FOLDERS
- 2.009 · Psalm 146: Praise the Lord, My Soul! (Cosas)
AGENDA:
- JS 92 · Ps 113: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord (Mayernik)
- JS 825 · Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service (BEACH SPRING/Bayly)
- 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- 5.062 · Christmas Day (Holst, arr. Ward)
- 4.022 · Unexpected and Mysterious (Hampton)
THIS WEEK IN LITURGY
SEPTEMBER 21 · Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
READINGS: Read online at usscb.org
Lectionary for Mass: 135
2025 Workbook: p. 261
Breaking Bread 2025: p. 214
Cantors: David R (5:00); Kathy P (9:00); Anthony S (11:00)
MUSIC SELECTIONS:
- Gathering: BB 518 · JS 824 · Christ, Be Our Light (Farrell)
- Glory to God: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Responsorial Psalm: WA · JS 92 · Ps 113: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord (Mayernik)
- Gospel Acclamation: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Preparation of the Gifts: BB 329 · 3.066 · Bread for the World (Farrell)
- Eucharistic Acclamations: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Holy · When We Eat This Bread · Amen I
- Lamb of God: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Communion: BB 354 · JS 776 · Ubi Caritas (Hurd)
- Sending Forth: BB 620 · JS 825 · Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service (BEACH SPRING/Bayly)
LOOKING AHEAD
SEPTEMBER 28 · Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
READINGS: Read online at usscb.org
Lectionary for Mass: 138
2025 Workbook: p. 265
Breaking Bread 2025: p. 216
Cantors: TBD (5:00); Pam P (9:00); Karin O (11:00)
MUSIC SELECTIONS:
- Gathering: BB 393 · JS 818 · Here I Am, Lord (Schutte)
- Glory to God: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Responsorial Psalm: WA · 2.009 · Ps 146: Praise the Lord, My Soul! (Cosas)
- Gospel Acclamation: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Preparation of the Gifts: WA · 6.008 · Bless the Lord (NETTLETON/Ward/St. Noel) first time from the published scores!
- Eucharistic Acclamations: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Holy · When We Eat This Bread · Amen I
- Lamb of God: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Communion: BB 364 · 3.061 · Take and Eat (Joncas)
- Sending Forth: BB 385 · JS 813 · City of God (Schutte)
OCTOBER 5 · Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
READINGS: Read online at usscb.org
Lectionary for Mass: 141
2025 Workbook: p. 268
Breaking Bread 2025: p. 218
Cantors: Rich W (5:00); Marie P (9:00); Greg E (11:00)
MUSIC SELECTIONS:
- Gathering: BB 310 · JS 768 · Gather Your People (Hurd)
- Glory to God: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Responsorial Psalm: BB 779 · JS 71 · Ps 95: If Today You Hear His Voice (Soper)
- Gospel Acclamation: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Preparation of the Gifts: BB 463 · JS 696 · In Every Age (Whitaker)
- Eucharistic Acclamations: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Holy · When We Eat This Bread · Amen I
- Lamb of God: WA · 1.004 · Mass of Encounter (Ward)
- Communion: BB · JS 665 · Center of My Life (Inwood)
- Sending Forth: WA · JS 599 · Halleluya! We Sing Your Praises (South African)
RESOURCES
MUSIC SELECTIONS: Ordinary Time III (September 7–November 27, 2025)