During Holy Week 2023 I reposted a selection of music that had been curated during the pandemic by our son, Andrew Bearden Brown. Together we featured some of the world’s best vocal ensembles. Church of the Advent in Boston, where Andrew is currently a member of the professional choir, has an outstanding music program, so for 2024 their programming is a good place from which to highlight a piece of music for each of the major days of the week.

I’ll include a listing of the entire program of musical selections for each particular service and then highlight one piece from those selections. The videos showcase some of my favorite vocal groups from around the world.

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24 March – The Sunday of the Passion (“Palm Sunday”)

To remember the day of Jesus’ entrance in Jerusalem that begins Holy Week, the musical selections for the 11 a.m. service at Advent are:

Josquin Desprez: Missa “Pange lingua”
Frei Manuel Cardoso: Turbæ quæ præcedebant
Antonio Lotti: Crucifixus à 8
Paul Nicholson: Velum templi scissum est

The chosen selection is Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus à 8 by Ensemble Altera (where Andrew is also a member).

I have also added a video of Ah, holy Jesus, sung by the congregation to a diminishing accompaniment, at the end of the Church of the Advent’s 2019 Palm Sunday liturgy.

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27 March – Tenebræ

Tenebræ is a religious service of Western Christianity held in the evening during Holy Week. One of its most notable visible characteristics is the gradual extinguishing of candles. For this Wednesday service at Advent, the choir will sing:

Gregorian chant
Tomás Luis de Victoria: Versa est in luctum
Paul Nicholson: Velum templi scissum est
Tomás Luis de Victoria: O Domine, Jesu Christe

The featured video is of The Tallis Scholars singing Victoria’s Versa est in luctum.

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28 March – Maundy Thursday

The fifth day of Holy Week commemorates the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper of Jesus with the Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus’ words “I give you a new commandment.”

The selections to be sung by the choir at Church of the Advent are:

Josquin Desprez: Missa “Pange lingua”
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Fratres ego enim accepi
Healey Willan: Ave verum corpus
Thomas Tallis: O salutaris hostia

Once again, I’ll call on The Tallis Scholars for their performance of O salutaris hostia.

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29 March – Good Friday

Tomás Luis de Victoria: Reproaches
Giovanni Maria Nanino: Adoramus te, Christe
Thomas Wingham: Vexilla regis prodeunt

The Reproaches have been “sung for many centuries during the Adoration of the Cross at the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. The structure of the text, alternating between refrains sung by the choir and couplets sung by one or more cantors, allows the length of the music to be adjusted easily to fit the ceremonial.”

A video from nine years ago features the choir at Church of the Advent singing these beautiful Reproaches.

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30 March – The Great Vigil of Easter and 31 March – Easter Day

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Missa “Papæ Marcelli”
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Angelus Domini descendit
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Et introeuntes in monumentum
Francisco Guerrero: Sicut cervus desiderat (for Vigil)

arr Andrew Reid: Victimæ paschali laudes (for Easter Day)

I had difficulty finding a good video of these selections, but VOCES8 has a beautiful performance of the Sicut cervus desiderat by Palestrina that I have chosen to share with MTC readers.

As the hart panteth after the water brooks | so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

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Whatever your religious tradition or beliefs, Andrew and I hope you can enjoy the beautiful choral music of Holy Week.

More to come…

DJB

Photo of water lily by Couleur on Pixabay.