I don't know... April flowers, allergens, nuclear war, who knows what. It is Ash Wednesday, feria quarta in caput Quadragesimae, dies cinerum; I got back from downtown with less than half an hour to spare before the beginning of Holy Mass from Saint-Eugène-- today is the first live-streaming since Septuagesima (and that was an opus imperfectum, here anyway because I gave up at the Gospel). Whatever the issue was, it is resolved, evidently, Deo gratias. Perhaps some Maecenas stepped up and donated funds to replace the antiquated streaming machinae and their apparatus; who knows.
Immutémur * hábitu, in cínere et cilício : jejunémus et plorémus ante Dóminum : quia multum miséricors est dimíttere peccáta nostra Deus noster.
Inter vestíbulum * et altáre plorábunt sacerdótes minístri Dómini, et dicent : Parce, Dómine, parce pópulo tuo : et ne claudas ora canéntium te, Dómine.
R/. Emendémus * in mélius quæ ignoránter peccávimus : ne súbito præoccupáti die mortis quærámus spátium pœniténtiæ, et inveníre non possímus. * Atténde, Dómine, et miserére : quia peccávimus tibi.
V/. Adjuva nos, Deus salutáris noster : et propter honórem nóminis tui, Dómine, líbera nos. * Atténde, Dómine…
V/. Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. * Atténde, Dómine…
The responsorium Emendemus is proper to the 1st Sunday of Lent and is sung today, in an anonymous French polyphonic version from 1529, by way of anticipation. The fact is that while Lent begins today, ashes and the fast and whatnot, a late-ish development, the 1st Sunday remains where it begins in the Sacred Liturgy, according to the most ancient tradition. I'll hunt about at YouTube for versions of these three chants in a bit.
The Introit is Miserere omnium Domine-- all of the orations over the ashes, their blessing and distribution, all of that is (pedantically speaking) something that happens ante Missam, before Mass.
I must attend to the lessons. Such a different atmosphere from the nonsense at Saint M.'s downtown! Father Grodziski has chanted the lesson from the Holy Prophet Joel; I wonder who the deacon (it is a solemn Mass i.e. the priest is assisted by two other priests acting as the deacon and the subdeacon of the Mass) is. M. le Curé is preaching the sermon.
After the homily, a canon (the text, Miserere mei, Dómine, et exaudi orátionem meam) by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was sung.
An excerpt from the oratorio Judith (H 391) of Marc-Antoine Charpentier is being sung during the Offertory--
Peccávimus, Dómine, peccávimus, injúste égimus, iniquitátem fécimus. Sed tu, quia pius es, miserére nostri.
It would never cross the minds of N. or A. downtown that we could have such lovely music at Holy Mass. Tsk; am going to set aside my b---hiness until after Easter, ahem. The oratio super populo, one of which concludes each Lenten Mass:
Humiliáte cápita vestra Deo.
Inclinántes se, Dómine, majestáti tuæ, propitiátus inténde : ut, qui divíno múnere sunt refécti, cæléstibus semper nutriántur auxíliis. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
Judith H 391 is the second item on this recording, beginning at about the... the times aren't marked on the YouTube page and I cannot take the time to listen now. It looks like a very... modern production, ahem: I expect that they haven't screwed about with Charpentier's music itself, however. When we think of an oratorio, the first thing that pops into the mind is Messiah perhaps but Charpentier's histoires sacrées are more modest; Judith is somewhat over half an hour in length.
LDVM
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