Source: https://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/42/music-of-ef-nuptial-masses/p1
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 00:41:01+00:00

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What is the music of the nuptial Mass in the Extraordinary Form (EF)?
I'm going to collect responses and post them here at the top for easy reference. Also, I'd like to clarify that my question is about best practices for parish churches, not cathedrals.
Adrian Fortescue says the Gloria and Credo are omitted, but there may have been changes to the rubrics after 1962 that allow the priest to include or exclude them. The setting of the Ordinary is left to choice, though it might be wise to choose a more festive-sounding one.
The sky's the limit as to settings, but here are some smaller-scale ones.
It is also possible of course to sing the Ordinary in fauxbourdon. Lasso and Viadana wrote some formulas. I'd like to find more of them.
GR/AL/TR: For most of the year, there's the Gradual Uxor tua (Ps 127:3) and the Alleluia with verse Mittat vobis Dominus (Ps 19:3). During Septuagesima and Lent, the Gradual is followed by the Tract Ecce sic benedicetur (Ps. 127:4, 6). During Paschal Time, there are two Alleluias with verses, Mittat vobis and Benedicat vobis.
See Bud Clark's collection of the propers, both set polyphonically and accompanied by organ. Clark's collection also contains several fauxbourdon formulas by Lasso and Viadana.
Nuptial Masses are votive Masses of the 2nd class. I would appreciate more discussion here. The booklet I have for nuptial Masses does indeed contain a Gloria. Why are there differences in online discussions of this? As for the Credo, the Liber says that the Credo is not included in votive Masses of the 2nd class.
Also be sure to see Music for the Nuptial High Mass at sanctamissa.org. Many thanks to the Canons Regular at St. John Cantius (Chicago) for all their work.
Here then is a complete list of items to sing at a Missa cantata pro sponso et sponsa consistent with the 1962 Missale Romanum.
The two EF weddings for which I have had the honor of singing were both sung Masses — the first a technically Low Mass (but we sang the ordinary), the second a Solemn High (about which the bride and groom wrote in Opinion Journal (both pre-motu proprio).
For the second Mass, the ordinary was a polyphonic setting (I don't recall by whom), and the Gregorian propers were chanted. An extra verse of the offertory from the Offertoriale Triplex was chanted in addition to a motet. Unfortunately, I don't recall the motet either.
Any recommendations for polyphonic settings of the propers?
On CPDL I only found a setting of the Offertory: Palestrina's SATTB setting of In te speravi.
Deus Israel conjungat vos: et ipse sit vobiscum, qui misertus est duobus unicis: et nunc, Domine, fac eos plenius benedicere te. (Ps. 127. 1) Beati omnes qui timent Dominum: qui ambulant in viis ejus.
May the God of Israel join you together: and may He be with you, who was merciful to two only children: and now, O Lord, make them bless Thee more fully. (Ps. 127. 1). Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, that walk in His ways.
Uxor tua sicut vitis abundans in lateribus domus tuae. V. Filii tui sicut novellae olivarum in circuitu mensae tuae. Alleluia, alleluia.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine on the sides of thy house. V. Thy children as olive plants round about thy table. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ecce sic benedicetur omnis homo, qui timet Dominum. V. Benedicat tibi Dominus ex Sion: et videas bona Jerusalem omnibus diebus vitae tuae. V. Et videas filios filiorum tuorum: pax super Israel.
Behold thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. V. May the Lord bless you out of Sion; and mayest thou see that good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. V. And mayest thou see thy children's children: peace upon Israel.
AL. Mittat vobis, Benedicat vobis (Ps. 19. 3, Ps. 133. 3).
Alleluia, alleluia. V. Mittat vobis Dominus auxilium de sancto: et de Sion tueatur vos. Alleluia. V. Benedicat vobis Dominus ex Sion: qui fecit coelum et terram. Alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia. V. (Ps. 19. 3) May the Lord send you help from the sanctuary, and defend you out of Sion. Alleluia. V. (Ps. 133. 3). May the Lord out of Sion bless you: who hath made heaven and earth. Alleluia.
In te speravi, Domine: dixi: Tu es Deus meus: in manibus tuis tempora mea.
In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped: I said, Thou art my God; my times are in Thy hands.
Ecce sic benedicetur omnis homo, qui timet Dominum: et videas filios filiorum tuorum: pax super Israel.
Behold, thus shall every man be blessed that feareth the Lord; and mayest thou see thy children's children; peace upon Israel.
I am really surprised not to find any obvious settings of Uxor tua. What a wonderful text! You can easily imagine all the word-painting possibilities.
Marek, it's great to see you posting here. I'm going to be in Budapest, Piliscaba, and Esztergom next October. The music on your website sounds great. Let us know if you sing any weddings!
Aris, I'm not surprised that Palestrina did something. After all, his settings for the Song of Songs are pretty darn nice.
I've sung at several TLM Nuptial Masses, with the chant propers, and either chant or polyphonic ordinaries. Organists, as you suggest, and sometimes soloists, instrumentalists, or choirs sing or play additional music as preludes and postludes, or as extra offertory and communion music. Often enough, a Marian piece during a presentation of flowers at Our Lady's shrine after Communion. Sometimes, the Mass has included the Gloria, and even occasionally the Credo. These may not be strictly rubrical, depending on the season, but are sometimes requested. This has normally been cleared with the priest.
Pes, if you would like to visit Kosice (Slovakia) too, just let me know... We do sing occasionally also weddings, but we don't have special pieces for it.
For most of the year, there's the Gradual Uxor tua and the Alleluia with verse Mittat vobis Dominus.
During Septuagesima and Lent, the Gradual Uxor tua is followed by the Tract Ecce sic benedicetur.
During Paschal Time, there are two Alleluias with verses, Mittat vobis and Benedicat vobis.
I had a Gloria sung for my wedding in the EF. At first we thought it wasn't done, but then the priest checked the 1962 rubrics and said that it was an option (evidently a change from pre-1962). He as been saying the EF mass since 1989 and has always tried to be careful to celebrate correctly according to 1962.
There is a lovely setting of the "Ecce sic benedictur" by Morales (I had it done for my wedding). You can find it in the "Chester Book of Motets" vol 14. It's the second part of his motet "Beati omnes qui timent Dominum" but stands by iteslf well. I am not sure if the text is identical to either the Offertory or the Communion (we had it sung as a postlude).
I've updated the original entry. Personally, I'm leaning toward a chanted ordinary, propers sung in fauxbourdon (Lasso and Viadana's formulas), and perhaps a short motet or two if our schola can manage them. An Ave Maria seems appropriate after Mass, or a seasonal Marian antiphon.
Does anyone know where I might find recordings of the Gradual, Tract, Alleluia, and 2nd Alleluia?
gregp, there's a rather wooden recording called "Latin High Mass for Nostalgic Catholics." It has all the propers, being a live recording of an EF nuptial Mass. Available on iTunes, amazon, etc. I would cheer the arrival of more options.
Yes, I saw that. Unfortunately, the "Gradual" track on the recording has the Gradual sung to a Psalm tone, followed by the Alleluia verse. I might break down and record them myself, which would be almost more than my poor schola could bear.
gregp: Go to http://www.chanttracks.com/ and email Matthew J Curtis. He can do it all, and has most of what you're asking for already recorded.
Make sure to donate generously! He does excellent work.
Hi, I'm doing a mix of polyphony and chant for an EF Nuptial Mass (like Aristotle's, Low Mass with chant schola, but only because the priest is 80 and doing this for the first time in 40 years).
Is there a traditional Chant Mass that is used for the Missa pro sponso et sponsa?
We are doing the Missa Aeterna Christi Munera by Palestrina with just 4 guys!
Both are available on iTunes.
It's also useful to be able to check the Triplex version of the sound-alike chants; the Triplex doesn't provide any neumes for Uxor tua, and only part of the Laon for Mittat Vobis.
"Adrian Fortescue says the Gloria and Credo are omitted, but there may have been changes to the rubrics after 1962 that allow the priest to include or exclude them."
As I understand it, there is no doubt about this and no option.
When the Nuptial Votive Mass is said, the Gloria is sung and the Credo is not (Votive Mass of the 2nd Class).
The situation may be different if the votive Mass is not said.
Perhaps you can post the rubric from the Collectio and the year of the book you're looking at?
The last Liber usualis was from 1961 and states that the Gloria is omitted. From what I am told, it was made an option in 1962, but this could be wrong. In any case we sang the Gloria from Mass VIII.
Ask the priest about the Gloria.
No Creed unless the underlying Day (Sunday / Feast) requires it. I don't think EF Wedding Masses were typically celebrated on Sundays though.
> Any recommendations for polyphonic settings of the propers?
There is a polyphonic setting of the introit here, in IMSLP, by Vincent d'Indy, for SATB. Actually it's a motet with two parts, the first of which is the Introit, and is clearly based upon the pre-1908 version of the Introit found e.g. in the 1903 Liber Usualis, p. 1069. It would require the verse and the Gloria Patri in Gregorian chant, as given in the LU.
Please notice that in the OF Nuptial Mass the Kyrie eleison is ommitted. According to the 2002 Missale Romanum the Gloria is said or sung (in the former edition it was not).
This was news to me! Thanks for letting us know. I don't know how I missed that!
As for the Ordinary, I think that's more a matter of what your performers can hack, though I'd be more inclined to Lydian or Mixolydian than to Phrygian. I once filled in for Fred on a big EF wedding where's the guy's fantasy was to be married to the Missa Papae Marcelli, and he was willing to pay for 12 singers, so we did it. We had to scare up 4 high tenors in the middle of summer (I'm inclined to take it down a 4th, but the rest of the rep made that impractical) and we had 1 rehearsal before the day (and a crapload of other music!), but it came off reasonably well.
I know, I know... but what a honeymoon that would make! Those luscious lines, those sensuous melodic curves...!
I was listening to that Missa the other day and it is definitely worth (musically) fantasizing over.
There should be pages on the site for music suggestions for this and more.
Is the Kyrie omitted? Both the Missal and the Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonium merely state, "Omittitur actus paenitentialis" and the IGMR seems to consider the Penitential Act and the Kyrie as two separate elements (except when the third option is used).
as at the Vigil Mass."
So, is this Nuptial Mass a similar situation where the Penitential Act is omitted, but the Kyrie is not? It's rather vague. Does anyone know for certain?
ClemensRomanus, I think you're referring to the OF. The Kyrie is always sung at Sung EF Nuptial Masses.
Yes, I'm sorry I didn't specify. I did mean the OF. Is the Kyrie sung?
As far as I can see, yes, it should be ommitted. And this even though the Kyrie and the Penitential Act are two different things.
Actually the Roman Ritual (numbers 52-54 on Matrimony) says that after the Priest makes the sign of the cross, greets the people and says some nice things to all those attending, the Collect immediately follows. But the 2002 Roman Missal says that the Penitential Act is ommitted and the Gloria is sung. The Missal is more recent and should take precedence. So, combining what these two liturgical books prescribe, I believe that, after the nice words addressed to the congregation, the Gloria should follow, and then the Collect.
If someone has some good reasons why I should be wrong, I'll gladly stand corrected.
And lest someone distracted be led into error: this applies to the Ordinary Form only.
Hmm. Well, that seems to make sense, too. Still, I wish it were a bit more definitive and less vague.
In 2012 and according to the 1962 rubrics, this seems to be possible. Dec. 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The votive Mass pro Sponsis is 2nd class, so it can be celebrated on that Feast Day, which is a 2nd class Feast. There would be a commemoration even at a Sung or Solemn Mass, per Jeffrey Collins, The Roman Catholic Ceremonial. "One commemoration is allowed, but in a Sung or Solemn Mass, this must be privileged. (The only commemorations that qualify are the days within the Christmas octave... )"
This would not have been possible at certain earlier times, for instance, in 1911, when the Catholic Encyclopedia was written, the "closed period" extended from "Advent Sunday till after the octave of the Epiphany and from Ash Wednesday till after Low Sunday."
We have done a number of Tridentine weddings. Re: "Uxor tua," Vincenzo Ruffo wrote one, and it is in the series of Renaissance motets by Garland Publishing, although the editor messed up the Latin in the title!!
The nuptial propers (except for the Offertory, which is borrowed from the 13th Sunday after Pentecost) are mostly from the Book of Tobit or the psalm Beati omnes, and there are 12 settings of the latter that I know about, including one I "boiled down" to alto, baritone, organ. You can use the appropriate parts for the right places in the mass.
As far as I know, the nuptial mass is a votive mass, and that's why there isn't a Gloria, although we have had priests who have allowed it anyway.
It's a little harder to find motets from Tobit, but they are out there. Look in the Breviary for the texts and then search for them in a music library - that's what I did. Philip de Monte wrote a lovely "Dixit Tobias" that was used at a recent Latin wedding in Oberlin. We have several of them but I am at work right now and don't have access to them.
It is correct that it is a votive Mass, but it is a votive Mass of the 2nd class, which, according to the 1962 rubrics has a Gloria.
"(l) the Nuptial Mass and the Mass of Thanksgiving on the 25th and 50th anniversary of a wedding.
"(a) the Gloria is said, unless violet vestments are worn; but the Creed is not said, unless it is to be said by reason of a Sunday or a current octave; ..."
I am singing in the choir for a sung EF nuptial Mass at the end of this month. We are planning to sing two motet settings of the O Sacrum Convivium. Since the wedding will not be in paschal time (or on Corpus Christi, when it was designed to be used), should we omit the Alleluia that comes at the end? I seem to recall hearing somewhere that Alleluias in the time after Pentecost should only be used in their liturgical place and not in motets. Is this correct?
No, it's neither law nor common thinking. Alleluia can be used with abandon in all votive music from the triple Easter Vigil Alleluia until it is "farewelled" at the Benedicamus Domino concluding Vespers on the Saturday before Septuagesima.
Part of "Bud Clark's Collection" (aka "Codex Budensis") is now housed at http://www.lakewoodsound.com/quilisma/index.htm, though it's not complete. I'll try to get out a revised complete catalogue soon. Among other things, I have the rights to all of Fr. Rossini's MOTET books, which are scanned and mailable as PDFs. They are considerably better than his MASSES ... Offertories for unison, two equal, three mixed, SATB, motets, hymns, etc. A musicology graduate student who came to Old St. Mary's in Cincinnati to hear us do the Chant once mistook a Fr. Rossini "O Salutaris" for Bruckner (!). I also have most of the Office Hymns set to Gregorian, with fauxbourdons of various composers, in Latin and in English. If you need something, e-mail me. If I don't have it, or can't write it, I can point you to someone who might be able to help.
I sent you a PM, but I just want to reiterate here that I would be very interested in some of those Rossini books.
Welcome to the forum, Bud! And hats off to you for your work sharing sacred music on the net through mailing-list groups and other on-line forums.

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