Plainchant: the Sanctus and Agnus Dei

In this Lent, we seek to reconnect with God and deepen our faith through self-examination and intentional reading of scripture and prayer. At Saint George’s, our Lenten music seeks to do the same, to allow us to reconnect with the ancient music of the church through plainsong, or plainchant. This unaccompanied singing was the only music allowed in the church up until the 9th century and usually consisted of just a simple melody that could be sung by one or many. It is sung prayer in its simplest form.

You will notice that during Lent our liturgical music and psalms are plainsong. These settings trace their roots directly back to the beginnings of the Christian church. You can learn more about plainchant in general here in this short video. Below we focus on two of the five the mass ordinaries, the Sanctus and Agnus Dei. Click on their titles to hear Latin examples of what we sing at Eucharist each Sunday in Lent.

The Sanctus (SAHNK-toos)   

Holy, holy, holy Lord. 

Lord God of power and might. 

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. 

Sanctus is Latin for “holy.”  The Sanctus concludes the proper preface in the Holy Communion liturgy with the recognition that the worshipping assembly’s praise is joined to that of the whole Church in heaven and on earth. 

The text of the Sanctus derives from Isaiah 6:3 and Matthew 21:9.  It recalls both the heavenly vision of the prophet Isaiah and the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  The Sanctus most likely dates from the second-century liturgy. 

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) 

Lamb of God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world.
Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy upon us. Grant us your peace.

The canticle “Lamb of God,” is used in our Eucharistic Liturgy.  The text is based on the biblical account of Jesus’ Baptism in which John the Baptist refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29b); this is the origin of the Christian reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God.  This reference is rooted in the Passover (Exodus 12).  The Agnus Dei (AHN-yoos Day-ee) is a reminder of the connection between Easter and Passover. 

Since the early medieval period, the Agnus Dei has been sung at the time of the breaking of the bread in the Holy Communion Liturgy (the Fraction), as a reference to Christ’s crucifixion for the world’s salvation. 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Ben Keseley, Minister of Music

The Kyrie

The Kyrie

During penitential times, such as the season of Lent, we often pray the Kyrie in place of a hymn of praise (Gloria). The Kyrie is a prayer not just for ourselves, but for the church and the whole world.  It is more than just a plea for God’s mercy, it is a call for God’s favor and an expression of praise to a merciful God who loves and cares for all things. 

The Greek words Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison, Kyrie Eleison are translated “Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy.”  Often the prayer is repeated three times, and for some occasions nine times, as a way to symbolize the Trinity (3 and 9 being Trinitarian numbers).

During the fourth century, the Jerusalem church introduced a litany of intercession into the first half of the Holy Communion liturgy, petitioning God’s intervention in the affairs of the Church and the world.  To each petition, offered by the deacon, the congregation responded: Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy).  By the fifth century, this “Deacon’s Litany” had spread throughout the church and continued to maintain a litany form until the eighth century, when the litany form disappeared and only the responses survived (Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie…).  In some churches, recent liturgical revisions have restored the Kyrie to its original litany form and have assigned its bids to an assisting minister or cantor to intone.  

The setting of the Kyrie we sing at our 10:30 Eucharist this Lent is based in the ancient plainchant melodies of the church. These melodies, whether simple or elaborate, are hauntingly beautiful and serve to bring forth the text that they carry in a heartfelt and prayerful way. Below are two examples of different plainsong settings of the Kyrie for your listening.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Dr. Ben Keseley

A Sacred Bridge: Voluntaries in Worship

Ever wonder why we begin most of our worship with a prelude and end with a postlude?  

In very general terms, the history of preludes and postludes in worship is quite simple.  We inherited our tradition of preludes and postludes (also called voluntaries) from a 17th-century Dutch tradition of concertizing before and after worship.  Church organs at that time were owned by the city council, and organists were hired by the city. At the early part of the Reformation in the Netherlands, there was no place for music at all in Dutch Reformed church services, but since the Dutch people enjoyed organ music, and organs were still in churches from days of Catholicism, the city hired organists to play concerts before and after worship.  Over time, this tradition of voluntaries has developed and morphed into one that is quite the opposite of its beginnings.  For we no longer view these voluntaries as performances that are outside of worship, but as integral offering and part of our worship, a time of centering ourselves in God and God’s beauty and love.

I invite you to consider these voluntaries as a sacred bridge that brings us from our worldly context into the presence of God, or in the case of the closing voluntary, one that sends us back into the world to live out our calling as children of God.  These bridges are firmly anchored in holy worship on one side and our earthly world on the other.  They prepare us for the consideration of sacred things.  They help send us on our way to do the work of Christ in the world.  

For us, music in worship is never about performance, but about an offering of praise, thanksgiving, penitence, or petition to God.  While we often are often caught up in the beauty of the music or the words, the purpose is not to bring attention to the musicians or singers but to point to the Creator who makes all things beautiful and inspires creativity in us all.  For me, this is what makes an offering and leading music in worship a very holy and sacred thing.  Before each service, our choirs pray together this prayer, as do I each time I don my white surplice for worship.  It helps remind us about this holy and sacred duty.

            Bless us O Lord your servants who minister in your temple;

            Grant that what we sing on our lips, we may believe in our hearts;

            And what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives.

            Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  (The Choristers Prayer) 

Voluntaries for 6 March 2022 • Lent 1

Prelude: Erbarm dich, o Herre Gott, BWV 721 - J.S. Bach. (O God, be merciful to me)

(This piece, most likely by Bach, is somewhat odd for Bach’s compositions in that there is no counterpoint. Instead, this penitential chorale contains an insistent repeated-chord motion with the soprano melody presented in simple notes. Some say these repeated chords are symbolistic of Jesus’ footsteps to the cross, or a heart beat.

Typically an organist plays low notes with his feet on the pedals, but with this piece the soprano (high notes) melody is played with the feet. Today the accompaniment is registered using a unique stop on the organ, the Suavial 8’. This is a stop which is tuned sharp of its sister stop the Principal 8’ and creates a rich, undulating effect.

Postlude: Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 646. (Whereto should I flee)

The work is a powerful, yet delightfully short fugue based on the Lutheran Chorale. The rhythm is persistent, with rarely any rest, with the upper line constantly leaping across multiple registers to compound the feelings of anxiety. The running figures in the hands are adorned by the chorale melody, again played with the feet. The imagery of the soul fleeing to God for relief from the guilt of sin is embodied in this trio.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Dr. Ben Keseley, Minister of Music

The Great Litany

We begin our 10:30am worship with the singing of the Great Litany (S-67) in procession.  It is customary to use the Great Litany on the first Sunday of Lent.  

The Great Litany is a responsive intercession for a wide variety of human needs.  Its beginnings are in fifth-century Rome where it was connected with both processions for obtaining God’s blessing on the fields and God’s defense against enemies and disasters.  Martin Luther made a popular revision of the Great Litany in 1529 that was influential in England. The Great Litany was the first English language rite prepared by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, published in 1544. Cranmer modified the Great Litany by consolidating certain groups of petitions into single prayers with response.  The Great Litany has become a classic Christian prayer, one that is powerful and insistent.

The Litany is primarily directed at Christ and begins with invocations of the Holy Trinity.  The remaining structure of the prayer is as follows:

Deprecations – (from deprecari, to avert by prayer) a series of prayers  against evils and dangers, spiritual harm, and natural calamities

Obsecrations –  (from obsecrare, to ask on religious grounds) petitions which lay the

foundation for the entire prayer by recounting the entire earthly life of Christ

which plead the power of Christ’s Incarnation, life, death, and resurrection for

deliverance 

Intercessions – These petitions on behalf of others are the largest part of the

Litany.  Five sections pray for the church, for support of the weak, for the nations,

for all sorts and conditions of humanity, for reconciliation with our enemies and

with the natural world.

Agnus Dei – following a plea to Christ, the Lamb of God is prayed.

Conclusion – a Kyrie (Lord, have mercy), Our Father, versicle with response, collect, and grace conclude the Litany.

While we sing the Great Litany in procession, we process around and through the entire congregation in a “holy pretzel” symbolizing that our prayers and pleas are bound together as a community.  

Soli Deo Gloria!

Ben Keseley, Minister of Music

We the Lord's People

We the Lord’s people

In each generation throughout history God has raised up poets and musicians who have given us hymns reflective of our time and place.  Hymnody throughout the ages has helped us sing the whole story of our faith.  Even if you don’t fancy yourself a singer, I encourage you to pick up the hymnal and follow along with the texts and tunes we sing, for it could be a step to a deeper relationship with Christ.

Sunday’s communion hymn is a concise statement of purpose for why we gather each Sunday for worship.  It’s text, written by Canon John Edward Bowers, reflects an often-used teaching device in the 1960’s and 1970’s in the Church of England: “The Lord’s People in the Lord’s House on the Lord’s Day for the Lord’s Service.”  The tune (one of my favorites) was written by the former long-time organist at the National Cathedral, Richard Wayne Dirksen.  Dirksen changed the rhythm to his tune INISFREE FARM (“Christ mighty Savior” – one of my top five) and named it DECATUR PLACE, after the street in Northwest Washington D.C. where Dirksen’s predecessor, Paul Callaway, lived.

This hymn is a great reminder of the importance of worship and that it is the absolute center of what we do. The primary reason for our community.  In times when I find it much easier to put other things before my own and my children’s faith and worship practices, I appreciate such hymns that help me refocus on that which is important to the Christian way of life.

We sing to be transformed and because we are transformed people in Christ.  As you sing or read this text, I hope you not only find it a reminder of the centrality and importance of our worship, but truly transformational. I get excited just reading it, let alone singing it.  The beautiful word pairings, the unfolding theology, the tune which beautifully carries the weight of text…this is good and exciting stuff, my friends!  Perhaps your reaction won’t be the same as mine, but may this hymn remind you of the beauty of our Christian faith and worship, the excitement of doing God’s work together, and the centrality of God’s all-embracing love and the sacraments we share together in our worship.  God is indeed good! How can we not come together and give praise?

We the Lord’s people, 
heart and voice uniting,
praise him who called us 
out of sin and darkness
into his own light, 
that he might anoint us
a royal priesthood.

This is the Lord’s house, 
home of all his people,
school for the faithful, 
refuge for the sinner,
rest for the pilgrim, 
haven for the weary;
all find a welcome.

This is the Lord’s day, 
day of God’s own making,
day of creation, 
day of resurrection,
day of the Spirit, 
sign of heaven’s banquet,
day for rejoicing.

In the Lord’s service 
bread and wine are offered,
that Christ may take them, 
bless them, break and give them
to all his people, 
his own life imparting,
food everlasting.

Soli Deo Gloria!  

Dr. Ben Keseley, Minister of Music

• Text reprinted with permission. Onelicense.net A-717214