THE ORGAN MASS

The Organ Mass is a venerable tradition that is unique to Latin Rite Christianity. It is essentially prayer through improvisation on the chants of the day. Given the relative rarity of this form outside lands with a well-developed tradition of organ improvisation (most especially France), a brief, if cursory, explanation may prove helpful. Each and every day in the Church’s calendar is assigned a set of Propers – that is, five prayers, most often taken directly from the Psalms, that are appointed to be sung or said at various points during the Mass. The Introit is sung for the procession of the priest into the sanctuary. The Gradual is a reflective chant sung after the First Reading. The Alleluia is sung just prior to the reading of the Gospel: not so much an acclamation as a chant of recollection (looking back to the readings we have just heard) and expectation (looking forward to the words of Our Lord in the Gospel). The Offertorium is changed as the priest prepares the altar for the offering of the Body of Christ at the Eucharistic Prayer, and as the faithful prepare to unite their personal intentions with the Sacrifice of the Mass. Finally, the Communio is sung as the priest and the faithful receive Holy Communion. Usually the choir sings these various chants (or, as is the practice today, a suitable motet or hymn in their stead). For Masses without a choir present, however, the organ may assume the choir’s liturgical function. This was often done, for instance, at Lady Masses. These Marian Masses, said only after the celebration of the principal Mass of the day, were celebrated in the Lady Chapel, rather than at the high altar, of major churches. As singing two full Masses back-to-back is rather an exhausting task for most any choir, only a core group would stay to render certain chants at this secondary Mass, while the organ filled in the rest. Medieval sources speak of the organ “singing” – a clear indication of its unique role in the sacred liturgy. The organist “sings,” then, the various chants of the Mass in their respective places. It is hoped that this will aid among the faithful of St. Catharine’s that interior singing which is the soul’s ascent to the heavenly Father.

Music at St. Catharine’s

Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum!

The words of the Psalmist are in no small way the motivating sentiments of the music program at St. Catharine’s. Even more so than the architects, sculptors, and glassblowers who have labored to make a fitting dwelling for the Lord, the choristers and instrumentalists adorn that dwelling most fully and most graciously. It is they who practice that art which is “a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than any other art”—the ancilla liturgiae—in virtue of it forming “a necessary or integral part of solemn liturgy” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 112). It is they who at every Mass seek to build tabernacles or tents out of glorious musical forms in order to provide a suitable habitation for our God, He Who is hidden beneath the sacramental veils. Their coaxing of abstract musical ideas into tangible sound is, in a certain sense, a pale mirror of the Incarnation of the invisible God in human form. And they know that it is not merely enough to sing the high praises of God with one’s voice and to perceive it with one’s ears, for one’s heart must just as surely resonate with that Truth which saves.

St. Catharine’s is dedicated to the vast musical treasury of the Church, from the Gregorian Introits, to the polyphonic motets and anthems at the Offertory, to the stirring English hymns, to the organ postludes at the conclusion of Holy Mass. The adult choir sings at the 10 o’clock Mass every Sunday, and the children’s choir at the 10 o’clock Mass on the first Sunday of every month. The choir also sings for Holy Hours and Vespers as scheduled throughout the year.

For the specifications of the Warren/Casavant organ, please click here.

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Praise ye the Lord in his holy places:
  praise ye him in the firmament of his power.
   Praise ye him for his mighty acts:
     praise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness.
        Praise him with the sound of trumpet:
           praise him with psaltery and harp.
                  Praise him with timbrel and choir:
                          praise him with strings and organs.
                                    Praise him on high sounding cymbals:
                                             praise him on cymbals of joy:
                                                         let every spirit praise the Lord.
                                                                                                  Alleluia.

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