The Introit for Easter Day: Resurrexi Et Adhuc ("I am risen and behold")

Since I wrote on the Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter two years ago, and since I haven't written on the one for Easter Day ever, I will remedy that now.

Here's an mp3 from JoguesChant. It lists text source as Psalm 139:18, 5-6, 1-2, and gives this translation:

I am risen, and I am always with you, alleluia; you have placed your hand upon me, alleluia; your wisdom has been shown to be most wonderful, alleluia, alleluia. O Lord, you have searched me and known me; you know when I sit down and when I rise up.

Here's the chant score:

The first part of the Introit ("I am risen" and "I am with you always") has very interesting resonances for the day. In fact, as far as I can see, verse 18 of Psalm 139 is always translated "When I awake," never "I am risen" (except in the Douay-Rheims!). And "I am with you always") is directly out of Matthew 28:20. But, we can pretend they're part of Psalm 139, if we like.

Here's Giovanni Vianini's version of the introit:



And wow: here's a spectacular version, which is apparently Old Roman chant:



From the YouTube Page:

From an album of Old Roman chant (7th and 8th Century) performed by Ensemble Organum under the direction of Marcel Peres. The playlist for the entire album is found at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=92FD70EAF04E787B.

The text of Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum ("I am risen and behold I am with you") is that of the Introit (Entrance chant) of the Roman rite celebration of the Eucharist on Easter day, It serves as the antiphon for the chanting of Psalm 139.

Antiphon:

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum, alleluia!
Posuisti super me manum tuam, alleluia!
Mirabilis facta est scientia tua, alleluia, alleluia!

Psalm 139 verses and Doxology:

Domine, probasti me, et cognovisti me.
Cognovisti sessionem mean, et resurrectionem meam.

Ecce Domine, tu cognovisti omnia novissima et antiqua.
Tu formasti me et posuisti super me manum tuam

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritu Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.

Translation:

Antiphon:

I am risen and behold I am with you.
You have placed your hand on me.
How wonderful is you knowledge!

Psalm 139 verses and Doxology:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up.

Behold, Lord, you know all things ancient and new.
You have conceived me and laid you hand upon me.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.
Amen.

Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum appears on the recording by Ensemble Organum. Chants of the Church of Roman - Byzantine Period. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=92FD70EAF04E787B

The collection is devoted to chants of the Church of Rome when most of the popes came from the churches of the Byzantine Empire (590 - 752), coinciding with the rise of the Prophet Muhammad (550 - 632) and the Umayyad Caliphate (660- 750). Liturgies were celebrated with chants in both Greek and Latin.

This chant was the inspiration for a setting of the text by US composer Michael Barger, I Am Risen and Behold I Am With You.

And that last piece is also at YouTube. Here it's sung by the Choir of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco, apparently:



Here's the blurb from that page:

Composed by American Michael Barger and performed by the Choir of Saint Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The visual images, with the exception of the pictures of the two soloists, are all from St Gregory's.

The following are notes from the composer:

The text of I Am Risen is that of the Introit (Entrance chant) of the Roman rite celebration of the Eucharist on Easter day, Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum, which serves as the antiphon for the chanting of Psalm 139.

Antiphon:

I am risen and behold and am with you, Alleluia!
You have placed you hand on me, Alleluia!
O God, how wonderf'lly you know me, Alleluia!

Psalm Verse One:

O Lord, you search me and you know me.
You know when I sit down and rise up again, Alleluia!

Psalm Verse Two:

Behold, Lord, you know all things both ancient and new.
You have conceived me, and laid your hand upon me, Alleluia!

Doxology:

Glory be to the Father of Love,
And to the Son, who is risen from the dead,
And to the Spirit giving us new life,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and every shall be, Alleluia!

The composition was inspired by the recording of Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum on Ensemble Organum's recording
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qepWS3yU2Lg, Chants of the Church of Roman - Byzantine Period. It is devoted to chants of the Church of Rome when most of the popes came from the churches of the Byzantine Empire ( 590 - 752), coinciding with the rise of the Prophet Muhammad (550 - 632) and the Umayyad Caliphate (660- 750). Liturgies were celebrated with chants in both Greek and Latin.

I Am Risen has become a favorite hymn of the community of the Church of St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. http://www.saintgregorys.org/
It is sung at Communion at the Easter Vigil; by tradition the following Sunday, called Bright Sunday; and at the last Sunday of the Easter season.

It has also been sung at weddings, funerals, and birthday celebrations. Some have said, "It isn't Easter until we sing I Am Risen." Pilgrims have remarked, "I come to St. Gregory's for Easter to hear I Am Risen."

Musically the hymn is in the Mixolydian mode and marked by chords of the ninth. Music for the hymn is available from St. Gregory of Nyssa and from Amazon. It is Number 73 in the St. Gregory's hymnal, Music For Liturgy.

The video closes with a picture of the cover of the hymn book featuring saints from the Dancing Saints iconic mural in the church's rotunda. http://www.saintgregorys.org/worship/art_section/243/

From right to left they are:

Origen (c. 185--254), the teacher whose work influenced the humanistic thought of St. Gregory of Nyssa (c 335 -- 395) as he developed his theology of "becoming a friend of God," "the only thing truly worthwhile."

Malcom X (1925 -- 1965), who was murdered after discovering the universality of God's love for all humankind after his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Queen Elizabeth I (1533 -- 1603), who reigned artfully over a kingdom divided by Catholics and Protestants, and who said, "There is one Lord Jesus Christ. All the rest is arguments about trifles."

Iqbal Masih (1983 - 1995) , the 12-year-old Pakistani Christian who agitated against child slave labor by the Carpet Mafia and was murdered after attending church on Easter day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0D6K18wq8A

St. Teresa of Avila (1515 - 1582), the great Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church. whose prayers echo those of the great Muslim mystic of Basra, Rabi'ah al- 'Adawiya (717--801), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQTfZodyJIY

Composer Michael Barger grew up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. His work is highly influenced by Islamic and Byzantine Arabic chant and especially by the Lebanese Byzantine chanter, Sister Marie Keyrouz. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0MGzmVaIUw

I was prepared not to like that piece - and didn't, at first - but it grows on you.

I've come to adore this apparent 17th-century collaboration on Noli me Tangere between Abraham Janssens (who did the figures) and Jan Wildens (who painted the landscape) - that's what it says, honest! - and which is now in the Musée des beaux-arts in Dunkerque, France. I just love the "gardener" theme, and this is a great one!

Afterbirthers Demand To See Obama's Placenta | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Afterbirthers Demand To See Obama's Placenta | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

WASHINGTON–In the continuing controversy surrounding the president's U.S. citizenship, a new fringe group informally known as "Afterbirthers" demanded Monday the authentication of Barack Obama's placenta from his time inside his mother's womb. "All we are asking is that the president produce a sample of his fetal membranes and vessels—preferably along with a photo of the crowning and delivery—and this will all be over," said former presidential candidate and Afterbirthers spokesman Alan Keyes, later adding that his organization would be willing to settle for a half-liter of maternal cord plasma. "To this day, the American people have not seen a cervical mucus plug, let alone one that has been signed and notarized by a state-certified Hawaiian health official. If the president was indeed born in the manner in which he claims, then where is his gestation sac?" Keyes said that if Obama did not soon produce at least a bloody bedsheet from his conception, Afterbirthers would push forward with efforts to exhume the president's deceased mother and inspect the corpse's pelvic bone and birth canal.

"This is the day"

So apparently it's Rutter, for the commissioned piece, at the "Royal Wedding" tomorrow; we've been endlessly curious.

"This is the day," it's called, based on various Psalms. Here's the text:

THIS is the day which the Lord hath made: we will rejoice and be glad in it.
O praise the Lord of heaven: praise him in the height.
Praise him, all ye angels of his: praise him, all his host.
Praise him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light.
Let them praise the name of the Lord.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee: to keep thee in all thy ways.
The Lord himself is thy keeper: the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;
so that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in: from this time forth for evermore.
He shall defend thee under his wings.
Be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart, and put thou thy trust in the Lord.

John Rutter (b 1945)
commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster for this service

Psalms 118: 24; 148: 1-3, 5a; 91: 4a, 11; 121: 5-8; 27: 16b

And now you know. The motet is Ubi Caritas, by Paul Mealor. I don't know it, and can't find a recording online, but here's his Locus Iste, to get perhaps an idea:



Oh, and yes: It's Parry's "I Was Glad" at the "Procession of the Bride":

David Brooks: Theme of ‘Book of Mormon’ musical not quite true | The Salt Lake Tribune

David Brooks: Theme of ‘Book of Mormon’ musical not quite true | The Salt Lake Tribune

The New York Times
First published Apr 25 2011 03:45PM
Updated Apr 26, 2011 01:01AM

You can feel a jolt of energy surge through the audience of “The Book of Mormon” about a quarter of the way into the show’s first musical number. It’s a jolt of joy, gratitude and laughter — a confirmation that this Broadway production is going to live up to its rave reviews.

The jolts keep coming and the audience I was part of rose up at the end with a raucous standing ovation of the sort I’ve rarely seen. There are four musical numbers that are truly fantastic, and the rest of the show is clever, fast and surprisingly warm. The play is about Mormon missionaries who find themselves in an AIDS-ravaged, warlord-dominated region in Uganda. It ridicules Mormonism but not the Mormons, who are loopy but ultimately admirable.

The central theme of “The Book of Mormon” is that many religious stories are silly — the idea that God would plant golden plates in upstate New York. Many religious doctrines are rigid and out of touch.

But religion itself can do enormous good as long as people take religious teaching metaphorically and not literally; as long as people understand that all religions ultimately preach love and service underneath their superficial particulars; as long as people practice their faiths open-mindedly and are tolerant of different beliefs.

This warm theme infuses the play with humanity and compassion. It also plays very well to an educated American audience. Many Americans have always admired the style of belief that is spiritual but not doctrinal, pluralistic and not exclusive, which offers tools for serving the greater good but is not marred by intolerant theological judgments.

The only problem with “The Book of Mormon” (you realize when thinking about it later) is that its theme is not quite true. Vague, uplifting, nondoctrinal religiosity doesn’t actually last. The religions that grow, succor and motivate people to perform heroic acts of service are usually theologically rigorous, arduous in practice and definite in their convictions about what is True and False.

That’s because people are not gods. No matter how special some individuals may think they are, they don’t have the ability to understand the world on their own, establish rules of good conduct on their own, impose the highest standards of conduct on their own or avoid the temptations of laziness on their own.

The religions that thrive have exactly what “The Book of Mormon” ridicules: communal theologies, doctrines and codes of conduct rooted in claims of absolute truth.

Rigorous theology provides believers with a map of reality. These maps may seem dry and schematic — most maps do compared with reality — but they contain the accumulated wisdom of thousands of co-believers who through the centuries have faced similar journeys and trials.

Rigorous theology allows believers to examine the world intellectually as well as emotionally. Many people want to understand the eternal logic of the universe, using reason and logic to wrestle with concrete assertions and teachings.

Rigorous theology helps people avoid mindless conformity. Without timeless rules, we all have a tendency to be swept up in the temper of the moment. But tough-minded theologies are countercultural. They insist on principles and practices that provide an antidote to mere fashion.

Rigorous theology delves into mysteries in ways that are beyond most of us. For example, in her essay, “Creed or Chaos,” Dorothy Sayers argues that Christianity’s advantage is that it gives value to evil and suffering. Christianity asserts that “perfection is attained through the active and positive effort to wrench real good out of a real evil.” This is a complicated thought most of us could not come up with (let alone unpack) outside of a rigorous theological tradition.

Rigorous codes of conduct allow people to build their character. Changes in behavior change the mind, so small acts of ritual reinforce networks in the brain. A Mormon denying herself coffee may seem like a silly thing, but regular acts of discipline can lay the foundation for extraordinary acts of self-control when it counts the most.

“The Book of Mormon” is not anti-religious. It just endorses a no-sharp-edges view of religion that is all creative metaphors and no harsh judgments. The Africans in the play embrace this kind of religion. And in the context of a hilarious musical, that’s fine.

But it’s worth remembering that the religions that thrive in real-life Africa are not as nice and naive as the religion in the play. The religions thriving in real-life Africa are often so doctrinaire and so socially conservative that they would make Pat Robertson’s hair stand on end.

I was once in an AIDS-ravaged village in southern Africa. The vague humanism of the outside do-gooders didn’t do much to get people to alter their risky behavior. The blunt theological talk of the church ladies — right and wrong, salvation and damnation — seemed to have a better effect.

The Realm of the Disenfranchised and 'The Wizard of Oz' - NYTimes.com

The Realm of the Disenfranchised and 'The Wizard of Oz' - NYTimes.com

Dorothy and the Tree: A Lesson in Epistemology
By STANLEY FISH

At one point in “The Wizard Of Oz,” Dorothy (Judy Garland) picks an apple and the tree she picks it off protests: “Well, how would you like to have someone come along and pick something off of you?” Dorothy is abashed and she says, “Oh, dear — I keep forgetting I’m not in Kansas,” by which she means she’s now entered an alternate universe where the usual distinctions between persons and objects, animate and inanimate, human beings and the natural world that is theirs to exploit do not hold. In Kansas and, she once assumed, everywhere else, trees are things you pick things off (even limbs) and persons are not. Persons have an autonomy and integrity of body that are to be respected; trees do not. A person who is maimed has a legal cause of action. A tree that has been cut down has no legal recourse, although there may be a cause of action (not, however, on behalf of the tree) if it was cut down by someone other than the owner of the property it stood on.

All this seems obvious, but what the tree’s question to Dorothy shows is that the category of the obvious can be challenged and unsettled. I thought of this scene on the last day of my jurisprudence course when we came to the chapter on animal rights and the rights of objects . The question of the day was posed by Christopher Stone’s landmark article “Should Trees Have Standing? — Toward Legal Rights For Natural Objects” (1972), and was answered, it would seem, in Genesis 1:26, when God gave man “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

The dominion of man over animals and nature is established theologically, and it is established again in the modern period by classical liberalism’s privileging of individual rights exercised by beings endowed (by either God or nature) with the capacity of choice. From Locke to Mill to Berlin to Rawls, the centrality of the free-standing deliberative individual actor is an article of faith; and if there is a center, there must be a periphery where entities that are neither free-standing nor deliberative live out their marginalized, dependent, objectified lives.

The fact that this realm of the less than fully enfranchised has at times included children, women, blacks, Native Americans, Asians, homosexuals and Jews as well as animals and trees tells us that there is a counter-narrative in which standing has been extended in an ever-more-generous arc. Stone quotes Charles Darwin observing that while man’s sympathies were at an early stage confined to himself and his immediate family, over time “his sympathies became more tender and widely diffused, extending to men of all races, to the imbecile, maimed and other useless members of society, and finally to the lower animals.” In the same spirit, the philosopher Richard Rorty urges that “We should stay on the lookout for marginalized people — people whom we still instinctively think of as ‘they’ rather than ‘us.’” Indeed, we should “keep trying to expand our sense of ‘us’ as far as we can.”

And how do we do that? Rorty’s exhortation suggest that it’s just a matter of will; just keep trying. But that advice underestimates the difficulty Dorothy gives voice to when she chides herself for forgetting she’s no longer in Kansas. Hers is not a failure of memory. Hers is not a failure at all, but the inevitable and blameless consequence of having a consciousness informed by certain assumptions about the classification of items in the world, assumptions that deliver those items already catalogued and labeled, exactly in the manner Darwin labels those to whom sympathy is being extended “lower animals” and drops the adjective “useless” ever so casually, that is, without thinking. Rorty is no less limited (not a criticism, but a description) in his vision of things when he restricts the category of the unjustly marginalized to “people.” What about cats, trees, stones, streams and cockroaches?

The obvious answer to this not entirely frivolous question is, “you can’t think of everything,” and that’s the right answer. Despite imperatives like “broaden your thinking” or “extend your horizons or “widen your sense of ‘us,’” thought is not an expandable muscle that can contain or comprehend an infinite number of things. Thought is a structure that at once enables perception — it is within and by virtue of thought’s finite categories that items emerge and can be pointed to — and limits perception; no structure of thought can enable the seeing of all items, a capacity reserved for God. It follows that when you have a change of mind (of the kind the tree is trying to provoke when it addresses Dorothy) you won’t see more; you will see differently. A system of distinctions (and that is what thought is) will always privilege some categories of being and devalue others, sometimes even to the extent of not recognizing them. And when one system is succeeded by another and new things come into view, some old things will have been consigned to the category of chimera and, except for histories of error, will have vanished from sight. (Thomas Kuhn’s “The Structure of Scientific Revolution” is a primer on the process.)

Another way to put this is to say that changes of mind tend to be local and piecemeal, not systemic. Wholesale conversions like Paul’s on the road to Damascus do occur, but more often a change will affect only a small corner of one’s conceptual universe. After her conversation with the tree, Dorothy may no longer place trees and persons in completely different compartments, but much that she used to think, she will still think.

So what? Say we have been persuaded to the thesis that the things we see and the categories we place them in and the value judgments that come along with those categories are functions of ways of thinking that have their source in culture rather than nature, what follows? Is there a new tool in our arsenal?

Nothing and no are the answers to the two questions. A realization that what we see depends on cognitive structures that could change doesn’t change them. Knowing that there are things you haven’t thought of and couldn’t think of (unless the furniture of your consciousness were transformed) doesn’t give you the slightest hint of what those things might be. The every-thing-is-socially-constructed thesis, however exciting and powerful (or dreadful) it might seem as a revolution in epistemology, cannot itself initiate a revolution in any other realm; it has no political implications whatsoever.

And I say this even though each movement on the intellectual left — feminism, postmodernism, critical race theory, critical legal studies — believes that the thesis generates a politics of liberation. It doesn’t; it doesn’t generate anything. Consciousness-raising has always been a false lure, although changes in consciousness are always possible. It is just that you can’t design them or will them into being; there is no method that will free us from the conceptual limitations within which we make invidious distinctions and perform acts of blindness. The best we can do is wait for a tree to talk to us.

A New Generation’s Vanity, Heard Through Hit Lyrics - NYTimes.com

A New Generation’s Vanity, Heard Through Hit Lyrics - NYTimes.com

A couple of years ago, as his fellow psychologists debated whether narcissism was increasing, Nathan DeWall heard Rivers Cuomo singing to a familiar 19th-century melody. Mr. Cuomo, the lead singer and guitarist for the rock band Weezer, billed the song as “Variations on a Shaker Hymn.”

Where 19th-century Shakers had sung “ ’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,” Mr. Cuomo offered his own lyrics: “I’m the meanest in the place, step up, I’ll mess with your face.” Instead of the Shaker message of love and humility, Mr. Cuomo sang over and over, “I’m the greatest man that ever lived.”

The refrain got Dr. DeWall wondering: “Who would actually sing that aloud?” Mr. Cuomo may have been parodying the grandiosity of other singers — but then, why was there so much grandiosity to parody? Did the change from “Simple Gifts” to “Greatest Man That Ever Lived” exemplify a broader trend?

Now, after a computer analysis of three decades of hit songs, Dr. DeWall and other psychologists report finding what they were looking for: a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility in popular music. As they hypothesized, the words “I” and “me” appear more frequently along with anger-related words, while there’s been a corresponding decline in “we” and “us” and the expression of positive emotions.

“Late adolescents and college students love themselves more today than ever before,” Dr. DeWall, a psychologist at the University of Kentucky, says. His study covered song lyrics from 1980 to 2007 and controlled for genre to prevent the results from being skewed by the growing popularity of, say, rap and hip-hop.

Defining the personality of a generation with song lyrics may seem a bit of a reach, but Dr. DeWall points to research done by his co-authors that showed people of the same age scoring higher in measures of narcissism on some personality tests. The extent and meaning of this trend have been hotly debated by psychologists, some of whom question the tests’ usefulness and say that young people today aren’t any more self-centered than those of earlier generations. The new study of song lyrics certainly won’t end the debate, but it does offer another way to gauge self-absorption: the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The researchers find that hit songs in the 1980s were more likely to emphasize happy togetherness, like the racial harmony sought by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder in “Ebony and Ivory” and the group exuberance promoted by Kool & the Gang: “Let’s all celebrate and have a good time.” Diana Ross and Lionel Richie sang of “two hearts that beat as one,” and John Lennon’s “(Just Like) Starting Over” emphasized the preciousness of “our life together.”

Today’s songs, according to the researchers’ linguistic analysis, are more likely be about one very special person: the singer. “I’m bringing sexy back,” Justin Timberlake proclaimed in 2006. The year before, Beyoncé exulted in how hot she looked while dancing — “It’s blazin’, you watch me in amazement.” And Fergie, who boasted about her “humps” while singing with the Black Eyed Peas, subsequently released a solo album in which she told her lover that she needed quality time alone: “It’s personal, myself and I.”

Two of Dr. DeWall’s co-authors, W. Keith Campbell and Jean M. Twenge published a book in 2009 titled “The Narcissism Epidemic, which argued that narcissism is increasingly prevalent among young people — and possibly middle-aged people, too, although it’s hard for anyone to know because most of the available data comes from college students.

For several decades, students have filled out a questionnaire called the Narcissism Personality Inventory, in which they’ve had to choose between two statements like “I try not to be a show-off” and “I will usually show off if I get the chance.” The level of narcissism measured by these questionnaires has been rising since the early 1980s, according to an analysis of campus data by Dr. Twenge and Dr. Campbell.

That trend has been questioned by other researchers who published fresh data from additional students. But in the latest round of the debate, the critics’ data has been further scrutinized by Dr. Twenge, who says that it actually supports her argument. In a meta-analysis published last year in Social Psychological and Personality Science, Dr. Twenge and Joshua D. Foster looked at data from nearly 50,000 students — including the new data from critics — and concluded that narcissism has increased significantly in the past three decades.

During this period, there have also been reports of higher levels of loneliness and depression — which may be no coincidence, according to the authors of the song-lyrics study. These researchers, who include Richard S. Pond of the University of Kentucky, note that narcissism has been linked to heightened anger and problems maintaining relationships. Their song-lyrics analysis shows a decline in words related to social connections and positive emotions (like “love” or “sweet”) and an increase in words related to anger and antisocial behavior (like “hate” or “kill”).

“In the early ’80s lyrics, love was easy and positive, and about two people,” says Dr. Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University. “The recent songs are about what the individual wants, and how she or he has been disappointed or wronged.”

Of course, in an amateur nonscientific way, you can find anything you want in song lyrics from any era. Never let it be said that the Rolling Stones were soft and cuddly. In “Sympathy for the Devil” the devil gets his due, and he gets to sing in the first person. In 1989, Bobby Brown bragged that “no one can tell me what to do” in his hit song about his awesomeness, “My Prerogative.”

Country singers have always had their moments of self-absorption and self-pity. But the classic somebody-done-somebody-wrong songs aren’t necessarily angry. When Hank Williams sang “Your Cheatin’ Heart” he didn’t mention trashing his sweetheart’s car, as in “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood: “I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights.”

Some psychologists are skeptical that basic personality traits can change much from one generation to the next (or from one culture to another). Even if students are scoring higher on the narcissism questionnaire, these skeptics says, it may just be because today’s students are more willing to admit to feelings that were always there.

Dr. Twenge acknowledges that students today may feel more free to admit they agree with statements on the questionnaire like “I am going to be a great person” and “I like to look at myself in the mirror.” But self-report bias probably isn’t the only reason for the changing answers, she says, and in any case this new willingness to brag is in itself an important cultural change.

The song-lyrics analysis, published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts, goes up to 2007, which makes it fairly up-to-date by scientific standards. But by popular music standards, 2007 is an eon ago. Could narcissism have declined since then?

It would take a computerized linguistic analysis to be sure, but there are reasons to doubt it. In 2008, the same year as Weezer’s “Greatest Man That Ever Lived,” Little Jackie had a popular song titled “The World Should Revolve Around Me.”

The current Billboard chart includes the Cee-Lo Green comic ode to hostility with its unprintable refrain (for the Grammy television audience, he changed it to “Forget you”) as well as Keri Hilson’s paean to her own beauty: “All eyes on me when I walk in, no question that this girl’s a 10.” Regardless of whether the singers really mean it, there’s obviously a market for these sentiments.

“The culture isn’t going to change wholesale overnight, and neither are song lyrics,” Dr. Twenge says. But she has some time-honored common-sense advice for people who want to change themselves and their relationships.

“As much as possible, take your ego out of the situation,” Dr. Twenge says. “This is very difficult to do, but the perspective you gain is amazing. Ask yourself, ‘How would I look at this situation if it wasn’t about me?’ Stop thinking about winning all the time. A sure sign something might not be the best value: Charlie Sheen talks about it a lot.”

Anastasis - Victimae paschali laudes

"Uno sguardo ai mosaici della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia, ascoltando l'antica sequenza pasquale. Per un augurio di Buona Pasqua 2009."

(A look at the mosaics of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, while listening to the ancient Easter sequence. Good wishes for a Happy Easter 2009.)

Words in Latin and English here.

This Joyful Eastertide - King's College Cambridge.

This joyful Easter-tide,
Away with sin and sorrow!
My Love, the Crucified,
Hath sprung to life this morrow.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Neer burst His three day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
Arisen, arisen, arisen!

My flesh in hope shall rest,
And for a season slumber;
Till trump from east to west,
Shall wake the dead in number.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Neer burst His three day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
Arisen, arisen, arisen!

Deaths flood hath lost his chill,
Since Jesus crossed the river:
Lover of souls, from ill
My passing soul deliver.

Had Christ, that once was slain,
Neer burst His three day prison,
Our faith had been in vain;
But now hath Christ arisen,
Arisen, arisen, arisen!

The fast is o'er

On Thursday I had an egg and cheese sandwich. Tears came to my eyes. And I've already had two glasses of iced coffee - with cream. Wow.

That is all.

No, there's more: I did find some good tricks for vegan eating. I made pita and rye bread - both tasty (although the pita still imperfect; working on that). Rye bread is hilarious; you mix up the dough and then stick it in the refrigerator for a week while it gets nice and ripe. It's very good, that recipe, though.

And I made falafel on the weekends; I need a better recipe - the one I was using does not make fluffy enough falafels - but they were OK and fun to make. I also found a way to make a really tasty noodles, coconut milk, and vegetable broth soup thing - no oil or animal products, and you really could eat and enjoy it. A coconut/peanut sauce came out pretty good, too - but peanut butter things get kind of old pretty quickly. It's really a staple, and you get totally sick of it.

Vegetarian baked beans are also oil-less and can be eaten any time. I made it all the way till the end this year, with only a small cheese breakdown one day. I did eat chocolate, though - real dark chocolate (without milkfat) is legal, and helps you through.

Might not do this next year; this was the hardest year so far. Maybe I can't take it anymore. But eating vegan is really not a bad thing at all; vegetables are really delicious, and you can really do a lot for variety. I might really give up meat entirely, although I do love that cream in my coffee, I have to say, so dairy is not yet out.

On the other hand, I pretty much gave up coffee throughout Lent, too - what good is it without the cream? Instead, I had an iced Chai every day, and that is pretty delicious, I must say. Here's what you do: take a nice big saucepan and fill it with water. Crush up some cinnamon sticks (maybe 3/4 of a nice long one), some cloves (12-30 or so, depending on your taste for that), a couple of black cardamom pods, and add some sliced ginger - 3 or 4 slices, maybe - and a bit of pepper. Boil all that till it's about 2/3 of what you started with, then put some tea in there. Steep for about 20 minutes, then filter out all the spices and tea. Put the liquid in the fridge and make yourself a nice tall iced tea with sugar every day. Delicious and really luxurious, with all that clove flavor. I could do this daily, too, I'm pretty sure....

New York Polyphony, et al.: Lamentations of Jeremiah, Part II

This is New York Polyphony: "Lamentations of Jeremiah: Jerusalem by Thomas Crecquillon." Gorgeous.



This is "J.D. Zelenka: Lamentations of Jeremiah - Lamentations for Maundy Thursday."



And this is "Very fine recording of the "Heth" and "Caph" chapters from Antoine Brumel's Lamentations of Jeremiah. Brumel was a French Composer who lived from c.1460 to c.1515."

Stations of the Cross at St. Mary the Virgin, NY

From the Episcopal Church site.

New York Polyphony, et al.: Lamentations of Jeremiah, Part I

Here is New York Polyphony singing "Lamentations of Jeremiah for Maundy Thursday." Unfortunately, it doesn't say whose! I think Palestrina, though. [EDIT: No, not. Luis, in the comments, doubted this - and he was right; the Lamentations here are from Thomas Crecquillon, says the listing (see full text in the comments). The same concert, then, probably, as that in video #3 below. Thanks, Luis.] The blurb says "My End is My Beginning at The Church of the Ascension, New York City, 5 November 2009."




This seems to be from the same concert; the blurb says "Bora Yoon performs with New York Polyphony, The Church of the Ascension, New York, 5 November 2009." And also that "note: the repetitive "static" you hear is part of Bora Yoon's improvisation." Haunting, really.




This is New York polyphony, too: "Lamentations of Jeremiah: Jerusalem by Thomas Crecquillon."

Saint Thomas Church - Music - Choral Services - The Office of Tenebrae

Saint Thomas Church - Music - Choral Services - The Office of Tenebrae

The one-evening version; good, and fresh tonight.  The PDF of the leaflet is here.

Palestrina: Music for Maundy Thursday

These videos contain Palestrina's settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, read or sung during the Holy Week Office of Tenebrae; that Office is here, at Breviary.net, which calls Tenebrae "Matins and Lauds of the Office of Darkness." Tenebrae these days begins on Wednesday of Holy Week (i.e., the eve of the day to which it actually belongs), and is usually said or sung in the early evening; Matins and Lauds were middle-of-the-night services in the monastery.

On this and the two following nights Matins and Lauds are always said together, and these Three Services are commonly called the Three Nights of Darkness. In Choir six lights are lighted upon the Altar, and fifteen (seven on each side and one at the top) in a triangle-shaped candlestick before the Epistle corner. As each Antiphon is repeated the second time, one of the fifteen candles is put out.

The Antiphons are all doubled, and the Doxology Gloria Patri is everywhere omitted.

There are 10 YouTube videos of the Palestrina music; they are coded so that one follows the last. They're very beautiful.  Some of the videos contain Gregorian responsories not part of the book of Lamentations. The words of Lamentations itself in Latin and English are here, at Choral Public Domain Library.

Here's just Chapter 1 in English:

1:1 ALEPH. How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was a princess among the cities has become a vassal.

1:2 BETH. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.

1:3 GHIMEL. Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

1:4 DALETH. The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the appointed feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her maidens have been dragged away, and she herself suffers bitterly.

1:5 HE. Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper, because the LORD has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.

1:6 VAU. From the daughter of Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like harts that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.

1:7 ZAIN. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, the foe gloated over her, mocking at her downfall.

1:8 HETH. Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; yea, she herself groans, and turns her face away.

1:9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. "O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!"

1:10 IOD. The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; yea, she has seen the nations invade her sanctuary, those whom thou didst forbid to enter thy congregation.

1:11 CAPH. All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O LORD, and behold, for I am despised."

1:12 LAMED. "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger."

1:13 MEM. "From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.

The capitalized words are Hebrew letters; Lamentations is another Old Testament acrostic. Here's CPDL on Lamentations.

Lamentationes Ieremiae (English Lamentations of Jeremiah)

In the Greek and Latin Bibles there are five songs of lament bearing the name of Jeremiah, which follow the Book of the Prophecy of Jeremias. In the Hebrew these are entitled Kinôth. from their elegiac character, or the 'Ekhah songs after the first word of the first, second, and fourth elegies; in Greek they are called Threnoi, in Latin they are known as Lamentationes. The superscription to Lamentations in the Septuagint and other versions throws light on the historical occasion of their production and on the author: "And it came to pass, after Israel was carried into captivity, and Jerusalem was desolate, that Jeremiah the prophet sat weeping, and mourned with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and with a sorrowful mind, sighing and moaning, he said:".

To a man like Jeremiah, the day on which Jerusalem became a heap of ruins was not only a day of national misfortune, for, in a religious sense, Jerusalem had a peculiar importance in the history of salvation, as the footstool of Jahweh and as the scene of the revelation of God and of the Messias. Consequently, the grief of Jeremiah was personal, not merely a sympathetic emotion over the sorrow of others, for he had sought to prevent the disaster by his labours as a prophet in the streets of the city. All the fibres of his heart were bound up with Jerusalem; he was now himself crushed and desolate.

In all five elegies the construction of the verses follows an alphabetical arrangement. The first, second, fourth, and fifth laments are each composed of twenty-two verses, to correspond with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet; the third lament is made up of three times twenty-two verses. In the first, second, and fourth elegies each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letters following in order, as the first verse begins with ALEPH, the second with BETH etc.

The Lamentations have received a peculiar distinction in the Liturgy of the Church in the Office of Passion Week. If Christ Himself designated His death as the destruction of a temple, "he spoke of the temple of his body" (John 2:19-21), then the Church surely has a right to pour out her grief over His death in those Lamentations which were sung over the ruins of the temple destroyed by the sins of the nation.

You can also download a PDF of the Office of Tenebrae for Good Friday - in English - from the (Catholic) Archdiocese of St. Louis' Institute of Sacred Music (where there are many other fine resources generously offered for free).


Here's Rembrandt's "Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem":

Grete Waitz, Norwegian Marathon Champion, Is Dead at 57 - NYTimes.com

Grete Waitz, Norwegian Marathon Champion, Is Dead at 57 - NYTimes.com

Grete Waitz, the Norwegian runner who won a record nine New York City Marathons starting with her first in October 1978, died Tuesday in Oslo. She was 57.

Waitz revealed in 2005 that she had cancer, without disclosing details. Her death was confirmed by her husband, Jack Waitz. According to her New York-based lawyer Mike Frankfurt, she died peacefully in her sleep.

Waitz’s nine victories in the New York race is a mark that no woman or man has duplicated. Unassuming and yet fiercely confident, she inspired runners around the world and stayed involved in the running community even as she battled cancer.

“Grete was a great champion in life as well as in sport,” said Mary Wittenberg, president of the New York Road Runners and the marathon director. “We will forever celebrate Grete in our hearts and as an inspiration and role model for women’s running.”

Waitz (pronounced vites), a geography teacher in Norway, came to New York for the first time with her husband. She came on a whim, for a chance to explore a new city, an opportunity to run a different kind of race.

Fred Lebow, the founder of the New York City Marathon, thought Waitz might be a good pacesetter because she was a world-record holder in the 3,000 meters in track. She had never run more than 16 miles in a training run. Jack, who was her coach as well as her husband, knew that she could run more.

Grete Waitz did not come to set a pace. She not only won the 1978 New York race, but also set a world best, finishing in 2 hours 32 minutes 30 seconds — two minutes faster than the previous mark.

Sad. I watched her win many of those races; she'd come flying down Central Park South, in high end-race gear, passing guys left and right - a gigantic Amazon. I think she was about 6 feet tall.

Way too young.

Vexilla regis (Dufay, et al.)

"Recorded live during Mass on 9/14/08 and sung by Les Choristes, the vocal quartet in residence at the French National Church in San Francisco, CA (Steven Olbash, director)."

Vexilla regis prodeunt is the Vespers hymn for the week of Lent 5 and Holy Week; you can find the words  here. Guilliame Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance, and lived and composed during the 15th century.

Here's a (sadly) short version of Palestrina's take on Vexilla Regis:



Bruckner got into the act, too:



But here's something interesting: a video of the singing of Vexilla Regis in procession:



At the YouTube page, you find, in French, an explanation: the music is Vexilla Regis (Anthoine de Bertrand, 1530-1581) and the video is from the "Mass of the Presanctified on Holy Friday" at Saint Eugène à Paris. In the comments, there's this:

On entend le son des crécelles. J'ai un souvenir d'enfant de choeur. Nous aimions les offices de la semaine sainte, en particulier pour actionner la crécelle. On l'utilisait dès le jeudi saint après le gloria, où les enfants avaient sonné dans le choeur avec une vigueur particulière. La schola continuait a capella et à l'élévation la cloche était remplacée par la crécelle.

Google Translate renders this as: "We hear the sound of rattles. I remember a choir boy. We liked the offices of Holy Week, particularly to activate the rattle. It was used at the Maundy Thursday after the Gloria, where children were struck in the choir with special vigor. The choir continued a capella and raising the bell was replaced by rattle."

In other words: the sound is the French version of a crotalus. Here's the Wikipedia page for crécelle - and the text, with translation:

Une crécelle est un instrument de musique idiophone datant du Moyen Âge, aussi appelée brouan et répandue aujourd'hui encore partout en Europe. De conception et d'utilisation simples, elle est un instrument populaire mais aussi un jouet pour les enfants.

Grâce au bruit puissant qu'elle émet, elle était aussi utilisée au Québec par les femmes des agriculteurs pour appeler leur mari au champ, avant la mécanisation de l'agriculture.- Dans la liturgie catholique, avant Vatican II, maniée dans les rues par les enfants de chœur, elle annonçait les offices durant le triduum pascal en remplacement des cloches.

On l'utilisait aussi afin d'avertir du passage de personnes infectieuse, atteintes de maladies redoutées au Moyen Âge : la lèpre, la peste.

A rattle is a musical instrument idiophone from the Middle Ages, also known brouan and still widespread across Europe. Design and use simple, it is a popular instrument but also a toy for children.

With the loud noise it emits, it was also used in Quebec by women farmers to call their husbands to the field before the mechanization of agriculture .- In the Catholic liturgy before Vatican II, handled in the streets by the choir boys, it announced the offices during the Easter Triduum in lieu of bells.

It is also used to warn people of the passage of infectious illnesses feared in the Middle Ages, leprosy, plague.

It's a bit hard to tell what's going on here; is it a mass, or an office? It surely seems more like the latter - an "announcement," via the rattle, replacing the tolling of the bells that announce the office. But then, I don't know what happened at a "mass of the presanctified" on Good Friday, either; will see what I can find out and post again if I learn something.

[EDIT: Ah. Here's something that explains things: "The hymn was also formerly sung on Good Friday when the Blessed Sacrament is taken from the repository to the altar." And that must be what's happening here; the procession is (presumably) moving the Sacrament from the Altar of Repose to the altar for distribution during Good Friday Communion of presanctified elements. I'm told that when the Sacrament is taken anywhere it's been customary to ring bells - and of course the bells are silent after the Gloria on Maundy Thursday until they are rung again at the Easter Vigil.]

St. Matthew Passion – Johann Sebastian Bach

Trinity Wall Street - Calendar - St. Matthew Passion – Johann Sebastian Bach

A video from last night's performance of this amazing work at and from Trinity Wall St.

Trinity Wall Street - Webcasts - Videos - Music & Arts - The Trinity Choir - Music from the Sarum Rite 02.03.11

Trinity Wall Street - Webcasts - Videos - Music & Arts - The Trinity Choir - Music from the Sarum Rite 02.03.11

Just found this on the Trinity website! It's one of two videos from a concert performed in February of this year.



Here's the blurb on this concert:

The Trinity Choir, along with Guest Conductor George Steel, General Manager and Artistic Director of New York City Opera, perform Music from the Sarum Rite. These gorgeous compositions – taken from the elaborate and theatrical liturgy of pre-Reformation England – feature soaring soprano lines and rich choral textures by masters such as Robert Wylkinson, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, and John Sheppard. Although rarely performed today, the Sarum Rite includes some of the most exquisite music of any age. Purchase tickets online here. Tickets can also be purchased at the Trinity Gift Shop, inside Trinity Church. Watch a video of George Steel on the "music that speaks to us with an emotional clarity you wouldn't expect from...such a far away time.

Here's a PDF of the program. And below is the video of the George Steel discussion.

The Planctus Tone (AKA "The Holy Week Weeping Tone")

The Passion According to John is often sung at Good Friday worship. The Passion story is sung using its own particular conventions; see this PDF of the Passion according to Luke, for instance, from Grace Church in Newark for the chant notation.  See the note on page 20, after Jesus commends his spirit to God, and breathes his last, that says, "Then the Chronista sings the conclusion of the Passion Gospel to the Planctus tone:" - and note the tone change that starts on page 21.

You can see and listen for yourself if you watch the Good Friday Liturgy at Trinity Wall Street, a video from 2010. The sung passion begins around 26 minutes, and the Planctus Tone starts at 44:24. Here's the video itself:



Under "Planctus" at Wikipedia, you find this:

A planctus is a lament, or song or poem which expresses grief or mourning. It became a popular form in the Middle ages, when they were written both in Latin and the vernacular. A number of varieties have been identified by Peter Dronke. From the 9th century, they include dirges for the dead, particularly for royals or heroes, vernacular laments sung by women, Germanic songs of exile and journeying, and fictional planctus on biblical or classical themes. From the 12th century he identifies laments of the Virgin Mary (called a planctus Mariae) and complaintes d'amour (complaints of love).[1]

The earliest planctus for which music survives are from the 10th century, from manuscripts associated with the abbey of Saint Martial at Limoges. The earliest know, the Planctus de obitu Karoli, was composed around 814 on the death of Charlemagne.[2] From the mid-thirteenth century survives an early Catalan Marian lament, Augats, seyós qui credets Déu lo Payre. Or simply a complaint poem with 27 lines and 8 syllables in each line with alliteration in each line.

Below is Marc Chagall's White Crucifixion, painted in 1938. Below that is a detail from the same painting.

Hosanna Filo David by Brian Luckner

Well, here's a polyphonic setting of Hosanna Filo David, after all - by "Brian Luckner, Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman in LaCrosse Wisconson." Quite beautiful, in fact; you go, Brian.

Palm Sunday: Hosanna, Filio David

Here's Giovanni Vianini and the gang singing the first Palm Sunday antiphon:





Here is the chant score:

In English:

Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
King of Israel:
Hosanna in the highest.

The text of that refrain is from Matthew 21:9, and when sung, verses from Psalm 118, Confitemini Domino alternate with the refrain, as in the video above.

After the singing of that antiphon, and after the blessing of the palms, two other antiphons are sung: Pueri Hebræorum, portantes and Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta, are sung during the Procession, along with the hymn "Gloria, Laus, et Honor" - more famously known today in English, of course, as "All Glory, Laud, and Honor."

Here's Giovanni Vianini singing the Gregorian Pueri Hebræorum, portantes:



Here are the words to these antiphons, in Latin and English (translations from two sources, which accounts for the differences between them):

Pueri Hebræorum,
portantes ramos olivarum,
obviaverunt Domino,
clamantes et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.

The children of Jerusalem
welcomed Christ the King.
They carried olive branches
and loudly praised the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.


Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta
prosternebant in via
et clamabant dicentes:
Hosanna Filio David,
benedictus qui venit in nomini Domini.

The Hebrew children
spread their garments in the way,
and cried out, saying:
Hosanna to the Son of God:
blessed is He that cometh
in the Name of the Lord.

It seems that these two Pueri Hebræorum antiphons - far more than the Introit itself - have inspired quite a few composers to polyphonic settings. Here's a lovely one on Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta from Tomás Luis de Victoria:



As for Gloria, Laus, et Honor: wow, it's a beautiful chant! Here's a lovely version:



Here's a chant score from the Benedictines, who call it a "Hymn to Christ the King":

The Latin text is just the same as the J.M. Neale translation we're familiar with singing in English on this day.

There are more videos at last year's post.

Here's Giotto di Bondone's "Christ's Entry Into Jerusalem":

Of course, since the service turns in the middle to the Passion itself, it's fitting - after the reading or singing of the story of Christ's crucifixion - to end this post with a video of Vexilla Regis Prodeunt:



The words (English translation by J.M. Neale):

Vexilla regis prodeunt,
fulget crucis mysterium,
quo carne carnis conditor
suspensus est patibulo.

Confixa clavis viscera
tendens manus, vestigia
redemptionis gratia
hic inmolata est hostia.

Quo vulneratus insuper
mucrone diro lanceae,
ut nos lavaret crimine,
manavit unda et sanguine.

Inpleta sunt quae concinit
David fideli carmine,
dicendo nationibus:
regnavit a ligno deus.

Arbor decora et fulgida,
ornata regis purpura,
electa, digno stipite
tam sancta membra tangere!

Beata cuius brachiis
pretium pependit saeculi!
statera facta est corporis
praedam tulitque Tartari.

Fundis aroma cortice,
vincis sapore nectare,
iucunda fructu fertili
plaudis triumpho nobili.

Salve ara, salve victima
de passionis gloria,
qua vita mortem pertulit
et morte vitam reddidit.

O Crux ave, spes unica,
hoc Passionis tempore!
piis adauge gratiam,
reisque dele crimina.

Te, fons salutis Trinitas,
collaudet omnis spiritus:
quos per Crucis mysterium
salvas, fove per saecula. Amen.


The royal banners forward go,
the cross shines forth in mystic glow;
where he in flesh, our flesh who made,
our sentence bore, our ransom paid.

-

Where deep for us the spear was dyed,
life's torrent rushing from his side,
to wash us in that precious flood,
where mingled water flowed, and blood.

Fulfilled is all that David told
in true prophetic song of old,
amidst the nations, God, saith he,
hath reigned and triumphed from the tree.

O tree of beauty, tree of light!
O tree with royal purple dight!
Elect on whose triumphal breast
those holy limbs should find their rest.

Blest tree, whose chosen branches bore
the wealth that did the world restore,
the price of humankind to pay,
and spoil the spoiler of his prey.

Upon its arms, like balance true,
he weighed the price for sinners due,
the price which none but he could pay,
and spoiled the spoiler of his prey.

-

-

O cross, our one reliance, hail!
Still may thy power with us avail
to give new virtue to the saint,
and pardon to the penitent.

To thee, eternal Three in One,
let homage meet by all be done:
whom by the cross thou dost restore,
preserve and govern evermore.

And that is what will happen at St. Mary the Virgin; this is the recessional hymn, sung without accompaniment. After it's over, there is silence.

This day most definitely has some of the most beautiful music of the year.

Anglican Chant XIV: Psalm 150, Sunday Choral Evensong

"The Saint Thomas Choir of Men & Boys, under the direction of John Scott, sings Psalm 150 in closing procession at Sunday Choral Evensong. Choral Evensong occurs most Sundays (September - May) at 4pm and many Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 5:30pm. See www.SaintThomasChurch.org/music for details."

Coverdale again:

1 O praise God in his holiness *
praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him in his noble acts *
praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him in the sound of the trumpet *
praise him upon the lute and harp.
4 Praise him in the cymbals and dances *
praise him upon the strings and pipe.
5 Praise him upon the well-tuned cymbals *
praise him upon the loud cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath *
praise the Lord.

Anglican Chant XIII: Psalm 40

"Sung during Choral Evensong at Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal) in Cleveland, Ohio March 24, 2010 Trinity Chamber Singers Horst Buchholz, Choirmaster Todd Wilson, Organist"

This time, the text comes from the 1979 BCP Psalter:

Expectans, expectavi

1  I waited patiently upon the LORD; *

he stooped to me and heard my cry.

2  He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; *

he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

3  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; *

many shall see, and stand in awe, and put their trust in the LORD.

4  Happy are they who trust in the LORD! *

they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

5  Great things are they that you have done, O LORD my God!

how great your wonders and your plans for us! *

there is none who can be compared with you.

6  Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *

but they are more than I can count.

7  In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *

(you have given me ears to hear you);

8  Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *

and so I said, "Behold, I come.

9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *

I love to do your will, O my God; your law is deep in my heart.'"

10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *

behold, I did not restrain my lips; and that, O LORD, you know.

11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; *

I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.

Office hymns "On the Feast of the Dedication of a Church"

I realized recently that I've never completed the seasonal schedule of Daily Office Hymns!  I went from Advent through the octave of Pentecost (skipping a few things that don't match up with modern practice, and more on those later) - but neglected Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and the "Ordinary Time" hymns.  ("Ordinary Time" is a new designation, of course; what I mean is the hymns used daily from Corpus Christi through the start of Advent, except for saints' days and All Saints/All Souls).    I've missed a few others as well - the hymns for the "little hours," among other things - and will work out which things I need to remedy and fix them all as I go along this year.

I also missed the hymns for "the Feast of the Dedication of a Church," which is the last listing under "Proper of the Season" in Hymn melodies for the whole year, from the Sarum service-books.  And that's an interesting one, so I'll do it now.  For the Dedication of a Church, the hymns are as follows:

1st Evensong & Mattins:  Urbs beata Hierusalem..............45
Lauds & 2nd Evensong:   Angulare fundamentum....................45

That's this tune:

Below is the hymn in Latin; it was hard to find all four verses online!. Most sources just gave the first one. But The Latin hymns of the Anglo-Saxon church: with an interlinear Anglo-Saxon gloss to the rescue again!

Urbs beata Hierusalem
Dicta pacis visio
Que construitur in celis
Vivis ex lapidibus
Et Angelis coornata
Ut sponsata comite.

Nova veniens e celo
Nuptiali thalamo
Preparata ut sponsata
Copulatur Domino
Piatee et muri ejus
Ex auro purissimo.

Porte nitent margaritis
Aditis patentibus
Et vir tute meritorum
Illuc introducitur
Omnis qui pro Christi nomine
Hic in mundo premitur.

Tonsioribus pressuris
Expoliti lapides
Suisque aptantur locis
Per manus artificis
Disponuntur permansuri
Sacris edificas.

Oremus hymnal online has a midi of the plainsong, and more verses of the J.M. Neale translation:

Blessed city, heavenly Salem,
vision dear of peace and love,
who of living stones art builded
in the height of heaven above,
and, with angel hosts encircled,
as a bride dost earthward move;

from celestial realms descending,
bridal glory round thee shed,
meet for him whose love espoused thee,
to thy Lord shalt thou be led;
all thy streets and all thy bulwarks
of pure gold are fashioned.

Bright thy gates of pearl are shining;
they are open evermore;
and by virtue of his merits
thither faithful souls do soar,
who for Christ's dear Name in this world
pain and tribulation bore.

Many a blow and biting sculpture
polished well those stones elect,
in their places now compacted
by the heavenly Architect,
who therewith hath willed for ever
that his palace should be decked.

Laud and honor to the Father,
laud and honor to the Son,
laud and honor to the Spirit,
ever Three, and ever One,
consubstantial, coeternal,
while unending ages run.

Here's a Guilliame DuFay version of the hymn that uses this plainsong melody as its introduction:



Giovanni Vianini, though, sings a different tune using the same text (I think!):



You'll find quite a bit more about this hymn - which dates from the 7th or 8th century, it says - at New Advent.  It's obvious that much of the text was taken from Revelation, but NA gives three sources: Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:5; and Apocalypse [Revelation] 21.

The Lauds and 2nd Vespers hymn, Angulare fundamentum, uses the same melody - and comes from the same original hymn text; this is still another instance of a long hymn broken into parts for use during the various Offices of the day.

More from NA:

Sung in the Office of the Dedication of a Church, the first four stanzas were usually assigned to Vespers and Matins, the last four to Lauds. In the revision by the correctors under Urban VIII (see BREVIARY) the unquantitative, accentual, trochaic rhythm was changed into quantitative, iambic metre (with an addition syllable), and the stanza appears in the Breviary with divided lines:

Coelestis Urbs Jerusalem,
Beata pacis visio,
Quæ celsa de viventibus
Saxis ad astra tolleris,
Sponsæque ritu cingeris
Mille Angelorum millibus.

The original hymn for Lauds (Angularis fundamentum lapis Christus missus est) was changed into "Alto ex Olympi vertice", etc. Hymnologists, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, criticise adversely the work of the correctors in general. Of this hymn in particular some think that, where as it did not suffer as much as some others, yet it lost much of its beauty in the revision; others declare that it was admirably transformed without unduly modifying the sense.

Here's the hymn in Latin, from the Esperanto Breviary (my favorite!):

Angularis fundamentum
lapis Christus missus est,
qui parietum compage
in utroque nectitur,
quem Sion sancta suscepit,
in quo credens permanet.


Omnis illa Deo sacra
et dilecta civitas,
plena modulis in laude
et canore iubilo,
trinum Deum unicumque
cum fervore prædicat.


Hoc in templo, summe Deus,
exoratus adveni,
et clementi bonitate
precum vota suscipe;
largam benedictionem
hic infunde iugiter.


Hic promereantur omnes
petita acquirere
et adepta possidere
cum sanctis perenniter,
paradisum introire
translati in requiem.


Gloria et honor Deo
usquequaque altissimo,
una Patri Filioque
atque Sancto Flamini,
quibus laudes et potestas
per æterna sæcula.

And here's J.M. Neale's translation - sure to be familiar and in fact you can go ahead and sing it to the plainsong, since it uses the same meter!

Christ is made the sure Foundation,
Christ the Head and Cornerstone;
Chosen of the Lord, and precious,
Binding all the Church in one,
Holy Zion’s Help forever,
And her Confidence alone.

All that dedicated city,
Dearly loved of God on high,
In exultant jubilation,
Pours perpetual melody,
God the One in Three adoring
In glad hymns eternally.

To this temple, where we call Thee,
Come, O Lord of Hosts, today;
With Thy wonted lovingkindness
Hear Thy servants as they pray.
And Thy fullest benediction
Shed within its walls alway.

Here vouchsafe to all Thy servants
What they ask of Thee to gain;
What they gain from Thee forever
With the blessèd to retain,
And hereafter in Thy glory
Evermore with Thee to reign.

Laud and honor to the Father,
Laud and honor to the Son,
Laud and honor to the Spirit,
Ever Three and ever One;
Consubstantial, co-eternal,
While unending ages run.

If you'd rather sing it to the more familiar Purcell tune, here's interesting version of "Christ is made the sure foundation":



(Or, for a funnier take on the hymn, use this version (to which you shouldn't listen if you are offended by salty language or irreverent humor):



)

The Liturgy Office of the Catholic Church in England and Wales offers this PDF document describing the rites for the Dedication of a Church.

YouTube - F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy - (4/4) Symphony No. 5 in D minor "Reformation" - IV. Andante - Allegro

YouTube - F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy - (4/4) Symphony No. 5 in D minor "Reformation" - IV. Andante - Allegro



HT Dan.

3 Major Reports Paint Same Picture: Ocean Fish Are Rapidly in Decline

3 Major Reports Paint Same Picture: Ocean Fish Are Rapidly in Decline

The onslaught of bad news about the world's oceans continues.

We already have learned that overfishing at current rates will deplete 90% of the world's commercial fish by mid-century. We've learned that ocean acidification, as the oceans absorb our carbon dioxide emissions, will bleach coral, prevent the plankton at the base of the food web from forming shells and ultimately compromise our food supply. We've learned that when you add up overfishing, acidification, pollution from agricultural and urban runoff and habitat destruction, it's a recipe for returning the oceans to a primordial stew of algae and jellyfish.

Today, three new reports all paint the same picture.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture's State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture concludes that about 50% of all marine fish stocks are being "fully exploited" -- meaning they are being fished at or near sustainable limits. Another 19% are overexploited, 8% depleted and 1% recovering from depletion.

Oceana, meanwhile, has released a report, Hungry Oceans (pdf), predicting the collapse of the ocean ecosystem because of overfishing of the smallest fish in the ocean. These prey species were considered so abundant, and so quick to replenish their own numbers, that depletion wasn't a concern. We have proved that theory wrong, particularly as the world has begun catching more small fish -- not only for direct human consumption, but to feed fish in aquaculture operations.

"We have caught all the big fish and now we are going after their food," said Margot Stiles, marine scientist at Oceana. The result? "Widespread malnutrition in commercial and recreational fish, marine mammals, and seabirds."

The loss of these forage fish -- like herring, sardines and menhaden -- threatens larger fish that eat them, like bluefin tuna, striped bass, Pacific salmon, and Pacific halibut, according to the report.

Finally, the most detailed financial analysis of its kind, by the Lenfest Ocean Program, finds that roughly half the $713 million in annual U.S. fishing subsidies contributes to overfishing by encouraging the targeting of overexploited fish stocks. Among the interesting other findings of the analysis: most subsidies come in the form of tax breaks on fossil fuels, and Western Pacific fishermen receive more than 20% of all subsidies, but catch just 2% of fish sold in the U.S.

Will Google be Lawyered to Death? — Datamation.com

Will Google be Lawyered to Death? — Datamation.com

Google co-founder Larry Page has now taken over as CEO. Welcome to hell, Larry!

Google is facing calls for a mounting wave of lawsuits, investigations and other actions by grandstanding government agencies, lawmakers and attorneys general. These complaints fall into three broad categories:

1) Abuse of search engine dominance

2) Manipulation of search engine results

3) Privacy

These actions are coming at Google from all directions, from puny American state attorneys general, to the mighty European Union – the same organization that shook down Microsoft for a cool $2 billion dollars a decade ago.

Thanks, Europe, for protecting the world from the overbearing dominance of Windows Media Player!

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is thinking about launching an investigation into Google's search engine dominance. But first, they'll wait and see what happens with a Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against Google to block the company's $700-million purchase of ITA Software. (ITA makes software for airlines that manages online flight and ticket information.)

After the DOJ decides whether to sue Google, the two agencies may negotiate with each other to decide which of them gets to go sink their teeth into the Silicon Valley giant.

Google owns about 65% of the search market in the United States. Yahoo has about 16% and Microsoft has nearly 14%, although Yahoo uses Microsoft's search engine behind the scenes.

European Union antitrust lawyers have started an investigation into Google's search and advertising business. The complaint centers around the allegation that Google gave an advantage to its own services in both paid and unpaid search results, and also that it lowered the ranking for competitors who advertised on Google. Microsoft has also complained to European authorities about Google's practices.

Google has a whopping 95% market share for search engines in Europe.

Google's troubles go beyond allegations that it abuses its dominant position. An Italian court has ruled that Google's autocomplete is libelous, after a man claimed that when you start to search for his name, unflattering suggestions are offered.

Yes, indeed. Libelous.

What a pitiful bunch we are here in the 21st Century....

The Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent: Judica Me ("Vindicate Me")

I like the singing of the Introit on this video, even though it's a bit faint:



Here's the chant score and the translation from JoguesChant:

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly nation; from wicked and deceitful men deliver me, for you are my God and my strength. Send forth your light and your truth; these have led me and brought me to your holy mountain and to your dwelling place.

The text is from Psalm 43:1-3:

1 Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.

Here's Giovanni Vianini's version. It's labeled "Introito gregoriano, prima Domenica di Passione," because in the previous Roman system (and thus in today's "Extraordinary Form," and in the Sarum Use, this Sunday was called "Passion Sunday."  (Now "Passion Sunday" is another name for "Palm Sunday."  More about that below.)



Here's New Advent on "Passion Sunday" (keep in mind that this encyclopedia was originally published in 1917):

The fifth Sunday of Lent, a Sunday of the first class, not permitting the celebration of any feast, no matter of what rank, but allowing a commemoration of feasts which are not transferred. It is called Dominica de Passione in the Roman Missal, and Dominica Passionis in the Breviary. Durandus and other liturgical writers speak of it as Dominica in Passione, or simply Passio, or Passio Domini. It is also known as Judica Sunday, from the first word of the Introit of Mass; Isti sunt, from the beginning of the first response in the Matins; Octava mediana, it being the eighth day after Laetare Sunday, called sometimes Mediana, or Middle of Lent; Repus, an abbreviation of repositus, i.e. absconditus, or hidden from the veiling of the Crosses (Du Cange, "Glossar." s.v. repositus). Among the Slavs it is the Nedela strastna (pain, suffering, terrible), muki (painful, or sorrowful), gluha (deaf or silent), tiha (quiet), smertelna (relating to death), or also cerna (black), which appellation is also found in some parts of Germany as Schwartzer Sonntag. Since after this Sunday there are not many more days of the Lenten season the Greek Church admonishes the faithful to special mortifications, and places before them the example of the penitent St. Mary of Egypt.

Here's Wikipedia on the Sarum take on this day:

In those Anglican churches which follow the Sarum Use, crimson vestments and hangings are pressed into service on the fifth Sunday of Lent — replacing the Lenten array (unbleached muslin cloth) — and vestments are crimson until (and including) Holy Saturday. Reflecting the recent playing down of Passiontide, the Church of England's Common Worship liturgical resources suggest red for Holy Week only (with the exception of the Maundy Thursday Eucharist).

The historical readings for this day are Genesis 12:1-3, Hebrews 9:11-15, John 8:46-59, and Psalm 43. I Corinthians 1:21-31 and Matthew 26:17-29 are alternate readings.[7]

The three-year lectionary appoints the following readings for this day[8]:

* Psalm
o A: 116:1-9
o B: 51:10-15
o C: 28:1-9

* 1st Lesson
o A: Ezekiel 37:1-14
o B: Jeremiah 31:31-34
o C: Isaiah 43:16-21

* 2nd Lesson
o A: Romans 8:11-19
o B: Hebrews 5:7-9
o C: Philippians 3:8-14

* Gospel
o A: John 11:47-53/1-53
o B: John 12:20-33
o C: Luke 20:9-19

I would imagine the "playing down of Passiontide" is a reaction to the Second World War and the Holocaust in Europe - a very deep desire to "downplay [religious] passions" seems to me to be a theme in Europe during the second part of the 20th century - but I don't know this for sure. Fisheaters says this about Passion Sunday:

The two weeks of Passiontide begin today, the first week being known as "Passion Week," and the second week being known as "Holy Week."

This day -- Passion Sunday -- memorializes the increasing antipathy against Christ from the Jews who would not accept Him and accused Him of sorcery and of being blasphemous and possessed by a devil. From today until Maundy Thursday, the Júdica me and the Glória patris at the Introit and Lavabo are omitted from Masses of the Season (not Sundays and Feasts).

Today, statues and sacred images (except for the Stations of the Cross) are veiled with purple cloth beginning at the Vespers of Passion Sunday, and they remain covered until the Gloria of Holy Saturday, at which point Lent ends and Eastertide begins. Catholics cover statues and icons, etc., in their homes for the same time period (the cloth shouldn't be transluscent or decorated in any way).

This veiling of the statues and icons stems from the Gospel reading of Passion Sunday (John 8:46-59), at the end of which the Jews take up stones to cast at Jesus, Who hides Himself away. The veiling also symbolizes the fact that Christ's Divinity was hidden at the time of His Passion and death, the very essence of Passiontide.

At the Vespers Mass on Holy Saturday, Lent ends and Easter begins: the statues are unveiled at that time in one of the most glorious liturgical moments of the entire Church year, a moment that affirms His divinity and proclaims that "He is risen!"

"The Mystery of Passiontide and Holy Week" from Dom Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year" is also available at the Fisheaters link. He notes that:

As we have already observed, there are three objects which principally engage the thoughts of the Church during Lent. The Passion of our Redeemer, which we have felt to be coming nearer to us each week; the preparation of the catechumens for Baptism, which is to be administered to them on Easter eve; the reconciliation of the public penitents, who are to be readmitted into the Church on the Thursday, the day of the Last Supper. Each of these three object engages more and more the attention of the Church, the nearer she approaches the time of their celebration.

And also says that:

The miracle performed by our Savior almost at the very gates of Jerusalem, by which He restored Lazarus to life, has roused the fury of His enemies to the highest pitch of frenzy. The people's enthusiasm has been excited by seeing him, who had been four days in the grave, walking in the streets of their city. They ask each other if the Messias, when He comes, can work greater wonders than these done by Jesus, and whether they ought not at once to receive this Jesus as the Messias, and sing their Hosanna to Him, for He is the Son of David. They cannot contain their feelings: Jesus enters Jerusalem, and they welcome Him as their King. The high priests and princes of the people are alarmed at this demonstration of feeling; they have no time to lose; they are resolved to destroy Jesus. We are going to assist at their impious conspiracy: the Blood of the just Man is to be sold, and the price put on it is thirty silver pieces. The divine Victim, betrayed by one of His disciples, is to be judged, condemned, and crucified. Every circumstance of this awful tragedy is to be put before us by the liturgy, not merely in words, but with all the expressiveness of a sublime ceremonial.

Here's more on the former Passion Sunday.  Interestingly, the author asks "So why was this Sunday eliminated from the liturgical year?" - and then "answers" it this way:

According to Cardinal Bugnini in his Reform of the Liturgy, “Also suppressed as a title is 'Passiontide.' The whole of it now becomes, even externally, a part of Lent...The readings and prayers used in antiquity on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays have been restored (the Sundays of 'the Samaritan,' 'the Man Born Blind,' and 'Lazarus'). The final two weeks are dominated by preparation for the celebration of the passion.”

And so, on March 21, 1969, the Sacred Congregation of Rites published the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar which stated that “The Sundays of this season are called the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent. The Sixth Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week, is called Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday).”

In spite of the suppression of Passion Sunday, the tradition still echoes in the new rite. It is still permitted to veil the statues and crucifixes at vespers before the fifth Sunday of Lent if your parish wants to do it before Holy Thursday. You can also still hear, if your parish uses the propers of the season, Psalm 42, 1-2 as the Introit on this day. “Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man: for thou art my God and my strength...”

Which doesn't answer the question, but again lends credence to my theory, since the point is made that "the readings and prayers used in antiquity on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays have been restored."  That's another theme; the idea that the church had gone badly wrong during the Middle Ages - a turn that had culminated in disaster - giving rise to a desire to "get back to the source" of Christianity.

That page also gives further details about the day:

Passion Sunday was also known as “Judica Sunday” in reference to the Introit “Judica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta...”, similar to Laetare and Gaudete Sundays being named after the first word of the Introit for those days.

The Sunday is also known as Neomania, the Sunday of the new moon, because it always falls after the new moon which regulates the feast of Easter.

The Greek Church simply calls this Sunday the fifth Sunday of the holy fasts.

The stational Mass for Passion Sunday was celebrated at the basilica of St. Peter. It was considered such an important day that no other feast had precedence.

Here's something interesting: a "fantastic and exciting organ improvisation by German organist Ansgar Wallenhorst. This piece forms the finale movement of a larger, skilfully improvised symphony for organ. The declamatory statement at the beginning outlines the melody of the plainchant(?) 'Judica me' (the introit for the fifth Sunday in Lent). A powerful piece, extemporised on the large Seifert organ of the church of St Matthias, Berlin-Schöneberg."

Here's the collect for the day, another really great one:

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Hatchett's Commentary says this about the collect:

In the Gelasian sacramentary this collect is appointed for the third Sunday after the octave of Easter (no. 551), as it is also in the supplement to the Gregorian (no. 1120). Cranmer retained the original preamble, which read: "Almighty God, which does make the minds of all faithful men to be of one will." This was revised in 1662. in the Sarum missal and earlier Prayer Books this collect was appointed for the fourth Sunday after Easter; the present revision has shifted it to this Sunday in order that it may replace one of the Gregorian collects (no. 285) asking for protection and not at all suited to the time of the

And that's all! We go into two blank pages next, which means we can't "preview" commentary on the collects from now till Holy Saturday! We'll all have to buy the book if we want to know what it says for this and the Holy Week collects. In any case, it's perfectly suited to this Sunday, I think - whether it's called "Passion Sunday" or "Lent 5."

The historical Gospel reading, as given in the Wikipedia quote above, is John 8:46-59:

Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.’

The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

So we have different ideas, here, about what constitutes "historical readings." Cardinal Bugnini says that "Lazarus" was the reading "in antiquity." That's something I'm going to have to look into. In any case, for us the Gospel is indeed John's telling of the raising of Lazarus:

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Here's Caravaggio's "The Raising of Lazarus," from around 1609:

And this one is from Juan de Flandes, sometime in the 15th Century: