Click the link at the end of Rachael's Daily Meditation to listen to the music she has chosen to accompany her Daily Meditation for you.
St. Augustine supposedly said, “To sing is to pray twice.” According to my research (thanks, Google!), the actual quote is,
“For he that singeth praise, not only praiseth, but only praiseth with gladness: he that singeth praise, not only singeth, but also loveth him of whom he singeth. In praise, there is the speaking forth of one confessing; in singing, the affection of one loving.”
(St. Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 73, 1)
I wonder: if one sings a prayer, is it like praying thrice? Either way, the musical tradition of the Christian Church is deep and rich. I love all forms of Christian music – plainchant, classical, modern, all of it. Church without music, for me, feels incomplete. I’m sure this comes as no surprise to any of you, especially if you have sat near me in church!
I especially enjoy music which sets either specific scriptures or prayers to music. Sometimes, I confess, I get distracted when one of our readings has been used for a song I know – I start hearing the song in my head, and sometimes I lose the thread of the service! When I choose music for the Praise Band, I always start by looking at the readings for the week. I try to match the music to the readings and the theme of the service, so that all the music reinforces everything that is read or said. Brain science proves that humans remember more of what they sing than what they say or hear, so I try to make sure that my contribution to the service carries the same message as the rest of the service. (If you’ve ever asked me about a specific song you love and been frustrated when I said “we’ll do it when it works with the readings”, now you know why.)
Last week the Psalm was Psalm 23, and Cathy led the beautiful Crimmond setting of that Psalm, so well known it’s like an old friend to us all. This past week, on Wednesday, was the Feast of the Annunciation – when the Angel came to Mary to tell her she was chosen of God to bear the Christ. This is another piece of scripture which has been set to music many times, but the most well known is usually sung in Latin: Ave Maria.
Most well known is probably the Schubert setting, which he originally wrote with German lyrics – actually a translation of the poem The Lady of the Lake and not Ave Maria at all! – so if you’ve ever wondered why the Latin seemed to repeat in odd places, that’s why. There is another well known setting, known as the Bach-Gounod setting. Gounod used a Prelude by Bach as the accompaniment for his melody, which later had the Latin prayer added. Both are beautiful, meditative and apropos to the times we are living through.
For those who have never read the Latin lyrics, here they are (from the Gounod, with translation):
Ave Maria, (Hail Mary)
Gratia plena (full of grace)
Dominus tecum (the Lord is with thee)
Benedicta tu in mulieribus (blessed art thou among women)
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus. (and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus)
Sancta Maria (Holy Mary)
Sancta Maria (Holy Mary)
Maria.
Ora pro nobis (Pray for us)
Nobis peccatoribus (us sinners)
Nunc et in hora (now and in the hour)
In hora mortis nostrae. (in the hour of our death)
Amen. Amen.
I’m sure many of you recognize this prayer, the first line of which – “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” – is drawn from the account in Luke’s Gospel of the Annunciation.
Another well loved prayer which has been set to music many times is, of course, the Lord’s Prayer. In our church alone we use two or three different settings regularly! However, most people’s favourite setting is the one written by Albert Hay Malotte in 1935. Whenever I have sung this version in church I have heard that it is someone’s favourite hymn.
In this time of uncertainty, I thought we could all use the extra boost of “praying twice”. With Gary’s help, I have recorded all three of these pieces to share with you all, and made them into a video with a slideshow of stained glass images. I hope they bring you comfort and peace this week, as we all shelter in place.
Click this Link to listen to the music chosen by Rachael Moss to accompany her Daily Meditation.