Catholic Sensibility

Frequent commenter Liam sends "a Flowerday(ing) of a contemporary Advent hymn, a recommendation for a contemporary Advent anthem, and a postscript. "I decided to meet the challenge of treating a work by one of the much-decried Minnesota Trinity of Haugen, Haas & Joncas – a work by the last of these three. First, the text: 1. O ancient love, processing through the ages: O hidden love, revealed in human form: O promised love, the dream of seers and sages: O living Love, within our hearts be born, O living Love, within our hearts be borne. 2. O homeless love, that dwells among the stranger: O lowly love, that knows the mighty's scorn: O hungry love, that lay within a manger: O living Love, within our hearts be born, O living Love, within our hearts be borne. 3. O gentle love, caressing those in sorrow: O tender love, that comforts those forlorn: O hopeful love, that promises tomorrow: O living Love, within our hearts be born, O living Love, within our hearts be borne. 4. O suff'ring love, that bears our human weakness: O boundless love, that rises with the morn: O mighty love, concealed in infant meekness: O living Love, within our hearts be born, O living Love, within our hearts be borne. Copyright (c) 1994 GIA Publications. 7404 S Mason Ave, Chicago IL 60638. All rights reserved. Commentary on the text: The text is metrical (11.10.11.10.10) and partially follows the traditional form of a litany by evoking numerous attributes of God. It offers a series of communal petitions to God, also very traditional in liturgical use. The word-play between the penultimate and ultimate line of each verse is perhaps more telling in the reading than the hearing, but it is done with purpose and elegance, rather than gimmickry. The Incarnational motif is not pantheistic, but Christian in origin. I used to be a bit concerned that Christ is not mentioned by name – could the text be understood equivocally? – but over the years came to realize that its breadth was intended to evoke the attributes of the entire Godhead without shoving them into different Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, and was the wiser for doing so. Commentary on the music: While the text is metrical and therefore governs the music in that way, the melody is really a metricized chant. The intervals are simple without being dull, and have a pleasing form is not so ravishing that it overshadows the text. An instrumental score is available, but I am not familiar with anything other than the keyboard part. It avoids the common contemporary arpeggiation of nifty chord progressions, and instead offers support and slight counterpoint to the melody with passing tones beneath, sometimes in modern intervals (parallel sevenths) or somewhat "chantier" open parallel intervals. It thus hearkens to typical organ accompaniment to melodic (not plainsong) chant without aping it. That being said, the percussive aspect of piano may offer more textural counterpoint than organ; harp would seem an inspired choice for this work, but guitar could work. Thus, the music could ably serve the needs of a wide variety of churches and communities and in the process promote the goals of the liturgical reform.