Marian hymns

[Boadicea]

Does anyone else find themselves compelled to sing hymns to Our Lady at Mass, every week throughout the months of May and October? I guess the fact that the church is dedicated to Our Lady doesn't exactly help any argument I might try to put forward. But I'm afraid I don't seem to cope with it very well!!!

[Merseysider]

Our church is dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate and we don't sing any Marian hymns at Mass at all, except on 8th December, the patronal feast. The only time we do regularly sing them is at the end of Evening Prayer, when we all gather at Our Lady's shrine for a final anthem (technically a Night Prayer practice) before retiring to the bar.

[Hare]

There would be a riot, caused by a vocal few here if we didn't sing Marian hymns at the end of Mass in May and October. Yes, I know it's liturgically incorrect, but, stickler as i am, it is a "trade off" I am prepared to make in favour of other things that I feel more strongly about. I draw the line on Sundays such as Pentecost and Trinity though. An excellent Marian hymn for the 7th of Easter is "Sing we of the Blessed Mother" - see v.3 on the coming of the Holy Spirit. Tomorrow, we are going for the scmalz factor - "Bring flowers of the rarest"!

[Hare]

I can spell actually!!

[Sonoqui]

I wouldn't mind Marian Hymns QUITE so much were it not for the fact that the choirmistress of one of our choirs ALWAYS chooses "I'll Sing a Hymn to Mary" whenever she deems that a Marian Hymn is called for - which seemed to be about every other Sunday when I attended the Mass they sing at!

I nearly fell off my pew at a recent Requiem Mass for Pope JPII when our other choir (for we do have two) ended with the "Salve Regina". Their leader is not known for his devotion to 'the Cult of Mary' and that's the first time in well over a dozen years that I've ever known him honour Mary in that way. (PS: They sang it beatifully!)

[Hare]

It really made an impression then! It may sound obvious, and it is - but people do take things in the liturgy for granted. Too many Marian hymns (among other things) just become part of the wallpaper, or a habit.

Our previous PP caused great controversy by dropping the "Hail Mary" from the Bidding Prayers - backed up with extrememly good reasons I might add. But he did include it on Marian feasts. On one such occasion, after Mass, I said to a lady in the choir who was VERY vocal in her protests at its non-use most Sundays: "You must be happy today, having the Hail Mary" To which she replied "We didn't!". She had recited it at the top of her voice with a beatific smile on her face during Mass!

[Dot]

Sonoqui said:

(PS: They sang it beatifully!)

Does that mean they sang it in a saintly way, in a blessed manner, happily, or am I thinking too hard about the Latin? Or was it just a spelling mistake?

Dot

[Sonoqui]

Or was it just a spelling mistake?

Yes (one G&T too many!)

[Benevenio]

but there are no Gs or Ts in beatifully...

[Gwyn]

We sometimes have a Marian hymn as a recessional in May and October, though as Hare says, not on a Feast such as Pentecost or Trinity Sunday.

Musically I strive to remove the hidden Fermatas that have somehow found their way into some 3/4 tunes.

Devotionally it's helpful sometimes in song to view aspects of Our Lord's life and ministry through the eyes of his blessed mother.

"Scmalz" What a wonderful word that is.

[Hare]

"Scmalz" What a wonderful word that is.

I spelt it wrongly!! (You'd never guess I got a higher "O level" mark for English than music!

[musicus]

The Oxford American Dictionary has the following:

schmaltz | sh mälts; sh môlts| (also schmalz)
noun informal
excessive sentimentality, esp. in music or movies.

DERIVATIVES schmaltzy adjective ( schmaltzier , schmaltziest ).

ORIGIN 1930s: from Yiddish shmaltz, from German Schmalz ‘drippings, lard'

I do like that last bit.

Musicus

[Sonoqui]

but there are no Gs or Ts in beatifully...

Actually, there's one T in beatifully. The G was in my Glass with more T.