ARTICLES

Not Just Porcelain Figurines

The Old Mass as the Dance of the Mass

By Anne Knight

Brilliant morning sunlight flooded San Diego's St. Augustine's Chapel on October 13 as special services were held for those killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The mood in the Augustinian community's small, traditional chapel was solemn; the priest's black vestments contrasted with the chapel's bright white walls. The tabernacle was veiled in purple. The services began with the singing of the traditional Latin office of the dead in Gregorian chant. The altar was flanked by four seats and kneeler on the left, occupied by four members of the Chorus Breviarii and three seats and kneeler on the right, occupied by a chorus member, Father Harry Neely, and an altar boy. The chorus members, all male, wore white surplices over black cassocks, and they were accompanied in their singing by Father Neely, who was vested in a black cope and black stole. Neither incense nor candles were burned.

A cantor from each side of the altar walked to the middle of the sanctuary and, bowing before the altar, together intoned the antiphon preceding each psalm of the office, sang the first verse of the psalm, indicated to the singers on the left side of the altar when to join in singing the rest of the psalm, then returned to their seats as the group finished the psalm. "This is part of the choreography of traditional Catholic liturgy," Chorus Breviarii founder and director John Polhamus explained. "One of the beautiful things about it is that it's a synthesis of a lot of different types of art: everything from painting to poetry. Art has a very important place: music, sculpture -- all the different arts are represented -- and dance is in there too. They try to make a big deal about liturgical dance today, but that's because in the new rite it's all but done away with, but in the old rite, choreography is very important. The old Mass has been described as 'the dance of the Mass'.... Artistic representation is integral to it.... The same goes for the office, and you can see that choreography evident there. It's unabashedly theatrical, and since people still go to theaters, this style of liturgy obviously still has relevance. People respond to it."

The Church's age-old prayer for the dead, "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord: And let perpetual Light shine on them" and a concluding antiphon followed each psalm. In the chanting of the psalms the verses alternated between the two sides of the sanctuary, offering, according to Polhamus, an early Christian version of stereophonic sound. The office also included the Magnificat, the canticles of Ezechiel and Zachary, and three somber readings, called lessons, from the Book of Job, followed by three correspondingly uplifting responsories. Solos were performed by chorus members singing the lessons and Father Neely joined Polhamus as cantor for the responsories. The canticles were sung by the entire group in unison. The singing of the office lasted about one hour, after which Father Neely, the altar server and the choir members processed out of the chapel through the center aisle.

The office of the dead performed at St. Augustine's Chapel consisted of vespers (evening prayer), matins (prayer in the early hours after midnight), and lauds (morning prayer). While the office for the dead could be sung for anyone, Polhamus explained that it typically would be used in monasteries for the funerals of religious or in Roman-rite diocesan churches for the deaths of clergymen, dignitaries, special occasions (such as the terrorist attack), and the Feast of All Souls.

Following the office, the candelabras on the altar were lit and the chorus members assembled in the rear of the chapel, joined by three members of another local liturgical music group to form the choir for a requiem Mass. Father Neely celebrated a Novus Ordo Mass in Latin, facing the altar, rather than the congregation. The choir chanted the propers, which include the introit, gradual, tract and the famous sequence, Dies iræ, while Father Neely sang the epistle and Gospel. Incense was used several times during the Mass. In his homily Father Neely stated that good can come out of catastrophic events, both natural and man-made, and that one reason God permits them to occur is to remind us of "how dependent we are, for our very existence, on the mercy of God. Our Lord Jesus was put to death. He offered his life freely; yet the people who put Him on the cross intended to murder Him.... Yet we know how out of this terrible crime -- the worst crime conceivable... the merciful God drew infinite good. We pray for the souls of those who were killed. We ask for the mercy of God on all human beings ... the living as well as the dead.... As we remember and pray for the dead, let us pray for one another that we will all be prepared ... to meet our God face to face, as we will on the day of our own judgment." A collection was taken up for the firefighters, widows, and children affected by the terrorist attack.

Both the office of the dead and the requiem Mass commemorated the thirtieth day after the deaths of the terrorism victims, in keeping with the Catholic tradition of celebrating a Mass for the deceased one, three, seven, thirty days, or one year after the date of death. The services were organized and sung by the Chorus Breviarii, which Polhamus, an experienced liturgical musician trained in San Diego and Europe, formed in San Diego early this year. He was pleasantly surprised when 75 people showed up: "I had no expectations whatsoever. I would have been thrilled if there had been 50.... I was overjoyed." KUSI-TV described the turnout as "a packed house" in its October 13 news report on the event.

The Chorus Breviarii meets weekly to study the traditional rites of the Roman breviary, its chant and the musicianship required to sing them, and it sings vespers monthly at St. Augustine Chapel. In addition to singing a Tenebræ liturgy at Maximilian Kolbe (the Polish national church in Pacific Beach) during Holy Week this year and the services for the terrorism victims, members of the Chorus Breviarii accompanied the choir at Monsignor William Kraft's October 3 funeral Mass, in singing Gregorian chant. Monsignor Kraft, a retired priest who died in late September, had requested a Latin funeral Mass, which was offered at the Holy Cross mausoleum chapel. For that occasion, Bishop Gilbert Chavez also celebrated a Novus Ordo Requiem Mass in Latin, facing the east, assisted by Father Neely. After the Mass, three Chorus Breviarii members sang "In paradisum..." ("May the angels lead you into paradise...") while leading the procession from the chapel to the Kraft family crypt in the cemetery outside, for the interment ceremony. Over 100 attended the funeral Mass, including approximately 30 priests. Reported Polhamus: "One of them commented on the beautiful singing, and another said he hadn't heard the Dies iræ sung like that in 'I don't know how long.'"

Polhamus describes Gregorian chant as easy to learn and believes that it could be learned and performed by the average parish choir "The music itself reflects no time or period.... I could write a chant right now, and you wouldn't know whether it was written in 600 or whether it was written in 1800 or whether I just wrote it." Polhamus rejects the notion that Gregorian chant should be relegated to being performed in concerts or displayed in museums: "The purpose [of Gregorian chant] ... is to sing it in prayer; that's what liturgy is about and that's what the Divine Office is for.... Faith without works is dead, and so it's very important to use these chants as works of prayer, as physical acts, not just as porcelain figurines in a display case. After all, if you read Vatican II, that's what we're supposed to have been doing with the Church's chant all along."

For more information on the Chorus Breviarii, visit www.chorusbreviarii.com, which lists information on upcoming events, call 858-273-5180 or see the regular announcements in the News Notes Dates section.

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