March Update
Where we prepare for the Annunciation
This month has been a little crazy for me, preparing for a week long homeschool camp with five sung Masses. I’ve been helping with this camp for many years. It was usually held in Easter Week, which I used to dread as the liturgies were so full and demanding, but it was the same every year, so we could build up to it. At first I would psalm tone many of the propers, but when my mother started coming along, I was outed as being capable of singing the full propers.
This year we’re singing the Third Week in Lent with the Annunciation on the Tuesday. It’s a great week, but so much new music for me! My mother and I made a bunch of videos for all the propers, so theoretically all the families can learn them, but most of all it gives me a firm kick towards learning the propers ahead of time. You can see the plans here.
St Joseph
Last week we saw the feasts of St Patrick and St Joseph. Now, some of these older Little Office books include Commemorations in the back and St Joseph is prominent in the list. Earlier I made a livestream on Youtube singing through Matins in the Officio Parvo book from Brazil. I had said that it contained all the music you could ever need for singing the Little Office, until I realised that the Commemorations are also sung. Those Antiphons are music! So much scope for extra Little Office Podcast tracks to fill out your Lauds and Vespers!
Annunciation
This week brings the Annunciation on Tuesday, so Little Office people will start celebrating at Vespers on Monday. Here’s a video I made earlier. The chapters are auto-generated (“Marion Antifunds???”) and it’s not scripted, so it’s a little crazy, but it gives you lots of info.
You could use the Advent videos and shout “Laus Tibi Domine, Rex Aeterne Gloriae” over the Alleluias. Also you might need to hold the last note of the antiphons over the alleluia there too. For the record, I have gone back to saying “Alleluia” in day-to-day speech, because it makes life so much easier. Just not when praying more formally.
I like to include a little TO DO list in these monthly updates, but I really dread not being able to fulfil them, but as it is always interesting for me to look back on them, and maybe good for my humility, here goes:
Commemorations of St Joseph, Vespers and Lauds
Matins Office of the Dead recordings I found when getting the H2 Zoom ready for the homeschool camp
Comparing pairs of Little Office Books
the “My Friend Went to Middle Earth and All I Got was this Lousy T-Shirt” in Tengwar t-shirt
Let’s see how much eventuates by the April Update!