FUNERAL FOR DAVID A. HAAS

Funeral Mass for David A. Haas will be on Thursday, Septmber 3 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

MONTHLY UPDATES FOR SEPTEMBER

Be sure to check out our Monthly updates ! !

This Month in St. Mary's History

This Month in Music History

Monthly Videos


All of these links can also be found in the sidebar.

Coming soon will be all the choirs calendar updates and "Upcoming Musical Events" will have all of this year's concerts and other music events listed.

A CROSS-TUNED HYMN TO BE USED THIS WEEKEND

By Tim Claubaugh

This weekend, we will be using a cross-tuned hymn. For more information on cross - tuning, see this article from our "Hymnody Series" a few weeks ago.

For this weekend we are singing # 741 God is Here! As We His People. The tune in our hymnals that this hymn is set to is ABBOT'S LEIGH which we do not know. The meter for this hymn is 8 7 8 7 and there are several hymn tunes set to that meter that we do know. One of those tunes is BEACH SPRING which we have sung when we sing the hymn # 663 As a Fire is Meant for Burning. So we will sing the words of # 741 God is Here! As We are His People to the tune of BEACH SPRING (# 663 As a Fire is Meant for Burning).

If you find cross-tuning a little confusing because the notes don't match up or go the direction that you are singing, simply ignore the notes on the page and just sing. You know the tune anyway, so there is no need to look at the notes; just look at the words.

FUNERAL FOR MICHAEL K. DAVIE

Funeral Mass for Michael K. Davie will be on Wednesday, Septmber 2 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

FUNERAL FOR SHIRLEY R. ZIEMKE

Funeral Mass for Shirley R. Ziemke will be on Tuesday, September 1 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

FUNERAL FOR GEORGE H. ICSMAN

Funeral service for George H. Icsman (Carol Icsman's husband) will be on Tuesday, September 1 at 1:00 at Toft Funeral Home.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

WELCOME VISITORS !

If this is the first time you have visited this site, it is probably because of the bulletin insert this past Sunday which talked about the Music Ministries here at St. Mary's. We welcome you and hope that you come back weekly to check out new articles and updates.

The purpose of this site is to inform and educate people of anything liturgical and musical in our parish. You will find such links in the sidebar as: “This Sunday’s Music” (if you are wondering what we will be singing at Mass); “Music for Your Wedding” (for couples planning their wedding); a good series on “Hymnody;” "Music Ministries at St. Mary's" which gives more detail about the different music ministries available; “Upcoming Musical Events;” “Liturgical or Musical Questions;” “This Month in St. Mary’s History;” “This Month in Music History;” “Monthly Video” and many other links as well.

We hope that you do visit us often and feel free to leave comments and / or questions regarding music or liturgy. Don't forget to put this site in your "favorites" or bookmark us!

FUNERAL FOR GILBERT G. PALMER

Funeral Mass for Gilbert G. Palmer will be on Friday, August 21 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:30.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

HYMNODY: PART 4: "CROSS-TUNING"

By Tim Claubaugh

Again, as in the previous articles in this series, you may want to click here for a printable version of this article and take it to church with you so that you can reference it with the hymn examples listed in this article.

In this article, we will be looking at just traditional hymns, because traditional hymns are the hymns that use meter references and hymn tune names.

In order to have a good understanding of this article, it is important that you have read the two previous articles in this series on "Hymn Tune Names" and "Meter."

Cross - Tuning is simply using a different Hymn Tune (or melody) than what is written to sing a hymn.

An example of that is this past week at Mass, our opening song was # 741 "God is Here! As We His People," the Hymn Tune that this particular hymn is set to (Tune: ABBOT'S LEIGH) is unfamiliar to our parishoners. Therefore, we simply sing that hymn to a tune (or melody) that we already know # 663 "As a Fire is Meant for Burning" (Tune: BEACH SPRING).

Another example is this coming weekend at Mass. Our closing song will be # 634 "Lord of All Nations" (Tune: BEATUS VIR). Again, we as a congregation do not know that tune, so we will sing the hymn to a tune we already know, # 698 "Take Up Your Cross" (Tune: O WALY WALY).

Now when deciding what tune to substitue, the church musician can not use just any tune. The decision has to be made within the context of the hymns "Meter." In the case of # 741 "God is Here," the meter is 8 7 8 7 D. Looking at the Meter Index (# 903 in the back of the hymnal), one will see that particular caption (8 7 8 7 D), and notice 11 Hymn Tunes listed under that meter (including ABBOT'S LEIGH). Therefore, any one of those 10 Hymn Tunes would work. So we could sing that hymn to the tune of HYFRYDOL (# 853 "Alleluia Sing to Jesus"), HYMN TO JOY (# 528 "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You"), PLEADING SAVIOR (# 783 "Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly"), or any of the other Hymn Tunes listed under that caption (8 7 8 7 D) because the meter matches up perfectly.

With # 634 "Lord of All Nations," the meter is LM (Long Meter or 88 88). Looking back at the Metrical Index again (# 903), you will see 18 Hymn Tunes listed under the LM caption, so any of those tunes could be used to sing "Lord of All Nations." Some possibilites are # 430 "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" (DUKE STREET) # 469 "Come Holy Ghost" (LAMBILLOTTE), or #747 "All People That on Earth Do Dwell" (OLD HUNDREDTH) just to name a few. If you take a minute or two and sing the words of "Lord of All Nations" to any of the tunes listed above, again, you will see that they match perfectly.

Cross-Tuning allows us to sing hymns that we wouldn't ordinarly sing because we don't know the tune (melody) to a tune that we already know. It is a very useful tool for church musicians and parishoners alike.

THE SAME RESPONSORIAL PSALM FOR 3 WEEKS IN A ROW

By Tim Claubaugh

There is something very unique about this time in August within the church year. That is for 3 weeks in a row, the church uses the same Responsorial Psalm. This is the only time within the 3 year cycle of the readings that this happens.

The church takes the scripture readings and spreads them out over a three year period (cycles A, B, & C) so that in 3 years time, you have heard most of the readings from scripture. We are currently in cycle B, and this is the only time during that 3 year cycle where the same Responsorial Psalm is used for three weeks in a row.

The past Sunday (August 9, 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time) we sang Psalm 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 with the antiphon "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

This coming Sunday (August 16, 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time) we will sing Psalm 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 with the antiphon "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Finally for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time (August 23), we again sing from Psalm 34, however, this time the verses will be 2-3, 16-17, 18-19, and 20-21.

You will notice that Sunday's 19 and 20 are the same except for one less verse (vs. 8-9 is not used on the 20th Sunday. On the 21st Sunday, there are three verses that are used later in the Psalm, however, the Psalm begins with Vs. 2-3 just like the previous 2 Sundays.

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR FRANK F. ELLIOT

A Memorial Service for Frank F. Elliott will be on Wednesday, August 12 at 9:30 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:15.

Frank is the father of our religious ed leader, Deb Geason. He died in Arizona on July 5 where a funeral Mass was held and burial.

NEW LOOK ! SAME SITE !

Our website has a new look! This is so that it looks and feels more like the St. Mary's Parish website. We also hope to get the St. Mary's logo (the Sorrowful Mother image) up on our Music Ministry website as well. Click on the comment section below and leave us a comment on your thoughts about this new look.


MONTHLY UPDATES

Be sure to check our monthly updates in the "This Month in St. Mary's History," "This Month in Music History," (found on the Sandusky Chapter of the American Guild of Organist web site), and "Monthly Videos." You can either click on each of the links here, or go to the side bar and click on them there as well.

Next week we will have part 4 in our Hymnody Series explaining "cross-tuning."

FUNERAL FOR DOUGLAS G. WIEBER

Funeral Mass for Douglas G. Wieber will be on Friday, August 7 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

FUNERAL FOR JOHN A. YOCHEM

Funeral Mass for John A. Yochem will be on Thursday, August 6 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click.

"BENCH SWAP" SUNDAY IS THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday, August 2 is "Bench Swap" Sunday. This Sunday, our organist, Tim Claubaugh, will play the 8:00 and 10:30 services at Zion Lutheran Church while the organist at Zion Lutheran Church, Ron Borchardt, will play the 7:30 and 9:30 Masses here at St. Mary's.

This show of "Ecumenicalism" is just one of many that Zion Lutheran and St. Mary's have shared over the years. Others include choirs from both churches joining forces to sing at services and concerts as well as several occasions where together they sang the National Anthem on the field at Progressive Field before a Cleveland Indians game.

FUNERAL FOR ALICE J. CONLEY

Funeral Mass for Alice J. Conley will be on Wednesday, July 29 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

HYMNODY: PART 3: "METER"

By Tim Claubaugh

Again, as in the previous articles in this series, you may want to click here for a printable version of this article and take it to church with you so that you can reference it with the hymn examples listed in this article.

In this article, we will be looking at just traditional hymns, because traditional hymns are the hymns that use meter references.

There are two definitions of meter: one lyrical, and one musical. According to Mr Webster, the lyrical definition of meter is, “A systematically arranged and measured basic pattern…a fixed metrical pattern: verse form.” The Harvard dictionary of Music defines musical meter as, “The pattern of fixed temporal units called beats, by which the time span of a piece of music or a section thereof is measured.” Hymn singing combines these two definitions into one.

Every traditional hymn has a meter references with it. In the hymnal that we use at St. Mary (“Gather Comprehensive”), these hymn “meters” can be found at the end of every traditional hymn after the HYMN TUNE listing. For example, on # 528, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You,” if one looks at the end of the hymn under the last staff, one will see “Tune: HYMN TO JOY 8 7 8 7 D” So “8 7 8 7 D” is the meter to this famous hymn.

What do these numbers mean?

If we take a look at the text of this hymn, we will see that each phrase alternates between 8 syllables and 7 syllables in length:
Joyful, joyful, we adore you, = 8 syllables
God of glory, Lord of love; = 7 syllables
Hearts unfold like flowers before you, = 8 syllables
Opening to the sun above. = 7 syllables

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; = 8 syllables
Drive the dark of doubt away; = 7 syllables
Giver of immortal gladness, = 8 syllables
Fill us with the light of day! = 7 syllables

You will notice on the page in the hymnal that the meter is 8 7 8 7 D. The “D” simply mean that the same pattern is repeated. So, instead of 8 7 8 7, the actual meter is 8 7 8 7 8 7 8 7.

Other hymns with this same meter pattern that we sing are: # 626 There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (hymn tune: IN BABILONE); # 663 As a Fire is Meant for Burning (hymn tune: BEACH SPRING); # 783 Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly (hymn tune: PLEADING SAVIOR) and # 853 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (hymn tune: HYFRYDOL).

Other frequently used meters are:

Common Meter (listed as “CM” in hymnals) which is 86 86. One such beloved hymn is # 612 Amazing Grace (hymn tune: NEW BRITAIN):
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, = 8 syllables
That saved a wretch like me! = 6 syllables
I once was lost, but now am found, = 8 syllables
Was blind, but now I see. = 6 syllables

Other hymns with this meter are # 343 Joy to the World (hymn tune: ANTICOH); # 484 (hymn tune: DIADEM); and # 635 (hymn tune: NEW COLUMBIA)

Common Meter Double (listed as “CMD”) which is 86 86 86 86. Number 646 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (hymn tune: KINGSFOLD) is one such hymn.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, = 8 syllables
“Come unto me and rest; = 6 syllables
Lay down, O weary one, lay down = 8 syllables
Your head upon my breast.” = 6 syllables
I came to Jesus as I was, = 8 syllables
So weary, worn and sad; = 6 syllables
I found in him a resting place. = 8 syllables
And he has made me glad. = 6 syllables

Other hymns with this meter are # 367 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (hymn tune: CAROL); and # 890 America the Beautiful (hymn tune: MATERNA).

One final example (and not the last one that could be given by any means!) is the Long Meter (LM) which is 88 88. We’ll use the hymn # 469 Come Holy Ghost (hymn tune: LAMBILLOTTE) as an example.
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, = 8 syllables
And in our hearts take up thy rest; = 8 syllables
Come with thy grace and heav’nly aid = 8 syllables
To fill the hearts which thou hast made, = 8 syllables
To fill the hearts which thou hast made. = 8 syllables

Other LM hymns include # 430 I Know That My Redeemer Lives (hymn tune: DUKE STREET); # 747 All People That on Earth Do Dwell (hymn tune: OLD HUNDREDTH); and # 698 Take Up Your Cross (hymn tune: O WALY WALY).

There is a complete list of all metered hymns in the back of the hymnal in the “Metrical Index of Tunes (# 903).

The next article in this series will be on “Cross Tuning.”

HYMNODY: PART 2: HYMN "TUNE NAMES"

By Tim Claubaugh

Again, as in last week’s article, you may want to click here for a printable version of this article and take it to church with you so that you can reference it with the hymn examples listed in this article.

In this article, we will be looking at just traditional hymns, because traditional hymns are the hymns that use Tune Names.

Every traditional hymn has a “Tune Name” with it. In the hymnal that we use at St. Mary (“Gather Comprehensive”), these hymn “Tune Names” can be found at the end of every traditional hymn in capital letters. For example, on # 528, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You,” if one looks at the end of the hymn under the last staff, one will see “Tune: HYMN TO JOY…” So “Hymn of Joy” is the tune name to this famous tune that Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote.

Other examples are: # 524 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” (Tune: GROSSER GOTT); # 540 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” (Tune: PICARDY); # 407 “Hail Our Savior’s Glorious Body” (Tune: PANGE LINGUA); # 635 “The King of Love My Shepherd is” (Tune: ST COLUMBIA). There are many, many other examples throughout our hymnal.

So, how did these “tune names” come about?

Some hymns received their tune names because of the first line of the hymn in it’s original language. Such hymns as # 524 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” (Tune: GROSSER GOTT) where the first 2 words in the original German hymn are “Grosser Gott” (Great God). Or in the case of # 407 “Hail Our Savior’s Glorious Body” (Tune: PANGE LINGUA), the first words in that original Latin hymn are “Pange Lingua” (Sing, My tongue, [the Savior’s glory]).

Other times, the hymns may have received their tune names because of some special meaning in the hymn such as # 528, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You,” (Tune: HYMN TO JOY) where the overall meaning of the hymn is “Joy.”

Some hymns have saints names attached to them such as # 635 “The King of Love My Shepherd is” (Tune: ST COLUMBIA); # 614 “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” (Tune: ST. ANNE); # 888 “Tantum Ergo” (Tune: ST. THOMAS). It is not known why certain hymns have saints names as their tune names other than perhaps the composer of the hymn had a particular devotion to that saint, or perhaps the composer was organist or choir director at a church with that saint’s name.

Hymns may have other special “places” attached to them such as # 646 “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” (Tune: KINGSFOLD); # 790 “Immaculate Mary” (Tune: LOURDES HYMN); # 746 “This is the Day When Light was First Created” (Tune: NORTHBROOK).

Still other hymns may have absolutely no reasons why they have certain tune names assigned to them. Hymns such as # 540 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” (Tune: PICARDY); # 343 “Joy to the World” (Tune: ANTIOCH); # 320, “The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns” (Tune: MORNING SONG); # 727 How Good it is (Tune: DOVE OF PEACE).

A complete “Index of Tunes” can be found at # 904 in the back of our hymnal.

How are these “Tune Names” helpful?

Well, to the average church-goer, it may be no big deal. But to the church musician, they are VERY valuable! For instance, if the congregation is singing as the opening song # 524 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (Tune: GROSSER GOTT), the organist can look for GROSSER GOTT in the many volumes of music that they may have (or if they are really organized, they can look in their personal “catalog” of their organ music) and pull up several possible prelude pieces that they could play based on the hymn tune GROSSER GOTT.

So why doesn’t the organist look in their organ music collection under “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name?”

There are Many, Many hymns written with completely different text, but use the same hymn tune. For instance in our hymnal, the hymn # 528 “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You” (Tune: HYMN TO JOY) can also use that exact same hymn tune to # 442 “Sing with All the Saints in Glory” (an Easter season hymn) and # 714”God Whose Purpose is to Kindle” (a social concerns hymn). Another example would be # 888 “Tantum Ergo” (Tune: ST THOMAS), a Eucharistic adoration / benediction hymn can be sung to # 662 “Christ is Made the Sure Foundation” (a hymn about church), or # 719 “For the Healing of the Nations” (a hymn about social concerns).

So by using the Hymn Tune name, rather than the Hymn Title, the organist has a much better chance of finding an organ piece based on that hymn tune because they can use the tune name (ST THOMAS) to find the hymn tune rather than the title of the hymn ("Tantum Ergo," "Christ is Made the Sure Foundation," or "For the Healing of the Nations."

The next article in this series will be on "Meter."

FUNERAL FOR RAYMOND E. SKRINAK

Funeral Mass for Raymond E. Shrinak will be on Friday, July 17 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45.

For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

SUMMER VACATION EXPERIENCE

Did you have a musical or liturgical experience during your summer travels / vacation? Whether it was good, bad, or indifferent, share it with us at music@stmarysandusky.org and we might post it (with your permission of course) on our website.

FUNERAL FOR GLADYS C. YOUNG

Funeral Mass for Gladys C. Young will be on Wednesday, July 15 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45. For the Sandusky Register obituary link, click here.

HYMNODY PART 1: WHAT IS IT?

By Tim Claubaugh

For starters, you may want to click here for a printable version of this article and take it to church with you so that you can reference it with the hymn examples listed in this article.

What is Hymnody? Simply put it is the writing, singing, and study of hymns.

So, according to that definition, all of us participate in hymnody every time we sing in church. Obviously if we sing hymns in church, then there are those who also write hymns. But to "study" hymns? Who in there right mind would do such a boring thing ? !

Well, it may surprise you to know that musicians (especially church musicians) study hymns on a weekly, if not daily, basis. As someone who does this on a daily basis, I find studying hymns to be a very interesting and fascinating thing to do. Every time I study a hymn I learn something new; I'm always amazed at what I learn after studying a hymn.

I want to share some of this with you and in turn I hope that through this series of articles on hymnody, that it will open up an entirely new world of understanding and appreciating hymns.

First let's take a look at the definition of a "Hymn" from three different sources. The first is secular (Webster's Dictionary), the second is musical (Harvard Dictionary of Music) and the third is Liturgical (The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship).



Webster's Dictionary states that a Hymn, "Comes from the Latin word, 'Hymnus' meaning song of praise." It also states that, "1a: A song of praise to God. 1b: a metrical composition adapted for singing in a religious service. 2: A song of praise or joy."



Harvard Dictionary of Music (HDM) states, "A song of praise or adoration of God (originally, in honor of Apollo; two hymns to Apollo of c. 150 B.C. are among the most complete remnants of ancient Greek music). In the early Christian era, the term 'hymn' was applied to all songs in praise of the Lord; later it was restricted to newly written poems, as distinguished from the sciptural Psalms and canticles." The dictionary entry then goes on for another two and a half pages talking about Hymns of the Eastern Churches, Latin Hymns, Polyphonic hymns, German hymns, and English hymns. I will touch on some of these in a future article.

The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship (NWDLW) does not give a definition of hymn, but rather, goes directly into the history of the hymn, beginning with the Latin Hymn. It is interesting to note that the NWDLW begins with, "St. Augustine described a hymn as 'the praise of God in song,' adding that praise of God that is not sung is not a hymn. St. Ambrose (339-397) is named as the real father of Latin hymnody."




TRADITIONAL HYMNS AND CONTEMPORARY SONGS

So what is the difference between "Traditional hymns" and "Contemporary Songs?"

Some traditional hymns have been with us for well over a thousand years. Some of the early hymns of the church such as "Pange Lingua" (# 407 in our hymnals) (which we still sing every Holy Thursday), "Attende Domine" (# 387) and "Salve Regina" (#779) just to name a few have been with us since the middle ages (ca. 300 A.D.).

Other traditional hymns came to us in the 1500's - 1900's. Hymns such as "Agincourt Hymn" (1537), "Now Thank We All Our God" (# 565) (1650's), "All Creatures of Our God and King" (# 533) (1623), "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You" (# 528) (1823), "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" (# 524) (1774), and "For All the Saints" (# 793) (1920's) come to us from that time frame.

From a musical standpoint traditional hymns, for the most part, are almost always written in 4-part harmony meaning for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The composer of the hymn also gives the hymn a "Tune Name" (which will be covered in the next article). From a lyric standpoint, the text of traditional hymns are written in a "meter" (which will also be covered in the next article), and are usually written in strictly verse style with no refrain.

Traditional hymns have stood the test of time and are just as good now as they were when they were written.

Contemporary songs are also hymns since they too are songs of praise to God and Jesus. Contemporary songs are songs written beginning in the 1960's to the present day and usually are not written in 4-part harmony as the traditional hymns are, but rather written with a melody line and guitar chords as the accompaniment. Many times they are written in a refrain / verse style and may also contain musical bridges and interludes.

Unlike the traditional hymns that have stood the test of time, some contemporary songs have drifted into oblivion because of their poor writing (either text, music, or both). Some that you may remember from earlier days are: "Dwelling Place," "Earthen Vessels," and one that I was particularly glad to see fall into oblivion was "Great Things Happen When God Mixes With Us."

Songs such as "We Are Called" (# 718), "Here I Am Lord" (# 686), "On Eagle's Wings" (# 611), "You Are Mine" (# 649) have stood the test of time and we continue to use to this day.

The Next article in this series will on "Meter and Tune Names."

BENCH SWAP SUNDAY

Sunday, August 2 is "Bench Swap" Sunday. On that Sunday, our organist, Tim Claubaugh, will play the 8:00 and 10:30 services at Zion Lutheran Church while the organist at Zion Lutheran Church, Ron Borchardt, will play the 7:30 and 9:30 Masses here at St. Mary's.

This show of "Ecumenicalism" is just one of many that Zion Lutheran and St. Mary's have shared over the years. Others include choirs from both churches joining forces to sing at services and concerts as well as several occasions where together they sang the National Anthem on the field at Progressive Field before a Cleveland Indians game.

FUNERAL FOR PAUL E. EMMERT

Funeral Mass for Paul E. Emmert will be on Monday, June 29 at 10:00 a.m. Choir members are asked to be in church by 9:45. Mark Niese will be the organist.

NEXT UPDATE

This site was updated on June 22, 2009

The next scheduled update for this site will be the week of July 13, 2009

THE ORGAN AT ST. MARY'S CHURCH

NOTE: Some of the pictures at the end of this article were taken from above the ceiling of the church which give a view of the organ not seen by many people.

ORGAN BUILDER: Rodgers (Digital) / Ruffatti (Pipes)

YEAR: 2004
MANUALS: 3
STOPS: 52
RANKS: 11 (pipes) / 112 (digital)


The 2004 Rodgers (T957 console) / Ruffatti was installed in St. Mary’s during the winter of 2004 and was played for the first time during the Holy Week services of that year. The case work is left from the previous organ (1928, 3 manual, 30 rank Kilgen Organ). It was dedicated on November 28, 2004. The dedication concert was performed by Dan Miller.

The organ is a combination of pipes (11 ranks from the Ruffatti Organ Co. in Italy) and digital and utilizes the MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) system. This gives the instrument a huge (almost endless) amount of musical expressions and sounds in the MIDI sound module. In addition, an organist can also use a MIDI sequencer for advanced record-and-playback capabilities. This enables prelude music to be played up to a half hour before the Mass while the organist is warming up the cantor or the choir in the choir room.

Another feature of this instrument is a “Voice Palette” or “VP.” Many of the speaking stops on the organ have alternate voices that can be selected and used in performance through the VP feature. VP was so named because it greatly increases the number of tonal colors at the organist disposal; there are many more ranks available to the organist than the number of actual stops on the instrument. VP gives the organist a tremendous amount of added flexibility. For example, not only can the organist choose whether to use the Great Principal 8’ stop in a registration, but they can also choose whether that particular stop uses the default Principal 8’ rank, or one of the stop’s two VP choices: The Diapason 8’ rank or the Prinzipal 8’ rank, each one with a different tonal characteristic. Any of these three selections can be used.

This organ also has twin consoles; one console up in the balcony (the master console) and an identical console down front (the slave console). This enables the organist to play either location depending on the circumstance. When the organist plays down front, the balcony console also needs to be turned on.


THE SPECIFICATION LIST:

* = Voice Palette. > = actual rank of pipes.
MANUAL 1: Top manual: Swell
16 Bourdon (VP: 16 Contre Gambe)*
8 Geigen Principal (VP: 8 Geigen Diapason)
8 Bourdon (VP: 8 Flute Harmonique, 8 Tibia)
8 Viole Celeste II
8 Flute Celeste II
4 Prestant (VP: 4 Unda Maris II)
4 Flauto Traverso
2 2/3 Nazard
2 Flute a Bec
1 3/5 Tierce (VP: Cymbale III)
IV Plein Jeu
16 Bassoon (VP: 16 Contre Trompette)
8 Trompette (VP: 8 Trumpet)
8 Hautbois (VP: 8 Hautbois mf)
8 Vox Humaine (VP: 8 Vox Humana; Strings; Slow Strings)
4 Clairon (VP: 4 Clarion)
Tremulant
Swell – Swell 16; Unison Off; Swell-Swell 4


MANUAL 2: Second from the top manual (Middle manual): Great
16 Violone (VP: 16 Bourdon)
>8 Principal (VP: 8 Diapason; 8 Prinzipal)
>8 Rohrflute (VP: 8 Chimney Flute; 8 Flute Harmonique)
8 Gemshorm
>4 Octave (VP: 4 Principal; 4 Oktav)
>4 Spitzflote
>2 Super Octave (VP: 2 Fifteenth; 2 Waldflote)
>IV Fourniture
8 Trompete (VP: 8 Trumpet)
Chimes (VP: Harpsichord; Handbells)
Tremulant
16 Swell to Great
8 Swell to Great
4 Swell to Great
8 Choir to Great


MANUAL 3: Third from the top manual (Bottom manual): Choir
8 Spitz Geigen (VP: 8 English Diapason)
8 Holzgedackt (VP: 8 Concert Flute)
8 Erzahler Celeste II (VP: SATB Ah; SATB Oo)
4 Prinzipal (VP: 4 Fugara)
4 Koppelflote (VP: 4 Flute d’Amour)
2 Oktav (VP: 2 Flautino)
1 1/3 Larigot (VP: Sesquialtera II; 1 Sifflote)
IV Mixture (VP: IV Rauschquinte)
8 Cromorne (VP: 8 French Horn; Harp)
8 Festival Trumpet (VP: 8 Tuba)
Tremulant

Choir Unison Off
16 Swell to Choir
8 Swell to Choir
4 Swell to Choir


FLOATING DIVISION: Solo
8 Violincello Celeste II (VP: Stings, Slow Strings; Boy Choir Ah)
4 Harmonic Flute (VP: SATB Ah; SATB Oo; Brass)
8 French Horn (VP: Orchestral Oboe; Soprano Ah; Amens / Alleluias)
8 English Horn (VP: Harpsichord; 8 Festival Trumpet, 8 Tuba)
Tremulant
Solo on II
Solo on III
Solo on Pedal


PEDAL DIVISION:
32 Contre Bourdon (VP: 32 Contre Violone)
>16 Principal (VP: 16 Open Wood)
16 Subbass (VP: 16 Bordun)
16 Violone
16 Bourdon Doux (Sw)
>8 Octave
8 Gedackt
4 Choral Bass (VP: 4 Nachthorn)
IV Mixture
32 Contre Bombarde (VP: 32 Contre Basson)
16 Basson (Sw) (VP: 16 Contre Trompette [Sw])
8 Trompette
4 Rohrschalmei (VP: 4 Clarion)


8 Great to Pedal
8 Swell to Pedal
4 Swell to Pedal
8 Choir to Pedal



THUMB PISTONS:
Memory 1, 2, 3, 4
General 1-10
Swell 1-5
Great 1-5
Choir 1-5

MIDI Great A
MIDI Great B
MIDI Swell A
MIDI Swell B
MIDI Pedal A
MIDI Pedal B
MIDI Choir A
MIDI Choir B

Great/Pedal Pipes Off
Great/Pedal Ancillary On
Choir Pipes Off
Choir Ancillary On
Melody From Swell
Melody From Choir
Bass

Main Off
Antiphonal On
Main Tremulant II
Flute Tremulant II
Quick Menu
Set
All Swells to Swells Expression
Solo to Choir Expression
Great / Pedal Enclosed
Festival Trumpet (on Choir) Enclosed
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Swell to Choir
Alternate Crescendo
Choir / Great Transfer
Tutti
Zimbelstern


TOE PISTONS:
General 1-10
Pedal 1-5
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
32 Bourdon
32 Bombarde
Tutti

EXPRESSION PEDALS:
Choir (and Great)
Swell
Crescendo


PICTURES:


The console down front






The console down front

The only organ in the state of Ohio believed to utilize the Staple's "Easy" button! Yep, when the music gets tough, the Staples Easy Button is just an arms reach away!

A view of the rear gallery or balcony.

The rear gallery or balcony console.

The "C" side of the organ in the balcony.

The dedication plaque.

The blower and reservoir.

The 6 "Reflective" speakers can be seen along the wall on the right. There are 6 of these speakers on each side of the organ. These speakers fire early and cause the sound to reflect off the back wall of the church, then down the naive. The 6 regular speakers (again, 6 on each side) which fire directly into the naive of the church can be seen to the left behind the bass / pedal pipes.

Two of the four huge "Woofer" speakers in the organ.

Behind the organ taken from one of the windows in the

steeple stairway.

Balcony organ taken from above the church ceiling.

Closeup of the antiphonal speakers which lay on top of the reredos.

Above the altar platform with the antiphonal speakers laying on top of the reredos.

Balcony C-Side of the organ taken from above the church ceiling.

The C# side of the balcony organ taken above the church ceiling.

MUSIC MINISTRY BANQUET, WHAT FUN !

The annual end - of - the - year Music Ministry Banquet took place Wednesday evening, June 10 with 57 people in attendance from the Contemporary Choir, Parish Choir, Vocati Praising Choir (Funeral Choir), and Cantors. A great time was had by all ! ! !

A year of hard work well done! ! !

Now unto next season!

Pictures below: (pictures were left off of people eating! Those will be saved for use at a later date). Just Joking! :)

Ron Smith, Jim Grimm, and Pete Dubois

Mary Conley Riedy, Jim Riedy, Kathy Erney, & Heather Gerber

Carol Icsman, Ralph May, Eileen May

Connie Napper, Monica Deubel, Jeff Claar, Dave Proy,

Kay Proy, Deb Claar

Judy Guendelsberger, Shirley Dubois, Julie Castello,

& Ron Blake

Gary & Judy Guendelsberger & Shirley Dubois

Eileen May, Hank Pfanner, and Pat Pfanner

Rosemary Manner, Barb Harkness, and Leann Ward

Pete Dubois, Fr. Phil Feltman, Jim Grimm, &

Ron Smith

Daughter and Mom: Stephanie Rowland, &

Marsha Mulvin

Contemporary Choir Members: Kathy Kirner, Jen Kustec,

Marie Grimm, Heather Gerber, Ceci Wightman, AJ Kreidler,

& Marianna Kreidler.

ORDINARY TIME

By Tim Claubaugh

Ordinary Time. What is "Ordinary Time?" Simply put, Ordinary Time is the time during the Liturgical Year (Advent - the Feast of Christ the King at the end of November) that does not celebrate the mysteries of the other liturgical seasons (Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter). Where Advent focuses on Christ's coming for Christmas as well as his second coming, Christmas focuses on Christ's nativity, Lent focuses on reconciliation, and Easter focuses on his Resurrection; Ordinary Time focuses on the many other aspects of Christ and our faith and salvation journey. Considering all the areas that this encompasses, there really is nothing "ordinary" about Ordinary Time.

What are some of the things that we do during Ordinary Time this summer?

Here at St. Mary's Church, we use Mass Parts (or Service Music) which is known throughout the country during specific times of the year when we may get more than the usual amount of visitors to our parish. For example, during the Advent and Christmas seasons we will use the "Mass of Light" by David Haas and during the Easter season we will use "Mass of Creation" by Marty Haugen. These 2 Mass settings are known by about 95% of the Catholic population in the United States. So people that are visiting during those holiday seasons will feel "at home" by knowing and singing those Mass parts.

The same is true during the summer since we get a very large number of visitors who are vacationing in the area. For that reason, during the summer we use the "People's Mass" and the "Danish Amen" Eucharistic Acclamations as well as the Gloria from the "New Mass for Congregation" by Carroll T. Andrews and the Lamb of God from the "Holy Cross Mass" by David Clark Isele. Again, these Mass parts are known by a very large number of Catholics across the country, so when we sing them during the summer, our visitors will feel "at home" by knowing and singing these Mass parts.

We will also sing some hymns this summer using the "Cross Tune" technique. But more on that in a later article in our upcoming "Hymnody Series."

I pray that everyone has a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe summer. And don't forget to worship God and give Him thanks for all your many blessings at Sunday Mass; even during the summer!

MONTHLY UPDATES

Besides our weekly "This Sunday's Music" being updated every week, be sure to check out our monthly updates for June on "This Month in St. Mary's History," and "Monthly Videos" pages. Also, check out the "This Month in Music History" on the Sandusky Chapter of the American Guild of Organists web site! These links are also in our sidebar for your future use.

LEXINGTON CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL CHAMBER CHOIR CONCERT WRAP UP

BACKGROUND

Monday, June 1 at 7:30 pm, the Lexington (Kentucky) Catholic High School Chamber Choir gave an outstanding performance at St. Mary's Church. Intonation and blending never seemed to be a problem for this group of high school juniors and seniors under the direction of Adam Beeken. They performed many works a cappella and a few pieces were either accompanied on organ or piano by faculty member Robert Vanover, who also performed two solo organ pieces.

The Chamber choir is on a 5 day tour which included Sunrise Assisted Living (Cincinnati), Trintiy Lutheran Church (Columbus), St. Mary's Catholic Church (Columbus), St. Joseph Cathedral (Columbus), St. Mary's (Sandusky), Sandusky Central Catholic High School, and St. Paul Catholic Church (Lexington, KY).

Earlier this year, the group performed for the Kentucky Music Educators Association state convention and performed the Rutter "Requiem" with a professional orchestra as well as many other performances throughout the year.

The choir program at LCHS, under the direction of Adam Beeken and Robert Vanover, is a young program. In recent years the choir has grown from under 30 students with one part time instructor to over 200 students with two full-time instructors. The school has six curricular ensembles and three extra curricular groups. The music department has developed its curriculum to include Honors Music Theory, AP Music Theory, Introduction to Piano, and Advanced Piano.

The choir commissions a new choral composition each year; this year being the world premiere of "Song of Creation" by Joseph Martin. They also took their first international tour during the Summer of 2008 to France and Italy which included performances at Notre Dame and St. Peter's Basilica.

THE PROGRAM
SONG OF CREATION - Joseph Martin
(Commissioned 2009 for LCHS Chamber Choir)

SICUT CERVUS - Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina

DIXIT DOMINUS from "Vesperae solennes de confessore" - W. A. Mozart

SELECTIONS FROM "12 CANTICLES" - Randall Thompson
II. "God is a Spirit"
III. "When Thou Liest Down"
IV. My Grace is Sufficient"

SAUL - Egil Hovland

SALVATION IS CREATED - Pavel Tschenekoff

YE FOLLOWERS OF THE LAMB - E. E. Ferguson

APPALACHIAN CELEBRATION - Earlene Rentz

VADO CON SPESSO CANGIANDO LOCO - Salvatore Rosa
Bass Soloist: Clay Thompson

SEASONS OF LOVE - arr. by Mark Brymer

BLUE SKIES - arr. by Steve Zegree

GEORGIA - arr. by Ed Lojeski

EVERYTIME I FEEL THE SPIRIT - arr. by William Dawson

HOME IN D' ROCK - arr. by Brian Tate

WITNESS - arr. by Jack Halloran


PICTURES


Lexington Catholic High School Chamber Choir

Adam Beeken, Director

Rob Vanover, Organist / Pianist