In the Western world, the development of music is intimately tied to the liturgy of the Church. Beginning in the early middle ages, Mass settings and the liturgy of the hours were sung in simple melodies known as plainchant (such as Gregorian chants). In many ways, these chants offered a starting place of musical innovation that centuries of composers would build upon. Still today, music often enriches our celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
The very nature of music reflects many characteristics of the Eucharist, making it an attractive companion to our adoration of the Eucharist. On this page, we will gradually explore some of these elements.
Music is sound organized in time. Like a vapor, it escapes us the moment after we perceive it. In a way, it is the most temporary of art forms, and yet it ties us to our past in a particularly sensuous way. When we listen to a live performance of Bach, a masterpiece of 300 years past is produced before our very eyes and ears. When we sing a hymn on Sunday, we may unwittingly recreate the art that has vibrated vocal chords for centuries, and sometimes we can feel the worshippers of the past among us.
One of the greatest wonders of the Incarnation and of the Eucharist is that Jesus comes out of the eternal realm into our passing moments to draw us up into eternity with him. As Jesus is the bridge between our now and eternity, so music is a little bridge between our moment in time and God’s view of it. When we attend Mass, we celebrate the feast of Heaven on Earth throughout all time. The music we hear and sing can remind us of those who have sung it before us and who are singing with us now.
As an example of the lasting presence of music, consider how a 13th century hymn has accompanied the Church for seven centuries. Sacris Solemniis was written by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century for use on the feast of Corpus Christi. The text was written to be chanted in a way that focuses on the meaning of the text.The penultimate verse is still familiar to many of us today:
Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis cœlicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.
Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.
Amen.
Thus Angels' Bread is made
the Bread of man today:
the Living Bread from heaven
with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
the poor and lowly may
upon their Lord and Master feed.Thee, therefore, we implore,
o Godhead, One in Three,
so may Thou visit us
as we now worship Thee;
and lead us on Thy way,
That we at last may see
the light wherein Thou dwellest aye.
Amen.
In the Renaissance and Baroque periods, a number of composers used the text of Aquinas’ hymn to compose contemporary, more complex motets. As you listen to these next two examples, notice the development from a single unaccompanied melody to multiple simultaneous melodic lines that create both basic harmony and imitative polyphony.
Several of today’s most well-known settings of Panis Angelicus come from the Romantic Period (1825-1900). As you listen to the following two renditions, you will hear the emotive melodies and well-integrated harmonies typical of the period.