Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Dominican Hymnarium

Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P.

The proper place for hymnody in the Roman liturgy is the Divine Office, and part of the re-enchantment of the Liturgy will necessitate the re-discovery of our hymnody with venerable texts from the Fathers of the Church and saints, and sublime chant tunes.

As a contribution to this aim, the Dominican friars of the Eastern Province of the United States, the St Joseph Province, are preparing a hymnal of Dominican chant for the Divine Office, with both the Latin hymn texts from the 1952 Dominican breviary and English translations based on those prepared by the Irish Province in 1967. 

An excellent website has been set up to explain what this project involves including sample pages, the history of Dominican chant, and audio recordings of the hymn tunes. Most importantly, there is a chance to make a donation because this project requires $6,500 of funding to bring it completion. 

It seems to me that this is a most worthy project, and one which I think NLM readers may wish to aid with your prayers, and whatever financial help you can provide. 

Posted Wednesday, October 02, 2013

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