Hymn of the week: Soul of My Saviour (ANIMA CHRISTI)

From the

 Hymn Title: Soul of My Saviour

Tune Name: ANIMA CHRISTI

Meter: 10 10 10 10

Every church musician needs a good Eucharistic hymn to keep in their pocket in case of need. This setting of the Anima Christi prayer (attributed to Pope John XXII), translated by the most excellent Edward Caswall, is a perfect option. Easily learned and easily sung, yet not boring or repetitive, its long, elegant lines are each interesting in their own right - as an organist, if I am called upon to play extra verses to fill time, I will often simply drop the melody and solo out the alto line with an oboe setting for a full verse.

Singers should try to sing each line in a single, well-supported breath; make sure to accommodate them by keeping the tempo steady, stately but not too slow. Basses will be tempted to blast out their higher notes in the third line (ask me how I know), so stay on them to temper their enthusiasm. As the tenor and bass parts meet up, they will need less volume, so as not to overpower the melody.

This hymn is the one I sing to myself in my head after I receive Communion every time I am so blessed. Meditating on its words is both good preparation and good reflection, so it can be used either in place of the Communion Antiphon or as a post-Communion meditation hymn.

(I'm kind of front-loading this list of Hymns of the Week with ones I find most useful. Let me know in the comments section if there are specific hymns or general needs I can fill with future selections!)


Click Here to print the music for free!

Comments

Post a Comment

Others are reading...

Hey You! Join the Choir!

From the
 I'm pretty sure there's a large swath of people (mostly men) who suddenly remember that it's time to be somewhere else when they see me get that certain look, especially in January and August - prime Choir Recruitment Time. They know they're on my radar, either because I can hear them from upstairs when they sing below, or they used to be in a choir but left, or I know family members of theirs with fine voices, or any number of other reasons. Choir directors learn to live with this fact - that most people will laugh and simper, and say "oh, you don't want me in the choir," (which is sometimes true), but that doesn't mean they don't want to be asked, or even pressed. Still, most of the time, the final answer is no. But this post isn't for the choir directors, since I don't have any good tips for recruiting - in fact, I'm always scrambling for more members. (Especially basses - I think I must have offended a bass somewhere down the line,
Keep reading »

Ora et labora

From the
 O nce there were two novices working in the field, and they heard the bells ring for the Angelus. While one of them began to pray immediately, the other quickly lit a cigarette first. "Hey!" cried the first novice indignantly. "I asked the prior if I could smoke while I prayed and he said no!" "That's where you went wrong," replied the second, puffing away. "I asked prior if I could pray while I smoked, and he said yes." Jokes aside, sometimes it's hard to remember to pray the Masses we work for, especially if we are tucked away in a loft or a corner. Responsibilities will tug the corners of our mind, changes might need to be made and communicated, or just plain performance nerves get in the way. I have sat in the choir loft of many a restless choir director, as well as tried to manage my own ADHD while balancing presence for the job at hand with presence for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The struggle is real, whether you are a choir m
Keep reading »

So, what's this all about, then?

From the
  Me, personally My name is Kathleen, and I’m the music director at a Catholic parish in a small college town in Southern California. During my 20+ years at this parish and throughout my whole lifetime of liturgical music, I’ve worn many different hats - organist, choir member, cantor, choir director, person who chooses the music, person who manages the music staff - so I can speak from many different perspectives. My experience is my main qualification - I am the owner of zero pieces of paper validation except for a certificate of completion of the kind of Child Safety Training I’m sure most of my target readership is painfully familiar with. But I’ve studied a lot, thought a lot, had a lot of discussions with a lot of thoughtful people, and tried a lot of different things, so I do hope that my experience and perspective will be helpful. I do have one publication to my name: a  hymnal for Catholic schools  that I helped edit for the  Institute for Catholic Liberal Education.  This pro
Keep reading »