Surprising as it may seem, this is the first year I've been to a Traditional Mass on Easter Sunday morning. I've always been the Vigil, at a distance from where I lived which made going to the morning Mass as well pretty difficult. This year I went to the morning Mass instead of the Vigil.
It was another Solemn Mass at St William of York, Reading, thanks to the presence of the Rev. Mr Hubert Coerderoi FSSP, a Seminarian at the Fraternity seminary at Wigratzbad in Germany, who has been subdeacon at each service over the Triduum, Fr de Malleray and Fr Leworthy alternating as celebrant and deacon. We also had with us the Rev. Mr Ian Verrier FSSP, who despite his French name is English, and is at the Fraternity's other seminary, at Denton in the USA; he is a highly competant musician and led the schola and played the organ.
The celebration of the whole Sacred Triduum with Solemn liturgies in Reading is unique in England (and the British Isles, I should imagine, at least outside Papa Stronsay). One innovation this year was the employment of Charles Finch and his Cantores Missae to sing on Good Friday; they were excellent, and gave the regular chant schola a well-earned break as well. Well done to Fr de Malleray for successfully organising the whole thing!
The Tenebrae at Reading was also done very well, with some solemn chant for the Prophecies that I hadn't heard before. Very good. Well done to Fr de M and confederates.
ReplyDeleteHappily the celebration of the whole Sacred Triduum with Solemn liturgies, with Tenebrae in full on each of the three days, also occurred at the FSSP's apostolate in Edinburgh.
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