The Pentecost Sequence

Like many parishes this year, we will be chanting the sequence for the first time in probably many years rather than either reading it (ughh...) or singing it to a forced metrical hymn (the OLD 100th setting comes to mind...).

This is a good thing, and only required a little bit of ingenuity on my part. I say that because I was asked first that it be sung in English (OK...we've been doing a lot of vernacular chant as of late) and second that I use the text given in the Missalette.

Yikes. The text in the missalette is intended to be sung to a metrical hymn, but thank heavens they just printed the text rather than the actual metrical setting as well. This enabled me to do a bit of improvising. What came to mind was something like a chant hymn, using an AA-BB form rather like the Dies Irae; Two distinct melodic strophes sung twice each in alternation. Rather than use an existing chant hymn (not to mention that I couldn't find one in 677 meter that sometimes changes to 767 or 777...it was just too strange!) I decided to just, well....make one up.

I don't know whether this is really the best solution here...but given what I had to work with, it isn't such a bad one if I may say so myself. I may want to fix the "Amen; Alleluia" at the end...after listening to it I don't think it really works all that well.

VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS - Pentecost Sequence (English)

I wonder if this sort of thing is going to become more common in years to come?