Lauridsen Ubi Caritas Et Amor

​Wedding season is in full swing, which brings to the local parish a unique set of blessings and curses. On the positive side, the rite of Christian marriage brings the blessing of the lifelong union of husband and wife. On the negative side, however, the wedding rite is often cursed with a theatrical soloist singing another sensual and seductive rendition of “The Wedding Song” (“It is good to be together at the calling of your hearts,” etc.), against which St. Ambrose and a host of other fathers warned. One prominent Lutheran church musician from New York, Dr. Jane Schatkin Hettrick, perhaps put it best when she said that most weddings are “an orgy of bad taste.” In an effort to recover the solemnity and dignity of the Christian wedding, I would like to recommend three choral settings of the sequence hymn, Ubi Caritas, “Where Charity and Love Are [Found], God is There.”
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​Ubi Caritas is a hymn of the Western liturgy, traditionally sung as one of the antiphons for the washing of feet on Maundy Thursday, at the adoration of the Host, and at the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The theology of this text, adapted primarily from I Corinthians 13:2-8, is also fitting for the Christian wedding as the bride and groom enter into a life of charity, love, and mutual service to one another.
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The most historically important musical setting of Ubi Caritas hails from the French composer and organist, Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986). Like his most popular choral work, Requiem (1947), his famous setting of Ubi Caritas is based on the Medieval plain chant for this text, as the title of the full work implies: Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens (“Four Motets on Gregorian Themes” [1960]). The most frequently performed of the four motets is Ubi Caritas, a setting of just stanza 1 of the hymn cited above, with the opening phrase serving as an antiphon. Can you find and follow the melody in this rolling score?

The altos carry the melody at the beginning and the end of the work, with the sopranos doing the honors in the central portion of the work. The four-part vocal division in the men’s parts on the “amen” presents a formidable challenge, but the beautiful alto line on the “amen” is “worth the price of admission.” Dr. Nick Strimple, who literally wrote the book on choral music in the twentieth century, was certainly correct in his assessment of this timeless yet timely work:
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Inspired by Strimple, I would like to suggest two other settings of Ubi Caritas that are fitting for Holy Matrimony.
Readers of “Lifted Voice” are probably familiar with the West Coast composer, Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943), who holds the honors of being the most frequently performed American composer. Many of his later works are profoundly inspired by Gregorian chant, including his setting of all three stanzas of Ubi Caritas (1999), which is a good case study in the marriage between tune and text. In the following video, the men sing the plain chant as an antiphon. Try to see how the chant is woven throughout the work, accompanied by “the undulating and glistening textures for which Lauridsen’s music is justly famous” (Strimple, Choral Music, p. 247). This is by far the longest (explained by Lauridsen setting all three stanzas) and the most challenging of the three settings highlighted in this column, but it is also very rewarding to learn, sing, and, as you are about to discover, to hear:
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A third option is from the Norwegian-born pianist and composer, Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978), who currently lives and composes in Manhattan. Perhaps inspired by Duruflé, Gjeilo set just the first stanza of the sequence, with special emphasis on the words, “Love of Christ” (Christi amor). The most unique feature of this setting is the somewhat daring use of f-sharp minor, which required some alteration of the original chant. Notice, however, that the minor key, along with Gjeilo’s unique harmonic and melodic language, seems to convey the mystery of the union of husband and wife in Christ.

​As mentioned at the beginning of this column, most weddings usually employ a soloist to sing anything from the Lord’s Prayer (a curious practice, by the way, since the soloist does not play a high priestly role for the assembly) to popular music that has no place in God’s house. The challenge of the choral music listed here is to find, train, and prepare a choir for the wedding, and yet, that is precisely the point. Instead of hiring a soloist for weddings, why not renew the concept of being a “wedding singer” and have a small group of trained vocalists who serve as the core singers for weddings? These forces could be augmented by other good singers, operating under the theological presupposition that the wedding is a public rite of the church and the entire community, while not necessarily invited to the wedding reception, is most certainly invited to the wedding. I have personally been involved in this sort of preparation as a singer, conductor, and pastor, and I have found that it is rewarding for everyone who is involved.
Finally, it is worth noting that the wedding service, along with the funeral service, is one of the most public statements of the congregation’s theology and practice to the local community. The next time you attend a wedding or a funeral in your church, notice how many people in the pew are visitors. In most cases, despite the best efforts of evangelism committees, these visitors will never return to your church. But the message that they hear, both from the pulpit and the choir loft, is vital nonetheless, especially if they are unchurched. Ubi Caritas should not be overlooked as the church prays for bride and groom “to live in faith toward [God], in the communion of [His] holy Church, and in loving service to each other that they may ever enjoy [His] heavenly blessings” (Lutheran Service Book: Agenda, p. 81).

7/4/2016 01:25:29 pm