Lessons and Carols, 2024

Join us for Advent Lessons and Carols as we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.

The Consolation of the Dies Irae

Why has the Church, at least in times past, appointed this doomsday sequence to be sung on the feast of All Souls and at the funeral Masses of her children?

O Virgo Virginum

O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be? For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after thee...

O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

O Rex Gentium

O King of the Nations and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

O Oriens

O Dawning Light, Splendor of Light Eternal and Sun of Righteousness, come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.‍

O Clavis David

O Key of David and scepter of the House of Israel . . . come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of Death.

O Radix Jesse

O root of Jesse, standing as a sign amongst the peoples . . . to you the nations will make their prayer: come and deliver us and delay no longer.

O Adonai

O Adonai, Leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire in the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai, come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

O Sapientia

O Wisdom coming forth from the mouth of the Most High...

Lessons and Carols, 2023

Join us on December 17 as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Abbeys and Organs

In just a few weeks, we will celebrate the arrival, tuning, and voicing of our new organ with our inaugural organ concert played by the great Paul Jacobs, American organist and chair of the Organ Department at the Juilliard School. Join Fr. Ambrose Criste and Fr. Jerome Molokie for a conversation earlier this year about organs and their place in liturgical life.

Signum Magnum

The Norbertine Fathers sing the Signum Magnum, a piece of Gregorian Chant for the Introit of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15th).

Veni Creator Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

Salve Regina

Salve Regina -- Hail Holy Queen -- begins one of the most well known and beautiful prayers to Our Lady. Enjoy this rendition by the abbey schola!

Veni Sancte Spiritus

This chant imploring the aid of the Holy Spirit is the sung before the Gospel on Pentecost Sunday.

Regina Caeli

The Regina Caeli--sung after Compline during the Easter Season--is one of the most recognizable (and beautiful!) Marian chants.

Vidi Aquam

The text of the Vidi Aquam, which is sung during Paschal Vespers during the Octave, is from the Prophet Ezekial. It reminds us of the salvation we find in Baptism.

Paschal Vespers at St. Michael's Abbey

One of the hallmarks of Norbertine Easter is Paschal Vespers, a celebration of our Baptism and our new life in Christ.

Victimae Paschali Laudes

The Victimae Paschali Laudes--the sequence for Easter Day--describes the joyful encounter between the Resurrected Christ and Mary Magdalene.

The Exsultet: The Easter Proclamation

Let us exult! The Exsultant is a powerful chant--a true expression of joy sung on the cusp of Easter Sunday.

Crux Fidelis

During the veneration of the Holy Cross, we sing the text of "Crux Fidelis" to profess our faith in Our Lord's Passion.

Popule Meus by Palestrina, Explained

Fr. Edmund guides us through Palestrina's Popule Meus, a striking piece of polyphony and a favorite of Vatican liturgists since the 16th century.

Vexilla Regis

"The Royal Banner forward goes..." This begins the Vexilla Regis, sung during Passiontide to mark the sublimity and victory of the Cross.

Tenebrae, 2023

The liturgy of Tenebrae (Latin for "darkness"), which dates back to the ninth century, is a special expression of Matins and Lauds unique to Holy Week.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem

A Hymn of Grief

By listening to the simple tone and absorbing the tragic sentiment of Tenebrae, we enter more deeply into the wonderful mystery of the Lord’s saving passion and death.

The Norbertine Chant of the Stabat Mater

Sung to honor Our Lady of Sorrows, the Stabat Mater is perhaps one of the most recognizable Lenten chants.

Vespers of the Annunciation

Join us for Vespers as we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation.

Allegri's Miserere and the Beauty of Penance

Allegri's Miserere is one of the most famous and most beautiful pieces of sacred music ever composed. It is a song of great sorrow and an appeal to God's mercy: poignant at any season of Life, but especially during Lent.

Sacred Chant Prepares Us for Easter

In Lent, the chants of the Church grow more and more dramatic: driving, slowly, toward a crescendo at Easter.

Hortus Conclusus Es

The Song of Songs is on the surface a love poem. But there is hidden beneath the surface of these vivid images a profound revelation: that of God’s unfathomable love.

Lumen ad Revelationem Gentium - Explained

The feast of Candlemas is a feast of pure light. Fr. Jacob guides us through the antiphon sung on this holy day.

The O Antiphons, Explained

The height of penance and prayer during the Season of Advent is marked, in part, by the O Antiphons. Fr. Jacob takes us through each of the O Antiphons and explains how these ancient chants draw us into deeper devotion as Christmas draws near.

The Coventry Carol

Originally a medieval carol performed during the Mystery Plays of Coventry, this English carol depicting the account of the massacre of the Holy Innocents from the Gospel of Matthew has since become a Christmas classic. The hauntingly somber melody and heart-breaking lyrics evoke a spirit of mourning amidst the otherwise jubilant spirit of the Christmas octave. The song recalls the women of Bethlehem bidding farewell to their children who are about to be slaughtered by decree of King Herod.

Alma Redemptoris Mater

The Marian antiphon “Alma Redemptoris Mater” is sung at the end of the canonical hour of Compline from the first Sunday of Advent until after second Vespers of the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, February 2. The text is attributed to Blessed Hermannus of Reichenau (1013-1054), a Benedictine monk and scholar of the 11th century.

Ecce Virgo - An Original Composition

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el." This text is one of the clearest Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

The First Chant of the Year

The Church teaches us how to pray through chant. The famous "Ad Te Levavi" chant helps orient us toward heaven during Advent.

Advent Lessons and Carols 2022

Although it had its origins in Protestantism, Lessons and Carols is a custom which has also been adapted by many Catholic churches, especially as a way to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas.

Lo! He Comes, with Clouds Descending

Lo! He Comes, with Clouds Descending is one of the most triumphant hymns of the Advent season. The text, composed by the great hymn-writer Charles Wesley (d. 1788), takes its inspiration from various passages of sacred Scripture which speak of Christ's second coming.

A Few Important Chants as We Begin Advent

The Church year starts not with January 1, but with the first Sunday of Advent, a period anticipating the Nativity of the Lord. Our salvation is at hand, and we must prepare for it with a season of joyful anticipation, and yes, some penance as well.

Christmas at St. Michael’s Abbey

Anthology: Chants & Polyphony

Anthology: Chants and Polyphony from St. Michael’s Abbey