Last Dance: Ubi Caritas

As of 7:30AM this morning “Ubi Caritas” has edged “O Come O Come Emmanuel” 16-13. Thanks for all your voting and participation. If you want to review and recap the brackets, they are here:

Dance 2012

 

The Dance Final

Here we are: the final contest for the most popular sacred song among readers on this web site. And trust me; it’s not anything less or more than that. I would not have guessed these two pieces of music would have made it, but there you have it. Have fun:

 

The Faithful Four: In Praise of God

Polling for the other Faithful Four pairing is proceeding. I need to get this piece up today, so take three days to determine the other finalist.

 

The Faithful Four: A Paschal Mystery Match-Up

Our Faithful Four are set. Today’s match-up suggests that the Paschal Mystery is very much at the center of Catholic consciousness. I suspect readers here are more aware of it than casual Catholics. I’ve re-seeded the finals based on initial seeds in the white, red, green, and violet brackets.

 

Halfway to the Faithful Four

We have two of our four finalists in Catholic Sensibility’s 2012 Liturgical Music Dance. “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” was an easy winner over a Christmas favorite in the White final. “O Come O Come Emmanuel” locked down another spot yesterday as the Violet bracket representative.

Polling is still open today for the Green final as “Ubi Caritas” has a substantial lead on another Christmas song. The Red bracket winner will be decided by Monday morning in a poll that at this moment is too close to call.

Thanks for being good sports about voting and keeping this series light and fluffy compared to the rough-and-tumble world of theology. I’ve been pondering a new format for polling next time. Unlike a one-on-one athletic contest, polling can be done with any number of contestants. I was fiddling around the other week with a mathematically equitable system for seeding and pairing a series of three-way choices. Working backwards from a final three (trinity? triduum?) we’d have a penultimate round of nine (novena? enneagram?). Before that 27. I could expand the initial field to 81, and field reader input on that.

Or we could poll ourselves on our favorite psalm or saying of Jesus. Or a favorite theologian or saint.

Or maybe not.

Three more posts to come: Monday and Tuesday we’ll start whittling it down to the final contest, which I’ll post Friday morning.

Knowing my readership, the ones who comment, and the locations from which you surf here, I’m not surprised that the NPM Songs That Make A Difference did not fare well as a whole. Middle seeds (7 through 10) were songs I think are popular outside of that listing, and reflect more the totality of the Catholic musical experience. Some songs make a difference for us even though we only sing them once a year. Or because they made a big difference when we were younger. Or because ot the text. Or in spite of it, or despite the tune. These sixty-four songs we polled are all good songs, but they are not perfect songs. We keep striving for the perfect, though. Or the very good, or the much better. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Red Final: Holy God Who Shepherds

The last two NPM offerings in the Dance square off for one spot in the Faithful Four. Let’s vote:

You Tube contains dozens of renditions. This is the original recording with piano quintet, orchestra bells and small choir. Listening to these versions, I realize that over the years I’ve probably increased the tempo on this about eight to twelve clicks.

Here’s a nice rendition of “Holy God” in a Praise and Worship style. If you’re going to sing it in E, I think you can get an even more driving effect playing these chords with a partial capoing of five strings, leaving the bass E string open.

 

Green Final: Ubi Christmas?

Most of the Dance has landed on a purple, white, or even a red liturgical day. This week, the “green” songs are “at home.” Seasonal fare has done quite well in the Dance thus far. Let’s see how a beloved Christmas song does against a Triduum classic.

Voting is still open on the other regional finals. The other remaining Christmas song is getting whupped by an Easter classic, but there’s still two days to go there. Advent remains ahead of Pentecost where polling closes in 24 hours.

 

White Final: Easter vs Christmas

This is an interesting pairing, matching up the #1 Easter and Christmas songs of some of the English-speaking world. I remember before I was baptized asking my mom which was a bigger holiday, Christmas or Easter. The latter, my Baptist parent said. Easter is much more important for what it signifies to the Christian.

But again, you are not voting on the relative theological merits of either feast, just on these particular pieces of music we sing to celebrate them.

Meanwhile, in the first day of polling the Veni’s, the contest was even through the first several hours. Now “O Come O Come Emmanuel” has pulled into a 13-7 lead. But its only late in the first half there. There’s still a tomorrow.

 

Violet Final: Veni, Veni

Let’s get down to our Faithful Four, shall we? Time to settle the Violet Regional Finals with the lowest two remaining seeds in the Eternal  Eight.

A wintry pop style with the Latin lyrics here.

The Holy Father probably prefers this choral setting of the other “Veni.”

Remember, you’re not voting on these particular settings, but rather whatever liturgical or performance setting you enjoy or hear regularly of each of these.

 

Red Semifinal 2

Let’s wrap up the Spiritual Sixteen. One of these NPM Top-25′s will be the last to advance to the Eternal Eight.

The top organ hymn in the Dance is now the top remaining seed. Will it outpoll “Pange Lingua”? Time will tell.

 

Red Semifinal 1

Let’s settle up in the last bracket.

“Come Holy Ghost” went to overtime against “Adoro Te Devote” in round 1, then had an easier time of it against “Be Not Afraid.” The likely number one contemporary setting of Psalm 23 has had a fairly easy time in the polling.

 

Green Semifinal 2

The sixth poll of the Spiritual Sixteen:

“One Bread, One Body” was a slight surprise, edging out Ave Maria by one vote in the last round. “Ubi Caritas,” whichever incarnation was in your minds, had two very easy votes to get here. Let’s see how it turns out.

 

Green Semifinal 1

Another NPM choice goes to bat against a piece of season music. Here’s your ballot:

I find it fascinating that the NPM pollsters didn’t think  of seasonal songs. Or perhaps Christians just take Christmas and other music for granted. But I’m not surprised these peices are outpolling many songs that “make a difference.” Christmas songs make a difference, too. Let’s see how December 25th’s most-programmed song fares against a text that is either a choral piece or a plainsong.

 

Violet Semifinal 2

Another seasonal hymn that outpolled two NPM top-25′s. Respighi’s arrangement of the tune in the second movement of Trittico Botticelliano runs from the 1:15 mark to about 2:56 here.

The last remaining number-one seed.

Let’s vote:

 

Violet Semifinal 1

“Veni Sancte Spiritus” had the easiest route to the Spiritual Sixteen, dispatching two poll opponents bya combined 56-7.

And there’s “Holy Holy Holy,” a traditional hymn that seems ubiquitous, but didn’t make the NPM’s top-25.