ERE IT NOT for the “shared tunes” in the Brébeuf hymnal, I would have most likely died from a heart attack by now. I don’t need to explain to our readers the enormous difficulties of our vocation. As Father Skeris used to say: “The life of a choirmaster is a life of sacrifice.” And May 1st is a typical example, because this year “Good Shepherd Sunday” is replaced (in the EF) by the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. Where can one find hymns to Saint Joseph the choir knows? Well, the Brébeuf has several excellent hymns to Saint Joseph. And since my choir has already been singing #220 during Lent, they already know #790 because it’s a “shared tune” as you can see:
Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #790.
The full hymn—#790 in the Brébeuf hymnal—is twelve (12) verses long, and some of the verses relate Saint Joseph to the SANCTISSIMUM:
5. His ancient namesake to prepare
against the famine wisely strove
and, precious grain preserved in trove,
he thus provided saving fare.6. The later Joseph kept the bread,
the manna true, divinely sent,
whose living flesh is nourishment
to those he rescues from the dead.
The rhyme scheme is one favored by poets such as Ronald Knox: it’s in ABBA.
