Palm Sunday has always struck me as an especially appropriate liturgical occasion for a children’s choir, on account of the texts of the first two processional antiphons:
“Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.”
“The children of the Hebrews, carrying olive branches, went to meet the Lord, crying out and saying: Hosanna in the highest.”
Pueri Hebraeorum vestimenta prosternebant in via, et clamabant dicentes: Hosanna filio David; benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.”
“The children of the Hebrews spread their garments on the road, crying out and saying: Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Besides those two chants themselves (the very approachable melodies for which can be found on pages 138-141 of the Graduale Romanum), I commend to my fellow music directors also Franz Schubert’s 6 Antiphonen zum Palmsonntag, D. 696 (my children’s choir sang the soprano and alto parts of No. 4 last year, with the tenor and bass parts supplied by the organ) or even Carlotta Ferrari’s spookier setting of “Pueri Hebraeorum” for two voices (soprano and alto, in the case of a children’s choir, but also possible with any combination of voice parts) and organ.
