Regular Sunday Vespers with the Dominicans in Manhattan

The Dominican parish of Ss Vincent Ferrer and Catherine of Siena in New York City is beginning an excellent new initiative to promote what should be one of the most important aspects of the Catholic liturgical life. Beginning on Sunday, September 18, they will celebrate Vespers every week in the Ordinary Form. These celebrations will draw on the Dominican chant tradition as well as the contemporary Antiphonale Romanum, using a combination of Latin and English: Latin for the ordinary chants, the psalm and Magnificat antiphons, and the short responsory, and English for the hymn, psalms, readings, intercessions, and collect. (See the parish website at this link.)

Each week there will be a singing class at 4:30 pm covering the chants for the week, and Vespers will then be sung at 5:15; the booklet for the first Sunday can be consulted here. The priest who prepared it, Fr Innocent Smith O.P., has been mentioned here on NLM several times in connection with his interest in Dominican chant and various talks that he has given about it. I have known Fr Smith for many years, and I know that he will certainly do a great job in making this a worthy and beautiful celebration of the Church’s evening prayer. The parish evening Mass, sung with Gregorian propers in English, follows at 6 pm.

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The choir of te church of St Vincent Ferrer.