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Tenebrae Service to Usher in Easter Triduum
Update:The Tenebrae service will be at 8:00 p.m. rather than 7:00 p.m. as previously postedPosted: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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STEUBENVILLE, OH — Tenebrae, a solemn service of the Christian Holy Week, will be sung by Franciscan University’s Schola Cantorum Franciscana on Wednesday, April 8, at 8:00 p.m. in Christ the King Chapel.
Tenebrae, which means "darkness," is the early morning Office of Matins for Holy Thursday. Candles are extinguished after singing each psalm, until there is only one lit candle, symbolizing the light of Christ. When this candle is hidden from view, a loud noise is made to symbolize the earthquake at the death of Christ, and the service ends in darkness and silence.
Tenebrae will feature communal singing of psalms, the Schola's performance of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, composed by director Dr. Paul Weber, and the haunting responses of the Renaissance master Tomás Luis de Victoria.
Schola Cantorum Franciscana is Franciscan University’s liturgical choir, which sings for Sunday and daily Masses on campus and for Steubenville and Pittsburgh churches. The choir is trained in Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony and sacred music in the Latin and English traditions.