Spiritus Domini

Here’s Byrd’s setting of the introit for Pentecost, sung by the DC-area group Countertop Ensemble. It is preceded by the same text, presented solo on an office responsory tone. 

Sure, for most churches, a five-and-a-half-minute introit is too long for the action, but in the right circumstances – a delayed entrance, a decorously slow procession, a largish church, an incensation of the altar – the timing could fit. It would require that all the involved liturgical ministers contribute: servers, server trainers, and the clergy, along with the schola.   Has your parish looked for ways to put beauty first in the entrance procession?  Man does not live by efficiency alone!