Gather Us Together

The refrain and first three verses originated in an article by French Jesuit Father Joseph Gelineau (1920-2008), where he proposed responsorial texts for use at the Preparation of the Gifts, referring to these as troparia. Ideal for use throughout the liturgical year for the Preparation of the Gifts as Gelineau intended, for the Communion procession, or even as a gathering song to foster a more contemplative liturgy. The music has a chant-like suppleness and choral quality inspired by the music of Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986), and like chant, the music asks for a singing style which is flexible, uplifting, and buoyant: "The chant tends upward...as if always returning to its source._x001D_