Introduction

Praised be Jesus Christ & his virgin Mother!

On this site, I will post recordings of sung Vespers, according to the USCCB-approved version of the Liturgy of the Hours (single volume).  I'm sure I will also post other information about LOH as it comes along & almost certainly a few thoughts of my own about this most ancient form of Christian prayer.

I will post links to the recordings in some ordered & hopefully easy-to-navigate way in the side bar. I will try to stick to the basic 4 week cycle, and not post any recordings of saints days or other options (though I might), but I certainly will for solemnities & other major feasts.  I will also include the seasonal variants for Advent, Christmastide, Lent, etc. as best as I am able.

I use the St. Meinrad Psalm tones, nos. 2, 1, & 6, in that order for the Psalmody.  I generally use standard psalm tones for the antiphons, though occassionally I will write/make up a new one.  Ditto for the Intercession response.  I may occasionally sing the invocation & the Magnificat in Latin.  I will almost always sing the Lord's Prayer in Latin.  If you're Catholic, you're supposed to know this.

Note that these are "live" recordings, so there is quite a bit of improvisation required & not everything goes smoothly.  Further, I am not a professional singer by any stretch, so missed notes & stumbles of awkwardly-worded Psalm verses are the norm.  I don't always know or like the recommended hymn for a particular day, so I take a lot of liberty in my choice of hymns.  I will add notes of subtitles of what I'm singing as I'm able.

I first discussed having sung Vespers with my pastor at my parish of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Lenoir City, Tennessee about 2 years ago.  At the time, I was trying to keep alive a fledgling chant group; & my hope was that this group would sing evening prayer regularly.  As it turned out, the group dissolved & I began singing Vespers myself shortly after Easter in 2010.  It has been quite an experience, & I have no intention to stop.  The published times are Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday from 5:30 to 5:45pm, if you wish to join.

Hopefully, this will be of use to some of you, particularly if you are new to the Liturgy of the Hours or to singing chant.  You may also find the site divineoffice.org very useful, though what they post may not always match what I sing, due to all kinds of permitted variations.  You are free to comment or make suggestions about the format or content.  

"Become a saint!"