Gather Us Together

The refrain and first three verses originated in an article by French Jesuit Father Joseph Gelineau (1920_x0013_ 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_x0013_ 1986), and like chant, the music asks for a singing style which is flexible, uplifting, and buoyant: _x001C_ The chant tends upward...as if always returning to its source._x001D_