António Da Costa Tempe, Arizona, USA The several years I spent putting the contents of the book *Songs of Praise* together provided me with exceptional insight into the roots of my faith, and offered me a nostalgic journey back to my formative years, from my childhood through young adulthood. It was then that I learned to sing these beautiful, soul-raising, prayer-inviting melodies and hymns to God, to Jesus and his mother Mary, and to our favorite saints.
And what a journey it has been! ------------------------------------------------------ To tune in to a touching rendition of some of these hymns, listen to Victor and Jane da Costa on the violin/keyboards at https://archive.org/details/VictorDaCostaGoa Free downloads available. ------------------------------------------------------ As I began to write the notations and the words of these hymns, my mind kept returning to the places and the people who were instrumental in teaching them to me. This haunting music first took me back to my family and to the traditional devotions that were practiced at home on a daily basis: the family rosary and a hymn or two each night before supper; litanies in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or His Blessed Mother, or His grandmother St. Ana; other special occasions when these hymns would be sung. Our family carried on the tradition of celebrating the feast of St. Ana on July 26. For nine consecutive days preceding this feast day, family members, neighbours and friends would gather in the evening to sing litanies. My next door neighbours had their tradition of having trezena i.e. litanies for thirteen consecutive days in honour of St. Anthony in the month of June; I remember the novena of litanies at the little chapel in our ward (vaddo) in honour of St. Sebastian. I remember with fondness the times I accompanied my father and my brother Rosarinho to neighbors' houses to sing litanies as they celebrated special occasions or the anniversary of the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes. My father was considered the master or leader of the litany and, as such, he was invited to practically every household in the neighboring wards of Xennoibag, Corjem, Gottnibatt, Ulando and Sonvonnxem. What an opportunity it was for me to learn and to sing so many different litanies and hymns on these occasions. During these years we also attended our local Chapel of Our Lady of Carmel, and it was there that I learned hymns at Mass. In May each year, the rosary was sung during the novena leading up to the feast of Our Lady of Carmel. It was the only time we sung the rosary in full and this was led by the late Joaquim Da Costa, vulgo Morgad Joku. I still remember singing with him in harmony all five decades of the rosary, Salve Rainha and the Litany. Its music notation, as I remember it, is included in this book. This journey through time then took me to our main church dedicated to St. Alex. The parish had excellent musicians, choir masters who also served as parish music school teachers: mestres da escola paroquial. The few names I remember include Mestre Rosario Moniz; Mestre Ambrósio Dias; Mestre Caetano Diniz; Mestre Francisco Salema. Although I did not attend the parish music school, these musicians and their music had a profound influence on me. I recall their hymns for Masses, for salves during novenas prior to the feasts of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Alex and St. Michael, their music for the solemn vespers before the feast days, and the Lenten music, especially the motets. The way they sang, the way they played the pipe organ of our church: it was awesome and inspiring. They were a very special breed of musicians. Finally, my nostalgic journey could not be complete without returning to those important places in my life where the foundation stone for my musical career was laid. In 1956, I joined the Saligão Seminary (Seminário de Nossa Senhora, Saligão-Pilerne). It was at this institution that I learned most of the Portuguese and Latin hymns, and some of those in Konkani, which are included in this book. It was here that I was also provided with the foundation for reading, writing and singing music. I raise my hat to my late professor, Fr. João Batista Viegas, who sacrificed so much to cultivate the musician in me. It was here at the age of 14 that I began to write down the melodies I had learned thus far: religious, secular, and folk songs including mandos, dulpods and deknnis. My four years at Rachol Seminary helped me to progress further in my musical training and it was there, under the professional guidance of our late Maestro Fr. Camilo Xavier, that I learned Gregorian music, which was then the main form of liturgical music. During these years I developed a deeper knowledge of music and initiated efforts to get our true Goan music, both religious and secular songs, out to the general public via radio broadcasts and concerts. In 1965, a group of my colleagues from Rachol Seminary and I formed the Society for the Preservation of Goan Sacred Music. We recorded several hymns and a few motets for Radio Goa, and these are now included in this book. This society was short-lived due to my transfer to the Papal Seminary in Pune (then Poona). I carried my love for Goan music to Poona where the Goan community and other music lovers had the opportunity to enjoy three mando festivals which I organized with the help of Konkani-speaking seminarians from Bombay and Mangalore. St. Vincent's and Immaculate Conception Parish were also helped with Konkani religious music for their Sunday Masses in Konkani. Upon returning to Goa and being assigned to the Holy Spirit Church, Margăo, I was able to continue collecting music from the past, and to produce new recordings of motets, hymns in Konkani as well as mandos, dulpods, deknnis and broadcasts them over Radio Goa, with the help of church choir I founded. My goals and hope for this book are two-fold: First, to preserve these beautiful melodies in print so they will remain for future generations of Goans who can praise the Lord by using them in their daily lives; Second, I hope this book will serve as a guide for the many traditional devotions that our ancestors passed down to us, devotions which served to nurture and sustain their Catholic faith for nearly five hundred years. TRADITIONAL DEVOTIONS Before Vatican II, liturgical hymns during Mass, solemn vespers, office of the dead, weddings and funerals were sung in Latin using Gregorian or polyphonic music. There was little place for the vernacular with the exception of a hymn in Konkani during Communion or at the end of Mass. Post Vatican II, all this changed. The parts of the Mass such as the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo as well as the Entrance song, Offertory song, Communion song, Meditation song and Recessional were to be sung in the vernacular. There was an immediate need for these hymns, and this need was quickly filled by our then Spiritual Director (guruji) at Rachol Seminary, Fr. Vasco do Rego, SJ. He singlehandedly composed lyric after lyric to create suitable hymns for the essential parts of the Mass and for other liturgical services and seasons. He encouraged the seminarians, priests, and lay musicians to set these lyrics to music and he himself composed the music for several pieces. The final result of this Herculean effort is *Gaionancho Jhelo*, the official hymnal of the Archdiocese of Goa. In my opinion, this is the most comprehensive and best companion to the Liturgy in the vernacular in India. Music notations for most hymns in the Gaionancho Jhelo are available online.http://www.songs-from-goa.at/info-music-with-staffnotation.html The majority of hymns in this book (*Songs of Praise*) predate the *Gaionancho Jhelo*. Many of the hymns included here are very old, and are not dated and no reference is made to their authors. According to our distinguished Goan scholar, the late Dr. José Pereira, they were written in the dark age of Konkani literature during the 18th and 19th centuries. His book, *Konkani Bhagti Gitam: A Treasury of Goan Hymns* (Goa Konkani Academy 2004), was the first effort ever made, to compile these hymns in a book in recent times, but he does not include musical notation. One of the sources we both have used to record these lyrics is an old hymnal from the 1800s which my family owns. The lyrics are written in Pramann/Standard Konkani (1500-1650); Porni/Old Saxtti (1650-1850); Novi/New Saxtti (1850-1950) and Bardexi (1700-present) dialects. The musical notation is from my memory, melodies which I learned from my father and the elders during my youth. In no way can I guarantee that it corresponds to the original melodies written by the composers. It may be safe to assume that these beautiful melodies were composed by the mestres da igreja, whose names will remain unknown. May they rest in peace. Our traditional devotions, which will be described below, used hymns in Konkani, Portuguese and Latin. Therefore, I am including hymns in these languages. I believe that, after being used for 450 years, they have become an integral part of our Goan Christian culture. The hymns, litanies and prayers in this book were the binding glue in all our traditional devotions, whether in individual family homes, in small chapels in each ward or village, at wayside crosses, or in local chapels and churches. I am sure that the first missionaries who brought the Christian faith to our ancestors wanted to give early converts effective tools to nourish their faith based on local traditions and customs, and to build Christian unity, support and friendship for the communities. Family unity and Christian unity are the main themes and goals in all the devotions that our ancestors handed down to us. At the family level, we were taught to say our morning prayers, prayers before and after meals; we recited the Angelus when the church bell tolled, reminding us of the Annunciation. We were taught to thank God for the Good News of the coming of our Redeemer and for the faith we received. Before supper, the family gathered together to recite the Rosary, to honour Mary and ask her to intercede with her son Jesus for us. This was followed by a hymn. Then the children, all eight of us, would rush to our parents and the elders with joined hands and ask for their blessing. We would say in Portuguese: "Louvado seja nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo" (Blessed be our Lord Jesus Christ), and they would bless us saying: "Em nome do Pai e do Filho e do Espirito Santo" (In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit), and each of us would reply, "Amen". And of course the day ended with night prayers. The most common Litany is in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is recited or sung. It contains many titles used formally and informally for the Virgin Mary. It is also known as the Litany of Loreto for its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto (Italy), where its usage was recorded as early as 1558. It was approved by the Catholic Church in 1587 for public use by Pope Sixtus V. Titles were added as new Marian dogmas were proclaimed by the Church, such as Regina sine labe originali concepta (Queen conceived without original sin); Regina in coelum assumpta (Queen assumed into Heaven). Two invocations were added by Pope John Paul II: Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church) in 1980 and Regina Familiarum (Queen of families) in 1995. In Goa the devotion of Litany is unique and very cherished. It would be sung, sometimes with just family members, but often with invited neighbors, relatives and friends. It would be sung in thanksgiving for special favors from God: for a successful operation; graduation; new job; christening; bon voyage; wedding (torna-boda---in the old days the parents would receive their married daughter, her husband and his family the day after her wedding---a custom which has vanished within the last 50 years). Apparently this Litany tradition carries a special authorization from the Church so the faithful could have services at will. This devotion is spread throughout Goa and with Goans world-wide. Most of the litanies are in honour of the Blessed Mother but there are also litanies in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The latter is primarily sung on the anniversary of the enthronement of the Sacred Heart as head of the household (Entronização do Coração de Jesus). I was able to collect and include in this book 28 different melodies of the Virgin Mary's litanies and two of the Sacred Heart. I am sure there are hundreds more throughout Goa. My repertoire was primarily collected from Curtorim and from a few Goans in other areas. Once again, the Litany service brings out the theme of unity, gathering the immediate family, the extended family and the community. The singing of the Litany was followed with sweets for the children and, of course, cajú or maddam-fenni and other drinks for the adults. At the community level, we have devotions at way-side crosses and little chapels. Almost every ward (vaddo) has a chapel with a membership of ten or more families who gather once each year for a novena, singing the Litanies culminating in the feast day. Exultemos com Alegria (Let's Rejoice in Gladness), a secular song in Portuguese, was sung at the end of Litany service on the feast day, to express the joy for successfully completing the annual public devotion to the patron saint of the ward. Normally a small show of fireworks followed and of course the distribution of sweets and drinks. The funny thing about the singing of Exultemos com Alegria was that one could not make out the words sung due to the lack of knowledge of the Portuguese language by the singers. Unfortunately I could not find any source that could give me the actual lyrics. I was able to make out all the words clearly once I gained full command of the Portuguese language. I included this song in this book because it is part of tradition. Then there is the devotion of the Ochorianche Saibinnichi Bhett (Visitation by Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal). Thirty or more families within the ward or two neighboring wards own a beautiful statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal beautifully encased. Each member family takes turns carrying the statue and keeping it at their home for 24 hours. It goes from house to house until the rotation is completed, then it starts all over again. The devotion takes place in the evening and is as follows: Members of house number 2 and invited neighbors go to house number 1. The owners of house number 1 conduct prayers of farewell and thanksgiving to The Blessed Mother who stayed at their house for a day. The statue is then taken in procession while appropriate hymns in honour of the Virgin Mary are sung. The family in house number 2 has prepared a place of honour and welcomes the heavenly guest with prayers in which everyone participates. Socialization follows. Once the guests leave, the receiving family is expected to use the next 23 hours for their spiritual renewal and commitment. The following evening the next family in line takes the statue to their home. This continues until the cycle is completed and then the next cycle begins. This is a widespread devotion to our Blessed Mother in all the parishes in Goa and promotes family unification. In Goa, we have our local chapels and the main parish churches. There are priests in residence who minister to the spiritual, sacramental and social needs of the faithful. What is unique to Goa is that in all our chapels and churches there are special annual events which bring all parishioners, their relatives and neighbours together both spiritually, emotionally and socially. Our celebrations for the feasts of the patron saints of our churches and chapels, with full pomp and circumstance, provide excellent opportunities for the parish members to join together for nine days of prayer and to attend novena Masses and hear great preaching in preparation for the feasts. We participate in the evening service salves with young singers dressed in angel costumes, listen to the local bands play before and after services, and watch fireworks on the eve of the feast day. We invite our relatives from neighboring villages to join us and participate as one family in our village's feast celebration. On the feast day itself, parishioners, their families, and friends gather to attend the Feast Day Mass, pray, and enjoy the festivities. There is a Fair or Quermesse, people enjoy a sumptuous lunch of san'nas, sorpotel, cabidel, roast beef or leitão assado, arroz refugado and other delicacies, or a simple xit koddi. Of course, with bebinca or kaddio-boddio available for dessert. In the evening, everyone can enjoy the local tiatro or soiree. Oh, what an extraordinary occasion these events provide to our families for unity and renewal. I have lived in various parts of the USA for 42 years and have seen nothing like this anywhere else but in Goa. Finally, one of the more unique spiritual customs gifted to us by the early missionaries is the Lenten and Holy Week services. The passion of our Lord is reenacted with life-sized statues each Sunday during Lent accompanied by the singing of motets. Many parishes have a chapel on a hill and, on Good Friday, it is there that a reenactment of the Crucifixion of Our Lord Jesus Christ takes place. As the body of Jesus is taken down from the cross, the soul-stirring and mournful Stabat Mater Dolorosa is sung, and the body of Jesus is taken in solemn procession to the main church for burial. The music of our ancestors, once again, helps to make these devotions meaningful and appealing. The motets by our Goan composers are soul-stirring melodies that make the faithful emotionally feel and appropriate the pain and suffering of Our Lord and thus re-energize their spiritual lives. The motet (from the French mot meaning word) is a 13th century musical form which is essentially a polyphonic choral composition on a sacred text or word, usually without instrumental accompaniment. It has gone through several changes, from medieval motets to baroque motets to Bach motets. Palestrina's Vinea Mea and Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus are well known motets. In the hands of Goan composers, however, the motet took on a unique form and produced melodies filled with pathos. Sung mostly by male voices, the motet starts with an introduction in four-part harmony, followed by an interlude by two violins. The main text is sung by a duo of Tenor I and Tenor II. Then the violins repeat the interlude, followed by a duo of Bass I and Bass II who repeat the main text. Finally, the whole chorus sings the Coda. In certain parts of Goa, the church musician also used clarinets and the double bass to accompany the motets. Prior to Vatican II, musical instruments were not allowed during services from the end of Holy Thursday until the Gloria was intoned at Mass on Easter Sunday. Due to the nature of Goan motets and the need to use violins, Goan church authorities were able to obtain special permission from Rome to use the violins, clarinets and double bass during these Holy Week services. In olden days, hours and hours were spent singing motets, especially during Tenebrae Services, that period of darkness, sadness and mourning marking the Church's desolation that came after Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday, i.e. from the Agony in the Garden to the empty Tomb. So many rich compositions of motets have been lost, perhaps forever, since they were only handwritten. In the early 1960s, I had the opportunity to peruse a vast collection of motets which the late Dr. Rev. Sebasteão Moniz had received from his father Mestre Rosario Moniz's repertoire. I regret that time and circumstances allowed me to copy only a handful of them and I broadcasted them over Radio Goa. It is unknown what happened to this collection. I commend the efforts of young Fr. Romero Monteiro who, in 2001, managed to publish a set of five motets with musical notation. I also have had the pleasure recently to listen to a CD titled The Polyphonic Holy Week Motets from Goa---produced by the Portuguese musicologist Prof. Manuel Morais---a job well done. I am glad to note that Prof. Morais did the recording in Goa (at the Penha de Franca Church) featuring Goan singers and musicians, under the musical direction of a fine musician Fr. Bernardo Cota. Fr. Cota together with António Calisto Vaz, Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas, Fr. Avinash Rebelo, and Fr. Eufemiano Miranda, Fr. Agnelo Mendes, José António Dias Mendes, Fr. Francisco de Melo, Fr. Procopio de Sousa, Fr. Joe Fernandes and Manuel Lobo were the members of the group I founded, The Society for the Preservation of Goan Sacred Music. We recorded some of these motets, such as Inundaverunt, for our broadcast on Radio Goa in 1965. I hope and pray that efforts will continue to be made to search for more of these lost gems of our Goan musical treasure and that they will be published and thus preserved for posterity. Music is and always has been an essential part of the liturgy and prayer life of our Church. St. Augustine said, "Quis cantat bis orat." (He or she who sings prays twice.) The missionaries who brought us our Christian faith not only taught us to use music in our religious practices but also taught us how to create our own music by establishing music schools in each parish. These schools produced hundreds of excellent musicians who composed and handed down the beautiful songs that are contained in this book. I have included some new melodies also in order to fill the need for appropriate hymns in Konkani. I have also included a few compositions and four-part arrangements by the late Prof. Micael Martins, my teacher and co-author of our series on mando-dulpods-deknnis. Prof. Martins was one of our greatest musicians, and Goa can be proud of him for his vast contribution to the field of Goan music. My hope is that this collection of beautiful hymns and prayers will assist you, dear reader, in praising God, His Mother Mary, and all the saints through individual, family and community worship. May you be brought closer to God by the practice of prayers and devotions which have been handed down to us by our ancestors. ---------------------------------------------------------- [This is an excerpt from the book *Songs of Praise: Adlim Kristi Bhogtigitam*, Treasury of Goan Traditional Catholic Devotions with 159 Hymns, Litanies and Motets and Konkani prayers. It is authored by António Da Costa Email mai...@msn.com WhatsApp +1 (602) 290-1257 and published by Goa,1556/Golden Heart Emporium. It can be ordered via mailorder via goa1...@gmail.com ISBN: 978-93-80739-41-0]