Organist and choirmaster Kent Tritle is profiled in the Wall Street Journal today. He directs the music at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York, and you can see the wonderful parish choral lineup here.
At the parish website, Kent himself writes the following:
Here at St. Ignatius we take these ideals seriously. There are no “four hymn masses” here because we believe that the first priority of music in worship is to support the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, namely in singing most of the Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei) and more importantly the central acclamations surrounding the reading of the Word of God and the consecration of the Eucharist.
And Kent also clarifies:
Indeed, we sing hymns too, but these are to accompany liturgical processions at the
beginning of mass, at the offering of the gifts, at the reception of communion and at the
end of the liturgy. In fact, at those times there is a great variety of options available to
liturgical musicians. These include that “The song may be sung alternately between the
congregation and choir (or cantor), or by all together, or by choir alone.”
The GIRM goes so far as to suggest that at the end of mass, “If a closing song for the
assembly does not serve as a truly communal act of praise, it may be best to choose
another musical form. When music is used for the sending forth, it should express joyful
praise of God as members of the assembly go out to take up the mission of Christ in the
world.”