A traditional way to sing the Gloria is antiphonally between cantor/schola and people. This not usually done today (my impression) but it is an interesting practice that provides more variety and some rest for singers between phrases. The idea here is to break at the double bars.
How to Sing Together
This is a lament for the death of Jean Ockeghem, written by Josquin, and magnificently sung.
Simple English Propers at a Pontifical Mass
The Simple English Propers have swept through parishes and cathedrals at a pace that has astonished me. Talk about filling a desperate need! Here is a report of how they will be used at a Pontifical Mass in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The director has uploaded the complete order of Mass along with practice videos.
While the schola has tackled some Gregorian proper chants, the repertoire of the Graduale Romanum would have been perhaps a bit ambitious given both the singers’ relative lack of exposure to singing the genre (which, it should be said, is well above the global average) and infrequency of rehearsals. However, the schola’s fluency in English-language chant (every rehearsal starts with Evening Prayer from The Mundelein Psalter) and the publication of the Simple English Propers allowed for a unique opportunity — the singing of the processional propers of the Mass (Entrance, Offertory, Communion) in the vernacular, in their proper liturgical contexts, and in the context of a Pontifical Ordinary-Form Mass.
Furthermore, to highlight the Church’s desire that the Latin language be retained in liturgical services especially for the Ordinary of the Mass, all of the ordinary will be sung in Greek and Latin. Further, many of the dialogues will be sung in Latin.
Everyone knows that Pontifical Masses pose special problems for any Cathedral, and the solution is not always obvious. The SEP is a solution that avoids all the problems associated with picking styles to accommodate the Bishop’s own preferences, which are not always obvious. The fresh clarity of the SEP provides that third option that just hits the mark.
I think, there and thenceforth, I laugh!
A huge H/T to “The Crescat”
and a chaser
H/T to “American Catholic”
I don’t know about you, but I needed these this morning.
Question for EF Rubricists
Here is a question that some of us have been batting around for awhile.
Where in preconcilar legislation is it expressly forbidden to sing Latin propers at EF Low Mass?
I ask because many books presume that doing so is forbidden, while it is clearly permitted to sing motets, hymns, or other music, even in the vernacular, at the entrance, offertory, and communion. But I’ve yet to find an explicit citation to liturgical law to back this widely held view that it is not permitted to sing the proper texts from the Graduale Romanum. Surely such a statement from the Church is to be found somewhere, but where?
Much-Anticipated Missal Now Available for Pre-Order
The Roman Missal, Third Edition, is now available for pre-order from the Midwest Theological Forum.
Msgr. Wadsworth Profiled in the Catholic Herald
Msgr. Wadsworth has been profiled and interviewed by the Catholic Herald. He explains the importance of the sung Mass, the role of the new Missal, the problems that we have to overcome, and much more. It is a very good and candid interview with the man who has done so much to bring us a Missal that more music in it than any previous Missal. The full interview and profile can be found at the Catholic Herald.