Who's responsible for english music in the Liturgy? The bishops? Do they know enough about it to decide what is appropriate and what is not? I fear that those who have been advising the bishops on liturgical music care predominantly about selling liturgical resources. Why else would they sell hymnals that need to be replaced every year? I think what we need is the musical equivalent of the ICEL, representing the entire english-speaking world; a group of liturgical music specialists with a solid foundation in the Church's traditional music (OCP need not apply). This commission would be charged by Rome with the responsibility of creating a new musical foundation for english language liturgy, that would be totally analogous to the work of the Monks of Solesmes. The melodies would be as close as possible, but in english. For example, a Novus Ordo Mass for Christmas Day could either include the current Introit of the Mass in Latin: "Puer natus est nobis", or an english language equivalent, with virtually the same melody, thus retaining the beauty and sublimity of the original. And, once published, would be permanent, like the Liber Usualis. Does anyone know if such a thing already exists?
short answer since i'm just skimming with a baby on my lap. see Bill White's Blog
// originally posted 12.27.03 - 4:02 pm
I get those English chant books by (two different Mr.) Fords mixed up. I think that By_Flowing_Waters is the one with unuseable translations, and the other one is the one with incredibly awkward use of melodies. St. Meinrad's Archabbey is also involved in a similar project with very musical results, but I believe that they are using a problematic translation as well. So I am going to Burgess and Palmer (reproduced in the "Anglican Use Gradual") if I ever go back to English Mass!
Anyhow, I think that maybe you do not know that part of ICEL's charge was to find and commission music. After all, if they saddle us with the texts that are to be sung, it is only their responsibility to help us out with musical settings.
As far as I know, the propers never much interested ICEL. I believe that the ICEL music publications, almost entirely comprised of metrical pieces, were produced around 1980, when the propers had already been a dead letter for some time -- when the proper Alleluia verses still had not been assigned (I remember looking them up in the Missale_Romanum and translating them myself)! There is a hymnal with some service music and canticles; half of it is public domain music that anyone may copy for any reason, and the rest is copyright music that may be copied but not republished without permission. This hymnal is still available from G.I.A. and I think is a good resource. Its language is mostly "modernized" but still not bowdlerized.
There were some more publications, especially for various rituals, that are mentioned in the hymnal and I myself saw, but they seem to have faded away; only some of the refrains (no verses!) are in the hymnal.
// originally posted 12.27.03 - 7:50 pm
Thanks for the information. I'm going to be following up, to see what these things look like. It sounds like there still is a need for a good english translation against a good musical setting. Currently, I'm not even in a parish choir, but it looks like I'll be piecing at least some of it together myself. I also have a feeling that all the english resources will be in modern notation, whereas I prefer the chant notation. I've tried singing the same chant using the two different notations, but I always find the modern notation more difficult to read. It seems to me that your eyes have to move faster, because the notes are more spread out. The chant notation is more compact, allowing you time to scan the words and absorb the other notational markings more easily. Am I the only one who finds this to be the case?
// originally posted 12.27.03 - 8:41 pm
St. Meinrad's uses chant notation -- that is why they developed the font -- although I do not recall off the top of my head whether their propers for the general public (available from G.I.A.) are so notated.
One of the members of our schola claims that he cannot read modern notation. I think that he is telling the truth. He certainly gives the Meinrad font a workout when he prepares simplified propers!
You may know that the organ accompaniment to the Graduale_Romanum, logically enough, has modern notation, as did a few voice editions of the old GR. I prefer chant notation for singing only because it seems silly to me to adorn modern notation with rhythmic signs. And then there is the question of neums! Otherwise, I would prefer modern notation for a little faster sightreading, as I studied music for ten years before being introduced to chant notation. Still (on the third hand?), I am glad that The_Adoremus_Hymnal used at least some chant notation so that it can begin to teach the uninitiated, and I certainly would not have minded if they had gone all the way: they might as well have done so with the chant hymns that remain.
// originally posted 12.27.03 - 9:22 pm
Here is the link to the Recovering Choir Director that Bill White refers to in his post.
// originally posted 12.27.03 - 9:23 pm
ICEL Music Publications:
Music for Rite [sic!] of Funerals and Rite of Baptism for Children [1977]
Music for the Rites: Baptism, Eucharist, and Ordinations [1978]
ICEL Resource Collection: Resource Collection of Hymns and Service Music for the Liturgy [1981] G.I.A. Publications, Inc. G-2514 $10.50 - $11.50 depending on binding
Music for the Lectionary for Mass [1981]
St. Meinrad works published by G.I.A. [more at the St. Meinrad Web site and at Paraclete]:
Psalms for the Advent-Christmas Season [Lectionary Psalms for Advent and Christmas], Rev. Columba Kelly, OSB
Lectionary Psalms for Lent and Easter, Rev. Columba Kelly, OSB
// originally posted 12.28.03 - 11:24 am
One of the links led me to Priory Press, which sells a Missa Cantata Sacramentary, as well as other resources, that they use at their Gregorian Masses at the St. Aloysius Chapel at Gonzaga University. They say their entire Mass is sung - a combination of English, for Readings and some prayers, and Latin, for propers and common parts of the Mass. They say the whole thing is done with chant notation. It sounds ideal to me. Does anyone have experience with this?
// originally posted 12.29.03 - 12:14 pm
I found this interesting article, which explains why what I am looking for is problematic.