Society of Saint Gregory

At my parish there is a distinct divide between those who attend the Vigil Mass on Saturday evening and those who attend Mass on Sunday morning. There is no music on Saturday evening and I have the impression that the Saturday regulars much prefer it that way. Any suggestion of music on a Saturday ...

Hello Alan, Thank you for your reply. No offence taken. I might well have agreed with you about the choir that you heard, but without knowing why they sounded less than delightful I just can't say. I agree with you entirely about the need for minimum standards for ministries, although I don't think ...

Hello Alan, I have no problem with criticism. Badly-played or -sung music is bad music. The main reason why I was considering my own position was that I felt that at my own parish church last Sunday morning no music would have been a significant improvement on what actually happened. But there was ...

Hello Alan, Thank you for your comment below. Maybe the only blot was the choir who were less than delightful to listen to - but then I am super-sensitive to the contribution of those who put themselves forward to sing. I am sure others appreciated them.[/quote] After I had struggled to sing at Mass ...

...attend the Saturday evening Mass, joining those regulars who prefer to avoid any music Not even Alleluia, Holy and Amen? Not even the Alleluia, Holy and Amen, I regret to say. For our Saturday regulars, even that would be a musical step too far. They'll SAY them loudly . The last parish priest ...

Quaeritor is not alone - the musical pattern for our parish's Sunday Mass sounds very similar. Largely for historical reasons (we used to have two Sunday Masses, one covered by a choir and organist and the other by a music group, and switched to one Mass after our then parish priest was also made ...

I'd intended not to comment now that I'm no longer actively involved in liturgical music, but I feel obliged to chip in on this topic. When I was directing a church choir I made a lot of use of the Chabanel psalms, but because I wanted to use the correct translation for England and Wales and was ...

This is the last time I shall post in this forum. I turned up to take Choir Practice tonight, when a parish retreat last week (sprung on us at short notice and with music required for various extra services) meant that we had been short of rehearsal time for the music for Good Friday and Easter ...

The problem is now solved. Decani got the 2 part vocal/guitar/keyboard score to me very quickly, and the general introduction to this confirms that 'The woodwind parts published in this book may be used in place of the brass parts with the full SATB version of the Mass' So instead of worrying about ...

This may seem an odd request, but does anyone know whether it is possible (and if so to what extent) to mix the different versions of Marty Haugen's Mass of Creation? We have both a traditional choir and a music group, whose repertoires tend not to overlap much. We have a visiting dignitary in mid ...

I certainly would not wish to seem to criticise Psalm Project for his use of the Verdi - it was just that the thread on the use of the Verdi caused me to reflect on factors influencing my own music choices. Given that as a recessional it would fall outside the Mass, and especially the connnection ...

Psalm Project's thread on the possible use of his chorus of Hebrew slaves, and in particular Docmattc's comments, caused me to think about when I might choose not to use a particular piece of music and why. It seemed to me that one ground for exclusion would be that the piece had specific ...

Hello Angela, If it's what I think it is, (my copy is headed 'Chants Messe 2008) it's by Jean-Paul LeCot and most of the parts of the Mass are labelled La Messe du Jubile 2008. It's published by NDL Editions, and my score has a sticker with a price of Euro 3.50. I didn't buy it myself - our then ...

Thank you to Glyn and Musicus for your helpful comments. I agree entirely about not using all the instruments all the time. An article by Paul Inwood a few issues of Music and Liturgy ago that mentioned that point was one of the factors in my deciding to make attempts at arranging. Transposing the ...

Hello Benvenio, Thank you very much for those helpful suggestions. I couldn't spot the Marty Haugen book that you suggested on the Decani website but I'll get in touch with them and try to order a copy - it sounds as though it might be just what I need. I agree that a clarinet isn't really a bass ...