negotiations and hymns choices.....

[Nick Baty]

Our PP switches off his radio mic before all sung items. Less daunting for him and a nicer echoey, chanted sound for us.

[johnquinn39]

I won't name names, but there are parishes hereabouts where the only music is a selection of four hymns from the first flush of post-Vat II music.

It's all too familiar, and it gives a good picture of how big the task in front of us is. The parish I live in fits your description, Reginald. I was there last Sunday, the choir I'm normally involved with elsewhere having been awarded a weekend off. They had four hymns (three verses of Be thou my vision, two verses of Here I am Lord, three verses of God's Spirit is in my heart, and How great is our God). Virtually everything else was recited, Gloria, Psalm, Sanctus and all. They sang a verse of Peace, perfect peace at the sign of peace and then recited the Agnus Dei. The only glimmer of light was the Gospel Acclamation, which was sung to the Easter Vigil chant. It was depressing, above all considering that this was the main Sunday Mass in the largest and probably the most prosperous parish of the diocese, the parish priest a very senior member of the diocesan clergy. I expect the people there wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong: that, after all, is how they've always done it, where 'always' means 'for at least the last twenty years'.

How do we begin to change that?

I think that to begin to change the above situation, that the Preliminary syllabus for the formation of church musicians needs to be implimented. (I would argue that this should be compulsory for all involved in the liturgy). - See http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resourc ... labus.html

A pilot course was run at the Maryvale centre in Birmingham in 1998, but this was discontinued. It is very easy to get uptight (I am probably the worst offender) when, having some liturgical knowledge, you find yourself constantly overruled by parishoners and teachers who have had no liturgical formation.

To me, the liturgy is (or should be) a 'given'. What I mean is that it is already set out for us - The acclamations, responses, psalms, propers and antiphons etc. It is not for us to disregard these.

The negotiation, in my view, should be in establishing which settings we use - For example, how should we sing the entrance antiphon 'Rejoice, in the lord always' ? - At my parish we use the rather cheesy, but very popular ditty in the Mayhew hymnal interpolated with the choir singing the psalm to a Murray tone. Perhaps Wesley's 'Rejoice, the Lord is king' could be used as a substitute. Pehaps the Psallte setting could be used. Maybe we could ask the one of the parish musicians to compose a setting. Maybe a choral version might work, for example Purcell's 'Rejoice in the Lord alway' (I'm not sure if this would work in my parish - although it might). Or maybe the version in the Roman Graduale - Is there one in 'By flowing waters'? - I have not got my copy with me. Is there a CCM equivalent? (Israel Houghton writes this sort of thing).

When a decision has been reached, feedback needs to be sought to see if people can use this as prayer.

Maybe part of the problem is that many RC's have 'taken ownership' of a very very small number of hymns etc. and find it uncomfortable to move on to something new.

Finally, it goes without saying that the parish priest(s), is in fact in charge of the music, with the bishop(s) being in overall charge.

[Nick Baty]

To me, the liturgy is (or should be) a 'given'. What I mean is that it is already set out for us - The acclamations, responses, psalms, propers and antiphons etc. It is not for us to disregard these.

Hm! Antiphons like the one you suggest are a very grey area – they more or less fit in Year A but are hit and miss in Years B and C. We always take the Gospel as our staring point for a gathering song and communion psalm.

The simplest approach is to introduce parishes to Singing the Mass – http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resourc ... nging.html – also in the back of Laudate. Everything is listed quite simply – who should sing what and and in order of priority. So, for example, first the assembly must sing the Gospel Acclamation and the Eucharistic Acclamations – this is the priority. Then you add the responsorial psalm and the Communion Psalm. Only then can you start thinking of choral music and strophic hymns. If parishes took this approach they would build up their repertoire slowly but at least on a firm foundation.

As you say, "the parish priest(s), is in fact in charge of the music" but in all but a few cases he won't have as much experience and knowledge of the repertoire as a parish music leader. And even if he has, Father simply won't have the many hours needed each week to research, plan etc. What is really needed is a good trusting partnership between PP and musician.

My PP, Graeme, and I have a good blow-out three or four times a year: This usually involves him ordering bottles of vinto tinto but I suffer it for the sake of our parish liturgy. (Which reminds me, I think I owe him dinner! Apologies, Graeme, if you're reading this.) He almost always comes to parish music rehearsals (and into the bar afterwards) and has attended nearly all the workshops I've been involved with over the last few years. And he's happy to spend however long learning the celebrant's part for whichever pieces we're introducing. It's also important to keep him informed of what's going on: I give the PP a music list for the coming 12 months in rough and three months in detail so he can see where we're heading. I can only think of one item he's vetoed in five years. (Would have been two but the parish backed me on Away in a Manger and sang it with gusto to prove their point!)

As for "the bishop(s) being in overall charge" – true, in theory. But I know several who aren't allowed to implement their own policies in their own cathedrals. I worked with one not long ago – very lovely chap, I hasten to add – who wanted to break just about every musical rule in the book. I challenged him. He asked where I'd got all these ideas and I pointed him towards Singing the Mass, Celebrating the Mass and several other publications from the Bishops' Conference. "Goodness," he chuckled, "did I really help to produce all this stuff?"