In search of good communion antiphons

[presbyter]

http://musicasacra.com/books/simplechoralgradual.pdf

I'm going to make a personal assessment of this too - please join me with your own.

[NorthernTenor]

[I would remind NT that the chants of the Graduale only have pride of place when the entire Mass is celebrated in Latin (apart from the readings & homily).

I'm afrad I wasn't aware of this qualification to be reminded of it, Presbyter. I would be grateful for your justification for it, and for its implication for those many parishes where the Novus Ordo is celebrated with some mix of the vernacular and Latin (and perhaps a little Greek).

Thanks,

NT.

[johnquinn39]

http://musicasacra.com/books/simplechoralgradual.pdf

I'm going to make a personal assessment of this too - please join me with your own.

Just a cursory glance at the above brings to my mind much more interesting settings of related scriptural texts (composers such as Stephen Dean and David Haas come to mind).

Obviously, it is unfair to call this a personal assessment, as I have not tried, or attempted to analyse any of these.

However, this collection, on first glance, IMHO, has less musical interest than Psallite.

Does anyone use this collection? - If so, which are the really popular chants that the congregation sing?

[mcb]

http://musicasacra.com/books/simplechoralgradual.pdf

I'm going to make a personal assessment of this too - please join me with your own.

We've been there quite recently. Not a positive appraisal.

[mcb]

[I would remind NT that the chants of the Graduale only have pride of place when the entire Mass is celebrated in Latin (apart from the readings & homily).

I'm afrad I wasn't aware of this qualification to be reminded of it, Presbyter. I would be grateful for your justification for it, and for its implication for those many parishes where the Novus Ordo is celebrated with some mix of the vernacular and Latin (and perhaps a little Greek).

274. For liturgical celebrations sung in Latin, Gregorian chant, as the music proper to the Roman liturgy, should have pride of place, all other things being equal. [See SC 116.] Nevertheless, “the Church does not exclude any type of sacred music from liturgical services as long as the music matches the spirit of the service itself and the character of the individual parts and is not a hindrance to the required active participation of the people.” [Musicam Sacram 9. See also SC 116.]

General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours. (I don't for a moment imagine that the principle enunciated here only applies to the Liturgy of the Hours, though.)

As for the 'implication' for parishes that promote a healthy mixture, well, I can't see one.

[MaryR]

There's also Psallite,......

I played/sang through much of volume 1 - Year A - yesterday to attempt something of a personal assessment of this collection. I agree that there are many fine texts but musically, I think it's a hotch-potch and that there is much poor material therein.

We've come to use Psallite fairly regularly in our parish, mainly because we've been trying to find pieces that we can begin as soon as the priest has received communion, and that are of an indeterminate length, enabling us to end when the last person receives communion. Some of the pieces we've used from the collection have failed miserably, and we've not used them again. The failure often comes from the melody not being interesting enough to bear much repetition. But others do work really well, and I've observed an increase in the number of people singing whilst they're processing to communion.

It's like any collection, I think: one has to pick and choose. And we don't necessarily use the piece that's recommended for a particular week. Instead, we often choose one that's worked well before and that fits with the readings or some other element of the week.

[johnquinn39]

... But others do work really well, and I've observed an increase in the number of people singing whilst they're processing to communion.

Okay Mary - Which ones?

[docmattc]

The Maundy Thursday one works well here: "This is my Body, given for you" with, or without superimposition of Ps23. We did "Here is my servant" (Baptism/transfiguration) at Summer School and that worked very effectively, although a congregation made up mostly of musicians would arguably handle 4 part rounds with less difficulty than an average congregation.

[presbyter]

[I would remind NT that the chants of the Graduale only have pride of place when the entire Mass is celebrated in Latin (apart from the readings & homily).

I'm afrad I wasn't aware of this qualification to be reminded of it, Presbyter. I would be grateful for your justification for it, and for its implication for those many parishes NT.

Try Musicam Sacram 50 and Chirograph 9 NT. It's not an instruction not to use the Graduale (or the Kyriale) but it is saying that it is in celebrations in Latin - as a whole - that chant in Latin has pride of place. I've no objection to communities who want to sing Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Pater, Agnus in Greek/Latin but I think singing the Introit and Communion chants in Latin in a parish (as opposed to a monastic) setting when the celebration is mainly in the vernacular is somewhat incongruous - beautiful to listen to as they might be. The assembly should be enabled to sing - and be able to understand what it is they are singing -in my opinion.

I think paragraph 12 of the Chirograph deserves careful thought. It makes clear that contemporary liturgical music need not imitate the chant at all - but it should be imbued with its spirit.

12. With regard to compositions of liturgical music, I make my own the "general rule" that St Pius X formulated in these words: "The more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savour the Gregorian melodic form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple"[33]. It is not, of course, a question of imitating Gregorian chant but rather of ensuring that new compositions are imbued with the same spirit that inspired and little by little came to shape it. Only an artist who is profoundly steeped in the sensus Ecclesiae can attempt to perceive and express in melody the truth of the Mystery that is celebrated in the Liturgy[34]. In this perspective, in my Letter to Artists I wrote: "How many sacred works have been composed through the centuries by people deeply imbued with the sense of mystery! The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers, either introduced into the Liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship. In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God"[35].

[presbyter]

http://musicasacra.com/books/simplechoralgradual.pdf

I'm going to make a personal assessment of this too - please join me with your own.

We've been there quite recently. Not a positive appraisal.

Ah - yes we have and I'm coming to a similar conclusion.

[musicus]

I have split the funereal posts off to a new thread: 'It's your funeral'.

Enjoy!

[MaryR]

Referring to the Psallite collection, I wrote:

... But others do work really well, and I've observed an increase in the number of people singing whilst they're processing to communion.

to which John Quinn replied:

Okay Mary - Which ones?

The one Doc has mentioned - 'This is my Body, given for you' - works well. We've used this for First Communion Masses as well as on regular Sundays.

Recalling others off the top of my head as I don't have Psallite to hand, 'Worthy is the lamb who was slain', 'Where two or three are gathered', 'Not on bread alone are we nourished' (this one borrows from Picardy and, in answer to Dot's question, yes, there are credits to borrowed tunes). I'll have a look and come up with some more, I'm sure.

As Doc said, the one we used at Summer School worked well too. Where there is four part harmony, it just needs the choir to sing the melody only for the first few times, to get it established, then some of the choir can take the parts, leaving others, plus the congregation, on the tune.

I think it's a very useful collection though I certainly wouldn't use everything in it. But then, who does that with any hymn book?

[mcb]

From Psallite we've tried

• Not on bread alone are we nourished
• Be strong, our God has come
• Behold the Lamb of God
• Shine out, O Lord
• Touch me and see

None has really seemed to catch hold of our assembly, but communion chants tend not to, whatever we sing. The one I like best is Not on bread alone, which allows us to sing (a bit) of the tune of Let all mortal flesh during Lent, when it would otherwise be off limits.

[docmattc]

Mention of "Not on bread alone" reminds me of Stephen Dean's setting of the same in Laudate (191), also in Cantate (171). We've used this to good effect previously, though it worked better with verses between refrains rather than the refrain sung as an ostinato. Four part harmony is easy enough to create for the refrain and there are parts for instruments to add further interest.
Also in Cantate is "Taste and See" by Anne Ward (169) which I use relatively often. it can be sung unison or 4 part harmony (melody in alto) with superimposed verses. Decani also supply instrumental parts which, if you're lucky enough to have flute, clarinet and/or string quartet would work well once you've fixed the typos!

[Nick Baty]

Just a thought: John is looking for setings which "congregations will sing" and which will "motivate a small choir". Obviously the first bit is the most important but I'm wondering how the choir will sing them while they're processing to communion.