Responsorial Psalm - who sings?

[organgrinder]

In our parish, where the choir is on the opposite side to the ambo, the psalmist joins the two readers at the altar steps, they all bow together and go to the ambo where two of them sit down. They each do their bit and after the gospel acclamation they all return in the same way as they came. At least any distraction is minimised. We always use a solo singer at the ambo as that's where the focus is, and otherwise the two readers would look (and feel) conspicuous while the choir temporarily 'took over'. I've sometimes had the choir singing the verses if no cantor is available - and it's good for them to learn chant pointing, ensemble, phrasing, breathing etc.

[Nick Baty]

The church we sing at most often is our smallest so it's a mere step or two from the choir to the ambo. In the second building the choir sits just behind the presbyterium so, again, no great problem. But in out third – a great barn – the organ console (and the choir) is at the side opposite the ambo with the speakers up in the highest organ/choir gallery I've ever seen (itself above a public gallery) and it's really tricky for organ and psalmist to stay together – although they do pretty well. When we still had an organ console up top, I tried using a talkback system between me and the organist but even that proved impossible. And choir/organ music was impossible over such a great distance.

I must admit, I have no problem with reader, psalmist, reader each coming up separately: it creates a slight pause between each segment and let's you know something is about to happen.

But I've gone off topic again and bears do scare me!

[contrabordun]

the psalm is sung (when it is not omitted) by the whole choir. The result is an incomprehensible mush as it is rarely all synchronous.

...so maybe they need...

to learn chant pointing, ensemble, phrasing, breathing etc.

?

[Nick Baty]

...so maybe they need...

to use a single cantor at the ambo?

[johnquinn39]

At my parish (not where I go to Mass) no-one sings the RP.

This, along with the singing of the acclamations, was banned and forbidden by the new PP in 1998!

[Nick Baty]

Can a PP really ban such things?

[johnquinn39]

Yes

[Nick Baty]

Interesting that a PP can go against more than a century of papal and episcopal teaching. Has he banned any other music?

[lesley wright]

Off-post, but does the banning PP have a flourishing congregation?
On-post, I have several teenage cantors who are happy to sing the RP with the knowledge that the choir are seated behind them (at the other side of the sanctuary from the ambo) who would be too scared to stand at the ambo and sing. Maybe the day will come when one of them will be brave enough, but what normally happens is that they go off to Uni instead