Published settings

[Nick Baty]

The Liturgy Office's published settings list has just doubled in length with the addition of Glory to God. Once the new Laudate supplement is added, as well as the new McCrimmons collection, it's going to be massive. Must be something here for everyone.

[quaeritor]

Hmmm - seems that despite rumours to the contrary the Gregory Murray Mass is not included in full in the McCrimmons collection - only the acclamations - so no Gloria? (which is the difficult bit!). Has anyone come across a copy of the old original People's Mass (before it became the "New" People's Mass)?

Q

[presbyter]

Has anyone come across a copy of the old original People's Mass (before it became the "New" People's Mass)?

I have a melody line card but not the full accompaniment. The new text would slot in with a few editorial adjustments.

Given that the Bishops (Liturgy Office) are encouraging parishes to sing both through and refrain settings of the Gloria, there does seem to be an imbalance towards the latter, taking these publications as a whole, don't you think?

[VML]

As the original People's Mass was intended to be just that: a Mass that the congregation could easily sing, it would not be too difficult to produce a simple accompaniment.
I have also found a Colin Mawby Mass that would adapt with little more than a change of the 'thee's and 'thou's.

[Nick Baty]

a Colin Mawby Mass that would adapt with little more than a change of the 'thee's and 'thou's.

But with new acclamations?

Presumably Trotman could be adapted also. I can't quite remember it but I'm sure if I heard a phrase it would come flooding back. I remember we enjoyed singing it in primary school. (This was before the days of Caterpillar, carterpillar...)

[VML]

Sorry, I was looking more at the through Gloria.

[Nick Baty]

It doesn't seem long since we were all wondering what music there might be for the new translation. I see the published settings list now includes the new Laudate supplement. There's certainly no shortage of material with the exception of through-composed Glorias – not too many around yet. Does anyone have anything on the boil?

[VML]

I have my own through Gloria which we have used for 10 years or so. I hope to do something with it in the not too distant future.

[Peter]

So far I've written four, though I'm not overjoyed with the first two. I hope to try the other two out with the choir next week, if there's time after we've learned the Psallite setting we'll be using initially, and see how they go. None of these has been near the gang of five, so I can't offer them for use but anyone who wishes to see them and comment is welcome to PM me.

[Alan]

There are two through-composed settings of the Gloria in Glory to God (Decani): A Parish Mass by Peter Jones and my Mass of St Kenelm. Fr Peter's setting will shortly appear in the Laudate supplement, and I believe that Decani plans to issue both of them separately in due course.

[presbyter]

Oh yes. Thank you Alan for reminding me of these. I came across them first of all in 'performance' at the Society's Seminar for Composers in Hammersmith.

The Belmont (Walker) and Psalitte (Collegeville Group) chant approaches are all well and good but can we not have a few more 'good tune' offerings in the repertoire, in addition to the Jones Parish Mass and Smith Kenelm settings in the Glory to God collection? (There's also the MacMillan Mass of Blessed John Henry Newman Papal Visit setting. That's a 'good tune' ! )

[John Ainslie]

In considering the apparent plainness of, say, the Gloria setting, in the Belmont (Walker) and Psallite (Collegeville) Masses, we should bear in mind that these have been composed to address a specifically United States cultural and linguistic situation. I am told on good authority that, now or in the near future, 60% of Los Angeles inhabitants have Spanish as their first language. The need therefore for a setting which will unite a congregation that week-in, week-out, may be 50/50 split along linguistic lines explains the provision of a single setting that can be sung in either language (or Latin) or presumably all three languages simultaneously. It is not for me to judge how well this works in practice.

[Eastern Promise]

"That's a good tune"

But avant-garde composers don't do tunes. In fact they do their best to avoid them, or disrupt them.

[presbyter]

"That's a good tune"
But avant-garde composers don't do tunes. In fact they do their best to avoid them, or disrupt them.

You mean the MacMillan MBJHN Gloria ? Please explain if you do. In what ways does its well-crafted and well thought out motivic structure inhibit, nay, "disrupt" congregational participation? I'd quite like to know and I'm sure James MacMillan would too. I can pass your comments on to him.

[Eastern Promise]

[moderated]