Missal/Lectionary demarcation

[quaeritor]

Having been embargoed by the good Mrs Q from buying a copy of the new Missal before Christmas, imagine my total astonishment when one turned up on Christmas morning!

With a bit of a shock I discovered while browsing within its pages that "New Missal" is not co-terminous with "Order of the Mass" (or Ordinary as we used to call it). In retrospect it's clearly my own fault, of course, although what passed for instruction on the changeover in my neck of the woods did not stray beyond the new Assembly responses in the Order of Mass, and I rather too easily concluded that "everything else" would come in with the new Lectionary at some dimly foreseen time in the future.

Now, in common with contributors to the newish thread on the Exsultet, I realise that there is a huge amount of other text which has changed. My setting of the texts for the Distribution of Ashes on Ash Wednesday as well lots of Holy Week stuff - particularly the Good Friday Reproaches, which I shall have to discard with some pain, not to mention a growing collection of Communion Antiphons - are all now obsolete.

Has anyone else fallen into this trap? Will the customary ". . . or another suitable song" let-out clause allow the continued use of the old texts in these place where they are optional anyway, until replacements can be provided? (Ash Wednesday is frighteningly close!)

Q

[Peter Jones]

Read section 5 of the Guide for Composers Q. There are set texts and model texts.

[Nick Baty]

See The Processional too.

[auchincruive]

Read section 5 of the Guide for Composers Q. There are set texts and model texts.

I see that the Communion Antiphons are model texts but I couldn't find any info on the Good Friday Reproaches or the antiphon at the Adoration of the Cross. Does anyone know if these are set or model texts? I also looked on the ICEL web page (http://www.icelweb.org/musicfolder/openmusic.php) but couldn't find any music for the new Reproaches. Is there any available yet?

[Ros Wood]

Given that ICEL have not provided a setting of the Reproaches and that the length of the veneration will vary considerably in different parishes, I assume that these are model texts on a par with the other antiphons.

[John Ainslie]

From the Missal (Good Friday, para 20):

While the adoration of the Holy Cross is taking place, the antiphon Crucem tuam adoramus (We adore your Cross, O Lord), the Reproaches, the hymn Crux fidelis (Faithful Cross) or other suitable chants are sung...

So yes, the given texts are certainly models insofar as they may be replaced or supplemented by 'other suitable chants'. One might hope that 'supplemented' is the more usual case. Alternative versions of the given texts should be considered if settings of the new versions are unavailable or impractical to use. A setting of the Crux fidelis is provided by ICEL, to the Latin chant melody.

Incidentally, the same situation regarding model texts or 'other suitable chants' also obtains for the Procession with palms on Palm Sunday. The extraordinary new English translation provided in the Missal for 'Gloria laus' can therefore be replaced by the well-known 'All glory, laud and honour'.