Responsorial Psalms ... for the first time in history

[AntoineDaniel]

Catholic choirmasters in the UK might be interested in this collection, either to "compare notes" or use them (if the UK Diocesan Bishop approves).

For the first time in history, a complete collection of Responsorial Psalms has been published with each verse fully notated for Organist and Cantor. The book adheres strictly to the current USA Lectionary, which will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future (according to recent pronouncements of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship), and does not alter in any way the wording of the official Antiphons or Psalms.

The 387-page book contains Liturgical Years A, B, C, and ABC. All the information is clearly listed on the website:

http://www.ccwatershed.org/psalms/

Though this collection uses the English language, the Psalms are based on Gregorian chant, without exception using "free rhythm" and adhering strictly to the the eight Gregorian modes.

As alluded to above, each and every verse has been carefully and painstakingly written out for Cantor & Organist, allowing the modal harmonizations to perfectly suit each verse ("fitting like a glove") in a way that has never been done until now. This allows for perfect performance with an absolute minimum of rehearsal time, even for musicians who are not professionals.

Many Church musicians are already familiar with the St. Noël Chabanel Psalms, all of which are available free online, and include hundreds of compositions by composers such as Arlene Oost-Zinner, Richard Rice, Bruce E. Ford, Royce Nickel, Sam Schmitt, and many others. Those who wish to explore these should visit the Chabanel Psalms website ( http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/ ), which also has hundreds of free practice videos and mp3's.

However, many Catholic choirmasters will prefer to have the printed book, since printing out hundreds of sheets of paper can be costly and confusing. Incidentally, for those who desire Responsorial Psalms without organ accompaniment, composer Aristotle E. Esguerra has published a complete set, which uses Gregorian notation: http://www.ccwatershed.org/purchase/Esguerra_Psalms/

[Southern Comfort]

Thank you for this information, Jeff

Unfortunately the webpage itself does not seem to allow the visitor to see any samples, so it is not possible to tell what pages might look like, which translations of antiphons and psalms have been used, etc, etc. Any chance of getting some samples up there?

The two video clips appear to relate to the Vatican II Hymnal, rather than the complete psalter. Alas, they stutter badly while playing (though clips elsewhere on CCWshed appear to play without problem).

Can you also please say whether the omission of solemnities which can replace the Sunday (e.g. Peter & Paul, Lateran Basilica) on the contents page is intentional or accidental (they appear in the separate years of the Chabanel project), and also why other "big" celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Guadalupe are nowhere to be seen.

[promusica]

This seems like a really useful resource. The sample video clips for the two psalms show clear, logical typesetting, with music for each verse fully notated. The cost isn't prohibitive either (the website gives some special offer coupons - I'm tempted!). This might be a useful companion to the Guimont psalms published earlier this year by GIA, also attractive chanted settings, though not restricted to the Gregorian modes and with some interesting harmonies for the organist. There is a growing selection of psalm collections using the new Grail translation.

[AntoineDaniel]

Thanks! Also, to answer a question from above:

100% of the Psalms can be downloaded for free from the Chabanel Psalms website

[JW]

I was thinking, one could always adapt the Chabanel psalms to fit the Grail translation - something that you might wish to consider, Jeff. I know its a lot of work but many English speaking bishops conferences outside USA use Grail.

[Southern Comfort]

I was thinking, one could always adapt the Chabanel psalms to fit the Grail translation - something that you might wish to consider, Jeff. I know its a lot of work but many English speaking bishops conferences outside USA use Grail.

The problem with doing that would be whether or not to use Grail IV (a.k.a. RGP), which has been approved for use in the US (though it will not appear in a Lectionary for at least 10 years) but not yet elsewhere (except Kenya, which got approval for an earlier form of RGP).