Status of Hymns at Mass

[nazard]

Our bishops did not obtain Rome's agreement. The version of GIRM that we have now was imposed on us by Rome. It arrived, with instructions for it to be promulgated. This is now the Roman way, and they have done the same with other countries. You submit a text for recognitio and sometime later you receive back a text which may be the same as the one you sent but most probably isn't.

Fascinating! I didn't know that. Are the details of what happened posted on the net anywhere? Do we know why Rome allowed hymns in the US? Do we know if our bishops asked for them here?

I only teach our choir a few pieces of the proper each year, and they forget them instantly. Otherwise I play hymns. I couldn't cope with always singing every bit of the proper.

Another problem is that the ofertory antiphons are not in the lectionary, so those catholics who have never heard of the Graduale, of whom there are quite a few, tend to think that there is no such thing as an offertory antiphon.

[alan29]

Who would have the sheer arrogance to compose a more liturgically correct version of the psalm that is Old 100th?
Alan

[johnquinn39]

///

[John Ainslie]

The Sacred Congregation of Rites, in its Instruction of 3 September 1958, decreed:

13. a) Latin is the language of liturgical ceremonies... Any
exceptions to the general rule of Latin will be mentioned later in this
Instruction.

14. a) In sung Masses only Latin is to be used. This applies not only to the
celebrant, and his ministers, but also to the choir or congregation.

"However, popular vernacular hymns may be sung at the solemn Eucharistic
Sacrifice (sung Masses), after the liturgical texts have been sung in Latin, in
those places where such a centenary or immemorial custom has obtained. Local
ordinaries may permit the continuation of this custom 'if they judge that it
cannot prudently be discontinued because of the circumstances of the locality or
the people' (cf. canon 5)" (Musicæ sacræ disciplina: AAS 48 [1956] 16-17).

b) At low Mass the faithful who participate directly in the liturgical
ceremonies with the celebrant by reciting aloud the parts of the Mass which
belong to them must, along with the priest and his server, use Latin
exclusively.

But if, in addition to this direct participation in the liturgy, the faithful
wish to add some prayers or popular hymns, according to local custom, these may
be recited or sung in the vernacular.

So there you have it. No vernacular allowed at High or Sung Mass - the concession to "immemorial custom" in 13a applied to German dioceses who had celebrated 'Deutsches Hochamt' (German High Mass) for ages anyhow. Vernacular hymns at Low Mass were allowed, but nothing else could be sung at a Low Mass, not even the liturgical texts.

And there you have the genesis of the hymn-sandwich. After Sacrosanctum Concilium, singing of vernacular hymns was encouraged to aid 'active participation', whereas both the translation and the musical setting of Missal texts were reserved to Episcopal Conferences and their commissions. You could sing hymns, but not the liturgical texts! Two temporary versions of the Ordinary eventually appeared and there were some musical settings of the second one (despite "and peace on earth to men who are God's friends"!), but it was not until the 1st Sunday of Advent 1969 that the new Order of Mass and Missal with the current ICEL translation, JB (and RSV) Lectionary and Grail psalms came into use. By then the hymn-sandwich, assisted by new hymnals, was well established.

Whether the hymn form is actually suited to the processions at which it is used has never been seriously debated in this country. Hymns in both the Roman and Reformed traditions are essentially set pieces sung for their own sake; during them nothing happens: look at the Gloria in excelsis, the Te Deum and, of course hymns in the Divine Office - hymns used processionally at the Palm Sunday procession and Good Friday Veneration are rare exceptions.

The Communion procession is an obvious case where the hymn is an inappropriate textual form. And a recessional hymn is not strictly part of the Roman rite: it is only mentioned once in official documents (1967 Musicam Sacram instruction, para 36) and this I reckon to be an editorial oversight. "Go in peace... but wait for the final hymn!" In Mediterranean countries the congregation take the dismissal more seriously and are out of the church doors before the priest has a chance to get there! Shouldn't we in this country take ritual instructions seriously too? GIRM (88) provides a hymn - yes, a set-piece hymn - after Communion as an alternative properly integrated into the rite.

[mcb]

So when does the low Mass with hymns date from? Not after the Council, surely?

[mcb]

(OK, just seen John's post, which answers the question, I think: 1958?)

M.

[John Ainslie]

Low Mass with hymns was encouraged by Pope Pius XII's encyclical 'Mediator Dei' of 1947:

105. Therefore, they are to be praised who, with the idea of getting the Christian people to take part more easily and more fruitfully in the Mass, strive to make them familiar with the "Roman Missal," so that the faithful, united with the priest, may pray together in the very words and sentiments of the Church. They also are to be commended who strive to make the liturgy even in an external way a sacred act in which all who are present may share. This can be done in more than one way, when, for instance, the whole congregation, in accordance with the rules of the liturgy, either answer the priest in an orderly and fitting manner, or sing hymns suitable to the different parts of the Mass, or do both, or finally in high Masses when they answer the prayers of the minister of Jesus Christ and also sing the liturgical chant.

This was confirmed in 1955 with the decree 'Musicae sacrae disciplina':

64. As we have written above, such hymns cannot be used in Solemn High Masses without the express permission of the Holy See. Nevertheless at Masses that are not sung solemnly these hymns can be a powerful aid in keeping the faithful from attending the Holy Sacrifice like dumb and idle spectators. They can help to make the faithful accompany the sacred services both mentally and vocally and to join their own piety to the prayers of the priest. This happens when these hymns are properly adapted to the individual parts of the Mass, as We rejoice to know is being done in many parts of the Catholic world.

Note the acknowledgement by the Pope that LM with hymns was already widespread common practice. But neither document specified what should be sung where. That was clarified by the 1958 SCR instruction.

Incidentally, the SSG at its Summer Schools in the late 1950s had both all-Latin nearly-all-plainsong Sung/High Masses and 'dialogued' Low Masses with hymns. Since the official Westminster Hymnal made no provision for singing at Mass (!), the SSG published a booklet of suitable hymns for the purpose, edited and some of them written by Clifford Howell SJ: the print run ran into thousands of copies. In 1960 came a 10,000 print run of an SSG-prepared Parish Mass Book, also with hymns.

[Southern Comfort]

So when does the low Mass with hymns date from? Not after the Council, surely?

In Germany, the Betsingmesse [= "Prayer-sing-Mass" or Low Mass with hymns] goes back to 1922, but has its antecedents in 18th-century Germany (documented from the 1770s onwards).

[Southern Comfort]

Our bishops did not obtain Rome's agreement. The version of GIRM that we have now was imposed on us by Rome. It arrived, with instructions for it to be promulgated. This is now the Roman way, and they have done the same with other countries. You submit a text for recognitio and sometime later you receive back a text which may be the same as the one you sent but most probably isn't.

Fascinating! I didn't know that. Are the details of what happened posted on the net anywhere? Do we know why Rome allowed hymns in the US? Do we know if our bishops asked for them here?

If Martin Foster is reading this thread, he would be able to comment on that, I'd imagine. The US bishops had had their own supplement to GIRM for years, so it would have been difficult for Rome to squelch absolutely everything. Folk simply wouldn't have taken any notice (rather like the way in which folk in England haven't taken a great deal of notice of the 2005 E&W GIRM ).

Another problem is that the ofertory antiphons are not in the lectionary, so those catholics who have never heard of the Graduale, of whom there are quite a few, tend to think that there is no such thing as an offertory antiphon.

Well, the offertory antiphons were only retained in the 1974 Graduale in order to keep the plainchant people happy. They no longer exist in the Missale Romanum (though they linger on in GIRM, curiously), so in one sense there is indeed no such thing as an offertory antiphon for anyone who is not using a Graduale (which is the vast, vast majority of people).

[John Ainslie]

Well, the offertory antiphons were only retained in the 1974 Graduale in order to keep the plainchant people happy. They no longer exist in the Missale Romanum (though they linger on in GIRM, curiously), so in one sense there is indeed no such thing as an offertory antiphon for anyone who is not using a Graduale (which is the vast, vast majority of people).

...and there is no official English translation of them.

If you really want to find approved ICEL Offertory Antiphon texts in English, you can go to the Simple Gradual - if you can find a copy: if you can't, you can find them in Paul Ford's By Flowing Waters, though the psalm version therein is NRSV, not yet approved for use in England & Wales.

[presbyter]

Wouldn't you say that the status of an offertory hymn/antiphon is pretty low anyway? Does it accompany the action of the procession and join the faithful to that action - or is it more akin to an advertisement break/ gap filler before the plot gets underway again? Discuss!

Should the hymn just accompany the procession and the berakoth prayers be audible?

Then what about hymns which are so long that they delay the start of the Eucharistic Prayer? Hmmmm.

Why sing at all at this point? Discuss!

[johnquinn39]

Just a thought - Would this point in the Mass be a good time for the choir/music group to sing a choral version of the responsorial psalm? - Maybe a psalm setting by Schutz or Buxtehude, or even something such as Bob Chilcott's 'God so loved the world'.
Something not too 'showy', but that would gently accompany the procession, and perhaps offer a reflection on the psalm or readings that have been heard.
Perhaps even some 'Christian' music might work at this point, Maybe something by Matt Redman?

[John Ainslie]

Why did the missal revisers of the Consilium recommend an offertory procession but scrap the offertory antiphons from the Missal altogether?

Bugnini says (The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975, p. 387):

The entrance and communion antiphons... are to be sung or read for their value in showing the meaning of the celebration or feast. The offertory antiphon, on the other hand, may be omitted if it is not sung, because it then loses its value as accompaniment to a procession and to the offertory rites; if it is simply read it would create a textual overload of this part of the celebration.

This seems to suggest that the texts of the entrance and communion antiphons that we find in the Missal were designed for saying, rather than singing - borne out by the deletion of the psalm verse from the entrance antiphon in contrast to recommendations elsewhere for extending the psalm verses when it is sung. Moreover, earlier on the same page Bugnini comments:

To be noted in particular is the wide range of possibilities offered for singing. This allows the full preservation of the traditional patrimony (Gregorian and polyphonic) and, at the same time, a genuine openness to new musical creations for new texts... It is therefore possible to allow a certain flexibility, especially with an eye on the heritage of popular song in the various countries and the various modern languages.

So what should be recommended for the procession at the Preparation of the Gifts? Certainly not restricted to a limited repertoire of 'Offertory Songs', some of dubious theological content. Certainly nothing that steals the limelight of the Eucharistic Prayer that follows shortly. A time for rest and reflection before rising - physically, mentally, spiritually - to that culminating point? Instrumental or choral music? Or even silence, provided that is not punctuated by the clink of small change being dropped in the collection plate?

[Southern Comfort]

Given that choir-only pieces during Communion ought to be discarded in favour of Communion psalms and songs with refrains for the assembly, the best place for using all the settings of Ave verum, etc, that choirs like to do is during the presentation of the gifts.

[Vox Americana]

…the clink of small change being dropped in the collection plate

Surely that is music to the ears of the parish finance committee!