manniemain wrote:Most of our congregation will not sing anything but the most "cheesy" offerings of the late 60s and early 70s when many of them were in their 20s and 30s. Anything newer (in any genre) than this is dismissed as "modern rubbish" and anything traditional (even "O bread of Heaven") is dismissed as Protestant.
There is a not dissimilar situation in my parish, however, it needs to be said that some offerings of this era are very good: For example 'Abba, Father, send your Spirit' (Sisters of Mary of Namur), has a good, straightforward singable tune and an excellent text. (In my mind this has acheived the 'noble simplicity' that we have been asked to aim for.)
'One bread, one body' (Fr John Foley) is in my view another excellent item in terms of text and music. This is a communion antiphon that people will actually sing in the communion procession!
I have found that, with perserverance, some 'new' songs have really caught on. (I gererally like to try something new for around seven years or so to see if people will sing it). Two items that have become very,very popular in my parish are Bishop Dudley-Smith's 'Safe in the shadow' (Norman Warren tune) and Bernadette Farrell's Christmas psalm.
A 'Protestant' communion antiphon that is beginning to catch on is Susan Breihl's 'Bread of life from heaven' (To the 'Santo' tune, adapted by Marty Haugen.
