Unaccompanied Sung Liturgy

[SOP]

On another thread there is discussion about unaccompanised sung liturgy and some have taken that to mean plainchant.

Out of interest, at our church on Sunday we sang everything unaccompanied as neither organist were there. Don't know if that was deliberate but that is the way it was.

We sang:
Entrance: Be Thou My Vision
Gospel Acclamation: Easter Alleluia started by the reader of the 2nd reading
Preparation of Gifts: In Bread We Bring You Lord
Sanctus: Paul Inwood's Gathering Mass
Memorial Acclamation: Paul Inwood's Gathering Mass
Communion: This is My Body
Recessional: O Praise our Great and Gracious Lord.

All was sung well except the last one which people were not too sure about but those of the choir who were there scattered around the church carried it through.
All except the Gospel Acclamation were started off by the priest but he was not left to do it on his own.

[mcb]

Wow... Was that... your regular Sunday church? I'm irrationally proud if so.

[SOP]

How upset would you be if I said I went somewhere else??

I saved the service sheet for you so that is how I can remember what we did. It made a difference actually having a service sheet instead of just the hymn books, we don't always have them through summer.

[Southern Comfort]

On another thread there is discussion about unaccompanised sung liturgy and some have taken that to mean plainchant.

Out of interest, at our church on Sunday we sang everything unaccompanied as neither organist were there. Don't know if that was deliberate but that is the way it was.

We sang:
Entrance: Be Thou My Vision
Gospel Acclamation: Easter Alleluia started by the reader of the 2nd reading
Preparation of Gifts: In Bread We Bring You Lord
Sanctus: Paul Inwood's Gathering Mass
Memorial Acclamation: Paul Inwood's Gathering Mass
Communion: This is My Body
Recessional: O Praise our Great and Gracious Lord.

All was sung well except the last one which people were not too sure about but those of the choir who were there scattered around the church carried it through.
All except the Gospel Acclamation were started off by the priest but he was not left to do it on his own.

This is brilliant ─ an example both of good practice and of music that can stand alone without all the trimmings. We can do this sort of thing much more frequently if we only realised how good it can be. It's part of a mindset which doesn't negatively say "Oh dear, the organist has 'flu so we can't do X and Y", but positively "Here's what can we do with the resources we have!" All you need in such a situation is someone to start things off. It may be the priest, but quite often you'd be surprised at who actually does it.

[monty]

The important part of a sung liturgy is the singing - not the organ, the piano, the drums, the guitar, the flute - but the human voice.

[VML]

Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!
Well done.
On page 3 of the Summer Break thread, I explained what we are doing for August. It has been refreshing not to have to do lists and all the extras. (It has given us essential grandparenting time!!)

[SOP]

I have to say that one of the things that made it work was having a service sheet. We normally use hymn books but there are so many columns in the cathedral that the vast majority of people cannot see the hymn board and have to rely on either picking up the first word so they can find it alphabetically or ask someone nearby what the hymn number is. Having the sheet did away with that.

[Nick Baty]

I'm a huge fan of service sheets – party because of the reasons you mention but also because we all use music from so very many sources: Who wants to be limited by the contents of a particular collection?

[Nick Baty]

Off-topic for "Unnacompanied Sung Liturgy" but on-topic for mention of service sheets:

I'm just paying the coming year's fee for a Calamus Licence for the smallest of our three churches and is struck me how cheap it has remained – Up to 100 people = £36.22. Even a larger congregation (up to 500) will only pay £78.20.

When you think how much you can put on your service sheets for this amount, it's pretty good value.

[musicus]

I recently responded to a parishioner's plea for a change of Gloria by introducing Barbara Rusbridge's Hebridean Gloria (which, on reflection is not in the spirit of Liturgiam Authenticam, so I may withdraw it!). Anyway, since my fellow music leader (who usually leads the singing while I play) was away, I led them in it, unaccompanied. Basically, it's set to a Scottish folk tune, in the Dorian mode, with the verses in a sort of Dorian relative major (!). Well, pondering all this theory on the fly as we sang, I got into a right mess in verse 1, so that by the time I came to bring them in for the refrain, I was a perfect 5th too high. Amazingly, they had collectively 'remembered' the pitch of the refrain and got it right. We proceeded for a few bars, in organum-like 5ths, until I gave up and "went with the multitude". Unaccompanied song sometimes does not need too much thinking about.

[docmattc]

During Lent this year we used the Eucharistic Acclamations from the Missal and the Mass XVI Agnus Dei. The congregation them sang extremely well.

[Nick Baty]

Yes, I've used those and had a similar reponse!

[SOP]

I enjoy an occasional unaccompanied singing Mass.

One of the hymns was started a little high but we thought it would not matter as the pitch was bound to drop - no chance, in fact I am fairly sure it went up!!

[gwyn]

We occasionally get to sing the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (two Benedictine priests in the diocese are bi-ritual). It's unaccompanied from beginning to end. Great stuff.

[Southern Comfort]

The congregation them sang extremely well.

Is that a form of Latin syntax?