Can a polyphonic Mass be sung by a choir in the OF?

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This is just a question I have out of curiosity. In the Ordinary Form, Is it permitted for a choir to sing a polyphonic Mass, such as one by Palestrina, etc, since the congrigation wouldn’t be able to sing with the choir? I’ve never heard of it being done, but is it even permitted? Thanks.
 
Thanks to everyone who responded!

I had thought that in the OF, the Kyrie, Sanctus, etc, had to be something that the congrigation could sing as well. It’s good to know that I was wrong!

I agree with Pro Vobis. I could listen to sacred polyphony by composers like Palestrina, Hassler, Byrd, and even later composers such as Mozart all day. These guies wrote some of the best sacred music of all time. If my goal of going back to school and becoming a choir director is realized, I’ll probably make it a point to incorperate these polyphonic Masses into the music in the OF, especially on special occasions such as Easter, Christmas, some other solemnities, etc.
 
The problem with incorporating some of those pieces into a regular Sunday Mass is that they are very long. The Kyrie posted was over 4 minutes. To just plain chant it would take 10 seconds. Perhaps on a special occasion one could do it, but at a regular parish mass I think it would be overwhelming.
 
Our parish in Virginia has been doing this for over ten years during our Latin Mass in the Ordinary Form. In order to keep things from getting too long, we (the choir) would not sing the Credo of the Mass we were using that day. We would sing the Gregorian Credo, and the people sang with us. We did sing the Gloria when appropriate. We sang many Mozart, and Haydn Masses as well as Palestrina and other composers of different musical periods. Most of the Masses by these composers were meant to be sung at Sunday Mass, and are not too long. The Mozart Great Mass in C Minor and the Requiem are exceptions, of course. If your choir can do it, go for it! Why relegate to the concert hall what belongs to the Church? Plus you can save your parish a ton of money because most of these Masses are on-line and can be downloaded for free.
 
Marysann said:
Our parish in Virginia has been doing this for over ten years during our Latin Mass in the Ordinary Form. In order to keep things from getting too long, we (the choir) would not sing the Credo of the Mass we were using that day. We would sing the Gregorian Credo, and the people sang with us. We did sing the Gloria when appropriate. We sang many Mozart, and Haydn Masses as well as Palestrina and other composers of different musical periods. Most of the Masses by these composers were meant to be sung at Sunday Mass, and are not too long. The Mozart Great Mass in C Minor and the Requiem are exceptions, of course. If your choir can do it, go for it! Why relegate to the concert hall what belongs to the Church? Plus you can save your parish a ton of money because most of these Masses are on-line and can be downloaded for free.
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No need to apologize for the length of these pieces. I’m sure people who drive an hour one-way to attend the Latin OF or EF don’t especially mind a 4-minute Kyrie. Or a seven-minute Credo III, for that matter.
 
ProVobis said:
No need to apologize for the length of these pieces. I’m sure people who drive an hour to attend the Latin OF or EF don’t especially mind a 4-minute Kyrie. Or a seven-minute Credo III, for that matter.
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I think the important issue would be that there is sufficient time between the beginning of a Mass that takes longer due to the musical setting and the scheduled beginning of the following Mass.

It would be neither wise nor polite to regularly sing such Mass parts at a Mass if it means those who wish to attend the following Mass are blocking traffic in the street while those at the first Mass are still receiving communion.

Fortunately most parishes schedule “choir Masses” when there won’t be a time crunch.
 
At St. Stephen’s in southeast Portland, Oregon, every Saturday evening they celebrate a Solemn Latin (OF) Mass with sung Gregorian and polyphonic Hymns. And on Sunday morning’s 11:00am Mass at Holy Rosary, Portland, OR, they sing the same thing. At HR the “sign of peace” is kept to the Sanctuary, and all kneel after the Agnus Dei. Communion is kneeling at the communion rail. Very nice OF Mass. 👍
 
Yes, at our Cathedral here in Sydney there is a Solemn Sung Mass every Sunday. It IS longer, but the music (last one I recall was Mozart, I don’t get to attend very often) is glorious and well worth the extra time. No, it is not always stuff that the congregation can sing along with.

Of course one presumably knows the words, either in English or Latin, so one would pray along without singing, just as you would with ANY sung Gloria/Kyrie/Agnus Dei if you were unfamiliar with the melody (and it happens frequently for me, even with modern music).
 
The cathedral in my diocese, along with a few other parishes in the area use polyphonic masses (although I’m not sure if it’s still done at the cathedral since there is a new director and he wasn’t doing any of the polyphonic masses at the Latin OF the first few months he was here.). Only difference is that they rarely do the Sanctus from those masses and usually sing something congregational - most of the time a changed Sanctus.
 
corsair said:
At St. Stephen’s in southeast Portland, Oregon, every Saturday evening they celebrate a Solemn Latin (OF) Mass with sung Gregorian and polyphonic Hymns. And on Sunday morning’s 11:00am Mass at Holy Rosary, Portland, OR, they sing the same thing. At HR the “sign of peace” is kept to the Sanctuary, and all kneel after the Agnus Dei. Communion is kneeling at the communion rail. Very nice OF Mass. 👍
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And that’s why I got married at that church! Unfortunately, due to my work schedule these days, I am unable to attend the 11:00 Mass there anymore.
 
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