Can Women Chant the Propers in the Traditional Latin Mass?

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I have always been told that men are the ones who should chant the Propers (I’m still sort of fuzzy as to why), but that women can chant the Ordinary.

I was recently speaking to a woman who attends a TLM where she and another woman chant both the Propers and the Ordinary.

Has anyone attended a mass where a schola or choir that included women chanted he Propers?

Also, if anyone could shed some light on why and all male schola has traditionally chanted the Propers, I would appreciate it.
**
Note: I’m not looking for any flourishing comments about how we have lost sight of what’s important, or any comments about scrupolosity. As much as I enjoy reading those types of comments sometimes, I’m really looking for concrete answers. :)**

Thanks.
 
I don’t think there is any strict rule against it. I’ve heard nuns and other women sing the propers at the EF. There were male and female voices in our choir in the 50’s. During daily High Masses our female organist sang the propers and parts of the ordinary.
 
ProVobis said:
I don’t know if there is any strict rule against it. I’ve heard nuns and other women sing the propers at the EF.
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In a parish?

I should add this disclaimer too: outside of monasteries or convents.
 
ProVobis said:
I don’t think there is any strict rule against it. I’ve heard nuns and other women sing the propers at the EF. There were male and female voices in our choir in the 50’s. During daily High Masses our female organist sang the propers and parts of the ordinary.
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Ah. This is the sort of stuff I like to read, Pro. I love to know what it was like in olden times. I think some things have become more strict now.
 
Our Parish used to have a woman singing the propers as well…but then we got a boys’ choir.

This was in the 1930’s until the 60’s. I wasn’t there myself, but my relatives have told me.
 
We have a High Sung EF Mass every Sunday - in our schola, men and women sing the Propers together.
 
Women can chant the Propers, yes.

In fact, in the TLM I occasionally attend, if a whole choir is not to be had, two old ladies in their 70’s sing the entire Mass: Ordinary chants, Proper chants, Gradual, Alleluia/Tract, (Sequence).
 
Our bishop (the older bishop who is now retired, and also the new bishop) is quite conservative and I don’t think he would allow something illicit.

With that in mind, In the Latin Mass in our city, women and girls make up the bulk of the choir. Without the women, there would only be a few men. The choir director is excellent, BTW, one of the best in the city, and very knowledgeable.

In the U.S., men who sing are rarer than platinum! It’s funny–there are plenty of men who are wealthy “stars” and sing rock, country, opera, rap, hip-hop, etc. But at the local level, so many men and boys consider singing “gay” and won’t do it unles they are required to sit in music classes in their school (and often, they don’t sing during those classes). I don’t understand this at all. Why is it that boys want to be like the sports stars, but not like the music stars? And why is it that they are willing to begin at the very beginning in sports and master the basics of a sport, but they are not willing to begin at the beginning in music and master the basics (how to sing properly, how to read music, etc.)?!

More power to your parish if they have enough men who sing and are willing and have the time to get involved to form a viable choir! Wow, what’s in the water in your city?! 🙂
 
The male schola is awesome and we are developing a mixed choir for motets, polyphony etc.

I just found a post from Father Z. The comments have a lot of information like this:
I think Pope Pius XII’s 1955 encyclical Musicae Sacrae was the first to make this allowance:
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Code: 
74. Where it is impossible to have schools of singers or where there are not enough choir boys, it is allowed that “a group of men and women or girls, located in a place outside the sanctuary set apart for the exclusive use of this group, can sing the liturgical texts at Solemn Mass, as long as the men are completely separated from the women and girls and everything unbecoming is avoided. The Ordinary is bound in conscience in this matter.”
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More…
 
Cat said:
Our bishop (the older bishop who is now retired, and also the new bishop) is quite conservative and I don’t think he would allow something illicit.

With that in mind, In the Latin Mass in our city, women and girls make up the bulk of the choir. Without the women, there would only be a few men. The choir director is excellent, BTW, one of the best in the city, and very knowledgeable.

In the U.S., men who sing are rarer than platinum! It’s funny–there are plenty of men who are wealthy “stars” and sing rock, country, opera, rap, hip-hop, etc. But at the local level, so many men and boys consider singing “gay” and won’t do it unles they are required to sit in music classes in their school (and often, they don’t sing during those classes). I don’t understand this at all. Why is it that boys want to be like the sports stars, but not like the music stars? And why is it that they are willing to begin at the very beginning in sports and master the basics of a sport, but they are not willing to begin at the beginning in music and master the basics (how to sing properly, how to read music, etc.)?!

More power to your parish if they have enough men who sing and are willing and have the time to get involved to form a viable choir! Wow, what’s in the water in your city?! 🙂
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It’s our awful, emasculation-is-waiting-around-every-corner, modern American culture.

=p
 
I’ve been to parishes where the choir is both genders doing the singing of propers and hymns. Some places have more women then men. I have no idea why the issue of men learning about music is not a good thing.

My nephew is going into the 8th grade this fall, and has been in the school band but singing is not his thing but it may be better for men to play instruments compared to singing in some places. I remember my choir class in high school was all women and it was an open to all class (ability to sing and read music was not required) compared to the varsity choir where you had to demonstrate vocal & dance abilities ahead of time to sign up for it but it was still had more women than men.
 
I think it boils down to; use the resources that you have for the Glory of God.
 
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