Music during communion

[PaixGioiaAmor]

When I’m playing the organ without a choir, I start a soft meditation that lasts for a couple of minutes, beginning after the priest has received the Precious Blood and the EEM’s begin to come forward. By the time it is finished, the cantor (down in front) has received the Eucharist and has had time to make his thanksgiving. We then begin the Communion hymn, and once it is over (I never repeat verses!), I play quietly until the chalice is purified and the priest goes to the credence table to purify the other vessels (we remain kneeling until he finishes and sits down). Then it is silence until he prays the closing prayer.
In selecting the Communion hymn, I only use hymns that make reference to the Body and Blood of Christ, not just bread and wine, or us turning into bread and wine. Given the kind of hymnals we use, my choices are quite limited.

Now this is a liturgical abuse.

What happened to the Communion hymn continuing until all have received, per the GIRM?

 

[pnewton]

We take a little bit of different approach. The problem we run into is continuing until all receive and allowing opportunity for the musicians to receive. That is why we allow the musicians to receive first. Then we are free to continue until the last person receives communion. I, too, never repeat verses, but I always have back-up hymns on the bigger Masses. Then after the last person receives, I will sing one verse of appropriate meditation hymn. Then we finish the last couple of minutes while the vessels are being cleaned in silence.

I have several hymns I do avoid for communion, because of the emphasis on the faithful as opposed to the Eucharist. My favorites are

At That First Eucharist
O Sacrament Most Holy
We Come to This Feast.
O Lord I am Not Worthy

 

[benedictgal]

Now this is a liturgical abuse.

What happened to the Communion hymn continuing until all have received, per the GIRM?

Of course, I don’t think that you should stop dead in mid-sentence until all have received. That wouldn’t make sense either. If all have received and you’re hafl-way through a verse, are you going to come to an abrupt halt and cut off the music? I think you have to use some common sense here.

Now, we try to time the length of the communion hymn so that it does conclude when all have received. We’ve even told our pianist to not play while the priest is purifying (he plays rather loudly at that point) and showed him documents related to preserving sacred slence.

Now, where it does get tricky is at the Cathedral, which has a live broadcast of Sunday Mass. The organist is trained and competent; however, only at this Mass will he play softly during the purification. The problem is that the mike on the altar is very sensitive and picks up everything; as a result, you can hear it on the radio. You could hear the deacon instructing the altar servers or the priest making a remark, not the best thing to be broadcasting over the airwaves. The people in the pews may not hear it, but the folks in radio land willl because the mikes are tied into the broadcasting equipment inside the Cathedral. That is perhaps why the organist is now playing something.

 

[PaixGioiaAmor]

We begin the hymn or song immediately upon the people saying “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you …”

The music continues until the last person has received. When the last one has received, we stop (using common sense as you pointed out in your last post). At that time, the priest then says “At this time, please sit or kneel as we observe a period of silent prayer”. (In our diocese, the common practice is to stand until all have received).

The people then sit/kneel. We observe 1-2 minutes of deep silence. The priest then stands and says “Let us pray…”

 

[benedictgal]

We take a little bit of different approach. The problem we run into is continuing until all receive and allowing opportunity for the musicians to receive. That is why we allow the musicians to receive first. Then we are free to continue until the last person receives communion. I, too, never repeat verses, but I always have back-up hymns on the bigger Masses. Then after the last person receives, I will sing one verse of appropriate meditation hymn. Then we finish the last couple of minutes while the vessels are being cleaned in silence.

I have several hymns I do avoid for communion, because of the emphasis on the faithful as opposed to the Eucharist. My favorites are

At That First Eucharist
O Sacrament Most Holy
We Come to This Feast.
O Lord I am Not Worthy

I wish I could tell our choir director about not repeating verses. For some reason, she has the notion that we should only have one Communion hymn.

Regarding your choices, I have found, from first-hand planning experience, that these, too, work just as well: :

I Received the Living God
Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether (which works well if you have a small congregation and ideal for Pentecost)
Shepherd of Souls
Alleluia, Sing to Jesus (perfect for Easter, but especially great for Ascension and Pentecost)
Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

If you have a Spanish Mass, these work very well:
Altissimo Senor
Razimo y Trigal
Alabado Sea El Santissimo
Donde Hay Caridad Y Amor

 

[PaixGioiaAmor]

I wish I could tell our choir director about not repeating verses. For some reason, she has the notion that we should only have one Communion hymn.

Regarding your choices, I have found, from first-hand planning experience, that these, too, work just as well: :

I Received the Living God
Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether (which works well if you have a small congregation and ideal for Pentecost)
Shepherd of Souls
Alleluia, Sing to Jesus (perfect for Easter, but especially great for Ascension and Pentecost)
Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

If you have a Spanish Mass, these work very well:
Altissimo Senor
Razimo y Trigal
Alabado Sea El Santissimo
Donde Hay Caridad Y Amor

I have that notion too. There is no documentation requiring only one hymn - but one hymn makes a lot of sense. So it is my preference - and I think it is a logical and theologically sound preference - to use only one hymn, although two would not be forbidden.

 

[benedictgal]

I have that notion too. There is no documentation requiring only one hymn - but one hymn makes a lot of sense. So it is my preference - and I think it is a logical and theologically sound preference - to use only one hymn, although two would not be forbidden.

Of course, if you’re at a Papal Mass and you’ve got 60,000 communicants, then, obviously, one song won’t cut it. You need at least two or three fairly long ones.

Now, the reason why I made that comment was because the communion hymns chosen are fairly short. That doesn’t necessarily work when you have a couple hundred communicants. Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether would wind up covering 70% of the communicants. But, I suppose if you intersperse a musical interlude, you might be able to stretch it.

 

[Michael96]

Thanks you all; I feel re-assured

 

[maherite1977]

During mass we commonly play music while people are going up to commuinion. People are invited to join in singing but few do, which is quite understandable if they are either still going up to communion or are having a quiet reflection/prayer after their communion. But what are your feelings on music being played (with optional singing): do you think it’s appropriate or do you think there should be silence?

Depending on what one of the twinned Parishes I am attending on the weekend, it varies. One Parish choir (one choir I sing in) likes to do two Communion Hymns, while the other choir likes to do a Communion Hymn (usually not in the hymnal) and then a Meditation Hymn (which is in the hymnal).