OCP's New Order of Mass Musical Revisions

[pianomany2k]

I know that the CCCB has commissioned at least 3 new settings of the new translation (workshops on those are already being given in our diocese) plus Richard Rice’s setting is available for the asking.

Hmm…Don’t think I know of Richard Rice or his music.

 

[benedictgal]

Hmm…Don’t think I know of Richard Rice or his music.

I just got the Richard Rice settings. I am going to send them to my parochial vicar since he reads music. He already loves the new ICEL settings.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

So now that we have thoroughly bashed OCP, which they deserve; how about GIA’s latest,
giamusic.com/sacred_music/revised_mass_settings.cfm
Opinions?

I pick on OCP mainly because nearly every parish in my diocese uses their products. GIA and J.S. Paluch have also fallen into the pit of inclusive language, odd arrangements, and fuzzy theology, but at least as far as GIA is concerned, their organ arrangements are leagues beyond those from OCP, which primary writes colorless, unimaginative arrangements for piano and electronic keyboard. If I had to buy new hymnals for my parish, I would only consider orthodox, hardbound hymnals like the St. Michael, Adoremus, or Westminster, plus the Graduale Romanum or Graduale Simplex.

 

[quilisma]

LOL! I’m enjoying this discussion (having done a fair bit of cantoring myself, but I’ll say up front that I think there’s nothing like a good chant Mass, preferably a cappella)…

I don’t think it was the “Jesus, Lamb of God” part that was the problem for the Agnus Dei in what my musical friends call “Mass of Cremation” (sorry, Marty). I think it was what follows “optionally” – “Jesus, Prince of Peace… Jesus, Bread of Life…” etc. Not that there is anything theologically WRONG with those phrases, but IMHO they don’t belong in the Agnus Dei (and I suspect that if the Church thought they did, she would have had them in there from the beginning).

Anyway… of the '70’s and '80’s Mass settings, if I had to pick one and couldn’t go to a chant Mass, I’d probably pick “Heritage” – at least it has optional Latin descants that a decent choir or pair of cantors can sneak in. “Mass of Glory” isn’t too bad either, but I still don’t feel it’s particulary something to write home about…

Personal opinion: Give me chant, or my bud Wolfie Mozart, ANY time. :bowdown2:

 

[CatholicZ09]

The new and revised Mass settings can be now viewed on OCP’s website.

Revised Mass Settings:
ocp.org/newmasssettings/revisedsettings

New Mass Settings:
ocp.org/newmasssettings/newsettings

 

[MarkThompson]

The new and revised Mass settings can be now viewed on OCP’s website.

Revised Mass Settings:
ocp.org/newmasssettings/revisedsettings

New Mass Settings:
ocp.org/newmasssettings/newsettings

Thanks for posting that. Of the new settings, Randall DeBruyn’s Mass of the Resurrection is clearly the winner. The Walker is okay, the Schutte is highly meh. The Stephan Mass of Renewal and Garcia-Lopez Misa Santa Cecilia are utter abominations that just scream “OCP.”

 

[jc-servant]

I guess being extremely nasty and uncharitable does not matter when one is bashing the efforts of others to serve the church? I am truly disgusted at all of the nonstop bashing I see on this Catholic forum on everything from liturgy to politics.

I don’t imagine the complainers on this thread know every composer at OCP or GIA or in fact any of them personally. I know that none of you are likely to be their confessors either. There are some people who are non-Catholic composers whose public lives may not be exemplary and there are many more composers who are faithful Catholics trying to do their best. There is going to be a lot of imperfection until we get to Heaven and part of our challenge in our faith journey is to learn to deal with it in a Christ-like manner even when something offends our personal sensibilities or frustrates us with the liturgy or our fellow Catholics.

I will eagerly await the “appropriate” and perfect mass settings from all of the people dishing the nastiness here under the guise of being “faithful” and “reverent.” In the meantime, I guess I will once again take a long vacation from this forum since it still raises my blood pressure and does not lead me any closer to holiness to read this neverending picking and bashing.

 

[CatholicZ09]

I still think Owen Alstott’s Heritage Mass wins the award for best revised Mass setting.

 

[MarkThompson]

I still think Owen Alstott’s Heritage Mass wins the award for best revised Mass setting.

Agreed entirely. I also liked that recording of Misa del Pueblo Inmigrante quite a bit. The Gloria sounds like it would have been perfectly at home in Evita. Er, that’s not to say it would be perfectly at home in the liturgy, though …

 

[CatholicZ09]

Thanks for posting that. Of the new settings, Randall DeBruyn’s Mass of the Resurrection is clearly the winner. The Walker is okay, the Schutte is highly meh. The Stephan Mass of Renewal and Garcia-Lopez Misa Santa Cecilia are utter abominations that just scream “OCP.”

I do like Randall DeBruyn’s new setting, but I can’t pick out where it sounds like the DUKE STREET hymn tune. I don’t think it sounds like DUKE STREET at all.

 

[MarkThompson]

I do like Randall DeBruyn’s new setting, but I can’t pick out where it sounds like the DUKE STREET hymn tune. I don’t think it sounds like DUKE STREET at all.

You can make out snippets of it here and there. Try singing the line “I know that my redeemer lives” to the opening of the Gloria.

 

[Canto]

I don’t like a single one

Dan Schutte’s repeats the words and adds ‘peace on earth’ if I’m hearing correctly.

Curtis Stephan’s is secular pop music with a sacred text.

The samples had piano, brass and one had drums.
Only one had organ

Many seem too syncopated to sing.
Less active participation???

 

[pianomany2k]

GIA has their settings posted as well.

Revised:

giamusic.com/sacred_music/revised_mass_settings.cfm

New

giamusic.com/sacred_music/new_mass_settings.cfm

Friend of mine composed a Mass that I’m looking over. It’s not bad, but I wouldn’t write some of the melodies that he has done.

 

[KathTromp18]

Actually, the settings by the late Richard Proulx were the most faithful to the text. These are the ones that I am sad to see go. I hope that he wrote settings for the new translations before he died.

I don’t know if you saw my thread. At least ICEL and MusicaSacram have excellent settings for the new texts.

CatholicZ09, I also cringed when I saw the OCP email, especially since Hurd’s Mass of Glory and Misa del Pueblo Immigrante is being revised.

Richard Proulx didn’t have anything to so with “St. Louis Jesuits Mass” (that was Bob Dufford, and later Dan Schutte)… He did “Community Mass”, which has been revised by GIA to fit the new English texts.

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Also, Marty Haugen’s “Mass of Creation” (oddly enough, Haugen is also a Proulx fan and used “Community Mass” as a starting point for “Mass of Creation”, which is most obvious with the minor keys and similar Memorial Acclamation/Amen settings to the “Community Mass”) isn’t publiched by OCP, it is published by GIA (like everything Proulx did is), and thus won’t be listed on OCP’s site. GIA generally has better settings anyway (only they have stuff by Proulx, afterall… like the Gloria from “A Mass for New Congregations” (which is also being revised…the Gloria anyway), even though there’s often cross-over stuff that the publishing companies share (like most Haugen/Haas/Schutte stuff)…and it’s not like we couldn’t use any of Anton Bruckner’s Mass settings (all public domain). But the BEST way to make sure you like a setting of the Mass is to >>>WRITE ONE YOURSELF<<<!!!