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acadiANNA
Guest
What does a Priest use to determine if the Eucharistic Prayers are to be sung? I notice that sometimes he reads the prayers and other times he sings them. Is it left to his own choice or certain days?
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Cat
Guest
I think it’s probably determined by how confident he feels in his singing on any given day.
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Corki
Guest
Do you mean chanting the Eucharistic prayers? The GIRM says that chant should have the main place. But it also mentions that this is most important on Sundays and Holy Days.
Practically speaking, many, if not most priests are less familiar and comfortable with chant these days. But any Mass with chant is a good thing.
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YoungTradCath
Guest
Do you actually mean the Eucharistic Prayer or the other prayers?
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FrStevenJones
Guest
More is sung on higher liturgical days. So on Sundays the priest sings more than weekdays, and on Easter and Christmas he sings more than Sundays, etc.
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Elizium23
Guest
I would add that it is forbidden for the musical instruments to accompany the priest during the Eucharistic Prayer. If chanted, it must be done a cappella.
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YoungTradCath
Guest
Yes, thank God. How horrible would be an accompanied EP?
I would also like to add that anything can be sung at any time in the OF, but it does not make sense (IMO) to grab bits and pieces out of thin air to sing while not singing others, unless a parish can only manage to sing certain parts for real reasons. For example, what sense is it to sing the Gloria but not, say, the Agnus Dei? Or the Pater Noster, but not the embolism after it? The “choppiness” of music on music off music on music off should be avoided for the best effect.
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acadiANNA
Guest
Some of the other prayers are almost always sung, such as the Kyrie. The responsorial psalm is read or sung. I did think the Priest was chanting at one Mass, but then another Priest seemed to be singing beautifully, yes, he was gifted. I haven’t found a pattern except the weekday Mass prayers are read. I love the singing. Thank you all for your answers. God bless.
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Chatter163
Guest
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liturgyluver
Guest
It never ceases to surprise me how rare it has become to hear the Sursum Corda and the first part of the Eucharistic Prayer chanted to a simple tone in the Catholic Church. I can only conclude that Catholic priests are not such good singers as their Lutheran and Anglican counterparts who almost always sing the entire dialogue as well as the collect and the post-communion prayer.
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OraLabora
Guest
Come to our abbey. Everything is chanted except the homily!
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liturgyluver
Guest
That is lovely - I normally go to one of the sung (as opposed to choral) masses at Westminster Cathedral where almost everything is chanted. There is something so powerful in singing the mass, rather than the half-hearted mumbles to the responses that one generally hears. There is one other parish church in the area that has a solemn mass where everything is chanted.
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Cat
Guest
Perhaps it’s because we’re converts, or perhaps it’s because we’re Midwesterners in the United States, but my husband and I don’t get chanted prose prayers at all.
After all, when we talk to each other, or to any authority figure, we never chant the words. It feels very weird to be chanting rather than speaking. It feels like we’re in an opera–it’s theatrical.
We can’t even concentrate on the words of the prayer (and even less so when they’re in Latin). We’re thinking too hard about which note we move up or down to, and trying to make a pleasant tone that doesn’t sound nasal, and trying to maintain enough air to sustain the phrase. Like I said–theater.
Chants have an irregular melody and rhythm, so they feel like talking with the words draaaawwwwwnnnn waaaaayyyy ouooooout. Again, we never talk to anyone, including authority figures, like this, and it feels weird. And it’s not even pretty. It’s just a drone.
I don’t know what makes hymns different. To me, hymns are sung prayers, and the regular flowing melody and rhythm help us to express ourselves to God. And they’re easier to sing, and prettier.
But it’s probably because of our backgrounds in the Evangelical Protestant churches with the glorious and uplifting gospel music. We’re not saying that others shouldn’t do chant prayers and enjoy it. But we both agree that if the Masses we attend started chanting all the way through, we would look for a different Mass with songs and hymns.
After all, when we talk to each other, or to any authority figure, we never chant the words. It feels very weird to be chanting rather than speaking. It feels like we’re in an opera–it’s theatrical.
We can’t even concentrate on the words of the prayer (and even less so when they’re in Latin). We’re thinking too hard about which note we move up or down to, and trying to make a pleasant tone that doesn’t sound nasal, and trying to maintain enough air to sustain the phrase. Like I said–theater.
Chants have an irregular melody and rhythm, so they feel like talking with the words draaaawwwwwnnnn waaaaayyyy ouooooout. Again, we never talk to anyone, including authority figures, like this, and it feels weird. And it’s not even pretty. It’s just a drone.
I don’t know what makes hymns different. To me, hymns are sung prayers, and the regular flowing melody and rhythm help us to express ourselves to God. And they’re easier to sing, and prettier.
But it’s probably because of our backgrounds in the Evangelical Protestant churches with the glorious and uplifting gospel music. We’re not saying that others shouldn’t do chant prayers and enjoy it. But we both agree that if the Masses we attend started chanting all the way through, we would look for a different Mass with songs and hymns.
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liturgyluver
Guest
As you know Cat, I am a huge fans of hymns too and I am not a Catholic that yearns for either the propers or Latin. In fact, I dislike any type of mass that doesn’t unite the assembly into communal prayer and action. But I have found that chanting the Introductory dialogue, the Eucharistic Prayer responses at the Sursum Corda and the Our Father to a simple tone brings added dignity, unity and communality to Sunday mass. It is surprising how little there is to learn, how easy it is and how readily people join in.
I respect your position too, though, and am not suggesting in any way that all masses should be conducted in this way - I am strong believer that parishes should try and provide different masses to help congregations find their most appropriate way to participate and that different provision is appropriate to help achieve this.
I respect your position too, though, and am not suggesting in any way that all masses should be conducted in this way - I am strong believer that parishes should try and provide different masses to help congregations find their most appropriate way to participate and that different provision is appropriate to help achieve this.
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