Singing the "Our Father"

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slewi

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So, our Haugen/Hass loving music director started something new recently, and I was taken by surprise.

So here’s what happens: right before the communion rite begins we have father saying “Let us pray with confidence in the words our savior gave us”. Well, the music begins right before he says this, and continues under, like a musical score from a movie…then we sing the “Our Father”, which sounds like a Burt Bacharach tune, by the way.

Then father says his bit, “Deliver us Lord…” again with the music not so softly underscoring his words.

Then the music swells to a fantastic crescendo as we sing “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen! Aaaammmeeennnnnnnnnn!”

Now this last part is the worst of all as it seem we are making "For the kingdom…"etc into it’s own little prayer, or worse, it sounds, with it’s added “Amens” as if it is the true end of the “Our Father”, which we know is not the case.

Should I bring this up to my priest, who doesn’t like to rock the boat with this type of thing? What is the justification for bringing it up in the first place? Other than I don’t like it…there has to be something…It just all seems very protestant to me…😦
 
Gee we occasionally sing/chant it, with NO music. That started when our newest priest came on board, he was trained in Rome. My wife doesn’t like doing that I think she really would not like your mass
 
hilde_the_dog said:
Gee we occasionally sing/chant it, with NO music. That started when our newest priest came on board, he was trained in Rome. My wife doesn’t like doing that I think she really would not like your mass
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Plenty of Masses have been and are chanted or sung in their entirety or near entirety … nothing wrong with it at all.
 
The Lord’s Prayer is so named because He gave it to us explicitly. Christ didn’t say “Let’s all hold hands and sing”. Niether should we. The Lord’s Prayer should be “hands off”.
 
LilyM said:
Plenty of Masses have been and are chanted or sung in their entirety or near entirety … nothing wrong with it at all.
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Based upon what slewi described, “which sounds like a Burt Bacharach tune”, it doesn’t sound like chant to me.

I’d just recite the Lord’s prayer during the singing, but not too loud as to disrupt the rest of the sheep.
 
tmw said:
Based upon what slewi described, “which sounds like a Burt Bacharach tune”, it doesn’t sound like chant to me.

I’d just recite the Lord’s prayer during the singing, but not too loud as to disrupt the rest of the sheep.
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You clearly aren’t old enough to remember the rockin’ version of the Our Father made a worldwide Top 5 hit in 1974 by an Australian nun, Sister Janet Mead.

Obviously some of us still hold a soft spot for it in our hearts :whistle:
 
In the Divine Liturgy (Mass) of the Byzantine Catholic Church, the Lord’s Prayer has always been chanted as opposed to recited.

…then again, in the BC DL everything is chanted by the congregation as opposed to recited (with the single exception being the Prayer before Holy Communion, which is recited aloud by the congregation).

Sidebar: Speaking of the Prayer before Holy Communion, it is, IMHO, the single most humbling and awe-inspiring way to prepare oneself for the Sacred Mystery you are about to receive. I recite it to myself even prior to receiving Our Lord in a Roman Catholic Mass, where this prayer is not the norm. At the risk of hijacking (please allow me to apologize in advance), I feel compelled to share it with my Latin brethren:

O Lord, I believe and profess that You are truly Christ,
The Son of the Living God,
Who came into the world to save sinners,
Of whom I am the first.

Accept me this day as a partaker of your Mystical Supper, O Son of God;
For I will not reveal Your Mystery to Your enemies,
Nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas.
But, like the thief, I confess to You:

Remember me, O Lord, when You shall come into Your kingdom;
Remember me, O Master, when you shall come into Your kingdom;
Remember me, O Holy One, when You shall come into Your kingdom.

May the partaking of Your Holy Mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment or condemnation,
But for the healing of my soul and body.

O Lord, I also believe and profess
That this which I am about to receive Is truly Your most precious Body and life-giving Blood.
And I pray: Make me worthy to receive,
For the remission of all my sins
And for life everlasting. Amen.

O God, be merciful to me, a sinner,
O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me;
*O Lord, forgive me, for I have sinned without number. *

Thank you for allowing me to share this meaningful and sincere prayer with you. For me, it truly sums up the state of mind one should be in prior to approaching the Sacred Cup for the Greatest Gift that we, as meager, unworthy humans, have been blessed with by our Lord and Creator.
 
Color me confused :confused: Is there a specific objection in the OP?

tee
 
slewi said:
So, our Haugen/Hass loving music director started something new recently, and I was taken by surprise.

So here’s what happens: right before the communion rite begins we have father saying “Let us pray with confidence in the words our savior gave us”. Well, the music begins right before he says this, and continues under, like a musical score from a movie…then we sing the “Our Father”, which sounds like a Burt Bacharach tune, by the way.

ah ha! sounds like someone likes the OCP music.

Then father says his bit, “Deliver us Lord…” again with the music not so softly underscoring his words.

Then the music swells to a fantastic crescendo as we sing “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen! Aaaammmeeennnnnnnnnn!”

Now this last part is the worst of all as it seem we are making "For the kingdom…"etc into it’s own little prayer, or worse, it sounds, with it’s added “Amens” as if it is the true end of the “Our Father”, which we know is not the case.

Should I bring this up to my priest, who doesn’t like to rock the boat with this type of thing? What is the justification for bringing it up in the first place? Other than I don’t like it…there has to be something…It just all seems very protestant to me…😦
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b_justb said:
Yep - He doesn’t like the Burt Bacharach flavor of the Lord’s Prayer at mass. And the holding hands part he finds iffy as well.
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Other things being equal, the former is a matter of taste.

The latter: I don’t see any mention of holding hands?

De gustibus non est disputandum,
tee
 
Okey dokey. I didn’t say anything about holding hands. What I was trying to get across is that the music sucks, and in the particular setting we use, it seems as if the “For the Kingdom, the power…” etc. is part of the Our Father, since the music never stops, and we also sing “For the Power, the Glory…”

Is there anything written anywhere against such a thing?
 
Other than it’s hokey and tasteless I know of no writing against it.

CDL
 
GregoryPalamas said:
Other than it’s hokey…
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You put your whole heart in, you take your whole heart out, you put your whole heart in and you shake it all about; hold hands ring round the rosey, “hey dad”, everybody shout; what is this all about?
 
slewi said:
Okey dokey. I didn’t say anything about holding hands. What I was trying to get across is that the music sucks, and in the particular setting we use, it seems as if the “For the Kingdom, the power…” etc. is part of the Our Father, since the music never stops, and we also sing “For the Power, the Glory…”
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As has been previously noted, most if not the entirety of the Mass may be chanted – I don’t see this sort of thing as too far a stretch from that. (And if this is the first time you’ve encountered this style of setting, all I can say is “wow”)

As for the quality of the music, the only thing I think you might hope for would be if enough people complained about it (yourself incuded, of course).

GRIM #41 (in part, and with emphasis added):
  1. All other things being equal, Gregorian chant holds pride of place because it is proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other types of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful.
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:twocents:
tee
 
I don’t think it’s wise to put our most sacred Christian prayer to a stylized music. It should be either chant or recited. That’s my opinion. I really dislike Burt Bacharach type music at church. Chant is different, it’s not the same as regular music, it has a more neutral droning quality that is timeless.
 
I’ve never heard it chanted, but the Sunday evening mass the Newman students have sings it. I absolutely hate singing it and avoid that mass if at all possible.
 
St_John said:
I don’t think it’s wise to put our most sacred Christian prayer to a stylized music. It should be either chant or recited. That’s my opinion. I really dislike Burt Bacharach type music at church. Chant is different, it’s not the same as regular music, it has a more neutral droning quality that is timeless.
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I bet that is what Catholics were saying when the Lord’s Prayer was first chanted.

Peace

Tim
 
At my old church we sang/chanted the Gloria, Santus,and the Lords Pray. I think it was great and I miss it.You didn’t need a great voice to participate.
My new church the cantor is so overwhemling that it ends up as a solo.
 
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