"Specifications" for singing the Psalms

[ricmat]

Lately I have been asked to fill in for our daily Mass reader, who is elderly and doesn’t always make it to Church. I’m trying to follow in her footsteps and sing, rather than recite the Psalms.

I’ve found a number of Psalm Tones in my book of Christian Prayer, but the particular tune that our regular reader uses isn’t in there, and besides that she claims not to have any particular musical training.

Are there any regulations or specifications for singing the psalms?

Obviously, you want the response to be memorable and easy for the congregation to sing, and the main body to be mostly a monotone except to match up with the particular psalm cadence e.g. as shown in the Tones shown in Christian Prayer.

But other than that, is it pretty much free-form? Anything else I should know?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[happyseppy]

I cantor at our church and as far as tunes go, if I am understanding you, you mean the responsorial psalms? For Sunday masses, there is a book with music for those and the gospel acclimations. (Alleluia) Ours goes with our missal, and is given to the organist and singers. Much like the lectionary workbook for the lectors.

We do not have printed music for our daily masses, and usually the reader just speaks the responsorial. Occasionally we will chant the alleluia, or even the priest will. My husband and I have in occasion “matched up” music from the Sunday response music to a daily one, for special occasions, or at a priests request.

If I were you, I would first check with your priest, and if he wants to retain this practice of chanting the weekday responses, maybe he would give you the “Sunday” book, and you can borrow some of the melodies from that.

Hope this is of some help.

Peace,

Kelly

 

[ricmat]

I cantor at our church and as far as tunes go, if I am understanding you, you mean the responsorial psalms? For Sunday masses, there is a book with music for those and the gospel acclimations. (Alleluia) Ours goes with our missal, and is given to the organist and singers. Much like the lectionary workbook for the lectors.

We do not have printed music for our daily masses, and usually the reader just speaks the responsorial. Occasionally we will chant the alleluia, or even the priest will. My husband and I have in occasion “matched up” music from the Sunday response music to a daily one, for special occasions, or at a priests request.

If I were you, I would first check with your priest, and if he wants to retain this practice of chanting the weekday responses, maybe he would give you the “Sunday” book, and you can borrow some of the melodies from that.

Hope this is of some help.

Peace,

Kelly

Thanks for your response. The Sunday melodies are normally done with musical accompaniment and/or full choir. They don’t sound all that great when done with a single voice.

Is there some resource meant specifically for the daily Psalms?

 

[puzzleannie]

or you could ask someone to teach you the basic chant modes for the response, speak the verses, and show you how to determine which mode to use for each response, and learn a few of the seasonal ones by heart. If that is more than you bargained for or feel good about, just recite the psalms.

 

[ricmat]

or you could ask someone to teach you the basic chant modes for the response, speak the verses, and show you how to determine which mode to use for each response, and learn a few of the seasonal ones by heart. If that is more than you bargained for or feel good about, just recite the psalms.

There is no “someone” to ask. The daily mass group is sort of self contained, and an all volunteer elite strike force. It’s basically up to me what to do, I just don’t want to do less than the previous reader, but I don’t want to screw it up.

I’ll figure it out