The music in the missal

[TypesAndShadows]

Where does the music in the missal (the chants for some of the parts of the Mass) come from? How old is it?

Also, do any of the ‘minister’ parts need to be intoned by the priest, or can a deacon sing all of those?

Thanks for your help

 

[liturgyluver]

Where does the music in the missal (the chants for some of the parts of the Mass) come from? How old is it?

Also, do any of the ‘minister’ parts need to be intoned by the priest, or can a deacon sing all of those?

Thanks for your help

Hello there. There are many musical settings of the mass, but I assume you are referring to the chant settings that are currently being used in the misselettes in the UK? If that’s the case then these are new and were devised by the Liturgy Committee as part of the launch of the new translation. There is an emphasis on trying to ensure, in the absence of sung masses with musical settings, that as much as possible is chanted accoding to the new setting. In practice, as ever, this varies from parish to parish: some have embraced the chants wholehertedly; others are starting to use more musical settings of the mass; and a few are still just saying the words.

 

[TypesAndShadows]

Hello there. There are many musical settings of the mass, but I assume you are referring to the chant settings that are currently being used in the misselettes in the UK? If that’s the case then these are new and were devised by the Liturgy Committee as part of the launch of the new translation. There is an emphasis on trying to ensure, in the absence of sung masses with musical settings, that as much as possible is chanted accoding to the new setting. In practice, as ever, this varies from parish to parish: some have embraced the chants wholehertedly; others are starting to use more musical settings of the mass; and a few are still just saying the words.

I don’t think we can be talking about the same ones: I don’t think I’ve ever had a missalette. I mean the standard chants that everyone knows some bits of, which were used before the new translation as well as now. So, when a priest sings the “Through him, with him, in him” (or, as it is now, “Through him and with him and in him”) to this tune, everyone knows how to join in with the “Amen”. They’re written in my new Order of the Mass, and I know some of them used to be in my old missal. All that’s changed is what was necessary to fit the new words, and it’s written with the Latin words too (I got an Order of the Mass with both).

Oh wait, we do use missalettes in Holy Week, and those old 1976 missalettes had these chants in too.

I recently visited a parish that used much more of it than I’d heard used before, and they used it under the old translation too. Previously, I’d only heard little bits of it from visiting priests, but I know it must be at least decades old. I was just wondering if it was original to the Ordinary Form of the Mass, or if it was older (or adapted from older chants).

For example, the Liturgy Office says “The music is based on the Church’s tradition of Gregorian chant” liturgyoffice.org.uk/Missal/Music/Chants/index.shtml but it doesn’t give more detail than that. ICEL has the written music adapted to the new wording available freely icelweb.org/musicfolder/openmusic.php but doesn’t comment on where it came from. I think the accompaniments may be new.

 

[Chatter163]

There are various sources of music for the Mass. You seem to be speaking as if certain sung parts are sung the same everywhere, which is not the case. For example, you mentioned the Great Amen, at the end of “Through Him, etc.” Off the top of my head, I know of at least six different settings for the priest and people to this. The chanted version comes from the missal itself, while others come from the various Mass settings (Danish Mass, Mass of Creation, etc.). The new missal contains a chant setting, just as the old one did, but there will be others that come as part of professionally composed settings, just as they did before.

 

[TypesAndShadows]

There are various sources of music for the Mass. You seem to be speaking as if certain sung parts are sung the same everywhere, which is not the case. For example, you mentioned the Great Amen, at the end of “Through Him, etc.” Off the top of my head, I know of at least six different settings for the priest and people to this. The chanted version comes from the missal itself, while others come from the various Mass settings (Danish Mass, Mass of Creation, etc.). The new missal contains a chant setting, just as the old one did, but there will be others that come as part of professionally composed settings, just as they did before.

Yes, I thought I was clear that I was asking about the chants that are actually in the missal. I know that there are lots of other settings (we use several different settings), een lots of other chant settings for the Mass (we occasionally use the Missa de Angelis) but I am asking about the ones in the missal. Were they newly created ‘based on Gregorian chant’ when the Ordinary Form was written, or were they adapted from specific older chants, or are they continued use of older chants? They are not new to this new translation, and they must be at least decades old because the firat time I heard a visiting priest chant some of the bits as they are written in the missal (about 15 years ago), the whole congregation joined in with the response confidently without anything in their hands.

And I’m also asking, assuming a fairly knowledgable reader, whether there are any ‘minister’ parts in the chants (as seen at the links I gave) which must be sung by the priest, rather than a deacon. I’m not sure how to go about finding this out myself. I assume GIRM must be involved somehow?

 

[Chatter163]

Yes, I thought I was clear that I was asking about the chants that are actually in the missal. I know that there are lots of other settings (we use several different settings), een lots of other chant settings for the Mass (we occasionally use the Missa de Angelis) but I am asking about the ones in the missal. Were they newly created ‘based on Gregorian chant’ when the Ordinary Form was written, or were they adapted from specific older chants, or are they continued use of older chants? They are not new to this new translation, and they must be at least decades old because the firat time I heard a visiting priest chant some of the bits as they are written in the missal (about 15 years ago), the whole congregation joined in with the response confidently without anything in their hands.

And I’m also asking, assuming a fairly knowledgable reader, whether there are any ‘minister’ parts in the chants (as seen at the links I gave) which must be sung by the priest, rather than a deacon. I’m not sure how to go about finding this out myself. I assume GIRM must be involved somehow?

Most of these chants are just English-language versions of the original Latin chants. Most of these were previously in the EF and continued in the OF–there is not a huge amount of difference, musically speaking, between the Latin texts of the EF and OF, though in a few instances very minor modifications had to be made in the OF, to adjust wording. The missal contains a “standard” version of the chant, and sometimes several alternates in the appendix. The* Graduale* includes several other chant settings.

As for the Mass, the missal clearly specifies which parts are sung by the priest and deacon. This is done at that part in the Mass. “The priest says…” “The deacon, if one is present, otherwise the priest, says…”

 

[kinderbueno]

adoremus.org/VoluntatiObsequens.html

adoremus.org/JubilateDeo.html

Greetings!

I’m assuming you’re talking about at least the “ordinary” chants of the Mass (e.g. Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei). The links I’ve provided reference both a letter sent by Pope Paul VI which was sent to the bishops regarding a “minimum” chant repertoire to uphold the tradition of chant in the Ordinary Form and a list of those chants.

The new ICEL settings actually are more faithful to this repertoire – which are selected from many of the original chant Masses of chant antiquity. In fact, the Gloria for this Missa Jubilate Deo of Paul VI is taken from Mass VIII, better known as the Missa de Angelis.

The repertoire also includes some chant hymns like the Salve Regina, Veni Creator, and Adoro Te Devote which should be familiar.

I hope that helps!

Pax,
-Mike

AMDG