Society of Saint Gregory

Our family switched from Sunday morning to Saturday evening due to rugby and cricket. After a while I was asked to set up a music group at the vigil, we play fortnightly, and a while later to lead the singing when the group isn't playing. One thing that I have ensured, whether the group is playing o...

Even in my naïve, folky youth I couldn't abide "Colours of day" and another that sends shudders down my spine is "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" - I can still remember the parish choir singing such trivial lyrics as though it were the finest poetry. Thank goodness t...

I've noticed that as well, High Peak. If I ask people, they say they like to have musicians playing. Musical accompaniment is certainly expected for major celebrations like Christmas. But I seem to hear more singing if there aren't any musicians. I wonder, is there any research on this? From your c...

Are the congregation more likely to participate with or without organ accompaniment - isn't that the real issue? If I thought more people would sing unaccompanied, then I wouldn't use the organ - at any time of the year. My group plays alternate weeks at the Vigil. When the group isn't playing I le...

alan29 wrote:.........That sort of thing reminds me of the sing-along at the end of the Good Old Days .... "All together now ......"
And it makes him/her too much the centre of attention.

My feeling exactly.

In our parishes we can, indeed, be short of skilled, willing volunteers and many of us will have had to have multi-tasked. But I can't imagine that that was the situation for a Papal Mass! I really don't think it looked good; wrong combination of ministries.

I was very uncomfortable with one person taking the both the ministry of cantor AND the ministry of animator. I just didn't look right with her singing the Missal Kyrie and then conducting the congregation for their part.

For the last week of our sojourn we have been at the south of the peninsula in the second city of Malaysia, Johor Bahru, where we attended the Vigil Mass at the Cathedral, a building that may kindly be described as utilitarian. Built in 1982 it is a building devoid of imagination or aesthetics, but ...

Apologies. Typing out these posts on a smartphone invites errors. It was, of course, during the Communion Procession that the Communion Antiphon and Psalm were sung.

Moderator:- feel free to amend!!

Ah! Here we deal with a touchy subject!! The word "Malay" refers to members of the indigenous race; and by the law of the land a Malay HAS to be Muslim and may NOT "apostasize". A citizen of the country is a Malaysian. So, membership of the Christian community is made up of India...

We are still in Malaysia but, this time, we went to Mass in a different parish; a much more populous parish and located just in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The music group is far more established without the recent disruption of the previous parish; plus, the greater numbers in the parish cannot ...

I must confess that, many years ago, I produced an overhead slide for assembly with the words for a hymn. What I actually put up was, "You shall cross the barren dessert,"

More telling was that I was the ONLY member of staff that spotted the mistake!!!!

Our parish also "knocks off" for the summer, ostensibly to give the likes of me a break. However, even parts of the Mass aren't sung, which is not good. I am presently in Malaysia visiting family. Mass over here is always a bit of a culture shock. In the local parish the music group is rec...

For those who fear what sort of musical diet is provided by music groups with guitar(s), allow me to illustrate what is possible: At full strength we have two or three guitars, three flutes and a mandolin, as well as up to a dozen singers. For the 12 Sunday of Ordinary Time we had the following:- # ...

Oops - posted in wrong thread.