The Processional

[quaeritor]

A selective approach within the texts of the antiphons themselves is needed. For example - Third Sunday of Lent:

The sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for her young:
by your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house,
for ever singing your praise.

No one in an assembly, on the move in a Communion Procession, is going to commit all that text to memory and sing it whilst approaching the sacrament

How true! - those who selected the texts seem to have lost sight of the objective. Many years ago, happily unhindered by any knowledge of what I was supposed to be doing I lit upon that rather beautiful text (in its "old" form of course) and wrote a rather sugary mini-motet for solo voice and organ obligato. Where ignorance is bliss . . . . !

Subsequently, having in the interim failed to persuade the assembly to sing anything at all while processing, I fell back to writing simple choral settings of the Antiphons in the missal before discovering that they too were "wrong". Now I am hoping to write simple responses accessible to the processing assembly (which will doubtless turn out to be "formulaic" but I hope not "boring") with interesting verses for the choir - which is where I came in several posts ago. All I need now (!) is the texts of the verses.

(As an aside, those who chose the texts of the Gospel Acclamations also lost sight of their objective from time to time, notably with that for the recently celebrated feast of Mary the Mother of God;

"At various times in the past, and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, He has spoken to us through his Son."

. . which is more of a lecture than an acclamation! )

Q

[docmattc]

A question that keeps coming back is whether Psallite renders it unnecessary to set the Processional.

I don't think that a collection which sets antiphon texts should prevent anyone else setting the same texts. Psallite, like all such collections, is a curate's egg.
Composers should not feel the need to set the entire Processional- a daunting task. It is a very useful resource to find individual texts to set. I'm sure this is more what John had in mind.

[Nick Baty]

The last time I tried to comment on this issue, I was told

Nick – please think clearly before you write.

But here I am again writing without thinking.

there is considerable relief that the use of the latest version of the Grail Psalter, known as version 4, is being administered on a somewhat freer basis. However, that version is not yet approved for liturgical use in E&W, and there are some considerable reservations about it.

Now, is that all liturgical use or just use within the Liturgy of the Word? If you want to publish a set of responsorial psalms, GIA will not give you clearance unless your collection is approved by the relevant territorial authority. If it’s a setting of a psalm for some other use, they will.

As John has pointed out, GIA is much more approachable than HarperCollins. So what if one goes to GIA for permission to use a psalm in which not a word has been altered from the old Grail? It’s an authorised translation but GIA can now issue clearance.

And if only authorised translations can be used, must we now say goodbye to All People that on earth do dwell, The Lord’s my shepherd and Eagles’s wings? As far as I know, they don’t appear in a collection " . . approved by the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales".

And what if a publisher produces settings of Grail IV for the Anglican/Methodist market and Catholic parishes start using them? The only thing that could stop this is if a bishop banned them in his diocese. But, this is highly unlikely or, as Peter Jones has pointed out:

If you are of the opinion that Bishops can truly do this, I suggest you are straying towards the boundary of that fantasy land where cuckoos flit, with great charm, betwixt and between the dark, menacing cumulonimbi.

By the way, I didn't think bishops could do that, Peter.

[Peter Jones]

........I suggest I am straying towards the boundary of that fantasy land too, in thinking that people will suddenly change to singing antiphons / psalms during the Communion Procession. As has been noted by several posters, this is not something easily achieved and not something immediately understood.

[Nick Baty]

No, they won't change suddenly – after all, we've been trying for more than 40 years. But in our own small community, there are stirrings. We shouldn't give up yet.

[Peter Jones]

And if only authorised translations can be used, must we now say goodbye to All People that on earth do dwell, The Lord’s my shepherd and Eagles’s wings? As far as I know, they don’t appear in a collection " . . approved by the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales".

A canonist might argue that they need not appear by name in any such collection, for they have attained customary use... (Eagle's wings - is that 30 years of age yet?)

Must get back to the topic - I suppose that Eagle's Wings is a good example of a lengthy antiphon that is memorable and easily assimilated, so that singing in procession without a worship aid is possible. Could Joncas' style teach us anything about setting some of the Processional texts? (Keep calm NT. You are entitled to answer in the negative. )

[Nick Baty]

Tunes that move, that go somewhere, are more easily memorable than those which hang around one or two notes. (Whether or not Eagles wings should be memorable is, of course, a different debate! )

[Peter Jones]

It is also possible to leave people to contemplation as they prepare to make their communion, by having the choir sing the Proper provided by the Church for that purpose.

See GIRM 87, lest anyone think NT has made this up. Choir alone is a legitimate option.
It's CTM - 95 - that leans heavily on the cantor/choir//assembly forms of music.

[quaeritor]

It is also possible to leave people to contemplation as they prepare to make their communion, by having the choir sing the Proper provided by the Church for that purpose.

See GIRM 87, lest anyone think NT has made this up. Choir alone is a legitimate option.
It's CTM - 95 - that leans heavily on the cantor/choir//assembly forms of music.

I thought I was taking advantage of that easement when I started setting Communion antiphons for the choir. I resisted the many pointed reminders of GIRM 86 (" . . to express the communicants union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices . . " only to be blindsided by another Catch 22 - the text of the Communion antiphon in the Missal (the only one readily available in English) is not to be used for singing.

(Incidentally, I've wondered for a long time why the Bishops and Archbishops of E and W, having wrestled for years to try to get an accepted translation of the GIRM that said what they wished it had said finally produced it with a matching volume which says in effect "this is what we really meant". - but that's probably way too far off topic.)

Exit, muttering into beard.

Q

[NorthernTenor]

Could Joncas' style teach us anything about setting some of the Processional texts? (Keep calm NT. You are entitled to answer in the negative. )

On the contrary, Fr. It's an excellent object lesson.

[NorthernTenor]

The last time I tried to comment on this issue, I was told

Nick – please think clearly before you write.

But here I am again writing without thinking.

there is considerable relief that the use of the latest version of the Grail Psalter, known as version 4, is being administered on a somewhat freer basis. However, that version is not yet approved for liturgical use in E&W, and there are some considerable reservations about it.

Now, is that all liturgical use or just use within the Liturgy of the Word? If you want to publish a set of responsorial psalms, GIA will not give you clearance unless your collection is approved by the relevant territorial authority. If it’s a setting of a psalm for some other use, they will.

Indeed. And as we don't have an official, exclusive translation of the Propers and their antiphons, we are free to use those that combine some kind of authorisation with a poetic sense, such as New Grail (which has received a recognitio from the Congregation for Divine Worship) or the 1966 RSV-CE.

That is, of course, when we wish to use the vernacular. Otherwise, there's a lot to be said for the Graduale Romanum.

[Peter Jones]

Otherwise, there's a lot to be said for the Graduale Romanum.

But not in this thread NT We're immersed in the vernacular with John's Processional.

[Peter Jones]

On the contrary, Fr. It's an excellent object lesson.

I thought you might possibly prefer the Processional text NT (First Sunday of Lent) - nothing beats a good basilisk

The Lord will overshadow you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find hope:
* his truth will surround you with its shield.
1. He will say to the Lord, ‘You are my fortress’.
You will not fear the terror of the night
or the arrow that flies by day.
* His truth will surround you with its shield.
2. For you he will command his angels to guard you,
lest you should dash your foot against a stone.
* His truth will surround you with its shield.
3. You will tread on the asp and the basilisk,
and trample on the lion and the dragon.
Because he hoped in me, I will save him.
* His truth will surround you with its shield.

(Intrigued now - how did Coverdale translate this?)

12. They shall bear thee in their hands : that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone.
13. Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder : the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him : I will set him up, because he hath known my Name.
15. He shall call upon me, and I will hear him : yea, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and bring him to honour.
16. With long life will I satisfy him : and shew him my salvation.

Disappointing - C minus. A plus for basilisk and John Ainslie

[quaeritor]

Oh-Oh! - there's another one coming up this Sunday (texts too long to remember on your way to Communion, as Highlighted by Peter Jones too far back in the thread for the "Quote" facility to work)

Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men for he satisfies the thirsty soul and the hungry he fills with good things

Not perhaps as long as Peter's original example, but long enough to fail, and it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. But help is at hand - the text from the Graduale as given in the Processional is not only apposite, but succinct and falling into a natural singable rhythm, and best of all it is also unarguably correct - first choice in fact - and they can't touch you for it!

I will go to the altar of God,
the God who gives joy to my youth.

Gold star to John Ainslie.

Praise the Lord and pass the manuscript paper.

Q

[John Ainslie]

To clarify one or two points:

1) I made the point about Grail 1 (1963) v. Grail 4 in answer to the question as to why I didn't print the psalm verse texts. Nick Baty is right in that any psalm translations or versions may be used with processional antiphons, and are preferable to many hymn texts to be found in our hymnals. The composer will hopefully choose the best texts and versions thereof for the liturgical requirement.

2) I chose to use the verse references from the unpublished ICEL Antiphonal for these reasons:
a) In the case of the Entrance Antiphon, they are usually verses of the same psalm that used to provide the psalm verse of the Introit, so they are based on sound tradition. But that psalm verse was usually, by default, the first verse of the psalm, just to indicate which psalm should be used. Often the first verse was not the most relevant for the antiphon text or liturgical occasion, but was invariably the only verse sung. The Antiphonal improved on that by proposing carefully selected verses, not necessarily the first, from the apposite psalm.
b) A good deal of research and study had gone into the selection of verses. It seemed a pity to discard it. I felt that making use of it would be a deserved tribute to the scholars who spent much effort on it, only to have it never acknowledged.

3) I endorse the view that the texts should be used freely as a resource. By all means excerpt sentences or phrases as may best fulfil their purpose.