Wandering in the Desert (part 3)
Common Misconceptions (cont.)
7 – The readings, Creed, and general intercessions should not be sung.
Concerning the general intercessions, the GIRM says: "The intentions are announced from the ambo or from another suitable place, by the deacon or by a cantor, a lector, or one of the lay faithful." (71)
Singing the readings and general intercessions can add great solemnity to the Eucharistic celebration.
Tones for the general intercessions are given in Appendix III of the present Sacramentary, along with tones for the celebrant's prayers and blessings.
The tones for the readings are not included, but they can be found in the Graduale Romanum.
[Note: CNP has 42 Gospel readings available for chanting in Book of Sung Gospels].
Of course if there are not sufficient musical resources to have these parts sung competently, it is better to speak them, for the singing is not merely for singing's sake but for the more effective proclamation of the text.
Regarding the Creed, the GIRM says "If it is sung, it is begun by the priest or, if this is appropriate, by a cantor or by the choir.
It is sung, however, either by all together or by the people alternating with the choir." (68)
Some have argued that the length of the Creed prohibits it from being sung congregationally.
Balderdash!
My parish sings the Creed once a month when a chant Ordinary is sung.
Teenagers have no problem memorizing hundreds of songs, and adults can do the same.
It is a question of will and not ability.
We sing and never recite the National Anthem; should we not sing the Creed, which is the Church's "national anthem," on Sundays and other festive celebrations?
8 – The Lamb of God is a litany that properly includes tropes.
There is simply no provision in the liturgical rules for any changes or insertions to the text of the Lamb of God, except for the option to repeat the petition as often as needed to cover the fraction rite.
If the GIRM as clarified by Redemptionis Sacramentum is followed, the triple invocation of the Lamb of God will provide ample time to fill ciboria, the chalices having been filled previously at the Offertory.
9 – The congregation must sing during Communion.
In describing the Communion chant, the GIRM says: "This is sung either by the choir alone or by the choir or cantor with the people." (87)
Despite the protestations of modernist liturgists, there is no requirement that there be congregational singing during Communion.
This insistence on congregational singing stems from an over-emphasis on the communal nature of the Eucharist, which many modernist liturgists define as an act of sharing and of table fellowship at the expense of its eschatological and sacrificial aspects, along with the total elimination of any notion of Eucharistic adoration during Mass.
The proper Communion chant along with an appropriate choral motet is the most practical method of providing music during Communion.
There is usually plenty of time after Communion for a hymn if congregational singing is desired during the Communion rite.
10 – The time before Mass and the time after Communion are ideal opportunities for the choir to sing by itself.
I like to call this "throwing a bone to the choir."
The choir has its own proper liturgical role.
It does not exist to "fill in the gaps."
The GIRM points out that "When the distribution of Communion is finished, as circumstances suggest, the priest and faithful spend some time praying privately.
If desired, a psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may also be sung by the entire congregation." (88)
It is clear that the song after Communion is to be sung by the congregation, not by the choir.
It is not a time for a "performance" by the choir.
Nor is it necessarily a time of meditation (one frequently hears mention of "the Meditation Song"), since a "psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn" may be sung.
11 – The most important congregational parts of the Mass are the hymns and songs.
But the GIRM says: "The acclamations and the responses of the faithful to the priest's greetings and prayers constitute that level of active participation that the gathered faithful are to contribute in every form of the Mass, so that the action of the entire community may be clearly expressed and fostered." (35)
In the choosing of the parts actually to be sung, however, preference should be given to those that are of greater importance and especially to those to be sung by the priest or the deacon or the lector, with the people responding, or by the priest and people together. (40)
The largely overlooked instruction Musicam sacram specifies the order in which congregational singing is to be introduced into the Mass.
It divides the sung parts into three degrees (See Musicam sacram 28-31).
The first degree includes those parts that always are to be sung and consists of the priest's greetings, the opening prayer, the Gospel dialogue and conclusion, the prayer over the gifts, the preface with its dialogue and the Sanctus, the Lord's Prayer with the invitation and embolism, the Pax Domini, the prayer after the Communion, and the final dismissal.
The second degree is comprised of the Kyrie, Gloria, Agnus Dei, Creed and the Prayer of the Faithful.
The third degree consists of the Entrance, Offertory and Communion songs, the psalm between the readings, the Gospel Alleluia, and the Scripture readings, "unless it seems more suitable to proclaim them without singing."
The second and third degrees may be used wholly or partially, but never without the first.
Notice how in usual practice the order is just the opposite!
So we see that there is no basis for any of these "rules."
The greatest antidote for our current musical ills is familiarity with the official instructions of the Church as found in her authoritative documents.
Yet there are bishops who do not uphold them, pastors who ignore them, and liturgists who contradict them.
As a result, we are destined to wander in the desert a bit longer.
Unacquainted with and uninterested in our past, yet unwilling to embrace a truly modern idiom, we recycle the same mediocre and unsatisfying fare.
There are bright spots here and there, in parishes willing to dedicate the time and resources to maintain first-rate music programs, but they hardly represent a trend.
Ah, where is the Moses who will lead us to the land of musical milk and honey?
Copyright © 2007, Adoremus.
All rights reserved.
Used by permission.
Anthony Corvaia, Jr. lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he has been actively involved in liturgy for more than 20 years.
During this time he has filled various roles, including parish liturgist, music coordinator and hymnographer.
He was commissioned to write a hymn text for the dedication of the new dome mosaic at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
His earlier contributions to the Adoremus Bulletin include "Signs and Wonders" (March 2005) and "In the Year of the Eucharist" (September 2005).
See also:
General Instruction on the Roman Missal
Graduale Romanum
Graduale simplex
Musicam sacram
Sacrosanctum concilium
|
Back to Part 2: Common Misconceptions