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| Musical Musings: Miscellaneous | Page 2 |
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The Cantor and the Responsorial PsalmPart II: The Responsorial Psalm TodayWe see then that it is the cantor's duty to proclaim the Word of God through psalmody. The simplest method of performance is the use of the Gregorian psalm tones which are familiar to most of us. With a pointed text before him, the cantor can sing the response and all the verses of the psalm to this same melody. This method is most often used, however, with a freely-composed melodic refrain, the verses alone being sung to the psalm tone.There are numerous other methods of chanting the psalms which adds greater variety than these modal tones. Joseph Gelineau has written a set of several volumes in which the psalms are freely chanted to a recurring melody, supported by organ harmonies. The Episcopal Hymnal contains many formulas for Anglican chant, which is meant to be harmonized, as opposed to Gregorian psalmody which is monophonic (unison). There is a great store of freely-composed psalm settings, including many by CanticaNOVA Publications, which offer further artistic expression to the singing of psalms. Rev. Lucien Deiss in Spirit and Song of the New Liturgy states, "The restoration of the Responsorial Psalm is one of the most profound reforms undertaken by the new liturgy. It is important not only in the realm of singing, where it totally transforms the status of the Gregorian gradual and thereby revives its ancient and austere beauty, but also in the domain of God's Word, which it enriches with a new reading. The communities who have made serious effort with the Responsorial Psalm have been able to enjoy the psalms in a new light and have enriched their own faith by much new splendor. On the other hand, the congregation in which the lector links the Responsorial Psalm and the reading by running one into the other like two verses of the same poem has carried this psalm as a burden." |
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