Questions about Choral Psalm Settings (Holy Week, Easter Vigil)
  • denn333
    Posts: 11
    New member here. I lurked offline for a while, and I thought I'd finally be brave and sign up and post.

    This little website contains both scores and some professionally recorded mp3s of a bunch of my music an easy-to-view/listen format. I have a couple questions specifically about the Psalm settings, many of which are for Holy Week and Easter Vigil:

    a) Do the ICEL text changes make these unusable in Catholic churches now? Or is there still some leeway with psalm settings, especially when the choir is taking them on instead of the congregation?

    b) I live in NYC where there is enough money for some churches to have professional choirs that can handle the difficulty, but, around the rest of the country, are these outside the ability of some?

    c) What do all you all feel is the best avenue for publishing such music these days? I'm not seeking to become rich, that's for darn sure, but I spent years writing these and it would be nice to have them sung finally. Some of them have never been sung in a mass.
    Psalm31.pdf
    139K
    Psalm131.pdf
    160K
    Psalm130.pdf
    167K
    Psalm98.pdf
    191K
    Thanked by 3canadash CHGiffen chonak
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,164
    The Lectionary was not affected by the new Missal edition from ICEL, but it will be revised in a few years.

    Welcome to the forum!
    Thanked by 1canadash
  • vansensei
    Posts: 215
    Dennis, two things:

    A) Welcome to the forum!

    B) How do you know such fantastic basses? I'm hearing the recordings of your work and the power behind those low notes is incredible, I feel like I'm listening to Rachmaninoff in St. Basil's Cathedral. Wow.
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,499
    Welcome!

    Have you tried Canticanova press? It might be a place to start?
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,369
    Your work is outstanding!
    Send it to Oxford. Novello.....

    (These could be sung as anthems in Catholic liturgy, but could not replace any of the ritual text, such as the responsorial psalm or such.)
    Thanked by 2chonak canadash
  • ghmus7
    Posts: 1,472
    Very nice, welcome to the forum!
  • denn333
    Posts: 11
    Thanks for the welcomes. The two basses were friends of friends. I did do a little EQ on the mix, but those guys have some pretty special voices.

    I will check out Canticanova.press, which I have seen before but not really examined.

    I worry that Oxford and Novello won't be interested if the music cannot be used liturgically. I don't think random psalm settings are going to be demanded too much.

    M. Jackson Osborn — which aspect would you think prevents them for being used as ritual texts? In other words, if the psalm texts matched (let's say, theoretically, down to the right verses even), wouldn't they be appropriate for responsorial psalms?
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,369
    denn -
    It's not whether the translation is good or not, or whether it parallels approved texts, it's that for the liturgical use the text must be identical to the ritual text, so your work could not substitute for the responsorial psalm even if it were a better translation that the official one. The very ritual text must be used. Now, where we have room for non-approved texts is in anthems, hymns, even the propers, and such that are really extra-liturgical adornments. These, strictly speaking (except for the propers), are not ritual music but may be inserted into the rite at appropriate moments, say as an offertory or communion anthem.

    As for Oxford and Novello - they publish many anthems that may or may not be suitable for use as liturgical adornments, as additions to the ritual texts. I suggest that you look into some such outstanding publisher's. You work is good!
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