Don9of11

Choir doesn't like singing often
I think Jeffrey Quick is getting at exactly what I was trying to say. Singing every week is not necessarily the problem. In many parishes, the issue is whether every week becomes a new project. Last year at St. Mary's we cycled through roughly…

Comment by Don9of11 October 2 permalink
Choir doesn't like singing often
Having read some of these replies, I can only offer the following: At St. Mary's, we sang every Sunday and rehearsed every week, but we weren't constantly learning new music. Each choir member had binders for Ordinary Time, Christmas, and …

Comment by Don9of11 September 30 permalink
Choir doesn't like singing often
@novusgordo I don't disagree that a parish should ideally have a regular sung principal Mass. My concern is how a parish gets there and sustains it over decades. In my nearly fifty years of choral service, I've found that the challenge i…

Comment by Don9of11 September 29 permalink
Choir doesn't like singing often
I have been monitoring this discussion because it has similar issues to what I am facing at my own parish. I think this discussion may be focusing almost exclusively on commitment while overlooking repertoire, formation, and pastoral leadership. …

Comment by Don9of11 September 29 permalink
How to download embedded files with the original filename?
That's definitely an annoying quirk with how the forum handles attachments. Since the platform generates those random strings on download, I usually just let it save to my Downloads folder and do a quick rename there before moving it to my fina…

Comment by Don9of11 September 24 permalink
Hymn text: "O Queen of Sorrows, Weeping Rose"
@ Anna_Bendiksen I hope you don't mind, but I'm always looking for opportunities to test the hymn evaluation framework I've been developing through A Parish Inheritance. I recently ran O Queen of Sorrows, Weeping Rose through the fra…

Comment by Don9of11 September 14 permalink
Looking for Louis Jacquemin — Accompagnements nouveaux et très faciles du Chant des Offices, 2e part
@NellieSantee I have a small collection of French hymnbooks that I probably will never use. They date from 1896-1966 and some I paid a modest fee, others were given to me. If you have any interest in my collection contact me. 1966 Liturgie des DeF…

Comment by Don9of11 September 11 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
I came across a very interesting website that may help illustrate how my hymn lyrics closely mirror the scriptural texts, Lectionary readings, and proper antiphons. From what I can tell, the material on this site corresponds closely to The Collecti…

Comment by Don9of11 September 9 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
So after various interations, I have decided that the Prayer over the Offerings belongs to the priest and should not be sung by the congregation and the antiphons (I tried incorporating the Entrance and Communion antiphons) really don't provide…

Comment by Don9of11 September 2 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
@unknownadversary, interesting choices. For my own hymn texts, I tend to set a pretty high bar for fidelity to the source. I'd rather stay as close as possible to the liturgical text than introduce new narrative details, imagery, or theological…

Comment by Don9of11 September 1 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
I have been working on adding a Offertory/Communion verse. It doesn't ryhme like the other verses but I don't know if it matters. The inspiration of the text comes from the Prayer over the Offerings and the Communion Antiphon. Verse 4 (Of…

Comment by Don9of11 August 31 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
I have composed hymns for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Easter, and now I am into Ordinary Time. Ordinary time is divided into three sections of which I have the first section done.

Comment by Don9of11 August 27 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
@liampmcdonough Thank you, Liam. I appreciate both suggestions, especially the thought of making the “chosen daughter” theme more explicit. One reason I need to be careful about revisions, however, is that I deliberately constructed this hymn from …

Comment by Don9of11 August 27 permalink
New hymn for Advent - Chosen Daughter of Israel
@StPatrick That would be wonderful. I composed this hymn because I felt there was a need for new Advent hymnody. In fact, I have two other Advent hymns that I would like to share. One is for the Visitation, “Shout for Joy, O Daughter Zion,” set to …

Comment by Don9of11 August 27 permalink
Resources for Easy, English Choral Music?
I would recommend you check out Sacred Music Library if you haven't already.

Comment by Don9of11 August 24 permalink
“For the Sake of the Children”: How Far Should We Adapt the Music of the Mass?
I have been following this post with some interest and I will offer my thoughts. I think some of this discussion focuses too much on musical forms and tastes when the deeper issue is formation through the Church's liturgical inheritance. As …

Comment by Don9of11 August 24 permalink
Leo XIV General Audience 19 August 2026
I found Pope Leo XIV's catechesis on Sacrosanctum Concilium encouraging, particularly his emphasis on sacred music as part of the liturgical action, active participation, and the preservation of the Church's musical heritage. One thought …

Comment by Don9of11 August 20 permalink
Different levels of participation in different Masses
@Abbysmum, I stepped away from the choir after nearly 50 years of choral service and I can count on one hand how many people are singing in the congregation. I think there is a good reason for this at least in my parish. The parish repertoire is lar…

Comment by Don9of11 August 19 permalink
Song books, missals, or hymnals suitable to Catholic schools
There is a collection of hymns albiet an older collection compiled by Msgr. James B. Curry (1856-1932). Monsignor Curry was one of the outstanding priests of the New York Archdiocese. His hymn book "The Catholic's Choral" a collection…

Comment by Don9of11 August 15 permalink
Trying to find a middle ground...
@ServiamScores and @SponsaChristi, I think you're both raising an important historical point: we shouldn't project modern Sunday Mass practices back onto the 4th century. Ambrose's hymns, and Ephrem's Madrashe, were not original…

Comment by Don9of11 July 31 permalink
Novus Ordo in Latin: Does anyone have a handy booklet ready?
Years ago at St. Mary's in Akron, Ohio (1977-2005) celebrated NO in Latin on the last Sunday of the Month, but only at one mass, 10am on Sunday which is when the choir sang. In the beginning we used a booklet which contains Latin on one side an…

Comment by Don9of11 July 31 permalink
Richard Keys Biggs
I looked through my music library Biggs and all I have are two of his mass settings. Mass in Honor of St. Anthony & Mass in Honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola You might check with forum member oldhymns.

Comment by Don9of11 July 30 permalink
Trying to find a middle ground...
To build a bit more on why protecting our hymnody matters: historically, hymns are not a modern innovation; they actually predate Gregorian chant by several centuries. Figures like St. Ambrose of Milan introduced metrical hymnody in the 4th century …

Comment by Don9of11 July 30 permalink
Trying to find a middle ground...
I have been following this conversation with much interest. Earlier, I suggested my A Parish Inheritance: Hymnological Study. In Appendix A, Understanding Chant, Antiphons, and Hymns, I discuss this topic at some length. My conclusion is that the re…

Comment by Don9of11 July 30 permalink
Recommendations for online organ tips
I would check out the SACRED MUSIC LIBRARY they offer alot of resources for pianist transitioning to organ.

Comment by Don9of11 July 28 permalink
Trying to find a middle ground...
@JBuckCC If it might be of any encouragement or practical help to you as you plan your transition, I recently published a detailed case study documenting my own parish's musical renewal and transition: A Parish Inheritance - A Hymnological Stu…

Comment by Don9of11 July 28 permalink
which version of the psalms?
@DrJS, The confusion stems from the fact that there are currently two approved texts for the Responsorial Psalm in the US. Your parishioner is looking at the New American Bible (NAB) translation found on the USCCB website and in the physical Lecti…

Comment by Don9of11 July 24 permalink
Best/Favorite English or Latin choral pieces from the "English" tradition: Go!
There were a number of choral pieces both English and Latin thatSt. Mary's Choir in Akron, Ohio would sing. I was a choir member for 50 years. I don't know if they will interest you but I thought I would share. Ordinary Time Ave Maris Ste…

Comment by Don9of11 July 23 permalink
ADVICE NEEDED: Struggling to pick music for children's school masses this year
Welcome to the forum, JBuckCC! and congratulations on the baby, and kudos for approaching your vocation as a sacred musician with such zeal and thoughtfulness. Wanting to move away from horizontal, entertainment-focused music and toward authentic sa…

Comment by Don9of11 July 22 permalink
Singers leaving parish NO choir to join parish TLM choir
Thanks for the kind words, @Abbysmum! The reason this topic is so top-of-mind for me is that I’ve been examining it through my fifty years of choral service across two parishes—mostly at St. Mary's in Akron, Ohio—and through a local hymnologic…

Comment by Don9of11 July 22 permalink

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Username: Don9of11
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