Incantu - with all due respect, there is not a lot of teaching involved here. This is easy stuff.

Mark, I think that you should go ahead with your plan. These are easy to learn settings in ENGLISH (English is easy for English speakers) and are a step toward solemnity. Did I mention that they are all easy to learn? Congregations pick them up in a month or two. Easily. No Latin, no language issue. It's just English. Big deal.Why suffer through the Mass of Creation one more time (Not that you're doing that, Mark, just as an example) if the new translations aren't going to be out for two or three more years? Please. If we wait around for the new translations then we have to have even MORE new settings and then those have to be learned and we'll just be prolonging the agony. Do something now. Now is the time.

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Ok, its late at night and I'm a bit edgy. Said "easy" one too many times at least. But my comments are well intended and sincere.

Ok, less stormy this morning. Slept a little. Your advice is good, incantu. Lets assume, however, that he pastor and congregation is REALLY slow about moving into any Latin at all. Doing one English setting for two years without change can be deadly dull, and does nothing to mark the change in liturgical seasons. Even if there were some beginnings in Latin, I'd hate to hear the death Mass all year long. Why not a more beautiful or exuberant English setting for Christmas? Or Easter? Again, we could be talking years. And when the new translations arrive, the transition will be successful in a few weeks. I'm convinced.

As for the Kyrie, well, that won't change. So Mark is good to go there. And the Latin Gloria? Gloria XV is probably the easiest for a congregation to learn, but it's hard to get there if the congregation doesn't have its collective mouth wrapped around the basic Latin of the Agnus and Sanctus. Which usually means the death Mass.

The Pater Noster and Credo should be sung, but these are long and take a longer time to learn.

Prayers in most parishes are spoken. That might be a simple place to start, but it isn't a priority as far as what the congregation is expected to sing.

BTW, for the first time in a long time, we did the death Mass for All Souls. Haven't done it for a long time, but it worked well within that context. But given a choice and barring the use of one of the other beautiful and mysterious Gregorian settings, I'd still rather here an English setting on normal weeks or during festive seasons.

The Propers are another can of worms entirely. There is a progression of options here. First, since we all start with the sandwich, do some decent hymns. Not that folksy, rock and roll stuff, obviously. Make sure they are singable, musically and theologically sound. Then you can add an English Introit (from the Anglican Use Gradual). These work well and send the signal that you don't always have to have your face in a missalette or sing some diddy to make Mass begin. Secondly (this is interchangable with the intro of the Introit,) have the Sschola sing the Communio. Then add a Latin Introit. The Offertory can come in time. These are often difficult and you are pretty lucky if you have enough rehearsal time with your schola to actually learn them and learn them well. If they're not done well, they're not going to convince anyone of their beauty and liturgical function.

The Alleluia and the Gradual? Well, my sense is that these will probably never again see the light of day in the OF. We're pretty much stuck with the RP, at least for now. Yes, there are remedies for these, and you are right that that is a good opportunity for change.

Hi mjb

Didn't really mean to turn it into a tutorial or be preachy. But glad if it helps someone. Congregational re-education is a big thing. You are absolutely correct. I applaud any pastor who has the good sense to say something, learn something himself, print something in the bulletin, or hire a music director who takes the right steps.

But if that doesn't happen, and it isn't happening everywhere yet, all we as musicians can do is call on our artist souls to craft something beautiful and worthy of the the Mass and forget the big picture during rehearsal and for those few minutes during the Mass. Doesn't matter if it is English or Latin, not really. Not in that moment. One response, one proper, one part of the ordinary, whatever. It must be musically sound, prayerful, and excruciatingly beautiful. It can be like the tiniest diamond in the crown of a king. The tiniest of all, but the most lovingly chosen, the most precisely cut. If our efforts are truly worthy of the Mass, I sincerely believe the Holy Spirit will move the hearts and minds of those in the congregation. In time. Maybe in lots of time. Lots. Grace at work.

But there I go again!!!!! Someone tell me to be quiet. Can't help but remaining impassioned about all of this after all of these years. Nothing matters more.

The Sanctus from Missa XIII: Stelliferi conditor orbis. It is a good alternative and not hard to sing. Performance note: steady rhythm makes all the difference. Since it explores the the FULL range of Mode VIII and more, it may come across as all over the map to the novice listener and would be singer. Don't be dogmatic about the pulse, but really let it energize things; let it be the heartbeat that allows the melody to dip and sway and rise to new heights.

From the Cantus Ad Libidum in the Graduale Romanum: Agnus Dei II. Very easy to sing and repetitive. So that is good for a congregation. They learn this in a snap. Be careful, however, after singing the Agnus Dei, that the rest of the phrase flows with a nice legato all the way through to the end of the miserere nobis, or in the case of the last verse, the dona nobis pacem. If you attempt a break after the word mundi with its colon, the chant can start sounding punchy and silly. Especially when everyone knows it well and starts singing carelessly.

Arlene,

I love how you refer to Mass XVIII as "the death Mass" rather than "Mass for the Dead." While I appreciate the fact that the Sanctus and Agnus were chosen for the Jubilate Deo composite because they are short and easy to sing, it does always strike me as odd to sing it throughout the year. Of course, at every Mass we do remember the souls that have gone to their rest. And besides, if a congregation is only singing one Mass in Latin, they probably don't associate the different Masses with the different seasons and feasts to which they have traditionally belonged (and, in many cases, a fairly recent tradition at that). But I do have to start expanding our Latin repertoire, hopefully to include a Gloria at least during Eastertide, and a different Sanctus and Agnus for Sundays in Ordinary Time. It's going to be a big step to get my chant Mass people to sing anything but Jubilate Deo, and your suggestions will provide a good place to start.

Arlene, thanks again for your recommendations. I certainly never would have thought of that Sactus or that Agnus Dei, but I looked them up and sang through them… quite learnable indeed.

I would welcome others' suggestions! (Or more of Arlene's!)

For an English Mass, I highly recommend the Marier - English Chant Mass. Very easy and quite nice. The music is available in the Adoremus hymnal.