EF High Mass Music Checklist for Priest
  • Suggestions appreciated. Is there anything you would add or re-word? This is not intended to cover every possible extraordinary circumstance, just the normal Sunday or holy day sung Mass. "Organist" and "choirmaster" here simply indicate functions, not necessarily two different persons.

    HIGH MASS MUSIC CHECKLIST

    Date __________________

    Mass Proper for _____________________________________

    Commemoration? _____________________________________ none ___

    Celebrant: Fr. X. ___ Fr. Y. ___ other (please specify): _____________________________________

    Deacon: none ___ Fr. X. ___ Fr. Y. ___ other (please specify): _____________________________________

    Prelude music? yes ___ no ___ at organist's discretion ___

    Procession: from front door ___ from side aisle ___ simple entrance from sacristy ___

    Processional music: organ solo ___ hymn ___ introit ___ none ___ at choirmaster's discretion ___

    Anything out of the ordinary before Mass, e.g. a blessing? yes (please specify): _____________________________________ no ___

    Sprinkling Rite: Asperges ___ Vidi aquam ___ none ___

    Incense? yes ___ no ___ maybe ___

    Pitch/Intro for Gloria? yes ___ no ___ n/a ___ at organist's discretion ___

    Tone for Prayers: major (festal or simple) ___ minor (solemn) ___

    Sung Gradual, Alleluia, etc.: full ___ abbreviated ___ at choirmaster's discretion ___

    Pitch/Intro for Credo? yes ___ no ___ n/a ___ at organist's discretion ___

    Dismissal (Ite) from Mass _______

    Pitch/Intro for Dismissal? yes ___ no ___ at organist's discretion ___

    Accompaniment for priest/deacon? yes ___ no ___ at organist's discretion ___

    Music during Last Gospel? yes ___ no ___ at organist's discretion ___

    Anything out of the ordinary after Mass, e.g. Benediction? yes (please specify): _____________________________________ no ___

    Recessional music: organ solo ___ hymn ___ none ___ at choirmaster's discretion ___
    Thanked by 1Jes
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    Most of the time in the 1962 missal there are no commemorations if Mass is sung. But, that is up to you to follow or not. E.g. the 1939 ordo has one this Sunday and also the last, but both are suppressed in 1962. Often commemorations are at Lauds only or only in the office if Mass is sung.

    Unless by “High Mass” you mean the more correct English usage in reference to a Solemn High Mass (vs. a Missa Cantata you don’t need a spot for a deacon, but if you might have Solemn Mass, then adding a spot for the subdeacon might be a good idea. You won’t have to give him pitches, but you need to be on the same page with all 3 ministers such as when they need to move for the Gospel and the music during the Last Gospel.

    For the orations, usually it's festal, ferial (which in the context of Mass is recto tono), and solemn.

    You ought to put a spot for other at the Gradual/Alleluia/Tract/Sequence. Fauxbordon and Anglican chant might be used here for the first of the three.

    You might wish to put which Mass Ordinary you are singing and which incipit you will give if it’s polyphonic.

    Not everywhere follows straight 1962 on the dismissal (if there is no Gloria the dismissal is “Benedicamus Domino”) and even then with 1962, the dismissal is not always “Ite,” (Requiem Masses and Corpus Christi) you might want a note about that.

    My parish usually has no music during the Last Gospel, but the Marian antiphon is usually sung in place before the organ recessional (in seasons with the organ), or on occasion, a hymn is sung.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    subdeacon?
    Thanked by 1Jahaza
  • Bless your heart for being (or trying to be) so organized. Unless he's a micro-manager, I would think he would expect the organist to handle many of these details; thus, I would have items 6, 8, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21 filled out before handing it to him. Maybe I'm just used to a rotating schedule of rent-a-priests who run in the door at the last minute to say their 3rd Mass of the day and can't be bothered with a litany of questions. I could see this being useful to leave for a substitute organist.
  • Ben,

    He stipulated High Mass, so subdeacon isn't necessary on his checklist.

    Cheers,

    Chris
  • So there are no commemorations at Sung Masses? I seem to recall them in the past when, for example, an apostle's feast fell on a Sunday of higher rank. I suppose it's irrelevant to music planning anyway.

    High Mass around here can mean a Missa cantata, Missa solemnis, or even pontifical - basically, any non-Low Mass. I included spots for celebrant and deacon to have a sense of what abnormalities to expect ;) Subdeacon doesn't require a pitch or do any versicle-response type chants, so he's more or less irrelevant for music planning purposes.

    The ti-do Amen isn't customary here, so the responses are the same for the festal and ferial/simple tones.

    I usually give an intro for Gloria IV or VIII just to keep it simple for the priests, even if we sing another Gregorian Mass.

    I think I could reduce the form down to the most essential things in just three questions:

    Procession: from front door ___ from side aisle ___ simple entrance from sacristy ___

    Anything out of the ordinary before Mass, e.g. a blessing? yes (please specify): _____________________________________ no ___

    Anything out of the ordinary after Mass, e.g. Benediction? yes (please specify): _____________________________________ no ___

    Maybe I'll put those in bold! In any case, it's something the pastor could usually fill out in just a couple minutes.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    It mentions deacon though
    Thanked by 1Jahaza
  • WiesOrganista, I have heard of these non-micro-manager priests but have not yet been blessed to work for one (apart from substitute work). I'm told they really do exist!
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    I'm not saying it wouldn't be ever needed, but in my experience, it might be a little overkill.

    If there's nothing special or changing, the proper would simply be that of the Sunday, and likewise, the asperges/vidi isn't an option, it just is whatever it is for the season, or not done at all on a weekday.

    Likewise with the procession, I just play from the bell to the steps, no matter where they go.

    Incense could be a useful question if that changes, though in our area, we rarely have a high Mass that doesn't include incense, so it's not even a question.ail t

    Etc, etc

    At least in my case, a text/email/quick convo to the MC once per season was enough, or any time we changed the ordinary (for intonations). He would occasionally check in, but there was never any need for more than that. I would, however, let him know (for timing reasons) if we didn't use the normal gregorian propers.

    Just my 2c and personal experience.
    Thanked by 2madorganist CCooze
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    Ben, at my place, we do the Introit as the procession, so there is no sprinkling.

    I still think you as the organist need to have the subdeacon’s name written down. But, that’s just me... I don’t like having conversations three times over as an MC.

    Ben, if it’s a sung Mass but with no ceremonies (i.e., Low Mass) it is worth noting or if it isn’t used but acolytes are, same thing.
  • In the EF, the sprinkling rite is done only before the principal (parochial) Mass on Sunday. There are sometimes situations where a Sung Mass on a Sunday isn't necessarily the parochial Mass, but these are exceptional, e.g. more than one Sung Mass on the same day, shared EF/OF parish with a Solemn OF Mass.
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    In the EF, the sprinkling rite is done only before the principal (parochial) Mass on Sunday. There are sometimes situations where a Sung Mass on a Sunday isn't necessarily the parochial Mass, but these are exceptional, e.g. more than one Sung Mass on the same day, shared EF/OF parish with a Solemn OF Mass.


    Though even in that case, it would probably be the same week to week in any given timeslot, hence, avoiding the need to specify on a sheet.
    Thanked by 1CCooze
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    just the normal Sunday or holy day sung Mass.

    This sounds like a Missa Cantata to me, and not a [Solemn] High Mass. Therefore, I'm not sure why deacon/subdeacon need to be listed.

    Not everywhere follows straight 1962 on the dismissal (if there is no Gloria the dismissal is “Benedicamus Domino”) and even then with 1962, the dismissal is not always “Ite,” (Requiem Masses and Corpus Christi) you might want a note about that.


    No matter how many times and which priests I've asked about this, the answer has come back as "Benedicamus Domino" is not the proper dismissal for normal Sundays (Advent, Septuagesima-Holy Saturday) that don't have the Gloria.

    these are exceptional, e.g. more than one Sung Mass on the same day, shared EF/OF parish with a Solemn OF Mass.


    Nowadays it seems most parishes that offer the TLM are EF/OF shared, or they're FSSP/SSPX.
    One of the OF is usually the principal Mass at these churches, but that doesn't mean that the EF doesn't get its due. If it's a missa cantata, then either there will (in most cases) always or never be the sprinkling rite, and this doesn't vary. But I think simply knowing whether or not each priest that celebrates the EF plans on doing it is all you need - because, as previously stated, you don't get to pick and choose which sprinkling rite to do, just whether or not to do it.
    Thanked by 3Ben CHGiffen dad29
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    CCooze, well, they’re wrong about the pre-’62 practice... :P
    Thanked by 1CCooze
  • CCoozeCCooze
    Posts: 1,259
    Right. If we were worried about pre-'62 practices, I suppose the BD would be used with slightly more regularity. I re-ask each Advent/Lent just to see, but as far as I can tell the BD will pretty much only be used if there is a procession of sorts (such as on Holy Thursday) immediately following the Mass.
  • quilisma
    Posts: 136
    Got to the end of a Solemn Mass for the Purification of the Blessed Virgin yesterday evening and found that the poor deacon did not know how to sing Ite, missa est of Mass IX. There was an awkward silence; the organist played the melody a few times, but it just wasn't going to happen. Neither the priest (who definitely knew it) nor the sub-deacon (not so sure if he knew it) jumped in to help and neither did the 6 or so clergy who were assisting in choir. (In fact, I think one of them was Mgr Gilles Wach, Prior General of the ICKSP). I guess that the rubrics of the TLM prevented them from doing so.
    Your checklist may have come in useful in this instance...
    Thanked by 1madorganist
  • Note to self -- doesn't need to be on checklist for wide circulation:

    Did I let the clerics know what Ordinary we're singing, and give them the chance to go over the incipits with me?
  • dad29
    Posts: 2,228
    if there is no Gloria the dismissal is “Benedicamus Domino”


    Not true. Pp. John XXIII promulgated a reform effective 1/1/61 which eliminated the "Benedicamus" EXCEPT for Masses followed by a procession and the Mass on Holy Thursday.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen chonak CCooze
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    Dad29, before jumping on me, please go back and read the digression. I was saying what happens when 1962 is not followed. At first I may have been a bit unclead ht the later comments clarified, I think. Some places ignore that part of the rubrics. So, the organist needs to be aware.

    Yep, only the deacon sings the Ite. And yep, one needs to double check. Once, an ICRSS canon charged me with getting the incipit (he had just come into town the night before) and we wound up doing Mass VIII, because I knew the organist already knew that. It was that or the simplest one (with more time I would have suggested the one my pastor uses: it is one that doesn’t match a Kyrie...sorry, don’t remember off the top of my head which one!).

    But where was the Mass? Not to harp on the poor deacon...
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,765
    Not true. Pp. John XXIII promulgated a reform effective 1/1/61 which eliminated the "Benedicamus" EXCEPT for Masses followed by a procession and the Mass on Holy Thursday.


    Not everyone follows the 1962 rubrics... We have around 8 different Altar Missals and not a single one was published after 1955, so our daily EF Mass does not usually follow 1962.
  • dad29
    Posts: 2,228
    matthew: didn't mean to 'jump on you.'

    I don't believe that priests (or anyone else) can fiddle with the liturgy. Had that problem with an ICRSS priest here, whose 'improvements' to the Mass (and the calendar) were frequent and significant.

    (This deviation problem includes the "3rd Confiteor" violations which are beloved at St John Cantius, by the way. Those guys are terrific, but....)

    Tomjaw, the 1962 MR is available for purchase. Maybe some benefactor could cough up the money?
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    The ICRSS has never followed strict 1962, ever. They have their own ordo to that effect.

    Until the late ’90s and esp. after the motu proprio, English trads never followed the 1962 missal, and especially not the 1967 form given in the indult.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,765
    @Dad29 As a layman I can follow any office and it's calendar, I can also swap calendars and office if I choose. I am not bound to say the Office so the rules do not apply to me. I prefer to live according to the Roman Rite c.1934.

    I will also note that there appears to be a lack of resources to celebrate the 1962 Divine Office and Missale I am referring to the lack of local supplements, we in England & Wales have easy access, but across Europe...

    Can you enlighten us to the Rubric or Instruction that suppressed the 3rd Confiteor, omission is not suppression.

    The newly typeset 1962 MR is partially my work, I gave my copy away. I really don't see why we need to follow the 1962 Rubrics and Calendar, It is up to the priest and our priests usually follow pre-1955.
    N.B. The new 1962 MR is of course made up to fit the rubrics c. December 1962 with the revision of the Good Friday prayer, and is not identical to any book published during 1962.

    What would Pope Francis do?

    @MatthewRoth I believe the FSSP in England are now following 1962 using the newly typeset 1962 MR, I don't know what they do about the calendar but presume they are following the LMS ordo, which is lets say made up to fit what it 'should' have been at one stage. The changes came so think and fast that no single book managed to keep up. A friend is the compiler of the Ordo.

    I suspect that at least 50% of the Masses in England and Wales are following 1962 now... with most of the others following a mix of elements c.1934-1962.

    Of course a trip to Europe will find plenty of EF Masses following Rubrics c.1964 and later.
  • The Confiteor before the people's Communion seems to be quite common, but there's no uniformity of practice within the SSPX or FSSP. Supposedly, the PCED has issued conflicting responses on the subject. SJC always uses it, but I don't know (or care!) what their rationale is for including the pre-1962 practice. Similarly, I've heard that some ICRSS priests follow the older practice at Solemn Mass of the celebrant reading the epistle and gospel at the altar while they are chanted by the ministers. The epistle at Sung Mass is another case in point. Some priests read it in a low voice while the schola starts the gradual. SJC only stopped doing this a few years ago. It can be read (recited) at a Sung Mass, but since Pius XII it's supposed to be in a voice audible to the congregation. A handful of older priests like organ music DURING the Consecration, also a pre-Pius XII practice. A lot of priests also retain the Palm Sunday ceremony of knocking on the church door with the processional cross, which is not part of the reformed Holy Week rites.

    I'm inclined to consider all these matters as legitimate variations reflecting historic practice within living memory rather than abuses. Of course there are right and wrong way of doing things, but in many places, the Pius XII or John XXIII reforms were never implemented for whatever reason, and it might be reasonable to continue the older custom. Rome doesn't seem to care, and I doubt most bishops do either. As tomjaw said, the 1964 rubrics can also be encountered. Clear Creek is a good example in the US. The celebrant at High Mass doesn't recite anything sung by the choir, waits until they've finished the Sanctus and Benedictus before continuing the Canon, and chants the final blessing. These practices aren't my personal preference, but I was truly impressed with how reverently the liturgy is celebrated there.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • MatthewRoth, maybe the Mass XV dimissal, which is also proper for XVI-XVIII and ad libitum in omnibus Missis in quibus cantatur Ite, missa est sine Alleluia? Do re fa fa mi re mi
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,218
    Clear Creek and the other French traditional monasteries are, however, all strict 1962 in Low Masses. They also have had permission since the 1980s to do these things, though I'm not sure about the texts not being doubled and the singing of the blessing (would have to go back and find the letter). Plus, they insist that it is a modified 1962 missal, not a 1965 Ordo Missae.

    No, the canon specifically said not to use that one. My pastor does one of the more ornate ones on Sundays when it's appropriate (I imagine he will switch for Lent).

    One project that needs to happen is the recording of the ferial preface, the ferial Pater Noster, and the various settings of the Ite and the Benedicamus Domino.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,063
    Too many options....