My plainsong settings of the chants of the modern Roman Rite are now complete and available for free PDF download at Lulu.com. I appreciate any and all feedback.
Volume 1: Chants between the Readings Volume 2: Entrance, Communion and Ritual Antiphons (RM2011), and Offertory Chants (RM1964)
Thanks to Richard's seamless generosity, I've used these settings for two years in my parish. They are beautiful and practical in every way. There's no better resource available for singing the Mass Propers in English.
From a cursory look-over, this seems an eminently practical collection! A nice companion to Bruce Ford’s for situations that either demand fidelity to approved texts or have different musical needs than what Ford’s collection satisfies.
Question for Richard Rice: Your Mass of St. Theodore is very nice. Why, though, does it have a 9-fold Kyrie? Background: I'm just starting to work with a small parish that wants me to lead them in an upgrade of the music for the Novus Ordo Mass. For the last decade I've led the choir at my own parish that sings the EF Mass--all Latin. Looking in various resources for a chant-type English ordinary, I had happily settled on proposing your Mass of St. Theodore to introduce in this new parish. But when I showed it to them today, the organist immediately noticed the 9-fold Kyrie. That's not in accordance with the rubrics of the OF Mass, is it?
In any event, it has always been permissible, within reason, to use occasional textual repeats for musical purposes. David Hurd did this for his Music for Celebration, 1979, with each "three-fold" petition being repeated. The same could certainly be done with mine, if you need the effect of call and response. I do wonder at the hyper-rubricism that would make an offense out of an extra iteration of "Lord have mercy."
Thank you for your response, Richard. I have been working with the EF for the last 9 years, and am just starting to learn about the musical ins and outs of the OF Mass. It's a wonderful opportunity for me now to be asked to lead a small parish that wants to improve their music towards the rich musical treasury that all of you CMAA folks have opened up.
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