OCP-loving parish chant booklet?
  • hayleylily
    Posts: 4
    My family and I recently moved to the PNW from the Northeast and I am now the small, local parish's music director (Volunteer! what was I thinking?!). I am not wholly familiar with OCP and Breaking Bread as this was not my upbringing (I'm a college convert), but that is what the parish has been using for YEARS. The priest (with support from Archbishop Sample) is desiring to elevate the music in the parish and is hoping to incorporate more chant and the like. I love this, of course, but it's a hard swallow for many of the parishioners. It's a slow burn, I know, so I'll be continuing with their beloved Breaking Bread hymnal for another year, but in addition to it, I'd like to have a small booklet of chants (and the like) to use throughout the year...to start the broadening process of their musical palette. So far I've come across the "Laus Tibi, Christe" hymnlette (if that's a word) but I'd love to know of any others. Again, whatever it is needs to be very basic/beginner and not overwhelming for an OCP-loving parish. This is simply a first-step tool to begin introducing that aforementioned elevated music. Thank you!
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    There is Jubilate Deo, a Vatican publication. The currently available edition is probably a bit much to start. This thread - https://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/7448/jubilate-deo-editions-available/p1 has a content list near the beginning. May not be easy to get, here is a vatican source.
    Laus Tibi, Christe has the great advantage of being an OCP publication! And the "advantage" of guitar accompaniments, which may smooth its introduction.
    My CTS Missal, in England, has a section of parallel pages with basic sung Mass in Latin and English (not the same settings), do any people in your congregation use a similar missal, if so just bringing it to their attention might be a useful starting point. That Latin setting is available to print yourself in this pdf, if your singers are not familiar with it.
    [ADDED] I also see this which may be the 1974 Jubilate Deo booklet.
    [FURTHER] The copy from the link on this page shows the Jubilate Deo 1974, but not an elegant copy unfortunately.
  • Hayley,

    Wow them with the beauty of chant, sung prayerfully. Sing Ave Verum, or Anima Christi (both in PBoC), and make that normal first, because when you wean them from anthropocentric hymns at Communion, the rest is relatively easy.

    Host a workshop sometime, and call it something like "Treasures of music".
  • rich_enough
    Posts: 1,048
    The Jubilate Deo booklet is available from GIA along with an accompaniment edition.
  • I will second Jubilate Deo - which just happens to be a book of chant published at the behest of Paul VI, containing some basic chants which the holy father believed every Catholic should know.

    Also, there is Liber Cantualis, a Solesmes publication which may be had in the US from GIA and others. This book also has many very easy and brief chants, several ordinaries, hymns, antiphons (such as the Ave Maria, Ave Verum, and others), and very simple seasonal responsories.

    For very easy propers with which to grace your liturgy there is Adam Bartlett's Simple English Propers, available from the CMAA.

    Also, for some not very daunting plainchant hymnody, psalmody, etc. in both Latin and English there is Fr Anthony Ruff's Canticum novum: Gregorian Chant for Today's Choirs, which may be had from GIA. This is a quite nice book of mostly very simple chant which most anyone could learn in short order.

    For more advanced chant for you and/or your choir you should have at hand Graduale Romanum which contains the original chants for the propers throughout the year.

    For an English version of the same chants as in Graduale Romanum there is The Plainchant Gradual, (two volumes) which may be had from the CMAA.

    These last two books are definitely not congregational chant, but would be chant for you or your choir.

    Finally, for the psalter in English, there is St Dunstan's Plainsong Psalter, which is the entire psalter set to the eight Gregorian psalm tones. It may be had from the Lancelot Andrewes Press.

    Really finally is the Lumen Christi Hymnal (see it on the internet), which is the finest of all US Catholic hymnals. It contains not a speck of dross. It has about 200 conventional hymns set to fine melody, and another several hundred office hymns translated into English and set to historic plainchant melodies.

    If you do not use any or all of the above for your congregation or choir, or for current liturgical use I recommend acquiring them for your library and reference. There are many more chant books, but these would be fundamental.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen MarkB
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    MJO makes, indirectly, a very important point - chant is not just for Latin.
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,085
    This website has many of the standard, basic chants available to listen to, and you can also download the music in pdf format as single-sheets, which might be useful to you in your parish setting. Perhaps you don't want to overwhelm the choir and congregation with a whole booklet at once, instead introducing selected pieces one-by-one to build up a repertoire:
    http://gregorian-chant-hymns.com/hymns-2/

    Also, notice at that same website the menu bar options to build your own booklet and the pre-made Mass and benediction booklets you can download. The site is a tremendous resource for getting your toes wet in chant and introducing chant to a choir or congregation that hasn't had much exposure to it.

    I hope you and the pastor are able to do great things at your parish under Archbishop Sample's inspiration and support.
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    I would suggest also getting a copy of Fr Weber's recent collection in English - The Proper of the Mass for Sundays and Solemnities By: Fr. Samuel F. Weber O.S.B.. It gives four settings of each Entrance, Offertory, Communion, in different styles: complex/simple & based on Latin/English rhythmic patterns, and it gives psalm verses. It could be used to show people a variety of possible approaches.
    If you are truly a small church, do not overlook that there is an official corpus of chants for small churches - the Graduale Simplex, and there is at least one version available in English By Flowing Waters by Paul F Ford. And, just to repeat an obsession of mine: had we started with the casting of the Graduale Simplex into English, edited by John Ainslie before the 1969/70 missal was promulgated, we would have saved 50 years of grief (and grievous damage to the Church).
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  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 548
    Surprised this hasn’t come up yet.

    https://musicasacra.com/additional-publications/pbc/
    Thanked by 1ServiamScores
  • I regret that I forgot to mention By Flowing Waters, by Pau F.l Ford. It is indeed a highly commendale resource. and I second Mr Hawkins's commendation of it. Also, additional to Fr. Kelly's excellent work is that of Fr. Columba Kelly, whose numerous works adapting old chant, and in the composition of new chant may be had from St. Meinrad's Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana.
  • mmeladirectress
    Posts: 1,100
    Second CGZ's suggestions

    you may find that some of the existing parish has memory of the Gregorian Tantum Ergo and Ave Maria. And when you get as far as a Kyriale, memory of Mass VIII.

    in the meantime - if, with your priest's help, you can incorporate chant into the school music program in as many grades as possible,
    not only will the children sing out at Mass on something they know,
    but also they will be practicing it at home, introducing chant to their parents at same time.
    Best of all, you will have a rising generation with familiarity, and in time, the parish population will be far more accepting.
    This is a great opportunity! Let us know how it goes!!
    Thanked by 2Carol CHGiffen
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 783
    My advice may not be popular, but I just want to encourage you to move SLOWLY. Think of this like a 5-10 year project, NOT “let’s be singing the mass ordinary in Latin and all the propers by next year...”
  • toddevoss
    Posts: 162
    I looked at the OCP "chant" page and it reminded me there is always the ICEL chant mass. Also available on Youtube for the PIPS to get familiar with. And it would be a way to introduce the Jubilate Deo in part as the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei are taken from there and can be chanted in English or Latin (you could do both for a while which hopefully would show them the Latin is just as easy and also fits the chant more naturally). Perhaps a year later you could introduce the Jubilate Deo Gloria which is from Mass VIII. By the way, I am amazed that simple things to chant such as the bits after the readings aren't done as often (verbum domini; deo gratias). It was done at one parish I was in and you could easily join the chant after 2 masses. And these are also in English in the ICEL chant mass.
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,890
    I second Gamba's suggestion for the Parish Book of Chant. This is a small resource (only about as thick as a missalette) but still hardbound. The typesetting is impeccable as are the lovely interlinear translations for longer chants. Translations abound so no-one would be left behind.

    It is worth noting that sometimes it's difficult to throw square notation in front of people right away; that said, they CAN do it. When we decided to do a plainchant mass setting, I transcribed it into modern notation, however, for the people in the pews. (I know, things get lost in translation! but as a first exposure to "the masses" this seemed necessary and it doesn't keep me from cantoring from square notes.)

    Fr. Weber's propers are very palatable (Bartlett's Simple English Propers also, if a tad boring—but they are utilitarian and a great first step) and we have implemented them at the choir mass. Since my arrival last august, I now sing one of Fr. Weber's communion antiphon settings at every weekend mass (the nice thing is he gives options of varying difficulty, so in the case of my choir, I often pick option ii which is simpler since chant is still new to the choir) and we also sing the antiphon portion of the entrance antiphon at each choir mass as well (no verses). The response has been positive. If you email the publishers, they will cut you a deal when you buy in bulk, which helped us purchase 15 copies for the choir. Fr. Weber's propers are in English which really reduces any pushback from the choir or congregants. (I'll also add that for a while, I transcribed the chants into modern notation for my choir to start to learn the contours and nuances of singing chant before throwing squares at them. I've also started making weekly youtube videos à la: https://youtu.be/V8yAUDah7v0 to help my choir pick them up and have a resource for personal use outside of rehearsal.

    One advantage to this approach is everyone is acquiring a pallet for chant, which permits me to sing more florid (Latin) chant during feast days without much difficulty. Whenever we have longer latin chants (or Sequences such as this weekend) I provide a half-sheet worship aid with translations which also helps. One last thing: make sure you do incipits right from the get-go so that people understand the concept of the solo-intonation to start; that way it's less of a hassle when you go to teach the whole congregation something like Ave Regina Cælorum.
    Thanked by 1hilluminar
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,471
    make sure you do incipits right from the get-go so that people understand the concept of the solo-intonation to start
    Yes! chant is designed for unaccompanied singing. And another fundamental thing is the dialogues between priest and people, which musically makes the same point since the peoples response is usually the same tune, no need for the organ (which is not permitted to drown out accompany the priest).
    Thanked by 1hilluminar
  • francis
    Posts: 10,828
    that said, they CAN do it.
    YES... they CAN! Don't dumb it down. Only dummies need dumming down, and God doesn't make dummies... dummies are a human invention.
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  • francis
    Posts: 10,828
    I might add that I really like BMW...
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  • What’s wrong with OCP Breaking Bread? I encourage you to become familiar with it before discarding it. It is a beautiful collection of chants, classic Catholic hymns, hymns adopted and adapted from the Protestants, and beautiful contemporary compositions.

    I am the music director of a multicultural, small, older parish. There isn’t the talent to produce 4 part harmony nor can they read music. But they love to sing! We use OCP Breaking Bread because, in part, it conveniently contains all the readings and sequence for special Masses such as Easter Vigil.

    I was an altar boy before Vatican II. I have a deep and special affection for the TLM. As a result my tendency is toward the middle-to-classic side of hymnody. After the chaos of the 60’s and 70’s, I believe our contemporary catholic composers have produced beautiful and fabulous works. While the Catholics have borrowed a lot of traditional Anglican hymns, the Protestants have conversely adopted Catholic hymns. I love the blending and the resulting rich library of hymns at our disposal, much of which is included in Breaking Bread.

    For the Christmas Eve and Easter Vigil Masses, we sing the St. Basil Latin Mass. It is a legacy Mass setting for our church. It is melodic and beautifully composed with contrasting solo parts. The parishioners have become sufficiently familiar with it that they have no problem singing along with the handed out lyrics. And the solo parts make it that much less Latin for them to sing, but not enough to feel excluded and detached. Families have even requested that this Mass be sung at their beloved’s Reguiem.

    Breaking Bread contains the Entrance and Communion Antiphons. Many, if not most, parishes do not chant these antiphons as preferred by the General Instructions of the Roman Missal. At different times during the Liturgical calendar, I will chant the Communion Antiphon in the key of G minor. Then I will follow it with an organ solo drawing from our Church’s rich collection such as Mozart’s Ave Verum, Veni Creator Spiritus, Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo etc.

    CG-Z and MJO make excellent points. Blessings to all!
  • Breaking Bread also contains many hymns which are not suitable for use in the liturgy. It has also altered many of the beautiful hymn texts of the more traditional hymns. I would want to avoid that resource for those reasons, especially the former. At St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica, we have produced a hymnal, with the goal to preserve original texts where possible in order to get the most authentic reading of the theological poetry.
  • CO, you are fortunate to have the resources where you can produce your own hymnal. Most cathedral churches such as yours have paid full time directors of music and organists. Some even have paid assistant directors and assistant organists. In smaller parishes such as mine music is supported by unpaid volunteers. With full time careers we don’t have the additional time necessary to pursue the finer and more academic points. Moreover, our parish budgets are insufficient to produce a crafted weekly worship aid. Given our meager and limited circumstances, Breaking Bread is a blessing.
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,325
    @Bruddah_Mel -- If your parish is limited in its available funds, Breaking Bread is possibly the worst choice they could make. Your parish is purchasing new copies and paying for shipping every single year, rather than making a one-time purchase of a hard-bound hymnal and using it for 20+ years. It's wildly irresponsible in the long term to use Breaking Bread, if your goal is fiscal responsibility.
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,085
    OCP : Liturgical Music :: Easy Bake Oven : Cooking
  • Amen and amen to Irishtenor's keen insight.
    In the train of using periodical substitutes for actual hymnals are 1) profligate waste of money, and 2) insouciant waste of trees - which add up to very poor and irresponsible stewardship of treasure and natural resources.
  • To Jackson's point, why aren't our environmentally conscious bishops encouraging the purchase of, say, Missals which are on a one year cycle, and music aids which won't need to be replaced so quickly? And, while we're at it, pipe organs instead of simulacra (and un-necessary carpet and amplification systems?
  • janetgorbitzjanetgorbitz
    Posts: 968
    I was in a Breaking Bread parish for several years before my most recent move. Over the course of about 6 years, I gradually made changes in my sphere of influence (only one of 3 weekend Masses). While BB has a large number of hymns I would never schedule for use at a Mass, it also has a very large number of hymns that are not that bad.

    There are opportunities to begin gradually introducing the chants (that likely were never scheduled by your predecessor -- just my guess, of course) such as Ave Maria, Humbly, Lord (Adoro te), Creator of the Stars... (Creator, alme siderum), Of the Father's Love (Corde natus), Attende, Domine, Parce Domine, Pange lingua, Regina caeli, Veni Creator Spiritus, Ubi caritas, O Salutaris Hostia, Salve Regina, as well as the chant Mass ordinary from the Missal. And the fact that you can find these in their BB and in modern notation helps ease the transition. As well as these chants, there are many hymns that are very singable and have texts that are OK. Just skip scheduling the hymns that don't really suit.

    If you gradually start adding in the chanted Communion proper (perhaps in English first, then maybe later from the Graduale), start adding in some lovely motets (Heath Morber's English adapations are very nice)... before long you'll gain supporters and help to develop the parish's appreciation of beautiful chant and polyphony.
    Thanked by 1Ralph Bednarz
  • I'm in a similar situation. We are approaching our transition with a "hermeneutic of continuity", building from the selections available in Breaking Bread. My parish had a chant workshop using the Parish Book of Chant, but rather than use two books during mass, we have chosen to use the OCP Choral Praise book and insert the Laus, Tibi Christe pamphlet in the sleeve of back cover. This gives us the ability to work slowly adding harmonies on hymns we already know as well as start adding chant. We have chosen to use a formula where we stick with Breaking Bread material as much as possible with the exception of a second communion (meditation) hymn. I've attached a list of our selections for Corpus Christi.
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    Thanked by 1janetgorbitz