"Painted Chant": collection of chant adaptations
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    Composer Webster Young has announced a collection of chant adaptations set with English texts under the title "Painted Chant". It's interesting to see another composer set his hand to a project in this area.
    Here are two examples from the book; others are posted on the author's Facebook page about the volume.
    This chant is adapted from Kyrie XII (Graduale Romanum, p. 751):
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    This offertory chant is adapted from the propers for the vigil of St. John the Baptist: (Gloria et honore, Graduale Romanum, p. 434):
    image

    A couple of details in the samples make me wonder if the author is active as a church musician himself. One of the Mass settings in the book includes a chant melody set to the *former* Memorial Acclamation text "Christ has died, Christ is risen...", which was dropped from the English version of the Roman Missal about eight years ago.

    The composer seeks to contribute to the restoration of chant in Catholic parishes, and emphasizes the "word painting" in these chants in order to encourage appreciation for them.

    [UPDATE: After I wrote this, the author mentioned in an e-mail that he would be updating this work for the new English missal texts, and also preparing a French edition.]