Prayers of the Faithful
  • joan@careys.com
    Posts: 25
    Can you all stand another question from poor ignorant Joan?

    For the First Friday Novus Ordo Masses at our diocesan chapel (I won't say "in Latin" anymore, Frogman Jones!), we are incorporating more chant, and Monsignor would like the Prayers of the Faithful to be cantored in English, followed by the "ut nos exaudire digneris" and "te rogamus, audi nos" as in the Parish Book of Chant p. 9.

    After reading the wonderful tutorials on chanting Gospels & Epistles, I wonder if there are similar guidelines for chanting Prayers of the Faithful. I usually just stay on one note and go up or down a little bit when the text seems to call for it and it "feels right," :P but since joining this group I realize now I'm probably doing it (and so many other things!) wrong.

    Thanks,

    Joan
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    The Prayer of the Faithful is pretty much free-form, so what you're doing now is fine.

    If you want a model to follow, the 1999 edition of Iubilate Deo has four verbal formulas, each with its own melodic formula:
    1) ..., Dominum deprecemur. Te rogamus, audi nos.
    2) ..., adiuvare digneris. Kyrie, eleison.
    3) ..., Dominum oremus. Christe, audi nos.
    4) ..., Dominum oremus. Domine, miserere.

    The first one uses a drop of a third at the flex:
    image
    (I put in the sample English petition.)
  • Ioannes Andreades
    Posts: 310
    There is a book "De oratione communi seu fidelium" from the Vatican, and I wonder if it would have any help. I don't seem to be able to locate a copy of it. Anyone know if this could be helpful. I also don't know why the "ut nos" would be put before the "exaudire digneris". Such subjunctive don't need to be subordinated.
  • smvanroodesmvanroode
    Posts: 967
    The Graduale Simplex (451-453) and the Ordo Cantus Missae (no. 504 bis) both have eight melodic formulas, only differing in the acclamation of formula B (the Simplex here has 'Te rogamus audi nos' while the Ordo has 'Kyrie eleison'). They are also, in English, in By Flowing Waters (no. 637-644). Judging from the texts and the example given by chonak, the four formulas in Jubilate Deo seem to be identical to the first four formulas of the Ordo.

    I just wonder: how does the priest sing the invitation to pray and the concluding prayer? Are there any melodic formulas for these, fitting the eight formulas for the petitions and short acclamations?
  • joan@careys.com
    Posts: 25
    Thank you! Chonak, what does the open punctum mean? I've seen it before, but it doesn't seem to be listed in neume charts such as the one in the back of PBC. It looks like a marker for free-flow chant of many syllables on the same pitch, but that wouldn't fit its appearance on the "good deed" flex in your example.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    Well, now I realize that I didn't pick a very suitable sample text.

    The pattern in the example in Iubilate Deo has no sample text, and it ends on "do-la-la", The "do" note has a stress mark above the staff, indicating an accented syllable. Then it descends to "la" for the one or two unaccented syllables that follow.

    In Latin, that covers all the possibilities, but in English, it's possible that the last accented syllable has no unaccented syllables following it.

    The text above illustrates the problem; it has accents on "ev-ery good deed".

    So you could (a) make up a rule to handle that case, or (b) write the text of any petitions to avoid ending on an accented syllable! I recommend the latter. :-)
  • joan@careys.com
    Posts: 25
    Ahhhh... thank you! Very interesting!
  • dvalerio
    Posts: 341
    > what does the open punctum mean?

    It can be either (in your words)

    > a marker for free-flow chant of many syllables on the same pitch

    or a note that may be needed or not.

    In other words, it fits any number of notes (n=0, 1, 2, 3...) on the same pitch.
  • joan@careys.com
    Posts: 25
    Thanks, dvalerio!
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