Try to go for a publisher or self-publish?
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,044
    Would it be possible to set a Credo...for 3 voices with the chant melody being prominent within the piece?


    If they were already singing the Credo, and the chant part was what they were singing, that SHOULD work, but I don't know if it's been field-tested. My CMAA commission involved chorus and organ, with the Missal chants verbatim in the top voice (so the same or similar concept), but I haven't yet heard singability reports from parishes (It worked for the Colloquium, but that's hardly representative of a parish). The question is: would the other part confuse people?
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,721
    I can't think of a single composed Mass I'd want to hear week after week; even Mass XI gets old.
    Missa Regiæ by Henri duMont makes for an excellent model, although it is indeed in Latin. But it is only pseudo-gregorian (which is to say, gregorian imitative but not authentically ancient chant). https://youtu.be/fFxaaXqPvWU

    I think expectations should be tempered about sung credos too: if your parish sings the creed, it is likely to only be at one mass per weekend—the mass with the choir. Sung creeds are not likely to happen at every mass slot. Degrees of solemnity and all that. So, I think it reasonable, if you frame it in the context of the primary high[est] mass at your parish, and likely only that mass.
    Thanked by 2tomjaw LauraKaz
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,703
    We are EF so have to sing the Credo at most of our sung Masses... we sing the chant creeds I, II, IV and occasionally VI. But when we sing polyphonic Mass settings we always sing the polyphonic setting of the credo. Does it really matter that at one or two Masses per month the congregation do not recite the creed at sung Mass? It is not as if they recite the creed at our daily low Masses.
    Thanked by 1Jeffrey Quick
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    I think that chanting the Creed (English) recto tono, with interesting organ harmonies is a great thing that is underused. Ted Marier had such a setting in one of his books (HPSC?). And such a setting could be put together for congregation (unison) and choir.

    John Merbecke's English chant for The Booke of Common Praier, Noted, should be easily adaptable to ICEL 2010.

    Adam Wood also wrote a very simple chant setting for the ICEL 2010 Creed and uploaded it here.

    Musically, a sung Creed isn't impossible, but considering the fact that very few parishes are willing to sing "The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.", it's not surprising that the Creed is never sung. Even I, who believe that the fully sung Mass should be the norm, am reluctant to sing the Creed on a regular basis at a "normal" Novus Ordo vernacular Mass: I've been in post over 15 years, we've sung the Creed in English exactly once, at a special Mass last summer.
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 539
    Much as I hate to disagree with you, Salieri, I have found the RM3 Englished Creed 1 very accessible, and in a congregation that sang everything but Hail Holy Queen, Immaculate Mary, and Holy God, we praise thy name fairly sotto voce, that Creed rang out loud and clear every Sunday in the choir season, alternating choir/all.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    I am just reluctant to do it for pastoral reasons: we've had parishioners switch from the principal Mass to other Masses when we began chanting the Responsorial Psalm about six years ago. I am not willing to introduce a sung creed yet.

    One of the things that our bishop is trying to correct (with very little success) is the speed at which Masses are said, most Masses here are timed to be no longer than 45 minutes on a Sunday, and the two largest parishes in the diocese, with over-flowing coffers, are the ones where the Sunday Mass is 20 minutes, 30 minutes on Christmas and Easter. And, our hour-long "High Mass" is pushing it for some people: so, if I was to introduce a sung Creed, it would only be during Advent and Lent, because the Gloria isn't sung, and it would be recto tono.
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • bhcordovabhcordova
    Posts: 1,152
    Salieri, when I was an altar server (back in the 1970s), the pastor and associate pastor would see who could say Mass the fastest. Sunday Mass usually lasted only 30 minutes. The pastor told me that he said an entire wedding in 8 minutes and thought he could do it faster.
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,721
    we've had parishioners switch from the principal Mass to other Masses when we began chanting the Responsorial Psalm about six years ago.
    Oh, the horror of chanting the most ancient prayers of the Church! *clutches pearls*

    Such misers are not interested in worship, properly speaking, and it's doubtful you'll ever get through to such souls.
    Thanked by 3MatthewRoth hilluminar LauraKaz
  • achoyce91
    Posts: 167
    So! Self-publish or get published? Woot woot.
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    That is entirely a matter for you. I can see the pros and cons of both options. I would at least get in touch with Canticanova and other publishers and having a chat with them, because if you are going to publish you need to find a publisher who is interested in the product and pushing it, otherwise you might as well publish it for free on CPDL, since it will do more there than sitting in a file at Schirmer collecting dust.
    Thanked by 4CHGiffen achoyce91 ServiamScores tomjaw
  • achoyce91
    Posts: 167
    Thank you Salieri.
    Ok. This is the score with the melody in the organ part. Please ignore the random dashes. I'll find a way to get rid of them.
    For the mean time, here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lmt8wrh91mzddzs/Mass in B-flat minor - Glory to God - Score.pdf?dl=0
  • m_r_taylor
    Posts: 314
    As Salieri said, it can't hurt to at least get in touch. Perhaps in the process of communicating with a publisher you'll get valuable feedback on what they can offer, what they're looking for, etc.

    And it's not like you have to turn over your whole corpus.
  • achoyce91
    Posts: 167
    @m_r_taylor, I'll show it to them, but I want to make sure it's free from error.
  • achoyce91
    Posts: 167
    Hey everyone, I decided to email the score, cover letter, and midi mock-up of my setting of Laudate Dominum. This is what I said in my cover letter:

    First, I will start off by introducing myself. My name is Alex Choyce and I am a composer who studied music composition at the University of North Texas under the direction of Dr. Joseph Klein, Dr. Kirsten Broberg, and Dr. Panayiotis Kokoras. After earning my B.A. in Music at North Texas in May 2014, I studied privately with film/concert composer Alain Mayrand. Though none of them are composers of sacred music, I highly benefited from their emphasis on the craftsmanship required to compose eloquent music. My compositional work varied from wind ensemble to fully orchestrated works and I eventually found my way to sacred composition when I accepted the Catholic Church as the ultimate arbiter of truth.
    This setting of Laudate Dominum only uses the Psalm text and is intended to be sung after the blessing of the devotional service called Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The music is set in G major since the jubilant modality complements the praise inherent in the text. The tenor 1 part does test the range of whosoever may be performing the part. All other parts stay within the tessitura. The score will be in PDF format and a midi recording will be provided.

    I hope you enjoy this setting of Laudate Dominum!

    Sincerely,
    Alex Choyce

    Let me know what y'all think. I definitely could've omitted the first sentence in my opinion.
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