Chris G-Z There are lessons to be learnt from the deplorable history of the 1998 Sacramentary which are relevant to LOTH. Had the translations of the orations been submitted when they were ready, we could have had 20 years without the baneful travesties provided in the 70s. Sometimes a complete revision of a ritual book is necessary, but frequently a revision of just one part, such as the hymns, is beneficial,
That lessons are available to be learned is not at issue. Alas, the people grading the exams have changed, but not (so far as I can tell) for the better.
Having lived with the new Divine Office Hymnal for several months now, there are things I like and don't like. It's nice having all of the hymns in one book. I find some of metrical tune pairings odd. And I'm not real happy with the organ accompaniments--both metrical tunes and chant tunes.
But what I find most frustrating is the needless alterations to the official chant tunes. This was done to make them more "English Friendly", but I don't see how it helps. I have learned and taught these tunes based on the Latin originals for over a decade using the unofficial English translations found in the Mundelein Psalter. And here we are in Passiontide and the chant melodies for Vexilla Regis and Crux fedelis are similar, but not the same as the Latin originals and people are struggling to adapt. Extra note here, missing note there, etc.
An “expert” thought it had to be so. Probably the same “expert” that ruined the melisma on “Hosanna” at the end of “Hosanna filio David” that we will all be singing this weekend.
I guess we have to wait another 100 years for the copyright to expire so that we can create a new edition of the hymnal with square notes and restored melodies, but hopefully by that point we'll have returned to using Latin.
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