Traditional Choral Praise
  • jporenchuk
    Posts: 66
    I am considering buying Traditional Choral Praise by Randall DeBruyn. Can someone send me the entire index so that I know what I’m looking at. I thought it might be online somewhere but I haven’t seen any index or sample.
    Thanks
  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 548
    Don’t buy, unless you like

    1) absolutely butchered texts and missing verses
    2) wretched, tortured new harmonizations that are agonizing and difficult to sing and play
    3) horribly-written descants or double descants on everything, even the most somber or penitential hymns
    4) ugly engraving

    1+2 above make it incompatible with anything other than OCP books. I think you will have a better time just trawling hymnary.org for free SATB scores.
    Thanked by 2DavidOLGC rich_enough
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,325
    If you want a simple solution to provide harmonies and descants which will work well 95% of the time for your parish’s OCP books, I think Traditional Choral Praise is the best option.

    If you have time to engrave music and texts with better harmonizations and descants, that would be better still. I don’t have time to do that, so I use Traditional Choral Praise. I definitely wish I could easily use some of the better descants I’ve used in the past, but I’ve made my peace with it. It’s the best I can do for now with my existing time constraints.
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 402
    OCP has such rubbish for music. Modern lyrics that are heretical set to traditional hymn tunes, or modern songs that are literally the same tune as Disney songs. I kid you not. Last Sunday at Mass the song was the same as Can You Feel the Love Tonight. Trying to make my communion thanksgiving and all I heard in my head was, “so many things he’s hiding, but what, I can’t decide” and then my brain filling in the rest, “why won’t he be the king I know he is? The king I see inside?” Went home and compared the two songs. Same music in parts. After 20 years of not hearing that song, it is now stuck in my head because of OCP.
    Thanked by 2ServiamScores DavidOLGC
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,084
    You could browse the files linked to below. Search within the pdfs for "DeBruyn" and it will turn up all of his arrangements in these hymnals that post-date Traditional Choral Praise. I assume those arrangements are not much different, if at all, from what are in Traditional Choral Praise.

    http://www.neecie.net/choir/cp3/cp3u.pdf

    http://www.neecie.net/choir/cp4/cp4u.pdf

    It's amazing what some parishes post that can be found with a little ingenuity.
    Thanked by 1ServiamScores
  • LauraKaz
    Posts: 77
    SponsaChristi, do you remember which song that was? I'm racking my brain trying to figure it out but am coming up with nothing. Since I know a ton of the OCP songs, I'm surprised I can't figure this one out.
  • Carol
    Posts: 856
    A few weeks ago I got stuck singing "Remember Your Love" by Darryl Ducote and Gary Daigle. This hymn has verses that are very close to "A World of Your Imagination" from Willie and the Chocolate Factory. It is in OCP.
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • francis
    Posts: 10,824
    Oh… THAT chocolate factory
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,782
    I am so glad that I have not a clue what any of this 'music' sounds like.
    Thanked by 3Roborgelmeister francis mmeladirectress
  • jporenchuk
    Posts: 66
    Thank you for all of your tips. I am also not a fan of OCP’s music which is why I asked to begin with. I haven’t heard many of these songs that sound like Disney music. I have gone to churches where mostly chant and things like the Lumen Christi series are used. I once heard a priest say, “You wouldn’t play Gregorian chant at your wedding reception, so don’t play your wedding reception music at Mass.” I think that many NO churches have lost what music is actually sacred.
    Thanked by 1DavidOLGC
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,084
    I think the song SponsaChristi referred to as being similar to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" without identifying it was probably either "You Alone" by Sarah Hart or "Fly Like a Bird" by Ken Canedo. Both were recommended by OCP for use last Sunday.
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 402
    MarkB. No. It’s I am The Bread of Life (not the one that most people think of and know).

    It’s this one:
    https://youtu.be/08Wk9Z_6mvQ

    For the sake of comparison:
    https://youtu.be/25QyCxVkXwQ
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • francis
    Posts: 10,824
    Okay… they were just singing about the REAL lion King!
    Thanked by 1PolskaPiano
  • jporenchuk
    Posts: 66
    I would like to see a sample of a descant from Traditional Choral Praise. Is the hymn, All Glory Laud and Honor in the book because this is the song I am interested in right now. If someone could attach this hymn with its descant that would be great. This way I can see how the accompaniment works with the descant.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,824
    jporenchuk

    One cannot attach or post pdf files here that are under copyright.
  • jporenchuk
    Posts: 66
    Then, is it possible to have it emailed to me or messaged privately? I would just like to see it as a sample.
  • PolskaPiano
    Posts: 255
    FYI- I have been trying to build a library of TCP and it's not easy at all to find these hymnal on Amazon, ebay, etc. Even if you like the descant, it's not something that you'll likely be able to purchase enough books for in time for PS, unless you're willing to pay $50-$100 a copy. (Last I looked)
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    For (perhaps) the first time, I find myself in agreement unreservedly with Gamba.

    On the general topic, let me add simply that one should change not merely to get away from evil stuff, but toward the positively good. If Traditional Choral Praise is a step up, well.... that speaks volumes.
    Thanked by 1Gamba
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