Monastic Compline - fully notated psalm settings
  • Gregorian
    Posts: 7
    We are trying to establish weekly recitation of Monastic Compline at my parish, however the booklet that we have obtained from another parish only has pointed psalms.
    This will make it difficult to train the congregation effectively, so I am looking for a fully notated version of the psalms that I can append to this booklet to ensure that everyone knows exactly when to change pitch at any given time.

    So, is anyone aware of the existence of fully notated editions of the psalms for Monastic Compline that I could use for this purpose?
    (Tonus indirectum is preferred but recto tono would also be acceptable)

    Many thanks for any input!
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,212
    Use Ben Bloomfield’s Psalm Tone Tool if you must. Change the verses to gabc and the tone to in dir. monasticus. You may wish to adjust the metrum; the tool has to make choices for you, but might not do what you want.

    But I’m going to push back. Pointing ensure that everyone knows exactly when to change pitch at any given time. The tonus indirectus of the monastic office is even easier than the Roman, but giving people pointed psalms is the way to go. This is what actual books have — if they have anything at all.

    We sing Roman Vespers such that we will have months without more than one green Sunday, and they can handle pointing. The tool that you need is time.

    I would add that the edge case for the fully sung office is if you really want people to know where the ictus is, with textual cases such as Dómino meo (where the otherwise weak final syllable of Dómino attracts the ictus over the accent of meo), when you have a departure from the reciting tone such that musical considerations override textual ones or where both come into play (e.g. an isolated syllable at the beginning of a verse or after the mediant) provided that you use the classical Solesmes method, but that hardly applies to monastic Compline since it's a more of a recitative formula.

    But I don't necessarily think that one should sing from the score at the office. It's a practice tool and tends to get in the way. I don't even mark the psalms anymore, and I only really conduct the Magnificat actively out of the psalms and Gospel canticle.
    Thanked by 3tomjaw Bri Chant_Supremacist
  • Gregorian
    Posts: 7
    Hi Matthew, thanks for your response.
    That's definitely more detail than I could have hoped for!

    I take your point regarding the use of pointed psalms. Having been tight on time for the last month or two, I have been forced to sing from pointed psalms, which I don't mind doing and I see your point. This has been working fine for myself and the other cantor.

    Unfortunately the congregation are minimally schooled in liturgical music of any form and lack the confidence to sing from even a simple, fully notated score. At the moment, pointing of psalms is just too much to ask for without some experienced singers in the congregation to drag the people along.
    Hopefully with time (the training wheels in this case would be the fully notated versions) their confidence can be increased to a point where people are willing to at least attempt the pointed psalms (rather than the present where people just simply don't join in).

    Thanks for opening my eyes to these considerations, I do see the merit in them and those of us cantoring have taken your advice on board!
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,212
    Have one cantor then. Or badger people about stepping up. Our congregation sings at Tenebrae because of this.
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