Canada: approval for responsorial psalm compositions
  • Are you aware of anyone who has received approval for use of their own compositions for the responsorial psalm, not for publication but just for local use? Or aware of any cases where approval was unreasonably withheld?
  • novusgordo
    Posts: 64
    Apart from the entire situation in Toronto with The New Cathedral Gradual, I'm not aware of any situations either way. One thing that often gets forgotten, though, is that the norms in Canada are very different than those in the USA — in fact, it's the USCCB that is the outlier by delegating its liturgical authority to each member Bishop in his own diocese.
    CCCB Guidelines for Composers of Liturgical Music
    In Canada, musical compositions for liturgical use must be given a favourable recommendation by the CCCB Episcopal Commission for Liturgy for the relevant sector (para. 3) before the local Ordinary can approve their publication and use. Para. 5 goes on to suggest that even usage ad experimentum of not-yet-approved compositions in the liturgy is not permitted, that any "testing" must be done privately outside the liturgy.

    (And of course, that presumes that you can even get in touch with anyone from the chancery office in the first place. At least in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, that's easier said than done. Is it any wonder that people don't bother going through channels and just do what they want?)
    Thanked by 1Chant_Supremacist
  • Andrew_Malton
    Posts: 1,269
    Me, in about 2010. Things have changed since then.