"Ordinary" vs. "Mass parts"
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Along the lines of Dr. Mahrt's "Liturgy and the Words We Use" article, does it bother anyone else to hear people refer to the Ordinary of the Mass as the "Mass parts," "service music," or (somewhat less troublesome) "Mass settings"?

    I was speaking with a clergy member the other day, and I used the term "Ordinary," not thinking that it would be jargon to him. He replied, "You mean the Mass parts?"

    Not distinguishing the music of the Mass as Ordinary and Propers seems to "flatten" the Mass, as I've heard it said before. It diminishes the distinction of music for the choir, music for the congregation, etc., and the purpose thereof for each 'piece' within the Mass. And not referring to these parts as "Ordinary" and "Propers," to me, makes the music of the Mass seem all too commonplace.
  • G
    Posts: 1,397
    Agreed.

    My husband, who was already a cantor at my parish before I became MD was always apologizing that when he was trained he learned to say "Mass parts" from my predecessor, and had a hard time remembering the term "Ordinary."

    "Mass parts" always reminds me of an old fast food commercial where a rival mocked the fabrication of Mcnuggets in a dialogue that went something like this:
    Customer: What part of the chicken are those made from?
    Confused Clerk: I dunno... Parts is parts.

    It not only flattens our discourse on the music of the Mass, it desacralizes it, and deprives it of dignity, as if the individual components were so many tchotchkes, or accessories.
    Save the Liturgy, Save the World!

    (p.s. Anyone who has met me may assume, witch that I am, that I nagged my poor husband/cantor on this matter -- for once, not guilty.)
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,451
    Regardless of dignity and meaning and all those things- it's just frustrating to not be able to talk about something be understood. You might get up in arms over "Presider" vs. "Celebrant," but at least we know that either way, you're talking about "That guy up there who does most of the talking."

    I feel like "Mass Parts" could refer to any "part" of the Mass: the introductory rite, the communion procession, the post-homily liturgical dance...
    "Ordinary" and "Propers" (and "Sanctus," "introit," "Kyrie," etc...) MEAN something- so that at least you can say, "We're doing polyphonic propers with a bluegrass Ordinary, but we're gonna do the Kyrie from The Mass of White People Clapping." Or "I love the new ICEL Propers, but the Ordinary has some issues." Or whatever, and at least you are talking about something specific.
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    Okay, I'm totally stealing that title for my faux-Gospel Ordinary. The Mass of White People Clapping. LOL
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Bluegrass Ordinary and "Mass of White People Clapping"… I'm laughing out loud, too!
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Oh, by the way, G… when I wrote the post, I was thinking of using the word "desacralize," but decided against it, fearing it was too high-falutin or something. Reading it in your response, though, affirms my gut instinct! It's nice to be on a forum with people with rich vocabularies.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,451
    It's from a post I wrote about the new ICEL chants:
    Also, these chants are free to use. That’s a whole lot better than having to buy 20 more choir editions (each) of the Mass of Creation, the Mass of Light, the Mass of Glory, the Mass of Endless Descants, the Mass of Faux multi-culturalism, the Mass of White People Clapping, and all the other Mass settings your parish has been mixing and matching acclamations out of for the last decade.
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    Just to check, then, the consensus is that we should call it the "Ordinary" to avoid making it sound commonplace?
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Ha… true, Mark. But for what it's worth, since we're using it as a noun in this context, I don't think anyone here confuses it with 'commonplace.'

    I'd note that in Catholic terminology, there are at least two other uses of the word "ordinary": The Ordinary of a diocese (i.e., the bishop), and Ordinary time. I've heard the latter phrase lamented now and then, but the idea, of course, is that it's "ordered" time. (Those with a statistics background will note the related term, "ordinal scale.")
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,933
    I can understand the confusion among the people on this. The "Ordinary" is the part of the mass they are familiar with, so it is "mass parts." For them, the only mass parts they know of are the parts making up the Ordinary. In too many places, no one even remembers what "Propers" were, so many if not most, have never heard of them. While these distinctions are known to some musicians and liturgists, they are lost on the congregations.
  • Felicity
    Posts: 77
    It is truly lamentable that the vocabularies of so many people have become so limited. This is especially true concerning the vocabulary of Catholic terms.

    Words have specific meanings; and, the power of using the right word in the right context lies in the assurance that the listener will understand exactly what is being said. Alas, today it is no longer so!!!!!

    Kyrie eleison.
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