But is it so horrifying to envision a world in which the Chabanel Psalms do not exist . . . because everybody chants the Gradual? ;-)

If there wasn't Chabanel Psalms, I think it'
s more likely to hear Respond and Acclaims than Gradual.
Jeff, thanks for the comparison in the other thread. You are just wonderful doing all these works for the Church and the people. Your enthusiasm is truly inspiring. (the movie star is beautiful. When is she due?)

This video reminds me of the days when the Scottish Celtic band Silly Wizard was still touring. Right before the intermission, they'd come out and do some funny shtick about how back in Scotland, their wives and children were waiting to hear whether they would have enough to eat that winter, depending on how much they sold in X town. That night, one of the guys had actually heard that his wife was giving birth, so of course the shtick was all about how the baby would already be talking a few weeks from now when they went home, and would ask about album sales too! We laughed, but people did buy A LOT of stuff in real sympathy for the poor guy.

The books really do look beautiful, too.

I guess that means the video needs to be renamed as the silly wizard video?

;-)

The new Chabanel Psalm book for Year A, by Jeff Ostrowski, and available from Lulu, is very impressive. And very welcome. We're been using Chabanel for a couple of years, now, at my 1500 family church in CT. It will be nice not to have to download each week from the Watershed site and particularly nice not to have to buy Psalm resources every year. Once we've accumulated all three years of Ostrowski's excellent work we can enjoy the familiarity of these wonderful psalm settings.

My blue-collar congregation, a conservative, growing group, is not heavily into Plainsong or chant modes. When I arrived everything was being done (gag) OCP. The first thing I changed was the psalmody and they have picked it up well once all the cantors and organists were using good technique. I'm sure they don't know these are real Psalm tones and it doesn't matter - they're beautiful as well as authentic and that's what touches the heart. We also got rid of the OCP trite little excuses for the Sequences and sang the traditional ones, and now the congregation knows a few of the basic Latin chants. They get through Lent with Mass XVIII, too. The rest of the program is very eclectic, but the foundation is there for moving back to a really authentic Catholic heritage while continuing to use some of their favorite hymns and songs.

Jeff Ostrowski should be highly commended for this Psalm work. I think Watershed is a gift to the church and would highly recommend their resources. Like every gift to the church, it's costly in time, talent and doesn't result in much money. So if your church needs psalmody, or is downloading for free, please buy the books. It will keep a very high quality ministry in business.

The jokes about wizards aside, many of us can afford a couple of Psalm books. If we want good resources, it's not enough to cheer from the sidelines. It's not even enough to use the materials, although as a composer myself, that's the main goal. But if we want reform...we have to put our money where our mouth is.

Linda H. Simms, BMus, MM
Music Director,
St. Joseph Parish, Shelton, CT

Jeffrey - your priest scolded you for singing the gradual and alleluia propers at the TLM? That is really odd.