Will you take the challenge?? (Please?)
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Dear Friends,

    Will you take my challenge? I would like you to view the new PDF congregational booklet I just make:

    Congregational booklet, ready to be implemented

    . . . and see if you agree that I could not make it easier for folks to use the Mass parts in their Churches! It is all right there! All you have to do is print!

    No, seriously, I wanted to let you all know about this, in case anyone wants to use this booklet in their parishes.

    THANK YOU! Perhaps you know someone who could use this? Please spread the word. May God reward you!

    It is not, strictly speaking, Gregorian chant: oh no, it is not! It is for parishes ON THE WAY to Gregorian chant.

    Even though it is not "the real stuff" (Gregorian chant and Sacred polyphony), I hope that parishes who are trying to improve their music step-by-step will find it useful.

    That is to say, sometimes you have to take people where they are. And I submit that these Mass parts are not unworthy of the House of God, they are easy to play, easy to sing, easy for a congregation to "catch on" to.

    That is, maybe your congregation is not quite ready for full fledged Gregorian chant and polyphony. Well, perhaps you will use these pieces to help get them there.

    In Christ,

    JMO
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Hi Jeff:

    It looks good to me. The only thing I would recommend is putting slurs over notes that have a single syllable.
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    It looks great. Very simple and easy to follow.

    My only suggestion, and a very minor one it is, would be to add a courtesy accidental over the b-natural in the penultimate measure of the Agnus.
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Thank you, Yurodivi !!! The changes have been made. I appreciate your good eyes!

    Francis, I really appreciate the comment and good wishes, but doing what you suggest has pro's and cons, and (for myself) I find the cons outweigh the pro's in these instances.

    Gratefully,

    JMO
  • JDE
    Posts: 588
    Using the slurs can get in the way of lyric spacing, esp. in Finale, so sometimes it's better to let the context and placement of the lyrics suffice. In any case, the slurs also imply legato.

    Until relatively modern times, the method of showing syllabification in vocal music was to separate (or de-beam, if you like) the notes. You see this in older hymnbooks as well as in classical vocal literature. Personally I find it rhythmically confusing, probably because I was a pianist first and a singer later.

    Our system of notation is woefully inadequate to detail every event that takes place during a song, or even during the execution of a single note. Imagine how complex the page would look if you had to notate the placement of the consonant(s), if any, before the beat; or show where in a whole note each phoneme of the word should go. The mind boggles. Indeed, to paraphrase Sir Winston, it's the worst system in the world, except for all the others.

    JMO, I'm glad to help, but that's really a Geschmachssache, and some engravers wouldn't do it, while others would. I tend to err on the side of caution where that is concerned because I work with lots of orchestral musicians. A generous use of the courtesy accidental saves a lot of expensive rehearsal time.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Hi Jeff:

    Then I would only say be consistent. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Yes, as an instrumentalist, I find the de-beamed rhythms hard to read too.

    Mike
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    "Then I would only say be consistent. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't."

    It just depends.

    Generally, on the organist scores, I don't. On the scores for the congregation and vocalist, I generally do.

    Consistency is usually a good thing to aim for, but the main thing is to make it as easy as possible for the musicians to get it the first time .

    For example, "German scoring" is totally consistent, but oftentimes ridiculous. I once counted 260 blank measures for a particular instrument in a "German scored" piece. Not helpful.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Hi Jeff:

    All I am saying is that it seems more confusing (at least it is to me) when you slur sometimes and then sometimes you don't.

    Take 4160 organist score for example. In version D, the Amen.

    On the first Amen you don't have a slur, and then on the second Amen you do. ?

    Maybe it's just me, but it renders the use of the slur ambiguous and then I am left wondering what your intention is with using the slur sometimes and then sometimes not.

    And concerning the German scoring, 260 blank measures doesn't bother me as much as one composer who wrote a piece and didn't include a single note in the entire musical score!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4′33″
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