Chanting the Epistle in the Ordinary Form
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Which tone is generally used for chanting the epistle in the OF? I see two in the Liber usualis. The first is recto tono without modulation, while the other is more elaborate. If singing recto, is there a full stop formula of any kind? I see in the Adoremus Hymnal the "sign off" being do--- do la la--. Should this be used for full stops?
  • Felipe Gasper
    Posts: 804
    Ohh how I wish I were able to comment on what tone is “generally” used for chanting the epistle.

    The first option given in the 1974 Graduale Romanum has a full stop of (do-re), ti, la, ti. There is a note that the epistle can also be sung using the preceding tone, which the Liber Usualis assigns to prophecies, except GR1974 lacks the final re-do-ta ending that the LU has for this tone.
  • Steve CollinsSteve Collins
    Posts: 1,022
    Check the "Liber Usualis" for multiple examples of how the endings can be used to different texts. It's in Latin, of course, but if you observe the ictus, you can actually hear what works best in English. You may find it necessary to repeat an occasionally note of the cadence with the English.
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 864
    The tones for chanting the readings in English are numbers 676 [edited] through 680 of By Flowing Waters.
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Thank you Paul, I know you meant 676 - 680. This is very helpful. Just got my book today. Very nice work here. I notice that the texts for OT9 are not those for Year A. What is the source of the texts you have there? I'm assuming that it is OK to use the entrance antiphon you have even though it is not the same text as the Graduale -- just got a copy of he Gregorian Missal too. I love mail days like this!
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 864
    Yes, Michael, I did mean 676 and so I edited the previous post.

    I am heading out the door to teach the fourth part of a five-part course on the new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, so I'll get to a thorough answer to your question when I return.

    For right now, I commend the following, expanded from page 421 of BFW:

    General Note on the Sundays in Ordinary Time

    Unlike the Roman Gradual which has proper antiphons and psalms for entrance, preparation, and communion for every Sunday of the year, By Flowing Waters has nine suites of antiphons and psalms for Ordinary Time which are thematic in character. The themes of the suites are:

    Ordinary Time I (BFW 221–229) — praise of the God at work in Jesus’ ministry
    Ordinary Time II (BFW 230–238) — trust and hope in God
    Ordinary Time III (BFW 239–247) — petitioning God for assistance
    Ordinary Time IV (BFW 248–258) — thanksgiving to God, especially in God’s house
    Ordinary Time V(BFW 259–268) — God’s justice
    Ordinary Time VI (BFW 269–274, as well as BFW 232–234 and 241–243) — God’s peace and loving kindness
    Ordinary Time VII (BFW 275–280, as well as BFW 250–253 and 262–264) — reverence and love for God
    Ordinary Time VIII (BFW 281–287, as well as BFW 645, 210–211, 413–414, and 123) — God is true to God’s name, “I will be with you”
    Ordinary Time IX (BFW 288–295, as well as BFW 133 and 140) — watchful joy for the Return of Christ


    Ordinary Time I is especially effective on Sundays and weekdays in the time after the Christmas season and before Lent, and in the ninth and twenty-second weeks when the Matthean and Lukan versions of the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry are proclaimed in the weekday gospels. Similarly, Ordinary Time VIII is especially effective on Sundays and days when the readings underscore the ways in which God is true to God’s name, “I will be with you.” (Ordinary Time IX has a designated use, “the Last Weeks in Ordinary Time,” weeks thirty-two through thirty-four and, by extension, any time when the lectionary readings focus on the end times.) Because communion is the fruit of the proclaimed word, especially the gospel, the communion song ideally “quotes” the proclaimed word, especially the gospel. It must at least be seasonally relevant, long enough and interesting enough to bear the weight of repetition. Its style needs to processional (more inspiring of movement than of meditation) and responsorial (sharing the burden of the text and music alternately, between the assembly and the cantor, choir, or instruments). Its texts need to have a biblical density and richness to it so that it can reflect as fulfillment what the Liturgy of the Word announced as promise.
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Thanks Paul. I see how this works now. I am still a bit dismayed that 40 years on we don't have proper chants for Ordinary Time in the Ordinary Form. For a real renewal of the propers this must be addressed.
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