Can you pre-order it on amazon yet?

It's up!

Amazon Pre-Order: Simple English Propers

First time poster--please be gentle with me! I hope this is posted in the correct place.

I'm not trying to incite anything--just genuinely asking questions.

I'm the DLM at a mid-sized parish in the Midwest. I have a BA and MM, and I did extensive study of Renaissance-era Catholic music during my graduate work. I like to think I know a lot about our musical tradition, and I do a lot of reading on the subject. I have some questions that I haven't seen asked or answered anywhere.

Has there been any thought of publishing the SEP in modern notation? I think it would make them more accessible and more likely to be used. Isn't it our goal to encourage congregations, choirs, and choir directors to use these? Why utilize notation that about 1% of the congregation will recognize when there is a more than adequate alternative?

I would seriously consider purchasing this book for use at my parish, but I won't purchase it while it is published only in "Gregorio" notation. Zero people in my choir would recognize the notation, and I would be very surprised if they even know that the propers exist. If we are to introduce these to people, shouldn't we make it as easy as possible for them?

What are the benefits of publishing these in "Gregorio" notation? What is the rationale behind choosing this instead of the five-line staff and treble clef that the vast majority of professional and amateur musicians use every day? It seems to me that this makes it harder than it has to be; it makes those of us who CAN read this notation teach it to others when there is a serviceable type of notation that we both can read.

Forgive me if this is a bad metaphor, but it seems to me like person A & person B are trying to communicate. Person A speaks French and Russian. Person B speaks Russian. Person A chooses to teach Person B to speak French, rather than just speaking in Russian. Why add a step?

I am genuinely confused about this--I hope I haven't offended. I'm trying to understand.

It's a good question, IrishTenor, and one that many of us have when we first start this journey. In my schola, I've used a mixture of modern and chant notation, and it takes little effort to make the mental switch. I spend about half an hour with each new member of the schola, and during that time cover both chant notation and Latin pronunciation.

That said, the parish uses screens for the projection of music [please, everyone, no comments about that - that's a TOTALLY different topic]. When I created music for the screens (say, for the Responsorial Psalm), I did that in modern notation just because I didn't want to deal with comments people might throw at me.

So, for me: The choir really really needs to know chant notation. It helps you to sing it as CHANT, not as an odd mixture of music that people tend to do when we have chants forced into metrical time. When you write it in modern notation, you really should have no measure bars and use stemless notes, to reinforce that you should sing it as chant. And, of course, in the translation, quilismas and liquescent neums tend to get totally lost in the translation, since there's no modern equivalents.

Show people why learning is a good thing, rather than an annoyance. It's kinda like teaching people how the bass clef is different from the treble clef. It's simple, straightforward, and opens up a whole new world of music once you learn it.

No offence taken! Here's my comments, and things I've noticed:

1) You mention that "1% of the congregation will recognize [chant notation]." While they could be sung by the congregation, traditionally the propers are sung by the choir.

2) SEP is in public domain, so anyone is free to create a modern notation version.

3) It is designed (I believe) to help people learn neumes ("gregorio notation"), because all the official music books of the church are also in chant notation. Sort of a bridge to more difficult chant. Should not catholic choirs know the "official notation" of the roman rite?

4) To complete your analogy, both person A and person B live in France. Person B should really know French already, and Person A is taking the chance to teach Person B something he should already know. Not perfect, but do you get the idea?

I know this is far from a complete answer, but hopefully it will help a little bit.

Note, "gregorio" is a piece of software used to typeset chant notation. Chant notation is usually it's called either "chant notation" or "neumes". Don't worry about it too much though.

David Deavy

While the order page still says the book is out-of-stock, I received an e-mail from Amazon saying that I should receive it between the 27th and 30th of June, though it has still not yet shipped.

I have just begun reading thru the SEP and am thrilled (and so is our priest) and saw that there were some practice videos for a few of the Sundays. Will there eventually be rehearsal videos for each Sunday? That would be IDEAL for my choir and really allow us to concentrate on the musical aspects at rehearsal rather than pounding out notes. Any idea if this is in the works?

Time to bring this topic back.

I was just looking at Amazon where the site says to purchase SEP, but it's only available on Kindle. I do not have a Kindle and wouldn't purchase music for it if I had, so I'm looking for the actual book. Are these sold anywhere at this time? I know that I can print from the computer (which I am doing), but I prefer to have a REAL book in my hands and not a binder of printed sheets.

Thanks!

Sorry about this. There were some snags but it will come in soon.

Jeff posted the other day that the SEP book is back in stock, and includes a nice ribbon this time.

The music should wrap up when the liturgical action is finished; it is permissible to omit the Glory Be.

I recommend following the instructions given in the front of the 1974 Graduale Romanum. (In my translation, the relevant part starts at p. 8.)

I wrote this about the SEP and how it relates to a bulletin piece that I read from St. Austin's Catholic Church. I hope that Dr. Hoffman is reading these pages. I would love to get his feedback on it.

http://benedictgal-lexorandilexcredendi.blogspot.com/2012/01/singing-mass.html

Of course, I owe a lot of what I wrote to Jeffrey and Adam!

There's a thread about it, so check there for information on how to get updates.