Thanks, Charles, for opening my eyes to the points that Jerry (the CJ) and Dad were trying to get through my thick skull: in and of itself, even if equipped to play melody, accompaniment and bass like a hurdy gurdy, the guitar is INsufficient to lead and support congregational singing. Yes, I concede that and actually always have.
As to whether it is wholly unsatisfactory should a capable or greater guitarist accompany a capable or greater leader of singing (individual or choral) to lead and support congregational singing, I'm not prepared to concede that.
The same principles that apply to a guitar are likewise applied to the pipe organ or imitator.
As far as the primacy of the pipe organ as the most compatible instrument to enjoin sacred song, I profess my "aye" to that.
Have I explicated myself now from ambiguity as to what I've tried to articulate for years?
And, I reiterate my apologies and accept my fault for the offenses I caused to all, and specifically Ms. Romani (Benedictgal), for whom I do have great respect.
Blessings to all.

In my case at college, the chapel seated 1800 people. The guitars seemed to get lost in the voices, while 52 ranks of pipes didn't.

"As to whether it is wholly unsatisfactory should a capable or greater guitarist accompany a capable or greater leader of singing (individual or choral) to lead and support congregational singing, I'm not prepared to concede that."

I agree, o wise one from the west. It would work better in a more intimate setting, to be sure.

susan

you are the rarety and an exception to the guitar mass

I started putting out feelers just this morning on that front, thanks.

If it's not too late I'd like to share my experiences. If it's too late, then skip this comment.

I wouldn't be involved in church music if it hadn't been for listening to a guitar played regularly at mass when I was a kid. From as early as I could remember until I started cantoring fulltime I attended an evening Spanish mass at an older church in Miami, FL. There were two Cuban ladies cantoring, one of whom played guitar. They gave sober, sensitive, truly artistic renditions of songs from Flor y Canto. The lady playing guitar rarely strummed, but when she did it was not with the intention of making people dance or to draw attention to herself. She was a true artist who could play her instrument to great effect. I believe it is due to her formation as a Catholic that she was able to perform the FyC repertoire with such solemnity that you could overlook the often questionable lyrics. She was more sensitive to the what was happening in the mass than to her role as a performer. This had a tremendous impact on my musical formation. Those ladies are still at that church to this day and when time permits, I go to mass to hear them.

When I became a music director a few years ago, one of my tasks was to reform some of the musical practices at the church where I worked. One difficulty was that there was no accompanist for the Saturday evening Spanish mass. I hired my brother who has a bachelor's degree in jazz guitar. He had played in youth bands for Protestant denominations, and he grew up going to the same masses that I went to. He of course had a nylon string guitar. I showed him some of the rep for the Spanish mass and he almost instantly knew the way it should sound. We immediately got warm comments and praise for our interpretations of the more common Spanish mass parts and hymns (yes, more FyC). We were a stark contrast to the Sunday evening youth "choir" of 6-people-playing-guitars-and-1-playing-bass. My time at this church was short (2 years) because I tried to make too many changes too quickly and the pastor didn't like it.

Here's my point. While no other instruments are absolutely necessary besides the voice, a guitar can work well at mass, provided you have appropriate music and a real guitarist who understands how to play at mass.

So, for 1) Get your musicians together, outside of rehearsal, and talk about one document at a time, maybe over coffee, starting with Sacrosanctum Concilium and work outwards. Then show them examples of the style you would like to hear at mass. If they don't know what you want, they end up improvising. For 2) think of a mass setting you like. If no guitar accompaniment exists for it, or if it exists and you just don't like it, then make one up yourself.

Lastly, here are some rules of thumb that I've come to abide by: 1) no more than 3 guitarists; 2) make sure they don't use picks; 3) no electric or steel string guitars allowed; 4) use a mic on the guitar, avoid plugging the guitar into the sound system (if it can be plugged in); 5) unless they're classically trained, try to avoid playing music with more than 2-3 chords per measure.

Note: BTW, I don't mean to sound as though I'm a fan of Flor y Canto. I'm not. But I can't find a good alternative. El Himnario has flaws and I recently looked through the Cantoral Liturgico Nacional of Spain. It's basically a FyC beta with a few mediocre Spanish language adaptations of chant sprinkled in.

So good to see the continuing conversation on this thread. 

Like I said, it was the thoughts of many on this thread that spurred me on to attempt our first ever chant Mass at my parish tonight.  It was really, really beautiful.  We sang three Gregorian propers, the ICEL Mass chants (accompanied by hand chimes), the SEPs, and the English version of Jesu Dulcis Memoria with drone and parallel organum.  I have not yet heard any responses from the regular Massgoers, but I can tell you this much: they SANG!  They sang the introit and offertory SEPs, and they sang the Mass chants, even though they had never heard any of them before.

This week I have to make the call to the guitarist, though.  We don't have the resources to do the chant at every Mass yet.  The helps you all have given me I am immensely grateful for.  Prayers on that front will be appreciated.

Angela had written me offline to provide some examples of using a classical guitar to discreetly accompany chanted pieces. So, be they ever so humble, here are five.
I didn't prepare these versions in advance. The accompaniments for the chants are basically improvised on the spot. That for the Lambilotte "Panis Angelicus" are committed to memory from the version in the St. Gregory.

InParadisum

JesuDulcisMemoria

AdoroTeDevote

Note that in verse two I switch to an actual metered accompaniment.

PanisAngelicus

I couldn't resist, at the moment, the deceptive bVI-bVII-I final cadence!

ICELchantsrandom