As some of you might have noticed, I've taken a crack a few times at transcribing various chants to English. Since I have a long and probably boring summer ahead of me, I wonder if there would be any interest in a project I'm considering. I'm thinking of starting up a blog again (you may remember I ran "Laudamus Te" briefly) and mainly using it to post such transcriptions. Who would be interested in such a site? My main idea isn't to go back to blogging, but simply to put my work out there in case it can help someone. Would any of you have an interest in this or perhaps use it in your parishes or scholas?
I'd post my writings, at first handwritten in modern notation and eventually in Gregoire. I use the introit tune, modified as I see it fitting English better, likely with the translation from the Anglican Use Gradual. I'd publish about a month in advance, with an index according to the OF lectionary. Whoever wants it, for whatever purpose, may simply print it out and sing from it all he likes. I'd have 0 copyrighting on it because I really don't care what someone does with it so long as they don't pass it off as their own and then sue me for infringement. Change it all you like, tell people you wrote it, sell it to someone else, I don't care. Maybe I'd have a paypal button in case anyone REALLY REALLY likes it.
The important thing to me wouldn't be the works themselves, but the presence of an authentic English Gregorian Chant. The best thing to come of the project would be for someone to say "That idiot! I can do better than him!" and then do it. And maybe I'd do some light blogging, but in general I don't care which archbishop allows whom to commune where or what this or that bishop did about the EF in his diocese.
Anyone itching for a resource like this, or would I just be wasting my time even more?
Introits would be as assigned from the Gradual. I might expand it to communions, Alleluias, etc., but I find Introits the most interesting to work with. I would use the Anglican Use Gradual's translations because ICEL's are too far off from the Latin. I would enlist the aid of a Latinist, but the only one I know is likely too busy for this. My only other option would be to translate them myself, using the Douay as source material, but I don't trust my own skill with Latin. The Anglican Use Gradual, while using obsolete language, is the best source for English antiphon texts I know of. If you know of better, let me know.
I didn't know there was an ICEL translation of the Roman Gradual. What about the translations in the Gregorian Missal, I think those are pretty good. Would it be too hard to get permission to use those? I haven't really looked at the Anglican Use Gradual. Maybe those are the best ones.
Yes, I would be very interested. We are very new to all this in our parish, but singing the introits in English is something our pastor has expressed an interest in having. I just am never sure where to start. It would be WONDERFUL to have a resource like the one you suggest.
I wish there was a translation of quality in between the archaic language of the Anglican Use Gradual, and the modern banality of the current texts, but I don't know of one. Sorry I can't be more help.
Heavens, yes.
I'm trying to get a schola (b16schola.org) off the ground and am working with people who are new to chant. Of course, I want to be using chant from the Roman Gradual, but why not supplement with chant in English? It would make the task less daunting to newbies.
If you go online with your project, I'll definitely be interested. Thanks for offering your work so generously.
Mary
It seems to me that an English version of at least the Gradual was done in the immediate post-Vatican II era. I'm talking the full propers--not psalm-tone versions. My shaky recollection has a Paulist priest from St. Paul in New York as an editor of this volume.
To participate in the discussions on Catholic church music, sign in or register as a forum member, The forum is a project of the Church Music Association of America.