Standing during the tract
  • jpal
    Posts: 365
    My parish is new to doing the tract (OF). I was wondering if there was specific guidance/tradition about when exactly the congregation stands. The GIRM implies that all stand during the entirety of the chant before the Gospel, whatever it may be. However, the tract is such a distinct genre from the Alleluia that it seems odd to me (particularly on days like this Sunday, with an incredibly long tract).

    I used to work at a parish that did the EF, but I can't remember what we did there. I was at the organ so I sat the whole time anyway (chants were accompanied).

    Jon
  • JahazaJahaza
    Posts: 470
    I would have people sit during the tract. The GIRM says:

    43. The faithful should stand from the beginning of the Entrance Chant, or while the Priest approaches the altar, until the end of the Collect; for the Alleluia Chant before the Gospel; while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the Universal Prayer; and from the invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren), before the Prayer over the Offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated here below.

    The faithful should sit, on the other hand, during the readings before the Gospel and the Responsorial Psalm and for the Homily and during the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory; and, if appropriate, they may sit or kneel during the period of sacred silence after Communion.

    Since it says to stand for the Alleluia, but not to stand for the tract, I'd go with that!

    Sed contra, should we not then stand for the non-tract/non-Alleluia Gospel Acclamation? I'd be OK with sitting for that too, but with the law explicitly silent, if you wanted to make a distinction, you could make it based on the fact that the congregation generally stands to sing and they sing the Gospel Acclamation, unlike the tract.

    And here's the Latin:

    43. Fideles stent ab initio cantus ad introitum, vel dum sacerdos accedit ad altare, usque ad collectam inclusive; ad cantum Allelúia ante Evangelium; dum ipsum Evangelium proclamatur; dum professio fidei et oratio universalis fiunt; necnon ab invitatorio Oráte fratres ante orationem super oblata usque ad finem Missae, praeter ea quae infra dicuntur.

    Sedeant autem dum proferuntur lectiones ante Evangelium et psalmus responsorius; ad homiliam et dum fit praeparatio donorum ad offertorium; atque, pro opportunitate, dum sacrum silentium post Communionem servatur.
  • jpal
    Posts: 365
    Here is GIRM 62 (emphasis added):

    62. After the reading that immediately precedes the Gospel, the Alleluia or another chant laid down by the rubrics is sung, as the liturgical time requires. An acclamation of this kind constitutes a rite or act in itself, by which the gathering of the faithful welcomes and greets the Lord who is about to speak to them in the Gospel and profess their faith by means of the chant. It is sung by everybody, standing, and is led by the choir or a cantor, being repeated as the case requires. The verse, on the other hand, is sung either by the choir or by a cantor.

    a) The Alleluia is sung in every time of year other than Lent. The verses are taken from the Lectionary or the Graduale.

    b) During Lent, instead of the Alleluia, the Verse before the Gospel as given in the Lectionary is sung. It is also possible to sing another Psalm or Tract, as found in the Graduale.


    And the Latin:
    62. Post lectionem, quæ immediate Evangelium præcedit, canitur Allelúia vel alius cantus a rubricis statutus, prouti tempus liturgicum postulat. Huiusmodi acclamatio ritum seu actum per se stantem constituit, quo fidelium coetus Dominum sibi in Evangelio locuturum excipit atque salutat fidemque suam cantu profitetur. Cantatur ab omnibus stantibus, schola vel cantore præeunte, et si casus fert, repetitur; versus vero a schola vel a cantore canitur.
    a) Allelúia cantatur omni tempore extra Quadragesimam. Versus sumuntur e lectionario vel e Graduali.
    b) Tempore Quadragesimæ, loco Allelúia cantatur versus ante Evangelium in lectionario exhibitus. Cani etiam potest alius psalmus seu tractus, prout invenitur in Graduali.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    I wonder if the people who wrote that instruction that everyone should stand through the Alleluia chant had given thought to the length of the authentic chants. That the people should also sing them also seems ambitious, given that the melodies of the propers change weekly.
  • Pedro d'Aquino
    Posts: 128
    The citation of the GIRM does not offer adequate guidance, as the nature of the Tract is that of an ornate and highly developed melismatic chant to be sung by a trained schola cantorum, not an acclamation to be sung by the faithful. The Ordo cantus Missae describes "two parts of the choir sing[ing] the verses antiphonally or the cantors alternat[ing] with the choir. The final verse may be sung by all together." (n. 7) All together refers to the choir. Since there are times when the chant before the Gospel can legitimately be omitted (e.g. when there is only one reading before the Gospel or when there is no singing) it stands to reason that the people would be seated for the Psalm or Gradual and stand for the Gospel.

    The nature of the instructions of the Missal in usu recentior requires some flexibility if the "devout and active participation by the faithful" is to be facilitated (cf. SC 50). A rigid rubricism will only yield frustration. A Tract from the Roman Gradual, beautifully sung by cantors and choir and respectfully listened to and meditated upon by the faithful, is a good example of the way in which the "two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching." (Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops, accompanying the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, 7 July 2007)
    Thanked by 4CHGiffen ClemensRomanus Ryan Murphy jpal
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