Greetings, everyone, from Springfield IL! I've really fallen off the forum this past year, and am hoping to be more involved this coming year. Suffice to say, my first year at my new parish has been one hell of a year. I have stories that would make the most hardened veterans here cringe. I also am happy to say that I finished this year with a brand new 22 voice children's choir (mostly fourth graders) which has learned several chants, that the parish on the whole has been welcoming to me, and I am now heading up a new once-a-month meet and greet called "Chant 'n Chow" which will be a medley of food, fellowship, a short chant class, and a chant/polyphony sing-a-long. I also had a wildly successful Christmas program at the school, and the parents at the school really like me. I pray that I will find the time to get more involved in my beloved chant this coming year!

But now for the matter at hand. Very few families which attend the attached parochial school actually attend Mass at the parish. My pastor (a musician himself, and a celebrant of the EF when possible) is starting a new initiative, "Catholic Education begins with Sunday Mass", and is planning a Sunday night Vespers at the end of the month which he is expecting all school families to attend. He will be delivering a homily during this Vespers about the necessity of families getting involved in the parish again. I am getting together an adult choir, which has been on hiatus the last few years, and which is unfamiliar with chant. I have three rehearsals scheduled with this adult group. I will also involve my children's choir, but I will have only one or two rehearsals to teach the kids new music before we sing. The parish has strong roots both in traditional and contemporary hymnody, and likes to sing (although I can't speak for all the families who have not been in attendance these last few years, and these will be the people in attendance that night). I am the music teacher at the adjoining school, but the Vespers will be at the end of our first week of school, so I don't know if I'll have time to go through any of the music with the kids in class that week. Oh, and the acoustic in the church is perfect for chant!

The hymn will be O God Beyond All Praising (the children's choir sings it soooo well), the psalms will be sung rectitonally, the children will sing the Arcadelt Ave Maria as a meditation after the homily, the Magnificat will be Holy Is His Name by Talbot (the parish knows it), and I have asked the organist to do a huge improvisation on Salve Regina for the recessional.

Here are my questions:
1) Is it too ambitious to sing antiphonally, with adults and children alternating in the loft? Would the parish know what the heck we are doing if we try to sing antiphonally? Kids will be sitting with their families downstairs, so we won't have the true antiphonal seating downstairs.

2) Can antiphons be sung rectitonally as well, or are there settings that I can/should teach to my adult choir?

3) I plan to use the selections from the Mundelein Psalter without the use of their melodies. But should I use a different translation, and what are the copyright laws governing all this?

4) If we sing from the loft, will the congregation sing along? If we sing from the back down below, how will the organist follow my cues (and there probably won't be space for me to do any proper directing down below)?

I think that does it. Any thoughts here would be extremely helpful. We start rehearsing next Thursday. Thanks! Angela