Spanish Mass Setting Needed
  • bjerabek
    Posts: 63
    I am trying to find a Spanish Mass setting that is reasonably easy to sing and uses all the words that are in the Sacramentary, and nothing more.

    Perhaps that's a tall order.

    I saw a link to the one that Jeff Ostrowski wrote in another thread that I found via search in this forum. While it is a beautiful-sounding setting of the Gloria, yet I think that it is a bit too difficult for the congregation I have in mind. There are some measures that have two beats in them (2 dotted quarter notes) followed by measures with three beats (three quarter notes, or a quarter note and a half note), and this transition, it seems to me, between 2 and 3 beat measures, is difficult for a congregation to sing, especially one that has, on the whole, a low level of education and no knowledge of music.

    I spent far too long several hours browsing the sites of OCP, GIA, and WLP, and affiliates (liturgy.com -- what a tragic site!, hymnprint.net, etc. etc. etc.), and could not find a single setting that met both requirements that I have.

    I would greatly appreciate any direction that anyone can give on this matter.

    Fr. Bryan Jerabek
    Huntsville, AL
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    While note specifically endorsing the Ostrowski setting, I would say that the 2+2+2 vs. 3+3 rhythm is so common in the traditional music of nearly every Spanish-speaking culture that a Hispanic congregation should have no trouble singing music based on that figure. In fact, I would say the less musically literate a congregation is, the more easily they will sing mixed meters (including the free rhythm of chant), since untrained musicians do not tend to count beats. Like the old Nike slogan, they "just do it." I can come up with dozens of examples of music that my congregation has sung with ease that professional or otherwise trained musicians quibbled about in rehearsal (singing a hymn up or down a step from the printed pitch not the least of them).
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Fr. Jerabek,

    I have had a conversation with Jeff Ostrowski (in fact, he is on a plane returning from vacation as I write) and we ended up talking about the challenges in the composition of the Spanish language Mass. I don't remember why.

    But with the restrictions that you have mentioned, I could suggest something that would most probably be very successful. Jeff and the Corpus Christi Watershed Project have been very innovative...and I am quite sure that they would create audio files that could be burnt to CD quickly for you and could be reproduced by some of your computer-frenzied members....and passed out. Before long you would hear people humming and singing it at the grocery store....
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Hello, dear friends. As frogmusicnj has said, I was on a trip with my wife. I actually just walked in the door a few minutes ago.

    Fr. Jerabek, I am honored that you considered using my settings.

    I want to tell you that for a good while I have been meaning to write some simpler (and better) Spanish settings.

    Do you speak Spanish? If I write these in the next week or so, would you mind glancing at them to see if you have any suggestions?

    The Spanish settings I have been using thus far have actually worked pretty well, but I would like to publish some simpler ones. I am a lot more comfortable with the Spanish now than I was 2 years ago.

    Fr. Jerabek, would you E-mail me privately? my E-mail address is jeff@ostrowski.cc

    There are Spanish settings HERE but I need to update it, add new settings, and make congregational booklets available.

    If you E-mail me, Father, I have a link you might enjoy perusing.
  • daniel
    Posts: 75
    I found two through-composed settings of the Gloria that are faithful to the Sacramentary text (I think). If you would like them, I can fax or mail them to you.
  • marymezzomarymezzo
    Posts: 236
    A good friend asks whether I can recommend any bilingual Mass settings combining Spanish and English. Her pastor has directed her to find such a setting for use at two of the weekend Masses.

    Can anyone recommend a setting that is not objectionable?

    thanks,
    Mary
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 864
    Here are settings which I have just completed for our seminary.

    Blessings,
    Paul
  • marymezzomarymezzo
    Posts: 236
    Paul, that was fast! Thank you very much. I shall forward these to the schola director in need.

    Mary
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