Yes to the AUG.

Actually, I did not realise that the Anglican Use Gradual was so simple... In fact is does not differ much from the lalemant propers except from the fact that the translation is better and more traditional.

So, I guess I'm still looking for a good book!

Provided I don't speak much on the forum (I am more of a stalker than anything), but I have several "projects" that I work on privately and hope to one day--in the distant future--finish one of them. These projects are basically the result of some private work I may do for this Mass and that Vespers. Part of me wants to fill in the gaps to release a book one day. Who knows?

That being said, I had started on an English Gradual similar to what you speak of. I hope to include the Introit (1v and Dox.), Gradual, Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia/Tract, Gospel Acclamation, Offertory, and Communion. I only planned on doing Sundays and Feasts days at this point. However, when I heard that Fr. Samuel Weber, O.S.B. is preparing to release his gradual soon I stopped working on my gradual to start up another one of my projects (The Liturgy of the Hours in Chant for Sundays and Solemnities).

I am not sure which would be more appreciated at this point considering other releases.

For my English Sunday Gradual I have been taking the Palmer-Burgess chants and using their English adaptations as a basis for adapting the propers to more modern language.

I attached some examples. If someone had use of something like this for an event I am willing to work something up.

or here

Can I make a few suggestions if you choose to go ahead with this?

- Give options for both Latin and English Antiphons at Vespers, instead of just Latin
- Use the normal Our Father, the one from the Missal, that sounds most like the Pater Noster
- Use the common tone for the magnificat... unless you are using a different tone since the example is from advent.

The benediction bit is a great idea, but maybe the put the option for the "You have given" and the prayer to be in Latin too... since most parishes do that bit in Latin.

Since it's a graduale... you could also consider transferring some Mass Settings from the Graduale into English. Every english version of the Missa de Angelis that I have found has been awful! ICEL's credo III is good though. I have now resorted to writing my own version of the Missa de Angelis in English, if you want I can send it to you.

I never thought I'd see a book with English Propers and Vespers in one book! Deo gratias! If you only do Sundays and Solemnities, make sure you transfer the Missa pro defunctis propers and ordinary... including the in paradisum (oh how long I have waited for that to appear) and other sung parts of the concluding rites etc. It wouldn't hurt to throw in a few votive Masses and the nuptial Mass too... I'm ranting sorry.

Please give it a shot... you have no idea how many seminarians would be singing a "Te Deum" (Or a "Thou, O God", if you publish a version) if this book was published! As I said, I will pray!

Jamie, you are right on both counts about The American Gradual. All the scholas and singers I have worked with have found it difficult, even cumbersome, to try to 'chant' with stemless noteheads! As for saints' days, requiems, etc.: you are also correct. Ford's work is lacking here. He will, though (he really will) prepare for you any propers that you need for any occasion, and will, even, put any of his work into square notes if you ask. Just e-mail him. He is very accomodating. You are aware, of course, that, normally, ferias do not have their own propers, but repeat the ones from the previous Sunday. This, naturally, does not apply to saints' days and solemnities.

As for me, I prefer to work with The Plainchant Gradual. Sometimes I use the no-longer-common English as it is; at other times I think nothing of modernising pronouns and verb forms if I think these will be an encumbrance to a given congregation. Having them appreciate chant (which they normally do appreciate!) is much more important than glaring 'thees' and 'thous' in some instances.

Although it's not complete, you might want to also look at the Lumen Christi Missal.

Jamie,

Thank you for your encouragement. It is what I needed to keep going with the project.

I would love to see your copy of Mass VIII when you finish it. I have been looking at some adaptation of Masses in the Graduale/Graduale Simplex. I was planning on including a few adapations of major Masses (I, VIII, IX, XI) as well as a few of the Masses in the simplex. I will definitely include the Mass for the Dead (I have an english version of the In Paradisum lying around here somewhere).

As I get closer to finishing I plan on seeing if Jeff Ostrowski and Richard Rice will let me include a Mass or two from them.

As for the Vespers half, I plan on doing English antiphons only to avoid clutter. Of course, any parish that may wish to us Latin antiphons can easily sing them with the tones I use in the book. The text will include a section in the back with the four-week psalter pointed to the tone and then the proper of seasons would just include antiphons. My psalm-tone system is designed so that regardless of the mode, the tone is already pointed. I am aiming for usability in average parishes while maintaining the melodic elements of the original chants. And yes, I already started on an english adaptation of the Te Deum.

So, in short, my plan now is to produce a text that has:
-A small collection of English Masses
-A small collection of Latin Masses (as called for by the Council)
-All proper chants w/ Responsorial Psalms and Gospel Acclamation for Sundays and Solemnities
-All chants for Vespers I and II and Lauds of Sundays and Solemnites
-An appendix with various hymns (Te Deum, Tantum Ergo, O Salutaris, Etc...)

My long term plan includes the publication of two additional texts. The first will include simple adaptations of the Gradual and Alleluia (as seen in my example). The second will include organ accompaniment for the psalms tones and hymns of the liturgy of the hours. I don't think I have the musical ability to write accompaniments of the antiphons at this time. (Someone else may wish to down the road).

As far as a timespan, I am shooting on making a PDF available with Advent and Christmas by the first of November of this year.

Thank you for your prayers.

FYI, the VII hymnal has no music for the propers, just English translations of the GR ones. The translations match SEP, for better or for worse.

Thanks, Wendi, got to the office and referenced that AB has his tones for the modes on the final page of the missal.

I'm working on something similar. However instead of using antiphons for every Sunday I'm using the antiphons from the simple gradual. I really wasn't planning on doing anything with it except using it at my own parish with my humble Schola.

Do you mean a book in English with Gregorian chants in Latin? The Gregorian Missal from Solesmes meets that need already.

Or do you mean that someone should offer a book with chant adaptations in English? Adam Bartlett is doing that with the Lumen Christi Gradual (soon?).

The American Gradual does contain a Mass for the Dead (with many but not all of the alternatives given in the Graduale Romanum. Perhaps it is not included in the downloadable version on the CMAA site.

Paul, you were working on a second edition of By Flowing Waters, I recall. What will be different in comparison to the first (1999) edition?

Changes forthcoming in By Flowing Waters:

Of the 680 chants in BFW the changes in Roman Missal III will only affect 555 through 626, pages 329 through 374, less than 9% of the total.

The greatest changes will be in in 555 through 594, pages 329 through 342, less than 3% of the total; and I am thinking of just using the new ICEL versions of most of these, even though I think that some of the ICEL versions can be improved.

No new edition of the book is planned at this time. I will be publishing all the revised pages for free downloading from the internet, as well as all the corrections, revisions, and additions.

Watch these pages for the revisions and corrections.

Jamie, in case you never found the answer to your question about The Plainsong Gradual (Palmer-Burgess-Shields), yes, the chants are the Liber Usualis chant melodies with Tudor-era English translations (or the Victorian-era idea of Tudor English).
Volumes 1-2 have all the Sunday and major feasts propers including the Triduum (all five propers, and Introit has one verse and Gloria Patri), volumes 3-4 have Common of Saints, Votive Masses, and Proper of Saints. The only thing not in there is the Nuptual Mass. Both books (Parts I and II; Parts III and IV) can be downloaded from MusicaSacra's English propers page (where the downloads are labeled 1 and 2).

All you will ever need:
http://www.illuminarepublications.com/products/lcsg/

If you genuinely sit down and sing both the SEP and the LCSG chants each week and pick the better chant, you'll likely find that 99% of the time you'll pick the LCSG.

Each chant, each week, I sit down and sing the LCSG, the SEP, the Fr. Kelly Introits/Communions, the Fr. Weber Propers, the various Rice propers, etc... ~90% of the time it's the LCSG or another chant from the Lumen Christi series.

I would like to chime in and attest to the use of the LCSG in practice.

Here at the Liturgical Institute, we are singing the chants from the LCSG with a psalm/alleluia supplement each day, with varying degrees of progressive solemnity according to the feast (the baseline is basically a sung Mass, with spoken lections and one cantor). Not that I doubted the ease of use of this book and its noble settings, but I must say it has been a pleasure to sing these chants each day.

Here are just a few of the reasons why:
1) Simple settings: they are simple enough for the congregation (not everyone here is a "trained" musician, they are people from all walks of life). They have been able to generally pick them up after one hearing.

2)Noble: even though these settings are simple, the melodies have a noble quality about them that distinguishes them from psalm-tones or formuliac settings. They are composed with a "sound form", a quality that is fitting to the nature of the rites being celebrated.

3)Text-based: The chants of the LCSG are thoroughly grounded in the meaning of the text, and express naturally the sense of the words. They are not pre-composed melodies that are paired with the texts, and they are not a pattern applied to all chants in the same mode. Personally, I see this as the greatest accomplishment of this book (and the reason I look forward with eager anticipation to the LC full gradual!) This week's communion (11th week in OT) is a prime example of this point of emphasis in the compositional process.

4)Gregorian in inspiration: "The more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savour the Gregorian melodic form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes..." (Chirograph on the Centenary of the Motu Proprio "Tra le sollecitudini"). In the LC series this is accomplished while still remaining simple enough to sing.

I strongly recommend that you go check out the Lumen Christi Simple Gradual, you will not be disappointed. I would agree with MJM, that when you sit down and sing the settings side-by-side, the vast majority of the time, the LCSG wins out.

I do not work for Illuminare Publications:)

Alexis

SEP is generally considered good.

And now organ books are available!

Volume I
Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter

Volume II
Ordinary Time, Feasts & Solemnities, and Ritual Masses