Hymn Replacing Psalms
  • PhilotheaPhilothea
    Posts: 43
    Hi, I am new to the board. I searched threads but didn't find an answer, so please forgive me and be patient with me if I overlooked something.

    I am in your typical "boomer mass" parish where propers are ignored (except for the OCP "Responsorial Psalms") and hymns (Breaking Bread) are the modus operandi. I know that Hymns are not allowed in place of Psalms/propers, but it is usually because they don't reflect the text of the day. However, what if the hymn contains the Psalm text for that day?

    For example:

    My parish has asked me to sing Rory Cooney's Psalm 40: Here I Am as the Psalm.

    I feel that I should decline singing it because a) it is a hymn; b) it seems more like a paraphrase... or a REALLY different translation that is quite different from the Lectionary; c) it hurts my soul (tho that has no bearing on GIRM ).

    How does this jive with the GIRM, tho? Is this licit? I'm thinking it isn't, but didn't know for sure.

    Help appreciated. I'm supposed to sing it at the Vigil mass tomorrow.

    Thanks in advance.
    Anne
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    If it's a hymn paraphrase, then no, it can't be used in place of the psalm. We are not allowed to modify the texts of the liturgy, including paraphrases.
    Thanked by 1Philothea
  • Mark HuseyMark Husey
    Posts: 192
    http://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/7696/which-psalm-translations-are-acceptable/p1 a previous discussion on Psalm translations; and also this synopsis from Chonak:

    Under USCCB rules, these are the options:

    If the Responsorial Psalm is spoken:
    the Lectionary text
    the Revised Grail Psalter

    If the Responsorial Psalm is sung:
    the Lectionary text
    the Revised Grail Psalter
    any approved Catholic Scripture or Psalms translation, even those approved in the past: e.g., the 1963 Grail Psalter (approved for the Liturgy of the Hours) or RSV (formerly an option for the Lectionary)
    any psalm from a collection approved by the local bishop (even in the past)
    Exception: not a psalm text that uses the holy name "Yahweh": e.g., not the Jerusalem Bible
    Thanked by 1Philothea
  • Mark HuseyMark Husey
    Posts: 192
    That being said, I'll have my congregation sing "Joy to the World" every Christmas as the Psalm until my pastor tells me otherwise. Which may happen this year. Whatever.
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • Bobby Bolin
    Posts: 419
    The second refrain to that- "God, my God, come to my aid, come to my aid, come" isn't completely off track. While it's probably not ideal, it's not horrible either.
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    I know that Hymns are not allowed in place of Psalms/propers, but it is usually because they don't reflect the text of the day.

    Hymns are allowed in place of the propers; whether they reflect the text of the day is not determinative.

    By contrast, the responsorial psalm (which you can call a proper if you want, although most people don't) cannot be replaced with a hymn. The rules do permit metrical versions of psalms, though, and these will naturally include some degree of paraphrase. Here I Am, Lord goes far beyond that; while based on a psalm, it is not a version of a psalm.
    Thanked by 5Adam Wood ronkrisman Liam Philothea Gavin
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,509
    Mark,

    I appreciate your explanations--what would you think of substituting Shepherd Me O God for Ps. 23 or On Eagles' Wings for Psalm 91 at the responsorial Psalm? My sense is that the added material makes them ineligible. Would enjoy hearing your analysis.
  • PhilotheaPhilothea
    Posts: 43
    Ok, I went back and re-read 61. It explicitly states that songs and hymns cannot be used in place of the Psalms. I don't know what got me hung up on the text being the reason behind it. I think it is because I read another quote from the GIRM that said that in the US, "other liturgical music" could be used and I thought I remembered it saying that the reason that Psalms and propers were preferred was because hymns don't honor the text in the Lectionary.

    Thank you!
  • PhilotheaPhilothea
    Posts: 43
    Oh, it is because I'm clumping the Psalms and the propers together, but the GIRM addresses them separately. My bad.
  • PhilotheaPhilothea
    Posts: 43
    So I raised the issue with the choir leader. She says it should be ok because it is "listed in the "Psalm" section of the hymnal.
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    Kathy,

    I do not think there is any easy bright line. Of the examples you raise, OEW strikes me as a closer call than Shepherd Me. You are right that adding material is problematic, and the main problem in OEW is the stuff added to the refrain ("make you to shine like the sun," etc.) -- the verses themselves are largely verbatim phrases from the psalm. On the whole I would judge both those examples to be songs or hymns rather than versions of the corresponding psalms.
    Thanked by 2Kathy Gavin
  • BenBen
    Posts: 3,114
    She says it should be ok because it is "listed in the "Psalm" section of the hymnal.


    That doesn't mean a thing. A hymnal is not a liturgical book. I could put twinkle twinkle little star in the psalm section and it still doesn't mean you could use it as a responsorial psalm.
    Thanked by 2Adam Wood francis
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    Or, to put it less snarkily, the church approval for the book doesn't mean that every detail about the book has been scrutinized and approved, but two main things: (1) the liturgical texts are presented in their integrity; and (2) the songs don't explicitly endorse any heresies, so they are acceptable to sing at Mass.

    How songs are categorized within a book is an editorial decision, and I don't think that the publishers usually claim church endorsement for that sort of decision-making. They could expressly ask for such an approval, in order to produce a church-approved collection of psalm settings, but that's not how these hymnals are presented.

    I hope I'm stating that accurately. If not, there are two forum members who have worked for GIA Publishing who can correct me about the procedure.

    You may hear from some musicians this argument in favor of singing heavily paraphrased psalms: the USCCB allows for the use of "metrical psalms": that is, psalms paraphrased in hymn form. Metrical psalms are prominent in Protestant hymnody: for example, the hymn "All people that on earth do dwell" is a metrical setting of Psalm 100. Some people may claim that Rory Cooney's "Psalm 40" is just another metrical psalm. I wouldn't know, since I haven't heard it, and I don't know whether it has the sort of classic hymn structure one would find in a metrical psalm.

    Thanked by 1Philothea
  • PhilotheaPhilothea
    Posts: 43
    My first instinct was, "those are subject headings of what the hymn is about." For example: Funeral, Communion, Psalms, Mary, etc, not something that delineates whether it IS a "Responsorial Psalm" etc.

    But how do you explain this to someone coming from this angle? These are largely people who dont have liturgical degrees, or even music degrees. They simply have a musical talent and step up to fill a need. They never learned about propers, or if they've heard the term, they just equate it to chant/"traditional" taste, etc.

    I don't want to bully her about it, I think that does far more harm than good, but I want to be able to share this beauty with others without upsetting the applecart, or coming off Traditionalist, so-to-speak. We've recently had a priest assigned to a neighboring "boomer mass" parish who changed to propers & Gregorian from the get-go. All the boomers did a mass exodus to OUR parish (that should explain a lot). So this is our Vigil Mass population.
  • PhilotheaPhilothea
    Posts: 43
    So I declined to sing the hymn in place of the Psalm, but instead of reverting back to the R&A, they used it anyway.

    I'm feeling torn. I am a truth-teller, but I felt nit-picky about this one. I don't believe that wanting to be licit and follow church teaching on not replacing the Psalms with a hymn is nit-picky, but it FELT that way, probably because they thought they were following the GIRM and I don't want to get on anyone's bad side.

    I just worry that I will come off as the "diva" who likes to rock the boat and get her way, y'know? Status quo until I came along.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    Take a long-term perspective.

    Q: My parish has dreadful music. How can I change it?
    A: Self-education is the first step toward the restoration of beauty and holiness in the liturgical life of your parish. Catholic musicians should learn to read neumes, and should begin to commit Latin hymns and settings of the Ordinary to memory. Then they can gather with others to form a schola, the traditional name for a choir that sings chant. It can take many months of practice before a new schola is prepared to sing at Mass.

    In the meantime, the schola can find other opportunities to perform chant, including Benediction services and visits to hospitals or homes for the aged. In all of this, prayer and charity toward others are essential. Sometimes the pastor is open to the idea and sometimes he is not, but he is far more likely to be welcoming to a schola that is already serving the parish community. Slow and systematic work, done cheerfully and with attention to quality, will accomplish far more in the long run than rash protests and demands.

    From "FAQ on Sacred Music": http://musicasacra.com/about-cmaa/faq/
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