Jeffrey,

I think that is a very interesting project.

I also think there is quite a lot of beauty in the gorgeous Gregorian cantilena.

Even though I believe that the strict Gregorian is even more beautiful, I think this could be a good (and AMAZING) stepping stone for a lot of folks (if I may say so). I know some won't accept chant in English if they are used to Latin (as I am), and I know the really good reasons the Church asks us to keep it in Latin, but I still think this project is HIGHLY valuable and commendable!

The only (minor) critique I have is found on several pages where he said the word "corrected" when I would have preferred the word "variant." I can change the word "practice" to "practise," but I have not "corrected" it. Rather, I have given a variant.
For example, sometimes he favors SI as the modal "dominant" in a few of the modes, which (as near as anyone can tell) is a very ancient practice, but one that nevertheless co-existed with a different practice (DO as the modal "dominant") that thrived alongside it during the "Golden Age" of Cantus Gregorianus. One of the major problems with going back too far before Montpellier H. 159 is that so much rests on speculation, not only with regard to the rhythm, but with regard to the very notes themselves, the scales, and especially the issue of scale steps smaller than a half step (which the typical 4-line stave cannot accurately represent).

All right, Jeffrey. Hoopla is appropriate! I've downloaded the American Gradual and am looking at the introit for the Christmas Mass at Midnight. It does print better than it appears on the screen. And I'm all for it, especially for Latin-allergic dioceses. And the stemless notation effectively silences the singers who squeal at the sight of a neum(e).

I'm going to try some of these with my schola - not that we ever have had a Mass to sing yet - in order to see how they work. I think the spacing of the stemless notes will help the singers keep moving. And we all know that chant that "moves" belies the common notion of dreariness.

Sound of more hoopla! Hoop, Hoop, Hoop, La!

He seems to have a real talent for this: great work!

Why so long? I don't know because I remember coming across "englished" chant in the early 1960s (I was a religious music freak as a child). There were efforts in the Pius X hymnal and The Grail did work before they wandered off into feminism and Gaia.

I think the liturgical rupture was just so strong and the desire to get rid of "anything" that smacked of "the old way" that vernacular plainsong didn't stand a chance. Another possible factor was the extent to which the choir directors who were conversant in chant believed that you simply couldn't sing it in English unless you took it all the say down to recto tono.

However, with the American Gradual we've turned a corner.

Mary Jane,

You and your ladies are invited to come down to Jensen Beach and sing Pentecost with us at 3:00.

Mike

correction uploaded

Thank you for your favorable assessment of my work, and thank you expecially from pointing out that Advent IV is missing and Advent III included twice. I make careless errors of this sort frequently, and I'll correct this one immediately.

My decision to use modified modern notation was a response to entreaties to choirmasters who were using my work. "What will I do when I have to hire a substitute?" one asked. I may in the future produce an edition in conventional chant notation.

My approach to adaptation is more akin to that of Winfred Douglas than to that of Francis Burgess. Douglas used the melodic material from which the Latin chants had been forged to set the English texts. For him the texts were primary. Burgess strung English words, wily-nily, under melodic lines constructed for Latin texts. Douglas's method is the one employed by the composers of the Latin chant corpus when they adapted existing melodies to new Latin texts. See, for example, the offertory, Iustorum animae, which is an adaptation of Stetit angelus.

I must explain, by the way, that I do not have a doctorate.

Hey, why did no one notice that I had been raving about this publication for a year now? Of course it is fantastic that it's now being offered for free. Really, there's no excuse not to include at least one Proper at every Mass with any singing.

Beautiful and wonderful! Now my job will be convincing my parish music director to use it.

Updated through Ash Wednesday!

I have fallen slightly behind in the work of revision.

In fact, I have completed revision of the propers for Corpus Christi, Trinity Sunday, and all but one of the subsequent Sundays through Proper 10 (Roman rite: 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time). Because of the gap, I have not posted all that I have completed.

I'll try to catch up as soon as possible and then to keep the postings up to date.

Thank you, Bruce, for all your work. Thank you also, for not using chant notation. You have taken it out of the hands of the "annointed" and given it to the choirs and congregations who go nuts when confronted with neumes.

up and looks fantastic

If you haven't tried this, please do. It is a bit different from Latin chant. You have to work with it a bit to get your confidence up and each requires a slightly different method (imho) depending on the text. But once you get it, it really does the thing. very moving, prayerful, and beautiful.

fantastic! Thank you so much. Love the speed.

Great job !

A

can I play this on my iPod through the sound system at the appropriate liturgical moment? (just kidding)

Charles — I use Audacity with the GVerb plugin for the reverb.

Thanks to all for the good words on this. If there's demand for weekly recordings, I would consider it. Show of hands, please?

see new thread: Why didn't anybody think of this before?

Wonderful, Aristotle! I was singing it way too slow.

Hi Yurodivi,

Sorry for the delayed response. I'm currently recording audio from an Edirol R–09 and using iMovie '08 to stitch things together.

(According to public records, my first-last-name combination is one in 150,000,000 — and it's probably singularly unique if you include my middle name.)

Does anyone know when TAG will be updated through the end of the liturgical year? Or am I missing something?

Thanks,
Jeff

I will begin revising the propers for the Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time this week. I'll try to do one set a week between now and Christ the King. When I have finished, I'll go back and do the five Summer Sundays that I have not done. Finally I'll do the propers for certain feasts. The revision will then be complete.

I have had some other projects to complete and, frankly, I ran out of steam.