Are you using one of the standard "modern" psalm tones? (St. Meinrad, etc.?)

I typically craft my own refrain, basing it on the first and last measures of the tone I'm using for the verses. Just a thought.

You're right, however. It's a rare occurence indeed when the psalm response on a weekday corresponds to one used on a weekend. Often when the response is the same, the verses won't be.

Not to send this down a rabbit hole, but don't you suppose the reason why the ferial psalms and their appointed responses have never been set to music is because it was never conceived that daily Mass would be sung, but rather would be treated as a "low (read) Mass"?

I know, I know . . . sit down Gavin. ;^)

For the Masses where the school is the primary part of the congregation, we have as much music as a weekend Mass, which I'm not entirely in agreement with primarily because the music is selected almost entirely from the notorious "Blue Book" (i.e., Gather 2nd ed.,) with very few hymns sung from the "Red Book" (i.e., Worship III). I gave up playing the organ at school Masses entirely, for now anyways, for health reasons (my blood pressure was reflecting my aggravation levels driven by the "kids don't like the organ, they want piano and guitar" crowd and the ever-present praise music "sung postludes" we do, mostly from "Spirit and Song" . . .)

Fortunately, the current Pastor has insisted that the readings come from the daily lectionary, with few (if any) exceptions. He will not permit the "Lectionary for Masses with Children" translations to be used, and the responsorial psalmody must be taken from the psalm of the day (if there's a setting) or a setting of a common seasonal psalm.

Because we have kids cantoring the psalms (oh, believe me, I do what I can to crush the "American Idol" sound out of them . . . scooping and sliding around like a Brittney wannabe . . .) I haven't yet been able to convince the "powers that be" that we should be teaching a set of psalm tones. Not sure if my cardiologist would permit the discussion at this point.

Sorry if I've gone off-topic.

Hi, Michael.

That is one thing I want to do more of: use Chabanel Psalms interchangeably that have the same number of syllables.

If the Chabanel Psalms become popular enough, maybe someday I could do the daily Psalms as well.

The success of the Chabanel Psalms has surpassed our wildest dreams so far, but I would like to beg everyone who reads this to please continue to let others know about the project.

It will only survive if there is enough interest, but advertising is (of course) very difficult and expensive. Word of mouth is the best and it is free!

Richard, that is absolutely super! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to do this. I believe there is a project the size of the Choralis Constantinus here!

Thanks again. You're the best.

Well, Jeff O, the Chabanel Psalms have now become my primary source - I only use something else if I have to. But they're simple, beautiful, and straightforward.

And I've been recommending them to all the other schola directors I know.

Jeff:

I engrave using Encore, available from GVOX: http://www.gvox.com/encore.php. The latest version works on Vista, with only minor quirks, and prints to PDF like a dream. I've yet to get it to imbed in Word documents, more's the pity.

Michael:

"...a project the size of the Choralis Constantinus here!"

C'mon, you guys. Part of the music director's weekly duties is finding decent things to do for that (reprehensible) Responsorial Psalm. And if it's not on the shelf, well then... we write it ourselves. Thus ever has it been (30 years, or so), and thus evermore shall it be. Just say to yourself: "I can do better than OCP... I can do better than OCP..."

Very nice, but probably a stupid question -- what is the Psalterium?
I've always had to pore through the Liber Usualis for an appropriate tune to adapt when I had no psalm setting (it'll probably eventually get me fired, it helped force me out of the school Masses, but I hold out for the psalm from the Lectionary, however obscure -- you should hear the complaining going on about the Lateran Basilica...)

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