The moment you've all been waiting for...simple Spanish Mass chants à la ICEL!
  • Not really, lol. I'm sure they're already out there but I just haven't found them. I was told there were chants in the Misal Romano but I don't have access to one and my pastor asked me to take on this project. Our church will be doing these chants for Advent to prepare for the full Latin chants in Lent!

    In case Spanish ICEL-style chants are not out there yet, I thought I would post my arrangements of them for your use in your parishes!

    God Bless and hope this helps.

    Dios los bendiga, espero que esto los ayudaría en sus ministerios de música!

    In Christ,
    ~Salma
    Thanked by 1eft94530
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,157
    A new US edition of the Misal Romano is in preparation. Does anyone know whether it will include chant melodies?
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,694
    I was told yes.

    It might be best to just do the Latin until official versions of the Missal Chants are released in Spanish (if they are to be). If your congregation learns these and then official chants are released (which will almost certainly not match the ones above), they will be sung "incorrectly" by your congregation forever.

    There are also some other very good chant Spanish Ordinaries out there - but they can be difficult to find. Send me a message if you're interested in some newly composed Spanish chant Ordinary settings.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,157
    Salma's version inspired me to make another simple Kyrie with the same melody, but adjusting the text setting slightly.
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,694
    I once more voice my concern for these being used for the reasons I've given above.

    GIA used to publish an English version of Agnus Dei XVIII that was used in a parish that I had worked at. It differed from the ICEL version and I would shudder to think what would happen if one tried introducing the ICEL chant there now.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,157
    I can confirm what Matthew heard about chants for the Spanish-language missal.

    The USCCB liturgy newsletter for January 2014 has this item:

    Chant Settings – A team of U.S. Hispanic and Spanish-speaking musicians is presently working on chant settings of Prefaces and other parts of the Mass for inclusion in the Misal Romano, Tercera Edición for the United States. It is the intention that the U.S. Misal mirror its English counterpart, and the Mexican Misal Romano currently has a limited number of chant settings.
    Thanked by 1eft94530
  • I did some of the Spanish ordinary settings a few years back. You can find some here: http://marello.org/simplex/collections/ordinary-i/. The memorial acclamations I did separately but never posted them. I'm sure I have them around here somewhere...
    Thanked by 1janetgorbitz
  • ryand, those are great, it's been a long time since I've stopped by these forums.

    Attached are some memorial acclamation settings, though the formatting could be improved and I have no idea how close the text will be to the final approved version.
  • ronkrisman
    Posts: 1,388
    "ICEL Chants in Spanish." I certainly hope that no one thinks this should be pursued. Rather, the goal should be Spanish versions of the Latin chants from the Missale Romanum. There is no need whatsoever to work from ICEL's English versions.

    And whoever does the work must have a firm grasp of chant as well as the Spanish language. IMO, there are things in most of the settings which have been posted here which demonstrate an imperfect grasp of one or the other. (E.g., someone who does not know that "Este es" is spoken and sung as two syllables, and not three, namely, "es-te_es," is going to create a Spanish musical setting of those words that will require some editorial correction.)

    It may be best to do as matthewj recommends by waiting for the USA's Misal Romano to appear. Hopefully, that "team of U.S. Hispanic and Spanish-speaking musicians" working on the chant settings to be included in said Misal Romano will be up to the task.

    Thanked by 2Adam Wood jsigur
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,694
    There are 3 or 4 free Spanish chant Masses that could be used presently if Latin is not yet an option. There is also the very affordable tri-lingual Psallite Mass that can be sung entirely in Spanish (or English or Latin) available here: http://www.litpress.org/Products/3406/the-psallite-mass-at-the-table-of-the-lord.aspx
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • ronkrisman, I too was chuckling at "ICEL" Spanish chants, but I don't think SopranoViolin meant they were rendered from the English.

    Though I am fluent in Spanish, it is not my first language...certainly the settings I have done myself are imperfect, though many have been vetted by scholas and music directors in Mexico and El Salvador and have been well received. Maybe it would be best to wait until the final versions are approved, though I would be surprised if the final translations of the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei were different since these are consistent with the up to date translations throughout Latin America.

    As for elisions, they are important in many phrasings of sung/spoken Spanish but they are certainly not a rule when the linguistic meaning dictates otherwise. As the music settings in the Mexican Misal Romano demonstrate, elisions which occur in spoken texts are often avoided when certain emphases are sought in the sung text. For example, "Éste es" can be sung both ways: as two syllables when the emphasis is not on the verb, or three syllables when the verb is emphasized. I use elisions carefully when the sung text dictates it, but there are often cases when vowels should not be run together in a sung context.

  • Instead of ICEL chants, should we call it Missa Simplex I, or Missa Jubilate Deo? I'm cool with that.
  • And whoever does the work must have a firm grasp of chant as well as the Spanish language. IMO, there are things in most of the settings which have been posted here which demonstrate an imperfect grasp of one or the other. (E.g., someone who does not know that "Este es" is spoken and sung as two syllables, and not three, namely, "es-te_es," is going to create a Spanish musical setting of those words that will require some editorial correction.)


    Not sure who or what you're referring to here, Ron. I'm half-Mexican and I'm fluent in both Spanish and English, so knowing about ellisions in Spanish and such is not an issue here as I believe I did observe what you said. Now "firm grasp" of chant I'm not so sure about, but I know enough about chant to not ruin the integrity of the melody along with the syllabic emphasis.

    Regarding the "ICEL Chants in Spanish" subject line, forgive me - I misspoke! My arrangement (or adaptation, words aren't coming to me at the moment) were taken first from the Latin then using the English on places where I was stumped. I literally had both the Latin and ICEL opened side by side when making this adaptation.

    Fwiw, my pastor wanted a Spanish vernacular of the Latin chants in order to move us to the Latin in Lent. I believe that is his ultimate goal. Our parish doesn't have time to wait around for the new edition of the Misal Romano, we needed these to be done in Advent. I was unaware of the new edition currently being worked and I thank you all for letting me know! Though sticking to the Latin chants is a great suggestion, I will make sure to mention this to the pastor and see if he wants to move forward with the Spanish adaptation I made or not.
  • Instead of ICEL chants, should we call it Missa Simplex I, or Missa Jubilate Deo? I'm cool with that.

    Clemens, I think there should have been an ICSL by now, huh? Maybe we're on to something here... :)
  • ;-)
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    ICSL

    How do you pronounce that?
  • CIEL - Comisión Internacional de Español en la Liturgia...it really needs an "o" at the end doesn't it? CIELO = heaven, haha
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,157
    Just to complicate things, there already is a CIEL in this field: Centre International d'Etudes Liturgiques.
  • @Father Spencer: Any more additions coming to marello.org? I very much appreciate the work you have done thus far.
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    Now we need the Propers!!! I am having to use Adam Bartlett's melody in my brain whenever I am subbing as a cantor for Mass in Spanish.
  • benedictgal
    Posts: 798
    bump
  • I'm basically finished with the propers in Spanish... just cleaning up a few things as I work to convert them to gabc. You can find them all (Introit, Salmo Responsorial, Aleluya, Ofertorio and Comunion) here in pdf files (this is the result using Meinrad fonts)... feedback appreciated. There is still a bit of work needed to get Responsorial and Aleluya for all three years of the cycle, but mostly done...

    http://castraponere.com/janet/spanish-propers-project
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen marymezzo