Pink, I can identify....sort of. People feel free to leave when the priest processes, and in our very small church, that has sometimes left me singing to a near empty church with a few people milling about and talking. Sigh. It doesn't happen very often though. If I can get them singing a good song, most will stay. But people just mostly want to go home. Or to breakfast.

Some older Catholics still have the habit of leaving directly after Holy Communion and not waiting for the final blessing.

When my mother started attending Mass in the 1990s, brought to church by her neighbor, the neighbor did just that, and Mom followed her out. It was some months before I took her to church one day, and until then she'd never actually seen the end of Mass! :-)

Pretty sure most of the folks in my parish would be surprised to learn that the recessional hymn generally has more than one verse.

Postludes in Catholic churches are processional music for the congregation's exit.

Charles, some will even stay because they've never heard such marvelous music before!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpK_t0TMvk8

In my parish, there is always another mass waiting to begin, so postludes are reserved for the rare Sunday where mass runs long. I think that in some places, the people are in a hurry to leave because they didn't really enjoy being there in the first place. I don't have an explanation, but it may depend on the community itself. Attention spans are not what they were when I was a child and mass was mass.

My pastor said to play loudly since it would be harder for the pips to talk in the church.

For the postlude, I use a mix of composed music and improvisations on the final hymn. If something is particularly long, I might cut it down some, or just play the last few pages. For example, in Bach's Passacalia, I might start at the quick triplets or the next variation.

Here, there's usually at least a few that will stay to the end and thank me afterwards, which is nice.

No prelude, carillon takes care of that

No instrumental post-communion, Fr. doesn't allow it

Postlude not worth doing, nobody stays long enough to hear any of it, and they just think I'm practicing for something else

At the school:

Total opposite. Prelude and postlude at each Mass, post-communion at my discretion, and Fr. totally supports it all

Staying for the postlude? Many folks take a hike after communion.
I expect people to not listen to the postlude, however, what irks me (rant warning) is when someone (often a choir member) keeps tapping me on the back to get my attention while I am playing the postlude.

I have told choir members that I am unable to do two things at once. If they have anything to say to me, be seated and wait until I finish playing. I have also told them to stop trying to talk over the organ during postludes, and to leave the loft if they have anything of any importance to say to each other. I have to repeat it from time to time. I call them the Alzheimer's choir.

Technically, the moment after "Thanks be to God" is uttered, any and all congregants can exit the church "guilt free," not even having to wait for the cross or the celebrant to pass them by.
So what we're chatting about hear is Miss Manners' stuff.
Having the good fortune of being the choirmaster and graced with a genius organist, we long ago articulated a few things-
*Whatever is played and/or sung at that dismissal, we're are doing so for the glory of God only. We haven't a concern whatsoever whether "they" stay, sing, talk over the music, or moo on their forced march to the parking lot.
*When the postlude is played, now generally as the recessional piece, as soon as the celebrant crosses the plane passed the choir in the epistle transept, the choir sits, doesn't talk, takes in the postlude, and if we're so moved quietly applaud our organist if the piece was rousing. Then we exit after any quietly announced remiinders from me or W, and all's well.

We're, as AmChurch, now a long ways from "ettiquette" and way into "It's all about me and you're not the boss of me" mentality. It's a crying shame, but it is so.

I haven't played a prelude in years. It is utter chaos with cantors and choir coming in late, trying to find their music, and other craziness going on. There is not more than 15 to 20 minutes between masses and I need to get out of the loft for a few minutes, too.

At my last job we had a sizeable pipe organ in a huge, marvelously lively space, and on the ocassions the PIP chose to talk, which was most Masses, there was NOTHING that would drown them out.l

Tim, at my first school Mass with a choir, we began a choral postlude, would have been 45 seconds tops, choir in the front of the nave, but that didnt stop the dim-bulb but beloved principal walking into the sanctuary, grabbing the ambo mic and barking out info about cafeteria schedules, or something of the sort....
I should have realized then what value TPTB placed on music that didntinclude hand jive or itsy-bitsy spider moves.

(Save the Liturgy, Save the World)

I have been Music Director at a church in Lancaster NY, eastern suburb of Buffalo for about 2 years now. Church has a 1920 Moller that was acquired by one of my predecessors. Both of my predecessors (there were two organists that split the organ masses) were both notorious for whaling away on another stanza of the closing hymn on full organ almost every Sunday. I play standard repertoire postludes each week, and I normally "suggest" a full organ sound by using 1/3 or less of the organ's volume. There are a few old guard parishioners who I know are on a mission to drive me out of the church, and would gladly take back my predecessors. Well, about a month ago, one complained to the parish council that my postludes are "too loud and disturbing to those who want to talk after church," and another screamed at me in the sacristy saying that "we don't want to hear grandiose performances of "songs" we don't know..." Fortunately my pastor is not taking these complaints too seriously, aside from a "be aware of the organ's volume" comment. Postludes are still heard in Lancaster NY.

Missed this thread first time around, so I'll have a go. (Full disclosure: I currently serve a Presbyterian church, though am not Presbyterian myself.)

The custom here is for the majority of people to start chatting noisily and head for the exits, while a few remained in the pews and attempted to listen. When I arrived here, it would frustrate me greatly...I'd put in the time practicing the big works by Bach, and hardly anyone could be bothered to listen. The Worship & Music committee spoke to the pastor on my behalf, but he had no desire to ruffle any feathers by trying to change the situation.

Eventually I realized that what I could do was change my approach. I scoured the organ repertoire for shorter (2-3 minute) works, particularly by the lesser-known composers. There was a lot of mediocre stuff to sift through, but I managed to find some keepers. I also wrote a postlude of my own, and it was well-received so I'll try dashing off a few more. On the occasions when I do play a larger work, I usually truncate it, and hope the composer will forgive me.

It is ideal? No. People still talk noisily and walk out, but at least I haven't invested so much of my soul into the postlude that I feel deflated afterwards. It allows me to focus my energy on other portions of the service. And I do put on organ concerts for the people who want to come and listen respectfully.

Not a new or American problem; consider Saint-Saens' remarks about the fugue being the proper form for a postlude.

Fugue is not a form.
It is a procedure.

Are there any mention of pre or postludes in church documents? The only thing I recall is the question of appropriatness for certain seasons....WHICH MIGHT indicate that the church regards them as normal unless trumped by other factors?