Indeed, Charles.
People's (both EF and OF) rationales for what is or isn't played as voluntaries before and after mass are predictably self serving casuistry - none of it either cute or smart. That whatever is attached to or is in any way connected to the mass (or any other ritual) should reflect the sanctity of the ritual and be subject to it's rubrics ought to be obvious to any sentient being. Voluntaries (or if you prefer, preludes and postludes) have as their very raison d'etre to set the tone of the day's celebration, and, as such, perform a function related to the liturgy - that of preparing people's minds for the nature of what form of spirituality the Church has in store for that day. As such they are as important as music which is, technically, 'within' the liturgy. GIRM or any other authority which offers directives as to what music will be heard at mass, refers as well to any music that is in any way connected to the mass. Voluntaries certainly fall within this ritual penumbra.

I might add that at Walsingham (and I assume throughout the Ordinariate) we continue to have organ voluntaries throughout Lent because 'giving them up for Lent' is not universal Anglican custom. There is, after all, no end of repertory of a penitential nature that can be played during this holy season. The only time the organ is totally silent in our cathedral is from after Gloria on Maundy Thursday to the moment it bursts forth in praise at the Easter Vigil. Within that time not so much as a pitch is heard from the organ.

Isn’t accompanying the congregation the vast majority of what the organ is used for during any liturgy? Maybe I don’t understand the issue?

Marc

I don't do preludes, postludes, or any incidental music during Lent, except for the infamous "pink" Sunday. I used to tease our former associate pastor about all our rose vestments looking pink.

I don't play preludes or postludes during Advent, either. I will play incidental music in keeping with the season. The penitential aspects of Advent seem lost to most people. It isn't just the pre-Christmas shopping season.

Marc, two things to consider: 1) "vast majority" means just that--so there's a tiny minority which is, ahhh....wrongly played. 2) Are you absolutely certain that your congregation cannot sing a hymn without the organ? There's a cantor, right? C'mon, now. ABSOLUTELY certain? Maybe you should try it once!

I suspect what can seem awkward is the lack of "cover" music at different times (incensations, etc).

No organ except for giving pitch. No preludes or postludes except for Laetare. Its all acapella.

When our organist quit many years ago, we decided to go strictly a cappella. It's been very beneficial and our chant greatly improved because of it. We do now have an organist, but he never accompanies, just plays a prelude and postlude and at the offertory, outside of Advent an Lent. When we're stuck on a piece at a rehearsal, he will play out the tune on the organ for us. But we always rehearse and perform a cappella.

Ora

We are, unfortunately, still using the 4 hymn sandwich (though also singing proper antiphons in english). I accompany the hymns but use only select 8' and 4' stops during lent. The 4' stops I gradually take away. We could easily sing everything acappella but the pastor does not want this.

The propers are done acappella as well as all intonations (all year long)
Hymns are accompanied with soft organ
There are no preludes or postludes or any other type instrumental music.

When I play preludes in other seasons they just talk (scream) over them anyway.

Thirty-five years ago, I was visiting a cathedral in New Mexico. There were a number of distressing irregularities... not least was that apparently consecrated wine had been left out in a glass pitcher. Without mentioning what I had seen, I later asked one of the priests attached to the church his understanding of what happens at the consecration. His explanation was NOT transubstantiation. It was something that I later learned to be transignification.

In the military, I talked with a 'Catholic' who denied the real Presence. He was astonished that I could believe in such "nonsense" that he equated to superstition.

Sad to say, it is not merely laity who carry on conversations before, after (and truth be told, even during) Mass or the Sacraments. Aren't priests who make a point of being casual in the church (let alone in the sanctuary itself) fostering that attitude?

What I find pervasive (and something that bothers me a great deal) are the number of Catholics who no longer find it necessary to capitalize "Mass" or the pronouns that refer to God. From my perspective, that illustrates the beginning of the problem.

"I find it eccentric and difficult to believe that Catholics would talk, and talk loudly, over a prelude or postlude - or, actually, talk at all. In my life as an Anglican and now as an Ordinariate Catholic I had thought that it was only Baptists and the like who did such things. That people should enter into the courts of the Lord and jabber and prattle is just beyond belief. Shame! Do they not know where they are, in Whose Presence they stand??!!!"

Well, the prelude or postlude part is immaterial to the latter part, right?

I have noticed some posters here do not capitalize as much as I do. I think I may go overboard, but I believe it is a carryover from my teaching days when I wanted to impress as much reverence and awe as I possibly could. I always appreciated how silent the students could be as they waited for the celebrant to enter for school Masses. The children, age 3 to 13ish, were much better at this than their parents!

I follow the capitization in the Missal and Lectionary.

I find it eccentric and difficult to believe that Catholics would talk, and talk loudly, over a prelude or postlude - or, actually, talk at all.

I remember sitting in church, seeing those in the pew in front of turn their heads towards the choir loft (not something I'm usually fond of, for some odd reason) listening intently to the improvisations of the organist, doing nothing more distracting than slightly conducting with their free hands and smiling contentedly.

And then I remember that this memory was of St. Andrew's Episcopal . . .

I know someone who leaves every mass at the peace greeting. Too much, "fellowship" for him.

Passing the peace at Walsingham is a very discreet moment. Some people turn to their neighbours (and only to their neighbours!), bow, and say 'peace be with you' or something similar. This is alright, in keeping with what the peace is supposed to be, and is non-disruptive. Others decline to do even this and remain respectfully silent. This, too, is alright.

In Walsingham's very early days the peace was passed around as I imagined it might have been done originally - it began in the sanctuary, was passed from there to the nave, and then was passed from person to person in the nave until all had 'received' it. In my mind this was very monastic and was what the historic pax was like - sort of like passing the pax without the pax board.

It would take the irreverent American mind to turn a sacred moment of sharing the Lord's peace with one's neighbour into the mayhem that occurs in countless of our churches, with people running all over the place, conversing, crossing the aisles, and in general turning the peace into a mini social gathering. Too many Americans, and their priests and deacons, are simply uncomfortable with sacrality and reverence. This is why they do all they can to spoil it with deliberately informal demeanor throughout the mass.

It would take the irreverent American mind to turn a sacred moment of sharing the Lord's peace with one's neighbour into the mayhem that occurs in countless of our churches,

Actually, DeToqueville warned about 'democracy' having an ill-effect on "forms". by which he meant 'formalities,' (in the best sense.) He was also concerned that the resulting "In-formality" would show itself in hastiness and disregard for higher things (for lack of a better term.)

Huh.

I worked for a well-known Order (exclusively EF) which had all sorts of its very own rules and regs

Dad, would this order happen to follow Wapelhorst for its rubrics instead of Fortescue, by chance?

In any case, the order I used to associate with (not the formally dissolved one, Lord knows what their thoughts on this subject would be) would allow organ during Votive Masses in Lent - since they technically "weren't Lent". Is this a thing? I'd like to know because the organist of my group is getting rather antsy that he doesn't have anything to play during Lent (this despite the fact that I told him he could always busy himself with practicing for stuff after Lent . . .)

Well, every time I point out that Sundays are IN Lent but not OF it, that Sundays are OF Advent and not IN it, some smart fellow says 'wait a minute - that isn't so because.....'. And the 'becauses' are always based upon how the forty days of Lent aren't actually forty days, or some other clever slight of hand mind reasoning. Nonetheless, while I will continue to promote the historical notion that Lenten Sundays are IN and not OF, I will also urge that it be kept in mind that a Sunday IN Lent is not exactly the same as a Sunday IN Christmastide or Ascensiontide. IN Lent, after all, is IN Lent.

The rule in Para. 313 is very clear and does not depend on "counting days". (I smell Jesuitism all the way up here in the frozen North.)

.

I improvise on the introit before Mass, less during Lent. It helps the choir and the congregation sing the propers. Organ for the Hymns and the the more modern propers (2 from OCP) but not the chanted ordinaries or the propers . Well maybe a diminished chord in Parce Domine, and some soft pedal reeds, and the sad gedekt on "O sacred Head." There's too many good things you can do with the organ in Lent. I will use the organ on Good Friday is support is needed.

Clearly Ralph, you don't give a rip about church regulations. Should we applaud you?

Granted, Charles. But that was not mentioned. I've had pastors order this and order that, too....but they wound up without my services b/c I refused to do it. They are now wrong, but with somebody else doing their bidding.

the Triduum where the use of the organ is absolutely and entirely forbidden from the Gloria of Holy Thursday to the Gloria of the Easter Vigil.

While this is traditional, I believe it is no longer the case, and organ is allowed to support the singing even then (at least in the OF).

While this is traditional, I believe it is no longer the case, and organ is allowed to support the singing even then (at least in the OF).

True, it is allowed to support singing in the OF. My EF friends tell me they don't use it.