Hello – The forum admins were kind enough to let me join. I am not a professional musician. I am a congregational member who enjoys and appreciates music. I have always liked a “sung mass” (in the OF) and have grown more attracted to the Gregorian Latin chants and have been slowly educating myself (currently using “square note” app to learn better). But I am not opposed to contemporary music or hymns, nor do I attend mass to function as a “liturgical music critic”. But I thought it would be useful to present a “guy in the pews” perspective of introducing Gregorian chant.

When a parish I attended decided to go “full latin” for the ordinary’s (they used the Jubilate Deo chants found in Worship) upon adoption of the 2010 missal, I was fine with the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, but initially I thought it was obnoxious to expect us to sing the Gloria in Latin. 2 months later, I thought: “I can do this.” 6 months later: “I really like this”. 9 months later : “I love this.” 4 years later a parish “merger” and the new priest ended it and I thought “Why is he taking this treasure away?”.

I have educated myself to learn the origin of this chant sequence under Pope Paul -an “easiest” versions compilation from the 18 Gregorian mass settings and intended to be one all Catholics could/should be familiar with. I have listened to all 18 on CC Watershed and I would agree these are the easiest. I would add that, personally, I think the Gloria (VIII de Angelis) is also the most beautiful and “sing-able” of all the Gloria’s in the Kyriale. For a congregation member, repetition is very important to learn , and unfortunately for the Church musician , once learned, continuing to use the same familiar ordinary chants from memory over time is also part of an important religious experience of the congregation (not so much fun for the musician). So my thought is that there is nothing wrong in “not progressing further” beyond this essential Gregorian sequence. It has occasionally been asked on this forum – what about seasonal variations? I understand from reading those discussions that the seasonal suggestions from the Vatican are just that- suggestions- and that nothing is mandated. Assuming that is the case, I would make the following suggestions from my pew-sitting perspective.

Ordinary Time – Jubilate Deo Compilation Setting. Because Jubilate Deo is “easy” and ought to become “ordinary to encounter” and part of the musical muscle memory.

Advent/Lent – Jubilate Deo except substituting Orbis Factor Kyrie (XI) because it feels slightly more penitential (to me and I also think it is “easy”), and, perhaps more importantly, only introduces a small incremental change for the congregation. Or use full Orbis Factor setting (XI) after a year or so if a significant portion of the congregation is engaged and interested in Gregorian chant ( I would be one of them and willing to go on from there). Obviously, the Gloria is dropped due to the season.

Christmas /Easter – Missa de Angelis setting (VIII). Gloria from Jubilate Deo will be familiar from Ordinary time and so only the shorter pieces need to be learned. Again, make the magnitude of the changes easier to digest.

Weekdays – Jubilate Deo to the extent ordinary is sung at all. Likely omitting Gloria in most parish weekday masses in my experience.

As an aside, and without going into a whole new post, I think the Missa Simplex by Proulx/O’Connor is elegant genius (it almost sings itself) and is a good English non-chant alternative (yet somehow feels like chant) for congregations not going the “Gregorian chant route”.