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I will echo Chris' question: do you intend the verses to be sung by a cantor, or by a choir in Anglican chant style? If the former I would encourage you to provide for the cantor a distinct melody for each verse that is at least somewhat more developed than that of the people's responsory. In this way you would do much to liken your work to historic responsorial psalmody. Psalm tone derivatives really are not solo chants, they are for large groups of people - even though nearly everyone misuses them in an out of print these days. Cantors' music should be more, not less, elaborate than that for the people's responsory.

I like your work. Only one of the responsories did I think a little on the trite side of the spectrum (I think it was the third one above). Your melodies are very well adapted to their texts. The chants of the verses, which are derived from Anglican Chant, are quite nice; but (as I noted above) they are not a genuine cantor's solo material - never mind that Alstott and everyone else misuses them these days. Write mildly elaborate melody for the cantor's verses. The people's responsories are fine, really nice and, most important, tasteful.

I am very glad to get this feedback! The more straightforward the better. I am absolutely looking for suggestions and ways to improve - particularly in which format and compositional style may be best. As an organist by trade, I often think in "hymn" format with parts. However, since I am new at this, I was using Owen Alstott's settings inRespond and Acclaim as a template for the format. Please suggest other good resources (including any of your own) that you like so I can reference them.

Also may be helpful to mention that my goal is to create very simple settings, both for the congregation and the cantor. I live in a rural farm area where musical training is very limited. I think there is a need for simple settings, but I am hoping to write ones with integrity and taste.

Chris - It is my initial intention to have a solo cantor sing the verses, but I also wanted choir parts to be available with the verses. I chuckled when I read your second comment about the guitar chords I provide. You are correct in assuming that a conservative flavor is my goal... (classically trained organist here!) The chords were actually a compositional tool and I simply left them on the score. Would you suggest removing them? And your third point - the psalm tone is originally composed, however since I am most often exposed to Alstott-style psalm settings, it could be possible I "accidentally" used one of his tones! I have checked and at this point am pretty sure it is original to me...albeit Alstott flavor. I really appreciate your feedback!

M. Jackson - As mentioned above, yes my intent was to have a solo cantor sing the tones. But my goal is also to create very simple tones so they can easily be sung by cantors with very little musical training, possibly even young cantors. With this goal in mind, would you still suggest trying to make the cantor part a bit more elaborate? Do you have a specific resource I could reference? Thank you for your suggestions!

Richard - Was there a particular psalm above that you were referencing when mentioning "double-stemming upbeats"? I don't think I quite follow what you were explaining. Reducing confusion among church musicians is an excellent goal...one I'd like to strive towards! Any clarification would be helpful.

“We don't want to be more Catholic than the Pope, so we should avoid all that chant stuff...”

Might want to check your sources on that one...

https://youtu.be/nnBOUeXoe8M

https://youtu.be/hcQWAcJFeu8

https://youtu.be/mI36D9RDzZQ

Regarding OP, I think your work is a good start. As a cantor, I appreciate the reasonable vocal range and respect for downbeats (maybe strike the syncopated conclusion to ps 138 though). I’d compare it favorably to Guimont and Gelineau’s work that we currently use at my parish. I actually think including guitar chords is a good call, because love em or hate em, parish music programs will still use guitars in mass, and at the very least they shouldn’t feel like they have to resort to the Haugen/Haas stuff that everyone is getting tired of (except baby boomer DoMs of course). Rome wasn’t built a day, and I think teaching “guitar mass” musicians and congregants more respectable forms of sacred music in a medium they’re familiar with is a good start.

Congratulations on these efforts. Best of luck with them. Here are my comments, which I hope are not too negative:

Ps 25
Tessitura is too low; E-minor would be more comfortable. The repetition for the extra line of verse two is not successful; maybe add an extra phrase for it (and others like it).

Ps 145
Verse harmony progressions are not strong, especially phrase two to three; final phrase has parallel fifths in the bass clef, as well as between the alto and tenor between first and second phrase. Such things are still worth caring about, especially in what is otherwise a thoroughly common practice style.

Ps 138
I get your wanting to keep the refrain metrical, but this one feels jarring and rushed in the third measure; all your others use eighth notes mostly for week syllables. For the psalm tone, I would suggest a penultimate note that is different from the final to make a clearer preparation for the ends of the second and fourth phrases (F and A respectively, perhaps).

Jer 31
The title of this confuses me, as it doesn't indicate what weekday of the 25th week, and the weekday cycle is I or II, not ABC (unless I am totally off base here). Again regarding the refrain, "guards" of "guards his flock" is given short shrift for the sake of the meter; maybe make that measure 6/8, quarter-eighth-quarter-eighth. I think verse two should begin, "The Lord shall ransom Jacob" (ah, cut-and-paste errors!) The end of verse two is an interesting problem; you want a week syllable on the penultimate note, but you get "Lord's", which cannot be week. An A-flat here, rather than the F, might help give it just a little bit of lift (see comment for Ps 138).

"double-stemming upbeats"? I don't think I quite follow

In your first example, the first note of "Remember your mercies, O Lord" is notated as a unison. In a keyboard accompaniment an alto 'voice' isn't needed until the rhythms diverge in the first full bar, and the left hand should not be split into 'tenor' and 'bass'. In the Jeremiah the upbeats "The Lord will" likewise look funny with downward stems, and the left hand should probably have eighth rest followed by quarter rest; in the next bar an eighth rest in the 'tenor' would make things absolutely clear. For that page's 1st verse, the alto (if the choir sings) needs to know GIA conventions to repeat the f at "Hear the word of the Lord, O nations".

What I like about "How good is the Lord to all" is that (unlike much of Guimont) there is no doubt about how the repeat fits into the meter: 1-2-breathe-"How…". If you were to hand me "In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord" I would emend the penultimate word to be two quarters and waste rehearsal time on that.

Davido's comment "no better or worse" sums up my feelings; while there's value for oneself in learning to emulate, the market, such as it is, is probably for something a bit different. The Parish Book of Psalms has material for unaccompanied cantor (we've used it for Lent), and I posted an example of what I think a choral Responsorial Psalm ought to look like in this thread.

I appreciate your perspective, M. Jackson. It has inspired me to think a bit more creatively. Do you have a resource I might reference that would reflect the ideal you are suggesting? Unfortunately it cannot be assumed that a cantor has more talent or skill than that of the congregation. It is an ideal to strive towards (indeed crucial!). I deal with cantors who may even have less talent than the average congregant. I want to explore the possibility of having very accessible verses so that, despite the simplicity, the Psalms can be sung with confidence and some degree of excellence. When the Psalms are more complex, the beauty and excellence suffer simply because of the lack of training of the cantor. It seem a challenge to balance the ideal of psalmody composition with current practicality. I hope to have both practicality and beauty. I'm very open to learning how to break the Alstott mold. It has been the mold I've primarily been exposed to most of my life. Any recommended resources would be very helpful!

I have no problems with those guitar chords, and I am about the most conservative organist/director you will find anywhere. For our morning masses I use psalm settings that are more conservative than those used by the "folk" mass group and they have guitar chords. The more contemporary group is using our psalms and playing those guitar chords leading them to perform better music. You have to start somewhere and simple is good. At the times when I don't care for the accompaniment for whatever reason - usually because it throws the singers off - I play those psalms from the guitar chords and make my own accompaniment. I am glad they are there.

Yes, we should offer God our best. Best can vary according to the abilities of the singers.

JKW,

"Conservative" is used to mean "this set of policy ideas", rather than "aiming to keep what the past has validly handed on to us.

Conservatives who bash chant or speak ill of the Traditional Rite (whatever may be validly said about those who attend it) aren't holding a Catholic position.

In this context, conservative means "restrained"..... but unless it includes Gregorian chant, it excludes what is proper to the Mass. 4-hymns +Gelineau + Marty Haugen may equal the Conservative position, but it doesn't match the Catholic position.


Restraint is a good thing, if wild Bacchus has been the order of the day, but replacement is to be preferred as the end goal, not restraint. A restrained concert by Madonna is, after all, still a concert by Madonna. [I'm using the example for illustrative purposes, not equating Alstott to Madonna.]

I think someone did once post examples along the lines MJO suggests, though I can't help thinking if they were anything as beautiful as the Proses Attende, Rorate, or Juizio fuerte I would certainly have bookmarked them.

Another (conventional) approach is Jonathan D. Eason's in this thread.

The reference to the Advent and Lent proses as an example of this style has reminded me of some of the compositions of Leo Nestor. In these, he sets a simple congregational refrain, with the cantor or choir having varied chant verses. You can see the scores at GIA:

Come Back to the Lord - for the imposition of ashes at Ash Wednesday

Father, If This Cup May Not Pass - communion antiphon for Palm Sunday

Thanks and please upload more of these. These are very helpful. God bless