Alleluia verses in the Liber Cantualis
  • rye
    Posts: 14
    Hello, in the Liber Cantualis there are four Alleluias given for the verse preceding the Gospel (see attached pdf). We typically use alleluia A (Mode VI). I'd like to try one of the other three. However, in the pdf, the other three don't have the word "alleluia" fully written out under the music, so I'm not sure how to align the syllables with the music. Does anyone know how to do this, or can you point me to a resource that writes it out explicitly? I'm also wondering, would you consider the other alleluias too difficult for a congregation without a choir? Thank you.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,464
    I've taken that to mean a very long melismatic final "a", with a slightly repercussive reentry if breath is taken.
    Thanked by 2rye CHGiffen
  • Chant_Supremacist
    Posts: 228
    B, C, and D are Gregorian chant written in modern notation, so they would be sung in the usual way that Liam described. As far as congregational singing goes they are very difficult compared to A, but I could see using B without the melisma, ie. just up to the quarter bar.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,464
    I've seen programs including up to the quarter bar for the congregation to join (and that section being what precedes the congregation joining), and letting the cantor or schola complete the melisma.
  • RoborgelmeisterRoborgelmeister
    Posts: 307
    This is a page from a handout from St Meinrad in 2014.
    Eight Chant Alleluia Refrains.pdf
    3M
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen WGS
  • Andrew_Malton
    Posts: 1,235
    Of course the reason the first and rather familiar one from the little Liber has three Alleluias instead of one is that it's actually the antiphon for the psalm 116 at the end of the Mass of Holy Saturday / Easter Vigil. The others are jubilus Alleluias, for before the Gospel, as already mentioned.

    I think it unfortunate that the jubilus Alleluia has not in practice been retained in the Novus rite. Also a little ironic, insofar as the council document (SC §34) apparently called for the elimination of “useless repetition” and yet several popular non-jubilus “Gospel acclamations” say the Alleluia twelve times.
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,627
    You can see the mode 8 chant, here marked D, on p.16 of the current (1973) Graduale Romanum.
    The ubiquity of the mode 6 triple alleluia is in response to
    c) The Acclamation Before the Reading of the Gospel

    23. The Alleluia or, as the liturgical season requires, the verse before the Gospel is also a "rite or act standing by itself."41 It serves as the greeting of welcome of the assembled faithful to the Lord who is about to speak to them and as an expression of their faith through song. The Alleluia or the verse before the Gospel must be sung, and during it all stand. It is not to be sung only by the cantor who intones it or by the choir, but by the whole of the people together.
    https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/general-introduction-to-the-lectionary-second-edition-2189
    Thanked by 1Roborgelmeister
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,210
    Which is obviously to be ignored.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,627
    I am SHOCKED that you should call for ignoring a liturgical directive.
    Thanked by 1Roborgelmeister
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,210
    There are a few problems.

    One, it is in reference to the lectionary. It has no bearing on the graduale propers, which obviously can’t be sung by the congregation not in full anyway. But the Alleluia is allowed.

    Two, even if you think that it does mean that the chant proper must be congregational, how realistic is that if you rotate the chant? I know of a handful of churches that rotate between the mode 8 and 2 chants that are shorter and show up routinely and the verse itself is from the lectionary with a psalm tone, to allow for congregational singing. But that’s deficient compared to singing the full Alleluia and verse with its melismas, especially since the propers no longer change as a complete set.

    Three, the rubrics are ambiguous insofar as the requirement to sing the Alleluia and to omit it otherwise is somewhat widely ignored. So…
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,627
    {I did post in purple}
    Yes the rubrics are ambiguous, and those in the official musical sources, GR and GS, are not identical with lectionary. However, GS indicates that in general verses may be sung by choir or cantor, and it is the antiphons which are intended for the congregation. Applying this guidance to the lectionary directive suggests that it is just 'Alleluia ...'* that must be sung by the congregation not the psalm verse. And this is the widespread practice that I have seen - including Masses with no other singing apart from the occasional Amen if the priest has been chanting.
    *or the Lenten Acclamation.
    I agree that if you take the option of using GR, the chants should be sung in accordance with GR rubrics, and the lectionary rubrics are irrelevant.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen Roborgelmeister
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,210
    Yeah. I know that you used the purple; I wanted to elaborate in case people wonder (I write for people who come via Google much later as much as anything). This point bothered Dr Mahrt a lot and I’m continuing to spread the points that he did.
Add a Comment