Diocesan Websites
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,549
    Does anyone belong to (or know of) a diocese that has a link for musicians (music leaders) that would guide them on appropriate music. For example, I'm looking for a layout that may have diocesan approved ordinaries, with links to free, public domain PDFs, like the ICEL chants. Or simple polyphony and sacred music with links, if they are in the public domain, that would be appropriate for a fledgling choir.
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 140
    I don't know the answer, but I would sure love a resource like that!
  • PhilipPowell
    Posts: 128
    I know the Archdiocese of Portland does (or did…).
  • Marc Cerisier
    Posts: 597
    Omaha did at one point.
  • AngelaRAngelaR
    Posts: 346
    I've been on most of the archdiocesan sites and haven't seen anything like this. In fact, I'm under the impression that very few dioceses have official or approved Mass settings. A few resources you might want to check out:

    https://englishmotets.com/

    Mass of Saint Francis by Horst Buchholz: https://adoremus.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BuchholzMassofStFrancis.pdf

    Saint James Music Press: https://sjmp.com/
    Thanked by 1hilluminar
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,288
    It was more of a thing in 2011 where some dioceses tried to have a Mass setting in common; Louisville tried to push one that I found very dignified, by a local DM as it happened, a setting also named for the saint of Assisi. But I think that it never got anywhere; stuff was just too dug in.
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,215
    I'm glad it's not common. We want our diocese to care about music, but not to care too much. Look at what the cathedral does, and ask yourself if that's the ideal you want for your parish. We laugh at Montana's Black and White Lists, but think of them being mandated for a diocese.

    To the larger issue (curation of sacred music): there are sites that point out use according to liturgical feast (Canticanova, CPDL). There needs to be sites that do something like the educational music grading system, or even better, detailed analysis of where the pitfalls are (similar to GIA's "Teaching Music Through..." book series)

    Personal anecdote: there's an Ave Maria by Gerald Near for men/women that I sang while guesting, and was quite pleased with. I was particularly taken with the way the entrances were eased in. Except: I had sung it with quite a competent musician. I bought it, and we've done it several times. But 90% of rehearsal time was used on one measure: a descending minor 7th for the women. And every time we did it, 90% of our review time was that note, and every time we did it at Mass it was "peccato-ri(splat)-bus". It's not word-painting when it sounds accidental. I didn't manage to teach that interval because there was nothing in the repertoire that reinforced it. This would have been a great Grade 1 piece; instead it was a challenging Grade 3 piece. I was going to do it again for Holy Family, looked at personnel and the rehearsal landscape, and said "Homie ain't got time for that."
    Thanked by 4irishtenor Chant_Supremacist ServiamScores Abbysmum
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,415
    Responding to your personal anecdote: If I were in that situation, I'd strongly consider adjusting the accompaniment to help "give" them the pitch that they're struggling with. If that doesn't work, I'd even consider changing the melody to a note that "works" and that they can sing accurately. It would be nice if we all had quite competent musicians all the time, but sometimes you have to try to make a silk purse out of a cow's ear, so to speak!!
    Thanked by 1Liam
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,508
    Oh, that's a nasty descending interval given the accompaniment context - there are parallel fifths between "S" and "T" voices in the accompaniment that function to reinforce the "T" voice therein that's in dissonance with the sung vocal line. It's a setup virtually asking for typical amateur voices to ... splatter.


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  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,215
    I'd even consider changing the melody

    That occurred to me. If this weren't a living composer, I'd consider it. But there's a Golden Rule issue at play. The only simple note-substitution that makes any sense is G. Descending 5ths aren't QUITE as bad, but still problematic. And if you look at the line, you can see that really, E is where it wants to go. I'm not sure how I'd reconceptualize the passage in this instance; it would probably involve raising some of the bottom notes in the women's line, which would have other effects on the men. In any case, Nie mój cyrk, nie moje małpy

    Otherwise, for the old guys, as the late Prof. Schickele once said, "PDQ has been dead a long time; no use covering up for him now."
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 140
    It was more of a thing in 2011 where some dioceses tried to have a Mass setting in common;


    Our diocese did this with the new translation. It was supposed to be for a year. Now, we're stuck in a rut and if you try to introduce a new Mass setting, you get complaints.
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