Communion practicalities
  • JazFenn
    Posts: 8
    What is the most efficient way to handle communion? Our musicians are up in the choir loft. We are moving towards chanting the antiphons, but we aren't there yet.

    Right now, the cantor and accompanist start the hymns right away, and then the priest or deacon brings communion up to the loft after everyone else has received. Father doesn't quite like how there is a awkward lull while he brings communion up, or waits for the deacon to return so that he can purify the vessels. However, our musicians can't go down to receive first and make it back up to the loft with enough breath to start the hymns in time.

    How do you handle this at your parishes? We also have a choir which sings occasionally, and how should we handle that?

  • TCJ
    Posts: 1,043
    Depending on the Mass and attendance we do it multiple ways:

    1. Choir sings the antiphon and then goes down to receive. I play organ meanwhile. I can receive at a different Mass.

    2. Choir receives after Mass.

    3. Someone comes up to the loft at the same time others are receiving Communion. The short time between the antiphon and Communion is either filled with organ or there's a bit of silence.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen Abbysmum tomjaw
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,523
    GIRM #86 treats the Communion Rite (within Mass) - and takes normative precedence over Father's dislike:

    86. While the priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion chant is begun. Its purpose is to express the communicants' union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices, to show joy of heart, and to highlight more clearly the "communitarian" nature of the procession to receive Communion. The singing is continued for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful. If, however, there is to be a hymn after Communion, the Communion chant should be ended in a timely manner.

    Care should be taken that singers, too, can receive Communion with ease."


    (emphases added)

    That would mean it's neither the priest's nor music director's normative authority to prevent or discourage choristers from receiving during Mass (choristers could freely choose to receive after Mass, and should be accommodated if they freely make that choice). Having a deacon able to go to the loft is a great blessing. Silence can remind us that the Mass does not have a constant soundtrack. That said, psalms and canticles with antiphons/responsories are very handy.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen Roborgelmeister Abbysmum
  • rvisser
    Posts: 86
    If I am the cantor/organist (Sat nights), I chant the antiphon, sing a few verses of the hymn, and then walk down to the communion rail to receive. This means there is silence during communion for a few minutes.

    On Sundays when the choir sings, I typically do not receive communion (I attend daily Mass with my students four days a week, so this is a sacrifice I have chosen to make). I sing the Gregorian antiphon while the choir receives, giving them plenty of time to walk up the stairs and catch their breath before starting the hymn or motet.

    I've been at several parishes which all handle this situation differently, and I think my current set up is the most effective, given that my pastor has chosen not to send a deacon up to the loft to distribute. We do not have EMHCs. My singers are appreciative of receiving during Mass.
  • davido
    Posts: 1,170
    The Eucharist should stay in the sanctuary. The organ gallery is a musical workspace. When choristers going down to receive, there can be silence, or organ music. Or they should receive after mass.
    GIRM 86 is a flowery bit of dreaming that has little basis in reality or good musical taste. Communion takes 8-10 minutes at my place. What music form can maintain interest for that long?
    Thanked by 2tomjaw Chant_Supremacist
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,325
    I am in a context where there’s no choice, and sometimes we’re going to have a delay, or the choristers can’t receive, but David is right. GIRM 86 is ridiculous on its face. The musicians, or some of them, should go first when possible.
    Thanked by 2tomjaw Chant_Supremacist
  • Chaswjd
    Posts: 303
    There are any number of ways to handle it. If you are a Novus Ordo parish, you could have an extraordinary minister bring communion up to your loft.

    You could have the choir start down to line up for communion after the Agnus is done while you keep a cantor in the loft to start the antiphon. The choir receives first before the rest of the congregation while the antiphon is sung. When the choir is back, the cantor goes down to receive.

    There are surely other ways to do it.
  • Felicia
    Posts: 149
    If the cantor or 1-2 singers from the choir are comfortable singing the antiphon a capella, they could do so while the other singers and the organist receive. Then, they can receive communion once the larger group is back. Obviously, this would work better if the antiphon is followed by a congregational hymn rather than a choral piece.

    At the Mass I usually play (Saturday vigil), the cantors prefer to be accompanied. When we have a group of singers who want to sing harmony on the hymn, we do the antiphon first, receive communion, and then do the hymn. It does mean there is break in the singing. But if it's one cantor plus myself, we are often the last ones to receive.
Add a Comment