Gustate
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 559
    In the context of the Graduale Simplex and therefore the Missal of 1969, it is always permissible to use Psalm 34 at Communion, with its corresponding Antiphon.

    What are people’s thoughts on the practice of using Psalm 34 with the proper communion antiphon of the day/feast in the Missal of 1962? While I accept that the psalms proposed in the 1950s are the fruit of significant historical research, it occurred to me that for small churches and inexperienced choirs, the one Latin psalm text (in the correct tone to match the Antiphon) might smooth the way for the adoption of the richer and fuller range of texts later. There are obvious exceptions of course, including Maundy Thursday (where the psalm is prescribed in the rite) and the Requiem Mass (where a pentitential psalm for the deceased is implied).
  • NoahLovinsNoahLovins
    Posts: 17
    There was a time when Psalm 33 was the only psalm chanted at Holy Communion, and if we are scrambling to find a psalm to use, we will often pull out 33.
  • tomjaw
    Posts: 2,948
    The VERSUS PSALMORUM ET CANTICORUM suggests Psalm 33 (Benedicam Dominum) ad lib at Communion, So I see no problem.
    Thanked by 1Paul F. Ford
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,472
    It would not be the end of the world as tomjaw notes but it is most appropriate if the text is from the gospel or another book, or another text. It’s a bit incongruous when moving from one psalm to another.

    But the premise is flawed: small choirs need to rely more on the loadbearing cantor or cantors and that would include the psalms. If even they can’t be bothered to learn the texts (which are not that hard particularly since they’ll quickly learn the formulae; they just need to learn the text) then we have a bigger problem. (Indeed: We hebben een serieus probleem!)

    I mean don’t get me wrong ps 33 is a good one to memorize since it is all over the liturgy as it is. But you also do the faithful a disservice as well as the singers if you don’t expose them to the full(-er) psalter.

    And verses are optional: if we’re already learning different texts weekly for the propers, what’s the rest of a psalm?

    But unfortunately the reality is that there is a) no shortcut and b) nothing that really would lead me to say that learning the same text in the tones that they probably can memorize thanks to the introit will lead to the payoff of switching texts weekly later. (When is later?)
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