hcmusicguy

Choir rooms
We have rehearsed in the church, the church basement, and the rectory basement at various times over the years. We currently use what you could consider a "sacristy-type" space off the sanctuary on the side opposite the sacristy. When th…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 19 permalink
Responsorial Psalms for School Masses?
An option you could try is to just sing the refrain and have the verses read by a lector. We did this when I was in Catholic school in the 90s - choir sang the refrain of a setting that was of the typical HaugenHaas variety, and a student lector re…

Comment by hcmusicguy May 15 permalink
Pew missal/missalette
We have been using Celebrating the Eucharist since Advent 2013, alongside Gather 3. The format and selections have been consistent throughout that time. Mostly traditional, some chant, and a few of the usual "greatest hits" thrown in for…

Comment by hcmusicguy May 15 permalink
Eastertide choir burnout?
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one in this boat. My situation is very much like the OP. Our season runs early September through Pentecost. We sing every other weekend. They have a break the week after Christmas, most of January after …

Comment by hcmusicguy May 2024 permalink
Holy Family readings
I noticed my gospel verse this weekend (which was taken from a hymn list I did either 3 or 6 years ago) didn't match our missalette.

Comment by hcmusicguy January 2024 permalink
Chant Class in Wisconsin, wait, what?
Scott Turkington is now the DSM at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Enough said. I thought that Dr. Luckner (organist of Cathedral of S. J. the Workman in La Crosse) was MD at the Shrine. I no longer live in the state but try to keep tabs on th…

Comment by hcmusicguy September 2023 permalink
Gather—Third Edition
We've been using Gather 3 in my parish for nearly 10 years. I would not buy it again. Nor, at the rate they're going, any GIA product going forward, for reasons others have offered above. There is now a Gather 4 which in my eyes is Gath…

Comment by hcmusicguy September 2023 permalink
Ethical Concerns of OCP (Respond & Acclaim)
I can't speak for R&A, since after we discontinued Breaking Bread in 2013, we only order a few copies each year for reference as like you said, there are a few good items in there. But I can tell you that a previous parish in which I was …

Comment by hcmusicguy March 2023 permalink
Favorite Glorias?
I recently introduced the revised Pope Paul VI with success. Although not previously in the parish repertoire, I think enough people knew it in the old translation that it was easy to pick up. Among my favorites are the Michael Lynch Gloria that us…

Comment by hcmusicguy October 2022 permalink
Vacation guilt
I've never had a problem taking my vacations, 3 weeks a year. I have a list of trusted substitute keyboardists and I send out a plea to them if I have time off coming up. They always come through, and all have church music credentials and/or …

Comment by hcmusicguy July 2022 permalink
Metrical Latin Mass Parts
I like Jules Brasil's Mass of St. Basil, aptly found in the St. Basil Hymnal.

Comment by hcmusicguy February 2022 permalink
Are you really an organist?
We did not usually use the loft in my old parish. The original console for our Wangerin as well as an Everett studio upright were up there, but we did most of our playing from up front where there was a second console and a Yamaha grand piano. Fortu…

Comment by hcmusicguy January 2022 permalink
What Child Is This
I'm not as interested in which book uses which accidentals....I'd more like to find an edition that uses the three full verse texts with "Nails, spear, shall pierce him through" and "Raise, raise the song on high" in th…

Comment by hcmusicguy December 2021 permalink
The Gloria has become “optional” in a lot of places
CHGiffen, I suppose I should have clarified my opinion to mean the the majority of the settings found in the hymnals and throwaways by the big publishers that most parishes including mine are using. I tend to fairly strictly stay with through compos…

Comment by hcmusicguy November 2021 permalink
The Gloria has become “optional” in a lot of places
It would be no skin off my nose if my pastor decided to exclusively recite the Gloria from now on. The reason being is that almost all musical settings of the revised text stink, except for those based on chant or in a chant style.

Comment by hcmusicguy November 2021 permalink
"On Eagle's Wings" controversy
My pastor in a previous parish was at a talk once given by Michael Joncas, and reportedly the composer himself decried his use of the words "yoo hoo" to start the song.

Comment by hcmusicguy October 2021 permalink
The Gloria has become “optional” in a lot of places
We sing it at every Sunday liturgy. Under our last pastor, sometimes it was recited as he did not care for singing it, but it was never omitted.

Comment by hcmusicguy October 2021 permalink
Trouble with sound system - boom mics are picking up "organ"
Are your boom microphones placed more in front of or above your choir? Perhaps try placing them in a position that is more above them with the mics pointed down, and see if that helps. Feedback was a perennial problem in my current parish until we i…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2021 permalink
Transitional mass settings
Davido, I'm thrilled you asked about this setting! It is near and dear to me....Father Reardon was a well loved pastor for 21 years in one of my home parishes until his retirement in 1998 (he passed away in January 2010). The Holy and Agnus Dei…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2021 permalink
Opinions on "Mass in Honor of Pope Paul VI"
The parish I worked in 10 years ago in NE Wisconsin was using the Pope Paul VI Gloria right up until the revised missal came out in 2011. We did not use any of the other parts, although I was/am aware of their existence. I intend at some point in th…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2021 permalink
Hymnal
I hope I'm not too late to the party. I will second a previous response mentioning Catholic Community Hymnal by GIA. It is a beautiful resource, about half the size of, say, Worship or Gather, and based upon the OP's indicated criteria, …

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2021 permalink
What is your favorite GIA or OCP hymnal ?
I know this thread dates from 2013 but since others have revived it, I may as well chime in. We are still using Gather III, 8 years on now. It's working out well enough for us, although I had to replace the accompaniment books last year alread…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2021 permalink
"Very Good Condition" Small Pipe Organ in Wisconsin ($19k)
I don't normally like to resurrect posts that are old but I came across this thread today in internet search results. I'm disappointed to see UWSP had listed/sold this instrument. I played it somewhat infrequently when I was a music (piano…

Comment by hcmusicguy February 2021 permalink
Font for a funeral program
My preferred method is Century Gothic, set to small caps. This may not be best in all situations, though. I've also used Georgia with success. It's like TNR, but a bit nicer.

Comment by hcmusicguy November 2013 permalink
Choir loft size and layout
Although I never played it, I saw the console up close at St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral in La Crosse, WI, a few times. This was the old 1962 Moller, 4m, 70-something ranks (replaced in 2010 by two new instruments by Noack). The cables were enca…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2013 permalink
Guilty Pleasures
Bring flow'rs of the fairest Easily one of my favorite hymns. Ever!

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2013 permalink
Hymnals
We currently use Breaking Bread and did not renew our subscription for 2014. Last week I placed the order for Gather 3 (without readings), which we'll be supplementing with Celebrating the Eucharist Missalette for readings and additional music…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2013 permalink
Guilty Pleasures
I love the SLJ's "Turn to Me" and "This Alone". I grew up singing out of the original hardcover Glory & Praise in grammar school, so there'll always be a place in my heart for that music. I also love Lucien Deiss&…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2013 permalink
Peloquin discussion
Gloria of the Bells was in Worship III and the first Gather Comprehensive.

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2013 permalink
Choir loft size and layout
I'm also for a moveable console. My previous church had a small loft that could accommodate 20-25 people MAX plus a movable organ console and an Everett studio piano. The organ (25 rank, originally Wangerin, with additions and rennovations by…

Comment by hcmusicguy August 2013 permalink

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Username: hcmusicguy
Joined: April 2011
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