A corporal work of mercy.

A corporal work of mercy.
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!

Wednesday 7 September 2011

More on the CCCB Gloria Chant "lite" Missal Mess

Thanks to a link from a series of comments on The Chant Cafe about the wretched Mass settings which we will be experiencing in Celebrate in Song we find this written about the Altar Missal:
For the chant setting of the Mass we have used the same settings as found in Celebrate in Song. These settings, specially the Glory to God in the highest and the Creed have been the most commonly used chant settings in Canada for a long time, so it seemed wise to keep them. The preface dialogue will probably sound new to Canadian ears, but it has been provided by ICEL and is a traditional form, just not the one we have been used to.
I've been in church music for over 25 years and never heard that Anonymous "chant" Gloria sung before. I'm old enough to remember the 1965 Missal and I don't recall it. We sang Somerville and one other, there was no "chant-like" or "lite" version then.

So, not only does the Father Bill Burke, Msgr. Murray Kroetch and Msgr. Powers think you're too stupid to learn the actual Roman Missal Gloria, they think that our priests are too stupid two!

Yes, Canada's expert liturgist wrote me to say that the National Liturgical Commission felt that the right Gloria was "too hard."

How did they get away with this?

Oh, the same way that they got away with the Winnipeg Statement and the NRSV Lectionary.

They dissented.

And where's the GIRM?

4 comments:

Gabby said...

I've never heard a chant Gloria. The ubiquitous Gloria for decades was Somerville's and then we got the MOC in almost every parish.
As for the Creed, I've never heard it sung, let alone chanted.

Anonymous said...

We must always be on guard for phrases like:
"...have been the most commonly used ..."
"...many people believe..."
"...experts say..."
"...research shows..."

Those are weasel words that are commonly used by media and unscrupulous organizations to be equivalent to the words "...I say so because it advances my agenda..."

Unfortunately, it has been very effective in getting people not to think, since "popular" support and "expert" support usually means "so it must be okay even though I don't understand it".

BTW, have you seen the Canadian Roman Missal FAQ?
http://www.romanmissal.ca/faq.html

Look at question "Do we have to use the new translations?"
Our old "friend" the Spirit of VII is alive and kicking in the 3rd sentence of the reply. I hope we don't see more "stripping of the altars" to accommodate "the spirit of the new missal".

Anonymous said...

Odd - how is it possible that the Gloria and creed settings in the new missal "have been the most commonly used chant settings in Canada for a long time" when the words in the new missal are significantly different?

Gabby said...

For those who were waiting for it, the GIRM is now available at http://www.romanmissal.ca/GIRM.pdf