I've just been reading some of the comments made about Saturday's Mass in St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle on
Fr Brown's excellent blog, particularly about the choice of music.
One comment from 'Claire' made this point. "Mass was beautiful, but I was extremely disappointed that the music chosen was so obscure that no-one could join in the singing, even with the Salve Regina at the end! I think this was a huge opportunity missed for such a showcase."
Talk about a red rag to a bull! Before I get too far on my high horse though, I'd be foolish not to admit that I've made a few mistakes over choice of music in the past, but this isn't one of them. :-)
The Mass was a Solemn High Mass in honour of
*Our Lady*. Once it was clear that there weren't enough singers available for a polyphonic mass setting, Missa Cum Jubilo was the obvious chant mass setting to use as it is one of the Masses in the Graduale prescribed for Marian Masses. I could quite legitimately have chosen Missa Alme Pater instead! The same goes for the choice of
Solemn Salve as it was a
Solemn Mass.
I had actually been asked beforehand if we were going to have the Missa de Angelis 'so the people could join in' but was able to explain quite nicely [I hope!] that Missa Cum Jubilo was the appropriate setting to use. I suspect that 'Claire' is one of those people - and I've come across several, who think de Angelis is the only chant Mass there is, as it's the only one '
they know'! Quite frankly, I find that the over use of this particular setting to the almost exclusion of the other 17 chant Mass settings available - not to mention the
ad libitum settings too, profoundly depressing.
It's a matter of education I think. Congregations [and clergy also!] have got to be made aware of the treasures that are readily available. all of these masses can be accessed quite easily by following links provided by the good people who run the
Musica Sacra website.The same educational argument can be applied to the Creed as well. I know Saturday's Mass didn't have one but how many people seem to think that Credo III is the only one that exists? Credo I is actually the setting that should be used most Sundays. There are, to my knowledge, 7 - yes,
seven, chant Creeds available!
OK, rant over!
Slightly changing the subject, but staying with chant, another comment from 'seeker' made this point along with a few others. "The temptation to recite the Pater Noster out loud was very strong, and I only just held myself back".
This may come as a surprise to those of you who know me personally, but I have a lot of sympathy for this point of view. I know it's not the done thing for congregations to sing this in the Extraordinary Form at the moment, but Summorum Pontificum does make allowances for it to develop again, as opposed to keeping strictly to the 1962 Missal. This is a development I would welcome, as well as being able to have Masses for particular Feast/Saints Days created since the introduction of '62. That however, is a subject which can be discussed another time. :-)