Tutorial videos of the new chants for Mass in the Corrected Translation

My friend Mr. Jeffrey Tucker has posted on his blog, Chant Cafe, videos with audio of new chants for the Novus Ordo in English according to the upcoming corrected translation.  These are intended as tutorials.

Some people are claiming that the corrected English is not “singable”.  Go over and check them out.  Decide for yourselves.

A REMINDER TO LIBERALS: If you don’t like the new translation, you can always ignore it and use Latin.

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22 Comments

  1. danphunter1 says:

    I listened to the sample chant from the Eucharistic Prayer.
    I believe it is dignified and very chantable.

    My question is, will it be mandatory for the priest to chant the Canon and or Eucharistic prayers?
    If so, this will be an even more happy addition to the way most Ordinary Masses are offered.
    I personally would be very edified and would have a much easier time of it assisting at an NO Mass where this occurs.

  2. Fr Matthew says:

    Generally speaking, I think that chant always sounds better in Latin; there’s something about English that just doesn’t seem to fit as well with chant melodies. That said, the chant samples for the corrected translation sound about as good as you can get in English. I am not overly enthusiastic about the current English translation’s chant settings to begin with (to the degree in which I am familiar with them – most of my experience with chanted Masses has been N.O. in Latin).

  3. AnAmericanMother says:

    Three cheers for Jeffrey Tucker! I went to his “Chant is for Everyone” seminar at the SE Liturgical Music Symposium and it was AWESOME. About half the folks in the room had never sung chant before — by the end of the session everybody was singing away. The other half, because this is a minor hotbed of chant in this diocese, passed his informal ‘test’ at the beginning of the session when he began singing “Regina caeli, laetare . . . ” and paused. About half the room chimed in, “alleluia. Quia quem meruiste portare . . . ” He seemed pleased and a bit surprised.

    Anyhow, fooey on the claim that ‘the corrected English is not singable’. The whole POINT of chant is that almost anything can be set to it. I came over from the Episcopalians with very little knowledge of chant and unable to read the Solemnes notation, but Anglican chant is organized along the same lines so far as moving and reciting tones are concerned. I was able to pick up unfamiliar texts (I was used to Cranmer’s translation or the Grail translation) and chant without a problem.

    In fact, ANYTHING can be chanted. Consider the following:

    The Highway Code (The Master Singers, 1965)

    I rest my case.

  4. dahveed says:

    I liked it, actually. While I prefer Latin for chants, I would be quite pleased by what I’ve heard at Chant Café. More accurate certainly trumps status quo in my book. I chuckled at your note for those suffering from progressivism. Well put, Father.

  5. Frank H says:

    This is great! Makes me even more eager for Advent 2011 to hurry up and get here!

  6. irishgirl says:

    I wish I could attend events like this.

    An American Mother-thanks for the link to the ‘Master Singers’! Their ‘chant’ is a classic-and funny, too!

  7. Frank H says:

    Over at PrayTell, they are all worked up over news that CDW will not allow the orations in the new, corrected translation be “pointed” for chanting. That does seem strange. Anyone know a reason?

  8. Konichiwa says:

    I’m happy that you called the latest translation of the English the “Corrected” translation. Some of the music that the so-called “composers” prepared for the corrected English translation of the Mass are out on their websites, but it’s so good to know that these chants sound this good. Like others, I prefer chant in the Latin.

  9. Jono says:

    Frank, I posted over at PrayTell as well. From what I can tell, the translations of the orations are not pointed because they were not pointed in the 2002 Typical Edition. We of course had the use of colons to aid in the singing or recitation of the orations in the 1962 Missal. As the pointing system would have aided in “singing the Mass, not just singing at Mass,” it’s unfortunate that was not allowed by the CDWDS.

    Fortunately, even with this setback, due to the work of ICEL and now the CMAA, we can still hope for more singing of the Mass (especially those glorious settings of the Credo!), even if there may still be some difficulty with the orations (i.e., locating the mediant).

  10. lux_perpetua says:

    ha. i admit i let out a chuckle in credo III at “one holy, Catholic, and apostolic church”. it did definitely feel a bit less… majestic than when pronounced in latin, probably because the word “church” almost sounds like an afterthought.

    As someone who is just learning the TLM and the typical Latin chants, I am glad I will have a year or so to commit the Latin to more solid memory before having to learn the slightly varied notes in the English versions.

    i also agree that Latin sounds more beautiful when chanted by your average congregant/celebrant, than English, because of itspurity and lack of dipthongs.

  11. Warren says:

    Jeffrey tucker’s site is a blessing. I’m all for the new translation!

    Misereatur nostri omnipotens Deus et, dimissis peccatis nostris, perducat nos ad vitam aeternam.

    I just noticed that the priest’s absolution has been changed from (the at one time proposed) “May almighty God have mercy on us and lead us, with our sins forgiven, to eternal life” to “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.”

    I thought the version “…and lead us, with our sins forgiven,…” was more accurate. What happened?

  12. Father G says:

    Wow! Awesome! Beautiful! These tutorial videos are exactly what I was looking for!

    @ Warren,

    Apparently there were last minute changes to the corrected translation prior to the approval.
    They appear to be very few, but still disappointing to know that it happened. One of the changes includes how St. Joseph is referred to in the Roman Canon. Here are two links with info on these last minute changes:

    http://blog.adw.org/2010/08/new-roman-missal-translation-contains-some-last-minute-changes/
    http://www.praytellblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Latin-2008-Aug2010-Comparison4.pdf

  13. Jono says:

    Warren, a great number of changes were made to the text submitted by the bishops. Changes were also made to the 2008 Order of Mass that had received recognitio, but was never used. It’s difficult to say why all of these changes were made. Sometimes, they aid in comprehension (the Eucharistic prayers were smoothed out, and the three extra “I believes” were added to the Creed).

    In the case you mentioned, the present form of the translation was restored. As to why, who knows? Possibly whoever was doing the revision found the use of the ablative absolute in English (in this case, at least) to be quite awkward.

    I would have to say that I am generally pleased with the 2010 Order of Mass. It is much more accurate than what we have now, while (generally) being more intelligible than the 2008 version. My one major gripe is with the doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer (the 2008 version should have been maintained for both accuracy and intelligibility). Even so, as has been said, it’s much better than what we’ve got now.

  14. tttr83 says:

    Awesome. I love this. I agree, with some of the sentiments above that English isn’t the best language to be chanted, but its such a breathe of fresh air going into a Byzantine Church and hearing only the voices of the choir.

  15. brassplayer says:

    There are some “liberals” (including myself) who have no problem with the new translation. No need to paint all of us with such a broad brush.

  16. Martial Artist says:

    “…you can always ignore it and use Latin.”

    Amen! Amen! A thousand times Amen!

    Pax et bonum,
    Keith Töpfer

  17. Jayna says:

    I think it sounds great. I particularly like the new Credo, there’s something about those flat notes I really like. I sent the link along to the parish liturgist. Not sure if it’ll do any good, but one can hope and pray.

  18. Chant in a language like English, with its rather gutteral sound, is always going to possess a different quality than a romantic language such as Latin. This is because — well, English isn’t Latin. There were undoubtedly similar complaints when Latin replaced Greek in the worship of the West. (Remember, it is more likely than not that the entire Mass was chanted back then, with even the people joining, and no young fogies poking singing pewsitters from behind with a stick. Ah, the good old days …)

  19. templariidvm says:

    I prefer chant in latin, but ANY chant is an improvement for my parish. After listening to these, I sent the link to my choir director. These are not absolutely perfect, but when listening to them prayerfully, will they be dissonant with a reverently celebrated liturgy? I think not.

  20. Tominellay says:

    Nothing wrong with these musical samples; they’re dignifying, not distracting.

  21. KristenB says:

    I ADORE these settings!
    I pray that they are the default for parishes, but it will most likely end up being the “corrected” Celtic Mass, or something *sigh*

  22. AnAmericanMother says:

    It is true that Latin (or Italian) is easier to sing than English. All the Romance languages are.

    One solution to singing English is to do what the Anglicans did — change the pronunciation of the most problematic sounds in English. “Salvation” for example becomes “(t)sal-VA-(t)see-on”, softening the “S” sound and omitting the “SH” sound. And English vowels remove most of the problems with the Midwestern (or Upper Southern) nasal ‘twang’ that can make long “a”s and “e”s so unpleasant. Flipped “r”s added, you’ve solved most of your problems.

    I am SO excited, by the way. Our choirmaster when we resumed weeknight choir practice after Labor Day, has started intensive instruction on proper Gregorian chant methods, Solemnes notation, and solfeige singing. What amazes me is how this work improves our singing of motets – both pitch and correct intervals.

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