Tuesday, June 12, 2007

oh, yes.

and did I mention how much I hate the "four hymn sandwich?"

1 comment:

Stephen M. Collins said...

Whoa! Hate is a strong word. I'm sure that the Novus Ordo, American modern tradition, sing-song "Glory & Praise" 4 hymn sandwich is just aweful! But it can be much better than that!

1st: It's not a "4 hymn sandwich" if your not singing HYMNS! If your congregation can sing, they can sing hymns, and there are literally thousands to pick from - centuries of music.

2nd: With the above mentioned selection, you CAN schedule hymns that reflect the texts and sentiments of the actual Propers, or at least the season or Feast being observed. And the first place to look is where the "hymn" was originally used - in the Office.

We just celebrated the Feast of the Precious Blood (which no longer exists in the new RC Kalendar, but does in the 1962). I used two Office Hymn texts - one for the Entrance and one for the Offertory. I put the texts to tunes that the congregation sings confidently: "Jesu dulci memoria" and "St. Thomas". At Communion we sang Fr. Caswall's wonderful "Glory Be to Jesus" - all 6 verses. And then closed with one of their all time favorites "To Jesus' Heart All Burning".