The Recovering Choir Director

Even with a strict reading of the GIRM, existing repertoire may be employed. The most favored pieces should be the familiar psalm paraphrases that correspond to the antiphon or its verse.

Let’s look at Christmas: Mass During the Day. Our propers for this solemnity are:

• Introit: Puer natus (Isaiah 9:6), with verses from Ps. 97(98)
• Offertory: Ps. 88(89):12-15a
• Communion: Ps. 97(98):3cd

Here is a sampling of the wealth of possibilities for the Christmas season:

1. LATIN/VERNACULAR CHANT AND/OR POLYPHONY
   • Prelude: O magnum mysterium, Victoria
   • Introit: Puer natus est nobis, Byrd or Morales
   • Offertory: Tui sunt caeli, Byrd or Palestrina
   • Communion: Viderunt omnes fines terrae, Byrd, Perotin or Zielinski

   Note: If chant is employed, verses of the same proper may be sung to Gregorian, Gelineau, Meinrad, Bevenot or other psalm tones in Latin, or one or more vernacular tongues as parish demographics dictate. This is a flexibility offered by the chant format that the other options below lack.

2. TRADITIONAL HYMNODY: NO CHANT OR POLYPHONY
   • Prelude: “For unto us a child is born”, from Messiah, Handel
   • Introit: “Joy to the World”
   • Offertory: Isaac Watt’s paraphrase of Psalm 88(89) to a hymn tune familiar to the parish
   • Communion: “Sing a New Song to the Lord”: CANTATE DOMINO (ONSLOW SQUARE)
3. CONTEMPORARY HYMNODY
   • Introit: “Sing a New Song” (St. Louis Jesuits)
   • Offertory: “Psalm 89: For Ever I Will Sing” (Haugen)
   • Communion: “Psalm 98: All the Ends of the Earth” (Haas)

As you can see, different compositions of varying merit may be employed to comply with the GIRM. Clearly, a blended worship model, if desired, can and should comply with the standards laid down by GIRM. A parish need not jettison all of its material outright, but prune and add repertoire as needed.

Now this was an easy exercise due to the wealth of repertoire that exists for Christmas. But it can and should be done for other Sundays and holydays of the year.

Thanks to RP Burke for the implicit reminder to look at the hymnals’ scriptural indexes, to Bryan Jerabek for bringing up the question of hymns, and to new commenter Joe for notifying me to the new resource, Introit Hymns for the Church Year.