The Recovering Choir Director

Jeffrey Tucker posts in the MusicaSacra forum:

For some time, we’ve mentioned in passing the project called The Parish Book of Chant. The idea here is to combined all the universal people’s music associated with the Mass, including a Kyriale and chant hymns, together with an EF and OF Ordo, all with English translations, as compiled by Richard Rice.

Richard Rice happens to be the editor of Communio, the valuable and revelatory collection of official Gregorian communion antiphons with psalm-tone verses for use in both EF and OF Masses.

Take a look at TPBC’s table of contents, dedication and editor’s foreword (PDF).

Based on seeing a preliminary draft of the book, I believe that The Parish Book of Chant has the potential to play a central role in the parishes that understand that, in the task of authentic liturgical reform, properly executed aggiornamento includes a healthy dose of ressourcement. I also believe that the inclusion of both EF and OF Ordos in the same book is an important gesture that underlines Pope Benedict’s call for a hermeneutic of continuity regarding matters liturgical.

I’m certainly looking forward to seeing the finished product.