Music for a Rainy Sunday

Today's Gospel was the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which includes the Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son. The Psalm treated so beautiful below was the responsorial Psalm for today, the penitential 51st Psalm: Have mercy on me, O God, in Your goodness. In the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin.

New Responsorial Psalm Settings--Online

The Chabanel Responsorial Psalms may be found here. (via The New Liturgical Movement)

This collection provides a wonderful alternative to the two most common options: through-composed Psalms, which are too difficult, and Owen Alstott's collection in OCP's Respond and Acclaim collection, the Psalm settings in which are musically very uneven.

Till now, R & A was the most feasible option for parishes. We use it at the parish where I cantor. Each cantor, choir member and organist has a book. I usually practice the Psalm in the car on the way to Mass; there are always a hundred stoplights, particularly if I have to go through Georgetown on my way from Bethesda to Alexandria. So it is very handy to have this one book that I simply carry in the car for a year. But as I said, the musical quality is uneven. Most importantly, its chanting is not deeply informed by Gregorian chant--nor, as far as I know, by any of the historically important chants of any ecclesial tradition. They are easy to use and easy to sing, which is important, but as they say "not good enough for Church work."

So here is a new option, hot off the presses. I suggest that every parish music program should consider using them. What could be easier than printing and copying a year's worth (or a season's, for a trial period) of free Psalmody and binding them inexpensively into books in imitation of R & A's handy format.

Here is part of the authors' rationale, from the Introductory Material.

The Chabanel Psalms (generally speaking) are modal and based on Gregorian chant. They were harmonized using a very eloquent system of Gregorian modal harmony. However, many of them need not be accompanied by the organ. Then, too, many of the responses (and, actually, even the verses themselves) can be sung in harmony, but this is only recommended for groups that read music very well.

The Chabanel Psalms are based on the assumption that the Refrain (of a Responsorial Psalm) must be very simple, so the people can learn it easily. However, the varied and richly beautiful organ accompaniments, it is hoped, will raise the music to a higher level, endearing them to even highly skilled musicians.

Monastery Podcast

Morning and Evening Prayer podcasts from the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration

(Happy Feast of St. Benedict!!)

"Monastery Podcast has the Liturgy of Hours - Morning Prayer and Vespers, recorded live in the monastery chapel."