Thursday, November 11, 2004
The Mass Under a Microscope: Entrance Music
From IGRM 47:
After the people have gathered, the opening liturgical song begins as the priest with the deacon and ministers come in.
Straightforward enough.
The purpose of this liturgical song is to ...
1. ... open the celebration,
2. ... intensify the unity of those who have assembled,
3. ... lead their thoughts to the mystery of the season or feast,
4. ... and accompany the procession of priest and ministers.
Good priorities to keep in mind. Number one is obvious. Number two suggests to me such songs must be well familiar. Here are my thoughts on number three: it can be done with text or with musical style. It can also be done with a careful arrangement of voices and instruments. For example, you might not need Eight consecutive Easter carols leading off your Masses between Triduum and Pentecost, but I would consider a noticeable festivity with all eight of those opening liturgical songs. A hymn concertato for Easter Sunday? Then I'd use similar fancy arrangements on the subsequent Sundays, leading the people's "thoughts to the mystery of the season" not by text alone. Number four is subject to the first three considerations. We don't sing songs to "greet Father."
Now for IGRM 48:
A.
The opening liturgical song is sung ...
1. ... alternately either by the choir and the people
2. ... or by the cantor and the people;
3. ... or it is sung entirely by the people
4. ... or by the choir alone.
Then you get a repertoire hint:
B.
1. The antiphon and psalm of the Graduale Romanum or ...
2. ... the Simple Gradual may be used,
3. ... or another liturgical song that is suited to this part of the Mass,
4. ... the day or
5. ... the season
and that has a text approved by the Conference of Bishops.*
If there is no singing for the entrance...
6. ... the antiphon in the Missal is recited either by the faithful,
7. ... by some of them,
8. ... or by a reader;
9. ... otherwise, it is recited by the priest himself, who may also
10. ... incorporate it into his introductory remarks
Ten options. Wow. That's before you get to specific pieces of music. So your first choice is to sing the special antiphon and accompanying psalm the Roman Missal gives you as special to the day. For Catholics who don't sing daily liturgy, it would be difficult (but not impossible) to prepare that antiphon and have the choir sing the verses of the psalm on a weekly basis. But it could be done. Lots of parishes do it, and the IGRM's first two suggestions, choir + people and cantor + people cater to that option.
Most American parishes choose A3 from the first menu, and B3, B4, or B5 from the second. It probably dates back to the hymn singing at Low Masses before the Council, the first piece of bread of our original "four-hymn sandwich." That makes sense. If you're singing a piece of music designed to be a hymn, then it doesn't work as well to have the people and choir alternate, though I've done that rarely and seen it done on occasion.
My personal preference for priorities would be B5, B4, B3: looking for a seasonal hymn first, looking for a hymn suggestive of the day (it's Scriptures, homily, etc.), and lastly picking a "gathering" hymn. My parish music committee pretty much sticks to "gathering" songs, and we'll use seasonal songs for Advent, Lent, Easter, and obviously Christmas.
I suppose if there's little to say about the day, a gathering song works okay. If it were a holy day preempting an ordinary Sunday, I'd feel very strongly about using a hymn reflective of the feast.
One word on option A4. I can't imagine it getting used. Ever. If the choir is singing alone, they should put on a concert or do it before Mass.
* The USCCB has never approved a set of texts for singing hymns and songs at Mass. Supposedly such a list is to be formulated by 2006, but my sources tell me it has been scarcely considered.
