The previous post gave the overall hierarchy of music to be sung at any Mass. Now we will look at these parts in more detail.
Priority 1: Acclamations at the ‘highpoints’ of the Mass
The Gospel and the consecration are the two most significant parts of the Mass. The music associated with these rites are therefore of the utmost importance when choosing what to sing. They should be sung before anything else is considered and are sung by the whole assembly ie priest, choir, congregation, servers,….
So our first priority then, is the Gospel Acclamation and the Eucharistic Acclamations (Holy, holy, Memorial Acclamation, Amen).
The Gospel Acclamation
General Instruction of the Roman Missal #62, 63
Celebrating the Mass #159, 164, 165, 166 last paragraph
The gospel acclamation accompanies the movement of the Book of Gospels from the altar to the ambo and prepares us to hear the proclamation of the Gospel.
The word Alleluia comes from a Hebrew word, and its most literal translation means ‘Praise God.’
You would not dream of going to a birthday party and not singing ‘Happy Birthday to you’. Quite simply, the Gospel acclamation is the liturgical equivalent of this. Singing ‘Praise to you, O Christ’ (or an equivalent) in Lent or ‘Alleluia’ the rest of the time, we are praising God and preparing our hearts to receive the Word of God in the Gospel. The procession of the book is a way of reverencing the Gospel of Christ.
The absence of the word ‘Alleluia’ in Lent is also a reminder that Lent is a time of preparing for the great season of Easter that is summed up by the word ‘Alleluia.’
The Eucharistic Acclamations
General Instruction of the Roman Missal #79, 147, 148, 151, 216
Celebrating the Mass #192, 190, 195, 199
The Eucharistic Prayer starts with the dialogue before the Preface, ‘The Lord be with you’ and continues through to the people’s assent to the priest’s prayer with, ‘Amen’. This is why the acclamations of the prayer (Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation, Amen) should be sung to a unified setting so that they reflect the unity of the whole prayer.
Any musical setting should respect and enhance the unity and structure of the prayer. To help articulate the integrity of the Eucharistic Prayer composers are to provide a complete set of acclamations: Sanctus, all three Memorial Acclamations and Amen. The unity of the prayer should be reflected by musical means and this might be conveyed by the use of common motifs in the acclamations, use of the same metre (time signature) or at least by a sense of unified tonality throughout the prayer, i.e. by the use of the same or related keys.
Liturgy Office – Guide for composers
The Liturgy Office produced a set of guidelines for anyone intending to set the words of the Mass. It can be found here.
Paragraphs 73 to 84 of this guide go into greater depth and provide an insight for all, even if they do not intend to compose music.
The Preface Dialogue and the acclamations belong to the whole assembly. A strong Preface Dialogue (The Lord be with you…), whether spoken or sung, calls the assembly to full participation. Ideally this should be sung. An audio version can be found here. (Scroll down as the page contains all the missal chants for Mass.) In order to highlight the more solemn celebration of a Sunday Mass it would be good practice for the Preface itself to be sung. Equally, a sung Doxology enables the Amen to be sung more easily.
Musicians need to be ready for the acclamations and must ensure that the musical acclamations flow smoothly from the presider’s words The end of the Sanctus should lead smoothly into the Priest’s prayer. Finally, be sure the ‘Great Amen’ is just that — great! Care should be taken that if the Amen is short it is not ‘thrown away’ as people get up from their knees.
Music, Liturgy and ME 