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Views from the Choir Loft

Can’t sing? Sing the dialogues!

Richard J. Clark · November 7, 2014

HILE VISITING PARIS, I attended mass at Sainte-Eustache, a parish church. France has had a number of liturgical customs many that have endured for centuries. I expected to hear the organ voluntaries and improvisations during processions. One would not expect to sing hymnody with the same fervor as one may in the U.K. or in the United States.

However, quite striking was the ease with which the congregation sang the dialogues. The congregation also easily sang Gloria VIII and Credo III in Latin – also an accommodation for the high number of tourists. It was obvious that the dialogues (as well as the Gloria and Credo) were sung week in and week out.

For whatever reason, while there were no hymns to be sung, the congregation had plenty to sing. The dialogues were important.

The 2007 US Bishop’s document Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship (SttL) agrees: Dialogues and acclamations are the most important things to sing at mass. SttL is full of surprises!

While we are pretty good at singing the acclamations during mass, the dialogues are terribly neglected, perhaps because it requires the willingness of the deacon or priest, and a music director willing to work with him. This is an extra step, but one that bears much fruit for the congregation, the liturgy. It also gives clergy and musicians an opportunity to work together.

What if a priest or deacon can’t sing? Well, that hasn’t stopped many of them, and I believe that it is still very much worth it! Most recently, I played a mass at Boston College for a visiting bishop whose voice was perhaps much less than wonderful. During a weekday mass he sang the dialogues throughout. The congregation responded throughout. His voice was thin at times. The tones weren’t quite right or were just a simple recto tono. The Preface Dialogue was perhaps in the lowest key I’ve ever sung it. That stopped no one from full and active participation.

ERE’S WHAT DID HAPPEN: the sense of prayer, reverence, and internal participation increased through this act of external participation. Neither one nor the other, it accomplished both. That’s what the dialogues do so well! A priest who sings both energizes the liturgy and fosters interior prayer.

Furthermore, it bears repeating that one of the best ways to get a congregation to sing more is to sing the dialogues. Ironically, while we are addicted to accompaniments for security, congregations always sing better without it.

One more interesting thing happened at that mass. The hymns seemed to be a little less important – certainly not to the point of exclusion as they were at Sainte-Eustache in Paris. But by singing the words of the mass, hymns take on a different perspective. Singing the dialogues naturally lead to singing other things: the antiphons and psalms now make more sense. Hymns are no longer relied upon as the major point of external participation. Understand, as an organist, I love playing hymns and singing them. But singing the texts of the mass is considered most important for good reason, because the mass—not the hymns at mass—is our greatest prayer. Sing the mass!

Here is a playlist of practice videos for the ICEL Chants which include the dialogues.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Singing the Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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    26 January 2023 • FEEDBACK
    “Jeff, I wanted to personally thank you for your spiritual witness at the Symposium & often blogs that you write too. Praying that prayer in the mornings My God, my Father and my all (by Cardinal Merry Del Val), mentioning saints’ stories of Brébeuf, Jogues, John Vianney, monks who fought in WWII, their hard work in spite of terrible conditions, their relentless zeal for the faith, their genuine love for the laypeople they served, etc. Overall though—more than anything concrete I can point to that you did or said—it was your demeanor at the Symposium. I could tell you really absolutely love and believe the Catholic Faith. You don’t get that everywhere, even in Church circles. And your humility is what then makes that shine even brighter. It is super inspiring! God is working through you probably way more than you know.”
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    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
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    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The Humanists abominated the rhythmical poetry of the Middle Ages from an exaggerated enthusiasm for ancient classical forms and meters. Hymnody then received its death blow as, on the revision of the Breviary under Pope Urban VIII, the medieval rhythmical hymns were forced into more classical forms by means of so-called corrections.”

— ‘Father Clemens Blume, S.J.’

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