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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“We decided to entrust this work to learned men of our selection. They very carefully collated all their work with the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and with reliable, preserved or emended codices from elsewhere. Besides this, these men consulted the works of ancient and approved authors concerning the same sacred rites; and thus they have restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers.”

— ‘Pope St. Pius V (Quo Primum, 1570)’

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  • Now Available! • “Hymns of Cardinal Newman: Kevin Allen’s Legendary Choral Settings”
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