HEN I COMPOSE settings of the Responsorial Psalm according to the method of the Chabanel Psalms, I assume that everyone will automatically know how they are intended to be performed. However, this is rather silly—because how can they know what’s inside my mind? I was recently asked to compose Responsorial Psalms for the First Mass of a (soon-to-be-ordained) Australian priest, and I thought it might be good to explain explicitly the correct method. I composed a brand new Chabanel tone, which uses a “pedal tone” on C-Natural in the Tenor:
Here is the score, which contains written instructions:
* PDF Download • “Taste and See” (CHABANEL)
—Responsorial Psalm (Ordinary Form); Votive Mass the Sacred Heart.
* PDF Download • Alleluia (FATHER LE MOYNE)
—Alleluia Verse (Ordinary Form); Votive Mass the Sacred Heart.
As you can see, there are six options when it comes to Votive Masses for the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Ordinary Form:
* PDF Download • Responsorial Psalm Options
—From the Ordo Lectionum Missae.
The priest made his choice, and I followed his request. For the record, I think the Missale Romanum Cum Lectionibus Ad Usum Fidelium made an error. Do you agree?
The United States of America Lectionary, on the other hand, seems to have done it correctly (as far as I can tell):
In the Ordinary Form, Anglophone countries each have different translations—which is insane. That’s one reason the Extraordinary Form is experiencing exponential growth. After all, why must Australia have a different Lectionary than the United States? Why must the United States have a different Lectionary than Canada? I am told Great Britain and South Africa have separate lectionaries, also. I don’t know about Singapore, Hong Kong, or the Philippines. To make matters worse, the USA has an “NAB” Lectionary which doesn’t match any Bible—and they are constantly making tiny changes here and there, even though they are not allowed to.
If the Responsorial Psalm is sung, the version from Australia (provided above) is approved for use in the dioceses of the United States of America. The same is the true of the Ted Marier Psalter; it can be sung (but not read) in dioceses of the United States of America. When it comes to “approved collections” for the United States, it’s important to remember that the USCCB overruled the GIRM in 2012 with regard to these approvals. They were challenged on this so-called “tacit approval,” but they held their ground.
