AINT JOHN VIANNEY, as a young man, was drafted to fight with Napoleon’s army. Believe it or not, he became a fugitive (i.e. “deserter” or “draft dodger”) and for fourteen months hid in a farmhouse. When it comes to young Vianney dodging the draft, there were extenuating circumstances. To explain the full situation would take too long, but part of it had to do with the fact that he shouldn’t have been drafted in the first place since he was a seminarian. The simple fact of the matter is, the way things worked out in the real world made him a fugitive.
(1 of 2) The Sanctus • After the Second Vatican Council, a falsehood was spread claiming that it was forbidden to have the choir alone sing the SANCTUS. As a matter of fact, that was a lie. However, the way things worked out in the real world make debating the point rather a waste of time. Our situation—whether we like it or not—is that most priests believe the choral SANCTUS is prohibited. There’s little anyone can do to fix this. (If you believe differently, please let me know.)
(2 of 2) The Sanctus • When it comes to the Ordinary Form, the congregation normally joins in singing the SANCTUS. Therefore, you might want to download three PDF files I composed this morning:
* PDF Download • SANCTUS (English, Latin, & Spanish)
—Spanish score was corrected on 4 August 2024
What They Did To Us • My harmonizations are nothing special, but they help me stay organized for the various Masses at my parish. You will see that the “full scale embrace” of the vernacular (in spite of what the Second Vatican Council explicitly mandated) made the church musician’s job 100 billion times more complicated … because each composition has to be placed into each vernacular language, and currently more than 7,100 languages are spoken throughout the world.
