Music Newsletter Number 18
Spring 2011

In this issue:
The new Mass Translation - what will it mean
for parish musicians?
New Mass Singing Day on 9 April - don't miss it!

Two events this Spring, both in Linlithgow:

Linlithgow is easy to reach from all directions by car, with ample parking in the church grounds. There is also a regular train service from Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow and points in between, and the station is a five-minute walk from the church. Mass on Saturdays is at 10 a.m.

The New Mass Translation

What will it mean for parish musicians?

Although we are still awaiting detailed instructions, we now know that much of the new liturgy will be in place in Scotland in September of this year, ahead of its official introduction at the beginning of Advent. But already there are two obvious needs which parish musicians may want to look at:

1 Finding music - www.forthinpraise.co.uk can help

There is a lot to choose from already, and more will be coming through. The Forth in Praise website has a page dedicated to MUSIC FOR THE NEW MASS from around the world, which is worth browsing. There are still gaps: very little has come from England so far, and it looks as though the English bishops want their publishers to wait until after Easter. On the same webpage there is a link to the English bishops' website where can be found much information on what is expected of new Mass settings. There will also be some Church control in England and Wales over what is published. At the time of writing, we don't know what is to happen in Scotland.

One important development is the official ICEL chant, which is online and available now. This is the simplest of music settings for the new translation. Its melodies resemble the old Gregorian chanted settings - in fact, some are taken directly from Latin chant - but they don?t have the lengthy ornamented bits. The ICEL chant is very straightforward to learn, and as it can be sung unaccompanied, it could provide an interesting alternative to 'composed' Masses. The Forth in Praise website gives a link to the ICEL chant, both as music for printing off, and as Youtube files for listening to. Forth in Praise is also planning a simple organ accompaniment to help people learn.

2 Learning the new music

We believe that this process cannot start too soon, and we are organising a Forth in Praise Singing Day in Linlithgow on Saturday, 9 April, where we will look at methods of teaching as well as the music itself. Some parishes will already have a system in place for teaching new hymns and Mass parts to the people, and we'd like to hear from anyone who is successful in this, so that we can borrow their ideas!

On the Forth in Praise website, you will find a PDF download of the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass most commonly sung in our parishes. The changes, briefly, are:

No change at all: Kyrie, Gospel Acclamation, Agnus Dei
Small change only: Sanctus
Major change: Gloria
Total change: Memorial acclamations

The memorial acclamations are short, and new ones will be straightforward to learn. There are even some existing tunes which will fit them (see website). The big problem will be the Gloria, especially as there is a tendency now for this to be through-composed, rather than in a refrain form.

Help for Organists
Organists will almost certainly find themselves in the forefront of the changes, probably as teachers of the congregation. Please keep checking the Playing the Organ page of the website for training events and music resources geared to the new Mass translation.

Official instructions
When the detailed guidance comes through we will add it to the website and also send an update to our mailing lists (see below about how to get on to the various mailing lists). We'll also include on the website news from parishes who are already working on teaching the music for the new translation. www.forthinpraise.co.uk

OTHER NEWS

Archdiocesan Choir

The Archdiocesan Choir is now practising for the Chrism Mass in the Cathedral on 19 April. New members are always welcome, male voices especially. The choir meets every Tuesday from 7.30 until 9.00 pm in St John's, 37 St Ninian's Road, Corstorphine, EH12 8AL.

News from the St Margaret's Schola

The Schola's monthly Latin Vespers at St Mary's Cathedral have moved to Saturday afternoons at 4pm. Our next liturgy will be for the Feast of St Joseph on 19th March.

We will also be singing Tenebrae (Morning Prayer for the Sacred Triduum) in the Cathedral on Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd, and Saturday 23rd April at 8am.

As ever, we hope you will be able to join us for our events. We hope to continue to swell our numbers, and all interested are invited to browse the Schola web pages at edinburghschola.blogspot.com or email edinburghschola at gmail.com .

Mailing lists

The next Forth in Praise Newsletter will be issued in the Autumn, but email updates on the progress towards the new Mass translation and other news will continue to be circulated to those on our email mailing list, and the website will be updated regularly.

If you are not on our mailing lists and would like to be please contact Katherine Cameron, Katherine.Cameron@forthinpraise.co.uk, 01324 612034. The email lists are:

• GENERAL LIST: for newsletters and updates
• UPDATE LIST: for updates only
• ORGANISTS LIST: for information of special interest to organists
• CHOIR LIST: this list was created and used for the Papal visit but could be revived if needed.

There is also a POSTAL LIST for people without email, with mailings twice a year only.

You can ask to be removed from any list at any time. Just contact Katherine.

Please note: if you decide to join, or are already on, one or more of our mailing lists, would you please put Katherine's email into your address book or contacts list. This ensures (1) that mailings from Forth in Praise don't go into your spam and (2) that if you change your email address, Forth in Praise is likely to be notified. Thank you.

About Forth in Praise

Forth in Praise is the Music Advisory Group attached to the Liturgy Commission of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Convener and organ adviser: Evelyn Stell, 01506 510366, evelyn.stell@forthinpraise.co.uk

Events organiser and webkeeper: Katherine Cameron, 01324 612034, Katherine.Cameron@forthinpraise.co.uk

Treasurer: Rosemary Taylor, 01324 712380

Other group members are: Karen Birnie, Maeve Logan, Misia Paul and Colette Pye.