www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship Vespers, Matins & the Divine Liturgy The Revised Divine Liturgy In favor of chant

Rufinus may answer some direct questions as quickly as does Father David. If you're reading, Fr. David, we're still waiting to hear why this is a "Restored", not "Revised" Divine Liturgy...

John - thanks for responding.


Of course not! But I have been seeing statements that "lots and lots of mistakes have been posted", and they simply haven't.


There were certainly quite a few questions asked, which led to a number of changes that were made, based on reconsideration of specific points by the commission. Although we did not have episcopal permission to post the Ordinary, we posted the ENTIRE 8 tones for over a year on the MCI website, as well as the weekly music from the cathedral, with an explicit request for comments, questions and suggestions as we do for all our materials. I received approximately five pages of suggestions and comments, none from posters on this forum, which resulted in at least six changes to the final music.

Could the bishops and the music commission had been more collaborative? Of course. But Professor Thompson worked to release as much music as possible, and I was present for many hours of lunchtime and evening discussion at the seminary about specifics of the music, long before it was officially release. We did what we could.

Yours in Christ,
Jeff

Jeff,

Glad to see you recognize that the music was not a collaboration.

U-C

U-C,

What's your real name if you don't mind me asking? It seems to me if one likes his anonimity he has no rights asking personal questions of others. I would interpret his lack of response as yes, he minds you asking, so drop it.

Fr. Deacon Lance

I plead the 5th Amendment!

U-C

Our little flock in Indiana sang the B series for the Nativity of John the Baptist. Most of the Church sang. The Cantor was great. Clearly he had rehearsed the music. (This was the best he had sung in a long time.)

I went home and listened again to the CDs. I love the Troparion, the Kontakion and the Irmos. The Magnification is splendid. Beautiful. I sang along with my borrowed book in hand. For years I've never been able to sing the Troparion, Kontakion, etc. I've always wondered what they sounded like. Now, with these CDs I know. They are so beautiful. How could anyone ask that these be tossed out?

The Bishops are to be commended for their boldness, courage and fortitude. They've gone back fifty years and brought back to life melodies that were forgotten. They have given people 9 additional melodies of the Our Father to choose from and people complain!!!! What ingratitude.

Mary, I am too ignorant to respond to your theological arguments. The music, I like.

Fr. Serge, the selections have expanded, no? Even if you had your favorite chant form, my argument is that no one would sing it because they would find it too hard to pick up the book. The people act like the prima donna ballerina who gets a hole in her tights and stomps off stage screaming, "I just can't do this!"

I've noticed something curious. The postive "I'll give the music the good old American try" remarks all come from the midwest.

The Chicken-Little/Rumpelstiltskin comments come from the east coast. Sadly, at least one or two people remind me of the school yard bullies from years past. (You'll see the pattern of attack from them - just look at their threads regarding Fr. Petras, Prof. Thompson in other forums.)

People must get the CDs and a book in order to really pick this up. I am amazed and grateful that the Metropolitan Cantor Institute and the Bishops took the time to put this together. It's just incredible.



Rufinus

Fr Deacon Lance.

I can't speak for U-C but I would gladly accept a reply from Rufinus along the lines of "That's none of your business", although a quantitative answer would also be OK.

I believe it is turning into a "craddle/covert" issue.

The "Nays" seem to be the craddle Byzantine Catholics and the "Yays" seem to be those who convrted to the Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church. This seems to be the pattern.

Ungcsertezs

If they're coming to the BCC from the Roman rite, sure it sounds good. They don't know anything else. If you were raised in the Byzantine Catholic church you know how bad it is. Makes me wonder whats legal to smoke beside tabaccy in Pittsburgh?

U-C,

It seems to me those most opposed here on the forum are converts. But it should not matter eihter way, as a convert has as much right to voice their opinion yay or nay as a cradle. Something cradles often forget.

Fr. Deacon Lance

What boldness? What courage? What fortitude? The boldness, the courage, to go back to the point where the Roman Church started to go wrong and do the same thing? The Roman Church also gave it's people plenty of new music along with a plethora Eucharistic Canons. And a lot of good that did.

Instead of setting the Lord's Prayer to the 8 samohlasen tones (not a monumental musical feat), perhaps they could have actually tried restoring the Divine Liturgy to more closely follow the Recensio Rutena instead of giving people the Divine Liturgy of Pittsburgh.

huh...In't that strange...I come from the Roman rite, weaned on Gregorian Chant, and I don't seem to have much difficulty picking out the settings that are "strained" in their construction and their delivery.

I am not listening to the "bad" delivery of our cantors. I am listening to a borrowed copy of the CD's from the MCI.

M.

Well, I congratulate you as you are one of the few who actually knew what an eastern church is. Most western Christians have no clue about the Christian east, other than pirohi and onion domes on our churches.

I was borned and reared, for a good bit of the time, in Centre County, PA. The names in the Latin parish registry were Italian, Irish, Russian and Little Russian.

What wasn't to know?

M.