Quite a mass of Masses

Just got back from NPM last week, which is why there was no blog. Not surprisingly, the hot topic was new mass settings.  Lots and lots and lots of new mass settings.  Some new, some revised. Whatever you're looking for, I'm sure it's out there!  Of course, everyone has their own idea about what will be the right setting for their own parish. What may work well in one parish may or may not work well in another.  But that is what is so great...there are lots of options.

I started thinking about what were are currently using in my parish. At present we are singing the following:

1. Glory to God (Haas) from "Mass of Light"

2. Love Has Come (Maher) - specifically the Refrain ("Word of God enthroned...")

3. Holy (Bolduc) - one of mine that is not published

4. Christ Has Died (Booth) from "Mass of Life"

   or Dying You Destroyed Our Death (Bolduc) from "Mass of Celebration"

5. Amen (Booth) from "Mass of Life"

6. Lamb of God (Maher) from "Mass of St. Timothy"

   or Lamb of God (Bolduc) from "Mass of Celebration"

Wow.  So that is made up of 4 mass settings, one unpublished piece, and part of a song.  How did we end up with all of these different selections?  And who's to say we won't somehow end up doing the same thing all over again...taking the Gloria from this setting, the Holy from another, and so on?

It's quite possible that may be the case.  Maybe on paper it doesn't seem like all of those different pieces I mentioned go together in one 'setting,' but they sure work well together in our parish.  They certainly don't all have the same thematic elements binding them together. Maybe that's what makes them so interesting to sing throughout the liturgy. Or perhaps individually they work so well that you don't even notice they aren't musically tied together. Whichever the case, the assembly sings these very, very well.  It never seems like we are missing something greater because they aren't from the same musical setting.

The first choice, of course, would be to use a complete mass setting that is thematically tied together. The challenge there is to find one where all of the acclamations are well-crafted, singable, musically interesting...and they all fit the musical style of your parish.

I'd really like to go with the 'single mass setting approach' beginning this September. Right now we are planning on using Mass of St. Ann at our parish, especially as the text begins to change. I have a good feeling that it will 'stick' for us and be used for awhile, but I will not be afraid to create a mix of different settings as time goes on, especially to keep things fresh, and to bring back tried-and-true favorites that are still useable.