So...June is over. Wow. Summer is flying by!
Last Sunday as I was sitting at the piano, listening to the lector proclaim the first reading, I was dismayed that the volume wasn't very strong coming from either the person reading or the microphone itself. Also, they seemed to speed through it a bit. Perhaps they were nervous, or just simply read too quickly. It just seemed that we rushed through the first reading. Before I knew it we were all saying "Thanks be to God," and it was time for the Psalm.
Now, the Psalm is supposed to be part of the Liturgy of the Word. In other words, it should share equal weight with the first and second reading, right? Quite often, though, it seems that the musical setting tends to overshadow the spoken word. Sometimes even, the musical setting might be too long, too robust, or maybe just too much for that part of the Liturgy. I think a few simple guidelines can help us, and perhaps your parish as well, in this situation.
PROCLAIMING THE WORD:
1. Wait a little longer before the lector approaches the ambo for the first reading. This doesn't have to be a long time, just enough time that everyone is seated before the reader approaches. We should all see that person walking up to the ambo. It tells us that something is about to happen. It 'sets up' the moment.
2. Proclaim the word, don't rush through it. Encourage your lectors to practice reading the scripture slowly and clearly. That's pretty self-explanatory.
3. Work on microphone technique. Get close enough to the microphone so that it picks up the voice well enough to amplify it. Otherwise, what's the point? People need to hear what you are saying!
THE RESPONSORIAL PSALM:
4. After the first reading, don't rush into the Repsonsorial Psalm. Allow the lector time to leave the ambo, bow, and begin walking back to their seat.
5. Begin appropriately with the music. Don't try and out-do the Gospel Acclamation or the Song of Thanksgiving. That doesn't mean "I will praise your name" needs to be subdued...just balanced. Find a good setting that really does justice to the text of the psalm of the day. A good setting will lead you in the right direction. Remember, the assembly needs to sing this!
6. Be careful how you end. You probably don't want to come crashing down with cymbals and a gliss on the piano all the time. (Maybe once in a while? :-)) Remember, you are setting up the next moment: the second reading.
If we’re not careful our enthusiasm for our music can sometimes outbalance what is happening in the rest of the liturgy. We should always try and be conscious of what is going on around the many musical moments of the Mass.
In our parish, there seems to be a very "performance" driven responsorial psalm selection. Not only does the cantor and pianist sing psalms that I would call not community friendly (difficult for the regular person in the pew to sing...either the key is too high or the tempo is interminably slow)but also on many occasions there has been duets. What do you think about this?
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure if this is what you mean, but as long as the refrain is assembly-friendly I'm okay with the verses of the Responsorial Psalm being sung as a solo, duet, etc. (even with some improvisation). As long as the setting fits the text I think the verses can be soloistic in nature. It's not like at communion (or any other part of the liturgy) where the assembly is expected to sing both the verse and the refrain of the song. In the same way as a single lector proclaims the word from the ambo, a single voice can "proclaim" the verses of the Psalm.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think we always need to be careful not to draw attention to the singer, but to the word being proclaimed. If the performance is becoming a distraction to hearing the word, it's time to tone it down a bit.