Metropolitan Cantor Institute

[GRECO-KAT]

The announcement accompanying release of the new books says, "As of June 29, 2007, only the new books are to be used for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in English in the churches of the Archeparchy." Has this been clarified anywhere?

Does it just mean that parishes are expected/required to dispose of the old books and replace them with the new ones by June 29?

Does it also mean that, as of that date, only the English text, as it appears in the new books, may be used by priest, deacon, cantor, choir and people? If that is the intent, what is to be done with musical settings that are based on other translations?

Since the new books (unlike the old ones) contain musical settings, does the announcement also mean that musical settings from other traditions (assuming the question of English translation is resolved) can/should not be used?

[ByzKat]

Christ is risen!

Dear GRECO-KAT,

Those are all good questions, and I can BASICALLY (but entirely unofficially) answer them from the presentations made to us at the Cantor School in Pittsburgh: when celebrating in English, only the new text is to be used for the Divine Liturgy as of June 29. Celebrations in Slavonic should use the official Roman texts.

However, there is no "official" music which must be used - only a core repertoire which cantors OUGHT to know, and which can provide a usable parish standard across the Byzantine Catholic Church. This core repertoire is provided in the new people's book, and will be supplemented with other materials over time.

Other music in keeping with liturgical propriety (whether traditional in a parish, or taken ad libitum from another tradition) can be used, as long as the official texts are used when English is employed; this may require adjustments for existing music, of course. I would expect that use of other texts in English would require the permission of one's bishop, unless they are simply supplementary texts such as saint's propers for which there is no official text - in whch case the approval of one's pastor would suffice.

Yours in Christ,
Jeff Mierzejewski

[GRECO-KAT]

Jeff writes:

"Other music in keeping with liturgical propriety (whether traditional in a parish, or taken ad libitum from another tradition) can be used, as long as the official texts are used when English is employed; this may require adjustments for existing music, of course. I would expect that use of other texts in English would require the permission of one's bishop, unless they are simply supplementary texts such as saint's propers for which there is no official text - in whch case the approval of one's pastor would suffice."

Wonder how "liturgical propriety" will be defined.

The hierarchical-approval requirement sounds a bit cumbersome, particularly for musical settings based on English translations that differed from the old pew book that may have been in use for decades by choirs and/or congregations. Wonder how this is going to be accomplished, and how the several eparchs will coordinate their approvals. "Adjustments" to accommodate some of the new texts may prove difficult, and result in music that, while "liturgically proper," may be disedifying.

As for the Roman books as the standard for Slavonic celebration, my recollection is that there are at least a few places (the Cherubikon comes to mind) where the old pew book text differs slightly from the Roman.
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Choir Member; Former Cantor; Interested Layman