Meme for me

1) favorite Ordinary settings:

If I just gotta get people to sing, good ol’ Mass o’ Cremation does the trick. For sounding purty/interesting and still letting the folks sing, Mass for the City.

I love Vaughan Williams Mass in G, too. And Bach B minor, but not sure that counts. :)

2) favorite Mass Proper chants

*sigh* Again, I don’t know them well enough. I’ve had fun singing the “Qui habitat” tract to myself, though. :) If sequences count, then “Victimæ” definitely.

3) favorite polyphonic motet

Oh geez .... if we’re able to go 20th century, Penderecki “Stabat mater” and Messiaen “O sacrum” are big faves of mine. The “Tu pauperum refugium” attributed to Josquin is really pretty, and Gibbons “Hosanna to the Son of David” is a delightful romp.

4) favorite hymn

Assuming we mean chorales here...I’ll go with ENGELBERG.

5) favorite Marian piece

Wylkynson “Salve Regina”, Josquin “Ave Maria”.

Ave maris stella...I actually really like the Anerio cantus-firmus polyphonic treatment of it. Fairly easy piece, too, at least by comparison.

6) favorite liturgical season

Holy Week. I also love Advent - there’s a profundity in the eschatological stuff that I think is lost with our culture’s treatment of Christmas.

7) favorite composer of sacred music

Again, gotta discount JSB, but besides him, hm. I may have to give this to Poulenc - his music is so original. Messiaen didn’t write enough (liturgical) sacred music to be considered.

8) Worst church music annoyance (Gavin’s)

Schlocky or doctrinally iffy hymn texts that nonetheless are meaningful to people. I don’t feel right planning them for the liturgy, but then get things like tonight, where people asked me for “How Great Thou Art” - that whole presumption of salvation thing in the 4th verse just AIN’T how the Church prays, at least as far as I can tell.

9) If I could be in any performing ensemble in the world, which? (PT’s question)

Hm - this is a toughie, because I’d love stage performing time as well as Bach-ish time. But, let’s say Collegium Regale (Herreweghe’s group).

10) One prediction for Catholic liturgical music in 10 years (my question)

The core repertoire will not have a substantial effect on American Catholic parishes, as it will largely include music that is already familiar. Publishers will still largely be able to publish whatever they want, though with the growth of liturgical music as a profession and the increasing number of large parishes (growing populations plus fewer clergy per capita), the quality of both texts and music will continue to improve.