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Showing posts from September, 2017

Gospel Acclamation

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I have said  previously that I don't like Gospel Acclamations and Responsorial Psalms to be too lively - rapidly switching between exuberant singing and attentive, "heart"-listening doesn't come easily to me.  However, after some years I began to feel that the standard, triple-Alleluia was in need of some......enhancement; and, after getting an idea from watching a Papal Mass on TV, we began to make use of a short fanfare to introduce the Gospel Acclamation. Two flautists play this simple fanfare (the top line is the melody, the bottom line is a harmony that I came up with), then the cantor sings unaccompanied followed by choir and congregation (with the harmony); the cantor then sings the verse and all repeat the Alleluia (again, with harmony). It's a simple embellishment but it does to serve to highlight the Gospel Acclamation a little more. As well as this we have also been introducing Gospel Acclamation tones from John Ainslie's  Sing the Psalms Si