Responsorial Psalms for Weekday Mass

Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter

Set by Anthony Ruff, OSB

LITURGICAL PRESSCollegeville, Minnesota

www.litpress.org800.858.5450

ANTIPHON GRAPHICS

For your assistance, PDF files of the assembly antiphons, one for each liturgical season, are available online. These files are dated, ready for you to download and reproduce for your assembly. In order to reproduce these PDF files legally, you are required to have either the Liturgical Press annual music reprint license (reporting the use of titles is not required) or you must be a member of the licensing agent Onelicense.net (reporting the use of titles is mandatory).

The PDF files can be found at the following web address: www.litpress.org/weekday_antiphons

ACkNOWledGMeNTS

The cover design is by Br. David Manahan, OSB

Antiphon music set by Anthony Ruff, OSB, © 2008, Order of Saint Benedict, Saint John’s Abbey, administered by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN 56321. All rights reserved.

The Saint Meinrad Psalm Tones based on the eight Gregorian modes, © 1973, 1993, Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

The psalm texts from the New American Bible © 1970, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2001, Confraternity of Christian Doc-trine, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

The psalm texts from the Grail (England), © 1963, 1986, The Grail. All rights reserved. Licensed and reprinted by permission of GIA Publications, Inc., 7404 South Mason Avenue, Chicago, IL 60638, North American agent for The Grail.

The division of text in the following NAB psalms is designed to accommodate the musical setting and may not reflect the stanza division of the original text: Lectionary nos. 17, 179, 185, 198, 207, 231, 232, 243, 267, 268, 280, 283, 285, 293, 299, 564, 572.

© 2008 the Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews and as noted on page five, without the previous written permission of the Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, P.O. Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN 13: 978-0-8146-3261-1

I wish to thank Abbot John Klassen, OSB, abbot of Saint John’s Abbey, for first ask-ing that the responsorial psalm be sung at daily Mass in our monastery. It was his impulse and inspiration that led to the creation of this collection. Thanks also to Br. Aelred Senna, OSB, and Fr. Nicholas Becker, OSB, for their assistance with index-ing and psalm verse layout during novitiate work periods.

Foreword

To the singer and musician:

For daily Mass, the U.S. bishops recommend singing the “Responsorial Psalm, perhaps in a simple chanted setting” (“Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship” 116). This collection offers such simple chanted settings and makes it possible for the responsorial psalm to be sung at every daily Mass during the seasons of the liturgical year.

These responsorial psalms were conceived for unaccompanied singing led by a single cantor as practiced daily at Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. All that is needed for these set-tings is one singer with self-confidence and a good sense for pitch and rhythm. But for those who desire it, keyboard accompaniments and guitar chords are also provided.

The psalm verses are provided in two translations, the New American Bible translation of the U.S. Lectionary for Mass and the Grail translation as revised in 1983 for inclusive human language. Some may prefer to use the translation of the officially approved lectionary, although one will find that the NAB translation is not well suited for singing in its cadence and accent patterns. It is for this reason that the Grail translation is also provided. According to “Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship” (158), based on the U.S. “General Instruction of the Roman Missal” (61), one may use translations other than the NAB of the lectionary when singing the responsorial psalm, and this interpretation has been con-firmed by officials of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship.

These antiphons are text based in every respect, intentionally simple and unornamented. The melodies are only slightly more than inflected speech, with primary scale degrees bringing out the natural accentuation of the text, and infrequent two-note groups highlighting important words or defining syntactical units. The melodic settings are in the eight Gregorian chant modes as found in the psalm tones of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. Type melodies, one for each mode, are employed repeatedly for varying antiphon texts, making it easier for cantor and congregation to pick up the antiphon melodies. The Saint Meinrad psalm tones are used because they are well suited to the rhythm and accentuation of the English language, which, unlike Latin, frequently has an accent on the final syllable of a line.

To the musicians: Practices for singing and accompanying responsorial psalms vary from place to place. The single most important thing for the success of these settings is an agreed-upon plan that is followed with consistency and confidence in order to enable the congregation to join in readily. The antiphon might or might not be played by the instrumentalist before being sung by the cantor; the can-tor might intone the antiphon with or without accompaniment; the congregational antiphon might be led more by the cantor or more by the instrumentalist; the accompanist might play the first chord of each line of the psalm tone a bit before the cantor (to give the pitch) or might come in exactly with the cantor; the accompanist might hold the first chord of the antiphon before the congregation comes in or come in exactly with the congregation. Whatever practice is customary in a given community, it should be known by all the musicians and followed consistently.

The horizontal line that sometimes appears over a melody note, technically called an “episemata,” indi-cates that this syllable is to be held a bit longer. In a few cases, a slur joins two notes of the psalm tone melody. This indicates that both notes are sung to one syllable when that syllable is double underlined.

To the singer: Regarding rhythm, the singer should follow the natural accentuation of spoken En-glish. The singer should first recite the text of the antiphon and verses, and then sing with the same rhythm and tempo, neither slowing down nor falling into an unnatural equalism. Each syl-lable receives the same length and stress when sung as it does when spoken. Regarding melody,

the singer should become as familiar as possible with the modal melodies of the eight psalm tones, committing them to memory if possible. Before singing the melody of the antiphon, the singer should first internalize the melody of the psalm tone, since the melody of the antiphon in every case is based upon and grows out of the melody of the psalm tone.

To the keyboard player: It is good to vary the volume between antiphon and verses, playing more loudly to stimulate and support the congregation, but playing as quietly as possible for the verses (while still offering necessary support to the cantor) so as to allow the text of the verses to be heard clearly. As much as possible, the accompaniment for the psalm tone should be committed to memory so that one can follow and support the cantor without delay or hesitation. It is advis-able to memorize the first chord of the antiphon as well so that the transition from verse to anti-phon can be made smoothly. Some organists might wish to help the congregation by soloing out the antiphon melody with a louder registration on a separate manual.

Piano players should account for the fact the piano is percussive and does not sustain sounds like the organ. In order to provide continuous support, chords should be repeated more often than is written. For both antiphon and verses, such repetition should occur on accented syllables. Espe-cially on the verses, the reiteration of chords might take the form of gentle arpeggiation.

To the guitarist: What is said to the piano player in the preceding paragraph applies also to the guitarist. The guitarist will often need to strum the same chord repeatedly on the antiphon—always on primary accented syllables. The chord symbols for the psalm tones account for virtually every chord change of the keyboard setting. Guitarists should feel free to omit some chords and reduce the number of chord changes (provided that the chord played fits the mode), especially if fewer chord changes help one better to follow and support the cantor without hesitation or delay. It is not recommended to use guitar along with keyboard, or to use more than one musician as ac-companist, since this might complicate matters and constrain the freedom of the cantor.

Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSBSaint John’s AbbeyThe Feast of Saint Benedict, July 11, 2008

Advent Page No.First Week of Advent

Monday .................................................................... 1Tuesday..................................................................... 2Wednesday ............................................................... 3Thursday ................................................................... 4Friday ........................................................................ 5Saturday .................................................................... 6

Second Week of AdventMonday .................................................................... 7Tuesday..................................................................... 8Wednesday ............................................................... 9Thursday ................................................................. 10Friday ...................................................................... 11Saturday .................................................................. 12

Third Week of AdventMonday .................................................................. 13Tuesday................................................................... 14Wednesday ............................................................. 15Thursday ................................................................. 16Friday ...................................................................... 17

December 17 ................................................................ 18December 18 ................................................................ 19December 19 ................................................................ 20December 20 ................................................................ 21December 21 ................................................................ 22December 22 ................................................................ 23December 23 ................................................................ 24December 24 ................................................................ 25

ChristmasDecember 26,

Saint Stephen, First Martyr....................................... 26December 27,

Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist ........................... 27December 28,

The Holy Innocents, Martyrs ................................... 28December 29,

The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas ................ 29December 30,

The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas................ 30December 31,

The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas ........... 31The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph ................... 32Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

the Mother of God .................................................. 33January 2 ....................................................................... 34January 3 ....................................................................... 35January 4 ....................................................................... 36January 5 ....................................................................... 37January 6 ....................................................................... 38

January 7 ....................................................................... 39The Epiphany of the Lord............................................... 40Days after Epiphany

Monday or January 7............................................... 41Tuesday or January 8 ............................................... 42Wednesday or January 9 ......................................... 43Thursday or January 10 ........................................... 44Friday or January 11 ................................................ 45Saturday or January 12 ............................................ 46

The Baptism of the Lord................................................. 47

LentAsh Wednesday ............................................................. 48Thursday after Ash Wednesday ...................................... 49Friday after Ash Wednesday ........................................... 50Saturday after Ash Wednesday ....................................... 51First Week of Lent

Monday .................................................................. 52Tuesday................................................................... 53Wednesday ............................................................. 54Thursday ................................................................. 55Friday ...................................................................... 56Saturday .................................................................. 57

Second Week of LentMonday .................................................................. 58Tuesday................................................................... 59Wednesday ............................................................. 60Thursday ................................................................. 61Friday ...................................................................... 62Saturday .................................................................. 63

Third Week of LentOptional Mass ........................................................ 64Monday .................................................................. 65Tuesday................................................................... 66Wednesday ............................................................. 67Thursday ................................................................. 68Friday ...................................................................... 69Saturday .................................................................. 70

Fourth Week of LentOptional Mass ........................................................ 71Monday .................................................................. 72Tuesday................................................................... 73Wednesday ............................................................. 74Thursday ................................................................. 75Friday ...................................................................... 76Saturday .................................................................. 77

Fifth Week of LentOptional Mass ........................................................ 78Monday .................................................................. 79Tuesday................................................................... 80Wednesday ............................................................. 81

Contents

Thursday ................................................................. 82Friday ...................................................................... 83Saturday .................................................................. 84

Holy WeekMonday ......................................................................... 85Tuesday ......................................................................... 86Wednesday .................................................................... 87

EasterOctave of Easter

Monday .................................................................. 88Tuesday................................................................... 89Wednesday ............................................................. 90Thursday ................................................................. 91Friday ...................................................................... 92Saturday .................................................................. 93

Second Week of EasterMonday .................................................................. 94Tuesday................................................................... 95Wednesday ............................................................. 96Thursday ................................................................. 97Friday ...................................................................... 98Saturday .................................................................. 99

Third Week of EasterMonday ................................................................ 100Tuesday................................................................. 101Wednesday ........................................................... 102Thursday ............................................................... 103Friday .................................................................... 104Saturday ................................................................ 105

Fourth Week of EasterMonday ................................................................ 106Tuesday................................................................. 107Wednesday ........................................................... 108Thursday ............................................................... 109Friday .................................................................... 110Saturday ................................................................ 111

Fifth Week of EasterMonday ................................................................ 112Tuesday................................................................. 113Wednesday ........................................................... 114Thursday ............................................................... 115Friday .................................................................... 116Saturday ................................................................ 117

Sixth Week of EasterMonday ................................................................ 118Tuesday................................................................. 119Wednesday ........................................................... 120Thursday ............................................................... 121Ascension Thursday............................................... 122Friday .................................................................... 123Saturday ................................................................ 124

Seventh Week of EasterMonday ................................................................ 125Tuesday................................................................. 126Wednesday ........................................................... 127Thursday ............................................................... 128Friday .................................................................... 129Saturday ................................................................ 130

Other LiturgiesFebruary 22,

The Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle ............................ 131March 19, Saint Joseph,

Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary ...................... 132March 25,

The Annunciation of the Lord ................................ 133April 25,

Saint Mark, Evangelist ........................................... 134May 3,

Saints Philip and James, Apostles .......................... 135May 14,

Saint Matthias, Apostle .......................................... 136May 31,

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ..................... 137November 30,

Saint Andrew, Apostle (option I) ............................ 138November 30,

Saint Andrew, Apostle (option II) ........................... 139December 8, The Immaculate Conception of

the Blessed Virgin Mary......................................... 140December 12,

Our Lady of Guadalupe ........................................ 141

Psalm TonesSaint Meinrad Archabbey .................................... 142–143

IndicesBiblical Index ...................................................... 144–145Antiphon Index .................................................... 146–148

1

Lect. #175 Monday of the First Week of Advent

2

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Lect. #176

3

Lect. #177 Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

4

Thursday of the First Week of Advent Lect. #178

5

Lect. #179 Friday of the First Week of Advent

6

Saturday of the First Week of Advent Lect. #180

7

Lect. #181 Monday of the Second Week of Advent

8

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Lect. #182

9

Lect. #183 Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

10

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent Lect. #184

11

Lect. #185 Friday of the Second Week of Advent

12

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent Lect. #186