We continue the examination of the document Ordo Cantus Missae, which forms part of the introduction to the Roman Gradual, the official Roman Catholic book of music. As always, I note the kind contribution of Richard Chonak who translated the Latin original of the second edition (1988). After the Kyrie (or its replacement) comes not a strophic hymn, but a traditional piece cited as a “hymn”::
3. The hymn Gloria in excelsis is begun by the priest, or, if appropriate, by a cantor. It is presented either by a cantor and choir in alternation, or by two choirs responding to one another. The division of verses, marked with a double line in the Graduale Romanum, need not be preserved if a more suitable manner is found that can be combined with the melody.
When the rite of blessing and sprinkling holy water is used in Sunday Masses, this rite takes the place of the penitential act.
Roman practicality at work: the priest-celebrant begins the intonation, but if he is unable, a cantor will.
Perhaps we should be surprised the OCM doesn’t address that bugaboo of many American church musicians, the responsorial Gloria. It does give an alternate method for singing the piece: alternating choirs. More traditional? Perhaps. My own preference is through-sung, with the assembly. As a stepping stone to full participation, I have no problem with phasing in the Gloria, from a choir-only piece to a responsorial form, to a setting sung through by everyone.