Corpus Christ Cathedral debuted the new translation of the Gloria this Sunday. The musical accompaniment was by Steven Janco, of World Liturgical Press, Renssalear Program.
The tune is a fast waltz rythm, and it is apparently difficult to keep from swaying to the 6/8 beat. We noticed one of our priests "movin' and groovin'" to the new tune. I'm afraid this is an example of trying to mix oil with water. It's possible if you stir really hard! I believe it would be more congruent with the Holy Father's intention simply to apply Gregorian melodies (now that the Gloria has been translated to follow Latin phrasing.) Or, even to some of the beautiful polyphonic settings, e.g. William Byrd here: http://gloria.tv/?media=200920.
This might disappoint composers looking to get a lock on becoming the "Marty Haugen" for the new Translation, - and to turn a quick profit. Sorry.
There is also the need to prevent as much as possible Church funds being funneled to the same tired-old composers who have been part and parcel of the Church's decline over the past 50 years. Bill Veeck was once asked his opinion of the high salaries paid to superstars. Veeck replied that he wasn't bothered by the high cost of excellence, but that he was aghast at the high cost of mediocrity. We've paid enough! Let's have excellence!
Let's not fund the Pope's enemies!
I am about as tradition as you get in the Catholic Church, and while I love Gregorian chant, I also found the Janco Gloria at Corpus Christi Cathedral quite thrilling -- which Glorias should be! I was a visitor there for a month and carried away (OK, I stole it) a program containing the music. Although I'm an old guy, I found it very readable and easy to sing. I plan to introduce it to my own parish priest.
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