The Message of the Mass Melodies

Can you hear the message-full of strength and sweetness, rich in spiritual wisdom-proclaimed by the Gregorian chants of the Mass? Let this book be your guide! With a sensitivity born of many years of meditation on the texts and melodies of the Church's liturgy, Father Murrett shows how the chant of the Mass Propers is aptly expressive of the prayer it accompanies. The chant as sung and listened to with his meditative insights thus becomes the true vehicle of prayer it is meant to be. The book is in no way intended as a manual of technical interpretation; its sole aim is to help singers and choirmasters better understand and appreciate this precious art-form of the liturgy, and thereby to render it more prayerfully. "As its very name implies, this book studies the Gregorian melodies of the Mass propers-or rather, not studies but meditates them. For the book is a prayerful examination of the texts and plainsong tunes of the Sunday propers, plus a few outstanding feasts, done by a mission