I’ve been going through the material in the DVD “Become One Body One Spirit in Christ” from the International Committee on English in the Liturgy.
It is a truly remarkable achievement with layers of material and written background that will take some time to digest.
I haven’t got to the bit on music but the material on the reasons for the translation is fascinating to watch for all the spin and subtext evident in the interviews.
The reason that they went for a transliteration of the Latin mass rather than a good translation has been revealed. Firstly they knew that anything that attempted a proper translation or suggested English could be as poetic a language as Latin would be rejected by Rome, so they didn’t bother. It was also noted that the English translation is used for further translation into many other languages, so a transliteration of Latin to English leads to other translations closer to the Latin text. In addition, the new text was designed to be easier for chant settings.
Put that all together and a real translation into English that resonates with real parishioners was doomed. It makes you wonder whether the collective failure of imagination and scholarship was deliberate or just realistic. They ludicrously suggest that one standard English exists across the whole of the English speaking world and imply that English can’t be poetic without slavishly following the Latin text.
This is piffle. However, it appears to be piffle we will all have to live with. In another generation there may be a chance to have a real go at an Australian English liturgy, and to ditch the idolatry shown to the Roman missal.
The musical interest is in whether we can adapt the old parts of the mass to the new words, or whether it is better to scrap the lot and start again.