Free setting of Salmo 102 (103)
In the interest of experimenting with setting Psalms in Spanish, with guitar*, but in a more dignified style than is typically encountered at the average parish, I’ve written the following (very) simple arrangement that I am offering gratis.
*While I ultimately believe the use of the guitar at mass is fundamentally opposed to the (still active) prohibitions in Tra le sollicitudini, the simple fact of the matter is that many parishes are NOT at a place where they can abandon the use of guitars at this time. The result is not, (I believe) to merely wash our hands of the matter. This manifests in two extreme responses: either the parish permits the status quo (which is more-often-than-not undignified for the sacred mysteries… ‘profane’, really) or the parish simply bans those musicians all together (a real problem if they are the only musicians who present themselves to volunteer at the parish!). A transitional, via media seems preferable. Since there seems to be a real poverty of suitable, simple arrangements, I pose this style of psalm as a possible solution.
The chord symbols that are in parenthesis are optional, accommodating a range of player skill. The melody notes are offered in TAB, in the event that those notes need to be plucked (this may also be helpful for learning to cantor the melody). And as you can hear from the demo, the intention is to strike structural chords (much in the way an organist would accompany a choir singing anglican chant) but not to strum patterns throughout!
Please do let me know what you think…
Would this be something you would like to see more of? Could your parish leverage such arrangements? You can let me know via the form below or via my contact page.
