The FIRST Option

I had read of this a few days ago at the MusicaSacra forum, from Mia Coyne and now Dr Jerry confirms that this is found in the most recent newsletter of what was formerly the BCL, now the Committee on Divine Worship:

[T]he Committee is open to the inclusion of the new chants that have been approved by ICEL. It will also request that publishers make those chant settings in the Missal the first option provided in participation aids. Other settings could be used as well, but this approach is meant to encourage use of the chants. [emphasis supplied]

This bodes very well for the liturgy indeed.
I have always held that the problems with liturgical music is not so much the existence and use of various banal, commercial settings of the Ordinary and hymns that substitute for the Propers as the "Famous Fourth" option is exercised -- rather, it is that these have become the default, the usual, the stuff that those who know nothing of the music of the Church but what they are exposed to then mistakenly think holds some kind of semi-official, privileged status, (well, I suppose it is privileged, by the hucksters who exert the most influence.)

When you open up a missal or hymnal or missalette with the Order of Mass, well.... the MASS, what's in THE MISSAL, is what ought to be there, what you see first.

We may finally get our music priorities properly arranged.

I wish it didn't take so long for the Committee's newsletter to get online, I can't afford a subscription.