Singing The Kyrie Twice?

[Groo the Wanderer]

A choir member called me tonight with a question I could not answer: they were practicing one of the new Mass settings and the choir director decided the Kyrie was too short, so instead of singing either in English OR Greek, they sang both English and Greek, back to back "because it's pretty." SHe wanted to know if this was right, wrong, illicit, or whatever..

The best answers I could come up with were:
this is not right because the motivation (to sound pretty vs to offer contrition to God) is wrong.
and
this is not right because we do;t get to play with the form of the Mass and it does not specify singing the Kyrie twice, regardless of language.


Anyone out there have anything authoritative on this either way? The choir member would like to voice her opposition to this, but would like something better than her own feelings to back it up. I'm kinda curious too, now.




found this in the GIRM:
[color=#333333][font=Georgia,]
The Kyrie, Eleison[/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=Georgia,]
52. After the Penitential Act, the Kyrie, eleison (Lord, have mercy), is always begun, unless it has already been part of the Penitential Act. Since it is a chant by which the faithful acclaim the Lord and implore his mercy, it is usually executed by everyone, that is to say, with the people and the choir or cantor taking part in it.[/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=Georgia,]
Each acclamation is usually pronounced twice, though it is not to be excluded that it be repeated several times, by reason of the character of the various languages, as well as of the artistry of the music or of other circumstances. When the Kyrie is sung as a part of the Penitential Act, a “trope” precedes each acclamation.[/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=Georgia,]
[/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=Georgia,]
[/font][/color]

[font="Georgia,"][color="#000000"]however, in typical English GIRM translation fashion it is beautifully vague. Does this only refer to repeating the same strophe over and over as ok, or also repeating the entire Kyrie being ok? grr[/color][/font]

Edited August 24, 2011 by Groo the Wanderer

[Theoketos]

Neither the GIRM or the Missal foresees this.

Just say the black and do the red.