If the Dialogue mass were performed with only men responding, it would quickly die out, as few men would respond, hence the dialogue mass never existed in the history of the Church, and only exists (the Novus Ordo is a dialogue mass) because of the women responding.
If the Church had continued to not allow women to respond and sing at the mass, I doubt the Novus Ordo would even have existed for more than a passing moment. The New Mass lives only because of women.
This is an interesting take on things.
It goes hand-in-hand with the women's liberation movement. One of
Communism's primary objectives was to get the women out of the homes
and into industry and the workplace.
St. Paul teaches that women should not talk in church. Modern women
don't care much for what St. Paul has to say quite often, but they are
wont to claim that "talking has nothing to do with singing." How do you
like them apples??
Choirs sound much better with men singing alone, for one simple reason:
When men and women sing together, in so-called unison, they are an
octave apart, and when two voices sing separated by the 8th interval,
it imparts a distracting, harsh sound to the music, in fact, some may say
it isn't even "musical." Not to say that the 8th interval is never appropriate,
it's just something that should be used in certain cases: not ALL THE TIME.
Think of it as a "bull in a china closet" or a giant stomping around in boots.
Ragtime piano music has a lot of octaves in the left hand, which gives it
a pseudo-percussion aspect. It is not appropriate for a love ballad or the
contemplation of deep mysteries, or prayer to God.
In the first half of the 20th century, there were some men's groups who
made the rounds in traveling performances, then after WWII these groups
gradually faded away or began taking on women singers. Today there are
some male only groups, not a few of them apparently filled with "men" of
the soft variety, like the Los Angeles Men's gαy Chorus, or Chanticleer.
Colleges and universities used to all have "Glee Club" which was originally
all men. Gradually, these have started allowing females.
Barbershop Quartet music (S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.) is exclusively men, for there is
a women's organization just for women: the Sweet Adelines. Music by
each is obviously very different. The men have a full range sound, with the
highest part, the "Tenor" (which is more akin to Counter-Tenor in Classical
vocal music) singing as high as B-flat above Middle C. Luciano Pavarotti
was the "king" of the high-C, which he was renowned for being able to
sing repeatedly, without apparent fatigue.
Women's BSQS is strident and thin, for it lacks the support of the lower
range. It has its place, no doubt, but it just can't compare to the men's
sound. When the men get their vowels coordinated and their intonation
just right on certain chords, additional voices multiply above them,
called "overtones." But women can never achieve "undertones" because
sound doesn't work that way. I have found it interesting to hear some of
them claim that they can get undertones, but I think it's just a kind of
legend.
Choirs that have men singing the melody an octave below the women are
quite irksome for me to hear. It's the sound you'll get with congregational
singing, automatically. If you take a piece like "Christ Jesus, victor, Christ
Jesus, ruler" which is how the chorus begins, and sing only the first half
which is the verses, in unison, and sing the chorus in harmony, it is a
good compromise. You get the open, full sound of quadraphonic voices -
provided, that is, that you have S.A.T.B. parts - for the chorus, which makes
for a great relief from the heaviness of the verses. But it works for that
piece because the verses can be contrasted thus from the chorus.
Thy reign extend O King Benign
To every land and nation,
For in Thy kingdom, Lord devine,
Alone we find salvation.
(Chorus):
Christ Jesus, victor, Christ Jesus, ruler,
Christ Jesus Lord and Redeemer.
The chorus turns into a good flowering of the work when it goes from
"...we find salvation..." in unison, to "...Christ Jesus, victor..." in harmony.
The same idea works on "God Father, praise and glory":
God Father, praise and glory
Thy children bring to thee.
Good will and peace to mankind
Shall now forever be.
(Chorus):
O most Holy Trinity,
Undivided Unity;
Holy God, Mighty God,
God Immortal, be adored.
is a brother singing the traditional version, but the words
typed on the description are not traditional.
In my own lifetime I have seen a lot of changes in the "rules" for how
music is done at Mass. A lot of it has been to the detriment of the Mass.
One thing is for sure: prior to Vatican II there was a pandemic and solid
perception amongst Catholics that the RULES for music were hard and
fast, and should not be tampered with. There were rules for everything.
Catholics were at home with the idea that things are done a certain way
because they've been don that way before, and that makes it proper.
Propriety was a revered value, and it applied all throughout the culture.
In the Russian Orthodox, from what I hear, it is unimaginable for women
to sing in choir for Divine Liturgy. Don't quote me on that, but I'd be
interested to hear of others' testimonies. Recordings I have heard use
a lot of 5th intervals, which is not the tradition of Western music.
Gregorian Chant is exclusively one line of voices, or TRUE unison. That is,
everyone sings the same note, all the time. The entire
Liber Usualis is
chock full of pages of ancient melodies, originally taken from the ancient
Jєωιѕн temple chants, all with only one note to be sung at any given
moment. When G.P. de Palestrina came along in the 16th century, there
was no harmony going on at Mass, anywhere in the West. His
compositions were around for several decades before finally they were
allowed at Mass, very reluctantly, but apparently because of popular
acclaim. Italians can get very emotional, especially about music.
How was that development viewed in Russia, which was then just 500
years into their schism, since 1064?