Yesterday I attended Mass at the FSSP Chapel here in Nantes (on Sundays I go to the EF Mass here, mainly because I know that when I leave here, I don't know when I'm likely to be able to go to and EF Mass again). I went along expecting it to be the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Not so. Instead, it was the transferred feast of the Epiphany, meaning it was the third Mass for the Epiphany that I've been to this year. The previous Sunday I had come back from Scotland after the holidays and since I missed the Mass in the morning, I decided to wait and go along to the 6 o'clock evening Mass instead. However, having forgotten to change the time on my computer, when I thought it was 5 o'clock, Mass had already started. Doh! So I quickly searched on the internet for a Mass on later. Luckily there was one at the Cathedral, so I went to that one. Only it was and Epiphany Mass (I had intended to go along to the Epiphany Mass at the FSSP chapel on the Wednesday, the actual day of the Epiphany). But nevertheless, it was far more important for me to fulfil my Sunday obligation and go to Mass. Anyway, it's not like I dislike the OF at all (apart from when it's at that church nearest to me - then it's just excruciating).
So I went along to my second Epiphany Mass on the Wednesday at the FSSP chapel, where it was low mass. And then yesterday was a missa cantata, that is, a type of low mass that is more elaborate and has a choir singing the responses, etc. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia on newadvent.org, the essence of a high Mass is the presence of the deacon and subdeacon, and not the music.
Finally, just a point that I wanted to make about yesterday's Mass. The priest celebrating (who always gives good homilies and advice in Confession) sang the preface with all the elaborate notes, something I had never heard before, either on the Internet or over here in Nantes. I had wondered about it, as if you, for example, go to the Sancta Missa website and read the music for the prefaces, and at the same time watch one of the Masses they have on video there, you can see that not all of the notes are sung. I suppose that with the lack of a deacon and subdeacon, the priest wished to make it as solemn as possible for the Epiphany.
Here is the website of the FSSP in Nantes

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