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Views from the Choir Loft

Splendid! A 2013 Recording By Cistercian Nuns

Jeff Ostrowski · June 6, 2013

OUNT Saint Mary’s Abbey is located in Massachusetts. This Abbey is home to some wonderful Cistercian Nuns who have produced a new Gregorian chant CD called To Pray In Beauty.

Believe it or not, pretty much every monastery in existence has created a CD or LP record over the years. I was surprised when I first learned this fact. Most of them sell these recordings in their bookstores. Sometimes (as with the De Silos monks, trained by Gajard) their recordings get “picked up” by a producing company and make it bigtime.

I can say that the Cistercian nuns of Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey have avoided the standard fare. Their CD is definitely worth hearing (and is offered at such a low price!). The voices are peaceful, beautiful, and they sing in tune! They include some selections on the CD that will be familiar to lovers of Gregorian chant, yet they also include some lesser-known pieces, like Avete solitudinis.

Furthermore, they sing the “Cistercian” variants of the chant, which are slightly different melodically than the versions Abbot Pothier included in the Editio Vaticana. The following audio excerpt will illustrate what I mean:

      * *  Excerpt: AVE MARIS STELLA [Mp3]

The CD is handsomely produced and packaged, as you can see by viewing the back cover.

Search Google for TO PRAY IN BEAUTY and you will find several ways of purchasing this fine CD.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Hymn Avete solitudinis (Mode 1) verses 1, 2, 5, and 6
2. Communion Simile Est (Mode 8)
3. Alleluia Justus Germinabit (Mode 1)
4. Introit Salve Sancta Parens (Mode 2)
5. Introit Dominus Dixit (Mode 2)
6. Communion Quinque Prudentes Virgines (Mode 5)
7. Communion Videns Dominus (Mode 1)
8. Gradual Christus Factus Est (Mode 5)
9. Introit Resurrexi (Mode 4)
10. Introit Quasi Modo (Mode 6)
11. Introit Viri Galilaei (Mode 7)
12. Introit Spiritus Domini (Mode 8)
13. Introit Exurge (Mode 1)
14. Alleluia Deus Judex (Mode 8)
15. Introit Esto Mihi (Mode 6)
16. Introit Omnia Quae Fecisti (Mode 3)
17. Introit Inclina Domine (Mode 1)
18. Introit Vocem Jucunditatis (Mode 3)
19. Hymn Ave Maris Stella (Mode 1)

From the official press release:

This new album comes with a 20-page booklet, including liner notes by Fr. Gabriel Bertoniere about the history of Cistercian chant. Also included are the English translations of the pieces sung in Latin. To Pray In Beauty: that is the ideal of monastics as they sing the Mass and the Hours in choir. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta expressed a similar ideal in her phrase “something beautiful for God.” The beauty is not for beauty’s sake; it is for God—for his glory. It was St Augustine, that great lover of beauty, who called God “Beauty ever ancient, ever new” and lamented “late have I loved Thee!” All created beauty reflects something, however faint, of the divine Beauty, but Gregorian Chant does so in a special way, for it is itself both prayer and beauty—but a beauty that reveals itself only gradually, disclosing ever new depths and connections.

The Cistercian version of the chants presented in this recording have always played an important role in the lives of the Cistercian nuns of Wrentham since the time of its foundation in 1949. In the early years of its history, chant alone was used to provide the musical setting for the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. Since English was introduced into the liturgy after Vatican II, the nuns gradually built up a rich repertory of chants in the vernacular, but twice a week they continue to use Gregorian Chant in the celebration of the Eucharist as well as at Vespers on Solemnities. Gregorian Chant is itself both prayer and beauty—but a beauty that reveals itself only gradually, disclosing ever-new depths and connections.


Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Parish Priests have to think first of the simple faithful: people now used to the Roman Missal at Mass. They don’t want change.”

— Cardinal Spellman (one of the Vatican II fathers)

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