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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Concerning Proofreading And Capitalization

Jeff Ostrowski · October 23, 2013

300 kyrie Click to enlarge image HE SAINT Edmund Campion Missal and Hymnal took more than a year to proofread, and no effort was spared with regard to typesetting. Most of the priests who helped us offer the Extraordinary Form on a daily basis, and a few have done this since the 1950s. So we had good people … and they would often “challenge” the editor (yours truly) about minor details like capitalization, punctuation, and especially hyphenation.

Every time I would receive their comments for this thousand-page book, I’d have to go searching and hunting for evidence supporting my choices. You probably know that some editors (happily, nobody who assisted our proofing) believe in their hearts there is only one “correct” way … usually the way they learned in a grad school course. As a matter of fact, there are often several valid ways, and staying consistent is what’s important.

Normally, one does not use accents “inside the rubrics,” in other words, when one refers to a prayer, like the Kyrie Eleyson. However, in certain sections of my book, I did just that, for good reasons I cannot explain at the moment. One of the really smart editors told me he’d never seen this, so I went to find supporting evidence for my choices … and I couldn’t find any. However, I knew I’d seen this done.

To make a long story short, several months later, I was able to locate some really high quality books (printed by the Vatican) which use accents “inside the rubrics,” as you can see by clicking the example on the upper right. Solesmes does, too, even placing an unnecessary accent on a two syllable word (“Pátri”) :

160 ital

301 Capital Click to enlarge image I REMEMBER ONE PROOFREADER (who, unfortunately, had to be dismissed eventually) went crazy over the fact that Gregorian chant editions capitalize only the first letter after the Drop Cap. I said again and again, “This is the way it’s always been done in the Solesmes books.” However, this person simply couldn’t or wouldn’t accept my answer. However, Solesmes is perfectly correct when they use this technique. At this moment, I can’t explain the reasons for doing this (they’re good ones), but click on the image on the right to see a Missal from 1777 which uses the same technique as Solesmes.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal 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

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —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

The Princess of the Palatinate once described German Protestantism to Louis XIV with this formula: “In our country, everyone makes up his own little religion.” Every priest, or almost every priest, is at this point today. All the faithful have to say is “Amen.” They are still blessed when the pastor’s religion does not change every Sunday, at the whim of his reading, the foolery he has seen others at, or at his own pure fancy.

— Professor Louis Bouyer (1968)

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