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Views from the Choir Loft

Teaching chant to your children

Veronica Brandt · August 1, 2015

teaching kids IRST OF ALL, I SHOULD SAY that the inspiration came from this post on reddit. It describes a simple plan to introduce Gregorian chant in a family.

If you eat a meal in common with a few other people, whatever the arrangement, then maybe this plan will work for you.

Sometimes it is hard to remember to say Grace after Meals, but it is a worthwhile habit. You don’t have to wait until everyone has finished their meal, whenever you remember is good.

The word “grace” comes from “gratias” which means “thanks”. You could take the opportunity to give thanks for particular blessings from the day which leads nicely into a thanksgiving prayer after meals like this one:

We give thee thanks, Almighty God, for all thy benefits, thou who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.

or any other prayer of your choice.

Then here is an opportunity to sing something. It’s just one idea – maybe there’s another time that you’re all together that might suit you better, but for some families meal times are the main time for praying together. Whatever works for you. The main thing is to have a time to sing every day.

Choose a piece. The Salve Regina is a popular choice. We know it well as the Hail Holy Queen said at the end of the Rosary.

The reddit article mentions the Parish Book of Chant and the Liber Brevior. It recommends printing off the relevant page and adding the English yourself. However, there is a handy, small, little known book called A New Book of Old Hymns which has the English translation right up there with the chant. I know some prefer to relegate the translation to a less conspicuous place, but this was typeset when I was new to Gregorian chant and having the translation there was important to me.

If you would like to print out a page out of my book, feel free! I have avoided making the pdf easily available in the hope that more people would buy the book, but I know being able to print pages for things like this is incredibly handy.

      * *  PDF: A New Book of Old Hymns, Fourth Edition 92 pages in Latin and English.

And if you like the book, it is available spiral bound, paperback or large print.

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 Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    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

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 Church has always kept, and wishes still to maintain everywhere, the language of her Liturgy; and, before the sad and violent changes of the 16th century, this eloquent and effective symbol of unity of faith and communion of the faithful was, as you know, cherished in England not less than elsewhere. But this has never been regarded by the Holy See as incompatible with the use of popular hymns in the language of each country.”

— Pope Leo XIII (1898)

Recent Posts

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  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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