Views from the Choir Loft

The modern armchair chant scribes

Veronica Brandt · February 14, 2015

N THE BEGINNING, PEOPLE LEARNT Gregorian chant by ear. Later it was transcribed into marks on vellum, painstakingly copied by hand. Then the printing press made paper copies which could be distributed far and wide. Now we have liquid crystal displays interpreting little packets of bits into images of sheet music and lasers fixing little particles of black to sheets of paper in the same images from the comfort of our own homes.

Medieval scribes used quill, ink and a scraper. Today a scattered group of musical technicians (or technical musicians) use GregoBase.

What is GregoBase?

GregoBase is a database of Gregorian Chant, arranged so that you (yes, you!) can log in and proof read the transcriptions and either make corrections or add corrections to the “Please fix” list for other gabc technicians to fix.

There are thousands of scores in the database already, with more being added. Books being transcribed range from the 1908 Vatican Graduale Romanum to the much more recent three volume Antiphonale Monasticum from Solesmes. The Liber Usualis is well covered.

Each score can be downloaded in several formats to suit every desktop publishing requirement. Most also come with a scan of the source page so proof reading can be accomplished even if you don’t have your own copy of the book.

Scores are indexed by first letter (or Incipit), by usage (Introit, Gradual, Varia, etc.) or by source book. There is also a tag system which will allow browsing by feasts and seasons.

Even my mother is using this. You can use this too! Enjoy GregoBase!

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

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).

Simplified Accompaniment (Easter Hymn)

Number 36 in the Brébeuf Hymnal is “At the Lamb’s high feast we sing,” an English translation for Ad Cenam Agni Próvidi (which was called “Ad Régias Agni Dapes” starting 1631). As of this morning, you can download a simplified keyboard accompaniment for it. Simple click here and scroll to the bottom. Many organists are forced to serve simultaneously as both CANTOR and ACCOMPANIST. In spite of what some claim, this can be difficult—which explains why choirmasters appreciate these simplified keyboard accompaniments. Sadly, many readers will click that link but forget to scroll to the bottom where the simplified PDF file is located.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Quasi Modo Sunday”

The Introit for “Quasi Modo Sunday” (12 April 2026) is particularly beautiful. The musical score can be downloaded as a PDF file, and so can the organ accompaniment. The official language of the Catholic Church is Latin (whereas Greek is our mother tongue). Vatican II said Gregorian Chant must be given “first place” under normal circumstances. As a result, some parishes will rightly sing the authentic version. On the other hand, because so many USA dioceses disobey the mandate of Vatican II, some musicians sing plainsong in the vernacular. I have attempted to simultaneously accompany myself on the pipe organ while singing the English version. Although very few take advantage of it, the complete Proprium Missae is posted at the flourishing feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

‘German’ Introductions for Hymns

German organ books have an enchanting habit of including introductions for each and every hymn. For example, consider this snazzy example found in a German hymnal published in 1902. In the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal, that melody is called “Laudes Mariae” and was married to Omni Die Dic Mariae, with a popular English translation (“Daily, daily, sing to Mary”) by Father Henry Bittleston, an Oratorian priest. Notice they also added a ‘tailpiece’ or ‘playout’ or postlude at the end—a very German thing to do!

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Anima Christi”

I received a request for an organ accompaniment I created way back in 2007 for the “Anima Christi” Gregorian Chant. You can download this PDF file which has the score in plainsong followed by a keyboard accompaniment. Many melodies have been paired with “Anima Christi” over the centuries, but this is—perhaps—the most common one.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)

On Good Friday during the middle ages, the pope privately recited THE ENTIRE PSALTER. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by reading this passage by Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen (d. 1943). His famous book—called “Liturgical Law: A Handbook Of The Roman Liturgy”—was published by the Benjamin Herder Book Company, which was the American arm (operating out of St. Louis, Missouri) of one of the world’s most significant Catholic publishers. Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon). His 1931 masterpiece, Liturgical Law can be downloaded as a PDF file … 467 pages!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski