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“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

The Frontier of Liturgical Composition

Richard J. Clark · July 1, 2016

Y DESK IS A mess—a veritable disaster. Once every few months, whether it needs it or not, I clear off and reorganize my desk. I can then remember what color it is. I usually find a few old drafts of compositions. However, my filing system is highly efficient. Everything’s out.

Germane to the discussion of my working environment: Last week, Veronica Brandt wrote a brilliant article: It’s not about talent. She hits home her point here: “In short, talent just doesn’t come into it. The thing that makes music happen is lots and lots of work.” Very few see the work behind the final product. Some make it look easy, but it never is. The work is a form of service. Talent without work leads to artistic and personal atrophy. One may never blossom into the mature artist on talent alone. Hard work sometimes over the course of decade, is the only way to make a small difference in the world.

Understanding that our work is service to God, the liturgy, and to humanity, composition is a form of service, especially if approached in a certain way. While it is important to develop one’s own voice, the function of a work is primary. Self-glorification cancels out a true sense of purpose. Today, this true purpose is to help the faithful pray the words of the Mass, and not to be a form of personal self-expression. This may be a dangerous frontier, to be certain. But in the end, we will find God at our center.

ORE THAN FIFTY YEARS after the Second Vatican Council, the frontier of composition is clearly producing new settings of the propers in the vernacular, useful for a typical parish. This is not unlike the time immediately after the Second Vatican Council. The frontier of liturgical composition then was the need for settings in the vernacular to be sung by a congregation. In the United States, this elicited results in the 1970s ranging from the St. Louis Jesuits to Theodore Marier. Then what was the frontier became the norm.

But now, many of us are aware of the awakening of “singing the Mass” rather than “singing at Mass.” Many, many composers have tackled the propers. As such, singing the propers—an integral part of singing the Mass—is slowly making its way into the mainstream.

Dr. Jerry Galipeau, Vice President and Chief Publishing Officer at J. S. Paluch Company and World Library Publications, recently wrote in his blog Gotta Sing Gotta Pray:

”…the introduction of the proper communion antiphons is still a work in progress. I believe it takes years for this practice to really become a part of the music at Mass. This was a great example of “singing the Mass,” rather than “singing at Mass.”

While I have been working on Communion propers for the entire year (more to come out soon with WLP) my desk is a colossal mess because of all my reference books to do this work. Others did the work before me: recent publications from Adam Bartlett, Richard Rice especially are constant reference materials. The publications from Solesmes have been a constant companion.

The work is also a form of prayer. Meditate on the Antiphons and type in every work of the psalm verses and you cannot help but be transformed. Obsess and constantly revise harmonizations and stay awake longer at night to make a tiny contribution that might be useful to some modest parish somewhere? I hope it is prayer. I hope it is of service to some. But service is what God asks of us every single day of our lives.

Soli Deo gloria

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 Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(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

“Our Christian people regard with great joy everything that contributes to the splendor of the ceremonies. Jesus—who was poor in His private life—received ointment on His feet. See Thomas Aquinas (Prima Secundae, q. 102, art. 5, ad 10) and the holy Curé of Ars. The Church has always loved beautiful churches, and so forth. We must preserve our sacred patrimony and make sure sacred objects do not become secular possessions.”

— Abbot & Council Father denouncing “noble simplicity” during Vatican II

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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