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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • St. Cecilia Hymnal (1937)

Jeff Ostrowski · July 20, 2016

297 SAINT CECILIA HYMNAL AM CURRENTLY working on a hymnal project, which—among other things—entails pouring through thousands of pages from old Catholic hymnals. Some hymns I discover are sentimental and low quality, while others are quite inspiring. Whenever possible, I’ll share these books with our readers.

Some of our planned releases will astound you! On the other hand, some books are interesting primarily from a Catholic historian’s point of view, and the following probably falls into that category:

    * *  PDF • SAINT CECILIA HYMNAL (1937)

Like all the books we release, this extremely rare hymnal was previously unavailable until we placed it online. If you appreciate books like those we’ve placed in the Lalande Library or our Hymnnal Tome, please consider donating $5.00 per month, using the button on the upper right called “DONATE.”

I WAS TOUCHED by the inscription J. Alfred Schehl placed inside his 1927 (1937) hymnal:

In loving memory of My Mother
who first taught me many of the melodies
contained in this volume,
and whose love of the true and beautiful
was always an inspiration,
this work is dedicated.

My favorite hymns are often those I learned as a child; and I’m sure most of you feel the same!

Schehl’s book certainly contains hymns I had not previously known, such as the following text:

294 O Lord Who Dares To Smite Thee


You might want to explore the (somewhat bizarre) “Short and Easy Mass” purportedly arranged from a Saint Gall chant by Oswald Joos:

293 Short And Easy Mass Oswald Joos St Gall


Like most other hymnals from this period, the book contains a fair amount of plainsong with accompaniment, such as “Asperges Me,” Mass VIII, etc.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Hymnbooks, Roman Catholic Hymnals 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

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

“In accordance with the ancient tradition of the Church, institution to the ministries of reader and acolyte is reserved to men.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1972)

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