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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

Five New Translation Videos • “Glory To God”

Corpus Christi Watershed · October 12, 2011

On 25 October 1970, Pope Paul VI canonized the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. The English saints are truly remarkable and have set a extraordinary model for our imitation. We should also ask their intercession.

Composer Jeff Ostrowski has included four complete Mass settings in the Vatican II Hymnal, and each is dedicated to one of the English Martyrs (see below). Also of note: a video production company called Mary’s Dowry Productions has recently come into being, and is primarily dedicated to producing fantastic videos about the English Martyrs.

With regard to musical settings of the Mass, the parts of the Mass Ordinary are very short and do not represent a serious challenge for the composer, with the exception of the “Glory To God,” which is a longer text and requires structural considerations. In particular, the new ICEL translation of the “Glory To God” has proven to be very difficult for many modern composers to set if they do not choose the Gregorian settings as their model. Included below are five examples of the “Glory To God” taken from the Vatican II Hymnal.

A talented classical scholar, St. Ralph Sherwin was ordained a priest on 23 March 1577 by the Bishop of Cambrai. In 1580, he was imprisoned, and on 4 December severely racked. Afterwards, St. Sherwin was laid out in the snow. The next day he was racked again. He is said to have been personally offered a bishopric by Elizabeth I if he converted, but refused. After spending a year in prison he was finally brought to trial with St. Edmund Campion. In 1581, he was taken to Tyburn on a hurdle along with St. Alexander Briant and St. Edmund Campion, where the three martyrs were hanged, drawn and quartered. This holy man’s last words were, “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, esto mihi Jesus!” The Mass setting in his honor is relatively short, bright, and not too challenging for the average congregation:

Please be patient as video loads:

St. Edmund Arrowsmith joined the Society of Jesus in 1624. In 1628, he was arrested when betrayed by the son of a landlord he had censured for an incestuous marriage. Having been convicted of being a Roman Catholic priest in England, his sentence was death, and he was hanged, drawn and quartered on August 28, 1628. His fellow-prisoner, Father John Southworth (afterwards a Martyr) absolved him as he went forth to undergo the usual butchery. The Mass in honor of St. Arrowsmith is a slightly more difficult than the St. Ralph Sherwin Mass, but more in the Gregorian style:

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St. Edmund Jennings was ordained priest in 1590, being then only twenty-three years of age. He was arrested while saying Mass in the house of St. Swithun Wells on 7 November 1591 and was hanged, drawn and quartered outside the same house on 10 December. His execution was particularly bloody, as his final speech angered Topcliffe, who ordered the rope to be cut down when he was barely stunned from the hanging. It is reported that he uttered the words, “Sancte Gregori, ora pro me,” while he was being disembowelled. St. Swithun Wells was hanged immediately afterwards. The Mass in honor of St. Jennings, although modal, is a metrical Mass. It was written for congregations who are not used to singing Gregorian chant:

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St. Anne Line was the daughter of William Heigham, an ardent Calvinist, and when she and her brother announced their intention of becoming Catholics both were disowned and disinherited. When Father John Gerard established a house of refuge for priests in London, St. Anne was placed in charge. On 2 February 1601, Fr. Francis Page was saying Mass in the house managed by Anne Line, when men arrived to arrest him. The priest managed to slip into a special hiding place, prepared by St. Anne, and thus escape. However, she was arrested, along with two other laypeople. She was tried on 26 February 1601, but was so weak that she was carried to the trial in a chair. She told the court that so far from regretting having concealed a priest, she only grieved that she “could not receive a thousand more.” She was hanged the next day. The Mass in honor of St. Anne Line is a very simple setting that might be nice for weekday Masses when there is no organist:

Please be patient as video loads:

The Vatican II Hymnal also contains the ICEL “Missal chants,” and organ accompaniments for these chants can be freely downloaded here. The ICEL “Glory To God” is an English adaptation of Gloria XV from the Gregorian Kyriale:

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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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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“What matters is to prefer God to all else; to be ready to sacrifice all, rather than commit one sin.”

— Cardinal Merry Del Val (shortly before his death)

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