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Views from the Choir Loft

Graduale Romanum Chants And The New Roman Missal

Jeff Ostrowski · November 19, 2012

OR SEVERAL YEARS, Christoph Tietze along with many others have been trying to explain why the antiphons in the Graduale Romanum do not always match the antiphons in the Roman Missal. I, myself, have attempted to explain this in a series of articles [url] posted on the CCW website. However, it would seem that a whole lot of confusion still exists. For instance, today on the Musica Sacra Forum (which I visit quite frequently) some correspondence with the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship was posted here [jpeg] and here [jpeg]. To make a long story short, the Committee itself does not seem to be cognizant of the reason for discrepancies between some antiphons in the Graduale Romanum and the Roman Missal. I have to admit I am surprised to hear this, because several organizations have written to the Committee about this over the years, including the Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians [homepage], and the relevant quote from Pope Paul VI is even printed in the front of the Roman Missal, 3rd Edition.

They are certainly not alone. One of the great liturgical scholars of all time, Professor László Dobszay, did not understand why the differences exist. I say this based on my understanding of part of his 2003 article [pdf] in the Sacred Music Journal, an excerpt of which I reproduce here:

As a matter of fact, there is a very good reason why these discrepancies exist. SHORT ANSWER: the antiphons in the Roman Missal were only to be used for “Masses without music” according to Pope Paul VI.

* For those who desire to learn more, please consider reading a series of articles [url] I have posted online.

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 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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Never before have men had so many time-saving devices. Yet, never before have they had so little free time. When the world unnecessarily accelerates, the Church must slow down.

— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

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