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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

John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 15, 2013

Watershed was recently sent some information about the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music. We have shared it below.

John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music / January 2013

Dear Friend

E THOUGHT you would like to know the progress of the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in its first year of existence, and we thank you all for your support and interest. Our next event is on Saturday 19th January at the Oratory in the upper cloister chapel from 9.30 – 1.00pm, when Fr Guy Nicholls will be the speaker. The subject will be “What is liturgical music?”

The programme for following months will be on the website by January 10th 2013.

Since its launch in September 2011, the first year has been both busy and complex. The immediate tasks have been to provide a relevant and inspiring programme of events, to investigate the extent and nature of musical needs to be met, and, of course, to remain solvent! With these aims in mind, the Director has travelled and worked widely at home and abroad, teaching, singing and meeting like-minded people so that the Institute’s work is well-informed, purposeful and practical and also involves active and enthused people to further its cause. There has been a series of practical and theoretical talks based in Birmingham, and events in other parts of the United Kingdom such as Glasgow, Cambridge and Cardiff. In September this year, a successful conference was held in Birmingham at the Oratory church and the Oratory primary school in Ladywood and this confirmed the purpose of the Institute and the need for its work. The videos of the lectures are on our website.

At present we are planning next year’s events. These are:

— A series of talks and workshops between January and the end of June, culminating in a conference in October (dates will be confirmed as soon as possible on the web site)

— Working with the Oratory Primary School in Ladywood, Birmingham and its head teacher, Clare Dickinson, to foster the already existing musical development of all children at the school, especially singing

— Looking into the need for a course in sacred music at graduate level

— Developing links with other groups such as the Church Music Association of America

— Giving younger people a voice to express their views

With these elements in mind, practical, supportive and academic, we will work hard to establish a high quality knowledge and skills base to support liturgical music.

Probably, to end this letter, it is best to restate the purpose of liturgical music which can be difficult to explain in a few words, especially to the impatient and unimpressed!
This is part of Fr Guy Nicholls’ opening address from our September conference.

Liturgical music, especially singing, is above all, rational music – that is, reasonable. This means that it has a definite content, that of scriptures and the words of the Church’s liturgy. It is the expression of an inward state of submission to God’s word before it can be effective as an outward expression. In other words, the liturgical musician must be himself or herself both a musician and a living member of the Body of Christ. We liturgical musicians must be men and women of prayer and the sacraments. Our contribution to the liturgy must be an expression of our belonging to Christ and not an expression of our own private individuality. That is why the work of the Institute is designed with a double aim: on one hand the greater knowledge of and better implementation of the Church’s already existing treasury of sacred music: and on the other the ever deepening love of the Church as the Body of Christ, enlivened and nourished by the Holy Spirit especially in the realm of her worship. That is why we always aim to provide in our classes and events both a theological and practical component, highlighting aspects of the history and authenticity of liturgical music, and also to put this into practice in celebrating some part of the liturgy, either by a sung celebration of the Mass, or by singing the Divine Office, the church’s own prayer and praise sanctifying the hours of the day and the times and seasons of the year.”

There is much work to be done and we will do our best to keep you informed.

We send you very best wishes for the Christmas Season and hope to hear from you in what will, no doubt be a very busy 2013.

To learn more, you may want to visit their website [url].

There is also an Email address listed that can be used to reply to the Questionnaire (John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music) [pdf].

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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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

“Partly on account of these alterations, and partly because I have been unable to ascertain the authorship of many compositions—which have come to me either in manuscript or through other collections—I have thought it right to publish the volume without appending the names of writers to their works. This, however, I confess to be a defect…”

— Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1863)

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