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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

A Word About Hymns . . . OK, A Few Words!

Jeff Ostrowski · February 17, 2013

OR THOSE INTERESTED in my opinions, I have written a fair amount about Catholic hymnody here [url] and here [url]. But I expect I will never be “finished” talking about hymns. For the record, I love hymns. For years, I did not love hymns, but that was because I was not exposed to great hymns. Now that I think about it, I also wrote about hymns here [url]. I will try my best not to repeat what I have already said in the aforementioned articles, but (as you might expect) this could prove difficult. I have been known to criticize priests who preach long, rambling sermons relating to the congregation “everything they know”: but now the shoe is on the other foot, as I sit here trying to resist the temptation to tell “everything I know” about hymns … because it is all so interesting!

Augustus Edmonds Tozer (d. 1910) was an English organist who edited a famous Catholic Hymnal which he called (with great originality) “Catholic Church Hymnal.” I think it first appeared around 1905. As I have already implied (in those articles) most of the stuff that appeared in those early Catholic vernacular hymnals was pretty much … garbage. What is hilarious (to me, at least) is reading what Tozer says on the very first page of his Preface:

I have not included the proper plain-chant melodies to the translated Breviary hymns, believing them to be unsuitable when sung to words in the vernacular. I have, on the other hand, retained several more or less traditional tunes, absolutely valueless and without merit from a musical point of view, but which seem to have become a necessity if a book is to appeal— as I hope this one will— to the varied needs of various churches. [my emphasis]

I would have changed his word “several” to “a whole bunch,” and if you read my previous articles, or this one [url] (which I just remembered), you will see that Adrian Fortescue and many others agree with this notion.

I have recently been thinking about hymns quite a bit, since two days ago I released 800 pages of organ accompaniments for the Campion Missal [url]. A good portion of these pages are hymn harmonizations, and you can view both volumes here:

     *  Organ Accompaniments for the Campion Hymnal [url]

I am so glad that I included a lot of different harmonizations and transpositions for the hymns. There is no “perfect” accompaniment for a hymn. After all, there can be many beautiful and adequate harmonizations. What range is good? SATB range is different than congregational. If your cantor has a low voice, a lower accompaniment is good. If he has a higher voice, a higher version would be preferred. Some organists have a “transposer” button on their organs, but many do not. Some organists cannot play hymns with a difficult key signature. This also has an effect. Usually, D Major, C Major, B-flat Major, G Major, F Major, and E-flat Major are “safe” keys. What about a pedal line? Should that be included? What about descants? What about passing tones? Should those be included? Some organists (myself included) add these only for certain verses. When will the hymn be sung? In the morning, the range should be lower. At night, the range should be higher. By the way, “range” is not the same as “tessitura.” The acoustics of the Church have an impact. Furthermore, sometimes the organist can “build”: in other words, play two verses at a lower key, then improvise into a higher key for the final verse. There are hundreds more considerations, and this is why I am so glad our newest book includes different versions for many of the hymns. I believe that more than half of the hymns are given in more than one key.

P.S.  Some organists claim they can “transpose at sight.” However, I personally have only met a handful of organists who can do this. Sometimes organists say they can transpose at sight … until you ask them for a demonstration! Other organists claim they can transpose at sight … and when it comes time for them to do it, they slow the tempo WAY DOWN. I cannot transpose at sight, except for rather simple pieces. If you are an organist who can genuinely transpose at sight, please know you are special !!! My hat is off to you.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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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

“No living writer possesses a greater command over the English language than Msgr. Knox, but in this instance one cannot help feeling that he has allowed his virtuosity to get the better of him, and, in his anxiety to shield the holy of holies from vulgar intrusion, produced a text that would either pass over the listener’s head as completely as the original Latin, or else leave him groping so long after the meaning that he would be quite unable to keep pace with the officiating priest.”

— Dr. Herbert Patrick Reginald Finberg (University of Leicester)

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